Had I Been Sooner Acquainted With Mr Forest’s1 departure I Would Have Given You More Particular Accounts of the later part of our Session—But Have only the time to inclose the Speeches that Were Made By the Heads of the Several Corps—Not that Such Etiquette Speeches are Any Way interesting on the other Side of the Atlantic, But Because You Will in the Same Book find that of the Archbishop’s de Toulouse, Wherein He Gives the King’s Answer to the Several demands of the Bureau—You Will see that if the Madness and Corruption of the Late Administration Have Laid us Under a Necessity to Aknowledge that, after all other Means Would Be Exhausted, taxes Must Be Employed to fill up the Vacancy, We Have gained Not a Little By the Convocation of the Assembly—A More Equal Repartition of prior taxes, including the Clergy Who Hitherto Had Escaped them, and the powerfull ones Among the Noblesse who Were not Very Exact—provincial Assemblies on an Elective Principle—which By the Bye are Big with Happy, Very Happy Consequences, that Will Come to Light as We go on—Œconomies to the Amount of forty Millions at Least—the destruction of interior Custom Houses—a Modification of the Gabelle—2 an Annual publication of the Account of the Finances—the printing of all pensions, Gifts, ca.—More proper Arrangement Within Departmen[t]s—and a More General instruction, Habit of thinking of Public Affairs, ca are the Good effects of this Assembly Which although it Was ^not^ National Since we were Not Representatives, Behaved With Great propriety and patriotism.

The last day of our Session I Had the Happiness to Carry two Motions in My Bureau Which Were, I May almost Say, Unanimously Agreed—the one in favour of the protestant Citizens of France—the other for an Examination of the Laws, particularly the Criminal ones—3 inclosed is the Resolve of ^framed By^ the Bureau Which Count d’artois our president presented to the king and was Graciously Received—I was the More pleased with it as Some Step of the kind ^with Respect to the protestants^ that Had Been tried in the parliament of paris Had Not the proper Succes—So far are We from Religious freedom, that Even in asking for tolerance, We Must Measure our Expressions—I was Most liberally Supported By A learned and virtuous prelate, the Bishop of Langre,4 Who Spoke admirably on the Religious Motion I Had introduced—you will see that the Bureau Clogged it with many Compliments to the Roman Creed to Appease the priests and devotees.

I Cannot Express [to] You, My dear Sir, What My feelings Have Been When Ever the Unpaid interest of the American debt Has Been Spoken of in the Examination of the Accounts—May the Convention Be the Happy Epocha of fœderal, Energic, patriotic Measures! May the friends of America Rejoice! May Her Enemies Be Humbled, and Her Censors Be Silenced at the News of Her Noble Exertions in Continuance of those principles Which Have placed Her So High in the Annals of History and Among the Nations of the Earth!

The ArchBishop of toulouse is the Ablest and one of the Most Honest Men that Could Be put at the Head of Administration. He Will Be the prime influence in Every thing, and We May depend upon Him as a Man Equally Enlightened and liberal

M. de Calonne’s letter5 will be immediately Construed into an arrêt du Consül—so that every thing will Be set to Rights long Before this Reaches you

I Beg You Will present mine and Mde de Lafayette’s Respectfull Compliments to mrs jay—Remember me to Gen Knox, Col Hamilton, Col Wadsworth, ^the chancellor^ mr Madisson, doctor Cochran ^the governor^—in a word to all friends, and to your and mrs jay’s family—6 I Beg You Will Send the inclosed printed Speeches, and Copied Resolve of Bureau to mr Otho7 who must be very desirous of Getting them Most Respectfully and Affectionately Yours

I do not think mr Thon8 Has Been as Yet able to procure those Speeches as the first Exemplaries were sent to the Notables.