From John Jay to Robert Morris, 28 April 1782
To Robert Morris
Madrid [28]1 Ap 1782
Dr. Sir
My Letter to Congress of the 3d. October2 last explained the Reasons which induced Me to detain him ^Majr Franks^ so long at St Ildefonso. It is also proper that you should have a report of my Inducemen ^I will now mention^ the Facts that relate to his Return & detention here—
The Majr In a Letter ^to me from the Majr.^ dated at Nantz 17 Novr. 1781 informs me ^says^ is ^there was^ ^this Paragraph^: “There is no immediate Prospect of a Passage from this Port or L’orient, & I have the disagreable one of remaining great Part of the Winter in France—[”]
As the accnt of the Ministers Conduct given ^stated^ in my Letter of the 3d. Octr. would probably tended to ^might^ excite Expectations that this Court were preparing to enter into serious Negociations with us ^& as our Successes ^^in Va.^^ wd. probably & naturally encrease those Expectations^ I wished to prevent any mistakes on those Heads by giving Congress further particulars of acct of his arrangement management tho’ the Expense of ^for ^^a speedy^^ & good opportunity of preventing any mistakes on those Heads and therefore altho^ a Journey thro Spain might expose the Majr to greater ^more^ Expence, than remaining half ^great part of^ the Winter at Nantz, yet I thought that wd be of ^the proposed Object of it^ sufficiently advantage interesting to the public ^Congress^ to justify my advising him to undertake it, especially considering the Difficulties which the few ^that very little if any Time wd. be lost by it & that^ safe opportunities [illegible] of conveyg Letters
^from hence^ to America ^were very rare^—I therefore ^For these Reasons I^ wrote to the Majr ^on that Subject to the Majr.^ as follows—
[Here Jay embedded the text of his letter to David Salisbury Franks of 1 December 1781, above.]
As this Letter was sent by the post I declined informing the Majr. that I wished him to return for the purpose of taking further Dispatches, lest that Circumstance might prevent his ever receiving it and I ^thus^ think it expedient to reserve any ^& avoided writing any^ thing further to him on the Subject than what is contained in the above recited paragraph—^[in margin] I also [illegible] gave him a Credit with Mr Jonan. Wms. at Nantz for as much Money as wd be necessary for the journey—^
On the 4 Jany. 1782 I recd. his Answer vizt.
[Here Jay embedded the text of Franks’s letter to him of 21 December 1781, above.]
By the Post next after the Rect. of the above Letter I wrote a ^few^ Lines to the Major3 informing him that if the Doctor Franklin should consentd to his taking this Rout I shd. expect him—
Doctor Franklin not knowing [my?]
The Majr. Recd the following Answer from ^afterwards sent me a Copy of the^ Dr’s Franklin answr vizt
Passy 27 Decr 1782 [1781]
Sir
I rec
dthe Letter you did me the Honor of writing to me the 20th. Instant. That from MrJay which you mention to have enclosed is not come to Hand. I can therefore form no opinion of MrJay’s Reasons for wishing you to return to Spain and cannot advise you in the Affair. If you do undertake that Journey, I request you would deliver the Dispatches & Letters I committed to your care to Capt. Truxton of the StJames—I am &c.4
The Major on recg the above Letter concluded· to come to Madrid, and delivered his the ^Dr. Franklins & my^ Dispatches he was charged with by Dr Franklin & me, to Capt. Manly5 who was going Passenger with Capt. Truxton ^in the St. James^, with proper Directions to sink them in Case of Danger—
He arrived here the 7th. Mar Ult.— He will enumerate to you the Reasons which ^he tells me^ prevented his arriving sooner.— The Delay however has not been inconvenient,—on the contrary it havg given me an opportunity of inserting in my public Letter to Mr Livingston an account of several ^late^ interesting occurrences which [illegible] ^lately^ happened.6 The Fate of the
Bills drawn upon me, & other Matters no less important then dependg ^[in margin] together with the ^^additional^^ Time to employed in copying my Letter to Mr Livingston^ [enduced me to?] ^occasioned my^ keeping the Maj here ^[illegible]^ till now; and ^but^ as he lodged with me, no additional Expences have^s^ been thereby incurred—
Mr Williams by his letter of 13 Feby7 informs me that “in Consequence of my Letter of Credit in favor of Majr. Franks he had paid him on my Account 2065 Livres, and that as a Reimbursement by Bills on Spain wd be attended with Loss and Difficulty, he had not taken the Majrs. Bill, and as he supposed it would be equally agreable to me, he had desired him to procure him Payment in Paris—for this Sum the
as ^as^ I have at present no other Funds [illegible] ^at my disposal^ than my Salary, I shall desire Doctr Franklin to pay [illegible] ^this Sum to the order of Mr Wms., and charge it to that Account unless he shd. think himself at Liberty to place ^^it^^ to the public account^ ^[in margin] [illegible] of money lent me for the purpose of paying ^^the public^^ Bills drawn upon me^
[illegible]
In order to enable the Maj
The Majr. informs me that the Marqs. de la Fayette has promised ^offered^ him a passage [on the Frigate that is to convey?] ^with^ him to America, and that late Advices from France [indic?] mention, that the Marquis will probably sail [from Rochefort?] the middle of next Month ^[in margin] [illegible] but this [illegible] ^^does not^^ appear to me to be well ascertained tho’ probable^—8
This ^cir^Cumstance, and my having ^made^ ^the Impropriety of confiding the^ Duplicates of all my Dispatches, which ought not be trusted with ^to^ any [Body but am?] ^person that I know^ in the Spanish Sea Ports except Mr Harrison at Cadiz, where there ^are^ not at Present any good opportunities for America induce me to [propose?] ^[illegible]^ approve of the Majr’s: going with the Marquis ^with the Marquis after^ having left the Duplicates of his Dispatches ^in question^ with Mr Williams or Mr. Johnson at Nantz b and in Case he shd. miss the Marquis then to sail with ^embark in^ one of the first good Ships which are preparing there to sail for America— If he shd. go with the Marquis, the Expence saved by it will more than compensate for ^that of^ his going by the Way of France, and that Consideration added to ^as well^ the greater Safety of a Voyage ^which he^ promised by a Ship of War, ^also tend to^ render that ^the^ Plan ^in my opinion^ eligible.
