The Committee after as much deliberation upon the Subject as they chose to
employ, appointed me, to draw up a Plan and Report. Franklin had made some marks with a Pencil against some
Articles in a printed Volume of Treaties, which he put into my hand. Some of
these were judiciously selected, and I took them with others which I found
necessary into the Draught and made my report to the
Committee at large, who after a reasonable Examination of it, agreed to report
it. When it came before Congress, it occupied the Attention of that Body for
several days. Many Motions were made, to insert in it Articles of entangling
Alliance, of exclusive Priviledges, and of
Warrantees of Possessions: and it was argued that
the present Plan reported by the Committee held out no sufficient temptation to
France, who would despize it and
refuse to receive our Ambassador. It was chiefly left to me to defend my
report, though I had some able Assistance, and We did defend it with so much
Success, that the Treaty passed without one Particle of Alliance, exclusive
Priviledge, or Warranty.
I have omitted some things in 1775 which must be inserted. On the 18th
of
November September 1775. It was resolved in Congress,
that a Secret Committee be appointed to contract for the Importation and
delivery of any quantity of Gunpowder, not exceeding five hundred Tons. That in
case such a quantity of Gunpowder cannot be procured to contract for the
Importation of so much Saltpetre, with a proportionable quantity of Sulphur, as
with the Powder procured will make five hundred tons. That the Committee
be
impowered to contract for the importation of
forty brass field Pieces, six pounders, for 10,000 Stand of Arms and twenty
thousand good plain double bridle musket Locks. That the said Committee be
impowered to draw on the Treasurers to answer the said Contract. That the said
Committee consist of nine members, any five of whom to be a quorum. The Members
chosen Mr. Willing,
Mr. Franklin,
Mr. Livingston, Mr. Alsop, Mr.
Deane, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Langdon,
Mr. McKean and Mr. Ward. On the
Eigth of November 1775. On Motion resolved That the
Secret Committee appointed to contract for the Importation of Arms, Ammunition
&c. be
impowered to export to the
Page 2
foreign
West Indies, on Account and
risque of
the Continent, as much provision, or any other produce (except horned Cattle,
Sheep, hogs and Poultry) as they may deem necessary for the Importation of
Arms, Ammunition, Sulphur and Saltpetre. See the Journals of Congress for 1775.
Page 238. Wednesday November 8. 1775 and the Note.
On
Wednesday November 29. 1775.
(See
Journals of Congress for the Year 1775 page 272. and 273.) It was resolved that
a Committee of five be appointed for the sole purpose of corresponding with our
Friends in
Great Britain,
Ireland and other parts of the World, and that they lay their
Correspondence before Congress when directed. Resolved that Congress will make
provision to defray all such Expenses as may arise by carrying on such a
Correspondence and for the payment of such Agents as they may send on this
Service. The Members chosen Mr. Harrison, Dr.
Franklin, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Dickinson
and
Mr. Jay.
This last provision for an Agent was contrived I presume for Mr.
Deane who had been left out of the Delegation by the State, but
instead of returning home to
Connecticutt, remained in
Philadelphia, soliciting an Appointment under the two foregoing
Committees, as an Agent of theirs first in the
West Indies and then in
France. Unfortunately Mr. Deane was not well
established at home. The good People of
Connecticutt thought him a Man of
Talents and
Enterprize, but of more Ambition than
Principle. He possessed not their Esteem or Confidence. He procured his first
Appointment in 1774 to Congress by an Intrigue. Under the pretext of avoiding
to committ the Legislature of the State in any Act of Rebellion, he got a
Committee
of three appointed with some discretionary
Powers, under which they undertook to appoint the Members to Congress. Mr.
Deane being
one of the three was obliged to Vote for himself, to
obtain a Majority of the Committee. On the 3 of November 1774 The
Representatives indeed chose Mr. Deane among others, to attend
Congress the next May. But on the second Thursday of October 1775 The General
Assembly of Governor and Company left him out. On the 16. of Jan. 1776 The New
Delegates appeared in Congress. See the Journal Vol. 2. page 24 and 25. To the
two
SecretCommittees, that of Commerce and that of Correspondence,
Mr. Deane applied, and obtained of them Appointments as their
Agent.
