John Jay Papers
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To John Jay from Benjamin Franklin, 12 April 1781

From Benjamin Franklin

Passy April 12. 1781.

Dear Sir,

I have before me the several Letters you have honour’d me with dated Feb. 27. March 11. and April 1.1

I was much pleased to learn that you have obtained a Promise for 150,000 Dollars; your Reflection on the Consequence is just.2 As this Sum must be used in Payment of the Bills drawn upon you, and probably no Part of it can be applied to your Subsistance, I desire that you would draw upon me for half a Year of your Salaries immediately, at 30 days sight; and for the future, while I stay here, draw quarterly, until you receive Remittances or can obtain a disponible3 Grant or Loan. I mention this the first thing in my Letter, to make you as soon as possible easy on that Head.

I thank you for the sending me the Copy of the Resolution relating to the Empress of Russia, tho’ I had before recd. it and it was already communicated to her imperial Majesty, who I am informed is much pleased with it. Mr Dana, lately Secretary to Mr Adams, has recd a Commission appointing him Minister to that Court. He is on his Way thither incog, and proposes to appear in that Country merely as a Traveller, ’till a proper time may arrive for avowing his Character. So you will please not to mention it. Mr Adams has I believe, received a Commission lately to supply the Place of Mr Lawrens in Holland. I know not whether he has yet declard it. He has some time since opened a Loan there, at the House of Neufville, for two Millions of Florins, about 4 Millions of Livres: I have not yet heard with what Success, but hope it will fill.

I have always found Mr Grand here, an able and hearty Friend to our Affairs. I am therefore glad that you are becoming better acquainted with his Friend at Madrid,4 as together they may on many occasions be more serviceable to us.

I thank you for communicating to me the Letter of the Secretary of Congress on our Finances. It gives Light which I had not before, & may be useful here.5

Negotiations for Peace are talked of. You will see all I know of them, in a Letter of mine to Congress, which I leave open for your Perusal, and desire you to forward with your next Dispatches. I give you the Opportunity of perusing that Letter for another Reason: I have in it desired a dismission from the Service, in consideration of my Age, &ca. and I wish you to succeed me here.6 No Copy of the Letter is yet gone from France, & possibly this which I send you may arrive first; nor have I mention’d my Intentions to any one here: if therefore the Change would be agreable to you, you may write to your Friends accordingly. This Thought occurr’d to me, on hearing from the Princess Masserano, that you and Mrs. Jay did not pass your time agreably there, and I think you would find this People of a more sociable Turn, besides that I could put you immediately into the Society I enjoy here of a Set of very amiable Friends. In this Case, Mr. Carmichael might succeed you in Spain.7 I propose recommending these Changes myself in another Letter.

Your Express arrived here on Sunday last, at 3 a Clock. I communicated your Letter that Evening to Mr Lawrens.8 We agreed in the Necessity of supporting the Credit of Congress by paying the Bills, tho’ his Zeal for supplying the Army made him feel a Reluctance in diminishing the 6 Million of Livres, I had lately obtain’d for that purpose, and which was either to be laid out in Cloathing &ca here, or drawn for by General Washington, as you will see by my Letter to Congress.9 I have my self experienc’d too much of the same distress’d Situation you are in, not to pity you most sincerely. I have therefore this Day authorised Mr Grand in Writing to pay the Bills of the Marquis d’Yranda that may be drawn to furnish you with the Sum of 142,220 Dollars.10 I confide that these Drafts will not come but by Degrees as the Occasion calls, from your Acceptances between May and September, my Receipts of Money being gradual, & it may be depended on that the Bills will be duly honour’d.— Mr Lawrens is worrying the Ministers for more Money, & we shall I believe, obtain a farther Sum.11 But the necessary Supplies of Military Stores will demand all & more than we shall get; I hope therefore that you will not Relax in your Applications for Aids from Spain, on Acct of the Sums to be furnish’d you by me, since it will be hardly possible for me to assist you farther.—12 My Grandson will execute with Pleasure your Commissions.13 Present my Respectful Compliments to Mrs Jay, and believe me ever, with sincere Esteem & Attachment, Dear Sir, Your most obedient and most humble Servant

B Franklin

P.S. I inclose you Copies of a Number of Letters lately taken & brought in here. I wish you could send Copies of them by different Conveyances, as the Contents of some are important.14

His Exy J. Jay Esqr.

