I have said, that I will make some remarks on the supplies already furnished by France. It is necessary to do this, as well because I am so unfortunate as to differ a little in opinion on the subject with the Minister of his Most Christian Majesty here, as because the demands we are to make on the Court for the next year, will depend on the compliances, which have been, and shall be, made with the grants for the present year.
It was a point understood in Congress very early, that his Most Christian Majesty would pay the interest of certain moneys to be borrowed by Congress in America. Your Excellency knows better than any other man what passed on that subject. It would, therefore, be absurd in me to recapitulate it. Those circumstances which rendered an express stipulation improper then, have introduced much delicacy into it now; and, therefore, I do not expect that the Court will recur to a formal acknowledgement of what was then, perhaps, rather a personal, than national, obligation. But I do expect that the payment of that interest will be provided for as heretofore, without considering the moneys appropriated to that purpose, as a relief to us in carrying on the war. You will have seen, Sir, from the course of my letters how much it is an object with me to collect from ourselves the revenues necessary to lighten our debts. There is a variety of reasons for it, which I will not repeat. Among them, however, this is one, that I wish to remove the load from France to ourselves. It will in the end be the same thing; because, in proportion as our resources here are appropriated, we must ask help there. But it would be better, that the people were taught to look at home for the basis of national credit, because there alone it can be found. I should not have mentioned this matter, but that you will find it noted in the correspondence between the Chevalier de la Luzerne and myself, of which copies are enclosed.
Shortly after the arrival of M. Gerard, it was understood that France would supply us with the clothing and warlike stores which might be necessary, and therefore it was, that Colonel Laurens, when in France, labored to prevent a deduction from the subsidy of six millions on account of the articles furnished to him. As I am persuaded that his efforts were in consequence of your advice, and in concert with you, I shall say nothing more upon that subject, only to lament that the Court have differed from you in opinion, and to acquiesce in their determination, on the principle, that those who give have a right to dispose of that which is given.
By a note from the Count de Vergennes, of which I enclose a copy, I perceive that the Court granted the United States as a gift, six millions; advanced to you four millions to pay the bills which might be drawn on you; and became security for a loan of ten millions; the amount of which was to be advanced from the royal treasury, in case the loan should fail of success. The expression, as to this last object, is strong, namely, that his Majesty will see himself under the necessity of supplying the deficiency, although, in the former part of the note it is said, that he will supply it from his own finances as soon as possible. An expression which, while at the first blush it makes an earnestness of affection, may be, and in fact has been, construed into a kind of cautionary provision. Your Excellency will also, I doubt not, observe what is there said of the appropriation of the gift, the last two millions whereof, as is already observed, we did not expect to find there.
Enclosed also is an account delivered by the Minister of France in the month of September to a committee of Congress, which had been appointed to confer with him. There are striking differences between this account and the note last mentioned. But by this account it appears, that it was the design of the Court to make the advances of the present year distinct from all past transactions. From whence this conclusion, at least, will follow, that such of the bills drawn by Congress, either on yourself, or on their agents in Spain, or Holland, as you may have discharged before the commencement of the present year, are not to be deducted from the sums mentioned in the Count de Vergennes' note. Now that I am on this subject, I will observe to you, Sir, that I have determined to prevent that circuitous negotiation of bills, which has so much perplexed and distressed you, and have for that reason stopped many of those already drawn, as will presently appear. Another observation to be made on this account is, that no notice is taken of the four millions expressly mentioned in the Count de Vergennes' note, as granted to you for payment of bills drawn by Congress.
A third observation is, that the articles marked B, and the article number two, C, which together amount to the sum of six million, six hundred and eightysix thousand one hundred and nine livres, are all charged as being expended to the order of Colonel Laurens. But by the Count de Vergennes' letter to you of the 8th of June last, it appears, that Colonel Laurens was to have had the command of no other than the six million livres, given by the King. Indeed the Count's note of the 16th of May shows the same thing. The letter of the 8th of June just mentioned, shows clearly the opinion of the Court on another point of very great importance, namely, that the whole ten million livres, to be advanced for the loan, are, as in effect they ought to be, subject to the disposition of the United States only. A fourth observation is, that the article A three, B two, and C one, amounting to four millions three hundred thousand livres, were, or were to have been, in your possession for payment of bills. If to this be added four million livres, granted for that express purpose, of which no mention is made in the account, it would follow, that you would have eight millions three hundred thousand livres at your disposal; and this leads me to consider the amount of the demands, which could be made on you.
