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Subject Area: Political Theory
Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

TO SECRETARY JAY. - John Adams, The Works of John Adams, vol. 8 (Letters and State Papers 1782-1799) [1853]

Edition used:

The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations, by his Grandson Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856). 10 volumes. Vol. 8.

Part of: The Works of John Adams, 10 vols.

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TO SECRETARY JAY.

Bath Hotel, Westminster, 6 June, 1785.

Dear Sir,—

Colonel Smith, on the 3d of this month, informed me that Colonel Forrest had been with him, in behalf of two gentlemen of Glasgow,—Mr. Colquhoun, Provost of that city, and Mr. Alexander Brown,—who were deputed by the merchants of that place who had debts in America, to confer with the creditors in London concerning an application to ministry and parliament to obtain their interposition for the recovery of their claims, but that, having heard of the appointment of a minister to this Court, and of my arrival, they were desirous of seeing me. I desired Colonel Smith to inform them that I should be glad to see them the next morning. Accordingly, on the 4th, they came, and Mr. Colquhoun informed me of his errand, and said he was very glad that congress had appointed a minister, because he hoped that the article of debts would now be accommodated to mutual satisfaction, without any application on their part, and he should be glad to return to Scotland without making any, provided he could be furnished with a reasonable account to give of himself to his constituents.

I told him I was obliged to him for having given me an opportunity to see him; that the merchants of Glasgow must be sensible we were but just emerged from an impoverishing war, in which there had been a great interruption of agriculture and commerce, and a still greater destruction of property, which rendered it difficult for any debtor, and impossible for many, to discharge their debts forthwith; that I was persuaded there was a general disposition to discharge the debts as fast as it could be done, but that time and patience were as much for the interest of the creditors as the debtors; that if there had been any interposition of the governments in America, it had been, as I presumed, solely with a view of giving time to negotiate an explication of the article of the treaty, and to prevent the imprudence of hasty creditors from hurting themselves as well as the debtors, to no good end; that one principal object of my mission was to negotiate this affair with the minister, and, although I was not authorized by the debtors, and could not be impowered by congress to treat with the merchants of London and Glasgow, they might depend upon my devoting a full proportion of my time to this subject with the ministry, and should be always ready to hear any proposals, explanations, or arguments, even from individuals, and to transmit them to congress, if they were such as merited attention; that it was thought very hard and unreasonable in America, that interest should be insisted on during the war, and that if the creditors could be brought to consent to relinquish it, and that a reasonable time should be allowed, I thought the whole might be arranged to mutual benefit and satisfaction; that creditors should consider that there was a great demand for clothing, stock, and utensils, to repair the waste of war, and to put estates into a condition to produce, and to set commerce in motion; that this, together with the zeal to pay as much of their debts as possible, had already raised the interest of money even to an alarming height; that it must be better to allow the debtor time to turn himself, that he might pay all, rather than press him suddenly, so that he might not be able to pay more than a part; that if property were seized upon now, it might not produce half its value, whereas, left in the hands of the present possessor, it would enable him to employ it to such advantage as to pay his debts in time.

Mr. Colquhoun made no particular reply to the subject of interest, but said the merchants of Glasgow were fully sensible of the circumstances I had mentioned, and were very willing to wait, and they were desirous of entering into some agreement that the debts should be paid in five years by instalments, one fifth in a year; but they were alarmed at the spirit of migration into the wilderness of America; they thought it wrong to be restrained from arresting the person or attaching property of a debtor whom they saw about to remove to Kentucky and other places, where they could never be come at. I told him, that this was new to me; but that Kentucky and all other new settlements were under the laws and jurisdiction of some State, as I supposed, and, therefore, the debtor and his property would be within the reach of the creditor as much as if he remained in the cities and old settlements; and, as those removals commonly advanced the fortune of the emigrant, it might be rather a benefit to his creditors, by increasing the ability to pay. I subjoined that there were two things which fell very hard upon the debtors in the States of Virginia and New York (for he had mentioned these particularly). One was, the great number of negroes which had been carried away. If these negroes had been restored according to the treaty, they would have been at work to earn money to pay their master’s debts, but the carrying them off was a double loss to the owner; and the holding possession of the posts upon the frontiers had kept out of our hands a valuable trade, which would have gone a great way to enable us to pay our debts.

He said he thought it a very foolish thing to hold possession of the posts, &c.; that he would venture to return to Scotland, and would take no more measures about applying to parliament, which he was sensible must excite a clamor; and he hoped the merchants of Glasgow would be contented to wait. He seemed to be well pleased with the conversation, and took his leave in good humor, so that I think it very lucky that so noisy a business as a petition to parliament should be so easily diverted at this critical moment.

But I am unfortunate in another respect, as my Lord Carmarthen is ill of a fever, so that I shall not, I fear, be able to commence conferences with him upon business so soon as hoped. No time shall be lost by me.

With great and sincere esteem, &c.

John Adams.