The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 03
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 03
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
Mr Bingham too complains of me for refusing some of his drafts, as
very hurtful to his credit, though he owns he had no orders from
Congress to authorise those drafts. I never undertook to provide for
more than the payment of the interest bills of the first loan. The
Congress have drawn on me very considerably for other purposes, which
has sometimes greatly embarrassed me, but I have duly accepted and
found means to pay their drafts; so that their credit in Europe has
been well supported. But if every agent of Congress in different parts
of the world is permitted to run in debt, and draw upon me at pleasure
to support his credit, under the idea of its being necessary to do so
for the honor of Congress, the difficulty upon me will be too great,
and I may in fine be obliged to protest the interest bills. I
therefore beg that a stop may be put to such irregular proceedings.
Had the loans proposed to be made in Europe succeeded, these practices
might not have been so inconvenient, but the number of agents from
separate States running all over Europe, and asking to borrow money,
has given such an idea of our distress and poverty as makes every body
afraid to trust us. I am much pleased to find that Congress has at
length resolved to borrow of our own people, by making then future
bills bear interest. This interest duly paid in hard money, to such as
require hard money, will fix the value of the principal, and even make
the payment of the interest in hard money for the most part
unnecessary, provided always that the quantity of principal be not
excessive.
A great clamor has lately been made here by some merchants, who say
they have large sums in their hands of paper money in America, and
that they are ruined by some resolution of Congress, which reduces its
value to one part in forty. As I have had no letter explaining this
matter, I have only been able to say, that it is probably
misunderstood, and that I am confident the Congress have not done, nor
will do, anything unjust towards strangers, who have given us credit.
I have indeed been almost ready to complain, that I hear so little and
so seldom from Congress, or from the Committee of Correspondence, but
I know the difficulty of communication, and the frequent interruption
it meets in this time of war. I have not yet received a line this
year, and the letters written by the Confederacy, as I suppose some
must have been written by her, have not yet come to hand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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