moersittj of 
 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE OF GEORGE MASON 
 
 172^-1792 
 
 K^Th MASON ROWLAND 
 
 u 
 
 INCLUDING HIS SPEECHES, PUBLIC PAPERS, AND CORRE 
 SPONDENCE ; WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 GENERAL FITZHUGH LEE 
 
 VOLUME II 
 
 Thus show once more George Mason s iron face 
 (That friend to liberty ; to license, foe), 
 A man who then our coming fate did trace ; 
 Saw States diminish, central power grow- 
 But happy, died before the crowning woe. 
 
 F. E. A. 
 
 5 / 
 
 I UNIVERSITY 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK LONDON 
 
 27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 24 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND 
 
 illje I\meherboclur |hrss 
 1892 
 
y 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1892 
 BY 
 
 KATE MASON ROWLAND 
 
 Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by 
 
 fmicfcerbocfeer press, mew li)orfe 
 G. P. PUTNAM S SONS 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 
 
 CHAPTER PACE 
 
 I. Ix PRIVATE LIFE. 1780-1782 i 
 
 II. THE YEAR OF THE PEACE. 1783 36 
 
 III. VIRGINIA S COMPACT WITH MARYLAND. 1784-1787. 68 
 IV. IN THE FEDERAL CONVENTION. MAY-JULY, 1787. jJo o 
 ( V. THE CHAMPION OF STATES-RIGHTS. JULY-SEPTEM 
 BER, 1787. S?\~. 139 
 
 VI. LAST YEAR IN THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY. 1787-1788. 180 
 
 VII. IN THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION. 1788. . . .219 
 
 VIII. AN ANTIFEDERALIST LEADER. 1788. . . . 258 
 
 HX. THE PHILOSOPHER AND SEER. 1788-1790. . . 298 
 
 C CONCLUSION. 1791-1792 341 
 
 APPENDIX. -379 
 
 I. LETTERS RELATING TO THE COMPACT WITH MARY 
 LAND, 1785. 
 
 II. OBJECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION, AND OTHER 
 PAPERS, 1787. 
 
 III. SPEECHES IN THE CONVENTION OF 1788. 
 
 IV. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION, 1788. 
 V. PAPER ON CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, 179!. 
 VI. WILL OF GEORGE MASON OF " GUNSTON," 1773-1792. 
 
 LAND DESCRIBED IN GEORGE MASON S WILL, AND NOW OWNED 
 
 BY HIS DESCENDANTS. 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF LUND WASHINGTON TO GENERAL 
 
 WASHINGTON, 1778. 
 
 ARMS OF MASON, FOWKE, AND THOMSON OR THOMPSON FAMILIES. 
 iii 
 
LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 GEORGE MASON, OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN PRIVATE LIFE. 
 1780-1782. 
 
 George Mason did not attend the fall session of the As 
 sembly in 1780, as had been his design, and his temporary 
 retirement from public life, which took place at this time, 
 occurred, therefore, a little earlier than he had at first con 
 templated. In the letters of Joseph Jones, who was then in 
 the Assembly, letters which have been recently published, 
 there are several allusions to Colonel Mason. Jones wrote 
 to Madison in October that he had been applied to both by 
 Colonel Mason and Colonel Meade relative to the consulship 
 for Spain, which they desired should be given to Mr. Harri 
 son, George Mason s merchant friend in Martinique. It is 
 satisfactory to know that this gentleman did get the ap 
 pointment, some years later, after the adoption of the new 
 Constitution. Joseph Jones wrote to Madison the 2d of 
 December : 
 
 " Mr. Mason has not yet appeared, and I do not expect he 
 will this session, as he has the remains upon him of a severe 
 attack of the gout." 
 
 1 " Letters of Joseph Jones," p. 59. Department of State, 1889. 
 Vol. II I i 
 
2 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE AT A SON. 
 
 The project of the land cession had therefore to be 
 carried through the Assembly without George Mason s 
 personal assistance, and on the 2d of January, 1781, the act 
 for this purpose was passed. But as two of its eight condi 
 tions were not satisfactory to Congress, the matter was not 
 fully settled until some time later. Colonel Clark was in 
 Virginia during this winter, and no doubt he visited his 
 friend at " Gunston Hall " before leaving the State. Arnold s 
 raid took place at this time, and Colonel Clark assisted in 
 the defence of the James River. In the spring the Assem 
 bly, which met in March, was disturbed by the British and 
 forced to adjourn from place to place. Colonel Mason, in 
 his retirement at " Gunston," was keenly alive to the critical 
 situation of the country, and though no longer in the coun 
 cils of his State, he was revolving at home projects for the 
 public good. And the fruit of some of his reflections appears 
 in the following letter to the Virginia delegates in Congress: 
 
 Letter to the Honorable the Virginia Delegates in Congress at Phila 
 delphia, April 3, 1781. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : 
 
 Permit me to recommend to your consideration a subject which 
 I think merits the attention of Congress. The enemy is now pro 
 fessedly carrying on a predatory war against the United States 
 contrary to the custom of civilized nations. A board of Refugees 
 has been some time sitting in New York upon the subject of 
 depredation and consulting upon the most effectual methods of 
 plundering the defenceless part of the inhabitants of the Ameri 
 can States in which they are avowedly authorized and supported 
 by the British king and his generals. Several private people have 
 lately been robbed, their houses burned and their estates ruined 
 by the crews of British ships. Arnold is at this time preparing 
 a great number of flat-bottomed boats at Portsmouth notoriously 
 for the purpose of plundering the tobacco warehouses and the 
 inhabitants upon the rivers and creeks in Virginia and Maryland. 
 How practicable a plan of this sort is I need hardly mention to 
 gentlemen acquainted with the situation of this country. What 
 may be the fatal consequences not only of disabling many thou- 
 
LETTER TO THE VIRGINIA DELEGATES IX CONGRESS. 3 
 
 sands from paying their taxes and contributing to the support of 
 the common cause, but of throwing them also as a dead weight 
 on the rest of the community, or how few of them may have 
 public virtue enough to withstand the terrors of poverty and ruin 
 are topics which, however disagreeable, deserve the most serious 
 reflections that if possible the evil may be averted. Whether the 
 king and his ministry encouraged by their success in Carolina ex 
 pect by such means to make an easier conquest of the Southern 
 States, or whether expecting the interference of the great powers 
 of Europe to compel them to relinquish their claim to the Ameri 
 can States, they are now acting upon the principles of revenge 
 determined to desolate what they despair of recovering be this 
 as it may it is surely the duty of the Great Council of America 
 to endeavor if possible to prevent the mischief and save from 
 ruin such numbers of their citizens. Whoever considers the im 
 portance of the trade of these States to Great Britain, and her 
 expectations of great part of it returning into British channels, 
 upon a peace, may readily conceive that she will be alarmed at 
 any measures which must affect it hereafter by imposing such 
 burdens upon it as will give a lasting preference to other nations. 
 If therefore Congress were to recommend to the Legislatures of 
 the different States immediately to enact laws, declaring that all 
 private property which has been or shall be plundered or de 
 stroyed by the British troops or others acting under the authority 
 of the King of Great Britain, beyond high-water mark, from a 
 certain day shall be hereafter reimbursed and made good to the 
 individual sufferers and their heirs by dutys to be imposed upon 
 all imports from Great Britain into the respective States, after a 
 peace and to be continued until full reparation shall be accord 
 ingly made, and for this purpose directing valuations upon oath 
 to be made of all private property so plundered or destroyed, to 
 be returned with the names and places of abode of the owners to 
 some certain public office in each State and there duly registered, 
 it is more than probable it would produce good effects. The 
 fund is adequate to the purpose and the measure without con 
 quest could not be counteracted. There is hardly a merchant 
 or manufacturer in Great Britain who would not feel himself 
 affected by it ; if anything can restrain them this probably would. 
 Their commanders here would immediately represent it to the 
 
4 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ministry and inquire their further instructions and the nation 
 would be cautious of repeating mischiefs which must one day 
 reverberate upon themselves. If it had not this effect it at least 
 would be a piece of justice to the injured to whom the commu 
 nity owes justice, if it cannot afford them protection. The only 
 objection that occurs to me is the common maxim "that all dutys 
 ultimately fall upon the consumer," and consequently that this 
 would be a tax upon ourselves. If this were true I think it no 
 good objection, because it would only be reimbursing by a volun 
 tary tax one part of the community what they had suffered from 
 their local circumstances more than the other without any fault 
 of their own. But the maxim is not true with respect to dutys 
 upon the imports of any particular country, while we are not con 
 fined to their market, but have an open trade with all the world, 
 and therefore this charge would fall either upon the aggressing 
 nation, or upon those who, disaffected to the American cause, 
 were desirous of giving Great Britain an impolitic and undue 
 preference. It would fall partly upon both. I got a bill passed 
 a year or two ago in the Virginia House of Delegates but it was 
 rejected in the Senate for no other reason that I could learn but 
 that it was ruin for Virginia to make such a law unless similar 
 measures were adopted by the other States. Should these hints 
 be approved there is not a moment to be lost, and such a measure 
 should not be intended merely in terrorem, but carried into the 
 strictest execution. 
 
