Knox, William (1756-1795) to Henry Knox

[draft]
London June 27th: 1791
/No: 14/
My dear Brother,
The departure of General Maunsell for N: York affords me a favorable opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 6th. of April by the Packet, which is by no means so particular as I wished, yet it gave me inexpressible pleasure to hear from you, and to be informed you were all well - you will [eer?] this reaches you probably have received all my letters amounting to thirteen, the last was from Dublin about the 15th. or 20th. of the last month [by?] the Ship Jay, Capt. Stockar from [illegible] to N: York which I delivered the Capt: in Dublin with the Irish News papers down to that period, that letter informed you of my motives for coming here namely to negociate some funds by which I might be kept from sinking in Dublin - I am very sorry Randall cannot find it convenient to wait agreable to my proposition to him, from a perfect knowledge that the amount will bear hard upon you, if I should be any way successful as a Merchant or negociator my first care will be to refund.
Mr: Gouverneur Morris is here, you are misinformed respecting his having made great sales of Land - Mr. Temple Franklin however has lately closed a large sale for Mr. R. Morris in the Gennessee Country, he has not informed me of the amount but I have heard £40. or 50.000 [shgs.?] of which he immediately touches ten thousand, he told me he had sold another estate very well for Mr. R. Morris in Pennsylvania - The Gennessee Lands were sold from 9.d to 12d, and their sale operates at this moment very much against any negociations for higher priced lands, they were purchases by a trio of English and [2] Scotchmen on speculation, for the purpose of selling again, as Mr. G. Morris informs me.
I know not if what I am going to tell you will surprize you, but mine was not small to be informed by Mr. G. Morris that he was empowered by Mr. Macomb as the original proprietor to sell the whole ten Townships on the St. Lawrence, he says he did not receive the regular power until within a few days and mentioned it to be dated subsequent to your letter of April - I thought proper to inform him that it appeared very extraordinary that this power should have been given him by Mr. Mc Comb without the privity of the joint proprietors, - that you had given me a full power to sell your proportion, and that your late letter had given me no reason to suppose you had even the intention of empowering another person, either in a general way with Messrs. MaComb Morris & Co. or otherwise; in answer to which, he said Mr. Mc. C. had authorized him so far as by letter a considerable time back that he had tried to sell them (i.e. the whole) in Paris from that authority, but he could not find a purchaser, but now being possessed of legal power, he should meet less difficulty in accomplishing a sale, and told me I should do a very hazardous thing in attempting to sell your part, in short, he made use of all that oratorial seasoning upon the subject of which you, and his other acquaintance know him to be very capable, and concluded by advising me not to think of selling until I should hear from you, as he was sure you had given your consent to the General power of Mr. Macomb subsequent to any information I had received, and I should be convinced of the truth of what he asserted if I would wait the arrival of the next letter from you - Knowing something of Mr. G. Morris, I heard him very patiently, but in a few words told him that I was not to know any thing [3] of Mr. Macombs proceedings, that your power to me, and subsequent letter of the 6th. of April should continue to guide me, and the only effect his information would have on my conduct in the business would be to alter in some degree the condition of sale, so as to embrace all possible exigencies by which a purchaser you and myself might be secure from embarrassment or unfavorable imputations - seeing my decision he desired to know what I intended to ask for the lands, which I answered by asking him whether he would be willing to take 4/[shg?] for his, he said he did not expect to get more that 3/, which comes nearly to your mark - he said Franklins sales had operated to prevent his selling the St. Lawrence Lands advantageously - he is going to Paris where he says he will make up a company for this purchase - I confess to you after all the conversation I held with Mr. M. his information has not failed to impress me disagreably - either you must have consented to his being empowered by Mr. Mc Comb or the procedure is highly unjustifiable on his part - and that you should have done this in a few days after writing me, without having at that time any such Idea appears hardly probable - at any rate circumstanced as I am, it appears to me that I shall be perfectly justifiable in selling your Lands if a good opportunity offers, which I certainly will do, unless I receive counter instructions from you previous to a purchaser presenting, as I see clearly from Mr. Longmans letter which he showed me (and with whom I dine this day) and from yours to me that you have so much calculated on this resourse to answer his and other demands as to justify all my exersions to this end - as an additional spar if that were necessary, my own necessities have no other apparent mode of being contributed to.
Mrs. Horwood and her Husband after much enquiry I have found they have taken a small House in [4] Rodney Street. Pentonville, Islington a mile or two from London - as you observe he is a Bankrupt: my feelings for Mrs. Knox will not permit my making any comments on this business, nor do I think it would be of any avail, interested as I felt myself I asked Mrs. Horwood what proportion of the 14 or £1500 she imagined would be divided for you, she said all the papers debentures &c were in the hands of a Mr. Hartley an Attorney that she had reason to believe you might divide about £1000. - Mr. Longman has since been with Mr. Hartley, and says from all the information he could acquire, it does not appear that more than 10s in the pound will be paid on the account of yourself, Loring, Gray and the other Creditors, and even of this he has his doubts - he intends writing you by this Packet - Mr. & Mrs. Horwood and children are very well, he is employed in making a large Map of London - they appear snug in a small House of [s?]30. rent - I did not enter with Mrs. Horwood into a detail of her Husbands misfortunes but was particular with my enquiries only in what concerned you.
