Chapter 16

It is with great concern, Sir, that Congress receive this information, as it respects a Minister for whom they entertain the most perfect esteem.

From the time of your arrival in America, to the signing of the provisional treaty, the conduct of the war has been attended with numerous difficulties and perils, to surmount which the joint efforts of the United States and of their great and good ally have been necessary.

Congress consider it as a fortunate circumstance, that during that period the affairs of his Most Christian Majesty in this quarter have been under the direction of an able and faithful Minister, whose anxiety to promote the views and essential interests of his sovereign, has been ever attended with a laudable endeavor to reconcile them to those of his allies. Without such a disposition it is evident there could not have existed a concert of those measures, which by the smiles of Providence, have hastened the conclusion of the late distressing war.

The abilities of the gentleman, who as you are informed, is to be charged with the affairs of your department, and his thorough knowledge of the principles, on which the alliance was founded, will we doubt not, conspire to produce on his part, such measures as will best promote the mutual interest of the two nations.

We now, Sir, bid you an affectionate adieu, with the fullest assurance, that you will be happy in the smiles and approbation of your royal sovereign; and we sincerely wish, that you may be equally so in an interview with your friends, and in your future engagements.

THOMAS MIFFLIN, _President_.

* * * * *

TO JOHN JAY, SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

Translation.

Paris, (date uncertain) 1787?

Sir,

I dare not flatter myself, that your Excellency has any recollection of a man, who had the benefit of your acquaintance but a few days, and even at a time when he could not express himself in your language.

I arrived in America, Sir, when, after having rendered the most important services to the confederacy, and sustained with the greatest distinction, the office of President of Congress, that body had intrusted you with the important care of conducting their affairs in Spain, and in the principal Courts of Europe.

I have resided in America five years, as Minister Plenipotentiary of the King to Congress, and though indeed I cannot but be well satisfied with the kindness and the confidence, which that illustrious body have ever shown me, I have always regretted, that you were not during that period one of its members. You departed from Europe when I returned to it. At that time I flattered myself, that I should again see you in America, and resume my duties there. But his Majesty has thought fit to give me another destination. Will you have the goodness to present to Congress my letters of recall, and to express to that body for me the high sentiments of respect and veneration, with which I have long regarded them. Allow me also to request your Excellency to accept the assurances of the attachment and consideration, with which I have the honor to be, &c.

LUZERNE.

THE

CORRESPONDENCE

OF

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON;

SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

For more than five years from the commencement of the Revolution, the foreign concerns of Congress were transacted through a committee, which was first appointed on the 29th of November, 1775, and called the _Committee of Secret Correspondence_. It was their duty to correspond with all the American Agents, Commissioners, and Ministers abroad, to report to Congress on these matters from time to time, and receive such instructions from that body as occasion required. It is to be understood, however, that in this respect they acted only a subordinate part, for it was customary for the Ministers abroad to direct their letters to the President of Congress. After having been read in that Assembly, they were put into the hands of the Committee, whose business it was to answer them. On account of the absence of the members, the committee itself was frequently very thin, and sometimes for weeks together not more than one member was present at the seat of Government. Hence responsibility rested nowhere, and it is no wonder that delays, neglect, and ill management were the consequences.

Various causes retarded the adoption of a better system, but chiefly the warmth of party and internal jealousies, which prevailed within the walls of Congress for a long time, and too often defeated measures of essential importance, when there was a probability that they would throw a new weight of power into a scale of doubtful preponderance. To this state of circumstances it is in a great degree to be attributed, that no plan for a regular Department of Foreign Affairs was resolved upon till the 10th of January, 1781, and that no person was appointed to fill the office thus created till seven months later. On the 10th of August, ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON was chosen _Secretary of Foreign Affairs_, but he did not enter upon the duties of the Department till the 20th of October.

From this date a salutary change found its way into the management of Foreign Affairs. To abilities and other qualifications well suited to the station, Mr Livingston added energy, diligence, and promptitude, as his numerous letters on a great variety of topics abundantly testify. We hear no more complaints from the Ministers abroad, that their letters are forgotten and unanswered, or that they receive no intelligence nor instructions from home.

