DISSENSIONS AMONG FOREIGN REPRESENTATIVES. again called upon to raise $6,000,000 annually for eighteen years, beginning with 1780.* This sum was to be appropriated to pay the interest of all loans made to the United States previous to that year, and the balance, as well as the $15,000,000 previously called for, was to be cancelled. During 1778 the total the total expenditures expenditures amounted to $67,000,000 (worth in specie about $24,000,000) which was nearly the same amount as had been expended during the previous year. Trouble now arose among the representatives of Congress in France. In the latter part of 1777 John Adams had been sent to France to take the place of Deane who was recalled to give an account of his conduct.† When Adams arrived at Paris, he found Deane and Franklin on one side and Arthur Lee on the other engaged in a violent quarrel, which even the recall of Deane did not terminate. ‡ *Bancroft, vol. v., p. 294. Parton, Life of Franklin, vol. ii., pp. 249-251; John Adams, Works, vol. i., p. 275 et seq., vol. iii., pp. 94-120, vol. vii., p. 5 et seq. ‡ John Adams, Works, vol. iii., p. 123. “He [Franklin] said there had been disputes between Mr. Deane and Mr. Lee; that Mr. Lee was a man of an anxious, uneasy temper, which made it disagreeable to do business with him; that he seemed to be one of those men, of whom he had known many in his day, who went on through life quarrelling with one person or another till they commonly ended with the loss of their reason. He said, Mr. Izard was there too, and joined in close friendship with Mr. Lee; that Mr. Izard was a man of violent and ungoverned passions; that each of these had a number of Americans about him, who were always exciting disputes, and propagating stories that made the service very disagreeable; that Mr. Izard * instead of minding his own business * 153 Congress, therefore, on September 14, 1778, appointed Franklin sole commissioner to France, Arthur Lee still remaining commissioner to Spain, though not allowed to enter that country. Adams had avoided participation in the quarrel as much as possible, but in the new arrangement of commissionerships no notice seems to have been taken of him and he soon hastened home intending to return to his law practice "to make writs, draw deeds, and be happy."* With all their dissensions, however, the commissioners had succeeded in borrowing 3,000,000 livres (about $500,000) from the court of Spain, but this sum proved very insufficient out of which to pay for arms and stores and for the equipment of cruisers and to meet the bills for interest drawn upon them by Congress.† The quarrel between the commissioners was now transferred to America. Arthur Lee had written home letters full of insinuations against both his colleagues, but more spent his time in consultations with Mr. Lee, and in interfering with the business of the commission to this court; that they had made strong objections to the treaty, and opposed several articles of it; that neither Mr. Lee nor Mr. Izard was liked by the French; that Mr. William Lee, his brother, *** called upon the ministers at Paris for considerable sums of money, and by his connection with Lee and Izard and their party, increased the uneasiness, &c., &c., &c." See also pp. 138, 159-161, 175-176; vol. vii., pp. 14-15. *John Adams, Works, vol. i., pp. 280 et seq., 289-290, vol. iii., p. 219, vol. vii., pp. 82–83, 87. † Hildreth, vol. iii., pp. 265–266; Morse, Life of Franklin, pp. 261 et seq., 291 et seq.; Hale, Franklin in France, vol. i., p. 228 et seq. 154 THE DISPUTE BEFORE CONGRESS. that particularly against Deane, through whose hands almost all the receipts and expenditures of the commissioners had passed. Similar insinuations were made against Deane by Ralph Izard and by William Carmichael, the former secretary of the commissioners, the latter claiming that Deane had appropriated the public money to his private use.* Carmichael and Deane were now examined at the bar of Congress the latter later making a written report. The adherents of Deane, led by Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, and other members of Congress well acquainted with mercantile matters, now opened an acrimonious debate with the Lee adherents, headed by Richard Henry Lee, brother of Arthur Lee, and chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs.† Deane published an "Address to the People of the United States" in the Philadelphia Gazette in which, beside attacking the Lees, he claimed the credit for securing the supplies obtained through Beaumarchais. ‡ Thomas Paine, at this time secretary to the Committee for Foreign Affairs, then entered the lists in behalf of Arthur Lee, in a reply in the Phila *Charges of incompetence were made also against Franklin. See Morse, Life of Franklin, p. 287 et seq. For excerpts from some of his letters see Parton, Life of Franklin, vol. ¡i., pp. 254 et seq., 354, also chap. x. †See Oberholtzer, Life of Robert Morris, p. 52 et seq.; W. G. Summer, Robert Morris, p. 29 et seq.; Roosevelt, Gouverneur Morris, pp. 93–94. See Adams' letter to Vergennes regarding this, in John Adams, Works, vol. vii., pp. 79-80. delphia Packet of January 2, 1779, claiming that the arrangement with Beaumarchais had been made by Arthur Lee while in London; and that those supplies, while furnished by a mercantile house, really came from the French court. Paine's publication angered Gérard, the French ambassador, as it involved France in a charge of double dealing with England, and in consequence Paine resigned his office. Congress denied that the French court had made any presents of money or supplies previous to the late treaty of alliance.