Now I am upon this subject of commerce, I will take the liberty to acquaint you, that Portugal intends to procure the right of establishing factories in the United States, under the protection of the Oporto company, in order to secure special advantages for the sale of her wines. This plan will not be particularly mentioned, but the end will be obtained under the general right of establishing factories in America without naming the Oporto company. You may rely upon this information, and will make your advantage of it. It will occur to you, that we may demand as a compensation, the right to export not only from Portugal but from the wine Islands, that article in our vessels, paying the same duties as the native subjects, or the Oporto Company pay upon it. Without something of this sort the Portuguese factories might secure to themselves almost the exclusive supply of their wines to America. They have a factory here, under the protection of the Oporto Company. You will not take it amiss, that I suggest these subjects to your consideration. If any of them can be turned to the benefit of our country, my end in troubling you with them will be answered. I have the honor to be, &c. FRANCIS DANA. * * * * * TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. St Petersburg, February 25th, 1783. Sir, In the last letter I did myself the honor to write you, I acquainted you I should communicate my mission to the Vice Chancellor as soon as some necessary arrangements could be made. Being entirely prepared to do so, I thought it but decent to communicate my intention to the French Minister, rather in the form of consulting him upon the expediency of the measure. He at first thought it would be advisable to wait till the signing of the definitive treaty of peace, adding, that though he could not take upon himself to say, that I should not be received in the present moment, yet that it would not surprise him if my admission should be postponed to that time, intimating that the present unsettled state of affairs, (of which I have spoken in my late letters) might have some influence upon the determination of this Court in a matter of that sort. He concluded with saying, that it would not be amiss to wait till the British Minister here should have communicated in form the signature of the preliminaries of peace to this Court. I shall conform entirely to his advice; for the time is now most certainly indifferent as to our interests, which are most solidly established by the peace.