LS, in the hand of William Temple Franklin, PPAmP: Feinstone (EJ: 90007). Endorsed: “Doctr. Franklin 12 Ap. 1781. / authorizing me to draw for half / a Year Salary immediately—& / quarterly in future—”. Dft and two LbkCs, DLC: Franklin (EJ: 10308, 10318).

1See JJ’s letters of 21 Feb. and 1 Apr., above, and 11 Mar., Dft, NNC (EJ: 7801); PBF description begins William B. Willcox et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (39 vols. to date; New Haven, Conn., 1959–) description ends , 34: 441–42.

2See “Spain’s Finances and the Bills Drawn on John Jay” (editorial note) on pp. 366–68.

3Here BF appears to have used the French word disponible in place of the English word disposable, meaning “available for spending.”

4The marquis d’Yranda; see JJ to BF, 21 Feb. 1781, above.

5The Secretary of Congress (Charles Thomson) to JJ, 12 Oct. 1780, above, which JJ sent under cover of his letter to BF of 11 Mar. (cited in note 1, above).

6BF to the President of Congress, 12 Mar., PBF description begins William B. Willcox et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (39 vols. to date; New Haven, Conn., 1959–) description ends , 34: 443–48. Upon perusing it, JJ wrote to Samuel Huntington on 21 Apr., below, recommending that BF’s request to resign be denied. At the time, BF was being attacked in Congress by Arthur Lee and Ralph Izard. Vergennes praised BF’s patriotism and wisdom. Although he admitted that BF’s ability to perform all the functions connected with his appointment was diminished by his age and his love of tranquillity, Vergennes hoped that he would not be replaced, especially by John Adams. He suggested that Congress might instead appoint a wise, experienced, and capable secretary, perhaps John Laurens, to assist BF. Vergennes to La Luzerne, 19 Feb. 1781, FrPMAE: CP-EU, 15: 256v–258v.

7This passage, beginning with “This thought occurr’d to me,” was struck through in the ALS, apparently after JJ received it. It remains as written in the Dft and LbkCs.

8For the correspondence carried by the express, see JJ to BF, 28 Mar., above.

10See BF to Grand, 11 Apr., PBF description begins William B. Willcox et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (39 vols. to date; New Haven, Conn., 1959–) description ends , 34: 528–29.

11Laurens requested additional funds on 18 Apr. RDC description begins Francis Wharton, ed., The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States (6 vols.; Washington, D.C., 1889) description ends , 4: 364–66.

12On 12 Apr., Vergennes replied to Montmorin’s dispatch of 1 Apr., discussed in the notes to JJ to BF, 28 Mar. 1781, above. Vergennes remarked that he had long been convinced that Floridablanca had “erroneous principles” with regard to America, that Floridablanca was secretly opposed to the United States’ independence, and that he would cause France as much embarrassment as was in his power when it was time to make peace with Great Britain. Vergennes expressed his approval of Montmorin’s efforts to assist JJ, and advised him that it would not be possible for BF to do anything further to relieve him. See FrPMAE: CP-E, 604: 57r–58v.

13See PBF description begins William B. Willcox et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (39 vols. to date; New Haven, Conn., 1959–) description ends , 34: 511n.

14Here in the Dft, BF excised “You will see in them the Sum for which Arnold sold himself.” BF evidently sent JJ copies of the same letters he sent to JA, enclosed in BF to JA, 7 and 29 Apr. 1781. The letters were captured aboard a New York-bound British packet brought into a French port. BF also gave copies of the letters to Henry Laurens. In the first letter to JA, BF enclosed a letter of 30 Jan 1781 from James Meyrick, a British army agent, to Benedict Arnold that disclosed that the bribe to Arnold was £5,000 sterling paid in bills drawn on Harley & Drummond, contractors for furnishing the British army with money. In the second letter to JA, BF sent copies of George Germain’s letter to the Commissionners for Restoring Peace, 7 Mar. 1781, telling them not to promise too much regarding future constitutions and suggesting that the Quebec Constitution was the proper one for colonies, and a letter from William Knox to James Simpson of the same date. See PBF description begins William B. Willcox et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (39 vols. to date; New Haven, Conn., 1959–) description ends , 34: 516–17, 580.

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