9106. WHALE OIL, Duties on.—
The
result [of applications to the French government]
was to put us on the footing of the
Hanseatic towns, as to whale oil, and to reduce
the duties to * * * about a guinea and a
half the ton. But the oil must be brought in
American or French ships, and the indulgence
is limited to one year. However, as to this, I
expressed to Count de Vergennes my hopes
that it would be continued; and should a doubt
arise, I should propose at the proper time, to
claim it under the treaty on the footing gentis
amicissimœ.—
To John Adams. Washington ed. i, 498.
(P.
1785)
