CHAPTER XII.The Difficulties of Diplomacy.
Courteous Reception in Paris.—Compliment of the King.—Principles of Prize Division.—Embarrassing Questions.—Interesting Correspondence.—The Final Settlement.—Modest Claims of Commodore Jones.—Plan for a Commercial Speculation.—Its Failure.—The Mission to Denmark.—Return to America.
Commodore Jones, upon his arrival in Paris, was invited to dine with Marshal Castries, Minister of Marine. After dinner the marshal took the commodore aside, and said to him:
“I am requested by his majesty the king to say to you that it will afford him much satisfaction to be able, in any way, to promote your future fortune.”
The commodore immediately entered, with all his energies, upon the arduous duties of hismission.mission.There is no diplomacy equal that of a straight-forward, honest purpose. There was never a shrewd manœuvrer who did not eventually manœuvre himself out of all influence. The reader would be weary of the detail of all the embarrassments which,throughthroughthe labors of two years, Commodore Jonesencountered, and over which, one by one, he triumphed. And his success was never owing to cunning or intrigue, but to the frank and manly pursuit of that which was just.
A careful examination of the diplomatic correspondence, which was long-continued and with great ability on both sides, shows that he was ever courteous, and that he held his own spirit under such control, that rarely could any annoyance provoke him to utter an irritable or a hasty word.
On the 20th of December Paul Jones was introduced to the king. He presented his credentials, and was received with the cordiality of established friendship. The following letter to the Minister of Marine will show the style and literary ability with which he conducted the correspondence. It was addressed to “My Lord Maréchal,” under date of February 1st, 1784.
“As I wish to give your excellency as little trouble as may be, respecting the money arising from prizes taken by the squadron I had the honor to command in Europe, I have waited, since the day you did me the honor to present me to his majesty, until this moment, in order to give you sufficient time for any arrangement you might find essential, before the division should take place between the ships and vessels that composed theforce under my command when the prizes were taken.“I now do myself the honor to transmit you the enclosed official letter on that subject, from Mr. Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, containing a copy of my credentials as agent from Congress, of which I had occasion to offer an account upon my arrival. I also enclose a statement of the force, in guns and men, of each ship and vessel that composed the squadron I commanded, which is the only paper essential to the first division of the prize-money.“It is the custom, in cases like the present, to multiply the number of the crew by the sum of the calibre of the cannon mounted on board each ship. The product gives the intrinsic force in proportion to which the share of the prize-money arising to each ship is determined. On that ground it is my duty to claim the proportion arising to the Bon Homme Richard and the Alliance. Their proportions will afterward be divided by the American Superintendent of Finance, agreeably to the rules of the American navy, between the officers and the crews of the two ships.“The subdivision of the shares of the other ships and vessels, in proportion to their force in men and metal, of the prizes in which they are concerned,will remain with your excellency to determine, as may be most agreeable to the respective officers and men. As those ships and vessels were entirely his majesty’s property, and their officers and men composed of French subjects, I do not presume to interfere in their respect any further than to pray your excellency, in the most earnest manner, to render them, and all concerned, that immediate justice to which all Europe knows their distinguished services so highly entitle them. As nearly four years and a half have already elapsed since those captures were made, I rely on the kind promise you gave me, that the prize-money shall now be immediately settled.“I am, with profound respect, my lord maréchal, your most obedient and most humble servant,”John Paul Jones.”
“As I wish to give your excellency as little trouble as may be, respecting the money arising from prizes taken by the squadron I had the honor to command in Europe, I have waited, since the day you did me the honor to present me to his majesty, until this moment, in order to give you sufficient time for any arrangement you might find essential, before the division should take place between the ships and vessels that composed theforce under my command when the prizes were taken.
“I now do myself the honor to transmit you the enclosed official letter on that subject, from Mr. Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, containing a copy of my credentials as agent from Congress, of which I had occasion to offer an account upon my arrival. I also enclose a statement of the force, in guns and men, of each ship and vessel that composed the squadron I commanded, which is the only paper essential to the first division of the prize-money.
“It is the custom, in cases like the present, to multiply the number of the crew by the sum of the calibre of the cannon mounted on board each ship. The product gives the intrinsic force in proportion to which the share of the prize-money arising to each ship is determined. On that ground it is my duty to claim the proportion arising to the Bon Homme Richard and the Alliance. Their proportions will afterward be divided by the American Superintendent of Finance, agreeably to the rules of the American navy, between the officers and the crews of the two ships.
