pleased to notify this honor to me, require my sincere thanks. I beg you to accept them, and to be assured of the perfect esteem with which I have the honor to be, sir, &c.,

TH: JEFFERSON.

FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON TO JOHN JAY.

Paris, May 15, 1785.

may

Sir,

As it frequently happens that we cannot meet with passengers going hence to the packet to whom we may commit our letters, and it be often necessary to write to you on subjects improper for the inspection of this Government, to which the letters by post are subject, I have made out a cypher, which I now enclose, and deliver to young Mr. Adams, who will have the honor of delivering you this.

The plate and impression have been made under my own eye, with circumstances of such caution as may give you the most perfect confidence it it.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

TH: JEFFERSON.

Sir,

FROM JOHN JAY TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Office for Foreign Affairs, June 15, 1785.

I have had the honor of receiving the joint letters from Mr. Adams, Doctor Franklin, and yourself, with their several enclosures December, 1784, and 9th February, 18th March, and 13th

of

April, 1785.

At present I am not charged with communicating to you any instructions of Congress on the subjects of them, though it is possible they may give occasion to some.

I have now the honor of transmitting to you, herewith enclosed, a letter from Congress to his most Christian Majesty; and for your satisfaction I also enclose a copy of it. Permit me to hint that, as the United States have a Minister Plenipotentiary residing at the Court of Versailles, it is natural for them to expect one from thence.

I have directed a packet of the latest newspapers to be prepared

and sent with this, from which you will be enabled to acquire a knowledge of the most material public occurrences in detail.

Our commercial people grow uneasy and dissatisfied with restrictions on our foreign trade, and particularly with the British dominions. This uneasiness promotes the system of perfecting our Union and strengthening the Federal Government. There is reason to hope that the Legislatures, in the ensuing winter sessions, will direct much of their attention to these important objects.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

JOHN JAY.

FROM JOHN JAY TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Sir,

Office for Foreign Affairs, July 13, 1785.

Since mine to you of the 15th June last, which mentioned to you the receipt of such of your letters as had then come to hand, I have not been favored with any from you. Those letters were immediately laid before Congress, and are still under their consideration. Whether any, and what further resolutions or instructions will result from their deliberation, is as yet uncertain; and, therefore, lest their sentiments and mine should clash, I forbear saying any thing officially on the subject for the present.

The convention respecting Consuls, or rather a copy of it sent by Doctor Franklin, has also been received and laid before Congress; they have taken it into consideration, but have as yet come to no resolutions.

We have intelligence (which though not entirely authentic is believed by many) that the British are enticing our people to settle lands within our lines under their Government and protection, by gratuitous supplies of provisions, implements of husbandry, &c. The truth of this report will soon be ascertained. I wish it may prove groundless. If true, the evacuation of the frontier posts is not to be expected, and another war is to be looked and prepared for.

We suppose, but have not heard, that Mr. Adams is in London. We are anxious to receive letters from him, and to learn with certainty the intentions of that Court with respect to those posts, and other interesting subjects.

M. Gardoqui has at length arrived. He is charged with the affairs of Spain with Plenipotentiary powers.

Congress appointed Governor Livingston to succeed Mr. Adams at the Hague; but he declining it they have since elected Governor Rutledge, whose answer cannot be expected for some time yet.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

JOHN JAY.

FROM JOHN JAY TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Dear Sir,

Office for Foreign Affairs, August 13, 1785.

Since the date of my last to you, which was the 13th ultimo, I have been honored with your joint letter of the 11th May, and with two others from you of the same date.

As yet Congress have not communicated to me any resolutions on the subjects of the several letters from their Ministers which have been received and laid before them; and the convention respecting consular powers is still under their consideration.

The Board of Commissioners for the Treasury is now complete, Congress having been pleased to appoint Mr. Arthur Lee to be one

of them.

The answer of Governor Rutledge, who has been elected for the Hague, has not yet come to hand.

