From John Jay to the President of Congress (Thomas Mifflin), 25 July 1784
To the President of Congress (Thomas Mifflin)
New York 25 July 1784
Sir.
Having waited until the Settlemt. of the public accounts was compleated,1 I left Paris the 16 May last, and on the 1 June embarked with my Family at Dover on board the Ship Edward Capt. Coupar, in which we arrived here Yesterday.2 Mr. Barclay has transmitted, or will soon transmit, to Mr Morris, a State of the above mentioned accounts;3 and as it will thence appear that some of the Bills drawn upon me, have been twice paid, it becomes necessary for me to inform your Excellency of the particular and cautious manner in which that Business was transacted on my Part. Soon after the arrival of the first Bills I directed Mr Carmichael to prepare and keep a Book, with the Pages divided into a number of Columns, and to enter therein the Dates, numbers & other descriptive particulars of every Bill that might be presented to me for acceptance, and to which on Examination he should find no objection— I made it an invariable Rule to send every Bill to him to be examined and entered previous to accepting it; and from that Time to the Day I left Spain I never accepted a single Bill until after it had been inspected and sent to me by him to be accepted. further, to avoid mistakes & Frauds, I also made it a constant Rule that every Bill presented for payment, should undergo a second Examination by Mr. Carmichael that if he found it right, he should sign his name on it, and that the Bankers should not pay any Bill unless so signed— The Bills twice paid, or rather the different numbers of the same set, stand entered in different Places in the Book abovementioned; and I can only regret that the Entries of the numbers first presented & accepted, were not observed by him, either at the Time when the subsequent ones were offered afterwards offered for acceptance, or at the Time when they were afterwards brought for payment.
It gives me Pleasure to inform your Excellency that the british and american Ratifications of the Treaty of Peace were exchanged a few Days before I left Paris— The Day of my Departure I recd. under Cover from Mr. Franklin, a Copy of the british Ratifications, which I have the Honor to transmit herewith enclosed.4 with great Respect & Esteem I have the Honor to be Your Excellencys most obt. & hble Servt
John Jay
P.S. I shall send with this Letter to you the post office, several others, which were committed to my Care for your Excellency.
His Excellency T. Mifflin Esqr. President of Congress
ALS, DNA: PCC, item 89, 2: 494–95 (EJ: 11921). Endorsed. C, NNC (EJ: 7677). LbkCs, DNA: PCC, item 110, 3: 12–15, with enclosure (EJ: 4250); NNC: JJ Lbk. 2.
1. See “Settling the Spanish Accounts” (editorial note) on pp. 550–54; and John Jay’s Notes Concerning William Carmichael [27 Mar.–19 Apr. 1784].
2. Newspaper notices recorded the arrival of the Edward, Captain Henry Coupar, carrying Jay and his family, Philip Van Brugh Livingston, the son of Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Henry White Jr., the son of Henry White and Eve Van Cortlandt White, and several other gentlemen. See, for example, Independent Journal, 28 and 31 July; Connecticut Journal, 28 July; New Jersey Gazette, 2 Aug.; Pennsylvania Packet, 3 Aug. 1784.
3. For copies of the Spanish accounts, see D, DNA: RG 39, Records of the Bureau of Accounts (Treasury), Foreign Ledgers, Public Agents in Europe, 1: 132, 181, 188, 189, 192–97 (EJ: 11828).
4. Exchanged at Paris on 12 May 1784, the U.S. ratification had been on 14 Jan., Great Britain’s on 9 Apr. See the President of Congress to JJ, 14 Jan. 1784, and notes, above.