“The subdivision of the shares of the other ships and vessels, in proportion to their force in men and metal, of the prizes in which they are concerned,will remain with your excellency to determine, as may be most agreeable to the respective officers and men. As those ships and vessels were entirely his majesty’s property, and their officers and men composed of French subjects, I do not presume to interfere in their respect any further than to pray your excellency, in the most earnest manner, to render them, and all concerned, that immediate justice to which all Europe knows their distinguished services so highly entitle them. As nearly four years and a half have already elapsed since those captures were made, I rely on the kind promise you gave me, that the prize-money shall now be immediately settled.
“I am, with profound respect, my lord maréchal, your most obedient and most humble servant,
”John Paul Jones.”
The prize ships had been sold in France, and the money had been placed in the hand of Monsieur de Chaumont, one of the crown officers of finance. But the treasury was in debt to him. He therefore took the liberty of keeping the money in payment of that debt, leaving it for the claimants to draw upon the empty treasury for whatever sum might be due them. In reference to this aspect of affairs, Commodore Jones wrote to the minister.
“Whether Monsieur de Chaumont is indebted tothe government, or the government is, as he says, indebted to him, is a matter which does not concern the captors of the prizes. But they have a right to claim the protection of government to force Monsieur de Chaumont to render the money, with interest, which he has unjustly detained from them, for four years and a half, while many of them are perishing with cold and hunger.”
This point he successfully carried. He had very wisely arranged with Congress that all the money he might recover should be transmitted by him to the Congressional treasury, to be paid by the minister to the individual claimants. According to the concordat or agreement which was entered upon with the French government when the little squadron sailed, it was settled:
“That the division of prizes should be made agreeably to the American laws; but that the proportion of the whole, coming to each vessel in the squadron, should be regulated by the minister of the Marine Department of France and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America.”
But here there were conflicting principles. By the laws of France a certain proportion of all prize-money was set apart for the support of the Hospital of Invalids, from which institution American sailors could derive no benefit. The American prize lawsgave captors the whole value of ships of war, and half the value of merchantmen. After long negotiation the French government yielded this point also, and allowed the distribution to be made according to American law.
There were, it will be remembered, five hundred British prisoners, captured by Jones, maintained at very considerable expense for some time by the French government, at the Texel. The British government refused to surrender, in exchange for these men,Americanprisoners. They did, however, give upFrenchprisoners, in exchange for them. When Commodore Jones passed over these men to the French authorities, it was with the distinct understanding that they, in conference with the British government, should obtain for them an equal number of American captives, to be delivered to Commodore Jones. But the spirit of the British cabinet was so implacable toward the Americans, that the French government could not accomplish this.
Marshal Castries now contended that the expenses attending the maintenance of these prisoners at the Texel, and their transportation to England, should be deducted from the prize-money. With justifiable intensity of purpose, Commodore Jones combated this claim. Dr. Franklin, then in Paris, was in entire accord with Commodore Jones uponthis question, as upon all the other principles Jones had insisted upon in the adjustment. On the 25th of March he wrote, in a letter addressed to “Honorable Paul Jones, Esq.”:
“I certainly should not have agreed to charge the American captors with any part of the expense of maintaining the five hundred prisoners in Holland till they could be exchanged, when none of them were exchanged for the Americans in England, as was your intention, and as we both had been made to expect.”
The commodore immediately enclosed this letter in another, which he addressed to Marshal de Castries. He wrote:
“The within copy of a letter which I had the honor to receive yesterday from Mr. Franklin, will convince you that he never consented, and could not consent, to the manner proposed by your predecessor and by M. de Chaumont for settlement of the prize-money due to the American officers and men who served under my orders in Europe.
“I will not complain that the prisoners which I took and carried to Holland were not exchanged for the Americans, who had been taken in war upon the ocean, and were long confined in the English dungeons by civil magistrates, astraitors,pirates, andfelons. I will only sayI had such a promise from the minister of marine.
“It was all the reward I asked for the anxious days and sleepless nights I passed, and the many dangers I encountered in glad hope of giving them all their liberty. And if I had not been assured that Mr. Franklin had made an infallible arrangement with the courts of France and England, for their immediate redemption, nothing but a superior force should have arrested them out of my hands, till they had been actually exchanged for the unhappy Americans in England.”
This claim the French government also yielded. But still the weary months rolled on, and no payment was made. The simple fact was that there was no money in the treasury. The government was in a condition of a man, struggling and floundering amidst all the intolerable embarrassments of approaching bankruptcy. There were claims upon them vastly more pressing than the payment of a few thousand livres to a few hundred poor foreign seamen. Commodore Jones was fully aware of all this. With characteristic courtesy, kindness, and yet firmness, he addressed a letter, as follows, to the marshal on the 23d of June, 1785.