These cannot be precisely ascertained, but the paper number seventeen, contains the best estimate, in my power. The first six articles of this estimate contain all the bills, which have been drawn upon you, excepting some interest bills, which although made out had not been delivered to the people before the 1st of April last. These amount to ten millions six hundred and seventyone thousand four hundred and fiftysix livres, thirteen sols, four deniers. The article number seven, is the whole amount of guilders drawn for; the far greater part of which I have detained, as you will perceive by the article number eight. The balance it is not possible to ascertain exactly in livres, because it must depend upon the course of exchange; but at two livres for a guilder, the whole of the bills actually negotiated on Holland will amount to one million ninetyfour thousand seven hundred and twentynine livres. The article number nine, is the amount of bills drawn on Spain, of which a considerable part has been paid by Mr Jay, and a part, somewhat more considerable, is destroyed. These parts are contained in the articles ten and eleven. The balance (calculated at the value of a dollar in France, which will, I suppose, be as much as it can cost) amounts to one million seventyseven thousand two hundred and eighteen livres. So that the whole of those bills, which by any means whatever could have come upon you for payment, will be twelve millions eight hundred and fortythree thousand four hundred and three livres, thirteen sols, four deniers, and from this sum very considerable deductions are to be made. The article number twelve, which is the first of them, contains the exact amount of the several bills for interest, which were negotiated previously to the first of April last.
It may be objected, that these bills will many of them be payable during the present year; which indeed, is true, and for that reason, I have added to the bottom of the account the extent of one year's interest on Loan Office certificates, and which is more than will, I believe, be presented. The next article, number thirteen, is for bills which had been drawn on you, and have been stopped by me. The article, number fourteen, is, you will perceive, for bills, which in all human probability will have been paid during the last year. The certainty of this transaction is doubtless with you, and what we are now upon is an estimate, not an account. The remaining articles speak clearly for themselves; wherefore I conceive myself well founded in making the amount of deductions in this estimate, nine millions one hundred and sixtythree thousand two hundred and sixtyfive livres; so that after including one year's interest, as is already mentioned, the total is five millions eight hundred and seventythree thousand one hundred and twentyeight livres, thirteen sols, and four deniers; and from this there must be some deductions, because undoubtedly you have paid some of the bills drawn on Spain and Holland before the first day of January last. I have mentioned no sum for this purpose, but in order to be within bounds, I will suppose it to be only three hundred and seventythree thousand one hundred and twenty eight livres, thirteen sols, and four deniers, and then the extent of the bills payable by you in the year 1781, will be five millions and a half of livres; and, therefore, the four millions granted by the Court, and the million and a half said to be stopped by you in Holland, will apply to this demand.
As the last mentioned sum appears by the Count de Vergennes' note, to have been part of that, which was given by the Court, this state of the matter will leave clear the ten million livres to have been loaned, and seems properly to consist with the Count's note of the 16th of May, and his letter to you of the 8th of June following. I have mentioned above, that in making the deduction for bills paid previous to the year 1781, I meant to be within bounds. It is proper to give a reason why I supposed that deduction to be so. I have already made one remark on the article A one two and F, in the account officially communicated by the Minister of France in September last. From those articles it appears at least that three million livres were advanced for the payment of bills last year. The amount of the interest bills, I have already stated as being in the extent, two millions one hundred and ninetythree thousand nine hundred and ninety livres, to this sum must be added one hundred and fortyfour thousand livres, due to M. Beaumarchais, and the one hundred and twentyfive thousand livres deducted in the estimate, as having been drawn for by the Resolutions of the 19th of May, 1780. These sums together amount to two millions four hundred and sixtytwo thousand nine hundred and ninety livres; to which I will add for contingencies one hundred and thirty seven thousand and ten livres more, making the whole amount two millions six hundred thousand livres; wherefore suppose the grant of moneys to pay bills for the year 1780, to have been but three million livres, and it appears evidently to have been at least that, there would have remained in your hands a balance of four million livres; which is more than I have deducted from the amount of my estimate.