 There is another subject which deserves the public attention. 
 I have always endeavored to make myself well acquainted with 
 the sentiments of the bulk of the people, conscious that in gov 
 ernments like ours, upon this in a great measure must depend 
 the success of the present contest. I live in a part of the country 
 remarkable for its Whigism and attachment to the cause of liberty, 
 and it is with much concern I find a general opinion prevailing 
 that our allies are spinning out the war in order to weaken 
 America as well as Great Britain and thereby leave us at the end 
 of it as dependent as possible on themselves. However unjust 
 this opinion may be, it is natural enough to planters and farmers 
 burdened with heavy taxes and frequently dragged from their 
 families by military duty in the continual alarms occasioned by 
 the superiority of the British navy. They see their property 
 
A FRENCH FLEET REQUIRED. 5 
 
 daily exposed to destruction ; they see with what facility the 
 British troops are removed from one part of the continent to 
 another, and with what infinite charge and fatigue ours are too 
 late obliged to follow. If our allies had a superior fleet here I 
 should have very little doubt of a favorable issue to the war, 
 but without it I fear we are deceiving both them and ourselves 
 in expecting we shall be able to keep our people much longer 
 firm in so unequal an opposition to Great Britain. Would it not 
 be wise and honest to lay this matter candidly before them, and 
 with decent firmness explain how much our mutual interest 
 requires a fleet upon the American coast superior to that of our 
 common enemy. 
 
 I have mentioned to you my thoughts upon these very interest 
 ing subjects, trusting that the motives upon which I act (the 
 good of our country) will induce you to pardon such a liberty in 
 a private gentleman and render any further apology unnecessary. 
 Ill health hindering my attendance at Richmond upon the last 
 session of the Assembly prevents my knowing which of the 
 Virginia delegates are now in Congress, otherwise I should only 
 have wrote to one or two of the members, instead of addressing 
 myself to the delegates in a letter which from the superscription 
 may appear to have the air of an official one. 
 
 I have the honor to be with the greatest respect, gentlemen, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 April 20. P. S. Since the above letter was wrote, several of 
 the enemy s ships have been within two or three miles of Alexan 
 dria ; they have burned and plundered several houses and carried 
 off a great many slaves ; though I have hitherto been fortunate 
 enough to lose no part of my property. 1 
 
 The members of the Ohio Company proposed at this time 
 to make another effort with the Virginia Assembly to secure 
 their lands. Robert Carter of " Nomini " wrote to a friend, 
 on this subject, April I4th : 
 
 " It is said that the House of Delegates rejected the Company s 
 claim because their works of survey were returned by a surveyor 
 1 Madison MSS., State Department. 
 
6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 [Hancock Lee] not legally appointed. Nevertheless that session 
 established some officers claims whose works of survey were 
 returned by surveyors acting under no better authority than the 
 surveyor appointed by the Ohio Company. It is expected that 
 these cases will be relied on as precedents and the claims of the 
 Ohio Company will be revived. This matter is of a joint concern, 
 therefore the parties must join in presenting a petition which I 
 apprehend should be done this approaching session, and I purpose 
 to make some movement therein." 
 
 He accordingly wrote to Colonel Mason on the nth of 
 May, suggesting such action, and he adds. "If this idea 
 should be approved on and a petition shall be prepared and 
 presented, pray have my name inserted therein for two 
 fortieth parts, I having purchased two shares of the late Mr. 
 Augustine Washington and Mr. Gawin Corbin, members of 
 the Ohio Company." ; 
 
 The American troops, under Lafayette, Steuben, and 
 Wayne, were in Virginia, in the spring of 1781, for the 
 purpose of repelling the invasion of the enemy ; and an act 
 of the Assembly, authorizing the seizure of cattle for the use 
 of the army, to supply them with provisions, was put in 
 operation, causing some dissatisfaction. George Mason 
 thought that the commissioners were carrying out this law 
 in a manner that would inflict needless injury on the people 
 and alienate them from the cause of patriotism, and he 
 wrote to Jefferson, then governor of the State, calling his 
 attention to the matter. 
 
 FAIRFAX COUNTY, GUNSTON HALL, 
 May I4th, 1781. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 The order for seizing live cattle for the supply of the army 
 is like to produce much confusion and oppression in this part of 
 the country from the vague, and (as I apprehend) illegal instruc 
 tions of Mr. Brown to his deputies, who are acting very differently 
 in the different counties, according to each man s interpretation 
 of instructions which no man understands. This, if not timely 
 
 1 Carter Letter-Books. 
 
LETTER TO JEFFERSON. 
 
 prevented by clear and precise orders from the executive, will in 
 many instances occasion lawsuits, and in some, most probably, 
 violence. The instructions I have seen from Mr. Brown direct 
 his deputies to take a tenth part of every man s stock. The true 
 construction of this I take to be a tenth part of every man s 
 stock, in quantity and quality. But it would be a wanton waste of 
 cattle. In some counties they estimate the value of a man s 
 whole stock, and take the tenth part of that value, in beef cattle. 
 In other counties (particularly in this) the deputy commissary 
 thinks himself authorized to take in beef cattle the tenth part of 
 the number of each man s stock, which would generally be near 
 half of the value of the whole. And as, upon the common 
 average of stocks, there is not a tenth part of them beef cattle, 
 if the measure was to be executed throughout the State in this 
 manner, every family would be left without beef, tallow, or leather 
 for the ensuing year ; the quantity of cattle immediately taken 
 would be enormous, not less, upon a moderate computation, I 
 conceive than forty or fifty thousand beeves, and there would 
 not be a beef left to supply the army another campaign. The only 
 laws I know of upon which this power of seizure is founded are the 
 two acts passed in the last May sessi on, one " for procuring a sup 
 ply of provisions and other necessaries for the army," empowering 
 the governor and council to appoint commissioners for seizing 
 certain enumerated articles at fixed prices, and the other " an act 
 for giving further powers to the Governor and Council," extending 
 the powers given by the former act to the obtaining so many live 
 cattle as may be wanted for supplying the militia or other troops, 
 to be valued and appraised by two disinterested persons upon 
 oath &c ; provided always that not more than one half of the bul 
 locks and barren cows belonging to any person, fit for slaughter, 
 shall be subject to such seizure. These two acts are continued 
 by a subsequent session, with only an augmentation of the prices 
 enumerated in the first act, occasioned by the depreciation of 
 money in the meantime. But I think nothing is therein said 
 about the price of live cattle, it being unnecessary as the price 
 had not been ascertained by the former acts, and the cattle were 
 to be appraised at the time of seizure. The wife Jit for slaughter 
 can hardly be literally conformed to at this season of the year, 
 and may reasonably be extended to such cattle as are fit to fatten 
 
8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 for slaughter. But certainly the power is limited to the half of 
 such cattle belonging to any such person, and any commissary 
 presuming to exceed it will act contrary to law, and distress the 
 people unnecessarily, as the one half of such cattle will afford 
 more than an ample supply. There are also doubts with respect 
 to draught oxen, which I am sure it was not the intention of the 
 legislature to seize for beef, nor do they come within the descrip 
 tion of the law. The people might as well have their waggon or 
 plough horses taken from them as their draught oxen. 
 
 Another subject of dispute is the price of cattle. By a vote of 
 both houses in November last the executive is empowered to 
 pursue such measures as to them appear practicable and effectual 
 for the laying in such quantity of beef and salt as shall be neces 
 sary for supplying the army, allowing for grass beef 24 / per 
 pound and for salt ^70 per bushel. And although from the 
 whole tenor and style of the said vote, it is evident that it relates 
 only to the supply of the army during the then slaughter season, 
 and not at all to the powers, prices or valuations described in the 
 before mentioned acts, yet some of the deputy commissaries 
 apply it to the present seizure of live cattle, and instead of 
 appraisement, the weight is judged by two men upon oath, and 
 certificates given at 24.7 per pound, for which they say they have 
 late instructions. In some counties the judges fix this at what 
 they think the nett weight of the cattle in their present poor con 
 dition ; in other counties at what they think would be the nett 
 weight if the cattle were fat and fit for slaughter, or what they 
 would weigh in the slaughter season next fall, as in the mean time 
 they would not cost their owners a penny. A grass bullock which 
 would have weighed 400 last November, will not at this time 
 weigh 200 pounds, so that in some counties the people will get 
 less that half what their neighbors receive, or of the real value of 
 their cattle, besides the loss by depreciation since last November. 
 The commissary in this and some other counties is, by these dif 
 ficulties, prevented from proceeding, whereupon I promised to 
 lay the matter before your Excellency and the council, and to 
 communicate to them the result. Sensible of the important 
 objects in which the time of the executive is now taken up, I 
 should not have troubled them with this, if I did not foresee that 
 the purposes of the law will be in a great measure defeated, and 
 
RAIDS OF 7 HE ENEMY. 9 
 
 great confusion ensue, unless prevented by speedy and precise 
 instructions to the deputy-commissaries so as to put their busi 
 ness upon a just and equal footing. 
 
