To Benjamin Franklin from Henry Grand, 25 December 1778
From Henry Grand
ALS: American Philosophical Society
Paris, Decber the 25th. 1778.
Sir
Herewith I take the liberty to inclose the Acts I was mentioning yesterday morning. After inquiry I found they had been truely made before two Notaries Publick, the one Mr. Lambot & the other Dupré;1 & by giving more authenticity to these Acts in putting your Name & Seal to them, you will greatly oblige those they concern.2
With Regard to the loan office Bills, it will be necessary for us to have a Copy of the Documents that are to serve you, in order to agree of an arrangement to simplify the examining of those Bills, the trouble of which we should like to take upon us, therefore if you think proper I shall go to draw one out Myself at the Time you’ll please to appoint.3
We shall likewise crave the favour to be informed of those Bills that will have been presented by different hands, than ours, & that you will have accepted, as it is necessary we should have advice of them.
I am with due Respect Sir Your most obt. & most humble Servt.
Hy. Grand
Notation: H. Grand. Paris 25. Xbre. 1778.
1. Dupré and Lambot are listed as notaires at the Chatelet in the Almanach royal for 1778, pp. 360, 361.
2. BF and WTF had notarized six documents on Dec. 12 (Library of Congress: John Holker Papers) and would notarize another half dozen on Dec. 31 (Library of Congress; copies of three of them are at Yale University Library). All the documents are powers of attorney given by various members of the Meulan family; Meulan fils was receveur des finances in Paris. The papers were to be dispatched to the French consul in Boston, Jean Holker, to assist him in supervising the dealings in America of the Bordeaux firm of Reculès de Basmarein & Raimbaux, for whom see, in particular, XXVI, 472–4.
3. Ferdinand Grand accepted a number of loan office certificates from BF in December and January: Taylor, Adams Papers, VII, 210–13.