(No. 4.) DEAR SIR, Paris, December 24th, 1797. We have not yet received any answer to our official letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated the eleventh of last month, and mentioned in number three: but reiterated attempts have been made to engage us in negotiation with persons not officially authorized; and you will find by the exhibits marked A, B, and C, herewith sent, some important information relative to the views and intentions of the French government, with respect to ours. We are all of opinion, that if we were to remain here for six months longer, without we were to stipulate the payment of money, and a great deal of it, in some shape or other, we should not be able to effectuate the objects of our mission, should we be even officially received unless the projected attempt on England was to fail, or a total change take place in the persons who at present direct the affairs of this government. In this situation of matters, we are determined, by the tenth of next month, should they remain as they are, to transmit another letter to the minister, representing, as far as may be expedient, the views of our government. We have the honour to be, With great respect and regard, Your most obedient humble servants, E. GERRY. Col. PICKERING, Secretary of State, EXHIBIT A.-[Inclosed in the Envoys' Letter, No. 4.] On the 14th of December, M. X. called on me, in order, as he said, to gain some information relative to some lands in . Soon afterwards, General Marshall purchased by for whom. came in, and then Mr. Gerry's carriage drove into the yard. Here's Mr. Gerry, said said General Marshall. I am glad of it, said M. X., for I wished to meet all of you gentlemen, to inform you, that M. Y. had another message to you, from M. Talleyrand. I immediately expressed my surprise at it, as M. Talleyrand, M. Y. and he, all knew our determination, to have no further communication on the subject of our mission, with persons not officially authorized. He replied, that determination was made six weeks ago; and it was presumed, that we had changed our opinion. I said, that I had not; and, I did not believe my colleagues had. At that moment, Mr. Gerry entered the room, and 1 privately acquainted him with the object of M X.'s visit. General Marshall, Mr. Gerry, and myself, then withdrew into another room; and immediately agreed to adhere to our former resolution. M. X. was then called in; when I acquainted him, in a few words, with our determination: and Mr. Gerry expatiated more at large on the propriety of our acting in this manner, and, on the very unprecedented way in which we had been treated, since our arrival. us. On the twentieth of December, a lady, who is well acquainted with M. Talleyrand, expressed to me her concern, that we were still in so unsettled a situation: but, adds she, why will not you lend us money? If you would but make us a loan, all matters would be adjusted: and, she added, when you were contending for your revolution, we lent you money. I mentioned the very great difference there was between the situation of the two countries at that period, and the present; and the very different circumstances under which the loan was made to us, and the loan was now demanded from She replied, we do not make a demand; we think it more delicate, that the offer should come from you: but, M. Talleyrand has mentioned to me (who am surely not in his confidence) the necessity of your making us a loan: and I know that he has mentioned it to two or three others; and that you have been informed of it: and, I will assure you, that if you remain here six months longer, you would not advance a single step further in your negotiations, without a loan. If that is the case, I replied, we may as well go away Why, that possibly, said she, might lead to a rupture, which you had better avoid: for, we know we have a very considerable party in America, who are strongly in our interest. There is no occasion to enter into a further detail of the conversation. I have only noted this part of it as expressive of what I believe (as far as relates to the loan and now. a-party a party in America in their favour) to be the sentiments of the French government with regard to us. December 21st, 1797. CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY. EXHIBIT B.-[Inclosed in the Envoys' Letter, No. 4.] Extract from General Marshall's Journal. December 17th, 1797. I stepped into Mr. Gerry's apartment, where I saw M. Y. He expressed his regret at having been disabled to dine with us at M. de Beaumarchais, by an inveterate tooth-ache. He then asked me, whether I had seen M. de Beaumarchais lately? I told him, not since he dined with us; and, that he had left us much indisposed. He then observed, that he had not known until lately, that I was the advocate for that gentleman, in his cause against the state of Virginia; and that M. de Beaumarchais, in consequence of that circumstance, had expressed sentiments of high regard for me. I replied, that M. de Beaumarchais' cause was of great magnitude, very uncertain issue,—and consequently, that a portion of the interest he felt in it would very naturally be transferred to his advocate. He immediately said, (low and apart) that M. de Beaumarchais had consented, provided his claim could be established, to sacrifice fifty thousand pounds sterling of it, as the private gratification which had been required of us: so that the gratification might be made without any actual loss to the American Government. I answered, that a gratification on any terms, or in any form, was a subject which we approached with much fear and difficulty, as we were not authorized by our government to make one; nor had it been expected, that one would be necessary that I could not undertake to say, whether my colleagues would consent to it, in any state of things; but I could undertake to say, no one of us would consent to it, unless it was preceded or accompanied by a full and entire recognition of the claims of our citizens, and a satisfactory arrangement on the objects of our mission. He said, it was in the expectation of that event only, that he mentioned it. We parted: and I stated the conversation to General Pinckney, who was disinclined to any stipulation of the sort, and considered it as a renewal of the old reprobated system of indirect, unauthorized negotiation... 