The details of the Department were so modified, after he accepted the appointment, as to embrace Domestic Affairs to a certain extent. He was to correspond with the President of Congress, the Governors of the States, the Commander in Chief, and generally with all persons on topics in any manner connected with the primary objects of his office. His letters to the American Ministers at Foreign Courts, and to the French Ministers in this country, have already been printed in the correspondence of those persons respectively. This order was thought preferable, as the continuity of the subjects embraced in the different branches of correspondence would thus be more distinctly preserved. The letters, which follow, are chiefly to the President of Congress, and to other officers and persons, who were in the United States at the time they were written.

Mr Livingston continued a little short of two years in the Department of Foreign Affairs. He resigned in June, 1783.

THE

CORRESPONDENCE

OF

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

ORGANIZATION OF A FOREIGN DEPARTMENT.

In Congress, January 10th, 1781.

Congress took into consideration the report of the committee appointed to consider and report a plan for the Department of Foreign Affairs, wherein they state,

That the extent and the rising power of these United States, entitle them to a place among the great potentates of Europe, while our political and commercial interests point out the propriety of cultivating with them a friendly correspondence and connexion;

That to render such an intercourse advantageous, the necessity of a competent knowledge of the interests, views, relations, and systems of those potentates, is obvious;

That a knowledge, in its nature so comprehensive, is only to be acquired by a constant attention to the state of Europe, and an unremitted application to the means of acquiring well grounded information;

That Congress are moreover called upon to maintain with our Ministers at foreign Courts a regular correspondence, and to keep them fully informed of every circumstance and event, which regards the public honor, interest and safety;

That to answer those essential purposes, the committee are of opinion, that a fixed and permanent office for the Department of Foreign Affairs ought forthwith to be established, as a remedy against the fluctuations, the delay and indecision to which the present mode of managing our foreign affairs must be exposed; whereupon,

_Resolved_, That an office be forthwith established for the Department of Foreign Affairs, to be kept always in the place where Congress shall reside;

That there shall be a Secretary for the despatch of business of the said office, to be styled "Secretary of Foreign Affairs;"

That it shall be the duty of the said Secretary to keep and preserve all the books and papers belonging to the Department of Foreign Affairs; to receive and report the applications of all foreigners; to correspond with the Ministers of the United States at foreign Courts, and with the Ministers of foreign powers and other persons, for the purpose of obtaining the most extensive and useful information relative to foreign affairs, to be laid before Congress when required; also to transmit such communications, as Congress shall direct, to the Ministers of the United States and others at foreign Courts, and in foreign countries; the said Secretary shall have liberty to attend Congress, that he may be better informed of the affairs of the United States, and have an opportunity of explaining his reports respecting his Department; he shall also be authorised to employ one, or, if necessary, more clerks to assist him in the business of his office; and the Secretary, as well as such clerks, shall, before the President of Congress, take an oath of fidelity to the United States, and an oath for the faithful execution of their respective trusts.

* * * * *

APPOINTMENT OF A SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

In Congress, August 10th, 1781.

Congress proceeded to the election of a Secretary of Foreign Affairs; and, the ballots being counted, Robert R. Livingston was elected, having been previously nominated by Mr Floyd.

* * * * *

TO MAJOR GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE.

Philadelphia, October 20th, 1781.[20]

Dear Sir,

Congress having done me the honor to appoint me their Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and made it my duty to collect and transmit such intelligence as may be useful to our Ministers, I take the liberty to open a correspondence with you. From the past, I have reason to hope, that your future operations will furnish the most agreeable and useful information at foreign Courts; for nothing is more incontrovertibly true, than that splendid victories and a wise Administration at home, are the best negotiators abroad.

Give me leave, Sir, to congratulate you upon your success. We have reason to hope, that it will be attended with the most important consequences, more especially, if as we may expect, the Commander in Chief should be enabled to make a considerable addition to the brave corps you command.

The enemy have sailed from New York with twentysix ships of the line, including three of fifty guns, having on board their ships of war five thousand land forces, in order to attempt the relief of Cornwallis. For that, happily, they are too late; but as sympathising friends afford consolation to the distressed, he may possibly derive some comfort from their sharing, at least in part, his fate.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

FOOTNOTES:

[20] Although Mr Livingston was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs on the 10th of August, he did not enter on the duties of the office till this day. See his letter to John Adams, in Mr Adams's _Correspondence_, Vol. VI. p. 178.

