From John Jay to Charles Thomson, 23 April 1781
To Charles Thomson
Madrid 23 April 1781
Dear Sir
On the 30th. January last I had the Pleasure of recg. your very acceptable Letter of the 12 Octob. 1780. The able manner in which it treats the important Subject of american Finances, induced me to give that Part of it to the Minister,1 and to send a Copy of the same Extract to Dr. Franklin,2 who in his Answer says, “I thank you for communicating to me the Letter of the Secretary of Congress on our Finances. It gives Light which I had not before, & may be useful here.”3
I wish in my Heart that You was not only Secretary of Congress but Secretary also for foreign Affairs— I should then have better Sources of Intelligence than Gazettes and Reports.
My public Letter4 contains a State of our Affairs here— I flatter myself that Congress will never again attempt to form an alliance on principles of Equality in Forma Pauperis5
Before their ingenious Letter on our Right to the Mississippi arrived, it was known in Europe, & the Substance of my last Instructions on that Head6 were no Secret here before they reached this Side of the Ocean. I would tell you more had I now Time to write in Cyphers, but the Gentleman who is to carry these Dispatches is waiting for them.
The Want of a regular & safe Communication between Congress and their foreign Ministers gives occasion to various Inconveniences— Every Letter known or suspected to be for or from me that gets into the Post Offices is opened, often kept back for a while, and to my certain Knowledge sometimes suppressed entirely. Hence it happens that Congress recieves from me fewer Letters than I could wish or than their Affairs may demand. The expence of private Couriers is intolerable—nor can many in that Character be found who merit Confidence7
The unseasonable arrival of Bills without being preceded by Funds and the Train of perplexing Consequences resulting from that & other Causes not in my power to prevent, have given me some anxious Hours, & ^often^ rendered my Situation uneasy— It is my Business however to reflect that Pleasure was not the Object for which I came here, & that obstacles should rather excite than repress Perseverance8
Be pleased to present Mrs. Jays & my Complimts. to Mrs. Thompson9 & believe me to be with sincere Regard & Esteem Your most obedt. Servant.
John Jay
Chs. Thompson Esqr.
1. See the Secretary of Congress to JJ, 12 Oct. 1780, above.
3. See BF to JJ, 12 Apr., above.
5. “In the character of a pauper,” who can sue without liability for costs. Here in the Dft, JJ wrote, then excised, the following: “Their Bills have done more Harm than two tim ^five^ times their value can do good. I am indeed ^as their servant^ only responsible for the Manner in which I execute their orders and not for the Wisdom of them but as an American I feel an Interest in both and must take the Liberty of judging accordingly.”
7. Here in the Dft, JJ excised “but I have already written so much & so often to Congress on this Subject that Little remains to be added.” JJ’s concerns about meticulously documenting all of his activities and about the security of his dispatches led him to communicate with Congress largely by means of extensive reports in which he embedded copies or extracts of relevant correspondence (see, for example, his letters of 26 May and 6 Nov. 1780, above, and 25 Apr., below), which he sent only when he felt reasonably secure about the arrangements for conveyance. In between these reports, sent at intervals of approximately six months, he occasionally wrote to announce the arrival of bills or to deal with specific issues that might not be covered in his major reports. On Carmichael’s more frequent communications with Congress, see the editorial note “The Jay-Carmichael Relationship” on pp. 170, 173 note 12.
8. Here in the Dft, JJ excised the following passage: “It is my Business however to press on in the political Course in which public Troubles have engaged me, and I therefore shall persevere steadily in it, not withstanding any obstacles that may lay or be laid in my way. I am confident that Liberty and Independence will sooner or later be firmly established and should I live to see that blessed Day, I think if I know my own Heart I shall return with inexpressible Pleasure to dwell securely and happily under the Shade of my Vine and Fig Tree.”
9. Hannah Harrison Thomson (c. 1728–1807), Thomson’s second wife.