ly of Virginia.

LETTER CXCII.--TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, March 30, 1826

TO JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

Monticello, March 30, 1826.

Dear Sir,

I am thankful for the very interesting message and documents of
which you have been so kind as to send me a copy, and will state my
recollections as to the particular passage of the message to which you
ask my attention. On the conclusion of peace, Congress, sensible of
their right to assume independence, would not condescend to ask its
acknowledgment from other nations, yet were willing, by some of the
ordinary international transactions, to receive what would imply that
acknowledgment. They appointed commissioners, therefore, to propose
treaties of commerce to the principal nations of Europe. I was then
a member of Congress, was of the committee appointed to prepare
instructions for the commissioners, was, as you suppose, the draughtsman
of those actually agreed to, and was joined with your father and Doctor
Franklin to carry them into execution. But the stipulations making
part of these instructions, which respected privateering, blockades,
contraband, and freedom of the fisheries, were not original conceptions
of mine. They had before been suggested by Doctor Franklin, in some
of his papers in possession of the public, and had I think, been
recommended in some letter of his to Congress I happen only to have
been the inserter of them in the first public act which gave the formal
sanction of a public authority. We accordingly proposed our treaties,
containing these stipulations, to the principal governments of Europe.
But we were then just emerged from a subordinate condition; the
nations had as yet known nothing of us and had not yet reflected on the
relations which it might be their interest to establish with us. Most of
them, therefore, listened to our propositions with coyness and reserve;
old Frederic alone closing with us without hesitation. The negotiator of
Portugal, indeed, signed a treaty with us, which his government did
not ratify, and Tuscany was near a final agreement. Becoming sensible,
however, ourselves, that we should do nothing with the greater powers,
we thought it better not to hamper our country with engagements to those
of less significance, and suffered our powers to expire without closing
any other negotiation. Austria soon after became desirous of a treaty
with us, and her ambassador pressed it often on me; but our commerce
with her being no object