e and Spain, and perplexed Monroe and
his political friends. Giving greater latitude to the spirit of his
instructions than their letter could possibly warrant, Monroe assured
the French government that Jay's authority was strictly limited to a
demand of reparation for injuries; and this assurance produced the
impression that Jay had no authority to conclude a treaty of navigation
and commerce. Not more than a fortnight after Monroe made these
assurances, intelligence came that a treaty of commerce had actually
been negotiated with the British government, and signed by the
contracting parties.

Mr. Monroe's imprudence, and his zeal in the cause of France, now placed
him in an unpleasant dilemma. He received from Mr. Jay the assurance
that he would soon send him, in cipher, the principal heads of the
treaty. But that would not be sufficient to appease the offended French
government, and Mr. Monroe immediately sent a confidential person to Mr.
Jay for a complete copy of the document. "'Tis necessary to observe," he
said, "_that as nothing will satisfy this government but a copy of the
instrument itself_, and which, as our ally, it thinks itself entitled
to, so it will be useless for me to make to it any communication _short
of that_. I mention this that you may know precisely _the state of my
engagements here_, and how I deem it my duty to act under them, in
relation to _this object_."

Mr. Jay, as in duty bound, civilly declined to send a copy of the
treaty; and in his reply to Mr. Monroe's letter, took the occasion to
give that gentleman his views on national independence and the duties of
ministers.

"You must be sensible," he said, "that the United States, as a free and
independent nation, have an unquestionable right to make any pacific
arrangements with other powers which mutual convenience may dictate,
provided those arrangements do not interdict or oppugn their prior
engagements with other states.

"Whether this adjustment was consistent with our treaty with France?
struck me as being the only question which would demand or receive the
consideration of that republic; and I thought it due to the friendship
subsisting between the two countries, that the French government should
have, without delay, the most perfect satisfaction on that head." He
then referred to his former communications, and gave him the following
exact and literal extract from the treaty:--

"Nothing in this treaty contained, shall, how