Chapter 155

TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.

Philadelphia, June 13, 1793,

Dear Sir,

It has long since been observed, that of the three millions of livres given by the court of France to aid us in the commencement of our revolution, one million was unaccounted for by the hands into which it was paid. The date of the payment is fixed to have been the 10th of June, 1776, but to whom it was paid has never been known. Suspicions are, that it was to Beaumarchais; and that with this very money he purchased the supplies furnished us by him, for which large sums have been paid him already, and a further large sum has lately been certified to be due to him as the balance of the account. I enclose you a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury on this subject, with all the papers relative to the same which his office can furnish: and as you are on the spot, I must beg the favor of you to make an immediate and thorough investigation of it. No reasons of State can now exist for covering the transaction longer under mystery.

I have the honor to be, with great and sincere esteem, Dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Th: Jefferson.

[The letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, and other papers, relative to the lost million alluded to in the letter to Mr. Morris.]

LETTERS--RE THE LOST MILLION, June 10, 1793

Treasury Department, June 10, 1793. Sir,

The comptroller of the Treasury has reported to me, that ‘on examining the subsisting contracts between the United States and the government of France and the Farmers General, and a comparison thereof with the foreign accounts and documents transmitted to the Treasury, the following facts appear.

That previous to the treaty of February, 1778, the sum of three millions of livres had been advanced by the government of France to the agents of the United States, under the title of gratuitous, for which no reimbursement was to be made.

That the payments, which composed the before-mentioned sum of three millions of livres, are stated, in a letter of Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand, dated in 1786, to have been made at the following periods:

One million delivered by the Royal Treasury the 10th of June, 1776, and two other millions advanced also by the Royal Treasury in 1777, on four receipts of the Deputies of Congress, of the 17th of January, 3rd of April, 10th of June, and 15th of October of the same year.

In the account of Mr. Ferdinand Grand, banker of the United States, the following sums are credited, viz.

1777.--January 31, .... 500,000 livres. April 26, ...... 500,000 June 4, ........ 1,000,000 July 3, ........ 500,000 October 10, .... 500,000

Amount in the whole, .. 3,000,000 livres.

The Farmers General of France claim a large balance from the United States, on account of one million of livres which they contend was advanced in June, 1777, in consequence of a special contract with Messrs. Franklin and Deane, to be repaid by the delivery of tobacco at certain stipulated prices, and the advance made by the Farmers General is said to be the same money, as is credited by Mr. Grand on the 4th of June, 1777.

After a careful examination of the foreign accounts, it is found that no more than three millions of livres have been credited by any agents of the United States.

An opinion was entertained by the late officers of the Treasury, that the sum claimed by the Farmers General composed a part of the sum supplied as gratuitous aid by the government. Subsequent explanations have however rendered it probable, that, including the claim of the Farmers General, the sum of four millions of livres were in fact received; it is, however, indispensable that it should be known to whom the money was paid.

The most direct mode of obtaining this information will be, to call for copies of the receipts mentioned in Mr. Durival’s letter of 1786, and more particularly, a copy of that said to have been given on the 10th of June, 1776.’

And as explanatory of the transaction, he has sent me the documents herewith transmitted.

The most likely conjecture, in my mind, considering the period of the advance and the circumstances of that period, is, that the unaccounted-for million went into the hands of M. de Beaumarchais. The supplies which he furnished to the United States exceeded his own probable resources, besides the imprudence of having hazarded so much at that stage of our affairs upon our ability to pay. And there were many symptoms, at the time, of his having been secretly put in motion by the government.

It is now become urgent, that the truth of the case should be known. An account has recently passed the auditor’s office, admitting in favor of M. de Beaumarchais a balance of four hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and sixty-five dollars and thirteen cents, with a reservation only of the question of the million. If he has received that million, which has been acknowledged as a free gift from the French government, it is unjust that he should be able to establish a claim against the United States for supplies which must have been the proceeds of that sum. If he has never received the million, every, day’s suspension of his claim, after the immense delays heretofore incurred, is a grievous hardship upon him. It concerns materially the interests, and more the justice, the credit, and the character of the United States, that as speedy a solution as possible of the enigma may be obtained.

