him, and I am going to write to him myself, in order to request him to admit your declaration in their favour, in the absence of other proofs. Receive, sir, the assurance of my consideration. CH. MAU. TALLEYRAND. TRANSLATION. Copy of a Circular letter, written by the "Minister of Marine and the Colonies, to all the principal Officers of the Ports, Civil and Military, on the 29th Thermidor, 6 year (16 August, 1798.) OUR political situation with regard to the United States, citizen, not having as yet undergone any change which can affect the respect due to neutral nations, I do not think I have need to remind you, that no injury should be done to the safety and liberty of the officers and crews of any American vessel found to be in order, and that the same conduct ought to be observed towards all passengers and other citizens of the United States, furnished with the necessary passports or protections. You will be pleased to use a vigilant attention, that the intentions of the government in this respect may be pursued by all those under you, and when any of them has departed from them, you will do justice upon the complaints which may be addressed to you, after ascertaining their validity. The Minister of Marine and of the Colonies. For a true copy, E. BRUIX. The Minister of Exterior Relations, TRANSLATION. Copy of the Circular letter written by the Minister of Marine and the Colonies,-to the Agents of the Marine in the ports of the Republick. Paris, the 24th Thermidor, 6th year (11th August, 1798.) · crews. I OBSERVE, citizen, by the correspondence of the greater part of the administrators of the ports, that the embargo recently laid upon the American vessels has occasioned the detention of the The intentions of the government were very badly understood, when a measure was adopted, which, in the first place, hazards the safety of these vessels, and in the second place ap. pears to place us in a hostile attitude with respect to the United States, whilst the acts of the government evince, on the contrary, that it desires a good understanding between the two republicks. I therefore charge you, citizen, immediately upon the receipt of this, to order the discharge of all the Americans who may have been considered as prisoners of war, in consequence of the embargo of their vessels. You will be pleased to render me a prompt account of the execution of this order. The Minister of Marine and of the Colonies. Copy of a Decree. Extract from the Register of the Decrees of the Executive Directory, of the 29th Thermidor, 6th year of the French Republick, one and indivisible. (16th August, 1798.) THE Executive Directory considering, that notwithstanding the hostile manifestations of the government of the United States, which have occasioned a momentary embargo upon their vessels, it must be believed that unless abandoned to the passions of the British cabinet, that government, faithful to the interests of the American nation, will take measures conformable to the pacifick dispositions of the French Republick, after it shall receive a confirmation of them: And wishing to pursue the friendly and fraternal habits of France towards a people whose liberty it defended; Decrees as follows, Art. 1. The embargo laid upon the American vessels shall be immediately raised. Art. 11. The Minister of Marine and of the Colonies, is charged with the execution of the present decree, which shall not be printed. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO CONGRESS. JAN. 21, 1799. ACCORDING to an intimation in my message of Friday last, I now lay before Congress a report of the Secretary of State, containing his observations on some of the documents which attended it. JOHN ADAMS. To the President of the United States. THE Secretary of State respectfully submits the following report on the transactions relating to the United States and France, since the last communications to Congress on that subject. TIMOTHY PICKERING. Department of State, REPORT Of the Secretary of State on the Transactions relating to the United States and France, since the last communications to Congress on that subject. THE points chiefly meriting attention are the attempts of the French government, 1. To exculpate itself from the charge of corruption, as having demanded a douceur of fifty thousand pounds sterling (222,000 dollars) for the pockets of the Directors and Ministers, as represented in the despatches of our envoys: 2. To detach Mr. Gerry from his colleagues, and to inveigle him into a separate negotiation; and 3. Its design, if the negotiation failed, and a war should take place between the United States and France, to throw the blame of the rupture on the United States. 1. The despatches of the envoys published in the United States, and republished in England, reached Paris towards the last of May and on the 30th of that month, the French minister, Mr. Talleyrand, affecting an entire ignorance of the persons designated by the letters W. X. Y. and Z.-calling them intriguers, whose object was to deceive the envoys-writes to Mr. Gerry, and "prays him immediately to make known to him their names." Mr. Gerry, in his answer of the 31st, wishes to evade Mr. Talleyrand's request; and with reason, for he and his colleagues had "promised Messrs. X. Y. that their names should in no event be made publick." Mr. Gerry, in his letter of October 1, in noting the repetition of Mr. Talleyrand's request for those names, states as an objection to giving them up "that they could be otherwise ascertained;" and that Mr. Talleyrand's messenger, admitting the fact that they were already known, immediately mentioned their names. Mr. Gerry nevertheless certified in writing the names of X. Y. and Z; with the reserve "that they should not be published on his authority :" and besides formally certifying to Mr. Talleyrand the names of his own private agents, added, that "they did not produce, to his knowledge, credentials or documents of any kind."