endeavors to cover under mystery. The sum of them will serve to form a judgment of the contributions which will be required from us. With great respect, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS,

B. FRANKLIN,

THOS. JEFFERSON.

FROM WILLIAM CARMICHAEL TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Dear Sir,

Madrid, February 27, 1784.

I have delayed writing to your Excellency in expectation of having it in my power to advise you that the unfortunate Mr. Hartwell would be entirely extricated from the situation to which, however, as you will see by the enclosed papers, his imprudence exposed him. Much about the time I received your letter respecting his confinement at Logrono, one written to me from Bordeaux gave me the same information. I immediately wrote to Bilboa to obtain a circumstantial account of the abovementioned gentleman, but not receiving in course of post an answer to my letters, I made use of that of your Excellency, in an office I passed, to his Excellency the Count de Florida Blanca, reclaiming his liberty and the restitution of his property. The annexed, No. 1, is a copy of the answer thereto. Your Excellency will perceive, by its contents, that some time must elapse, owing to the forms established by the tribunal of inquisition, before the prisoner could receive any material benefit from my application, and in consequence, although I frequently pressed despatch in an affair which affected the liberty and interests of a countryman, I did not receive further advice from the Minister until the 2d of last month. No. 2 is a copy of the Count de Florida Blanca's letter, in the interval between the reception of the abovementioned letters. The enclosed, No. 3, was sent me without signature by a person at Bilboa, whom I know to be connected with Mr. Hartwell. On receiving the answer of the Court, No. 2, I wrote Mr. Hartwell to know what I could do further for his service. I have lately received a letter from him requesting me to procure him entire liberty. The Count de Florida Blanca will readily grant his request, on condition that he will leave Spain. The condition is not made by the Minister, but by the Confessor and Inquisitor

General. The altercation which the case of Mr. Hartwell has occasioned between the Count de Florida Blanca and the two latter will give a great shock to the power of the Inquisition, as I am assured that the tribunal will be restricted in future from passing sentence on any grandee of Spain, on all persons employed in the councils, in the army, navy, &c., or on any foreigner, until the process has been submitted to his Majesty, that is to his Minister.

In the month of November I received advice from Cadiz of the capture of an American vessel by a corsair of the Emperor of Morocco. I was also informed you had been applied to on the same subject. I immediately requested the Chargé d'Affaires of France, agreeably to the 8th article of our treaty, to write to the Consul of his nation to employ his good offices to procure the liberation of the vessel and crew, and endeavor to induce the Emperor to suspend further hostilities until Congress have time to take such measures as they might judge proper, to produce a good understanding between the two countries. I also prevailed on the Ambassador of Holland, the Minister of Sweden, and the Chargé d'Affaires of Denmark, to write to their respective Consuls for the same purpose. Finding, by letters I received from the seaports of this kingdom, that the merchants were under the greatest apprehensions for vessels expected from America, I took occasion to insinuate to the Count de Florida Blanca how agreeable it would be to the people of America to learn that his C. M. had interposed his interference on a subject of such importance to their commercial interests, that not being authorized, I could not officially request it, but that, animated by a sincere desire to promote good understanding between the two countries, I could not let slip the occasion of giving his Excellency an opportunity of exerting his influence with his Majesty to render a service, which could not but be productive of the happiest consequences. That Minister, with much apparent candor, assured me of his readiness to serve us on this occasion, but seemed to think it requisite that I should write to him on the subject. This I did, and No. 4 is the copy of his answer. The enclosed copies of letters which I have received from Barbary will show your Excellency the situation in which this affair remains.

I lately received letters from Robert Morris, Esq., containing a letter from the President of the Committee of the States, and copies of letters from Mr. Pollock and others at the Havana, complaining

of the cruelty and injustice of the Spanish Government. I immediately laid these complaints before the Minister, and have obtained orders to render justice to the parties aggrieved.

The Governor will be reprimanded by the King's direction. I have not yet received these assurances in writing, but have been promised an answer to my office in time for the March packet. I meant to have written more fully to your Excellency, but as the person to whose care I commit this is only waiting for my letters, I must conclude with praying you to make the proper compliments for me to Messrs. Adams and Jefferson, to the Marquis de la Fayette, and my namesake, and believe me, with much respect and affection, &c.,

WM. CARMICHAEL.

REPORT OF JOHN ADAMS TO THE OTHER MINISTERS.

Auteuil, March 20, 1785.

