From John Jay to Samuel Huntington, 21 April 1781
To Samuel Huntington
Madrid 21 April 1781
Dr Sir,
Accept my Thanks for your Favor of the 18 Decr. which was delivered to me on the 13th. of March last— I am happy to hear that your Health permits
you ^still^ to continue in your import in the Chair and to sustain the Weight of Business which the Duties of that office impose upon you.
We have within these five Days The ^interesting^ news of Gen Morgans ^glorious^ Victory1 & the Success of the French in the Chesapeake reached us three Days ^ago^2 Never was Intelligence more welcome ^& our Joy^ has been since increased by Intelligence which is credited tho not quite confirmed of the English Troops in the E. Indies have been defeated ^in a decisive Battle^ by a Prince of the Country in alliance with France.3 This is opening This Campaign opens much to our advantage, and I hope the Blessing of Heaven on our arms will bring it to a conclusion equally prosperous—
My public Letter4 will give you an Idea of the State of Things ^here^ since the Date of my very long Letter which Col. Livingston forwarded from France and which I doubt not has already come to your Hands, three Copies having been sent by different Vessels—5 There is really but little Corn at present in Egypt, & those who wd. have it must purchase it. ^& you know the price^6 This seems to be the present System—how long it may last no Mortal can tell— Friendships like the English Funds oftentoo general^ly^ rise & Fall according as Events are favourable or adverse—
By ^by the Letter from^ Doctr. Franklin’s Letter herewith enclosed7 ^was sent me by the Return of the Express Courrier I sent to him; and as his that & other Dispatches^ & which he was so obliging as to leave open for my perusal I find he has requested Permission to retire on account of his age & ^Informities^8 How far his Constitution has been ^Health may be^ impaired I know not—the many & ^since the^ long Letters I have recd. from him bear no marks of age, & are not there is an acuteness & contentious Brevity in them very seldom found in the Compositions of a declining Mind impaired ^which do not indicate^ ^an understanding injured^ by Years—Whatever I have many Reasons to think our Country much indebted to him and I confess it would mortify my pride as an American, if this worthy Citizen & public Servant should be not recieve Marks ou of Honor & Approbation from his Constituents ^his Constituents should be the only people to whom his Character is known that^ should deny his Merit & Services the Testimony given them by other Nations— Justice demands of me to assure you that his Reputation & Respectibility are acknowledged & have weight here th and that I have recieved from him upon all that uniform attention & aid which ^wh was due to^ the Importance of the affairs committed to me—God forbid that any future Historian should have occasion to ^say ofremark the same Singularity in^ our Republic what an Ancient ^one^ with great Justice did ^ofin^
the Athenian “That ^tho^ Athens that [was] illegible ^blessed wwas providentlyproduced^ many Great Generals & able Statesmen yet there were was scarce one whom she did not
I percieve The affectionate mention he makes of the ^his^ only descendant he has in the [male line?] his on whom the Support of his name & Family will devolve9 is extremely natural and ^aimiable and^ flows in Terms of great Delicacy ^a delicate manner from^ that virtuous Sensibility by which nature kindly extends the Benefits of Parental ^affection^ to a Period beyond the Limits of our Lives— This is an affecting Subject and and minds susceptible of the finer Feelings ^Sensations^ are insensibly led by it at least to wish that rather the name or worth of a Man whose Birth ^[as soon?] the Feelings & merits^ of an ^ancient^ Patriot retiring with well earned Honour ^going in the Evg of a long Life early devoted to the public to Enjoy Repose^ in the Bosom of ^a^ philosphic Ret Retreat ^Retirement^, may be gratified by seeing some little spark of the affection of his Country rest on the ^only^ Support of his age & Hope of his [illegible] Family— Such are the Effusions of my Heart on this Occasion & I pour them into