TO B. FRANKLIN.
Office of Finance, July 1st, 1782.
Sir,
I have deferred until this moment my answer to your letters of the 4th, 9th, and 30th, of March, in expectation that I should have heard from you by the Marquis de Lafayette. A vessel now about to depart induces me to address you. I enclose an Act of Congress, by which you are empowered to adjust the public accounts with the Court of France. I wish this may be done, and the amount transmitted hither, that arrangements may be taken for ascertaining the times and the modes of payment. You will at the same time observe, that it is determined to appoint a commissioner for liquidating and finally adjusting the accounts of the public servants of Congress in Europe.
The Minister here, in a letter to me of the 25th of May last, gives the following state of moneys granted by France, viz.
"These advances have been made at the following periods, and are payable with interest, according to the obligations and acknowledgements of Dr Franklin.
| "In 1778, | 3,000,000 |
| 1779, | 1,000,000 |
| 1780, | 4,000,000 |
| 1781, | 10,000,000 |
| ———— | |
| Total | 18,000,000 |
| "From this sum must be deducted the | |
| gratuitous subsidy of last year, | 6,000,000 |
| ———— | |
| Remains | 12,000,000" |
| "To this must be added, | |
| 1st. The produce of the loan in Holland, | 10,000,000 |
| 2dly. The loan made by his Majesty for | |
| the current year, | 6,000,000 |
| ———— | |
| "Capital of the debt due to His Majesty | |
| by the United States, | 28,000,000" |
I think it right to send you this statement, on which I will make a few observations. I could have wished that the whole of the moneys, which the Court have furnished us had been what the greater part is, a loan. I know that the United States will find no difficulty in making payment, and I take this opportunity to give you an assurance, which is not meant for the Court, that I will endeavor to provide even now the means of repayment, by getting laws passed, to take effect at a future period, or otherwise, as shall be most convenient and agreeable to all parties, after the amount is ascertained and the times of payment fixed. I wish it had all been a loan, because I do not think the weight of the debt would be so great as the weight of an obligation is generally found to be, and the latter is of all others what I would least wish to labor under, either in a public or private capacity. A still further reason with me is, that there is less pain in soliciting the aid of a loan, when there is no expectation that it is to be a gift.
Prompted by such reasons, I could be well content, that the advances made previously to the year 1778, were by some means or other brought into this account. By Mr Grand's accounts is appears, that Messrs Franklin, Deane and Lee, on the 1st of January, 1777, paid him five hundred thousand livres; on the 28th of April, other five hundred thousand livres; on the 4th of June, one million of livres; on the 3d of July, five hundred thousand livres; and on the 10th of October, other five hundred thousand livres; amounting in the whole to three millions of livres. I suppose, that these sums were received of private persons in like manner with those supplies, which were obtained through M. de Beaumarchais, and if so they will be payable in like manner with those supplies.