A requisition on the States for supplies is preparing, and it is thought will pass in the course of the next month. . If punctually complied with it will greatly reëstablish our credit with those who entertain doubts respecting it.

Our harvest is good, and though the productions of the country are plenty, yet they bear a high cash price; so that the complaint of the want of money in the country is less well founded than a complaint of distrust and want of credit between man and man would be; for the apprehension of paper money alarms those who have any thing to lend, while they who have debts to pay are zealous advocates of the measure. Until that matter is decided there will be little

credit, and I sometimes think the less the better.

The letters I have received from Mr. Adams were written immediately after his presentation, and contain nothing of business, so that our suspense on certain interesting points still continues.

I herewith enclose, by order of Congress, some papers on the subject of our trade with the French, which it may be useful for you to know the contents of; and also some late newspapers, which, though not very interesting, may not be altogether useless.

JOHN JAY.

Sir,

FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON TO JOHN JAY.

Paris, June 17, 1785.

I had the honor of addressing you on the 11th of last month by young Mr. Adams, who sailed in the packet of that month. That of the present is likely to be retarded to the first of July, if not longer.

On the 14th of May, I communicated to the Count de Vergennes my appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary to this Court, and on the 17th delivered my letter of credence to the King at a private audience, and went through the other ceremonies usual on such

occasions.

We have reason to expect that Europe will enjoy peace another year. The negotiations between the Emperor and United Netherlands have been spun out to an unexpected length, but there seems little doubt but that they will end in peace.

Whether the exchange projected between the Emperor and Elector of Bavaria, or the pretensions of the former, in his line of demarcation with the Ottoman Porte, will produce war, is yet uncertain. If either of them does, this country will probably take part in it to prevent a dangerous accession of power to the house of Austria. The zeal with which they have appeared to negotiate a peace between Holland and the Empire, seems to prove that they do not apprehend being engaged in war against the Empire or any other Power, because, if they had such an apprehension, they would not wish to deprive themselves of the assistance of the Dutch; and their opinion on this subject is better evidence than the details we get from the newspapers, and must weigh against the affected delays of the Porte, as to the line of demarcation, the change in their Ministry, their preparations for war, and other symptoms of like aspect.

This question is not altogether uninteresting to us. Should this country be involved in a continental war, while differences are existing between us and Great Britain, the latter might carry less moderation into the negotiations for settling them.

I send you herewith the gazettes of Leyden and that of France for the last two months. The latter, because it is the best in this country; the former, as being the best in Europe. The Courier de l'Europe you will get genuine from London; as reprinted here it is of less worth.

Should your knowledge of the newspapers of this country lead you to wish for any other, I shall take the greatest pleasure in adding to the regular transmissions of the two others which I shall make you in future.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

TH: JEFFERSON.

FROM JOHN JAY TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

New York, September 14, 1785.

Dear Sir,

Your joint letters of the 11th November and December, 1784, were received by Congress. I have had the honor of receiving other joint ones of 9th February, 13th April, 11th May, and 18th June last; and also three from you, viz: two of the 11th May, and one of the 17th June last.

By the last packet, I had the pleasure of writing two letters to you of the 13th August, 1785, which I hope have come safe to your hands.

As yet I have heard nothing of or from Captain Lamb, who was the bearer of several important papers relative to our affairs with the Barbary States.

Your correspondence with Mr. Adams, doubtless, furnishes you with ample information relative to the objects of his legation. His letters to me were dated at a time when he had not yet entered on business. His reception is satisfactory, and I wish the result of his negotiations may be equally so. In my opinion we have little to expect from the liberal policy of that Court. If we obtain justice from them, my expectations will be fulfilled; but even of that I am not without my doubts.

I wish it was in my power to enter minutely into the subjects of your letters, but it is not. They still remain, with my reports on some of them, under the consideration of Congress; so that at present I am not enabled to convey to you their sentiments respecting those

matters.