“By the letter your excellency did me the honor to write me on the 13th of May last, you werepleased to promise that as soon as M. de Chardon should have sent you the liquidation of my prizes,which you expected without delay, you would take measures for the payment, and you would let me know.
“From the great number of affairs more important that engage your attention, I presume this little matter, which concerns me in a small degree personally, but chiefly as the agent of the brave men who served under my orders in Europe, may have escaped your memory. Since the first of November, 1783, when I received authority to settle this business with your excellency, I have been waiting here for no other purpose, and constantly expecting it to be concluded from month to month. To say nothing of my expenses during so long an interval, the uncertainty of my situation has been of infinite prejudice to my other concerns. My long silence is a proof that nothing but necessity could have prevailed on me to take the liberty of reminding your excellency of your promise. I hope for the honor of a final determination, and I am with great respect, etc.”
Still there were delays of the most annoying character too numerous and too tedious to be narrated. Through all these, Commodore Jones retained his equanimity, and commanded the respect of those with whom he was contending.The expenses of Commodore Jones, as agent of the United States at the court of Versailles, were necessarily considerable. One could not fill the post of an ambassador there upon the wages of a day-laborer. It was essential to his influence, as he was daily brought in contact with the ancient nobility of France, that he should maintain the style of a gentleman.
At length, on the 15th of July, 1785, Marshal Castries issued an order to pay to Commodore Jones, at L’Orient the sum of one hundred eighty-one thousand and thirty-nine livres, one sous, and ten derniers. Thomas Jefferson was then our minister at Paris. In a letter addressed to him about this time, Jones wrote:
“I cannot bring myself to lessen the dividend of the American captors by making any charge either for my time or trouble. I lament that it has not been in my power to procure for them advantages as solid and extensive as the merit of their services. I would not have undertaken this business from any views of private emolument that could possibly have resulted from it to myself, even supposing I had recovered a sum more considerable than the penalty of my bond. The war being over I made it my first care to show the brave instruments of my success that their rights are as dear to me asmy own. It will, I believe, be proper for me to make oath before you, to the amount charged for my ordinary expenses.”
Our minister received a salary of ten thousand dollars a year. It required the most rigid economy, with that sum, to meet expenses. Mrs. Adams, the wife of our distinguished ambassador John Adams, in her letters, gives a graphic account of their residence at the little village of Auteuil, about four miles from Paris. The house was large, and coldly elegant. There were massive mirrors and waxed floors, but no air of comfort. A servant polished the floors each morning with a brush buckled to one of his feet. The expenses of housekeeping were enormous. A heavy tax was imposed upon everything. All articles of domestic use about thirty per cent. higher than in Boston. It was absolutely necessary to keep a coach. The coachman and horses cost fifteen guineas a month. The social customs of the country required seven servants. The inevitable expenses of the family were so heavy that it required all Mrs. Adams’s remarkable financial skill to save them from pecuniary ruin. The humble style in which they lived, compared with the splendor with which the other foreign ministers were surrounded, often caused mortification. Mr.Jay was compelled to resign, since he could not support himself upon his salary.
Such were the surroundings of Commodore Jones in his arduous mission. And yet he practised such rigid economy, that he charged but five thousand dollars a year for all his services and expenses. Franklin and Jefferson both carefully examined his accounts and gave them their approval. They were then sent to Congress, where they were again subjected to a rigid scrutiny, and were again approved. Not long after, on the 16th of October, 1787, Congress passed the following vote:
“Resolved unanimously, that a medal of gold be struck and presented to the Chevalier John Paul Jones, in commemoration of the valor and brilliant services of that officer, in the command of the squadron of American and French ships, under the flag and commission of the United States, off the coast of Great Britain, in the late war; and that the Honorable Mr. Jefferson, minister plenipotentiary of the United States at the court of Versailles, have the same executed with the proper devices.”
At the same time, Congress commended Commodore Jones to the special regard of the king of France, and solicited permission for him to embark in the French fleets of evolution, convinced that he can nowhere else so well acquire that knowledgewhich may hereafter render him more extensivelyuseful.useful.
The commodore, with his intense views of life’s duties, never found time for conviviality or any dissipating pleasures. He employed his otherwise unoccupied hours in writing a very carefully prepared narrative of his past services. This was not printed, but was read in manuscript by many distinguished personages. The illustrious Malesherbes, after reading the journal, wrote as follows to Mr. Jones:
“I have received with much gratitude the mark of confidence which you have given me; and I have read, with great eagerness and pleasure, the interesting relation. My first impression was to desire you to have it published. But after having read it, I perceive that you had not written it with a view to publication, because there are things in it which are written to the king, for whom alone that work was intended. However actions, memorable as yours are, ought to be made known to the world, by an authentic journal published in your own name. I earnestly entreat you to work at it as soon as your affairs will allow. In the meantime, I hope that the king will read this work with that attention which he owes to the relation of the services which had been rendered to him by a person so celebrated.”