 The people in this part of Virginia are well disposed to do 
 everything in their power to support the war, but the same prin 
 ciples which attach them to the American cause will incline them 
 to resist injustice or oppression. I would further beg leave to 
 suggest that it might be better to take now only such a number 
 of cattle as are wanted for immediate use, and suffer the others 
 to remain longer on their own pastures, where at this season of 
 the year they will thrive faster, upon grass alone, than fed with 
 corn, collected in numbers in strange pastures, and a great ex 
 pense be saved to the public. It will be necessary also to order 
 that the cattle be collected in places out of the reach of the enemy, 
 when the situation of the county will admit it. I am led to 
 mention this last circumstance from my knowing that the place 
 pitched upon in this county is so near the river that a party from 
 a single vessel might carry off the cattle in two or three hours, 
 although a considerable part of the county is out of the reach of 
 the enemy, except in great force. 
 
 I beg the favor of an answer by the first post, or other safe 
 conveyance, and remain with the greatest respect, Sir, your most 
 obedient humble servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 His Excellency, Thomas Jefferson, Esq. : 
 Governor of Virginia. 1 
 
 The raids of the enemy along all the navigable waters of 
 Virginia were constant at this period, and the residents on 
 the Potomac, among the rest of this exposed class of the 
 population, were in a continual state of alarm. Col. Henry 
 Lee, father of Henry Lee, the young lieutenant-colonel of 
 cavalry, was the county lieutenant of Prince William, and in 
 a letter to Governor Jefferson of the Qth of April, he tells of 
 a small schooner which a few days before had gone up to 
 Alexandria, the raiders stealing negroes and burning houses 
 
 1 MS. Letter published in American Historical Record, p. 231. Edited by 
 B. J. Lossing. 
 
10 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 on their way, and he adds: " If the enemy had succeeded 
 at Alexandria they intended, one of the prisoners says, to 
 have burnt General Washington s houses, plundered Colonel 
 Mason and myself, and endeavored to have made me a 
 prisoner." 
 
 On the 1 2th, Alexandria was in much confusion at the 
 approach of the enemy s fleet. Six armed vessels went up 
 the river, and the counties of Stafford, Prince William, and 
 Fairfax were the " scene of war." * Colonel Fitzgerald, how 
 ever, made such a bold show that the British did not land, 
 and so " Gunston " was not molested. Under the appre 
 hension of the enemy s approach, George Mason prepared 
 to move into Maryland, farther from the river, and he sent 
 his valuables, with the following letter, to his friend, Pearson 
 Chapman, of Charles County. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, Thursday Afternoon, 
 May sist, 1781. 
 
 DEAR SIR : The rapid march of the enemy obliges me to send as 
 many of my effects, as I can readily remove, to Maryland, and I 
 expect to follow immediately with Mrs. Mason and my daughters. 
 I must therefore beg the favour of you to permit all the things I 
 send to be put into your dwelling house, for safety, until I can 
 carry them up to my son William s house at the head of Matta- 
 woman, which I shall do with all possible expedition. I expect 
 Mrs. Mason and the girls will be over early to-morrow. 
 
 Part of the Virginia Light Horse crossed at Fredericks[burg ?] on 
 Tuesday night ; the Marquis Troops (who are not strong enough 
 for an action) were expected there last night, unless prevented 
 by the enemy. Lord Cornwallis with the main body of the Brit 
 ish army was at Hanover Court House (scarce fifty miles from 
 Fredericksburg) on Tuesday morning, their object, no doubt, 
 to defeat the Marquis Troops before General Waine came up, or 
 to prevent the junction : this intelligence comes from an officer 
 sent express to General Waine and may be relied on. I think if 
 the winds permit we may expect their fleet up this river in a very 
 
 "Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. ii., p. 21. 
 2 Ibid., p. 39. 
 
LETTER TO PEARSON CHAPMAN. II 
 
 .jw days. Our situation in Virginia is truly critical and danger 
 ous ; a very few weeks, unless the enemy can be checked, will 
 place Maryland in the same predicament. Nothing can speedily 
 extricate the two States but the arrival of a strong French fleet 
 which there is reason to expect every day. I have given you the 
 earliest information in my power, that you may endeavour to 
 secure your moveables by carrying them a few miles from the 
 river, where I think they will be safe for some time. 
 
 I beg the favour of you to let your people and cart assist my 
 people in carrying up the things from the landing to the house, 
 that the boat may return as quick as possible ; and am dear sir 
 Your most obedient servant 
 
 GEORGE MASON. 
 
 If Mr. Chapman is from home, Mrs. Chapman will be pleased 
 to open this letter. 
 
 Mr. Pearson Chapman 
 
 Charles County 
 
 Maryland 
 
 The Chapmans lived almost immediately opposite " Guns- 
 ton " on the Maryland side of the Potomac, and the old 
 Eilbeck place, " Mattawoman," was three miles farther off 
 at the head of Mattawoman Creek. The mother of Pearson 
 Chapman, Mrs. Constance Chapman, was an intimate friend 
 of George Mason s first wife, and drawing up her will, in 
 1768, she makes therein the following bequest : " I give and 
 bequeath unto my friend Mrs. Ann Mason a mourning ring, 
 the stone to be set round with diamond sparks, the said ring 
 to be the value of three guineas and a half, and be inscribed 
 with my age and the time of my death." Mrs. Chapman, 
 however, survived Mrs. Mason many years, dying in Fairfax 
 County, in 1798. A great-grandson of Pearson Chapman is 
 living now at the old place in Maryland, which is called 
 "Vuedel Eau." 
 
 Colonel Mason wrote two letters early in June to his son 
 George in France. 
 
 1 A copy from the original in possession of Mr. Pearson Chapman, April 30, 
 1860, made by the late Mr. Joseph Ilorner, of Warrenton, Va. 
 
12 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 DEAR GEORGE: June 3 d, 1781. 
 
 A gentleman now here, on his way to the Northern States, and 
 from thence to the West Indies, affords me a better opportunity 
 of writing to you than I have had for a long time past ; and as 
 I shall write duplicates, and direct them to be sent by different 
 vessels, some of them will probably reach you : they will be en 
 closed in covers to Messrs. Schweighauser and Dobree, Mer 
 chants in Nantes. I find from some of your letters, that most, 
 if not all of our letters to you have miscarried, and consequently 
 that you are unacquainted with everything which has happened 
 here in your absence. Your grandmother, Mrs. Eilbeck died last 
 December and has willed her estate, in the manner she always 
 intended ; some legacies in slaves and money to her granddaugh 
 ters, a negro boy to John and Tom, and the bulk of her fortune 
 to your brother William. Your estate here is at present in good 
 order, and a promising harvest coming on, if we are able to reap 
 it. There was a pretty good crop of corn made on it last year, 
 and about 10,000 Ibs. of pork sold at a high nominal price (^200 
 per hundred) but before the money could be invested in tobacco 
 the rapid depreciation reduced it exceedingly. Part has been 
 invested in tobacco, some in the usual way of Inspector s notes ; 
 the remainder I have advised your brother Thomson to endeavor 
 to invest in tobacco in the hands of substantial people, upon 
 tobacco bonds, rather than having it in the public warehouses, 
 where it is not safe a week from the enemy, who have within 
 these two months burned more than ten thousand hogsheads of 
 tobacco in Virginia, and still continue to destroy all they can get 
 at. I observe what you say of our tobacco at Bordeaux being 
 unsold in March. I hope it still remains so, as the quantity 
 destroyed here must raise the price in Europe, beyond anything 
 known within the memory of man. I will write to Messrs Delaps 
 upon the subject. This family has not yet lost any tobacco, 
 slaves or other property, by the enemy, although their ships have 
 been as high as Alexandria, but we are in daily expectation of 
 sharing the same fate with our neighbors upon this and the other 
 rivers, where many families have been suddenly reduced from 
 opulence to indigence, particularly upon James river, the enemy 
 taking all the slaves, horses, cattle, furniture and other property 
 
LETTERS TO HIS ELDEST SON IN FRANCE. 13 
 
 they can lay their hands on ; and what they can t carry away they 
 wantonly destroy. We have removed our furniture, backwards 
 and forwards two or three times, upon different alarms, by which 
 it is very much damaged : great part of it was packed up last 
 week and sent to Maryland, where your brother Thomson and 
 your sisters now are. 
 