1 2 Having Having been originally the counsel of M. de Beaumarchais, I had determined, and so I informed General Pinckney, that I would not, by my voice, establish any agreement in his favour; but that I would positively oppose any admission of the claim of any French citizen, if not accompanied with the admission of the claims of the American citizens of property captured and condemned for want of a rôle d'équipage. My reason for conceiving, that this ought to be stipulated expressly, was a conviction, that if it was referred to commissioners, it would be committing absolutely to chance as complete a right as any individuals ever possessed. General Pinckney was against admitting the claim at any rate. After my return, Mr. Gerry came into my room, and told me, that M. Y. had called on him, to accompany him on a visit to M. Talleyrand; that he proposed seeing M. Talleyrand, and returning the civility of the dinner; and endeavouring to bring about some intercourse between him and us. December 18. General Pinckney and Mr. Gerry met in my room; and Mr. Gerry detailed to us, the conversations mentioned in our public letter. The proposition relative to the claim of M. de Beaumarchais, is entirely different from my understanding of it, in the very brief statement made to me by M. Y. We resolved, that we would rigidly adhere to the rule we had adopted, to enter into no negotiation with persons not formally authorized to treat with us. We came also to the determination, to prepare a letter to the Minister of Foreign Relations, stating the object of our mission, and discussing the subjects of difference between the two nations, in like manner, as if we had been actually received; and to close the letter with requesting the government to open the negotiation with us, or to grant us our passports. EXHIBIT C.-[Inclosed in the Envoys' Letter, No. 4.] December 13. Mr. Gerry accidentally calling on General Pinckney, found M. X., and was soon informed that his object was to obtain another interview between the Ministers and M. Y. on the affairs of their mission. General Marshall happening also to be there, we retired into another room, and immediately agreed to adhere to our former determination, not to have any more informal communications. M. X. having been called in, General Pinckney briefly communicated our determination: and Mr. Gerry observed, that he wa was much hurt by this proposition; that the Ministers had already proceeded farther in this mode of communication, than perhaps they could justify; that they had refused, six weeks ago, to renew it; and that some regard ought to be paid to their feelings, which had been sufficiently mortified; that the proposition was disrespectful to the Envoys, as it betrayed a belief that they had lost the sense of their dignity, and were indeed incompetent to their office; that had there been but one Envoy extraordinary, he ought to have had an audience in a few days; and that for three to remain, between two and three months in this situation, was too humiliating, too debasing for any nation to submit to it; that for his own part, had he been sent to any other nation in Europe, with two other Envoys, he would not have consented to have remained in such a state ten days; that knowing the great desire of the government and nation of the United States, to be at peace with France, he had, with his collea gues, submitted to this indignity, at the risk of the severe censure of the former.-Having also enquired of M. X. at what time M. Talleyrand could be seen, the former said, he would enquire of M. Y. who, on the 16th in the evening, sent, in Mr. Gerry's absence from his lodgings, a billet as follows: "M. Y. has the honour to present his respects to Mr. Gerry, and to inform him, that he will have the honour to wait on him to-morrow morning, at ten o'clock, to go together to the Minister of Foreign Relations. He is with respect," &c. On the morning of the 17th, M. Y. came in, while Mr. Gerry was at breakfast, not having received an answer to his note: and Mr. Marshall coming in, M. Y. took him aside, and conferred with him a considerable time; after which, the former and the rest of the family left the room and M. Y. and Mr. Gerry being together, Mr. Gerry told him, that his object in seeing M. Talleyrand, was to return a civility, by requesting him to fix a day for dining with Mr. G. who intended to invite his colleagues; by this interview, to promote, if possible, a better understanding between the Minister and the American Envoys; and Mr. G. also proposed to confer with the Minister on the disagreeable situation the Envoys were in, and to state to him some reports which appeared to be founded, respecting a proposition before the Directory, for sending off all Americans in a short period: but Mr. Gerry added, that he could not hear a word on the subject of the mission, or the preliminaries to a negotiation; as the Envoys had determined unanimously against any informal communications on the 1 3 subject, |