From John Jay to Charles Thomson, 3 March 1786
To Charles Thomson
[3 March 1786]
Dr. Sr
Mr Gardoqui who views the Affair of the Horse, as a Spaniard, and as a politician, is uneasy, and ^neither^ You and nor I can easily ^be^ surprized that he shd. be so
They [illegible] in my opinion do not judge ill who think the article [illegible] conclusive, but a contrary Construction having operated, the Question now seems to be whether the Error shd. be corrected pending a Case, or afterwards. Delicacy prevents my Interfering further than Respect for Gardoqui’s Feeling and ^connected^ with public Considerations prompt me to write these Lines to you in confidence so far as I am personally concerned the constr. in either Event will be the same—the Value of the Horse is no object. wh wd. not this such a Resolution as this be pr adviseable
Whereas his most christian majesty has presented to the Honb. Doctr. B F. his picture set with Diamonds, and his cath. majesty has presented a Spanish Horse to the Honble J. J and whereas the art. of the Con.1 has heretofore been construed to admit a discretionary power in Congress to permit the acceptance of such Presents Resolved that Doctr. Franklin and Mr Jay be permitted to accept the presents in Question But as the said construction does not appear on mature consideration to be well founded Resolved that it shall not obtain in future.
But if Congress should appear determined to forbid the withhold their approbation, I wish the Question might be postponed, for in that Case ^(entre nous)^ I would ^immediately^ press Mr Gardoqui immediately to put the Horse to Death—the Length of the Passage would account for it and further Discussions be avoided—2 yours sincerely
Dft, NNC (EJ: 7684).
1. Article 6 of the Articles of Confederation specified that no person “holding any office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any King, Prince or foreign State.”
2. On 3 Mar., on motion of Rufus King, Congress “Ordered, That the Secy. of congress inform Mr. Jay that congress have no objection against his acceptg. the Spanish Horse presented to him by his catholic Majesty.” This was followed by John B. Bayard’s motion: “Ordered., That the Secretary of Congress inform Dr. Franklin that Congress have no objection agst. his accepting the picture presented to Him by His most Chn. Majesty.” Dft in Bayard’s hand, and rough draft in King’s hand, DNA: PCC, item 36, 3: 219, 323; 30: 96.
Nothing in the public record indicates that JJ ever sent or CT ever received this letter [see , 1 and 3 Mar. 1786 (EJ: 3761), and there is no record of any congressional consideration of a resolution related to Article 6 of the Articles of Confederation. It may have been a private correspondence, or, more probably, before this letter was sent JJ received CT’s letter of 3 Mar., , 2: 124 (EJ: 1890), reporting Congress’s approval of the present. JJ acknowledged the gift in his letter to Floridablanca of 9 Mar., SpMaAHN: Estado, leg. 3884, exp. 8, doc. 31 (EJ: 12108).