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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.

Grosvenor Square, Westminster, 5 November, 1785.

Dear Sir,—

The Chevalier de Pinto, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from Portugal, after a long absence by leave of his Court, is lately arrived here from Lisbon. Upon several occasions, when I met him at Court and upon visits, he told me that he had orders from his Court to confer with me, upon the project of a treaty between the United States and Portugal; but he never descended to particulars till yesterday, when he called upon me, and said that, before he left Lisbon, his Court had learned that I was in England, and had charged him to enter into conference with me, concerning that project of a treaty which had been transmitted to his Court by the Count de Souza; that the Portuguese ministry, notwithstanding their high esteem for their ambassador in France, knowing that he lived in the country, and was in distress, did not choose that the negotiation should be any longer conducted by him, but had committed the project to their envoy at the Court of England, and had instructed him to assure me that the Court of Lisbon was sincerely desirous of entering into a treaty of commerce with the United States of America, a power with which it was more convenient for Portugal to trade than any other. But there were some things in the plan proposed, which were inadmissible; particularly, the Americans could never be admitted into the Brazils. It was impossible. It was the invariable maxim of their Court, to exclude all nations from those territories; and, having himself served for some years as governor-general of one of the Brazils, he knew it was a policy from which his Court could never, on any condition, depart; that it was a great compliment to him, to be preferred to the Count de Souza for the conduct of such a negotiation; that he made no pretensions to such merit, but readily acknowledged the superiority of the ambassador; but it was the pleasure of his Court, and he had no right to dispute it.

I answered, that I had no authority to treat, but in conjunction with Mr. Jefferson, the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of Versailles; that the full power to treat with Portugal was to Mr. Jefferson and me jointly; so that I could conclude nothing without his concurrence, nor carry on any conferences without communicating them to him. To this I supposed he could have no objection. He said, none at all.

His first instruction was, he said, to confer with me concerning the mutual wants and several productions of our countries, which might be the objects of commerce. His countrymen wanted, he said, grain. I asked, if they did not want flour. He said he was not precisely instructed concerning flour; but they had mills in Portugal which they wished to employ. I replied, that, in every negotiation, I thought there ought to be a mutual consideration of each other’s profits and losses, advantages and disadvantages, so that the result might be equitable, and give satisfaction on both sides; that a commerce founded upon compacts made upon this principle, would ever be carried on with more pleasure and to better effect; that we had mills which we wished to employ, as well as Portugal, and mills as costly and as good as those of any nation. In this respect, then, our pretensions were mutual and equal; but there were other particulars in which, without benefit to Portugal, the loss to the United States would be very great. The commodity was more difficult to preserve in grain than in flour; it was more exposed to the insect and to heat, both at home and upon the passage, by which means the loss upon wheat was much greater than that upon flour; that it would not be equitable, then, for Portugal to receive wheat to the exclusion of flour; that this was a point of so much importance, that it would facilitate the treaty, and encourage the commerce, if his Court should think fit to agree to receive our flour.

He said he had not precise instructions, but he would write to his Court particularly upon this subject. The next article wanted by the Portuguese was lumber of various sorts, particularly staves for pipes, in large quantities. They wanted, also, ship timber, pitch, tar, and turpentine, potash for their manufactures of glass, iron, masts, yards and bowsprits, furs, ginseng, and, above all, salt fish. The consumption of this article in Portugal, he said, was immense; and, he would avow to me, that the American salt fish was preferred to any other, on account of its quality. Here, you see, says the Chevalier de Pinto, is a catalogue of articles which the Portuguese will want in larger or smaller quantities; now, what are the articles you can take in America in exchange? It behoves my nation to inquire what they can supply yours with; otherwise the balance in your favor may be too ruinous to us. It happens unluckily for Portugal, that the Americans have no occasion for our principal commodities, which are tobacco, rice, indigo, &c., the produce of the Brazils. I replied, that the United States had been used to take considerable quantities of Madeira, Lisbon, and port wines, fruits, olive oil, salt, &c. He asked, why we could not take tea from Lisbon. They imported from the east large quantities, and very good. The English East India Company had purchased of them this year teas to the amount of forty thousand pounds, and he thought they could sell it to us cheaper than we bought it elsewhere. They could supply us, likewise, with other East India goods. Perhaps we intended to supply ourselves by a direct trade to India. He was glad to hear that our first enterprises had succeeded; but, if we continued to take any part of our consumption from Europe, they could supply us as cheaply as any other nation. Sugar, too, the produce of the Brazils, they could furnish to us, of as good quality as English or French, and much cheaper. If we should think of manufactures among ourselves, they could let us have wool of the same quality with the Spanish, and cotton in any quantities we might want. If we made chocolate, they could sell us cocoa. Indeed, they had woollen manufactures, and could afford us cloth as good and cheap as other nations.

