From Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Cooper, 4 June 1773
To Samuel Cooper
ALS: British Museum; letterbook draft: Library of Congress
London, June 4. 1773.
Dear Friend,
I can now only acknowledge the Receipt of your much esteem’d Favours of March 15 and Apr. 23. which gave me great Satisfaction. By the next Opportunity I purpose to write to you fully, and among other Things give you my Thoughts on the Warming of your Meeting-house.6
I send you a french Pamphlet containing some liberal Sentiments on Taxes, Commerce, &c. And another that contains a little System of Morals; both written by Friends of mine in Paris.7 With best Wishes for the Establishment of your Health, and with sincere Esteem, I am ever, Dear Sir, Yours most affectionately
B Franklin
Revd Dr Cooper.
6. The April letter is missing; that of March 15 BF answered below, July 7, with gloomy advice on the heating problem.
7. The pamphlet with liberal sentiments, we conjecture, was an English translation of one by du Pont de Nemours, for which Dubourg had asked in his letter above of Feb. 24, and in which the author did deal in general terms with taxes and commerce; but for other possibilities, in the writings of BF’s physiocratic friends at the time, see Henry Higgs, The Physiocrats … (London, 1897), pp. 53–8, 61–6. The system of morals was undoubtedly Dubourg’s Petit code, perhaps Polly Hewson’s translation but more likely the French edition that BF had recently had printed; see his letter to Benezet above, Feb. 10.