Enclosed you have an Official Letter directed to our Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris. The resignation of the late Secretary for foreign Affairs (occasioned by his preference of the Chancellorship of New York, which he could not hold longer & retain his Secretaryship) has cast this business on me till a Successor is elected, which I hope will speedily take Place—As part of the resolution of Congress of the 12th Inst enclosed in that Letter is of a secret nature, I have wrote it in Cypher, and not having that of Mr Livingston, I thought it best to use Mr. Morris’s to you, which he has obligingly supplied me with, so that the Commissioners must be indebted to you for the decyphering it—

Your Letter to Mr Livingston of the 15 Aprile, enclosing the two Medals, came to Hand this Morning—I am sorry to find that you make similar Complaints to those we have been making for two Months past, on the subject of want of Intelligence—we have not heard from any of our Commissioners since Feby. tho’ our Anxiety & Expectation have been wound up to the highest Pitch. I feel myself much Indebted for your polite Compliment of the Medal, it is very elegant indeed, and the device & workmanship much admired—You will be pleased to accept of my acknowledgements on this Occasion—As I doubt not but that the Copper one was designed for Mr Livingston personally, I shall transmit it to him—He is a very worthy deserving Character, and the US. will suffer greatly by his resignation, tho’ I really think him justified in attending to the Calls of his private affairs.

I enclose you a Number of the late News Papers, in which you will see a Number of resolves associations & & from all parts of the Country, which I wish had been kept out of Sight, but the Truth is, that the Cruelties ravages & barbarism of many of the refugees & Loyalists have left the People so sore, that it is not the Time for them yet to exercise this cooler Judgmt. and it cannot take Place while the Citizens of NY are kept out of their Habitations & despoiled daily of their Property by the sending of their Negroes &—It has been an ill judged scheme in the British to retain N York so long & to send of the Negroes as it has roused the Spirit of the Citizens of the several States greatly