Circular to the States, 29 January 1785
Circular to the States
Office for foreign Affairs New York January 29th. 1785
Sir
I have the Honor of transmitting to your Excellency official Extracts from the Journals of Congress of the seventh day of May and of the twenty first Day of December last. The first certifies my appointment to be “Secretary to the united States of America for the Department of foreign Affairs” and the second my having accepted that Place and taken the oath of office. The latter
Event happened only two Days before the adjournment of Congress from Trenton to meet at this Place on the 11th. Instant.1
The removal of the Office from there here, and the time necessarily employed in preparing accommodations for it, and putting things in order for business, delayed its being opened before Yesterday, and will account for my not having sooner requested the Honor of your Correspondence.—
Permit me to observe Sir, that it is part of my Duty “to correspond with the Governors or Presidents of all or any of the United States, stating Complaints that may have been urged against the Government of any of the said States or the Subjects thereof by the Subjects of foreign Powers, so that Justice may be done agreeably to the Laws of such State or the charge prove to be groundless, and the Honor of the Government vindicated.”2
It will be unnecessary to remark to your Excellency the Influence of our domestic Affairs on our foreign their intimate Connection with each other and how necessary it is that they who are concerned in conducting the latter should be accurately informed of the State of the former.—
These considerations lead me to request the favor of your Excellency to afford me from time to time such Intelligence on this Head as you may deem Important and particularly that you would be so obliging as to send me a Copy of the Laws of your State now in force, and also Copies of such as may from time to time be passed. Cases may happen in which a Reference to these Laws will be indispensable, and for that and other Reasons I am anxious that the Office for foreign Affairs should have a compleat collection of them. Whatever Expence may be occasioned by it, shall be immediately paid out of the monies provided for the contingent Expences of the Office.—
Your Excellency may rely on my Punctuality in communicating to you whatever Intelligence my Department may afford that may be useful for you to know.—I have the Honor to be Your Excellency’s Most Obt. & very Hble Servt.
John Jay
LS, with enclosures, MdAnASA: Red Books, vol. 9, to the Governor of Maryland (EJ: 13259); LSs, RPB, to the Governor of Rhode Island (EJ: 5262); MWA, to the Governor of Connecticut (EJ: 2620); PHi: Gratz, to the President of Pennsylvania (EJ: 1124). Dft, addressed to the Governor of New Hampshire, and endorsed as “Circular,” NNC (EJ: 5706). LbkC, , 1: 5–7 (EJ: 1547). Enclosures: certified by CT, copies of 7 May 1784, JJ’s election, and 21 Dec. 1784, JJ’s oath of allegiance, for which see 3 652–53.
1. JJ’s election is recorded in 26: 355–56. The Journals do not record his acceptance of the position on 21 Dec. The second enclosure, rather than quoting the entire text of JJ’s oath of office ( 3: 652–53), reads as follows: “I do farther certify that the said John Jay Esquire having on the 21st Day of December 1784 taken the Oath of fidelity and Oath of Office before the Honorable Isaac Smith one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey a Certificate of the Same is lodged in the Office of the Secretary of the Congress of the United States in Congress Assembled. Chas Thomson Secy.”
2. On the resolution of 22 Feb. 1782, which JJ references here, see the editorial note “Secretary for Foreign Affairs,” above. The text of the draft reads instead: “to correspond with the Governors or Presidents of all or any of the united States, stating affording them such Information from his Department as may be useful to their States or to the United States, stating Complaints that may have been urged against any of the said States or the Subjects thereof by the Subjects of foreign powers, so that Justice may be done agreably to the Laws of such States or the charge proved to be groundless, and the Honor of the State Government vindicated.”