John Gilbank to the American Commissioners, 21 January 1779: résumé
John Gilbank to the American Commissioners3
ALS: American Philosophical Society
<Nantes, January 21, 1778: I am mortified to learn from Mr. Dobrée that you have refused my bill.4 Since I have received no letter from you, I can only assume that your correspondence is not adequately protected. There is one final recourse, namely, for you to endorse a bill drawn by me on the President of Congress. Certainly Congress would consider such a step within your duty. They recognize their obligations to protect their subjects, nor would they treat legitimate requests with contempt; at the very least they would politely answer every respectful letter, a practice I cannot avoid observing you have neglected.>
3. Published in Taylor, Adams Papers, VII, 367–9.
4. Peter Frederick Dobrée (XXVI, 330n), Schweighauser’s son-in-law, must have been privy to the commissioners’ letter to Schweighauser of Jan. 4.