-" Credential” in writing were certainly not to be expected to be produced by agents employed to make corrupt propositions: but Mr. Gerry had Mr. Talleyrand's own assurance that Mr. Y. was acting by his authority. It is recited in the envoys' despatches, and upon Mr. Gerry's own report to his colleagues, that on the 17th of December, 1797, Mr. Y. “stated to him that two measures which Mr. Talleyrand proposed, being adopted, a restoration of friendship between the republicks would follow immediately; the one was a gratuity of fifty thousand pounds sterling; the other a purchase of thirty-two millions of Dutch rescriptions," and after conversing on these topicks, Mr. Gerry and Mr. Y. rode to Mr. Talleyrand's office, where "Mr. Gerry observed to Mr. Talleyrand, that Mr. Y. had stated to him that morning, some propositions as coming from Mr. Talleyrand, respecting which, Mr. Gerry could give no opinion," and after making some other observations, Mr. Talleyrand answered, "that the information Mr. Y. had given him (Mr. Gerry) was just, and might always be relied on." This declaration stamps with the ministers authority, all the communications made by Mr. Y. to the envoys. And Mr. Y. himself, who is Mr. Bellamy, of Hamburg, in his publick vindication, declares, that "he had done nothing, said nothing, and written nothing, without the orders of citizen Talleyrand." The same may be asserted in regard to Mr. X. for he first introduced Mr. Y. to the envoys; and his separate communications were substantially the same with those of Y. and both together were present with the envoys when the communications were more than once repeated. It also deserves notice, that in stating the preliminary demands of the French government, the private agents, X. and Y., and the minister, use a similar language. The agents declare, that the Directory are extremely irritated at the speech of the President, and require an explanation of some parts of it, and reparation for others; that this must give pain to the envoys, but the Directory would not dispense with it and that as to the means of averting the demand concerning the President's speech, the envoys must search for them, and propose them, themselves. Being asked to suggest the means, the answer is "money"—the purchase of the Dutch rescriptions, and "the fifty thousand pounds sterling, as a douceur to the Directory." The minister told the envoys, that the Directory were wounded by the President's speech; and, in his conversation with Mr. Gerry on the 28th of October, said, "the Directory had passed an arret, which he offered for perusal, in which they had demanded of the envoys an explanation of some parts, and a reparation for others, of the President's speech to Congress of the 16th of May, 1797; that he was sensible that difficulties would exist on the part of the envoys relative to this demand; but that by their offering money he thought he could prevent the effect of the arret. Mr. Z. (the "interpreter") at the request of Mr. Gerry, having stated that the envoys have no such powers, Mr. Talleyrand replied, they can in such case take a power on themselves; and proposed that they should make a "loan." But this "loan," as will presently appear, did not mean the "money," which would "prevent the effect of the arret." Mr. Gerry then making some observations on the powers of the envoys-that they were adequate to the dicussion and adjustment of all points of real difference between the two nations; that they could alter and amend the treaty; or if necessary, form a new one;" added, "that as to a loan, they had no pow. ers whatever, to make one, but that they could send one of their number for instructions on this proposition, if deemed expedient:""That as he [Mr. Talleyrand] had expressed a desire to confer with the envoys individually, it was the wish of Mr. Gerry, that such a conference should take place, and their opinions thus be ascertained.” "Mr. Talleyrand, in answer said, he should be glad to confer with the other envoys, individually, but that this matter about the MONEY must be settled directly without sending to America; that he would not communicate the arret for a week; and that if we could adjust the difficulty respecting the speech, an application would nevertheless go to the United States for a LOAN:" Now this matter of the MONEY that must be settled directly, could only refer to the douceur; for a loan in the purchase of millions of Dutch rescriptions, or in any other form, could only be the subject of a stipulation to be afterwards fulfilled by the United States; but the douceur of fifty thousand pounds sterling, was a sum within the immediate reach of the envoys; for their credit would certainly command it in fact, a mercantile house had offered to answer their draughts; and this, Mr. Talleyrand unquestionably well knew; for it was a member of the same house who first introduced the minister's agent Mr. X., to general Pinckney, in the manner stated in the envoys' despatches. A collateral evidence that in "this matter of the money that must be settled directly," Mr. Talleyrand referred only to the douceur arises from this circumstance: The very next day (October 29th) Mr. X. called on the envoys and said, "Mr. Talleyrand was extremely anxious to be of service to them, and had requested that one more effort should be made to induce us to enable him to be so." After a great deal of the same conversation which had passed at former interviews had been repeated, the envoys say" the sum of his proposi tion was, that if we would pay by way of fees (that was his expression) the sum of MONEY demanded for PRIVATE USE, the |