The American Commissioners to Gentlemen at Nantes
Copies: Massachusetts Historical Society, Library of Congress, National
Archives (two)
<Passy, January 13, 1779: We received yesterday your letter of
the seventh and one from the comte de Vergennes, a copy of
which is enclosed. We wrote his Excellency today requesting
the convoy be sent to Nantes. We regret the convoy will not
be able to go all the way to America, and hope it will continue
beyond the Western Islands. We have answered every one of
your letters on the day it was received, and forwarded to you
all information from the Minister either on the same day or
the following one. As for special privileges, no United States
citizen is entitled to any not stipulated in the Treaty of Commerce,
which has been published in every European newspaper.
Nevertheless, we send, as you request, an authentic
copy. The matter of duties is a delicate one; if you send a list
of what you have paid, we shall try to settle the issue with the
Minister. A little patience and perseverance in these matters
will insure you and your posterity the right to trade freely the
world over, instead of being slavishly bound to trade exclusively
with one selfish nation.>
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