4th- [July 1778]- M^r. Adams informd me that Mes^rs Chaumont¹ & Williams² had brought Cap^t. Jones³ to him & proposd that the Commissioners shoud request Mons^r. de Sartine⁴ to Let Cap^t Jones enter on board the Brest fleet as a volunteer. That he rejected it. D^r. F.⁵ coming in M^r L.⁶ said it woud set a most pernicious example that an Officer in the public service shd quit his post without leave, stay here, in defiance of his orders intriguing to get into another service. D^r. F. excused it, said we were not certain he was going to, not know^g that M^r. A⁷ had told me what Mes^r. Chaumont & Williams had proposed but upon his repeat^g. it y^e. D^r. was silent. However he made an excuse of not hav^g. Cap^t. Jones’s instructions to see how far he was under our orders, for pospon^g. the proposition I made that we shd order him to his ship immediately.

Mem^d. Soon after M^r. Adams arrivd, M^r. L. proposd that they shd join in a Letter to M^r Grand the Banker⁸ forbidding him to pay any of the public money but to their joint order, to w^ch D^r. F. wd. not agree saying he did not know but M^r Lee might starve him, & that M^r. L. kept all the spanish funds to himself. Upon his disagreeing the measure was dropt.