Duplicate

When you recollect, which how much confidence I engaged, 1780, in the mercantil undertaking of near fourty thousand livres (which you directed for our joint concern, viz. one third for your own account, one third for my account, and the remainder for the common concern of Dr. Bankroft and Mr. Coffyn) and how readily I delivered in your hands eight thousand Livres more to be employed in a separate undertaking in which you and I alone were concerned; you can not wonder, that I am astonish’d in the highest degree at my not having received from you the least information about any of the two transactions. You promish’d me upon your word of honour, and you repeated the promise in your letters, when at Orient, that you should certainly write to me as soon as you should arrive at Philadelphia and give me an account of the    of the sale of the goods, and that, if even you should not be able to finish the business as soon as you should wish, you would not fail of letting me hear from you as soon as arrived.

After having inquired serveral times of Mr. Coffyn, whether he had received any intelligence from you, he at last informed me, last year, of every thing he knew about the save arrival of most of our goods; and he made not the least doubt but I had allso been informed of every thing as he was. Mr. Coffyn informed me in a letter dated Nov. 16. 1781, that he had received from you a remittance of 9140 Livres as a part of what he lended to you for your share in the Commission, in which I was concerned for one third—By an other letter dated May. 6. 1782. he informed me of a second remittance of 19140 Livres being destined partely for me, but of which sum he has remitted to me only eighteen hundred L. keeping the rest for his farther reimbursement of the sum advanced by him on your account in our joint undertaking: which advanced sum, as he acquainted me now, was first of     to be remitted to him from the product of our undertaking according to an agreement made between him, Dr. Bankroft and  

Now, Sir, I doe not understand, how such a private agreement consistent with honour, be made in a transaction, in which   was concerned for one third part, without my consent, may even without giving me the least hint of it. I can neither reconcile to my mind, who you could resolve to send the above mentioned remittances, of which, (as I had not consented in their being sent to Mr. Coffyn) one third did belong to me, without informing me in a direct way of it, and of every transaction in the whole business, and why the Money belonging to me was not by a separate bill of exchange sent to me thro the hands of our common friend Mr. Benj. Franklin, according to an express agreement between us, and your solemn promise to doe so.

How can I be sur, that Mr. Coffyn acted right in the business, as I have only his own information for his own justification? As you was only concern’d for one third in the business, how can it be, that Mr. Coffyn has now received, by the twoo remittances making together 28180 L., near the half of the whole sum employed? I doe not mistrust the caracter of Mr. Coffyn; but it is unconcievable to me, who you could omitt giving you self an account of the transaction as well for my own satisfaction as for your own justification.

Upon the whole, sir, I doe not understand, who I can reconceil all this with the common manner of transacting business, and with the unbounded truth and entire confidence, which I have put on your personal caracter and known integrity; of which I can, by all this, not harbour my breast the least unfavourable idea. My confidence in your caracter, which was confirmed by the opinion of Mr. Franklin in the most significant terms, did certainly not deserve to be rewarded in such an unacountable way.

Therefore, sir, I expect, that you will be so good as not to wait longer in giving me a propre account of every thing transacted by you on our joint concern. I hope you have recieved my letter dated Vienna April 24. 1782 by which I desire a copy of your letter to me dated l’orient Sept. 3th. 1780, which containes the accounts respecting the adventure, in which we are engaged together.

I have requested, a long while ago, Dr. Bankroft to inform me of what news he got from you about our business. But he has not compleyed with my just request, tho Mr. Coffyn had, as he writes me, asked him to inform me of it. He could not refuse it, consistent with honour. This shamefull refusal does not give me the best opinion of that gentleman, and if he does not comply with my request on this hand, I cannot but be confirmed in my suspicion of his good caracter. A man of honour must never refuse such a demand.

I am in full expectation of an answer by the very first oportunity, Dear sir Your most obedient humble servant