7428. RETALIATION, France and.—[further continued].
Leblanc, an agent from
Desfourneaux of Guadaloupe, came in the Retaliation.
You will see in the papers Desfourneaux's
letter to the President. * * * The
vessel and crew were liberated without condition.
Nothwithstanding this, they have
obliged Leblanc to receive the French prisoners,
and to admit, in the papers, the terms,
“in exchange for prisoners taken from us”, he
denying at the same time that they consider
them as prisoners, or had any idea of exchange.
The object of his mission was not at all relative
to that; but they choose to keep up the idea of
a cartel, to prevent the transaction from being
used as evidence of the sincerity of the French
towards a reconciliation. He came to assure
us of a discontinuance of all irregularities in
French privateers from Guadaloupe. He has
been received very cavalierly.—
To James Madison. Washington ed. iv, 291.
Ford ed., vii, 361.
(Pa.,
Feb. 19, 1799)