yours from a Persuasion that they will will ^meet with^ a hospitable Reception from congenial emotions.10 As for ^With Respect toof^ this Young Gentleman ^^ character [I wish I] illegibleI have no personal Knowledge except what ^I might bemay be drawn^ from the ^real & accurate^ Manner in which as his Grandfathers actual Secretary he did such Business as respected me & of Course came under my Observation ^^ & which was neat & accurateand from a ^Letter he wrote^ me ^on the Subject of an and particular Occasion, isvery well written Letter I recd. from^ him on a particular Occasion— I have been told that his Genius ^bears his Grandfathers Mark, and thattho not yet matured is strong and that^ he has derived from Education the Acquirements which figure in Courts— I have beenalso ^been^ informed that ^tho not dissipated^ he ^does not possessis gay and& fond^ of Dress & Diversions— This is all I know or have heard about him— These latter Circumstances do not always form the same Indication— The ^best fruitmost valuable^ ^Trees blossom before they produceintroduce their Fruit by previous Blossoms^ and ^when the latteras formerthe one^ shook out the ^former fallother disappears^— There are ^others againalso Trees^ which ^only^ bear nothingBlossoms and ^are mere are gaudy scented useless Spectacle-that are merely^ tho ^[ornamental in the Spring are useless and from which?] cumber^ ^the Earth with a mere^ serve for no other purpose ^and from whichmake^ those who cultivate them are to expectno other return than perhaps very pretty & well scented Flowers ^while only^ & thatin the Spring— Asa Tree is always known by its Fruit.11
As the Character of this young Gentleman will on the Arrival of the Doctrs Letter probably become a Subject of Inquiry & Discussion I wish I was enabled to give you clear & positive Information relative to it— allthe ^only^ Knowledge I have of it results from Circumstances and ^the opinion what I have at different Times heard of him fromthe Reports of^ others— [?] On theHe has for some Time past been the Doctrs. actual Secretary, & the manner in which that Part of it w ^All I can say is that ^^they^^ have inclined ^^me^^ to think [in margin] well of him^
Opinions so formedFrom such materials ^you know^ it is not easy to form a decided opinionJudgment becausecircumstantial Evidence seldom rising anyhigher than Probabilities moremore or less convincing— ^in this Case I have no it is natural you know in such Cases to for an opinionin this Case indeed it [seems neverthless?]^ The Doctrs. opinion ofRecommendation of him indeed is clear & positive. His Situation ^& Discernmt.^ enables him to know this Gent perfectly, and I should thinkhis ^Integrity &^ Prudence ^would not permit himafford secgood Security for^ mehis saying nothing more than ^what^ he thinks. HowHow far Affection may have imperceptibly influenced the coloring youthe Character of the Painter will help us to ascertain. & ^that is well known^12I believe
I hope the Idea of putting your foreign Affairs on the Footing you mention will not be laid ^aside^—a responsible, able Secretary for that Department wd be more useful than all the Committees you could appoint—13 Mrs. Jay presents her Compliments to you [and] Mrs. Huntington— We have had a fine Winter, far more agreable ^mild & temperate^ than our northern Climates ^States^ afford There is a Prospect of a more plentiful Harvest than has been known here since the Year 1756 ^& were it not for the extreme Droughts & Heats of Summer from which I suffered much greatly the last Year^ I should like ^be much pleased with^ this Climate exceedingly—not so much however as to wish to remain longer ^spend my Days^ in it than My Eyes & Affections are constantly turned towards america, & I think I shall return to it with as much real ^& cordial^ Satisfaction as ever an ^exiled^ Israelite ^felt on^ returning to his Land of Promise— I am ^Dr Sir^ with ^very^ Sincere Regard & Esteem I am Dear Sir Your most obedt. ^& humble^ Servt.
Dft, PPIn (EJ: 11968). Endorsed by JJ: “ . . . In Ansr. to 18 Decr. last.” E in JJ to BF, 20 Aug. 1781, below; LbkC, DLC: Franklin, 6: 27–29. Enclosure: BF to Samuel Huntington, 12 Mar. 1781, , 34: 443–47.
1. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan won the battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, on 17 Jan. 1781.
2. See JJ to BF, 18 Apr., above.
3. In 1780 Hyder Ali Khan, France’s ally in India, overran the Carnatic, a region in southern India that had been virtually a client state of the British East India Company.
6. Although JJ publicly claimed that Spain had resources to apply to America’s needs, he had described Spain’s finances in these same terms in his letter to BF of 8 Sept. 1780, followed by “This entre nous.” See , 33: 269.
7. , 34: 446–48.
8. See BF to JJ, 12 Apr., above. In addition to the present private letter, JJ included in his public dispatch to Huntington of 25 Apr., below, a paragraph endorsing BF’s conduct and character. On 3 Sept. 1782, in a letter to the secretary for foreign affairs in which he discussed the salary he had paid his grandson for his service as secretary, BF enclosed extracts of both of JJ’s letters to Huntington and a similar extract of a letter from Henry Laurens. , 5: 682–84; , 38: 61–62.
9. William Temple Franklin.
10. JJ quoted the previous two paragraphs in his letter to BF of 20 Aug. 1781, below.
11. Congress responded to the arrival of a French minister on American soil by naming BF sole minister plenipotentiary to the court of Versailles on 14 Sept. 1778. Previously, it had conducted its diplomacy by commission. While BF easily survived an attempt to recall him in April 1779, Republican delegates were uneasy about leaving diplomacy in the hands of a single minister, and the Lee faction’s suspicions of BF were unallayed. As discussed in the editorial note “The Jay-Carmichael Relationship” on p. 169, Congress dealt with this situation by upgrading the position of secretary to its foreign missions so as to make it prestigious enough to attract quality candidates.
The Lee faction was determined to ensure that the secretary to the French mission would be vigilant and able to detect and counter improprieties in BF’s conduct of his ministry. John Laurens was unanimously elected in October 1779 but declined to serve. Factional maneuvers generated a large field of potential candidates, including Gouverneur Morris, James Lovell, Alexander Hamilton, Walter Stewart, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Pinckney, John Henry, and John Mathews, some of whom were unwilling to serve and others willing only if necessary to block a candidate from the opposing faction. Congress could not agree on any willing candidate, and the position remained vacant. Meanwhile, William Temple Franklin served his grandfather without formal appointment. BF then asked Congress to recognize his grandson’s service by appointing him secretary to any of the American ministries in Europe, none of which, except the French, was currently vacant. On 15 June 1781, Congress established a peace commission consisting of BF, JA, JJ, Henry Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson and authorized it to “transact every thing that may be necessary for completing, securing and strengthening the great work of pacification.” On 1 Oct. 1782, claiming the appointment of a secretary was now necessary, BF and JJ signed William Temple Franklin’s appointment as secretary to the peace commission. Henry Laurens and JA, who had been absent from Paris at the time, subsequently signed as well. See JJUP, 2: 370–71.
, 14: 13, 96, 143, 271, 276, 277–78, 280, 291; , 20: 654; and12. After JJ’s negotiation of the peace treaty had won him the esteem of many members of the Lee faction, Arthur Lee strove to exculpate him from responsibility for William Temple Franklin’s appointment. He wrote that BF had “obtaind a promise from Mr. Jay when at Madrid, to give his voice for appointing his Grandson W. T. Franklin, a young insignificant Boy as any in existence, to be Secretary to the Embassy for making Peace, who ought to be a person of consummate prudence, ability & worth. Upon this he appoints him to that office without consulting the other Commissioners. Thus while Govr. Franklin is planning our destruction in London his Father & Son, are entrusted with all our Secrets in Paris. If it shoud be said that the establishd character of the old man will justify such a confidence; the same can not be urgd in favor of the young one, who is yet to be tried & has no character at all.” See , 20: 13–14.
13. RRL was elected secretary for foreign affairs on 10 Aug. 1781.