1965. DEANE (Silas), Official books of.—
About three weeks ago, a person called on
me and informed me that Silas Deane had taken
him in for a sum of one hundred and twenty
guineas, and that being unable to obtain any
other satisfaction, he had laid hands on his
account book and letter book, and had brought
them off to Paris, offer them first to the
United States, if they would repay him his
money, and if not, that he should return to
London, and offer them to the British minister.
I desired him to leave them with me four and
twenty hours, that I might judge whether they
were worth our notice. He did so. They were
two volumes. One contained all his accounts
with the United States, from his first coming
to Europe, to January the 10th, 1781. * * *
The other volume contained all his correspondence
from March the 30th to August the 23d,
1777. * * * On perusal of many of them,
I thought it desirable that they should not come
to the hands of the British minister, and from
an expression dropped by the possessor of them,
I believe he would have fallen to fifty or sixty
guineas. I did not think them important
enough, however, to justify my purchasing them
without authority; though, with authority, I
should have done it. Indeed, I would have
given that sum to cut out a single sentence,
which contained evidence of a fact, not proper
to be committed to the hands of enemies. I
told him I would state his proposition to you,
and await orders.—
To John Jay. Washington ed. ii, 454.
(P.
Aug. 1788)