 The schooner Isabella was drove on shore, on the coast of 
 North Carolina, and the vessel lost ; some part of the cargo was 
 saved, but upon the average settlement of the proceeds, our pro 
 portion in the present depreciated money was hardly worth the 
 trouble of receiving. Mine was about p^3,ooo and yours ^366, 
 including Mrs. Eilbeck s, Dr. Brown s and the whole consign 
 ment to your brother Thomson. The letters, bills of lading, and 
 invoyces all came safe to hand, but yours were so irregular, some 
 packages mentioned in the invoyce not being inserted in the bills 
 of lading, and some of the contents not particularized nor ex 
 tended in the invoyce, so that if the goods had arrived safe we 
 should hardly have been able to ascertain them properly, much 
 less was it practicable to fix the real value upon the general 
 average. You have probably been a loser by this, though very 
 deservedly ; if ever you send any more goods, pray be more 
 methodical and exact. The ship General Washington is fitted out 
 as a privateer, and I believe is now upon a cruise. She arrived 
 from Amsterdam in a New England port, where her cargo pro 
 duced less than half the value here. I had better than ^"200 
 sterling cost of goods in her upon my own private account, which 
 still remain in New England, from whence I am not likely to get 
 them soon, if ever : by these disappointments the family are in 
 great want of necessaries. Our bay and rivers are entirely in the 
 possession of the enemy, our little trade totally at an end, and 
 almost all the Virginia vessels taken. 
 
 The family, I thank God, are all well, except myself, who am 
 but just recovering from a fit of the gout. No remarkable 
 changes have happened among your acquaintance. Pray let me 
 know if my order on Penet Da Costa and Company was duly 
 paid. Let me know also where Mr. William Lee is, and in what 
 circumstances, and way of life, &c., and give me the best infor 
 mation you can respecting your expences, and manner of life, 
 health, &c. I am sorry to hear you make so slow progress in the 
 
14 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 French language ; it is owing to your conversing too much among 
 your own countrymen, and to your not accustoming yourself to 
 write French. I hope, however, you will not be discouraged, but 
 will still endeavor to make yourself master of it. 
 
 I have not yet received the surveys of my back lands ; when I 
 do (if it is in time) I will transmit you copies of them, and par 
 ticularize the terms by which I purpose to settle them. I can now 
 only mention the outlines. I will on no consideration risk the im 
 porting, or maintaining people, at my charge. But if settlers can 
 be engaged to come in, at their own charge, I will grant them long 
 leases, at very low rents ; vizt., for three lives, or twenty-one years, 
 paying the first three years, only the taxes of the quantity of land 
 leased and afterwards the annual rent of about thirty shillings ster 
 ling per hundred acres, and the taxes ; with covenants to plant 
 orchards and make the usual improvements of buildings (which 
 you know in this country are not great) within four or five years 
 after the end of the present war ; the lessee to have sub-tenants, 
 if he pleases, preserving one third part of the quantity leased 
 uncut and uncultivated, to supply the premises with wood and 
 timber. Considering the conveniencies of game, fish, wild-fowl, 
 and the navigation (my lands being below the Falls of the Ohio) 
 and the extreme richness and fertility of the soil, the fineness of 
 the climate, and the levelness of the land, these terms are very 
 reasonable, and I should think would induce men of substance to 
 take quantities and bring in settlers. I presume this will find 
 you in Paris, or, as I rather hope, in the south of France. I can 
 not but think you judged extremely ill, in spending so much time 
 in Nantes, where you could expect no great improvement, either 
 in health, knowledge or manners. I think it will also be very 
 imprudent in you to return to America, without trying the effect 
 of one summer, either in the south of France, Italy or Spain, as 
 the best physicians in Paris may advise you : the recovery of 
 health should be considered as your primary object, for without 
 that you will have incurred much expence and loss of time to 
 little purpose. 
 
 I would recommend it to you to embark for America about 
 next May, so as to have a warm weather voyage, and be some 
 time again in your native climate, before the return of winter, and 
 to endeavor to get your passage in a ship of war. If any are 
 coming to America about the time, and you make proper use of 
 
CORNWALLIS IN VIRGINIA. 15 
 
 your letters and credentials, I should think you might by means 
 of Doctor Franklin, Colonel Lawrence, or some men of interest, 
 procure an order from the court for a passage in one of them. 
 
 Mrs. Mason desires to be kindly remembered to you and joins 
 in wishing you a restoration to health, and a safe return to your 
 country and friends, with 
 
 Dear George, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. Under the same cover you will have a letter upon pub 
 lic affairs. 1 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, June 3d, 1781. 
 
 DEAR GEORGE : Your brother William writes you by this 
 opportunity. He returned some time ago from South Carolina, 
 where he commanded a company of volunteers (75 fine young 
 fellows from this county). He had a rough campaign of it, and 
 has acquired the reputation of a vigilant and good officer ; and 
 I think is greatly improved by the expedition. Your brother 
 Thomson has lately returned from a tour of militia-duty upon 
 James River. He commanded a platoon, in a pretty close action 
 at Williamsburg, and behaved with proper coolness and intrep 
 idity. He is now from home or would have wrote you. 
 
 I have written you very fully lately upon domestic subjects ; 
 but I am not able to give you any agreeable public news. 
 Our affairs have been, for some time, growing from bad to 
 worse. The enemy s fleet commands our rivers, and puts it in 
 their power to remove their troops, from place to place, when and 
 where they please without opposition ; so that we no sooner 
 collect a force sufficient to counteract them in one part of the 
 country, but they shift to another, ravaging, plundering, and de 
 stroying everything before them. Our militia turn out with great 
 spirit, and have in several late actions, behaved bravely ; but they 
 are badly armed and appointed. General Green, with about 
 r,2co regular troops and some militia, is in South Carolina ; where 
 he has taken all the enemy s posts, except Charlestown. The 
 enemy s capital object, at this time, seems to be Virginia. 
 General Philips died lately in Petersburg ; upon which the com 
 mand of the British troops there devolved upon Arnold ; but Ld. 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
1 6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Cornwallis, quitting North Carolina, has since joined Arnold, 
 with about 1,200 infantry and 300 cavalry, and taken the chief 
 command of their army in Virginia, now consisting of about 5,000 
 men : They have crossed James River, and by the latest accounts 
 were at Westover ; their light horse having advanced as far as 
 Hanover Court House ; They have burned Page s warehouses, 
 where the greatest part of the York River tobacco was collected ; 
 they had before burned most of the tobacco upon James River, 
 and have plundered great part of the adjacent county. The 
 Marquis De La Fayette is about twenty miles below Fredericks- 
 burg with about 1,200 regulars and 3,000 militia, waiting the 
 arrival of General Waine, with about 1,500 regular troops of 
 the Pennsylvania line. 
 
 We have had various accounts of the sailing of a French fleet, 
 with a body of land forces, for America ; should they really 
 arrive it would quickly change the face of our affairs, and infuse 
 fresh spirits and confidence ; but it has been so long expected in 
 vain, that little credit is now given to reports concerning it. 
 
 You know from your own acquaintance in this part of Virginia 
 that the bulk of the people here are staunch Whigs, strongly 
 attached to the American cause and well affected to the French 
 alliance ; yet they grow uneasy and restless, and begin to think 
 that our allies are spinning out the war, in order to weaken 
 America as well as Great Britain, and thereby leave us at the end 
 of it, as dependent as possible upon themselves. 
 
 However unjust this opinion may be, it is natural enough for 
 planters and farmers, burdened with heavy taxes, and frequently 
 dragged from their familys upon military duty, on the continual 
 alarms occasioned by the superiority of the British fleet. They 
 see their property daily exposed to destruction, they see with 
 what facility the British troops are removed from one part of the 
 continent to another, and with what infinite charge and fatigue 
 ours are, too late, obliged to follow ; and they see too very plainly, 
 that a strong French fleet would have prevented all this. If our 
 allies had a superior fleet here, I should have no doubt of a 
 favorable issue to the war, but without it, I fear we are deceiving 
 both them and ourselves, in expecting we shall be able to keep 
 our people much longer firm, in so unequal an opposition to Great 
 Britain. France surely intends the separation of these States for- 
 
LETTER TO THOMAS NELSON. \J 
 
 ever from Great Britain. It is highly her interest to accomplish 
 this ; but by drawing out the thread too fine and long, it may 
 unexpectedly break in her hands. 
 
