The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 2 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and PrivateJefferson, Thomas
History
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 2 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
SIR,--My last of December the 31st, acknowledged the receipt of yours of
October the 12th, as the present does those of October the 3d, 9th, and
27th, together with the resolution of Congress of October the 16th, on the
claim of Shweighauser. I will proceed in this business on the return of
Mr. Barclay, who, being fully acquainted with all the circumstances, will
be enabled to give me that information, the want of which might lead me to
do wrong on the one side or the other.
Information of the signature of the treaty with Morocco has been long on
its passage to you. I will beg leave to recur to dates, that you may see
that no part of it has been derived from me. The first notice I had of
it, was in a letter from Mr. Barclay, dated Daralbeyda, August the 11th.
I received this on the 13th of September. No secure conveyance offered
till the 26th of the same month, being thirteen days after my receipt of
it. In my letter of that date, which went by the way of London, I had the
honor to enclose you a copy of Mr. Barclay's letter. The conveyance of the
treaty itself is suffering a delay here at present, which all my anxiety
cannot prevent. Colonel Franks' baggage, which came by water from Cadiz to
Rouen, has been long and hourly expected. The moment it arrives, he will
set out to London, to have duplicates of the treaty signed by Mr. Adams,
and from thence he will proceed to New York.
The Chevalier del Pinto, who treated with us on behalf of Portugal, being
resident at London, I have presumed that causes of the delay of that
treaty had been made known to Mr. Adams, and by him communicated to you. I
will write to him by Colonel Franks, in order that you may be answered on
that subject.
The publication of the enclosed extract from my letter of May the 27th,
1786, will, I fear, have very mischievous effects. It will tend to
draw on the Count de Vergennes the formidable phalanx of the Farms; to
prevent his committing himself to me in any conversation which he does
not mean for the public papers; to inspire the same diffidence into all
other ministers, with whom I might have to transact business; to defeat
the little hope, if any hope existed, of getting rid of the Farm on the
article of tobacco; and to damp that freedom of communication which the
resolution of Congress of May the 3d, 1784, was intended to re-establish.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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