These were things, I replied, in which the merchants on both sides should speculate. If the United States should proceed in the plan already begun, of encouraging their own manufactures, the raw materials of wool and cotton would be in demand; and, if they persevered in their measures for encouraging their own navigation, they would want large quantities of hemp, sail cloth, &c., from the Baltic; and, for what I knew, they might find their account in taking sugars, cotton, cocoa, &c., at Lisbon, to carry as remittances to Petersburgh and Stockholm. They might even, upon some occasions, purchase tobacco, rice, and indigo for the same market, as well as the Mediterranean, if that sea should be open to our ships. But all these things would depend upon the facilities given to our commodities by the treaty. Nothing would contribute so much to promote the trade, as their receiving our flour without duties or discouragements; our ready built ships, too, were an article of importance to us. He said he did not know that our ready built ships were prohibited. I asked, if they could not take our spermaceti oil to burn in their lamps, or for any other uses. He said, no; they had such an abundance of oil made in the country, of olives which grew there, that they had no occasion for their own spermaceti oil, which they sold to Spain; they had now a very pretty spermaceti whale fishery which they had learned of the New Englanders, and carried on upon the coast of Brazil. I asked, if they could not take our spermaceti candles, and burn them in their churches. He said, they made some wax in Portugal and some in Brazil; but he would own it was not enough for their consumption; the surplus they bought in Italy and Barbary at a dear rate. At length, I observed to the Chevalier that Portugal abounded in two articles which would be extremely convenient to my fellow-citizens, in which she might always balance accounts with us to our entire satisfaction, whether we should take more or less of their other commodities. These were silver and gold, than which no kind of merchandise was in greater demand, or had a higher reputation. The Chevalier thought the taste of his countrymen so much like ours, that they had rather pay us in any thing else.

I added, if the conduct of the Court of St. James should oblige the United States to make a navigation act, their commerce must increase with Portugal. A navigation act! said he. Why, there is not a nation in Europe that would suffer a navigation act to be made in any other, at this day. The English navigation act was made in times of ignorance, when few nations cultivated commerce, and no Court but this understood or cared any thing about it; but, at present, all courts were attentive to it. For his part, if he were minister in Portugal, he would not hesitate to exclude from her ports the ships of any nation that should make such an act. I replied, that I did not mean a navigation act against any nation but this; but, if the English persevered in enforcing their act against us, we could do no other than make one against them. The Chevalier said we should be perfectly in the right. The Courts of Europe had a long time cried out against this act of the English. If it were now to begin, it would not be submitted to.

This observation is just, and it may be carried farther. I do not believe the British navigation act can last long; at least, I am persuaded, if America has spirit enough, umbone repellere umbonem, that all other nations will soon follow her example, and the apprehension of this would be alone sufficient, if thinking beings governed this island, to induce them to silence America, by giving her satisfaction. But they rely upon our disunion, and think it will be time enough, when we shall have shown that we can agree.

The Chevalier concluded the conference, by saying that he would write to his Court for farther information and instructions; and, as I understood him, for full powers. But, before he went away, he said he had orders from his Court to inquire of me what were the sentiments of congress upon the head of ministers and consuls, whether they would send a minister and consul to Lisbon. His Court had a mind to send somebody to the United States; but etiquette required that congress should send in return to Portugal. I answered, that, in the project of a treaty, which was in his possession, there was an article that each party should have a right to send consuls; so that, when the treaty was concluded, Portugal would be at liberty to send when she would. As to ministers, I had no instructions; but there could be no doubt, that, if their Majesties of Portugal thought proper to send an ambassador of any denomination, he would be received by congress with all the respect due to his character and his sovereign. He said, if there was a treaty, there ought to be ministers. I could not answer to this particularly, for want of instructions; but congress had, as yet, but few ministers abroad; and, indeed, they had not found many gentlemen disposed to quit the delights of their own families and connections, and the esteem of their fellow-citizens, for the sake of serving in Europe; and here ended the conversation.

With great esteem, &c.

John Adams.

P. S. I forgot to mention in its place, that I asked the Chevalier about our ships being admitted to the Portuguese island of Macao in the East Indies. He said, that would be of importance to us; for he did not see how the commerce with China could be carried on without the use of that island, as there were certain seasons of the year when European ships, and American, too, he supposed, could not be admitted into Canton. But our ships should enjoy the benefit of their island as fully as any nation in Europe.

You will perceive, sir, by this conference, what is more and more manifest every day; that there is, and will continue, a general scramble for navigation. Carrying trade, ship building, fisheries, are the cry of every nation; and it will require all the skill and firmness of the United States to preserve a reasonable share of their own. They have brought treaties of commerce so much into fashion, that more have been made since the American war, and are now in negotiation, than had been made for a century before. Courts which never made one before, are now proposing them to several others. Portugal is supposed to be pushing for one with Russia; and, if we have heretofore been discouraged and thwarted in any attempts, it was by those who meant to be beforehand with us in proposals which they taught us to believe it unnecessary and beneath our dignity to make. France does not now think it beneath her dignity to propose a treaty with Russia, nor do French or English newspapers, under the direction of their Courts, think it beneath them to fill all Europe with reports of our disunion, and of the want of powers in congress to make treaties, in order to keep us back.

The fatal policy of obstructing and delaying our treaties of commerce, especially with England, has thrown American merchants into their present distress, and not only prevented our acquiring fresh advantages in trade by the revolution, but taken from us many sources which we enjoyed before. Our countrymen, partly from penury, and partly from fondness, have been too easily drawn into the snare.

J. A.