John Jay to William Carmichael, 29 June 1780
Madrid 29 June 1780
D r . Sir
Perhaps an opp y may offer of send g you this before you leave aranjues. I wish it may. I assure you it was far from my Intention to give you Pain or Uneasiness by my Letter of the 27 Inst. It w d have given me less Trouble and more pleasure to have talked the Matter over with you after your Return, but a Letter was necessary to suspend the Conference w h . I understood was to have been held before y r Return.
Your speaking with C t DMontmorin ab t . my Letter on Money Matters as well as ab t . conveying thro him to England certain Matters respect g M r Cumberland was perfectly right–we hav g so ag d .–but your proposg to have a Conference with C t DFloridaBlanca on the Objects & Influence of M r Cumberlands Journey hither and consulting C t Montmorin on that Subject as he told me I still think was not quite right–it not hav g been ag d to by or mentioned to me– 1 Your declining to give Answers ^ in my absence ^ to C t D FBs Queries had & has my Approbation.
as to your hav g communicated to Chev. DBurgoyne as much Information as you had Reason to think he possessed already on M r Cumberlands Affair was wise and I approve of it, but more was unnecessary: I mean the Names of the persons employed– Attention to our Allies is proper & I commend it.
I am pleased with the Correspondence of our Sentim ts . relative to our Com ns . I apprehended the contrary might be the Case– Y r . hav g . urged your Com n . of Charge des Affaires as a Reason for countersigning my Letters, together with y r intended Conference led me principally to suspect you considered it as in some Degree inforce–but your Letter removes that Apprehension, and there is of Course and End of it. ^ By marking our Lines of Action ^ I had no Idea of impeachg your Understanding or Prudence, and I think you are mistaken in supposing it involves the Censure you think it does. I suspect ^ that ^ your pen has been a good guided on this occasion by your Feelings, wh. I would always much rather gratify than wound. Explanations are sometimes expedient tho often unpleasant. I shall always as a public Serv t . prefer the former but it shall always be my Study not to give avoidable uneasiness to any Person especially those with whom it may be my Duty to cultivate Harmony & a Disposition to unite cordially in serv g our Country–
I am oblig d to you for the List of Delegates– There has it seems been little Change since we left Congress. I am D r Sir Your most obed t Serv t
J.J.
The Honble W m . Carmichael Esq r