Should he not succeed in going with the Marquis ^(for he is not to wait lose good oppy.^ ^[in margin] by waiting for him on an uncertainty^9 yet
he will at present find good Vessels ready to bound to America, which is not the Case here at present for [illegible] ^I am told that those shortly to sail from Cadiz^ belong to Places south of the Delaware & consequently will ^not only^ be exposed to greater Risque in the passage [illegible] ^but^
For these Reasons ^For these Reasons^ I ^therefore^ join with him in opinion that he had better return by the Way of France; To enable him to do this and I now advance ^now pay^ him on account of ^towards^ the Expences of his Journey [illegible] ^for which he is to account to you—^ ^[in margin] (as well as for the Money paid him by Mr Williams)^10
I shall take an early opportunity of transmitting an account ^you particular^ Accounts of all the ^public^ Monies that passd have passed thro’ my Hands; and also an account of the several Sums [illegible] I have advanced for the public [illegible] at present I ^due to me^ [illegible] ^for money advanced^ to distressed Americans, Couriers &c.— I have paid every Farthing of the money I have recd ^the Money paid me^ here for Congress, [illegible] to the Discharge of their Bills— All other incidental Charges and money advanced to distressed Americans &ca ^advances^ have been [supported?] supplied by ^from^ my Salary— Those ^frequent tho’ uncertain^ Taxes upon it, together with the irregularity & uncertain manner which I have recd it ^& sometime suspence attending the payment of it^ (without any Fault however of Doctr Franklin) have often placed me in a painful Situation; and ^indeed^ three Times obliged me to borrow Money for Subsistence—twice from our public Funds, which was immediately repaid on my being ^afterwards^ authorized to draw on the Doct. on acct. of my Salary, & once from Mr Carmichael—[illegible] ^[in margin] To avoid the like disagreable necessity & to be ^^the better^^ prepared in Case the Doctr as he had intimated shd not be able to continue paying my Salary, I found myself obliged to contract^ my Expences [illegible] was rather inconsistent with my [Salary?], my Comfort or with the public Good ^within Limits too narrow to be proper^ [illegible] Knowing that Congress ^also^ had their Difficulties, ^I^ [illegible] ^avoided making unseasonable [illegible] Complaints [illegible] and applications ^^on the Subject^^ I thought it more prudent^ silently to conform to my Circumstances, than by the ^risque doing^ injury ^to^ the public or my private Credit by Expences which tho proper to my Situation were superior to my means of defraying— I dont mean by this that of supposing my Salary regularly paid, and unincumbered with advances on the public Accounts it is insufficient—on My first arrival in Spain I found [illegible] so many things necessary to be purchased ^Years Expences were so considerable, and the Impositions I experienced suffered were^ so great and so frequent, that I really
Gold and Silver appeared ^to me^ of very little more Value here, than I had left Paper in Pha.—In short [illegible] But ^and it I really thought it would be proper to encrease my Salary^ ^tho less on my own, than the public account^ [illegible]
I am nevertheless contented with my Allowance, and find that ^with proper care & management^ it will enable me to live in a Manner sufficiently decent—
Dft, marked “pub,” NNC (EJ: 9324). Endorsed: “pub / Draft to R. Morris / 28 April 1782 / by Maj Franks with Dup to be / left with others at Nantz”.
1. Space left blank in manuscript. Date supplied from endorsement.
3. Letter not found.
4. See , 34: 317.
5. John Manley.
6. See JJ to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 28 Apr. 1782, below.
7. The letter of 13 Feb. 1782 from Jonathan Williams Jr. has not been found. According to JJ’s account book of letters sent and received, NNC, it was received on 13 Mar.
8. Although he had originally intended to delay his return to the United States for only a few weeks, Lafayette did not return to America until 1784. See Lafayette to JJ, 25 June 1782, ALS, NNC (EJ: 6730).
9. Franks reached Philadelphia by 1 Aug. Morris replied on 7 Oct. 1782, LbkC, DLC: Morris (EJ: 10235); , 6: 118, 523. On the question of JJ’s liability for payment of Franks’s travel expenses, including those for his voyage from France to America, see Jonathan Williams Jr. to JJ, 16 July, and JJ to Williams, 20 July, NNC (EJ: 7271, 8833); and Franks’s draft on JJ of 10 June, and JJ’s response of 17 Aug. 1782, PHi: Society Collection (EJ: 1122).
10. The paragraphs below contain numerous, sometimes extensive, illegible excisions. The elaborate reworking reflects both JJ’s financial embarrassment and his extreme anxiety, fueled by the investigations of Silas Deane and other American agents, to avoid allegations of financial irregularity or extravagance or of unnecessary delay in forwarding dispatches to Congress.