To John Adams from William Stephens Smith, 19 May 1787
From William Stephens Smith
Bourdeaux May 19th. 1787.
Dr. Sir—
I am under the disagreable necessity of informing you that Mr: Barclay is in Prison at this place—at the suit of Messrs: V & P. French & Nephew, Merchants established here, for the sum of 75.000t Livers—which arrises from Cash advanced & Goods shiped on his account & by his order—near 4 years past— the Gentlemen seem much attached to the Idea, that Mr. Barclay being in a public capacity—his Country will interpose, pay the debt and sett Mr. B. at liberty— I have done all in my power to convince them, of the impropriety of their expectations—for tho’ I will readily grant, that the holding of a public office, ought in every case to induce a Gentleman to be doubly cautious and guarded in his private conduct—still I think the Idea perfectly novel and rediculous—that in case a public officer should involve himself in difficulties, in consequence of his private negotiations—that his Country should be supposed bound to extricate him—1 I have visited him and find him miserably lodged & apprehensive that his difficulties will encrease—upon his situation being made public—for from what I can learn—this is not the only debt— I shall take leave of him this afternoon & pursue my duty in the morning and with affectionate regards for the Ladies & the little Gent. / I have the honor to be Dr. Sir—Your Excellency’s most Obt. / sv
W: S: Smith—
RC (Adams Papers).
1. For the debt that triggered Thomas Barclay’s arrest in Bordeaux, see his 3 April letter, and note 2, above. Louis XVI’s attorney, Pierre Jules Dudon, replied to Barclay’s petition for release, arguing that, according to the law of nations, Barclay’s status as a foreign minister prohibited incarceration. Barclay was freed on 19 May. In a 20 May letter to AA2, WSS mentioned dining with Barclay a day earlier, but WSS worried about the consequences of an American agent running afoul of the French authorities. “It has made a great talk; both his imprisonment and his release; I am apprehensive it will not end here,” WSS wrote. Eager to avoid further legal trouble, Barclay sailed secretly from Bordeaux on 1 July ( , p. 235–250; , 11:493–500, 538; , 1:152).