* It subsequently developed, however, that the French court had furnished Beaumarchais 1,000,000 livres, but that the shipments made by Beaumarchais amounted to a much larger sum, being, according to his account, over $1,000,000. The proceeds of certain cargoes of tobacco were credited against this, but a heavy balance still remained and he sent an agent to Philadelphia to solicit payment. Congress soon afterward gave him bills of exchange, payable three years after sight, drawn on Franklin, for nearly $500,000 and by him accepted and paid when due out of the funds loaned by the French court. The accounts of Beaumarchais were evidently kept in a careless manner, and this was one of the charges against Deane, but it likewise might have been made with equal justice against Lee and Franklin. * Parton, Life of Franklin, vol. ii., pp. 356–359; John Adams, Works, vol. i., p. 283. DEANE'S FATE; ISSUES OF MONEY. The warmth of the discussion influenced Congress to recall Izard and William Lee. Deane was finally discharged from his attendance on Congress and returned to France for the settlement of his accounts, under which he claimed that Congress owed him a large balance. Congress, however, did not appoint any one to settle the accounts of their agents; and as this claim constituted Deane's sole support, its nonpayment reduced him to poverty. "No proof appears that he had been dishonest, or had employed the public money in speculations of his own, as his enemies alleged; but he had occupied the unfortunate position of having large sums of public money pass through his hands before any proper system of vouchers and accountability had been established, and he fell before the same spirit of malignant accusation which presently assaulted Wadsworth, Greene, Morris, and even Franklin himself, but which they had better means of warding off. Some letters from Deane to his friends in America, intercepted and published a year or two afterward, in which he expressed the wish and hope for an accommodation with Great Britain ruined him forever, and extinguished the least desire to do him justice."* 155 While distracted by these disputes, Congress was still wrestling with the financial problem. Though there were now $100,000,000 of Continental money in circulation, Congress, at the beginning of 1779, authorized $50000,000 more, the faith of the United States being pledged to redeem these on or before January, 1797, under the futile scheme already mentioned of having the States contribute $6,000,000 annually for eighteen years. The channels of circulation were already full and this issue met with little success, being considered a poor investment. But the issues did not stop here. In February $10,000,000 more were authorized with $20,000,000 loan-office certificates: in April $5,000,000 of bills of credit were issued; and in May and June $20,000,000 additional. This rapid issue caused the depreciation to reach twenty for one; and in May Congress requested the States to pay $45, France. He had lost his high standing both in France and America. I found him a voluntary exile, misanthropic in his feelings, intent on getting money, and deadly hostile to his native land. His language was so strong and decided on the subject of American affairs, and evinced so much hostility to his native land, that I felt constrained, upon my return to Paris, to announce to Dr. Franklin my conviction that Mr. Deane must be regarded an enemy alike to France and America. He observed to me, that similar reports had reached him before, but that he had been unwilling to admit the truth." In a note, Mr. Watson quotes from a letter of John Trumbull, the author of McFingal, some remarks in vindication of Mr. Deane, and calculated to explain, at least, in part, the reasons which led to many of his acts.- See Men and Times of the Revolution, pp. 130-131. See also Pitkin, Political and Civil History of the United States. 156 RISE IN PRICES CAUSES RIOT. 000,000 more of the bills in addition to the $15,000,CCO already called for.* In the summer of 1779 the Treasury Board was reorganized, but this did not prevent the rapid depreciation in the value of bills of credit. They now passed at the rate of twenty for one, but were still a lawful tender for the payment of debts. This situation afforded many a dishonest debtor an opportunity to pay his debts at a very cheap rate, a species of legalized robbery which caused much suffering. The public clamor against this state of affairs became louder and louder, and in order to quiet it, Congress on September 1, 1779, resolved that the issue should not excced $200,000,000. The bills already out amounted to $160,000,000.