been paid by the farmers-general was "a gratuitous assistance from the pure generosity of the King," and that the farmersgeneral were indebted to the United States for the amount of the tobacco remitted to them. An explanation of when and to whom the third million was paid was demanded. Mr. Grand applied to Durival to trace the lost million. The result of the inquiry is contained in the following correspondence. SIR, FROM M. DURIVAL TO MR. GRAND Versailles, 30 August, 1786. I have received the letter, which you did me the honour to write on the 28th of this month, touching the advance of a million, which you say was made by the Farmers-General to the United States of America, the 3d of June, 1777. I have no knowledge of that advance. What I have verified is, that the King, by the contract of the 25th of February, 1783, has confirmed the gratuitous gift, which his Majesty had previously made, of the three millions hereafter mentioned, viz. one million delivered by the Royal Treasury, the 10th of June, 1776, and two other millions advanced also by the Royal Treasury, in 1777, on four receipts of the Deputies of Congress, of the 17th of January, 3d of April, 10th of June, and 15th of October, of the same year. This explanation will, Sir, I hope, resolve your doubt touching the advance of the 3d of June, 1777. I further recommend to you, Sir, to confer on this subject with M. Gojard, who ought to be better informed than we, who had no knowledge of any advances, but those made by the Royal Treasury. I have the honour to be, &c. DURIVAL. VOL. X2 C SIR, FROM M. DURIVAL TO MR. GRAND Versailles, 5 September, 1786. I laid before the Count de Vergennes the two letters which you did me the honour to write, touching the three millions, the free gift of which the King has confirmed in favour of the United States of America. The minister, Sir, observed, that this gift has nothing to do with the million, which the Congress may have received from the Farmers-General in 1777; consequently he thinks, that the receipt, which you desire may be communicated to you, cannot satisfy the object of your view, and that it would be useless to give you the copy which you desire. I have the honour to be, with perfect attachment, &c. FROM MR. GRAND TO B. FRANKLIN MY DEAR SIR, DURIVAL. Paris, 9 September, 1786. The letter you honoured me with, covered the copies of three letters, which Mr. Thomson wrote you in order to obtain an explanation of a million, which is not to be found in my accounts. I should have been very much embarrassed in satisfying and proving to him, that I had not put that million. in my pocket, had I not applied to M. Durival, who, as you will see by the answer enclosed, informs me, that there was a million paid by the Royal Treasury, on the 10th of June, 1776. This is the very million about which Mr. Thomson inquires, as I have kept an account of the other two millions, which were also furnished by the Royal Treasury, viz. the one million in January and April, 1777, the other in July and October of the same year, as well as that furnished by the Farmers-General in June, 1777 Here, then, are the three millions exactly, which were given by the King before the treaty of 1778, and that furnished by the Farmers-General. Nothing then remains to be known, but who received the first million in June, 1776. It could not be myself, as I was not charged with the business of Congress until January, 1777. I therefore requested of M. Durival a copy of the receipt for the one million. You have the answer, which he returned to me. I have written to him again, renewing my request; but, as the courier is just setting off, I cannot wait to give you his answer, but you will receive it in my next, if I obtain one. In the mean while, I beg you will receive the assurances of the sentiments of respect, with which I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, &c. GRAND. SIR, FROM M. DURIVAL TO MR. GRAND Versailles, 10 September, 1786. I have laid before the Count de Vergennes, as you seemed to desire, the letter which you did me the honour to write yesterday. The minister persists in the opinion, that the receipt, the copy of which you request, has no relation to the business with which you were intrusted on behalf of Congress, and that this document would be useless in the new point of view in which you have placed it. Indeed, Sir, it is easy for you to prove, that the money in question was not delivered by the Royal Treasury into your hands, as you did not begin to be charged with the business of Congress until January, 1777, and the receipt for that money is of the 10th of June, 1776. I have the honour to be, with perfect attachment, Sir, I hazard a letter in hopes it may be able to join that of the 9th at L'Orient, in order to forward to you the answer I have just received from M. Durival. You will there see, that, notwithstanding my entreaty, the minister himself refuses to give me a copy of the receipt which I asked for. I cannot conceive the reason for this reserve, more especially since, if there has been a million paid, he who has received it has kept the account, and it must in time be known. I shall hear with pleasure, that you have been more fortunate in this respect in America than I have been in France; and I repeat to you the assurance of the sentiments of regard, with which I have the honour to be, &c. GRAND. Little more has been learned since this correspondence concerning the history of the lost million. It has been traced to the door of Beaumarchais's bank. Beyond that point all knowledge of it ceases. CHAPTER X THE TREATY OF PEACE AFTER Cornwallis had been burgoinised, as the French then said, and the infant Hercules had strangled the second serpent in his cradle, the English government made overtures of a few peace. It was the aim of their diplomacy to divide America and France. David Hartley wrote to Franklin that he understood that America was disposed to enter into a separate treaty with Great Britain. Franklin replied, "This has always given me more disgust than my friendship permits me to express. I believe there is not a man in America English Tories excepted that would not spurn at the thought of deserting a noble and generous friend for the sake of a truce with an unjust and cruel enemy. . . . The Congress will never instruct their Commissioners to obtain a peace on such ignominious terms, and though there can be but few things in which I should venture to disobey their orders, yet if it were possible for them to give such an order as this I should certainly refuse to act. I should instantly renounce their Commission and banish myself forever from so infamous a country." To the amazement of Versailles the preliminary articles of the treaty of peace between England and the United States were concluded without any communication between the commissioners and the court of France, although the instructions from Congress prescribed that nothing should be done without the participation of the king. De Vergennes wrote sharply and surprisedly to Franklin, saying, “You are wise and discreet, Sir: you perfectly understand what is due to propriety: you have all your life performed your duties. I pray you to consider how you propose to fulfil those which are due to the King? I am not desirous of enlarging these reflections; I commit them to your own integrity.1 reply Franklin confessed to "neglecting a point of bienséance," but insisted that nothing had been agreed upon that was 1 See Franklin's answer, Vol. VIII, p. 642. In |