While these scenes were transpiring, the renownedAmerican traveller, John Ledyard, was in Paris. He proposed to Commodore Jones a commercial speculation, upon a scale of grandeur likely to interest his mind, and which would call into requisition all his administrative energies and acquired information and skill.
The plan was to fit out a vessel of two hundred and fifty tons, to be thoroughly armed and equipped, with forty-five officers and men, to be selected in France. She was to sail, on the first day of October, for Cape Horn, and thence to the Sandwich Islands. There she was to take in new stores of provisions, and continue her route to the northwest coast of North America. She was to remain from April to October, running up and down the coast, purchasing furs of the Indians.
Having filled the vessel, they were to make sail across the Pacific, for China or Japan. The rich furs would there bring a great price. They were to be sold for gold or other commodities. With this gold and merchandise the ship was to return to France, by way of the Cape of Good Hope. It was thought that the whole voyage would occupy about eighteen months. After a very close calculation it was estimated that the profits of the enterprise would amount to a little over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Such was the plan in general, subject to various modifications, such as whether one vessel should go alone, or whether two should go in company. It was by a somewhat similar commercial enterprise that John Jacob Astor subsequently laid the foundation of his colossal fortune.
There was much to recommend this plan to enthusiastic and enterprising men. Its novelty lent a great charm. It was considered that the risks were small, decidedly less than those which usually attended voyages to the East or West Indies. The expense of the armament, and the cargo of trinkets, small ware, and cutlery, for traffic with the Indians, was very inconsiderable. It was well known that the northwest coast of America abounded in the richest furs, above all other regions in the world. These furs could be purchased for a mere trifle from the Indians. In China and Japan they would command extravagant prices.
Jefferson was deeply interested in this plan. In his mind, as in that of Paul Jones, it assumed a dignity far above that of a mere money-making enterprise. It would extend our knowledge of those vast regions, with their wild inhabitants, which both of these sagacious men foresaw would eventually be included within the limits of the American Union. Paul Jones was to have the supreme command, andby his powerful influence was to obtain the vessel and the outfit. Ledyard was to be supercargo.
As they pondered the plan, aided by the cool judgment of Mr. Jefferson, it assumed ever-increasing proportions. A trading post was to be established, strongly stockaded and well garrisoned. The Indians were to be treated with the greatest justice and humanity, so as to secure their good-will. There were to be two vessels employed, one of which should always be on the coast. Silks and teas were to be purchased, upon which there would be an additional profit in Europe.
The plan was manifestly so feasible and so full of promise, that it was necessary to keep it as secret as possible, lest many others should embark in the same enterprise, and the rivalry should become great. Indeed, there were rumors, which reached Mr. Jones’s ears, that there were other parties contemplating a similar movement. He wrote to Dr. Bancroft upon the subject. He replied, under date of September 9th, 1785:
“I endeavored, as early as possible, to gain information respecting the object of your inquiry. But it was a difficult matter, none of my acquaintance knowing anything more of it than what had appeared in the public papers. Yesterday, however, I was informed, by a gentleman who I believe has somemore knowledge of the fact, that the two vessels, King George and Queen Charlotte, have actually sailed on the expedition which was thought of by Mr. Ledyard, for furs, which I should suppose must interfere with, and very much lessen the profits of anysimularsimularundertaking by others.”
Mr. Jones wrote to Madrid, and was informed that the court of Spain would not allow any commercial speculation in the neighborhood of California, by the subjects of any other nation than her own. It is supposed that this fact mainly led to the abandonment of the scheme. There may have been, and probably were, other considerations. But we hear of the enterprise no more.
The reader will remember that there were three prizes sent by Landais to Norway, and that the Danish government restored them to the British ambassador upon the ground that the vessels had been captured by a people not recognized by them as an independent government. This was sustaining the British claim, that Jones was not a legitimate naval officer, but a mere pirate, whom they would be justified in hanging could they catch him. Every officer in the colonial army and navy, in the view of the British government, stood upon the same platform.
