To George Washington from Edmund Randolph, 17 July 1795
From Edmund Randolph
Department of State July 17. 1795.
Sir
Altho’ you will have seen the commissioners of the Fœderal City, before their inclosed letter reaches Mount Vernon; I have supposed, that it will be better to transmit it to you.1
Mr Adet has sent me a decree of the national convention; by which they expressly violate our treaty of commerce with France; by declaring that hostile property may be seized on board of neutral vessels, until their enemy shall have agreed to the practice of the contrary principle—As the decree contains various matter, I shall put it this morning into the hands of the translator, and publish the translation immediately.2
I shall endeavour to complete the memorial to Mr Hammond by Monday’s mail.3 It has been understood, that you have, and have not ratified the treaty. Except to Mr Wolcott, who has asked me for the result, I have mentioned to no-body the probable upshot of the business. I beg leave to submit to you, whether Something ought not to be said upon the subject, when an inquiry is made; and what that ought to be. I have the honor to be sir with the highest respect yr mo. ob. serv.
Edm: Randolph
ALS, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters; LB, DNA: RG 59, GW’s Correspondence with His Secretaries of State; LB, DNA: RG 59, Domestic Letters.
1. Randolph may be referring to a letter dated 8 July that he received from the commissioners for the District of Columbia and which primarily focused on that board’s conflict with Thomas Johnson: “We know too well the delicate forbearance of the Executive to imagine he would in any wise interfere in the Case between Mr Johnson and the Board. we only wished to furnish him with such Documents as would justify our proceedings in his Opinion, and we are convinced that he will be persuaded no measure has been pursued by us intentionally to injure or unnecessarily irritate the feelings of any one. We have received so many insulting Letters from Mr Johnson that we were finally obliged to return one unanswered, declaring at the same time that we would refuse all further Communication with him ’till he should think it proper to make use of decent Language.” The commissioners promised to let Johnson have copies of their minutes, as GW had advised (DNA: RG 42, Records of the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, Letters Sent).
2. Randolph was referring to an extract from Article V of a decree dated 25 Brumaire (15 Nov. 1794), which reads: “The following are excepted from the prohibition in [Article IV:]
“1st. Merchandises belonging to Powers enemies of the French republic, until these Powers shall have declared free and not seizable French merchandises laden on board of neutral vessels.
“2d. Also neutral merchandises, denominated contraband or prohibited, under the name of prohibited or contraband merchandises, are included arms, ammunition, and warlike instruments of every kind, provision or merchandise, destined for an enemy’s port, actually besieged, blockaded, or invested” (, Foreign Relations, 1:643).
3. The following Monday was 20 July. Randolph was composing a memorial to British minister George Hammond about ratification of the Jay Treaty (see Randolph’s letter to GW of 12 July).