Gentlemen,

According to your desire, I went early this morning to Versailles, and finding the Count de Vergennes unembarrassed with company, and only attended by his private secretaries, I soon obtained the honor of a conference, in which I told him that my colleagues were very sorry that indisposition necessarily prevented their paying their respects to him in person, and obliged them to request me alone to wait on him and ask his advice upon a thorny question we had with the Barbary Powers. He asked what it was, and I put into his hand all the letters upon the subject, in French, Spanish, Italian, and English, all of which he read very attentively, and observed that it was obvious what was wanted, and what had piqued the Emperor of Morocco, viz: that Congress had not written to him, nor sent him a Consul with the customary presents, for that he was the most interested man in the world, and the most greedy of money. He asked whether we had written to Congress and obtained their instructions? I answered that we had full powers to treat with Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and the rest, but that it was Impossible for us to go there, and that we had not a power of substitution. He said then we should write to the Emperor. I asked if he would do us the favor to convey a letter for us through the French

Consul? He said he could not do this himself, because it was not in his department, but if we would make an office of it, he would communicate it to the Marshal de Castries, and return us his

answer.

I told him that, in looking over the treaties between the several Christian Powers and the Barbary States, we found that the treaty between the Crown of France and Algiers, of the 25th of April, 1684, was expired, or near expiring, and we were desirous of knowing (if the question was not indiscreet) whether it had been renewed. He smiled upon this, and said it was true their treaty was upon the point of expiring, but he could not tell me whether it were renewed, as it was not in his department, but if we should insert this inquiry in our office, he would endeavor to obtain the Marshal de Castries's

answer.

I told him, that in order to lay before Congress all the information we could, and to enable them to judge the better what other orders to give us, or what other course to take, we had obtained authentic information from Mr. Bisdom and Mr. Vander Hope concerning the presents annually given by their High Mightinesses, and that we should be very glad to know (if it was not improper) what was the annual amount of the presents made by his Majesty to each of those States, and in what articles they consisted. He said the King never sent them any naval or military stores, but he sent them glasses and other things of value; but that as it was not in his department, he could not give me particular information, but that we might put this into our office with the other things.

I asked if there was not a considerable trade and frequent intercourse between parts of this Kingdom and the coast of Barbary. He said there was from Marseilles and the other ports upon the Mediterranean, but he thought if we had presents to send, it would be more convenient to send them from Cadiz.

I then asked the favor of his advice, whether, in our letter to the Emperor of Morocco, we should leave it to his option to send a Minister to treat with us here, or to wait until we could write to Congress and to recommend to them to send a Consul. He said he would by no means advise us to invite the Emperor to send a Minister here to treat with us, because we must maintain him here and bear all the expenses of his voyages and journeys, which would be much more costly than for Congress to send a Consul.

But the Count concluded the whole conference by observing that everything relative to this business was out of his department, and that we must state to him in writing all we desired to know or to have done, and he would convey it to the Minister of Marine, and communicate to us his answer, and that we might depend upon it that whenever we thought proper to make any office to him, it should be carefully attended to.

He added very particular inquiries concerning the health of Dr. Franklin and Mr. Jefferson, which I answered to the best of my knowledge, and took my leave.

With great respect, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS.

FROM THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE COUNT DE VERGENNES.

Passy, March 28, 1786.

Sir,

We have the honor to enclose an extract of a letter from the Commissioners of the United States of America to your Excellency, dated August 28, 1778, a copy of your Excellency's answer, dated 27th September, 1778, and a copy of M. de Sartine's letter to your Excellency, of the 21st September, 1778, all relative to a proposed negotiation with the States of Barbary. Not having any particular authority or instructions from Congress at that time to treat with those States, the Commissioners desisted from any further pursuit of the negotiation until Congress should have an opportunity to deliberate and decide upon it. We are now able to inform your Excellency that we have received from the United States in Congress assembled special full powers to treat with each of the Powers of Barbary, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and the rest, and we have lately received authentic information that one of those Powers at least, the Emperor of Morocco, has commenced hostilities against the United States, by the capture of a vessel belonging to Philadelphia by one of his frigates, which has spread an alarm among the American merchants and mariners, raised the price of insurance, and made it necessary for us to do all in our power to prevent the further progress of the war, as well as to procure the liberation of our countrymen who are made prisoners. As it is impossible for us to go to Morocco, and we have no power of substitution, we can do no more than write