The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 01
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 01
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
Mr Lee proceeds to say, "It is this sort of neglect, and studied
confusion, that has prevented Mr Adams and myself, after a tedious
examination of the papers left with Dr Franklin, from getting any
satisfaction as to the expenditures of the public money. All we can
find is, that millions have been expended, and almost every thing
remains to be paid for."
I am not surprised at any thing of this kind from Mr Lee, nor that Mr
John Adams has not joined with him in this letter, though I dare say,
that gentleman knows his duty, and has done it, as well to the public
as to me. After premising that Mr Lee had in his hands the accounts of
all the monies received and paid out on the public account, I will lay
before Congress the facts, which he had before him when he wrote this
letter, after which Congress will be able to judge whether Mr Lee had
any grounds for his representing me as a public defaulter for
millions. It is certain, that Mr Lee knew that the total amount of
monies received by the commissioners to the time of my leaving Paris,
amounted to (livres) 3,753,250
And that the balance due Mr Grand, the
27th March, was 293,738 17
-------------
And that the whole expenditures to that
day consequently was (livres) 4,046,988 17
In the next place, it will appear, that by much the greater part of
this was actually expended and paid out by and with Mr Lee's consent
and orders at the time; the whole was well known to him, as he had,
from time to time, access to Mr Grand's books, and Mr Grand delivered
him copies thereof up to the 27th of March last, by which he had
before him an account of every payment that had been made, and I sent
him in writing an explanation of every payment that had been made in
his absence, or which had not been made by his written order.
The accounts of the particular articles in detail, not being here, I
am unable to explain every charge in Mr Grand's account. It is
sufficient that Mr Grand's account shows, that the nature of nearly
the whole of the expenditures was perfectly well known to Mr Lee, when
he wrote the above account of millions expended, and represented he
knew not how to show this. I have stated Mr Grand's account in a
shorter compass than what it was before, and have brought the
different payments for particular objects made to different people
into one view, as will be seen in the annexed state or explanation of
Mr Grand's account.
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