of our captives, I went to the General of the order of
the Holy Trinity, who retained all his dispositions to aid us in
that business. Having a very confidential agent at Marseilles, better
acquainted than himself with the details, he wrote to him for his
opinion and information on the subject. I enclose you a copy of his
answer, the original of which was communicated to me. I thereupon have
authorized the General to go as far as three thousand livres a head
for our captives, and for this purpose to adopt the plan proposed, of
sending one of his own religion at our expense (which will be small), or
any other plan he thinks best. The honesty and goodness of his character
places us in safety in his hands. To leave him without any hesitation in
engaging himself for such a sum of money, it was necessary to deposit it
in a banker's hands here. Mr. Grand's were agreeable to him, and I have
therefore desired our banker at Amsterdam to remit it here. I do not
apprehend, in the progress of the present revolution, any thing like a
general bankruptcy which should pervade the whole class of bankers. Were
such an event to appear imminent, the excessive caution of the house of
Grand and Company establishes it in the general opinion as the last that
would give way, and consequently would give time to withdraw this money
from their hands. Mr. Short will attend to this, and will withdraw the
money on the first well-founded appearance of danger. He has asked me
what he shall do with it. Because it is evident, that when Grand cannot
be trusted, no other individual at Paris can, and a general bankruptcy
can only be the effect of such disorders, as would render every private
house an insecure deposit, I have not hesitated to say to him, in such
an event, 'Pay it to the government.' In this case, it becomes only a
change of destination and no loss at all. But this has passed between us
for greater caution only, and on the worst case supposable: for though a
suspension of payment by government might affect the bankers a little, I
doubt if any of them have embarked so much in the hands of government as
to endanger failure, and especially as they have had such long warning.

You will have known, that the ordinance passed by M. de Chillon in St.
Domingo, for opening ports to our importations in another part of the
island, was protested against by Marbois. He had always led the Count
de la Luzerne by the nose, while Governor of that island.
Marboi