myself of every occasion of proffering to you the homage of those sentiments of attachment and respect with which I have the honor to be, your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,

TH: JEFFERSON.

TO MR. CARNES.

Paris, February 15, 1789.

SIR,

I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of January the 23rd, and February the 9th and 10th. Your departure for America so soon puzzles me as to the finishing the affair of Schweighauser and Dobrée, in which I could have reposed myself on you. It remains, that I ask you to recommend some person who may be perfectly relied on, in that business. In fact, it is probably the only one I shall have occasion to trouble them with before my own departure for America, which I expect to take place in May; and I fix my return to Paris in December. While I ask your recommendation of a person to finish Dobrée's business with fidelity, I must ask your secrecy on the subject of that very business, so as not to name it at all, even to the person you shall recommend.

As

With respect to the distressed American who needs one hundred and forty livres to enable him to return to America, I have no authority to apply any public monies to that purpose, and the calls of that nature are so numerous, that I am obliged to refuse myself to them, in my private capacity. to Captain Newell's case, you are sensible, that being in the channel of the laws of the land, to ask a special order from government would expose us, in reciprocity, to like demands from them in America, to which our laws would never permit us to accede. Speaking conscientiously, we must say it is wrong in any government to interrupt the regular course of justice. A minister has no right to intermeddle in a private suit, but when the laws of the country have been palpably perverted to the prejudice of his countryman.

When you shall be so kind as to recommend to me a correspondent in your port, during your absence, I will ask the favour of you also, to give me some idea of the time you expect

to return.

I have the honour, after wishing you pleasant and prosperous voyages, to assure you of the esteem and attachment, with which I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,

TH: JEFFERSON.

DEAR SIR,

TO DR. BANCROFT.

Paris, March 2, 1789.

I have just received a letter of January the 31st, from Admiral Paul Jones, at Petersburg, which charging me with the execution of some commissions, and these requiring money, he tells me you will answer my drafts to the amount of four or five thousand livres, on his account. Be so good as to inform me whether you will pay such drafts.

A Monsieur Foulloy, who has been connected with Deane, lately offered me for sale two volumes of Deane's letter books and account books, that he had taken instead of money, which Deane owed him. I have purchased them on public account. He tells me Deane has still six or eight volumes more, and being to return soon to London, he will try to get them also, in order to make us pay high for them. You are sensible of the impropriety of letting such books get into hands which might make an unfriendly use of them. You are sensible of the immorality of an ex-minister's selling his secrets for money; and consequently, that there can be no immorality in tempting him with money to part with them; so that they may be restored to that government to whom they properly belong. Your former acquaintance with Deane may, perhaps, put it in your power to render our country the service of recovering those books. It would not do to propose it to him, as for Congress. What other way would best bring it about you know best. I suppose his distresses and his crapulous habits will not render him difficult on this head. On the supposition that there are six or eight volumes, I think you might venture as far as fifty guineas, and proportionably, for fewer. I will answer your draft to this amount and purpose, or you may retain it out of any monies you may propose to pay me for Admiral Jones. There is no time to lose in this negotiation, as, should Foulloy arrive there before it is closed, he will spoil the bargain. If you should be able to recover these books, I would ask the favor of you to send them to me by the Diligence, that I may carry them back with me to America. I make no apology for giving you this trouble. It is for our common country and common interest. I am, with sincere and great esteem and attachment, Dear Sir, your most obedient humble servant,

TH: JEFFERSON.

SIR,

TO M. DE MALESHERBES.

Paris, March 11, 1789.

Your zeal to promote the general good of mankind, by an interchange of useful things, and particularly in the line of agriculture, and the weight which your rank and station would give to your interposition, induce me to ask it, for the purpose of obtaining one of the species of rice which grows in CochinChina on high lands, and which needs no other watering than the ordinary rains. The sun and soil of Carolina are sufficiently powerful to insure the success of this plant, and Monsieur de Poivre gives such an account of its quality, as might induce the Carolinians to introduce it instead of the kind they now possess, which, requiring the whole country to be laid under water during a certain season of the year, sweeps off numbers of the inhabitants annually, with pestilential fevers. If you would be so good as to interest yourself in the procuring for me some seeds of the dry rice of Cochin-China, you would render the most precious service to my countrymen, on whose behalf I take the liberty of asking your interposition: very happy, at the same time, to have found such an occasion of repeating to you the homage of those sentiments of respect and esteem with which I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

TH: JEFFERSON.

TO JOHN JAY.

Paris, March 12, 1789.

