LITMIR.BIZ

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munificent grants of pecuniary supplies from the government of France and Holland.[6]

In 1783–4, after the satisfactory close of these truly confidential services, he is found to have made considerable advances, moneys, loans, &c., to Robert Morris, of the Congress of the Declaration of '76. To General Miflin, to General St. Clair, to General Steuben, to Colonel Shee, to Colonel Morgan, Major McPherson, Major Franks, and many other officers such sums as they required. And as it regarded the deputies to the Continental Congress, [to] the amiable Judge Wilson (another member of the session of '76) considerable loans.[7]

      

To the immortal delegation from Virginia, namely, Arthur Lee, Theodore Bland, Joseph Jones, John F. Mercer and Edmund Randolph, liberal supplies of timely and pecuniary aid, and we find it declared by one of the most accomplished, most learned and patriotic members of the succeeding sessions of the Revolutionary legislature, James Madison, that when by the … [MS. cut off] pecuniary resources of the members of Congress, both public and private, were cut off, recourse was had to Mr. Salomon for means to answer their current expenses, and he was always found extending his friendly hand.[8]

The exalted and surviving delegate of the Revolutionary Congress above alluded to, who has since that period been promoted for two successive terms to the chief magistracy of these States, in his letter on the subject of the character of Mr. Haym Salomon, testifies fully as to the unquestionable uprightness of his transactions, as well as the disinterestedness of his "friendship," and also his "intelligence," and which no doubt from his confidential intercourse with the foreign ambassadors made his communications serviceable to the public safety.[9] That conferences were sought with him by the great men of the time is proved from the existence of a note in the handwriting of another member of the Congress of Declaration, the incorruptible President Reed.

His services to the cause of his country were not confined to aiding the native agents of our own government, but he was the most confidential friend and timely adviser to the agents, consuls, and ambassadors representing the interests of the kings of those countries then in our alliance, as it appears from the amount of specie granted for the service of the army and hospital of Rochambaud, and large sums appear to have been received from him by Chevalier De La Luzerne, Marbois, consul-general, De La Forest, John … [MS, cut off], recollected by the elders of the nation as the active agents of the good French king.[10]

As to the minister of the King of Spain, then the richest of the European monarchs. The amount granted him was expressly to relieve the wants, conveniences and necessities of this ambassador, whose king was then countenancing the Revolution in this country, but with whose European dominions all intercourse was stopped, and in regard to the monies so furnished, whether Mr. S. was ever repaid by Spain is a matter of as much uncertainty as that regarding the considerable sums advanced to other Revolutionary agents.[11]

      

      It appears that the death of Mr. S. after a short and severe illness was quite as unexpected as calamitous to his family, leaving no will nor relatives in this country competent to take charge of his estate, at this difficult period of the unsettled state of the jurisprudence of the country, being four years prior to the formation of the Constitution of the United States.

A letter from him yet exists, dated in New York a few days previous to his return and death, directed to the agent of his house in Philadelphia, in which he speaks of the full competency of his fortune and his intention of retiring from business. An additional inducement no doubt was owing to the impaired state of his health from the great exertions he had made to promote the views of the Revolution, and which letter further declares that he had many claims uncollected due him,[12] and spoke of the quantities of public securities and government papers which … [MS. cut off]. Of this latter, on examination of a list deposited in the Probate Office, it appears there was upwards of $300,000, more than $160,000 of which were of certificates of the Loan Office of the Treasury and the army.[13]

      

At his decease the management of his estate passed into the hands of strangers, all of whom not very long after became either bankrupts or died, as well as Mr. Macrea,[14] his chief clerk, who had committed suicide about the same period. Consequently the books and papers have nearly been all lost, and the obscurity into which these matters are thrown is increased in consequence of the destruction by the British of many of the public archives of that period, during the invasion of the city of Washington by their army during the last war.[15] And such were the effects of those unfortunate circumstances to the heirs that when the youngest son became of age nothing was obtained from the personal estate of this munificent and patriotic individual in Philadelphia. And no other inheritance now survives to the offspring except the expectation of the grateful remembrance of a just and generous republic.

It ought not to be forgotten, that although he endorsed a great portion of those bills of exchange for the amount of the loans and subsidies our government obtained in Europe, of which he negotiated the entire sums, and the execution of which duty occupied a great portion of his valuable time from '81 to '83, still there was only charged scarcely a fractional percentage to the United States, although individuals were willing to pay him … [MS. cut off] for his other negotiations and guarantee. And it is known that he never caused the loss to the government of one cent of those many millions of his negotiations, either by his own mismanagement or from the credit he gave to others on the sales he made of those immense sums of foreign drafts on account of the United States.[16]

      

      We find that immediately after the peace of '83, when foreign commerce could securely float again on the ocean, that he resumed his business as a merchant for the few remaining months of his life, trading to foreign countries, which may be collected from the few original letters (that are preserved) bearing date [of] London, Holland and Spain, and from the return of the large ship Sally from Spain to his consignment a few weeks succeeding his death, on which cargo and hull he was interested in the sum of 40,000 florins; his estate on the expedition sustained almost total loss, owing to the failures and disasters among merchants of those days, to whom the property had been consigned and by whose advice it had been undertaken.

He was most friendly in aiding those other commercial citizens and merchants who recommenced trading after the war had closed. One remarkable instance [that] may be noted among others was the case of Mr. Willing's house, the head of which was the president of the National Bank, and whose active partner was the Superintendent of Finance. The firm traded under the name of Willing, Morris & Swanick. To them he made a loan of his name to obtain 40,000 dollars in specie in one amount from the bank. A second loan of his name in addition of 24,000 specie dollars also, a few months preceding his death, for both of which considerable accommodations of credit at this eventful period of our commercial history he never changed them one cent of consideration.[17]

[Copy of an authentic certificate from the Register's Office in Philadelphia shewing the amount of public securities[18] and Revolutionary papers left by the deceased Haym Salomon at his death and from which personal estate mentioned in said certificate not a cent was ever received by

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