any legal demands should be made on you for French subjects, in consequence of your engagement to the Marechal.  The Alliance was manned in America, and I never heard of any person’s having served on board that frigate, who had been born in France, except the captain, who, as I was informed, had, in America, abjured the church of Rome, and been naturalized.’  Should Congress approve what I have done, I will then ask their resolution for the payment, by their banker here, of any such claims as may be properly authenticated, and will moreover pray of you an authentic roll of the crew of the Alliance, with the sums to be allowed to each person; on the subject of which roll, Captain Jones, in the letter above mentioned, says, ’I carried a set of the rolls with me to America, and before I embarked in the French fleet at Boston, I put them into the hands of Mr. Secretary Livingston, and they were sealed up among the papers of his office, when I left America.’  I think it possible that Mr. Puchilberg may excite claims.  Should any name be offered which shall not be found on the roll, it will be a sufficient disproof of the pretension.  Should it be found on the roll, it will remain to prove the identity of person, and to inquire if payment may not have been made in America.  I conjecture from the journals of Congress of June the 2nd, that Landais, who, I believe, was the captain, may be in America.  As his portion of prize-money may be considerable, I hope it will be settled in America, where only it can be known whether any advances have been made him.

The person at the head of the post office here, says, he proposed to Dr. Franklin a convention to facilitate the passage of letters through their office and ours, and that he delivered a draught of the convention proposed, that it might be sent to Congress.  I think it possible he may be mistaken in this, as, on my mentioning it to Dr. Franklin, he did not recollect any such draught having been put into his hands.  An answer, however, is expected by them.  I mention it, that Congress may decide whether they will make any convention on the subject, and on what principle.  The one proposed here was, that for letters passing hence into America, the French postage should be collected by our post-officers, and paid every six months, and for letters coming from America here, the American postage should be collected by the post-officers here, and paid to us in like manner.  A second plan, however, presents itself; that is, to suppose the sums to be thus collected, on each side, will be equal, or so nearly equal, that the balance will not pay for the trouble of keeping accounts, and for the little bickerings that the settlement of accounts and demands of the balances may occasion:  and therefore, to make an exchange of postage.  This would better secure our harmony; but I do not know that it would be agreed to here.  If not, the other might then be agreed to.