That there is not in the demands which the underwritten makes, any point the justice of which has not been acknowledged by Congress itself, and that, by renewing so frequently his demands, he but obeys the obligations which his station imposes on him, and complies with a duty which cannot be disagreeable to Congress whilst justice is its object. DE MARBOIS. FROM JOHN JAY TO MONSIEUR DE MARBOIS. Office for Foreign Affairs, May 18, 1785. Sir, I have the honor of informing you that the business of Monsieur De Chateaufort is completed, and the papers respecting it are here with enclosed. Permit me to assure you that the other affairs which you have laid before me shall be immediately attended to. I have the honor to be, &c., JOHN JAY. FROM JOHN JAY TO MONSIEUR DE MARBOIS. Sir, Office for Foreign Affairs, May 19, 1785. I have the honor of transmitting to you, herewith enclosed, an extract from the act of Congress on the subject of that part of your letter to me of the 9th ultimo which relates to the appointment of your brother as Vice Consul. I received the two letters you did me the honor to write, and the resolutions relative to the Consul of Charleston and to the Vice Consulate that I had proposed for Philadelphia; I shall transmit the former without delay to M. De Chateaufort, as well as its provisions. With respect to the demand which I took the liberty to make for my brother, it was founded on what has been practised with regard to the Vice Cónsul who has been charged with fulfilling the functions of the Consul of Charleston in the absence of the latter; but the form prescribed by the resolution of Congress of the 14th September, 1781, is sufficient, and I shall conform to it. A vessel has lately arrived from Marseilles, and I am assured that at the time of her departure there were no accounts of the capture of any other American vessels by the Barbarians, except the one carried into Tangiers in October last. They add that the Moors desired to enter into a treaty with the United States, and that the other Powers of the Mediterranean, Africa likewise, expected overtures for treaties. I should have had the honor of communicating these particulars, of which, perhaps, you are already informed before, if I had not been on the eve of leaving town for a few days on my tour to Long Island. I am, &c., DE MARBOIS. FROM JOHN JAY TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. Sir, Office for Foreign Affairs, May 26, 1785. I have the honor to transmit to your Excellency, herewith enclosed, a note from M. De Marbois, dated the 16th inst., on several interesting subjects, to which he is very solicitous that Congress would be pleased to pay early attention. With great respect and esteem, &c., Sir, JOHN JAY. FROM MONSIEUR DE MARBOIS TO JOHN JAY. Translation. New York, June 1, 1785. I have the honor to communicate to you the copy of a letter which VOL. I-10. the King writes to the Congress of the United States. I request that you will be pleased to inform me when I can have the honor to deliver the original to his Excellency the President of Congress. I am, with respect, &c., DE MARBOIS. Translation. Very dear great Friends and Allies, It is with the greatest eagerness we inform you that the Queen, our very dear spouse, was delivered this day of a Prince, whom we have called the Duke of Normandy. We doubt not but that you will sincerely participate with us in the satisfaction which this fortunate event occasions, and that you are well convinced of the pleasure with which we shall receive the testimonies you shall give us thereof. We feel a very true one in availing ourselves of this opportunity to renew the assurances of our affection, and of our constant friendship for you. And so we pray God that he will have you, very dear great friends and allies, in his holy and worthy keeping. Written at Versailles, the 27th March, 1785. LOUIS. FROM JOHN JAY TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. Sir, Office for Foreign Affairs, June 3, 1785. M. De Marbois has received for your Excellency a letter from the King of France, announcing the birth of his son, the Duke of Normandy. He observes that Congress have not as yet been pleased to prescribe any form or ceremony or rule respecting the delivery of such letters to them from Sovereigns, as their Ministers residing here may be charged with. He wishes, therefore, to be informed whether he shall deliver the letter in question to your Excellency at your house, or in the Congress Chamber, or in a private audience? In my opinion it would be proper to make a distinction between a Chargé d'Affaires, a Minister Plenipotentiary, and an Ambassador. In the first case (which is the present) I think the Secretary for Foreign Affairs should conduct him to your Excellency's house, and that he should there deliver the letter. I have the honor to be, &c., JOHN JAY. Report of Secretary Jay, on a Letter from the King of France announcing the birth of a Prince. Office for Foreign Affairs, June 13, 1785. The Secretary of the United States for the Department of Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred a letter to Congress from his most Christian Majesty, of 27th March last, announcing the birth of a Prince, reports the following answer to that letter, viz: Great, faithful, and beloved Friend and Ally, We have received the letter which your Majesty did us the honor to write on the 27th March last. The magnanimity of your conduct towards us, in the day of our distress, will always lead us to consider every event as fortunate which adds to the domestic felicity of your family, and the general happiness of your people. We consider the birth of a Prince as conducing to both these desirable objects, and we present to your Majesty and the Queen our sincere congratulations on that joyful occasion. Permit us to assure your Majesty of our increasing gratitude and attachment, and of the sincerity with which we pray that the Almighty may always keep you and yours in His holy protection. Done at New York, day of June, 1785, by the United States in Congress assembled, your Majesty's faithful friends and allies. All which is submitted to the wisdom of Congress. JOHN JAY. FROM MONSIEUR DE MARBOIS TO JOHN JAY. Translation. New York, June 14, 1785. Sir, I have had the honor of frequently representing to Congress the disagreeable situation to which many of its creditors, subjects of his Majesty, are reduced. I have not been able to return them any satisfactory answer, and they have had too much reason to think that their interests were neglected. Many among them have taken the resolution to send over here Mr. Le Roy de Chaumont with their powers of attorney. I have the honor to address to you a memorial which he delivered to me, in which they set forth their demands, and the infinite damage which the non-payment of their debts occasions. I beg of you to submit it to the inspection of Congress, and to remind this assembly that my preceding steps have been taken by order of his Majesty, and that this is in consequence thereof. My first representations, dated in the month of November last, have been frequently repeated since. The Chevalier de la Luzerne had made similar representations before in the year 1783. Represent, I beseech you, sir, to Congress, that by taking a resolution on such important points to so many families, they will prevent the complete ruin of many among them. They will save, moreover, to many of their French creditors the expenses of a voyage which they purpose making to America, and the inconveniences of a derangement from which their affairs cannot but considerably suffer. Finally, they will avoid the painful sight of a number of French subjects soliciting, themselves, their justice, and showing to independent America her first friends ruined by refusals, in consequence of the confidence which they placed in her in the time of her greatest distress. You will be, sir, with pleasure the instrument of so just a demand, and I will never cease assuring the creditors of the United States, that they may place the fullest confidence in the justice of Congress and their respect for their engagements. I am, sir, &c., DE MARBOIS. |