The prizes thus lost to us at Copenhagen werevalued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This was five-fold the amount recovered from the prizes sent into France. Upon the threatened surrender of these prizes, Dr. Franklin immediately sent a memorial to Count Bernstorf, the Danish prime minister. This admirable state paper contained the following very characteristic sentences. After recapitulating the circumstances of the case, he adds:
“Permit me, sir, to observe on this occasion, that the United States of America have no war but with the English. They have never done any injury to other nations, particularly none to the Danish nation. On the contrary, they are in some degree its benefactors, as they have opened a trade of which the English made a monopoly, and of which the Danes may now have their share; and by dividing the British empire have made it less dangerous to its neighbors. They conceived that every nation whom they had not offended was, by the rights of humanity, their friend. They confided in the hospitality of Denmark, and thought themselves and their property safe when under the roof of his Danish majesty.
“But they find themselves stripped of that property, and the same given up to their enemies, on the principle only that no acknowledgment had yet been formally made, by Denmark, of the independence of the United States; which is to say thatthere is no obligation of justice toward any nation, with whom a treaty, promising the same, has not been made. This was indeed the doctrine of ancient barbarians; a doctrine long since exploded, and which it would not be for the honor of the present age to revive. And it is hoped that Denmark will not, by supporting and persisting in this decision, obtained of his majesty apparently by surprise, be the first modern nation that shall attempt to revive it.
“The United States, oppressed by, and in war with one of the most powerful nations of Europe, may well be supposed incapable, in their present infant state, of exacting justice from other nations not disposed to grant it. But it is in human nature, that injuries as well as benefits, received in times of weakness and distress, national as well as personal, make deep and lasting impressions. And those ministers are wise who look into futurity, and quench the first sparks of misunderstanding between two nations, which neglected, may in time grow into a flame, all the consequences whereof no human prudence can foresee, which may produce much mischief to both, and cannot possibly produce any good to either.
“I beg, through your excellency, to submit these considerations to the wisdom and justice ofhis Danish majesty, whom I infinitely respect, and who, I hope, will consider and repeal the order above recited; and, if the prizes which I hereby reclaim, in behalf of the United States of America, are not actually gone to England, that they may be stopped and redelivered to M. de Chezaulx, the consul of France, at Bergen, in whose care they were before, with liberty to depart for America, when the season shall permit. But if they shall be already gone to England, I must then reclaim from his majesty’s equity the value of the said three prizes, which is estimated at fifty thousand pounds sterling, but which may be regulated by the best information that can, by any means, be obtained.”
The three prizes thus surrendered, were the Betsey, the Union, and the Charming Polly. Mr. Jones had been so successful in his negociations with France, that it was deemed expedient to send him to Copenhagen to seek redress from the Danish court. He obtained the works of Grotius, and all other eminent writers upon the Law of Nations, and, aided by Thomas Jefferson, made himself familiar with all the principles involved in the questions at issue. Thus thoroughly equipped, he entered upon this new and difficult enterprise. In every movement of importance, at this time, Paul Jones conferred with his highly valued friends, Thomas Jeffersonand Benjamin Franklin, and acted with their concurrence. A little before this, the Danish government had so far recognized the injustice of its acts, and the validity of our claim, as to offer to pay an indemnity of forty thousand dollars. Dr. Franklin declined this offer upon the ground that the fair value of the prizes should be first ascertained. It was thought best that Commodore Jones should repair, at once, to Copenhagen.
He left Paris, with this purpose, in the spring of 1787. At Brussels he failed to receive an expected remittance from the sale of some bank stock he had ordered in America. Thus he found himself out of funds. This induced him to turn back, and take passage to the United States, to inquire into the condition of his pecuniary affairs. He speedily attended to his private concerns and prepared to return to Europe. Fully aware of the difficulty of his mission, he was anxious to fortify himself with all those moral forces which could add to his influence. He wrote to Honorable John Jay, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, soliciting from him such testimonials as would commend him to the Danish court. His letter was dated New York, July 18th, 1787. It was easy for his enemies to represent this as an act of mere vanity. Perhaps it was. But it was certainly an act of wisdom, thus to endeavor to securethe confidence and good-will of the court, to which he was commissioned for the performance of duties so arduous. In the conclusion of his letter to Mr. Jay, he wrote:
“Since the year 1775, when I displayed the American flag, for the first time, with my own hands, I have been constantly devoted to the interests of America. Foreigners have perhaps given me too much credit. This may have raised my ideas of my services above their real value. But my zeal can never be overrated.
“I should act inconsistently, if I omitted to mention the dreadful situation of our citizens in Algiers. Their almost hopeless fate is a deep reflection on our national character in Europe. I beg leave to influence the humanity of Congress in their behalf, and to propose that some expedient may be adopted for their redemption. A fund might be raised, for that purpose, by a duty of a shilling per month from seamen’s wages, throughout the continent, and I am persuaded that no difficulty would be made to that requisition.”