ited States to the operation of a loan, but to secure us from the
finances of France the sum in question, and above all, to make
immediate arrangements for the remittance of it.

In the mean time I pressed the Minister of Marine on the subject of
ships, but I found that it was far from the intention of the Court to
furnish the means for remitting any considerable sum immediately.
Count de Vergennes urged the imprudence of exposing such precious
succors to a simultaneous risk, and the necessity of dividing the
danger by successive remittances, adding besides, that as permission
had been given to draw, an allowance was to be made on this account,
and a provisional sum for payment retained; that pursuant to those
ideas it had been solemnly determined to send no more than two
millions in a frigate with me. I observed, that the first difficulty
would be obviated by proportioning the escort to the value of the
specie; with regard to the other objection, I gave it as my opinion,
that no bills would be drawn in consequence of the mode for touching
the donation of six millions. The Count said, that I was not
sufficiently impressed with what had been already done on our account,
and appealed to our Minister Plenipotentiary. In addition to the
warmest verbal remonstrances on the subject, I presented the Memorial,
a copy of which was forwarded to Congress.

In these circumstances I was induced to make an arrangement with
Captain Gillon, of the frigate South Carolina, in order to secure an
unexceptionable conveyance for a further remittance of specie, as well
as for other reasons to be mentioned hereafter. This conveyance being
approved by the Ministry, it was proposed by M. Necker, that one
million should be remitted by this opportunity, two in the frigate
from France as above mentioned, and that an arrangement should be made
with the Spaniards for a further remittance from Vera Cruz, agreeably
to an offer from their agent in Paris. Unfortunately, while this
latter plan was in agitation, the agent received intelligence that the
whole of the Spanish treasure destined for Europe had arrived safe at
the Havana, in consequence of which he changed the terms of his first
proposal, from an order payable at sight, to bills at six months'
date; this, joined to the disagreeable intelligence from Holland of
the failure of the loan proposed on account of the United States,
occasioned my giving a Memorial to the Director-General, and
insistin