on that he promised to have it translated immediately, and laid before the king. In the evening Mr. G. carried to the Spanish ambassador a copy of the proposals made by order of congress to the French court, which upon reading, he said had never before been mentioned to him.

Mr. Lee conversing with Mons. Chaumont upon the present state of things, they agreed that there was no prospect of a war; but Mr. C. said. the conduct of the ministry was totally incomprehensible, and perhaps when they had arranged leur petits affaires, they might go to war. Mr. Lee asked him whether he numbered their finances in that description, and how they could go to war without money. He answered that France was very differently circumstanced in that respect from other countries. For that the king could at any time say to the public creditors, I must apply my revenue to the current expenses, and you must wait till it is convenient to pay you; that this would occasion no disturbance. It was very desirable, he said, in the actual situation of France to continue in peace, but that there was danger thereby at present of losing the national character of a warlike people, in which their glory and perhaps their safety consisted.

27th. Mr. L. introduced Mr. Izard to the Abbé Nicoli. In conversation the abbé observed, that when the states of America had established their independency they would quarrel among themselves, as the Italian and Grecian states had done; that this would infallibly happen, unless a similar mode of taxation was adopted among them all; and that none could be so proper as a general tax upon land, formed upon an universal and equal survey. Mr. Izard answered that nothing would be more unjust than such a tax, because the man who possessed ten thousand acres of uncultivated land would pay ten times as much as him who had a thousand acres in the most profitable cultivation. The abbé seemed to admit the justice of this objection; upon which Mr. L. observed, that for the very reason alleged against it, such a mode of taxation appeared to him the best that could

be devised, because it would compel the great landholders to cultivate their lands, or sell it out into parcels to those who could; and therefore this tax would answer at once the public demands, and promote agriculture and industry. At the same time it seemed to him that reasoning from ancient republics, whose employment and delight were war, to those of the present time, whose object were peace and commerce, was exceedingly erroneous. It is certain, that with the Grecian and Roman states peace was painful, and war delightful; but with modern states it is directly the reverse; therefore it is probable their conduct will be directly opposite.

29th. Capt. Young, of the sloop Independence, arrived at Passy with despatches from congress. The letters were originals of copies received ten days before. With them came a commission for Mr. Izard to the court of Florence; for Mr. W. Lee, to those of Vienna and Berlin, with instructions; for myself to Madrid, with a reservation of my powers at this court, while I remained in France.*

30th. Received an account of the Lexington, Capt. Johnson, having been taken by an English cutter, after a long and obstinate engagement, in which most of her officers were killed. I read a paragraph to the commissioners, in my brother Richard Henry Lee's letter, stating that without an alliance with France and Spain, with a considerable loan to support their funds, it would be difficult to maintain their independence. Resolved to send Mr. Grand next day to Count Vergennes, for an answer to their memoire.

1st Oct. Mr. Grand reported that Count Vergennes had not yet laid the memoire before the king, and therefore directed him to come on Friday, for an answer; that he seemed to think the sum of fourteen millions of livrest a great demand; that he talked of an alliance as a thing yet to be considered of; that it would involve all Europe, and assist us much less than we imagined. He said we

*I desired the advice of the other commissioners, about announcing my appointment immediately. Dr. F. said he would consider of it, and the other said nothing. + The nett revenue of France is 400 millions.

were wrong in distrusting Maurepas and Necker, and still more in the unguarded manner in which we did business, so that Lord Stormont had apprized Mons. Maurepas, that a memoire was intended before it was presented, and on account of it, has written to him, Vergennes, from England. He desired us to be more cautious, and to be assured that there was a traitor in the congress itself, who gave intelligence. Mr. Grand communicated these things to me in private, and I desired him to do it to all the commissioners together, that it might suggest to them some caution in the conduct of our affairs, which was open to all the world. He did so; and it was considered as a pretext for refusing to assist us by one, and as an unjust accusation by the other. It was said that if Lord Stormont had such information from some one about us, he would not have told it, because that would prevent any farther communication, and therefore it seemed improbable that Lord Stormont had told them so. Mr. Lee said that in these cases Lord Stormont's object was to excite distrust and destroy all confidence between them, which it appeared he, aided by other things, had but too well effected.

