From John Jay to the Public, 25 April 1797
To the Public
[Philadelphia, 25 April 1797]
To the PUBLIC.
In Greenleaf’s paper printed at New-York in March last there was a publication of which the following is an extract, viz.
“It is curious to estimate the expences which the British Treaty has cost the United States. The account may be stated as follows.
| Dolls. | Ct. | |
| “1794 7th May—The United States advanced for Mr. Jay’s outfit.[”] | 18,000 | |
| “Of this Mr. Jay must have saved the whole, as his expences in going to Europe were provided for, as will be seen in the next article.[”] | ||
| “23d June—To pay Jay’s passage to Europe,[”] | 3,708 | 51 |
| “As good a passage might have been had for 30 guineas—but the Envoy must sail in state. Thus is public money trifled with.[”] | ||
| “16th Sept.—To pay incidental expences attending Jay’s mission.[”] | 10,000 | |
| “A moderate sum truly for incidental expences. How could this have been expended?[”] | ||
| “1795, 8th April—To defray sundry expences in negotiating a treaty with Great Britain[”] | 5,000 | —”1 |
This deceitful statement, besides the design of casting reproach on the administration of the late President Washington, and exciting, anew, unfounded prejudices against the British treaty, was specially calculated to impair the public confidence in Mr. Jay’s prudence or integrity, or both. In justice to that gentleman and the government, it ought to be made known, that he undertook the mission to Great Britain without any compensation for his services, and the trouble and inconvenience of a voyage across the Atlantic; and that the expences of the mission (which of course the government must have defrayed) instead of 36,708 dollars and 51 cents, as above falsely stated, were no more than 12,000 dollars and 36 cents, exclusive of the hire of the vessel which carried him to Europe. This appears by the following official certificate of the Register of the Treasury:—2
TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
Register’s Office, April 24, 1797.
I certify that it appears from the files and records of this office that the monies advanced to his excellency John Jay, esquire, on account of his mission to great Britain, in 1794, amounted to no more than 18,000 dollars, and that the said sum has been fully accounted for as follows:
| Dolls. | Cts. | |
| By expences in England, including £275 sterling paid for the salary of his secretary colonel Trumbull; the sum of £63 sterl. paid in retaining fees on behalf of American captured vessels; loss in exchange; his passage from England to New York; and his expences from thence to Philadelphia and back to New York— amounting in the whole to | 12,000 | 36 |
| By payment to John Quincy Adams, esq. minister resident at the Hague, £52 10s. sterling, for which he is accountable, being equal to | 233 | 33 |
| By payment to Thomas Pinckney, esquire, minister plenipotentiary at London, by an order in his favor on the banker’s employed by Mr. Jay, the payment of which order is acknowledged by Mr. Pinckney £1185 16s sterling. equal to | 5,270 | 22 |
| By money refunded into the treasury of the United States | 496 | 09 |
| Dollars | 18,000 |
JOSEPH NOURSE, Register
As to the expenses of Mr. Jay’s passage to England, it is well known that an embargo, by Congress, at the time existed, and therefore that the government was constrained to hire and dispatch a vessel in ballast, on that urgent and interesting occasion.
It would be equally easy to give satisfactory answers to the malignant strictures contained in the publication here referred to: but the clear detection of the deceit and falsehood of the parts already noticed, renders in unnecessary. It would, moreover, consume too much time to attend to all such unfounded and unworthy accusations against the federal government and its officers. The people have, for years past, been witnesses to the industry with which the government and the real friends of the United States have been unceasingly calumniated. An examination of the facts would (as in the present case) expose the calumnies, and prove them as groundless and infamous as their authors are wicked and detestable.
A FRIEND TO TRUTH.
PtD, Gazette of the United States (Philadelphia), 25 Apr., with the accompanying certificate by Register of the Treasury Joseph Nourse of 24 Apr. 1797; reprinted Minerva (New York), 27 Apr.; New-York Gazette, 29 Apr. 1797; E, Greenleaf’s New York Journal, 29 Apr.; Herald (New York), 29 Apr.; Porcupine’s Gazette (Philadelphia), 1 May; Albany Gazette, 5 May, 1797, and in other newspapers published outside of New York; Dft, n.d., NNC (EJ: 09222). The draft does not include the Register’s certificate. However, in his letter to TP (private), of 19 Apr. 1797, above, in which he forwarded a copy of his text, JJ suggested his defense would be strengthened by certification by the comptroller and auditor of the treasury. Several passages of JJ’s draft contain major excisions, largely illegible, and differ substantially from the final text as published. These passages are quoted in the endnotes below. Minor changes in wording, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and the like are not noted.
At least since the time of Silas Deane’s disgrace following failure to adequately support and settle his accounts in public office during the war of independence, JJ was extremely careful to document his expenses and settle his accounts promptly. Although he generally ceased to respond to political attacks on himself or his actions, JJ was prompt to dispute any charges or intimations of financial malfeasance or lack of integrity. See the editorial notes “John Jay’s Presidency of the Continental Congress,” and “Silas Deane: A Worrisome Correspondent,” , 1: 549–51; 2: 243–46.