* * * * *

TO GOVERNOR GEORGE CLINTON OF NEW YORK.

Philadelphia, October 22d, 1781.

Dear Sir,

Give me leave to congratulate your Excellency, and through you the Legislature of our State, on the success of our arms at the southward. Cornwallis surrendered his army on the 17th of October. Count de Grasse was employed on the 18th in taking his marines on board, which I hope, by the blessing of Heaven, will be the prelude to a second victory.

My removal being far from having in any manner lessened my attachment to New York, I shall be anxious to hear that the present attempt of the enemy upon our frontiers, has only added to their disgrace, and enabled my countrymen to increase the reputation they have so justly acquired. Your Excellency will do me the honor to give me the earliest intelligence of the movements of the enemy.

I am, Sir, with the greatest respect and esteem, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Philadelphia, October 29th, 1781.

Sir,

The business of the department in which Congress have been pleased to place me, rendering it necessary to have recourse to the Secret Journals, and other books and papers in the possession of their Secretary, I take the liberty to request them by their order, to enable Mr Thomson to admit me to examine, and copy from such books of a secret nature in his possession, as may in anywise relate to the department of Foreign Affairs.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

CIRCULAR TO THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES.

Philadelphia, November 12th, 1781.

Sir,

Congress some time since, called upon the different States to make returns of the damage done by the enemy within each of them, by the wanton destruction of property, and no measures, that I can learn, have as yet been taken to ascertain such damage, though as your Excellency will easily conceive, it may become an important object of inquiry, whenever a treaty shall be set on foot for a general pacification, or be made to answer valuable purposes during the war, by showing our enemies in their true light to the nations of Europe.

In this view, I think it my duty to endeavor to collect them, and you will, Sir, I am persuaded, take the necessary measures to send as soon as possible, returns from the State over which you preside. I could wish to have the damages, (particularly that to real property,) ascertained by the affidavits of people of known characters, and duplicate copies of such affidavits transmitted to my officers, under the great seal of your State, and, if possible, accompanied with a short recital of each transaction, so that it may at once appear, whether the injuries were such as the laws of war justified, or whether they originated only in the malice and cruelty of the enemy.

Your Excellency will oblige me, and serve the public, by transmitting to me accounts of every occurrence, in which the United States are materially interested, which may arise within your government, or which you may derive from your correspondents abroad.

I have the honor to be, with great respect and esteem, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Philadelphia, November 18th, 1781.

Sir,

The subject mentioned in the letters of Mr Adams, and their enclosures, requiring their express direction, I humbly submit to the consideration of Congress.

In Dr Franklin's letter of the 6th of August to Mr Adams, he informs him, "that he cannot depend on receiving any more money in France applicable to the support of the Ministers of Congress, and that what aids are thereafter granted, will probably be transmitted by the government directly to America." Congress need no arguments to convince them of the disgrace and danger of permitting their most confidential servants to be necessitous in a foreign country.

I will with their approbation, concert with the Superintendent of Finance, the means of supplying our Ministers, Agents, and Secretaries. But to facilitate these means, and convince the powers to whom we are indebted for money, that we know the value of their aids, I would humbly submit to Congress the propriety of practising the strictest economy, as far as it may be consistent with their honor, and the justice due to those they employ. That Congress may determine the more readily whether their establishment will admit of any reduction, or devise the most effectual means of defraying the expense of it, I take the liberty to lay before them the annual amount of the salaries of their servants now abroad.

If I am well informed, it is usual to distinguish the allowances to Ministers by the expenses of the country in which they live, and the character they are obliged to support. Such a rule would be productive of great saving to us, whose policy it is to have agents without any acknowledged public characters, at Courts which refuse to receive our Ministers. How far so important a station as that of Secretary to an Embassy might be supplied by private secretaries with moderate salaries, at least till the existence of the Embassy was acknowledged, must be submitted to the wisdom of Congress. Certain it is, that foreigners who may not be acquainted with the dignified characters of those we employ abroad as secretaries, will be surprised to find their emoluments equal, if not exceeding those allowed by the richest potentates in Europe, and that too, when the great object of the mission is to represent our wants, and solicit supplies for civil and military establishments at home.

Perhaps, too, from the ground on which the successful issue of this campaign has placed us, Congress may see it improper to solicit Courts, who are so little disposed to serve us as those of Petersburg and Lisbon, or to expend additional sums of money on agencies to Russia or Portugal.

