As soon as I was informed that our bankers had the money ready for the redemption of our captives, I went to the General of the order of the Holy Trinity, who retained all his dispositions to aid us in that business.  Having a very confidential agent at Marseilles, better acquainted than himself with the details, he wrote to him for his opinion and information on the subject.  I enclose you a copy of his answer, the original of which was communicated to me.  I thereupon have authorized the General to go as far as three thousand livres a head for our captives, and for this purpose to adopt the plan proposed, of sending one of his own religion at our expense (which will be small), or any other plan he thinks best.  The honesty and goodness of his character places us in safety in his hands.  To leave him without any hesitation in engaging himself for such a sum of money, it was necessary to deposit it in a banker’s hands here.  Mr. Grand’s were agreeable to him, and I have therefore desired our banker at Amsterdam to remit it here.  I do not apprehend, in the progress of the present revolution, any thing like a general bankruptcy which should pervade the whole class of bankers.  Were such an event to appear imminent, the excessive caution of the house of Grand and Company establishes it in the general opinion as the last that would give way, and consequently would give time to withdraw this money from their hands.  Mr. Short will attend to this, and will withdraw the money on the first well-founded appearance of danger.  He has asked me what he shall do with it.  Because it is evident, that when Grand cannot be trusted, no other individual at Paris can, and a general bankruptcy can only be the effect of such disorders, as would render every private house an insecure deposit, I have not hesitated to say to him, in such an event, ‘Pay it to the government.’  In this case, it becomes only a change of destination and no loss at all.  But this has passed between us for greater caution only, and on the worst case supposable:  for though a suspension of payment by government might affect the bankers a little, I doubt if any of them have embarked so much in the hands of government as to endanger failure, and especially as they have had such long warning.

You will have known, that the ordinance passed by M. de Chillon in St. Domingo, for opening ports to our importations in another part of the island, was protested against by Marbois.  He had always led the Count de la Luzerne by the nose, while Governor of that island.  Marbois’ representations, and Luzerne’s prepossessions against our trade with their colonies, occasioned him, as minister of that department, not only to reverse the ordinance, but to recall Chillon and send out a successor.  Chillon has arrived here, and having rendered himself very popular in the islands, their deputies in the National Assembly have brought the question before them.  The Assembly has done nothing more, as yet, than to appoint a committee of inquiry.  So