Yet how to gain it when it is the established system of these nations to exclude all foreigners from their colonies?  The only chance seems to be this:  our commerce to the mother countries is valuable to them.  We must indeavor, then, to make this the price of an admission into their West Indies, and to those who refuse the admission, we must refuse our commerce, or load theirs by odious discriminations in our ports.  We have this circumstance in our favor too, that what one grants us in their islands, the others will not find it worth their while to refuse.  The misfortune is, that with this country we gave this price for their aid in the war, and we have now nothing more to offer.  She being withdrawn from the competition, leaves Great Britain much more at liberty to hold out against us.  This is the difficult part of the business of treaty, and I own it does not hold out the most flattering prospects.

I wish you would consider this subject, and write me your thoughts on it.  Mr. Gerry wrote me on the same subject.  Will you give me leave to impose on you the trouble of communicating this to him?  It is long, and will save me much labor in copying.  I hope he will be so indulgent as to consider it as an answer to that part of his letter, and will give me his further thoughts on it.  Shall I send you so much of the Encyclopedie as is already published, or reserve it here till you come?  It is about forty volumes which is probably about half the work.  Give yourself no uneasiness about the money; perhaps I may find it convenient to ask you to pay trifles occasionally for me in America.  I sincerely wish you may find it convenient to come here; the pleasure of the trip will be less than you expect, but the utility greater.  It will make you adore your own country, its soil, its climate, its equality, liberty, laws, people, and manners.  My God! how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy.  I confess I had no idea of it myself.  While we shall see multiplied instances of Europeans going to live in America, I will venture to say no man now living, will ever see an instance of an American removing to settle in Europe, and continuing there.  Come then and see the proofs of this, and on your return add your testimony to that of every thinking American, in order to satisfy our countrymen how much it is their interest to preserve, uninfected by contagion, those peculiarities in their governments and manners, to which they are indebted for those blessings.  Adieu, my dear friend; present me affectionately to your colleagues.  If any of them think me worth writing to, they may be assured that in the epistolary account I will keep the debit side against them.  Once more, adieu.

Yours affectionately,

Th:  Jefferson.