 God bless you, my dear child ! and grant that we may again 
 meet, in your native country, as freemen, otherwise, that we never 
 see each other more, is the prayer of 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 It seems not unlikely that this latter interesting and 
 patriotic letter may have had some influence with the 
 French Court, and hastened the arrival of the French fleet. 
 The Honorable James M. Mason, who possessed a copy of it 
 which he transcribed for the "Virginia Historical Register," 
 wrote to the editor that " the indorsement on [the copy] 
 shows that the original had been by Dr. Franklin put into 
 the hands of the Count de Vergennes doubtless from the 
 tenor of the letter, intended by Dr. F. to stimulate the 
 government of France to send to the revolted colonies the 
 promised succour. The concluding paragraph," adds Mr. 
 Mason, " you will agree with me, I think, would have 
 adorned the ages of Brutus and Manlius." 
 
 In Gen. John Mason s recollections of his childhood he 
 mentions that the last tutor that his father had at " Gunston " 
 was a Mr. Constable, who was a native of Scotland, and was 
 engaged in that country to come over to Virginia as a 
 teacher in Colonel Mason s family. In 1781 Mr. Constable 
 wished to leave Virginia to make his home in the West 
 Indies, and Colonel Mason wrote to Thomas Nelson, then 
 governor of the State, to obtain a passport for him. 
 
 FAIRFAX COUNTY, GUNSTON HALL, 
 SIR ; September 3d, 1781. 
 
 A young gentleman (Mr. David Constable) a native of Scotland, 
 from the college of Aberdeen, has lived in my family ever since 
 the year 1774, as a tutor to my children, during which time he has 
 supported a very good character, and his behaviour has been un- 
 
 1 Niles " Principles and Acts of the Revolution," p. 126 ; "Virginia His 
 torical Register," vol. ii., p. 32 ; " Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. ii., p. 141. 
 Vol. II 2 
 
1 8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 exceptionable, in every instance, but refusing the oath of alle 
 giance to the commonwealth, which he told me at the time he was 
 induced to do from some expectations he had from his friends 
 in the British West Indies, where he intended to settle, after the 
 expiration of his engagements in my family. He has an elder 
 brother who has lived many years in the island of St. Christo 
 pher s, where he has had the management of some estates belong 
 ing to gentlemen residing in Great Britain, and has acquired 
 considerable property. From this brother Mr. Constable has 
 very lately received a letter, informing him that he should return 
 to Britain the beginning of next winter, to repair a constitution 
 injured by long residence in a warm climate, pressing him to 
 come to St. Christopher s immediately, and promising if he 
 arrived while he remained there, to give him an estate he has 
 in the island and put all his agencies into his hands. This is so 
 much beyond anything Mr. Constable can expect in Virginia or 
 may ever meet with hereafter, that out of friendship to a man who 
 has lived so many years in my family, and behaved so well in it, 
 I wish him enabled to avail himself of it, and for that purpose 
 must entreat your Excellency to grant him a passport or permit, 
 to go with a flag to Lord Cornwallis s army, from whence he may 
 readily obtain a passage to the West Indies. And his speedy 
 arrival there being of the utmost importance to him, you will 
 oblige me exceedingly in transmitting me such a passport by the 
 next post. This favor I flatter myself will be granted as an act of 
 the last session of Assembly invests the governor and council with 
 such a power ; as Mr. Constable s detention here would mate 
 rially injure him as an individual, without the smallest bene 
 fit to the American cause, and as it is not in his power to give any 
 useful intelligence to the enemy, or if it was, I know him to be a 
 man of more honor than to abuse any indulgence you shall be 
 pleased to grant him, and can venture to engage for his conduct. 
 I am, with the greatest esteem and respect 
 
 Sir, your most obedient, humble servant 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. If Mr. Constable is permitted to go by water it will 
 enable him to carry his books and other effects which he 
 could not well carry by land. 1 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
A DINNER-PARTY AT "MOUNT VERNON" 19 
 
 Lafayette passed through Colchester, the little post town 
 near " Gunston," in the spring of 1781, and the tax commis 
 sioners, one of whom was Martin Cockburn, George Mason s 
 friend, and another Richard Chichester, whose daughter 
 married one of Colonel Mason s sons, gave out to the Mar 
 quis a quantity of wheat for his command. 1 It is very 
 likely that Lafayette visited " Gunston " at this time and 
 brought messages from Washington to its proprietor. The 
 army of Washington was on its \vay in September to the 
 memorable field of Yorktown, and great preparations were 
 made for its approach in the counties it would have to 
 traverse from Georgetown to Dumfries. The militia were 
 instructed by the county lieutenants, through letters from 
 the commander-in-chief, to repair the roads and make 
 them passable for wagons. The baggage wagons of the 
 American and French forces, the cavalry, and the beef 
 cattle were all to take this route. Washington wrote to 
 request the gentlemen of the neighborhood, as a pleasing 
 mark of attention, to assist the French officers, Rocham- 
 beau, Chastellux, and others, with their carriages, from 
 point to point. From " Mt. Vernon " they were to be 
 furnished with carriages to Dumfries, where new relays 
 were requested to take them to Fredericksburg. Colonel 
 Mason must have met these distinguished strangers at 
 this time, and in all probability his equipage was at their 
 command. Washington arrived at " Mt. Vernon " on the 
 9th of September, Rochambeau, Chastellux, and their 
 suites the following day. A dinner-party was given at 
 " Mt. Vernon" on the nth, and the next morning the 
 journey to Williamsburg was resumed, lasting two days 
 longer. This was the first time Washington had been 
 home since 1775. 
 
 Thomson Mason, who was living at his country-seat in 
 Loudon County, wrote to Washington offering the services 
 of his two sons in the proposed campaign. 
 
 1 " Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. ii., p. 128. 
 
20 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 RASPBERRY PLAIN, Sept. 26th, 1781. 
 MY DEAR GENERAL : 
 
 I must sincerely congratulate your Excellency upon your safe 
 return to your native country, and look upon it as a happy pres 
 age of putting a glorious period to the present war. 
 
 But do not flatter yourself that your fatigues are to end with 
 this war. No, more glorious ones are yet reserved for you, in rid 
 ding your country of its domestic enemies, more silent indeed, 
 but not less destructive, than its foreign invaders ; and in fixing 
 some permanent constitution that may render us happier than the 
 present ever can ; it is my most ardent wish and expectation, that 
 you will accomplish all this. 
 
 Nothing but my crazy constitution should have restrained me 
 from thanking your Excellency in person for the benefits which 
 I as a private citizen, am likely to enjoy from your labors ; but 
 as my health will not permit me to undertake so long a journey, 
 this will be handed to you by one of my two eldest sons. The 
 first Stevens Thomson is equipped as a volunteer horseman, the 
 second having served out his tour of duty as an ensign in the 
 Loudon militia, is also desirous of serving the remainder of the 
 campaign as a volunteer, to which I have consented and sent 
 him a horse. From the retired privacy in which they have been 
 brought up, I have no expectation that they can render their 
 country any effectual service. But to pay a grateful respect to 
 General Washington is a duty due from every citizen of America, 
 and for that reason only, do they wait upon your Excellency. 
 In whatever capacity you may employ them for the remainder of 
 the campaign, (and I can part with them no longer,) I will be an 
 swerable they will discharge their duty with bravery, secrecy and 
 integrity ; and the oldest is tolerably ready at most kinds of 
 business. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect and esteem, 
 your Excellency s most devoted, obliged and affectionate, humble 
 
 servant, 
 
 THOMSON MASON. 
 
 The surrender of Cornwallis took place on the iQth of 
 October, and a few days later Colonel Mason had occasion 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
YORKTOWN. 21 
 
 to write to Robert Carter of " Nomini," when he refers to 
 the recent victory. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, October 27th, 1781. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 The bearer, Capt. Cleon Moore, a neighbor and particular 
 friend of mine waits on you to rent some of your lands in Prince 
 William County. As I thought it probable that the abuses too 
 frequent among tenants might make you cautious of renting lands 
 to a stranger, I take the liberty of introducing Capt. Moore to 
 you, as a gentleman whose integrity and punctuality in whatever 
 contract he makes with you, I think may be relied on, and one to 
 whom I would most readily rent lands myself, if I had any which 
 suited him. 
 
 I congratulate you on the late signal success of our arms, which 
 there is reason to hope will lay the foundation of a safe and last 
 ing peace. 
 
