h federal purposes; and they would pay the
dividends of the claimants in America. This would save the expense of
remittance. I declined, however, receiving the money, and ordered it
into the hands of their banker, who paid it away for the purposes to
which they had destined it. I should be sorry, an idea should get
abroad, that I had received the money of these poor fellows, and
applied it to other purposes. I shall, in like manner, order the Danish
and Barbary money into the hands of bankers, carefully avoiding ever to
touch a sou of it, or having any other account to make out than what
the banker will furnish.

TO THE HON. JOHN JAY.

PARIS, Dec. 21, 1787.

SIR,--The last letters I had the honor of addressing you were of the 3d
and 7th of November. Your several favors, to wit, two of July 27, two
of Oct. 24, and one of Nov. 3, have all been delivered within the
course of a week past; and I embrace the earliest occasion of returning
to Congress my sincere thanks for the new proofs I receive therein of
their confidence in me, and of assuring them of my best endeavors to
merit it. The several matters on which I receive instruction shall all
be duly attended to. The Commissioners of the Treasury inform me they
will settle the balance appropriated to the Barbary business, apprise
me of it, and place it under my power. The moment this is done, I will
take the measures necessary to effect the instructions of Congress. The
letter to you from the Governor of Rhode Island desires my attention to
the application of the claimants of the brig Apollonia, which shall
surely be complied with. I trust that an application will be made by
the claimants. It will be the more important, as the letter in this
case, as in that of the sloop Sally, formerly recommended to me, is
directed to an advocate whom all my endeavors have not enabled me to
find. I fear, therefore, that the papers in both cases must remain in
my hands till called for by the person whom the parties shall employ
for the ordinary solicitation and management of their appeals. I
suppose they will engage some person to answer from time to time the
pecuniary demands of lawyers, clerks, and other officers of the courts,
to wait upon the judges and explain their cases to them, which is the
usage here, to instruct their lawyers and confer with them whenever
necessary, and in general to give all those attentions which the
solicitation of private causes constantly require