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JAY TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 87
scribing to the one as fixing the certainty of the
other.
I say I should have played this game a little further,
if the presumption before mentioned had been admissible, because it has uniformly been my opinion,
that if after sending me here Congress had constantly
avoided all questions about the Mississippi, and appeared to consider that point as irrevocable, Spain
would have endeavoured to purchase it by money,
or a free port, but as her hopes of a change in the
opinion of Congress were excited and kept alive by
successive accounts of debates and intended debates on
that question, and as Congress by drawing bills without previous funds had painted their distress for want
of money in very strong colors, Spain began to consider America as a petitioner, and treated her accordingly. But as by the intervention of Dr. Franklin
our bills for near six months were safe, and as after
this resolution of the 15th of February there was
reason to expect that the subject of it would not soon
be resumed in Congress, I should, in case I could
have depended on this instruction being and remaining a secret, have thought it my duty to have given
the United States a fair trial for the Mississippi, or at
least for a free port near it. With this view I should
have appeared to give myself no concern about the
bills, applied for no aids, made no offers, and on all
proper occasions have treated an alliance with Spain
as an event which, though wished for by us, was not
essential to our safety, and as the price demanded for
it appeared to us unreasonable, it was not probable
| Title | The correspondence and public papers of John Jay - 2 |
| Creator | Jay, John |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Place of Publication | New York, London |
| Date | [1890-93] |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000108 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | JAY TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 87 scribing to the one as fixing the certainty of the other. I say I should have played this game a little further, if the presumption before mentioned had been admissible, because it has uniformly been my opinion, that if after sending me here Congress had constantly avoided all questions about the Mississippi, and appeared to consider that point as irrevocable, Spain would have endeavoured to purchase it by money, or a free port, but as her hopes of a change in the opinion of Congress were excited and kept alive by successive accounts of debates and intended debates on that question, and as Congress by drawing bills without previous funds had painted their distress for want of money in very strong colors, Spain began to consider America as a petitioner, and treated her accordingly. But as by the intervention of Dr. Franklin our bills for near six months were safe, and as after this resolution of the 15th of February there was reason to expect that the subject of it would not soon be resumed in Congress, I should, in case I could have depended on this instruction being and remaining a secret, have thought it my duty to have given the United States a fair trial for the Mississippi, or at least for a free port near it. With this view I should have appeared to give myself no concern about the bills, applied for no aids, made no offers, and on all proper occasions have treated an alliance with Spain as an event which, though wished for by us, was not essential to our safety, and as the price demanded for it appeared to us unreasonable, it was not probable |
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