 I beg my compliments to your lady and family, and am, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 Hon. Robert Carter, 
 
 Nominy, Westmoreland.- 
 
 In Congress at this time the land companies were pushing 
 their claims to the Western territory, and they were sup 
 ported in their pretensions by those States whose selfish 
 and short-sighted policy was opposed to the acknowledgment 
 of Virginia s charter rights rights in which a principle was 
 involved most important to the autonomy of all the States. 
 Madison wrote indignantly from Philadelphia to Jefferson in 
 January, 1782, on this subject. The memorial of the In 
 diana Company had been justified by Congress, in spite of 
 the emphatic protest of the Viginia delegates, though so 
 clearly an infringement upon Virginia s sovereignty. Madi 
 son wished to receive from Virginia " an accurate and full 
 collection of the documents which relate to the subject." 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
22 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 He sent the proceedings of Congress to his State while the 
 Assembly was in session, but to his mortification they were 
 not received in time. He had hoped that Jefferson would 
 have undertaken the task of preparing and forwarding these 
 papers ; and as it was, he found himself left without ade 
 quate material to contradict the calumnies and misrepresen 
 tations that were rife. He had evidently written to George 
 Mason to aid him, for he adds : " Colonel Mason s industry 
 and kindness have supplied us with some valuable papers 
 and remarks." There had also been sent Joseph Jones 
 " some judicious remarks " by Edmund Pendleton. 1 
 
 Jefferson at this time was at " Monticello " by the bedside 
 of his sick wife, and no assistance could be expected from 
 him. At the spring session of the Assembly in 1782, a com 
 mittee had been appointed " to state the title of Virginia to 
 western territory," and this committee consisted of Jefferson, 
 George Mason, Edmund Randolph, Arthur Lee, and Dr. 
 Thomas Walker. Though Colonel Mason was not in the 
 Assembly, his name was the first one proposed, as Randolph 
 tells us. He was known to be an authority on this subject, 
 and in the task assigned the committee it was anticipated 
 that he would take the lead. Edmund Randolph writes to 
 Arthur Lee : " I expected the first movement from him 
 [George Mason], as being the first in nomination. Mr. Jef 
 ferson s domestic happiness is threatened with too great an 
 interruption by the illness of his wife, to suffer him to enter 
 into the researches which our subject requires. Should I 
 be so unfortunate as not to hear from Col. Mason on this 
 weighty business, notwithstanding your request to him to 
 communicate with me, I shall certainly write to him, urge 
 him to assist his country, and through me correspond with 
 Mr. Jefferson and Dr. Walker." 2 
 
 In response to this call upon him, George Mason wrote 
 the following statement of Virginia s title, in a letter to 
 Edmund Randolph. 
 
 "Madison Papers," vol. i., p. 109. 
 3 Lee Papers, Southern Literary Messenger, 1858. 
 
LETTER TO EDMUND RANDOLPH. 23 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, October 19, 1782. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 Your favor of the 3oth of August was so long on the road that 
 it did not reach me until a few days ago. I must beg pardon for 
 not writing sooner to you and the other gentlemen of the Com 
 mittee for stating the title of Virginia to her western territory. 
 The truth is I was somewhat embarrassed by an appointment, 
 which I was far from desiring or expecting ; and which I had not 
 an opportunity of refusing, as I should have done, had I received 
 notice of it before the last session ended. I quitted my seat in 
 the House of Delegates, from a conviction that I was no longer 
 able to do any essential service. Some of the public measures 
 have been so contrary to my notions of policy and of justice 
 that I wished to be no further concerned with, or answerable 
 for them ; and to spend the remnant of my life in quiet and 
 retirement. Yet with all her faults, my country will ever have 
 my warmest wishes and affections ; and I would at any time, 
 most cheerfully sacrifice my own ease and domestic enjoyments 
 to the public good. But though I look upon asserting the right 
 to our western territory, and thereby putting a stop to the 
 dangerous usurpations of Congress, before they shall have been 
 established into precedents, to be a matter of the utmost import 
 ance, I do not know that it is in my power to give the committee 
 any assistance. My distance from the seat of government, and 
 the public archives, disables me from investigating the subject. 
 What evidence had occurred to me I sent you last year by our 
 friend Mr. May ; and I have since put into the hands of Dr. 
 Lee an official copy of all the council-entries for lands upon the 
 western waters. These necessarily imply an equal extension of 
 our laws and jurisdiction ; and upon the exercise of jurisdiction, 
 under the former as well as the present government, our title, in 
 my opinion, in a great measure depends. Among the council- 
 entries there is one for fifty thousand acres of land, near forty 
 years ago, upon the Mississippi, beginning at the confluence of 
 the Ohio and Mississippi, and running up both rivers to include 
 the quantity. And the royal instructions to Sir William Gooch, 
 respecting the Ohio Company in 1749, is to grant lands on either 
 side the Ohio river, "within our colony of Virginia." Governor 
 Dinwiddie, by proclamation in 1754, offered a bounty of two 
 
24 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 hundred thousand acres of land, upon the Ohio River, to the 
 officers and soldiers of the First Virginia Regiment, commanded 
 by Colonel Washington (now his Excellency, General Washing 
 ton), which was afterwards surveyed accordingly, and patents 
 granted, in the time of Lord Botetourt and Lord Dunmore. 
 There were, besides, a great many patents and surveys upon 
 record, and in the secretary s office, under the former govern 
 ment, some of them of pretty old standing ; and a great number 
 of inhabitants settled in that part of Augusta County which lay 
 beyond the Alleghany mountains (upon the different branches of 
 the western waters), under the particular encouragement of the 
 Virginia laws, which, having received the royal assent, were con 
 stitutional acts of the British government. Dr. Walker is better 
 acquainted with the extent and dates of these settlements, sur 
 veys, and grants than most men in America, and knows that the 
 principal water-courses, &c., received their names from Virginia 
 settlers. Col. Thomas Lewis is also very capable of giving 
 information upon this subject. If I mistake not, two or three 
 counties (Botetourt and Fincastle, besides the district of West- 
 Augusta) were separated from that part of Augusta County which 
 lay beyond the Alleghany mountains ; civil and military jurisdic 
 tion regularly exercised, and representation in the Virginia 
 legislature enjoyed there, before the present Revolution. And 
 that more counties were not erected there was owing to a royal 
 instruction of a very alarming and tyrannical nature, restraining 
 the governor from assenting to any law for erecting new counties, 
 unless a clause was inserted to deprive such new counties of the 
 right of representation in the legislature ; which being evidently 
 calculated to maintain an undue influence of the crown in our 
 General Assembly, no such clause was submitted to. The gov 
 ernor had recourse to the power of the prerogative, and instead 
 of a new county, established the district of West-Augusta (to 
 the north-westward) over the Alleghany mountains ; in which he 
 commissioned civil magistrates and militia officers, and courts 
 were regularly held there, suits brought, judgments granted, deeds 
 recorded, &c. In the year 1775, the district of West- Augusta 
 sent two representatives, John Harney and George Roots, Esqrs., 
 to the general convention at Richmond, where they were re 
 ceived ; and the inhabitants of the said district continued to send 
 
THE TREATY OF LANCASTER. 2$ 
 
 their representatives to the Virginia legislature, until the same 
 was formed into three distinct counties, Ohio, Monongalia, and 
 Youghyoughgaine ; which counties have regularly ever since 
 sent representatives to the House of Delegates and the Senate. 
 Soon after the present Revolution, the county of Kentucky was 
 separated from Botetourt and Fincastle, upon the Ohio, to the 
 south-westward ; which has since been divided into three coun 
 ties, Fayette, Lincoln, and Jefferson. Towns have been laid 
 off, courts established, and civil and military jurisdiction regularly 
 exercised in these counties, and each of them represented in the 
 Virginia legislature ; several thousand inhabitants are settled in 
 them, all deriving their titles from Virginia, subject to her laws, 
 and to all intents and purposes her citizens. The British posts, 
 within our chartered territory, at Kaskaskie upon the Mississippi, 
 and St. Vincents upon the Obache, have been reduced by Virginia 
 militia, without any assistance from or charge to the United 
 States, and a garrison, as well as the civil establishment, under 
 the sole direction and at the sole expense of the Virginia govern 
 ment, has been maintained there. 
 