With a view to this, I have the honor to make you the present communication, that you may be pleased to take such steps as shall appear to you the most proper and efficacious to procure, as speedily as the nature of the case will admit, the requisite explanations. With respect, I have the honor to be, &c.

Alexander Hamilton.

_Letter from Mr. Grand to ------ ------_

Paris, September 9, 1786.

Dear Sir,

The letter you honored me with, covered the copies of three letters which Mr. Thomson wrote you to obtain an explanation of a million which is not to be found in my accounts. I should have been very much embarrassed in satisfying him and proving that I had not put that million in my pocket, had I not applied to M. Durival, who, as you will see by the answer enclosed, informs me that there was a million paid by the Royal Treasury on the 10th of June, 1776. This is the very million about which Mr. Thomson inquires, as I have kept an account of the other two millions, which were also furnished by the Royal Treasury, viz.:

The million in January and April, 1777; the other in July and October of the same year; as well as that furnished by the Farmers General in June, 1777.

Here then are the three millions, exactly, which were given by the King before the treaty of 1778, and that furnished by the Farmers General. Nothing then remains to be known but who received the first million in June, 1776. It could not be by me, who was not charged with the business of Congress until January, 1777. I therefore requested of M. Durival the copy of the receipt for the one million. You have the answer which he returned to me. I wrote to him again, renewing my request, but as the carrier is just setting off, I cannot wait to give you his answer, but you will receive it in my next, if I receive one. In the mean while, I beg you will receive the assurances of the sentiments of respect, with which I have the honor to be, my Dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Grand.

_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.

Versailles, August 30, 1786.

Sir,

I have received the letter which you did me the honor to write the 28th of this month, touching the advance of a million, which you say was made by the General Farm to the United States of America, the 3rd of June, 1777. I have no knowledge of that advance. What I have verified is, that the King by the contract of the 25th of February, 1783, has confirmed the gratuitous gift which his Majesty had previously made of the three millions hereafter mentioned, viz:

One million delivered by the Royal Treasury the 10th of June, 1776, and two other millions advanced also by the Royal Treasury in 1777, on four receipts of the Deputies of Congress of the 17th of January, 3rd of April, 10th of June, and 15th of October, of the same year. This explanation will, Sir, resolve your doubt touching the advance of the 3rd of June, 1777. I farther recommend to you, Sir, to confer on this subject with Mr. Gojard, who ought to be better informed than us, who have no knowledge of any advances but those made by the Royal Treasury.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

DU RIVAL.

_Postscript from Mr. Grand_.

Paris, September 12, 1786.

I hazard a letter in hopes it may be able to join that of the 9th, at L’Orient, in order to forward to you, Sir, the answer I have just received from Mr. Durival. You will therefore see, Sir, that notwithstanding my entreaty, the Minister himself refuses to give me the copy of the receipts which I asked for. I cannot conceive the reason for this reserve, more especially, since if there has been a million paid, he who received it has kept the account, and must in time be known. I shall hear with pleasure that you have been more fortunate in this respect in America than I have been in France, and repeat to you the assurances of the sentiments of regard, with which I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Grand.

_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.

Versailles, September 5, 1786.

I laid before the Count de Vergennes the two letters which you did me the honor, to write, touching the three millions, the free gift of which the King has confirmed in favor of the United States of America.

The Minister, Sir, observed, that this gift has nothing to do with the million which Congress may have received from the General Farm, 1777. Consequently he thinks that the receipt which you desire may be communicated to you, cannot satisfy the object of your view, and that it would be useless to give you the copy which you desire.

I have the honor to be, with perfect attachment, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,

Durival.

_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.

Versailles, September 10, 1786.

