In a conference had with Mons. Gerard, in the month of January last, at Versailles, he observed that the thirteenth article[15] in the treaty proposed by Congress, which exempted the molasses purchased by the inhabitants of the United States in any of the islands belonging to, and subject to, his Most Christian Majesty, from any duties whatever, was an unequal article, as he termed it, that without some concession of equal importance on the part of the United States, it could not be agreed to, as it would carry the appearance of inequality, and as if Congress were taking the advantage and dictating the terms in their own favor, that therefore it was expected, either wholly to omit the article, or place an equivalent over against it on our part. On my return to Paris, I laid M. Gerard's proposals before my colleagues, who agreed generally to the justice and propriety of them, but we found it difficult to place any article or articles over against that of molasses, which would be of equal consequence, and in which the States of America were at the same time equally interested. After long consideration had on the subject, Dr Franklin proposed the article nearly as it now stands; Mr Lee objected to it, as being too extensive, and more than equivalent for that of molasses only; to which I answered, that though the concession might appear great, it was in reality nothing more than giving up what we never could make use of but to our own prejudice, for nothing was more evident than the bad policy of laying duties on our own exports; that molasses, though apparently but an article of small value, was the basis on which a very great part of the American commerce rested; that the manufacture of it into rum, was every year increasing, especially in the middle and southern states, where it had been more lately introduced.