For JJ’s explanations of his expenses while in England and the documents on the settlement of his accounts in 1795 and 1796, see JJ to ER, 5 Mar. 1795, LS, DNA: Jay Despatches, 1794–95 (EJ: 04293); JJ to Oliver Wolcott Jr., 19 Nov. 1795, Dft, NNC (EJ: 08948); JJ Account as Envoy Extraordinary to Great Britain, 26 Nov. 1795, NNC (EJ: 09227); Account of David Blaney, 7 Jan. 1796, C, NNC (EJ: 08407); JJ to TP, 25 Jan. 1796, Dft, NNC (EJ: 09487); JJ to Thomas Pinckney, 18 June 1796, Dft, NNC (EJ: 09473); Certificates of Settlement of JJ’s Account, of Richard Harrison, Auditor, 22 Oct., of John Steele, Comptroller, 25 Oct., and of Joseph Nourse, Register, 27 Oct. 1796, DS, NNC (EJ: 09839).
Accusations of misappropriation continued to dog JJ. After the Albany Register reprinted this letter on 15 Aug., JJ discussed the matter at length, noting: “Calumny my dear Sir! has been an Engine of Partys in all countries, and particularly in elective Governments. It is an Evil which, originating in the Corruptions of human nature, is without Remedy, and consequently is to be borne patiently. The Esteem of the wise and Good is valuable; and to acquire and preserve it, is all that ambition ought to aim at.—” JJ to Henry Van Schaack, 23 Sept. 1800, Dft, NNC (EJ: 09432); , 1: 415–17; , 4: 275–78. For the continued criticism against JJ, see Bird, Press and Speech Under Assault, 133.
1. Both here and in the draft JJ omits broader charges raised by “a CORRESPONDENT” in Greenleaf’s New York Journal of 15 Mar. 1797 about the total costs of JJ’s alleged failures with regard to the Jay treaty apart from the question of his personal advances and expenditures. These allegations read as follows:
20th Nov.—To obtain papers relative to British captures 16,012 83 Mr. Pickering, from whose account the preceding items are taken, estimates the costs of prosecuting the American claims in England at 250l. sterling each cause, or 50,000 dollars per annum. If these claims only continue 4 years, which is a short time, the sum will amount to 200,000 If Great Britain ever intended to make America compensation for illegal captures, why all this preliminary expence and waste of money? Could not the commissioners have determined upon their illegality as well as the Court of Appeal? No man but Jay would have consented to so stupid, so ruinous an article. The loss by French captures predicated on and sanctioned by the British treaty, amounts at least to 6,000,000 Total dolls. 6,252,721 34 This is a very moderate calculation of the expence to which this country has been put to obtain a treaty, to get rid of which the United States would now willingly pay ten times that sum. No estimate is made of the expense of the Senate and House of Representatives while employed in canvassing this vile instrument, nor of the salaries of the different commissioners nor of the war which in consequence of it we shall have on our hands with France. The country people are astonished what becomes of the public money. We have only to make a few more such treaties, and their very farms must be sold to pay the expences attending them.
2. The equivalent of this paragraph and the remainder of JJ’s draft reads as follows:
This Statement was doubtless contrived and published with Design
to create an opinion to the Prejudice of^impeachimpair the public Confidence in^ Mr. Jays Prudence or Integrity or both—In
theJusticedueto that Gentlemanmakes it proper to be^it ought to be made^ known that he undertook the mission to Great Britain without any Compensation for his services ^& Trouble^; buthis^the^ actual Expences ^attending it^ were to be ^provided for &^ paid by the public—To enable him to defray these Expences he
had^was furnished with^ Bills to the amount of 18’000 Dollars, for which he was to account.On his Return he accordingly rendered an account supported by proper vouchers, and that account has been regularly settled at the Treasury—
It appears from it that the whole of his Expenses charged to the United States, including ^Loss on Exchange and^ his passage to new yorkfrom England to New York— ^and^ his Expences from thence to Philadelphia, and back to New York, and including, also 275£ Sterling paid for ^the^ salary of his secretary Col. Trumbull,amounting totogether with the £63 Sterling paidtoin Retaining Fees on Behalf of american owners of Vessels captured—amounts to which sum being deducted from—18000 12000.36 left a Ballance remaining to the U.S. of 5999.64 For the character[?] and [
illegible]of accounting of and settling this Balance, his^This Ballance being duly accounted for and settled, Mr. Jays^ Account with the United States wasfinallyclosed—forThe before mentioned Sum of 18,000 Dollarswas^being^ the onlyTreasury[illegible] Money [illegible] ^which had been advanced to him—^As to the Remark made on the Expences of Mr Jays Passage to England—it is well known that an Embargo at that Time existed, and therefore that the Government was constrained to hire, ^& dispatch a^
an emptyVesselfor that pressing^in Ballast on that urgent & interesting^ occasion—It is
easequally easy to give satisfactory answers to the other malignant charges contained in that illiberal Publication but to pay particular attention to allthe^such^ scandalous accusationswhichagainst the fœderal Government and its officers, would consume more time than ought to be employed on such objects. especially as the People have for Years past been witnesses to the Industry with which foreign and domestic machinations have not ceased to calumniate ^our^ the Government and real Friends of the united states—