Page 3
Dr. Franklin also gave him private
Letters one to Dr. Dubourg of
Paris a Physician who had translated his Works into French and
Mr. Dumas at
the Hague, who had seen him in
England. With these Credentials, Mr. Deane went
first to the
West Indies and then to
France. The Use he made of his Powers We shall hereafter see. He
was a person of a plausible readiness and Volubility with his Tongue and his
Pen, much addicted to Ostentation and
Expence in
Dress and Living but without any deliberate forecast or reflection or solidity
of judgment, or real Information. The manner in which he made Use of his Powers
We shall see hereafter. I had hitherto, however, thought well of his Intentions
and had acted with him on terms of entire Civility.
Within a day or two after the Appointment in Congress of the Committee of
Correspondence,
Mr. Jay came to my Chamber to spend
an Evening with me. I was alone, and
Mr. Jay opened
himself to me, with great frankness. His Object seemed to be, an Apology to me,
for my being omitted in the Choice of the two great Secret Committees of
Commerce and Correspondence. He said in express terms, "that my Character stood
very high
in Congress with the Members
universally, and
he knew there was but one Thing which prevented me from being universally
acknowledged to be the first Man in Congress, and that was this, there was a
great Division in the House, and two Men had effected it,
Samuel Adams and
Richard Henry
Lee, and as I was known to be very intimate with those two Gentlemen,
many others were jealous of me." . . . My Answer to all this was, that I had
thought it very strange, and had imputed it to some secret Intrigue out of
Doors, that no Member from Massachusetts had been elected on
either of those Committees. That I had no Pretensions to the distinction of the
first Man in Congress: and that if I had a clear title to it, I should be very
far from assuming it, or wishing for it. It was a Station of too much
responsibility and danger in the times and Circumstances in which We lived and
were destined to
life live. That I was a Friend very much Attached
to
Mr. Lee and
Mr. Adams,
because I knew them to be able Men and
in
Page 4
flexible in the cause of their Country. I could not therefore become
cool in my friendship for them, for the sake of any distinctions that Congress
could bestow. That I believed that too many commercial Projects and private
Speculations were in contemplation by the composition of those Committees: but
even those had not contributed so much to it, as the great division in the
House on the Subject of Independence and the mode of carrying on the War.
Mr. [illegible] Mr. Jay and I
however parted good Friends and have continued such without interruption to
this day 8 of March 1805. There is a Secret in this Business, that ought to be
explained.
Mr. Arthur Lee in London,
had heard some insinuations against
Mr. Jay as a
suspicious Character, and had written to his Brother
Richard
Henry Lee or to
Mr. Samuel Adams or both:
and although they were groundless and injurious, as I have no doubt, my Friends
had communicated them too indiscreetly, and had spoken of
Mr.
Jay too lightly. Mr. Lee had expressed doubts whether
Mr. Jay had composed the Address to the People of
Great Britain and ascribed it to his Father in Law Mr.
Livingston afterwards Governor of
New Jersey. These Things had occasioned some Words, and
Animosities which Uniting with the great Questions in Congress, had some
disagreable Effects. Mr. Jays
great Superiority to Mr. Livingston in the Art of Composition
would now be sufficient to decide the question if the latter had
[not] expressly
denyed having any
share in that Address.
On
Wednesday June 12. 1776
Congress
resolved, That a Committee of Congress be appointed by the name of a board of
War and Ordinance to consist of five members, with a secretary, Clerks &c.
and their
extensive Powers are stated, Vol. 2. page 209 of the
Journals. On the 13th. Congress having proceeded to the Election of a Committee
to form the board of War and ordinance, the following Members were chosen
Mr. J. Adams, Mr. Sherman,
Mr. Harrison, Mr. Wilson and Mr. E.
Rutledge, and Richard Peters Esq. was elected
Secretary. The Duties of this Board kept me in continual
