g the Court of their intentions, and obtaining its
approbation of the measure. Congress will therefore judge of the
propriety of disposing of any bills, that may remain unsold, until it
is fully ascertained, that they will be punctually paid. Mr Jay, now
at Madrid, where the death of his child, and the consequent distresses
of his family, detain him a few days, will undoubtedly transmit more
ample intelligence on this subject, with the various papers in his
possession necessary to explain it. This Court has been obliged to
make considerable loans, for their own current expenses, the nature of
which I hope to be able to explain in a future letter. It has lately
obtained seven millions, five hundred thousand current dollars, in
France and elsewhere. The loan is for nine millions, and from the
nature of it will create a temporary paper circulation to that amount
in this kingdom. I shall transmit to Congress, as soon as it becomes
public, a full detail of its operations.

Mr Cumberland, whom I mentioned in my last, and whose name you will
find in all the European gazettes, is still at Madrid, from whence he
has lately had permission to send a courier to London, but as the
Spanish Minister has engaged to impart any serious proposals he may
make, and as the French Ambassador expresses no uneasiness from the
residence of this gentleman in Spain, although this circumstance at
this crisis is extraordinary, we cannot presume there can be solid
ground for apprehension. Considerable revolutions, however, have
happened in the system of politics of this country, ever since the
accession of the House of Bourbon, and where governments are often
more influenced by the counsels, and sometimes the caprices of
individuals, than from regard to the real and permanent interest of a
nation, there is always something to fear. Congress judging from the
assurances of the Minister, and the King's character, which is
remarkable for steadiness, on the one part, and from the circumstance
of Mr Cumberland's residence here, and the constant endeavors of our
enemies by every insidious art to misrepresent our situation, on the
other, will be best able to draw conclusions from the whole.

The treaty proposed by Russia to the neutral maritime powers, to
secure their commerce, and protect their navigation, has been or will
be acceded to by Sweden, Denmark, the Hanseatic towns, and Holland,
and a Russian squadron is expected in the Channel daily. Portugal,