papers themselves. Our letters may appear the leaner, but what fat they have is their own. I wrote to you the 17th October, and the 16th of March, and have sent duplicates, some of which I hope got to hand. You mention receiving one of September 30th, and one of December 30th, but not that of October the 17th. The cypher you have communicated, either from some defect in your explanation or in my comprehension, is not yet of use to me, for I cannot understand by it the little specimen you have wrote in it. If you have that of M. Dumas, which I left with Mr. Morris, we may correspond by it, when a few sentences only are required to be writ in cypher; but it is too tedious for a whole letter. I send herewith copies of the instruments annulling, the 11th and 12th articles of the treaty. The treaty printed here by the court omitted them, and numbered the subsequent articles accordingly. I write fully to the president. The frequent hindrances the committee of correspondence meet with in writing as a committee, which appears from the excuses in your particular letters, and the many parts of my letters that have long been unanswered, incline me to think that your foreign correspondence would be best managed by one secretary, who could write when he had an opportunity, without waiting for the concurrence or opinions of his brethren, who cannot always be conveniently got together. My chief letters will therefore, for the future, be addressed to the pre sident, till further orders.... letters." I send you enclosed some more of . . .. He continues passionately to desire peace with America; but wishes we could be separated from France. With great esteem, &c. B. FRANKLIN. r These letters do not appear. TRANSLATION. Instrument annulling the 11th and 12th articles of the treaty of commerce with France. THE general congress of the United States of North America, having represented to the king, that the execution of the 11th article of the treaty of amity and commerce, signed the 6th of February last, might be productive of inconveniences, and having therefore desired the suppression of this article, consenting in return, that the 12th article shall be considered likewise of no effect. His majesty in order to give a new proof of his affection, as also his desire to consolidate the union and good correspondence established between the two states, has been pleased to consider their representations. His majesty has consequently declared, and does declare by these presents, that he consents to the suppression of the 11th and 12th articles aforementioned, and that it is his intention that they be considered as having never been comprehended in the treaty, signed the 6th February last. Done at Versailles, the 1st day of the month of September, 1778./ GRAVIER DE VERGENNES. Instrument annulling the 11th and 12th articles. THE most christian king, having been pleased to regard the representations made to him by the general congress of North America, relating to the 11th article of the treaty of commerce, signed the 6th of February in the present year; and his majesty having therefore consented, that the said article should be suppressed, on condition that the 12th article of the same treaty, be equally regarded as of none effect: the above said general congress hath declared on their part, and do declare that they consent to the suppression of the 11th and 12th articles of the abovementioned treaty; and that their intention is, that these articles be regarded as having never been comprised in the treaty signed the 6th of February. In faith whereof, &c. B. FRANKLIN, JOHN ADAMS. SIR, To James Lovell, Esq. Passy, December 2, 1780. I DULY received your several favors of August the 15th and September 7th, with the resolves of congress, for drawing on me bills extraordinary, to the amount of near three hundred thousand dollars, to keep up the credit of congress, I had already engaged for those drawn on Mr. Laurens; you cannot conceive how much these things perplex and distress me. For the practice of this government, being yearly to apportion the revenue to the several expected services, any after-demands made which the treasury is not furnished to supply, meet with great difficulty, and are very disagreeable to the ministers. To enable me to look these drafts in the face, I have agreed to a proposal contained in the inclosed letter, to the president of furnishing provisions to the king's forces in America, which proposal I hope will be approved and executed, and that the congress will strictly comply with the assurances you have given me, not to draw on me any more without first knowing that they have funds in my hands. I wrote to you more fully by captain Jones, he sailed some time since in the Ariel, but met with a severe storm, that entirely dismasted him, and obliged him to put back for France. He has been long re-fitting, but will sail again soon, every thing goes well here. With great esteem, &c. B. FRANKLIN. the clothes, but it' has been as impossible for me to avoid, as it was to foresee these delays. The late minister of the marine here, M. de Sartine, is removed, and his place supplied by M. le marquis de Castries. But this change does not affect the general system of the court, which continues favorable to us. I have received a copy of the resolutions of congress of the 19th of May, and the 9th, 15th, 23d, and 30th of August, directing bills to be drawn on me for near 300,000 dollars. I shall accept the bills, hoping the congress will approve of, and readily comply with the proposition contained in a letter to your excellency accompanying this, dated the 2d instant. Probably an answer may arrive here before many of those bills shall become due, as few of them are yet arrived. If that answer ratifies the agreement I have made, I shall have no difficulty in finding means to pay the rest. If not, I shall scarce be able to bear the reproaches of merchants, that I have misled them to their loss, by my acceptations, which gave a promise of payment, that not being fulfilled, has deranged their affairs, to say nothing of the power I am told the consul's court here has over the persons even of ministers, in cases of bills of exchange. Let me therefore beg your excellency to use your endeavours with congress, that this matter may be immediately attended to. I Mr. Jay, no doubt, has made you acquainted with his difficulties respecting the drafts upon him. I am sorry cannot extricate him, but I hope he will still find means. The Mars, an armed ship belonging to the state of Massachusetts, in her way to France, took and sent to New England, a Portuguese ship, bound to Cork, with salt, belonging to some merchant there. The Portuguese captain, who is brought in here, complains heavily of ill usage and plunder, besides taking his vessel, and the ambassador of that nation has communicated to me these complaints, together with all the papers, proving the property of the vessel; representing, at the same time, the good disposition of the queen to our states, and his wishes that nothing might lessen it, or tend to prevent or delay a complete good understanding between the two nations. I advised that the owners should send over their claim, and empower some person to prosecute it, in which case, I did not doubt our courts would do them justice. I hope the congress may think fit to take some notice of this affair, and not only forward a speedy decision, but give orders to our cruisers not to meddle with neutral ships for the future, it being a practice apt to produce ill blood, and contrary to the spirit of the new league which is approved by all Europe; and the English property found in such vessels will hardly pay the damages brought on us by the irregular proceedings of our captains, in endeavoring to get at such property. With the greatest respect, I have the honor to be, &c. B. FRANKLIN. To the same. SIR, Passy, March 12, 1781. I HAD the honor of receiving, on the 13th of last month, your excellency's letter of the first of January, together with the instructions of November 28th and December 27th, a copy of those to colonel Laurens, and the letter to the king. I immediately drew up a memorial, enforcing as strongly as I could, the request contained in that letter, and directed by the instructions, and delivered the same with the letter, which were both well received; but the ministry being extremely occupied with other eighty affairs, and I obtaining for some time only general answers, that something would be done for us, &c. and Mr. Laurens not arriving, I wrote again, and pressed strongly for a decision on the subject, that I might be able to write explicitly by this opportunity, what aids the congress were or were not to expect, the regulation of their operations for the campaign depending on the information I should be enabled to give. Upon this I received a note appointing Saturday last for a K |