myself or my family,
add to this gift that of such a portion of my property as I find
absolutely necessary to support the office I hold.

Permit me, Gentlemen, to add, that having no wishes upon this
subject, I am sincerely desirous that personal considerations may not
enter into the arrangements that Congress make thereon. I feel myself
extremely honored by the attention they have shown me in directing you
to confer with me on this subject; and I reflect with great pleasure
on the reasons I have had to be satisfied with their conduct towards
me since I have been honored with the office.

I am, Gentlemen, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

TO JOSEPH NOURSE.

Philadelphia, May 26th, 1783.

Sir,

In compliance with your request, I have collected from the papers in
my office the following account of the moneys received by loans, or
otherwise, from Holland, France, and Spain.

The first loan that was opened in Holland on our account with success,
was opened by His Most Christian Majesty, and under his special
guarantee, for ten millions of livres. Since that, another loan was
contracted by Mr Adams with private banking houses, to the amount of
five millions of florins.

These houses, in a letter directed to me of the 16th of August last,
write that they had at that time in cash by them, one million four
hundred and eightyfour thousand florins, of which the interest ran as
follows;

1,314,000 florins, from the 1st of June,

170,000 florins, from the 1st of July.

They add, that they had already paid to the order of Mr Adams, in
favor of sundry individuals, the sum of two thousand nine hundred and
two florins, and that that Minister had hinted to them, that it would
be necessary to pay some drafts of Mr Laurens's when arrived, and a
few other unavoidable expenses, which would amount to about two
hundred thousand florins. By a letter of the 18th of November last,
they have acknowledged the receipt of the contract duly ratified, so
that the money they had on hand has been since that time at the
disposal of Congress.

The moneys received from France before the year 1780, cannot be very
accurately stated, for the want of order in the books kept by the
Committee of Foreign Affairs. By the best estimate I have been able to
make, the amount of such moneys appears