I have laid before the Count de Vergennes, as you, Sir, seem to desire, the letter which you did me the honor to write yesterday. The Minister persists in the opinion that the receipt, the copy of which you request, has no relation to the business with which you are entrusted on behalf of Congress, and that this price would be useless in the new point of view in which you have placed it. Indeed, Sir, it is easy for you to prove that the money in question was not delivered by the Royal Treasury into your hands, as you did not begin to be charged with the business of Congress until January, 1777, and the receipt is of the date of the 10th of June, 1776.

I have the honor to be, with perfect attachment, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Durival.

_Extract of a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Mr. Grand, banker at Paris, dated Philadelphia, July the 11th, 1786_.

‘I send you enclosed some letters that have passed between the Secretary of Congress and me, respecting three millions of livres acknowledged to have been received before the treaty of 1778, as _don gratuit_, from the King, of which only two millions are found in your accounts; unless the million from the Fanners General be one of the three. I have been assured that all the money received from the King, whether as loan or gift, went through your hands; and as I always looked on the million we had of the Farmers General to be distinct from what we had of the crown, I wonder how I came to sign the contract acknowledging three millions of gift, when in reality there were only two, exclusive of that from the Farmers. And as both you and I examined the project of the contract before I signed it, I am surprised that neither of us took notice of the error. It is possible that the million furnished ostensibly by the Farmers, was in fact a gift of the crown, in which case, as Mr. Thomson observes, they owe us for the two ship-loads of tobacco they received on account of it. I must earnestly request of you to get this,matter explained, that it may stand clear before I die, lest some enemy should afterwards accuse me of having received a million not accounted for.’

_Letter from Dr. Franklin to Charles Thomson_.

Philadelphia, January 25, 1787.

Dear Friend,

You may remember that in the correspondence between us in June last, on the subject of a million, free gift of the King of France, acknowledged in our contract to have been received, but which did not appear to be accounted for in our banker’s accounts, unless it should be the same with the million said to be received from the Farmers General, I mentioned that an explanation might doubtless be easily obtained, by writing to Mr. Grand or Mr. Jefferson. I know not whether you have accordingly written to either of them. But being desirous that the matter should be speedily cleared up, I wrote myself to Mr. Grand a letter upon it, of which I now enclose a copy with his answer, and several letters from Mr. Durival, who is _chef du bureau des fonds_ (and has under his care _la finance des affaires étrangerès_). You will see by these letters, that the million in question was delivered to somebody on the 10th of June, 1776, but it does not appear to whom. It is clear that it could not be to Mr. Grand, nor to the commissioners from Congress, for we did not meet in France till the end of December, 1777. That banker was not charged before with our affairs. By the Minister’s refusing him a copy of the receipt, I conjecture it must be money advanced for our use to Mr. Beaumarchais, and that it is a _mystère du cabinet_, which perhaps should not be further inquired into, unless necessary to guard against more demands than may be just from that agent: for it may well be supposed that if the court furnished him with the means of supplying us, they may not be willing to furnish authentic proofs of such a transaction so early in our dispute with Britain.

Pray tell me, has he dropped his demands, or does he still continue to worry you with them?

I should like to have these original letters returned to me, but you may, if you please, keep copies of them.

It is true, the million in question makes no difference in your accounts with the King of France, it not being mentioned or charged as so much lent and repaid, but stood as freely given. Yet if it was put into the hands of any of our agents or ministers, they ought certainly to account for it. I do not recollect whether Mr. Deane had arrived in France before the 10th of June, 1776, but from his great want of money when I joined him a few months after, I hardly think it could have been paid him.

Possibly Mr. Jefferson may obtain the information, though Mr. Grand could not, and I wish he may be directed to make the inquiry, as I know he would do it directly; I mean, if by Hortales and Co.’ s further demands, or for any other reason, such an inquiry should be thought necessary.

I am ever, my Dear Friend, yours most affectionately,

Benjamin Franklin.