to call for him; and also, that he shall not, in any case be expected to bear arms against France.  I believe Congress had it in contemplation to give him the grade of admiral, from the date of his taking the Serapis.  Such a measure now, would greatly gratify him, second the efforts of fortune in his favor, and better the opportunities of improving him for our service, whenever the moment shall come in which we may want him.

The danger of our incurring something like a bankruptcy in Holland, which might have been long, and even fatally felt in a moment of crisis, induced me to take advantage of Mr. Adams’s journey to take leave at the Hague, to meet him there, get him to go on to Amsterdam, and try to avert the impending danger.  The moment of paying a great sum of annual interest was approaching.  There was no money on hand; the board of treasury had notified that they could not remit any; and the progress of the loan, which had been opened there, had absolutely stopped.  Our bankers there gave me notice of all this; and that a single day’s failure in the payment of interest, would have the most fatal effect on our credit.  I am happy to inform you, we were able to set the loan a going again, and that the evil is at least postponed.  Indeed, I am tolerably satisfied, that if the measures we proposed, are ratified by Congress, all European calls for money (except the French debt) are secure enough, till the end of the year 1790; by which time, we calculated that the new government might be able to get money into the treasury.  Much conversation with the bankers, brokers, and money-holders, gave me insight into the state of national credit there, which I had never before been able satisfactorily to get.  The English credit is the first, because they never open a loan, without laying and appropriating taxes for the payment of the interest, and there has never been an instance of their failing one day, in that payment.  The Emperor and Empress have good credit, because they use it little, and have hitherto been very punctual.  This country is among the lowest, in point of credit.  Ours stands in hope only.  They consider us as the surest nation on earth for the repayment of the capital; but as the punctual payment of interest is of absolute necessity in their arrangements, we cannot borrow but with difficulty and disadvantage.  The monied men, however, look towards our new government with a great degree of partiality, and even anxiety.  If they see that set out on the English plan, the first degree of credit will be transferred to us.  A favorable occasion will arise to our new government of asserting this ground to themselves.  The transfer of the French debt, public and private, to Amsterdam, is certainly desirable.  An act of the new government, therefore, for opening a loan in Holland for the purpose, laying taxes at the same time for paying annually the interest and a part of the principal, will answer the two valuable purposes, of ascertaining the degree of our credit,