 The purchase at the Treaty of Lancaster in 1743 was made 
 with Virginia money ; and if I remember right, there is a clause 
 showing that it was made for the use and benefit of the colony 
 of Virginia, as far westward as his majesty should at any time 
 choose to extend the settlements. It is evident, from the royal 
 instructions in 1749 to Sir William Gooch, Lieutenant-Governor 
 of Virginia, that the crown directed the settlements to be 
 extended over the Ohio river ; and several subsequent laws 
 were made for their encouragement. The purchase of Lancaster 
 was made in the reign of George the second, when just regard 
 was paid to the constitutional rights of the American colonies. 
 It was made by Virginia commissioners appointed for that 
 purpose ; and from the proceedings upon record, it appears that 
 the whole transaction was fair, open, and in the presence of the 
 commissioners and governors of the other colonies, particularly 
 the province of New York, which a select committee of Congress 
 have lately discovered had always the right to these lands. 
 The purchase at Fort Stanwix (which in fact was only 
 purchasing the same lands over again, for ministerial pur 
 poses, which had been before purchased and paid for) was 
 
26 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 made in the reign of George the third, in the year 1768, 
 when the rights of the colonies had been repeatedly violated, and 
 under the direction of that ministry which formed the system 
 for enslaving America, one of the first steps to which was dis 
 membering the old colonies, and erecting new ones more immedi 
 ately dependant upon the crown and the commands of the 
 ministry. The whole transaction wore the face of mystery and 
 knavery ; for though Dr. Walker was there as a public commis 
 sioner for Virginia, he was refused access to the conferences, the 
 greatest caution was used to conceal from him what they were 
 about, and every thing until the business was finished, was con 
 ducted privately with the Indian chiefs, by Sir William Johnston 
 and the traders. The substance of these facts was proved by the 
 oath of Dr. Walker, on his examination in the House of Dele 
 gates, upon the hearing of the Indiana Company s title. It was 
 also proved by the depositions on the same trial, that the tribu 
 taries of the Six Nations had been totally expelled from this side 
 the Ohio to the other (from whence they never returned) and the 
 country conquered in the course of the last war ; and that before 
 the treaty at Fort Stanwix, there were several Virginia settlers 
 upon the very lands purchased by Trent and Sir William John 
 ston for the Indiana Company. But if these damning circum 
 stances were not in the case, the purchase made by the crown 
 at the treaty of Fort Stanwix ought not to operate to the injury, 
 but inure to the benefit of the colony to whom the country had 
 been originally granted, as all the former purchases from the 
 Indians had done. If such purchases could operate against the 
 title of Virginia, they would have operated against the title to the 
 Northern Neck, the greater part of which was possessed by the 
 Indians when the grant was made by Charles II., and not pur 
 chased from them for many years after. So late as Queen 
 Anne s reign (when Governor Spotswood presided here) the 
 Blue Ridge of mountains was by a solemn treaty fixed as the 
 boundary between the English subjects and the Indians, yet in 
 the reign of George the second the king and council gave Lord 
 Fairfax a judgment for the lands to the fountain head of Potomac 
 river, fourscore miles beyond the Blue Ridge. As our settle 
 ments were extended, the wild game destroyed, and the country 
 rendered unfit for the savage life, the Indians have been forced 
 
VIRGINIA S TITLE TC WESTERN LANDS. 2J 
 
 to remove further, for the convenience of hunting. As they 
 retired, purchase after purchase hath been made from them, and 
 temporary lines and boundaries, for the sake of peace, from time 
 to time accordingly settled between them and the English 
 inhabitants here, but none of them have ever been considered 
 as at all affecting the title of Virginia. When the colony of 
 Virginia was first settled, it was without any previous purchase 
 from the Indians. The first lands purchased from the Indians 
 were only upon and near the mouths and larger parts of the 
 rivers, then to the falls of the said rivers, then to the Blue Ridge of 
 mountains, and afterwards (before the unnecessary purchase at 
 Fort Stanwix) as far westward as the claim of Great Britain 
 extended. Most of these purchases were made subsequent to 
 the actual settlement and occupation of part of the lands pur 
 chased. It is about sixty years ago since the people of Virginia 
 settled the country over the Blue Ridge, and near forty years 
 since they began to settle beyond the Appalatian or Alleghany 
 mountains ; but the purchase at Lancaster was not made until 
 1743, nor the purchase at Fort Stanwix till 1768. It has been 
 objected to the treaty at Lancaster, and urged as a proof that 
 the Indians were imposed on, that they sold their whole country, 
 or in the common phrase, that they sold themselves out of house 
 and home ; but this is a false suggestion. The country back of 
 New York adjacent to Lake Ontario, was originally and still is 
 the country and habitation of the Iroqtiois or Six Nations ; and 
 this it will be found (I believe upon due examination) was the 
 country which they put under the protection of the New York 
 government, and perhaps also their beaver-hunting country, 
 between that and the great lakes. The country upon the Ohio, 
 above the Tennessee river, was what they called their con 
 quered lands, from which they had totally extirpated the original 
 inhabitants, and afterwards permitted the Delawares from the 
 river Delaware, and the Shawnese from Potomac, with some 
 other small tribes, to live there as their tributaries : These lands 
 being of little use to them, and their right precarious, it may be 
 presumed they were desirous to sell. If according to the opin 
 ion of the best writers, the occupation of a few hordes of savages 
 cannot give right to an extensive territory, as being contrary to 
 the primary laws of nature, a conquest which utterly extirpates 
 
28 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the inhabitants, and leaves the country desolate, being more con 
 trary to the laws of nature, can confer no right on the conqueror. 
 If the country is considered in the light of derelict lands, which 
 the first possessor without any other claim, has a right to occupy 
 and enjoy, a fortiori had the colony of Virginia, having a pre 
 vious title, a right to possess and occupy them, as it has done. 
 
 The English and American maps have uniformly laid down 
 Virginia across the continent, to the westward, until the Treaty 
 of Paris in 1762, and since to the river Mississippi, that having 
 been then established the boundary between the British and 
 French dominions. Many solemn acts of the British govern 
 ment, at different periods, have recognized the right of Virginia 
 to her western territory, nor can there be found any one act of 
 government impeaching or invalidating it, until the conclusion of 
 the last war, and after the adoption of that system, which by 
 compelling America to assert her rights with the sword, has pro 
 duced the present Revolution. Long before the Articles of Con 
 federation (and I think previous to the American Declaration of 
 Independence) the Virginia legislature, in that act which formed 
 our constitution, had plainly described and declared the extent 
 of our western territory. This was notorious to Congress, when 
 the Articles of Confederation were formed, the sovereignty of 
 each State respectively secured to it, the mutual guarranty stipu 
 lated, and the proviso inserted " that no State shall be deprived 
 of territory for the benefit of the United States." It was upon 
 these express conditions that Virginia acceded to the Articles of 
 Confederation ; the present attempt, therefore, to dismember 
 Virginia, without her consent, is a flagrant breach of public 
 faith, and if carried into execution dissolves the federal com 
 pact, and renders it no longer obligatory upon this common 
 wealth. Congress are properly the delegates of the different 
 States, with certain powers defined and limited by the Articles 
 of the Confederation ; these they can not be permitted to exceed, 
 without establishing an arbitrary and tyrannical aristocracy ; for 
 if under pretence of public utility, necessity, or under any pre 
 tence whatsoever, they can, in one instance, exceed the powers 
 delegated to them, they may in another, or in a hundred ; every 
 usurpation will be urged as a precedent for others, and main 
 tained by the command which they have (and must have) of our 
 
CLAIM OF CONGRESS TO SOVEREIGNTY. 29 
 
 fleets and armies. They may in time proceed to fill up their own 
 vacancies, vote themselves members for life, and what not ! 
 Vhe only natural and safe remedy is, for every State to have a 
 watchful eye over this great American council, to keep them con 
 stantly within the lines of the Confederation, and to resist and 
 reprobate their first attempts to exceed them. This was intended, 
 about two years ago, by the General Assembly of Virginia, in 
 their Remonstrance, but an ill-judged timidity (miscalled deli 
 cacy) in our delegates at that time (I believe) prevented its being 
 entered on the journals of Congress. If experience shall prove 
 that the present powers of Congress are, in some instances, insuf 
 ficient, let them be increased by additional Articles to the Con 
 federation, acceded to, after due deliberation, b)L_all the States ; 
 but upon no pretence, however plausible, without**" 
 
 It is strongly provided by the Articles of Confederation (with 
 out which they would never have been acceded to by the differ 
 ent States) that " each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and 
 independence, and every jurisdiction and right, which is not by 
 this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States in 
 Congress assembled." Yet the claim of Congress to the unap 
 propriated lands is founded upon the assertion that the sov 
 ereignty of Great Britain hath, on the present Revolution, 
 descended to them, as representatives of all the States, though it 
 is as clear as the sun at noonday, that it has not descended to 
 them, but remains to each individual State, respectively, in its 
 own right, by whom alone it can be safely exercised. This doc 
 trine of sovereignty, teeming with oppression, and striking at 
 the vitals of American liberty, has been eagerly patronized by 
 Congress, and echoed by P[ain]e, W[harto]n, and every mer 
 cenary party-scribbler. 
 
 Posterity will reflect with indignation that this fatal lust of 
 sovereignty, which lost Great Britain her western world, which 
 covered our country with desolation and blood, should even 
 during the contest against it, be revived among ourselves, and 
 fostered by the very men who were appointed to oppose it ! 
 