‡ The loans prior to August 1, 1778, the interest of which was payable in bills on France, were $7,500,000; and the loans contracted since, the rate of interest upon which was to increase as the issues were increased, amounted to more than $26,000,000. The debt abroad was estimated at $4,000,000. The States had paid in but $3,000,000 of the $6,000,000 in paper money already issued.|| Prices of commodities also continued to rise and finally became so highs that they occasioned a riot at * Hildreth, vol. iii., p. 271; Bancroft, vol. v., p. 439. Bullock, Monetary History of the United States, pp. 65, 69; Bancroft, vol. v., p. 292. Bancroft, vol. v., p. 440. Regarding this see Kalb's letters quoted in Kapp's Life of Kalb, pp. 183-184. On December the very doors of Congress. In Pennsylvania party spirit was still very violent, the constitutional party, who were in power, favoring the rcgulation of trade by law and the enactmcnt of strong measures against cngrossing, while the leaders of the opposition took the other side. A committee of Philadelphia citizens had undertaken to regulate the prices. of ham, salt, flour, sugar, coffee, etc., after the example of Boston and other places, but Robert Morris and some of the leading merchants rcfused to conform. James Wilson bccame particularly obnoxious and he was denounced as a defender of Tories, for which it was proposed to banish him and some of his friends. These friends, among whom were George Clymer and Mifflin and probably Morris,* assembled at Wilson's house and were there attacked by a mob with small arms and cannon. One of the inmates of the house was killed and two wounded, but before any further damage could be done, President Joseph Reed of Pennsylvania appeared with a few cavalry and dispersed the mob. Prosecutions were begun on both sides, but before the proceedings had gone far the Assembly passed an act of oblivion.† It was useless to deny the great depreciation and a convention of the 8, 1779, Madison wrote: "Corn is already at £20, and rising. Tobacco is also rising. Pork will probably command any price. Imported goods exceed everything else many hundred per cent."Madison's Works (Congress ed.), vol. i., p. 32. * Sumner, Robert Morris, p. 36. Hildreth, vol. iii., pp. 297-298. HARTFORD CONVENTION; DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. five Eastern States, held at Hartford October 20, 1779, proposed that prices be regulated on the basis of twenty for one, at the same time advising that a convention be held at Philadelphia at the beginning of the year for the general adoption of this scheme.* Congress, however, while approving the plan, urged the States to put the regulation into force at once, without waiting for a convention. The remainder of the $200,000,000 of Continental bills was issued before the end of the year, at which time the depreciation stood at thirty for one, but the clamor was now stopped. Washington doubted that the stoppage of money issues was expedient, for he saw no other means of feeding the army, and soon afterward an attempt was made to secure further issues. The States were exceedingly slow in remitting the amounts allotted to them, and to meet pressing necessities Congress sold long-date bills of exchange on Jay and Laurens, which were to be met by the proceeds of loans to be obtained in Holland and Spain. Those bills were sold for paper at the rate of twenty-five for one, it being required that the purchaser lend an additional amount equal to the purchase money. The expenditures for the year reached a total of $160,000,000, of which $100,000,000 were new issues and $60,000,000 the proceeds of loans, Bancroft, vol. v., p. 446. $10,000,000. 157 taxes, and bills sold; but the specie value of the whole did not equal The only resources to which Congress could look forward for the ensuing year were the unpaid balance of the $65,000,000 of paper already called for and a further call from the States, except Georgia, for $15,000,000 monthly, the payments of which were to begin in February, 1780. In January, 1780, the depreciation of the currency had reached forty for one, and the hope of regulating prices at a convention at Philadelphia was destroyed. The army commissaries had no money with which to obtain food, and credit would not be extended them; consequently, Washington adopted the harsh expedient of levying contributions on the country surrounding his camp, each county being called upon for a certain quantity of the necessities, in payment for which the commissaries gave certificates. A plan was then formulated of calling upon the States for "specific supplies "- pork, beef, salt, flour, corn, rice, hay, tobacco, rum, etc. the States being credited at fixed prices for the supplies furnished. For immediate use in place of certificates, the commissaries were given drafts on the State treasuries for the portions of their unpaid. quotas of the requisitions heretofore made.* * Hildreth, vol. iii., pp. 301-302; Washington's Writings (Ford's ed.), vol. vi., p. 281. See also Oberholtzer, Life of Robert Morris, p. 61 et seq. |