RC (DLC); endorsed. FC (Dumas Letter Books, Rijksarchief, The Hague; photostats in DLC). Enclosure: Dupl. of two postscripts to Dumas’ dispatch No. 49 to John Jay (of 21 Oct. 1788), dated 30 Oct. and 11 Dec. 1788, the first copy of which had been sent by way of Amsterdam through N. & J. van Staphorst, as follows: (1) Postscript of 30 Oct., stating that he had been warned of the danger of having his papers searched and had replied that such a violence against the law of nations in the residence of a foreign power concerned the United States and not himself; that he had personally nothing to fear because he had never carried on an illegal correspondence; that he felt it necessary to report this to Jay and Congress because the expedient proposed in his dispatch No. 49 of a mission to Brussels could be better judged; and that a diplomatic friend to whom he had spoken about the proposal thought that such a mission, for a time at least, would be “très sage.” (2) Postscript of 11 Dec. 1788, stating that nothing extraordinary had as yet transpired concerning him, save the ordinary troubles visited on him through his family upon whom are heaped malignant insinuations, &c.; that criminal prosecutions, proscriptions, &c., continue here and there; that he had already assured Jay he had had no correspondence or connection with any individual of the former system, within or without the country; that he was enclosing the original of the letter written him the past summer, with the name of the writer and the place erased; that he is assured he would be well received at Brussels if he had a letter of credence either from Jay or from Mr. Jefferson; that, while it was understood the Austrian Netherlands could not negotiate for the other states of the emperor, he could begin negotiations with that government, Mr. Jefferson could be authorized to treat with the minister of the emperor at Paris at the same time, and both treaties could be concluded together, as was often done; that he is enclosing Suppléments of the Gazette de Leide which will show that he continues to seize every possible opportunity to enhance the credit and dignity of the United States in this country, where it is “souvent attaqué par certains nouvellistes”; that Luzac has already in hand “6 autres Lettres de ma part, qui paroitront successivement, en attendant que je puisse lui en fournir d’autres”; and that [in postscript:] the emperor has concluded an armistice with the Turks (FC in Dumas Letter Books, Rijksarchief, The Hague; photostats in DLC; these letters and enclosures are listed in Dipl. Corr., 1783–89 description begins [William A. Weaver, ed.] The Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States of America, from the Signing of the Definitive Treaty of Peace …to the Adoption of the Constitution, Washington, 1837, 3 vols. description ends , III, 628, as being among Dumas’ dispatches between 20 Aug. 1788 and 1 Jan. 1789 that are missing).

Although the enclosed Suppléments from the Gazette de Leide are missing, along with the recipients’ copies of Dumas’ dispatches to Jay, there can be no doubt that Dumas’ contributions were those appearing in the issues for 28 Nov. and 2 Dec. 1788. In the former, the editor explained that the paper had been silent on American affairs for some time owing to lack of direct communication and a disinclination to trust the London papers; and that an American merchant, “instruit de l’état de sa Patrie, dont il est récemment revenu,” had addressed to the editor a series of letters on American affairs, of which the first appeared in that issue, as follows: “Un Citoyen de l’Amérique-Unie, qui depuis peu a quitté sa Patrie, n’a pu voir, Monsieur, sans la plus grande surprise, les idées aussi absurdes que mal-fondées, que plusieurs Papiers publics de l’Europe répandent au sujet de la situation des affaires dans les Etats-Unis, surtout les notions imparfaites, qu’ils communiquent, concernant l’accession de quelques Etats, qui ont adopté le nouveau Gouvernement Fédératif, comme si ces Etats, en particulier la Virginie, le Membre le plus important de l’Union, n’auroient consenti à cette Forme qu’ uniquement à condition, qu’il y seroit fait certaines altérations et changemens, ayant que le nouveau Système d’union pût sortir son effet. II est d’autant moins pardonnable, qu’on ait pu adopter une assertion aussi fausse, que le Projet de la nouvelle Constitution a été publié en Europe, où il est dit expressément, ‘que la Ratification devoit s’en étendre à toutes et chaque partie du Plan.’ Au cas donc que quelque Etat eût accroché son acceptation à une Condition quelconque, quelque legère qu’elle fût, le Voeu de tel Etat, qui auroit ainsi limité son Consentement, auroit été compté au nombre des Suffrages négatifs et non parmi ceux qui auroient consenti. Pour en donner une idée plus claire et mettre cet objet hors de toute contestation, le plus court est d’ajouter ici la Ratification du plus puissant des Etats, de celui qu’on dit avoir insisté sur le plus grand nombre d’altérations dans la nouvelle Forme. Voici une Copie exacte de cet Acte important et décisif.’ Acte de Ratification, donné par la Convention de Virginie‥‥ Dans une Lettre suivante je vous feral sentir, combien peu cette Ratification rend le Consentement de la Virginie à la nouvelle Forme simplement conditionnel. Je vous parlerai en même tems du prétendu refus dé la Caroline-Septentrionale. En attendant je puis vous annoncer (j’en ai la Résolution entre les mains, et je vous l’enverrai par occasion prochaine) que les Etats-Unis, assemblés en Congrès, ont arrêté le 13. Septembre, ‘que le premier Mercredi du mois de Janvier prochain seroit le jour pour nommer les Electeurs dans les Etats respectifs; que ces Electeurs s’assembleront le premier Mercredi du mois de Février suivant dans leurs Etats respectifs, afin de donner leurs Voix pour l’élection d’un Président du futur Congrès; et qu’enfin cette Assemblée s’ouvrira, le premier Mercredi au mois de Mars, sous la nouvelle Constitution, dans le lieu actuel de sa Résidence, c’est à dire à New York.’ J’ai l’honneur d’être &c.”

The second letter from the “Négociant Américain” continued the discussion of the ratification of the Constitution and argued that proposed amendments were only simple expressions of opinion: “Elles sollicitent ces changemens de la même manière, que les Citoyens Britanniques s’addressent à leurs Parlemens, pour en obtenir les Loix”; nevertheless, as these concerned the nature of a free government, one of the first duties of the new Congress would be to take the proposals into consideration. The conduct of Rhode Island formed the subject of a third letter, which appeared in the Supplément for 12. Dec. 1788. The fourth, in that for 19 Dec. 1788, argued that the movement for statehood for Kentucky would serve to strengthen the increasing bonds of union of the states. In the fifth, and last, which appeared in the Supplément for 30 Dec. 1788, Dumas analyzed the strength of the opposition to the Constitution in the various conventions.

The accelerating pace of events in Europe, and the growing certainty that the revolution in government in America had been as successful as it was peaceful, evidently caused Luzac to dispense with Dumas’ remaining letters, for no dispatch of any sort on American affairs appeared in his journal until mid-April of 1789.

On verso of Dumas’ letter, in TJ’s hand, are two columns of figures, as follows:

1	1
2	3
3	5
4	7
5	9
6	11

A plausible conjecture is that TJ was giving little Mary Jefferson a lesson in numbers: she was ill at this time (TJ to Mrs. Eppes, 15 Dec. 1788).