The Affairs of France is the topic of all companies here at present - On the 24th. at night a courier arrived at Lord Grenvilles office from the British Minister Lord Gower at Paris with the important News that the King, Queen, their children and the Kings sister Princess Elizabeth had taken their flight from the Capital at midnight the 20th. and 21st. that they were missed on the morning of the 25th: at Six OClock - You may naturally suppose that on saturday the 25th. the speculations on this event were numerous and as various here, I dined that day with Doctr. Bankcroft, who had Mr. G. Morris - Dockr. Inkenhouse and Mr. Paradise, all men whose information on the affairs of France was much better than my own, it was the prevailing opinion there that as the King had got clear off from Paris, that his plans [5] were pretty well laid and that he had secured for him [suit?] relais of good Hunters (being an excellent Horseman) as would enable him to reach the German territories in 15 or 20 Hours - Yesterday morning I was at Mr. Barthelemys who is Secretary to the Ambassy of France as well as Minister Plenipotentiary - he read parts of several letters he had just received from Paris to the famous Chevaliere D'Eon Mr. Paradise and myself which contained authentic intelligence that the King was known to the Master of the Post House at a place called Saint Menehould, on the Confines of Champagne and Lorraine within a few hours drive of the German territories - this man communicated the information to the Municipallity of Varennes a place through which they had to pass a few leagues farther on, and there the King with all his party in two or three Carriages were secured - that the consternation in Paris on the discovery of the Kings departure was great and every body in Arms - that no violence had taken place - the National Assembly proceeded unanimously to the determination that the Great Seal should give validity to their Acts or decrees in the same manner as if the King was present, while every measure was ordered to prevent confusion, and to intercept or find the Royal fugitives - in these decisions the Marquis La Fayettes, and what is termed the Jacobins were but one party - when the accounts of the Kings being taken arrives, three members of the National Assembly were dep[uted?] to attend him and his family back to Paris with a proper escort - You probably will hear many accounts of this important event, and therefore I have been careful in procuring my information from an undoubted authority, on all which I leave you to make your comments, they are without end here, and I cannot tell you which prepondirates, every Hour is teeming with news, Mr. Barthelemy is not without his apprehensions - many of the ci. divant noble of French refugees were off from hence on Saturday to join the King, they did not know [6] where, but many supposed he would be at Brussells - I may be able to inform you further of the consequences of this event before I close my letter.
The fleet said to be destined for the Baltic is still at Portsmouth the sailing of which is supposed to depend on the arrival of a Courier expected momently from Petersbourg with (what is called since the Spanish negociations, and which is a favorite term with the Wiseacres) the ultimatum - nothing leeks out from Messrs. Pitt & Co. on the subject, farther than several Members of Parliament who are with the Ministry have written to their dissatisfied constituents that no war would take place.
I find since I came to London that Congress in their last session did nothing respecting the Consular Department - although my expectations were not much raised on the subject of any thing pecuniary, yet I still had some hopes that on mature deliberation they would have made some provision for persons whose occupations are certainly of consequence to the U.S. - Mr. Johnson Consul in London and Mr. Maury of Liverpool with whom I have conversed I amagine will both resign, they are Merchants and have families, they find the duties of their appointments very considerable and interfere so much with their other pursuits, exclusive of being attended with no small expence, that without some provision they cannot stand it -
I have stated to you before that I came from Ireland from the motive of procuring the means either by loan or otherwise of subsisting through the next winter and of paying what I have borrowed to keep me hitherto, although my expences are managed with all possible oeconomy it is a source of no small anxiety to me that I must be [7] indebted to some-body for every shilling I expend - I have brought the papers of the Lands with me which I informed you had not been in my power to sell in Ireland, although I had given the most extensive information to the different parts of that Country - I am indebted to my friend Mr. D'Olier in Dublin £100, the residue of which I am now living upon and which I must negociate the payment of before I return - Indeed my Brother if my plans of business do not prove in some degree productive the next winter, or I should not have it in my power to sell your lands it will require more Philosophy than I am Master of to support the situation - Two modes of relief present themselves if the other two fail, [illegible] borrowing on interest if I can, or drawing on you as a long sight - Whether I go to Paris or stay here for the purpose of selling the lands a few weeks longer, be assured not steps will be left untried to effect it - as to drawing on you I shall not, unless it should be as the dernier resort
I wish to ask you the question seriously when a person is sent from hence as Resident to America where would be the impropriety of having me on the list of candidates to reside here? from a comparative view of the characters who fill those stations, with several of whom I am occasionally in company, I am induced to make this interrogation, on which I wish you to think.
Mr. Freire [8] who is to go to America as Resident from Portugal tells me he cannot determine when he shall be there, he was married on Friday last to a young Lady of 70.000 pounds fortune.
General Maunsell tells me he has business to communicate to you, which will take him to Phila. soon afterhis reaching N. York - the old Gentleman I have seen very much both here and in Ireland - he takes with this letter a Book delivered me by Mr. Paradise, and delivered him by the Count Altieri for the president of the U.S. which he promises safely to forward.
Pray write me if it is only three lines by every Packet, send the letters to Genl. Maunsell and they will come safe and free of postage to me at Dublin. With my most ardent desires for the happiness of you and yours. I bid you
Adieu
Wm Knox
Genl. Knox

[docket]
London 27 June
1791
Wm Knox