Autograph draft of a memorandum, [1798 July 25].

Summarizing his meeting with the Dutch Minister [Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck]; saying that the Dutch Minister had received a printed copy of Talleyrand's letter to Gerry of the 12th of July (MA 157.99) and he was offering the services of his government to mediate the disputes between France and the United States; saying that "the conduct of Mr. Talleyrand in publishing his letter to me, had an hostile appearance - that if a mediation could be supposed necessary, it must be offered to the Government of the U.S.; I had no authority to accept it. That if the Government of France was sincere in its declaration, made thro' Mr. Talleyrand its minister, all that was wanting was to open a negotiation : for he had expressed a desire to shew by treaty how well disposed France was to put an end to their disputes;" saying that as the "United States had been twice defeated in sending Ministers to Paris, the government might not be disposed to send them a third time; & that if the French government would propose some city in a neutral nation, as a place for opening a new negotiation, or which would be better, would send a minister to the U.S., I did not doubt it would succeed. That this was a mere matter of opinion, for I had no instructions on the subject : neither was I informed whether my government had or had not formed an alliance with any other nation, as had been frequently reported;" saying he was asked by the Dutch Minister if he would stay in Paris and "I answered no, it was not necessary, neither did I conceive the propriety of offering at this period a mediation;" saying that the Dutch Minister said "that Mr. Talleyrand who had stiled his letter a pacific manifesto & had sent a printed copy to each foreign minister had no hostile intention in publishing it but considered it as a friendly measure. I answered we then had different views of the subject. I then shewed the answer to that letter which the Dutch minister read."