The discourse of an alliance was moved by Mr. Grand at my desire, and in consequence of my brother's letter. I drew up a short view of our situation for his instruction.

3d Oct. Mr. Grand made his report that no answer could yet be given, only that we might be assured of the king's good disposition; that Spain must be consulted, which would require some weeks; that we must mention nothing farther to congress when we wrote, but that we had sent them such and such things, for which they need give themselves no trouble about making returns; that nothing which we had received or were to receive was lent, but to be considered as given; that war in Europe would disable them from aiding us with money, and perhaps be less advantageous to us than we imagined, because Great Britain would have powerful allies. Mr. Grand added that, as far as he could judge from the count's manner, every thing was favourably disposed, and we might rest satisfied of something being done.

Mr. Grand proposed to the commissioners that they should make a present of their ship in Holland to the king, as the only manner of getting her from thence, and this measure he understood would be very acceptable, and that Mr. Boux approved highly of the scheme. The commissioners were of opinion that such a proposition should come from the minister, without which it would be both foolish and indecent in them. Mr. Grand was therefore desired to state her situation to the minister, and inform him that the commissioners were ready to follow his advice implicitly concerning the disposal of her. The history of this vessel is curious enough. Soon after the commissioners arrived, Sir George Grand, banker at Amsterdam, and then in Paris, Mr. Grand, and Mr. Chaumont, all of whom were in the confidence of the ministry and strongly recommended, introduced to us a Capt. Boux, of the French navy, of whom every good thing was said in the most exaggerated strain of commendation. He was the most ingenious, the most disinterested, and the most honest man in France; zealous for our cause, and desirous of nothing so much as to get into our service, so entirely free from any selfish motive that he would go out of it naked, (such was the expression) as he came in. Well; this extraordinary man laid before us a multitude of plans and schemes, which upon paper, and in terms which we did not understand, seemed exceedingly plausible. We were then told of the wonderful expedition, cheapness, and certainty of building frigates at Amsterdam; the king of Spain had some built upon an excellent construction of 28 guns, for £7000; however Sir George was soon to go thither, and he would send us an exact account. His intelligence was, that that they would cost 6000 each. In this situation of the affair, I went to Spain. While I was absent, the business was settled. Mr. Boux agreed to go, but with an annual pension of, all his expenses paid, and those of his nephew, who was now introduced as one of the necessary actors in fabulo. The first thing that happened upon his arrival was the drawing for £300,000, which

was to build two frigates. When I returned from Spain, the letters from Sir G. and Mr. B. told us the agreement was made for one, the workmen not being able to undertake for more within the time limited. But no agreement was sent us. We wrote for the agreement, flattering ourselves that the half of what we had paid would be refunded. I told Mr. Deane then, that this was a vain expectation, for as he who paid beforehand was always made the paymaster for him who did not pay at all, there would be found ways and means to dispose of the money they had got into their hands. The agreement was at length sent, and it had absorbed every livre ; however, we were flattered with the vessel being invincible, that she would infallibly be at sea in such a time, and would soon reimburse us this extraordinary expense. Mr. Boux returned the beginning of May, having put every thing into so good a way that his presence it seemed was no longer necessary. Mr. Grand tells me Mr. Boux desired Mr. Deane to settle the account of his expenses, which he had never done. When I returned from Germany, I found Sir George was pressing for considerable sums more to equip and load the vessel. But our funds being exhausted, I suppose he was informed by Mr. Grand here that nothing more was to be expected, and our next tidings was the melancholy information, that it was impossible we should get sailors to man her. It was therefore agreed to sell her, and the success they had in drawing us into this foolish and expensive scheme, induced them probably to think that we might be duped still farther, in the proposition I have mentioned, which though it appeared absurd and extravagant to us, yet no doubt was some how or other to turn out to Mr. Boux's advantage.

15th. The commissioners received a letter from Capt. Thompson, commander of the Raleigh at Port Louis, informing them of his arrival there, in company with the Black Prince ship of war and two West India prizes, and that he was under our orders, as appeared from a letter from the marine committee signed John Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, Whipple, and others. He sent us