SIR,

I had the honor of addressing you on the 1st instant, through the post. I write the present, uncertain whether Mr. Nesbitt, the bearer of your last, will be the bearer of this, or whether it may not have to wait some other private occasion. They have re-established their packet boats here, indeed; but they are to go from Bourdeaux, which, being between four and five hundred miles from hence, is too far to send a courier, with any letters but on the most extraordinary occasions; and without a courier they must pass through the post-office. I shall, therefore, not make use of this mode of conveyance, but prefer sending my letters by a private hand, by the way of London. The uncertainty of finding private conveyances to London is the principal objection to this.

On the receipt of your letter, advising me to purchase the

two volumes of Deane's letters and accounts, I wrote to the person who had them, and after some offers and refusals, he let me have them for twenty-five louis, instead of twenty louis asked at first. He told me, that Deane had still six or eight volumes more, and that when he should return to London, he would try to get them, in order to make himself whole, for the money he had lent Deane. As I knew he would endeavor to make us pay dear for them, and it appeared to be your opinion and that of the members you had consulted, that it was an object worthy attention, I wrote immediately to a friend in London, to endeavor to purchase them from Deane himself, whose distresses and crapulous habits will probably render him more easy to deal with. I authorised him to go as far as fifty guineas. I have as yet no answer from him. I inclose you a letter which I wrote last month to our bankers in Holland. As it will itself explain the cause of its being written, I shall not repeat its substance here. In answer to my proposition, to pay bills for the medals and the redemption of our captives, they quote a resolution of Congress (which, however, I do not find in the printed journals) appropriating the loans of 1787 and 1788, to the payment of interest on the Dutch loans till 1790, inclusive, and the residue, to salaries and contingencies in Europe, and they argue, that, according to this, they are not to pay any thing in Europe till they shall first have enough to pay all the interest which will become due to the end of the year 1790; and that it is out of personal regard, that they relax from this so far as to pay diplomatic salaries. So that here is a clear declaration they will answer no other demands, till they have in hand money enough for all the interest to the end of the year 1790. It is but a twelvemonth since I have had occasion to pay attention to the proceedings of those gentlemen; but during that time, I have observed, that as soon as a sum of interest is becoming due, they are able to borrow just that, and no more; or at least, only so much more, as may pay our salaries and keep us quiet. Were they not to borrow for the interest, the failure to pay that would sink the value of the capital, of which they are considerable sharers. So far, their interests and ours concur. But there, perhaps, they may separate. I think it possible they may choose to support our credit to a certain point, and let it go no further, but at their will; to keep it so poised, as that it may be at their mercy. By this, they will be sure to keep us in their own hands. They write word to the treasury, that in order to raise money for the February interest, they were obliged to agree with the subscribers, that Congress

should

open no other loan at Amsterdam this year, till this one be filled up, and that this shall not be filled but by the present subscribers, and they, not obliged to fill it. This is delivering us, bound hand and foot, to the subscribers, that is, to themselves. Finding that they would not raise money for any other purposes, without being pushed, I wrote the letter I inclose you. They answer, as I have stated, by refusing to pay, alleging the appropriation of Congress. I have written again, to press them further, and to propose to them the payment of thirty thousand florins only, for the case of our captives, as I am in hopes this may do. In the close of my letter to them, you will observe I refer them, as to the article of foreign officers, to the board of treasury. I had, in truth, received the printed journals a few days before, but had not yet had time to read them carefully, and particularly, had not then noted the vote of Congress of August the 20th, directing me to attend to that article. I shall not fail to do what I can in it; but I am afraid they will consider this also as standing on the same ground with the other contingent articles.

This country, being generally engaged in its elections, affords nothing new and worthy of communication. The hopes of accommodation between Turkey and the two empires, do not gain strength. The war between Russia and Denmark on the one hand, and Sweden on the other, is likely also to go on, the mediation of England being rendered of little force by the accident to its Executive. The progress of this war, and also of the broils in Poland, may possibly draw the King of Prussia into it during the ensuing campaign: and it must, before it be finished, take in this country, and perhaps England. The ill humor on account of the Dutch revolution continues to rankle here. They have recalled their ambassador from the Hague, manifestly to show their dissatisfaction with that court, and some very dry memorials have lately been exchanged, on the subject of the money this country assumed to pay the Emperor, for the Dutch. I send you very full extracts of these, which will show you the dispositions of the two courts towards each other. Whether, and when this country will be able to take an active part, will depend on the issue of their States General. If they fund their public debts judiciously, and will provide further funds for a war on the English plan, I believe they will be able to borrow any sums they please. In the mean time, the situation of England will leave them at leisure to settle their internal affairs well. That ministry, indeed, pretend their King is perfectly re-established. No doubt they will make the most of his amendment, which