commerce by
general rules, while it secures the other from partial and oppressive
discriminations. The difficulty which arises in our case is with
the nations having American territory. Access to the West Indies
is indispensably necessary to us. Yet how to gain it when it is the
established system of these nations to exclude all foreigners from their
colonies? The only chance seems to be this: our commerce to the mother
countries is valuable to them. We must indeavor, then, to make this the
price of an admission into their West Indies, and to those who refuse
the admission, we must refuse our commerce, or load theirs by odious
discriminations in our ports. We have this circumstance in our favor
too, that what one grants us in their islands, the others will not
find it worth their while to refuse. The misfortune is, that with this
country we gave this price for their aid in the war, and we have now
nothing more to offer. She being withdrawn from the competition, leaves
Great Britain much more at liberty to hold out against us. This is the
difficult part of the business of treaty, and I own it does not hold out
the most flattering prospects.

I wish you would consider this subject, and write me your thoughts on
it. Mr. Gerry wrote me on the same subject. Will you give me leave to
impose on you the trouble of communicating this to him? It is long, and
will save me much labor in copying. I hope he will be so indulgent as
to consider it as an answer to that part of his letter, and will give
me his further thoughts on it. Shall I send you so much of the
_Encyclopedie_ as is already published, or reserve it here till you
come? It is about forty volumes which is probably about half the work.
Give yourself no uneasiness about the money; perhaps I may find it
convenient to ask you to pay trifles occasionally for me in America. I
sincerely wish you may find it convenient to come here; the pleasure of
the trip will be less than you expect, but the utility greater. It will
make you adore your own country, its soil, its climate, its equality,
liberty, laws, people, and manners. My God! how little do my countrymen
know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no
other people on earth enjoy. I confess I had no idea of it myself. While
we shall see multiplied instances of Europeans going to live in America,
I will venture to say no man now living, will ever see an instance of
an American removing to settle in Europe