adventurers in commerce, without substance or conduct, or other descriptions, which might disgrace the consular office, without protecting our commerce.  To avail ourselves of our good native citizens, when we have one in a port, and when there are none, to have yet some person to attend to our affairs, it appears to me advisable to declare, by a standing law, that no person but a native citizen shall be capable of the office of consul, and that the consul’s presence in his port should suspend, for the time, the functions of the vice-consul.  This is the rule of 1784, restrained to the office of consul, and to native citizens.  The establishing this, by a standing law, will guard against the effect of particular applications, and will shut the door against such applications, which will otherwise be numerous.  This done, the office of vice-consul may be given to the best subject in the port, whether citizen or alien, and that of consul, be kept open for any native citizen of superior qualifications, who might come afterwards to establish himself in the port.  The functions of the vice-consul would become dormant during the presence of his principal, come into activity again on his departure, and thus spare us and them the painful operation of revoking and reviving their commissions perpetually.  Add to this, that during the presence of the consul, the vice-consul would not be merely useless, but would be a valuable counsellor to his principal, new in the office, the language, laws, and customs of the country.  Every consul and vice-consul should be restrained in his jurisdiction, to the port for which he is named, and the territory nearer to that than to any other consular or vice-consular port, and no idea be permitted to arise, that the grade of consul gives a right to any authority whatever over a vice-consul, or draws on any dependence.

It is now proper I should give some account of the state of our dispute with Schweighaeuser and Dobree.  In the conversation I had with Dobree, at Nantes, he appeared to think so rationally on this subject, that I thought there would be no difficulty in accommodating it with him, and I wished rather to settle it by accommodation, than to apply to the minister.  I afterwards had it intimated to him, through the medium of Mr. Carnes, that I had it in idea, to propose a reference to arbitrators.  He expressed a cheerful concurrence in it.  I thereupon made the proposition to him formally, by letter, mentioning particularly, that we would choose our arbitrators of some neutral nation, and, of preference, from among the Dutch refugees here.  I was surprised to receive an answer from him, wherein, after expressing his own readiness to accede to this proposition, he added, that on consulting Mr. Puchilberg, he had declined it; nevertheless, he wished a fuller explanation from me, as to the subjects to be submitted to arbitration.  I gave him that explanation, and he answered finally, that Mr. Puchilberg refused all accommodation, and