Another part of the despatches referred to me, are those that relate to John Temple, to which Congress alone are competent to give directions. The reports currently circulated in England relative to his first mission, his coming by way of New York, his return to England, his abode there, his present visit to America, render him an object of attention, not only to the people of this country, but to those of Europe, and give weight to those suspicions of attachment to England, which, as it is her policy to keep up, it should be ours on every occasion to discourage. Congress will judge how far it is proper to suggest any measures to the State of Massachusetts. I take the liberty to submit to them, whether at least it would not be expedient to adopt such resolutions as would leave the Executive of that State uninfluenced in their conduct towards him, by his being the bearer of public despatches. Congress will observe, that I have no personal acquaintance with Mr Temple, nor any knowledge of facts, which would lead me to suspect his principles, other than the matters, which are above stated and publicly known.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Philadelphia, November 25th, 1781.

Sir,

I enclose to Congress the heads of the communication, which I had the honor to make to them on the 23d, as far as I could obtain permission from the Minister of France to reduce them to writing. There is but one omission, the reason of which was assigned at the time I made the verbal communication. I also enclose an extract of a letter from the Count de Vergennes to the Minister of France, as translated and communicated to me by him, which I have thought it necessary to submit to the perusal of the Superintendent of Finance.

I am at a loss to judge whether Congress intended in their reference of General Duportail's letter, that I should report to them, or write to Dr Franklin on the subject myself; supposing the latter to have been the case, I have accordingly written; but lest I may have been mistaken, I submit my letter to their inspection, and if it is not conformable to their intentions, I beg to be honored with their further direction.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

GENERAL GREENE TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

Camp Round O, South Carolina, } December 13th, 1781. }

Dear Sir,

Your favor of the 22d of October came to hand a day or two since.

I shall be happy to communicate anything from this quarter, that may be useful to you, or to our affairs abroad, and I have the pleasure to inform you, that we have complete possession of all the Southern States, Charleston and Savannah excepted.

Civil government is established in Georgia, and the Assembly of South Carolina will set the 1st of next month, at Camden. We are making preparations for the siege of Charleston, and are not altogether without hopes of obliging the enemy to abandon the place, even if our good ally should not be able to co-operate with us. The tyrant of Syracuse was never more odious than the British army in this country. Even the slaves rejoice, and feel a kind of freedom from oppression, in the return of their masters.

I beg leave to congratulate you upon our late glorious success in Virginia, and upon your own appointment of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I have the honor to be, &c.

NATHANIEL GREENE.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Philadelphia, January 18th, 1782.

Sir,

I do myself the honor to submit to the inspection of the United States, in Congress, an affidavit made by Mr Marshall on the subject of Mr Deane's letters, and have directed copies of the letters and affidavit to be made out for the Minister of his Most Christian Majesty, and the Superintendent of Finance. Measures have long since been taken to put our Ministers upon their guard against Mr Deane. I shall add to them, as opportunities offer, the new proofs which these letters furnish of his defection. Copies will also be sent to the Governor of Connecticut, unless the Representatives of that State, in Congress, who propose to make them the ground of judicial proceedings, should prefer taking copies to be examined and compared with the original, by a person who could prove such examination, or to authenticate them in any other way, which will ensure their being received as evidence conformably to the practice of their Courts.

I had proposed to mention them in my correspondence with the first Magistrates of the respective States, as affording proofs of the distant prospect of peace, and the necessity of relying only upon our own exertions to procure it, but am deterred from this measure, by the weight which it might possibly give to Mr Deane's ill founded assertions.

I shall endeavor to conform to the views of the United States, in any further direction with which they may please to honor me.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

* * * * *

TO GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL OF CONNECTICUT.

Philadelphia, January 22d, 1782.

Sir,

I do myself the honor to enclose certified copies of two letters from Silas Deane, which serve in some measure to authenticate those that have been published in his name, and strongly mark such a change in his sentiments and principles as is worthy of the attention of the State of which he is a citizen. The originals are lodged in this office, to which your Excellency may at any time apply, if such copies should be required, as would amount to legal evidence; I have also enclosed a copy of an affidavit of Mr Marshall to prove the identity of the letters, and his having received them from Silas Deane.