 There is not a single word in the Articles of Confederation 
 giving Congress a power of limiting, dividing, or parcelling out 
 any of the thirteen States, or of erecting new ones. The four 
 teenth article declares that " Canada acceding to this Confedera- 
 
30 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 tion, and joining in the measures of the United States, shall be 
 entitled to all the advantages of this Union, but no other colony 
 shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed 
 to by nine States." This evidently relates to the other British 
 colonies of Nova Scotia and the Floridas, neither of which is to 
 be admitted into the Union, without the concurrence of nine 
 States. Yet under color of this article, Congress assumes 
 the power of curtailing and dividing the different States, of 
 depriving them of territory for the benefit of the United States 
 (directly contrary to the Confederation), of demanding cessions, 
 and of erecting new States. There is no power whatsoever which 
 they may not with equal propriety arrogate to themselves, and 
 pretend to derive it from the Articles of the Confederation. Did 
 the different States view this subject impartially, as they ought 
 no little jealousy, envy, or pique to any particular State, no local 
 or party views would induce them to connive at innovations and 
 unwarranted assumptions of power, which if continued, must end 
 either in the dissolution of the federal Union or the destruction 
 of American liberty. To show, therefore, the total absence of 
 power in Congress on this occasion, and to expose the danger of 
 their usurping it, I should conceive a very useful part of the work 
 confided to the committee ; and preserving good manners and 
 decency of language, I think the subject can hardly be too freely 
 treated. 
 
 It is worthy of observation that the arguments against the 
 chartered title of Virginia to the country on the north-west side 
 the Ohio, if they prove anything, will prove it part of the new 
 British province of Quebec or Canada. Because by an act of 
 Parliament in the latter end of 1773, or the beginning of 1774, the 
 boundaries of the province of Quebec or Canada were extended 
 so as to include the whole country between the Ohio and the 
 Mississippi rivers ; and this being done before the separation of 
 the colonies, or the Declaration of Independence, when we pro 
 fessed ourselves British subjects, and acknowledged the obligation 
 of their laws, except on the subject of taxation, the authority of 
 Parliament to make the said act can not be impeached upon any 
 other ground than the title of some of the old colonies, under 
 their charters, to the country so included ; and that the British 
 government had no right to add to their new province of Quebec 
 
THE VIRGINIA CHARTERS. 31 
 
 what had been, long before, solemnly granted to others. Aware of 
 this, and to prevent too sudden an alarm or opposition, a proviso 
 was inserted in the act, saving to the other colonies the lands 
 within their respective charters. If, therefore, Congress taking 
 upon itself the insidious and dangerous work of curtailing the 
 boundaries of the different States, should set aside the title of 
 Virginia, and Virginia acquiesces in it, that country will thence 
 forward be placed in the same predicament with the undisputed 
 part of Canada, and the other British provinces of Nova Scotia, 
 and the East and West Floridas ; and what claim or demand 
 could the United States or any of them, have upon it, unless they 
 can conquer and hold it by force of arms ? Or upon a negotiation 
 of peace with Great Britain, what argument could we fairly urge 
 for contracting the lately extended boundaries of Canada and 
 reducing it to its former limits ? Or what would any neutral or 
 mediating power probably say to us upon such an occasion ? The 
 consequences of suffering a British colony to surround great part 
 of the United States, and extend itself between them and the 
 numerous tribes of western Indians, are too obvious to need 
 explanation ; and this subject is the more important, as it may 
 easily be foreseen that settling the bounds of Canada will be one 
 of the most difficult objects of a treaty. 
 
 I have not by me the copies of the Virginia charters in 1606 
 and 1609, or I should have made some remarks on them, endeav 
 oring to show that Payne s construction of them is capricious and 
 absurd, as several of his other strictures are, and some of them 
 founded in misrepresentation and falsehood ; that the description 
 and boundaries are intelligible, and admit a natural and easy con 
 struction, the charter of 1609 confirming and enlarging, not 
 destroying that of 1606 ; that though the Virginia Company was 
 dissolved, and the government resumed by the crown, the charter, 
 so far as the settlers and their posterity are interested, or affected, 
 remains valid, and among other things, the covenant in the char 
 ter of 1606, that no new colony should be settled to the westward, 
 which seems to have been one of the causes of the great western 
 extension of the second charter, whereby the repetition of the 
 former clause became unnecessary ; that the ancient method of 
 granting lands, established by the Virginia Company in virtue of 
 their charter, always continued under the king s government ; 
 
32 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 that the charter granted to the colony of Virginia in 1667, by King 
 Charles the second, has reference to the country described in the 
 former charter of 1609, and by recognising and confirming the 
 ancient custom of granting lands for the importation of inhabi 
 tants, the privileges of the people, and the jurisdiction of the 
 colony, has forever barred the crown from dismembering the 
 colony, or refusing to grant lands to persons coming hither to 
 settle, or importing others ; that the crown has always considered 
 the charter of 1667 in this light, and acted accordingly, until the 
 present reign, when all reverence to law and justice was thrown 
 aside, and a resolution formed to abolish the ancient constitution 
 of the colonies, annihilate their charters, and establish despotism 
 and slavery in their stead ; that the proclamation of 1763 there 
 fore was absolutely illegal and void, as well as the scheme for 
 erecting the new province of Vandalia, even if no lands had been 
 previously granted, or inhabitants settled beyond the Alleghany 
 Mountains. And as to what has been said of the acquiescence 
 and approbation of the government of Virginia, the utmost that 
 is asserted only shows that the privy-council of Virginia (holding 
 their places at pleasure, and totally dependent upon the ministry) 
 did not venture to oppose it. 
 
 The charters, I presume, may all be found in the House of 
 Delegates office : I had them all in my possession (made up in 
 one bundle) when I was formerly appointed to settle some matters 
 of jurisdiction in Chespeake Bay and Potomac River with the 
 State of Maryland, but our Assembly not thinking it prudent to 
 enter into any engagement with that State, while it refused con 
 federating, I returned the charters into the House of Delegates 
 at the clerk s table. If any of the observations which I have 
 scattered up and down, without method or order, will be of use, 
 they are very much at the committee s service. And though I 
 hope to be excused from taking any particular part in this busi 
 ness, for the reasons I have already given, yet if the gentlemen of 
 the committee conceive I can be useful to them on any occasion, 
 I will wait on them (my health permitting) at any time and place 
 they shall be pleased to appoint, for I can truly say there are no 
 men in the United States in whom I can more cordially confide, 
 or with whom I would more cheerfully act. 
 
 I must entreat them to consider this long epistle as a general 
 
LETTER TO HIS SON GEORGE. 33 
 
 letter, and excuse my not writing to each particular member. I 
 must entreat them, too, to proceed in the business, without 
 delaying it on account of 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 Edmund Randolph, Esquire, 
 Attorney-General. 1 
 
 George Mason, Jr., was still in France, and John Adams, 
 who was in Paris in the winter of 17823 negotiating the 
 treaty of peace, mentions in his journal Mr. Mason among 
 other Americans to whom he extends his hospitality. The 
 following letter from Colonel Mason to his son gives some 
 public as well as personal details which are not without 
 interest. There would seem to have been a number of 
 his countrymen abroad, at this time, in embarrassed circum 
 stances, to whom Mr. Mason had given assistance, and 
 his father endorses this liberality in the same spirit of open- 
 handed sympathy. 
 
 " GUNSTON HALL, January 8th, 1783. 
 
 " As to the money you have spent in Europe, provided you can 
 satisfy me that it has not been spent in extravagance, dissipation, 
 or idle parade, I don t regard it. It is true, I have a large family 
 to provide for ; and that I am determined, from motives of 
 morality and duty, to do justice to them all ; it is certain also 
 that I have not lost less than ten thousand pounds sterling by 
 the war, in the depreciation of paper money and the loss of 
 the profits of my estate ; but think this a cheap purchase of 
 liberty and independence. I thank God, I have been able, by 
 adopting principles of strict economy and frugality, to keep 
 my principal, I mean my country estate, unimpaired, and I have 
 suffered little by the depredations of the enemy. I have at this 
 time, two years rents (you know mine are all tobacco rents) 
 in arrear and two crops uninspected ; so that if a peace happens, 
 it will find me plentiful handed in the article of tobacco, which 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 Vol. II. 3 
 
34 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 will then be very valuable. The money it has cost you to relieve 
 the distresses of your unfortunate countrymen was worthily 
 expended, and you will receive retribution, with large interest, in 
 heaven but in order to shorten the time of credit and also to 
 entitle myself to some proportion of the merit, I shall insist upon 
 replacing to you every shilling of it here ; I hope you will there 
 fore keep an exact account of it. 
 
 " I beg you will freely communicate to me the situation of your 
 affairs ; and if there should be a necessity of making you remit 
 tances, I will endeavor to do it at all events, though it must be by 
 selling some of the produce of my estate at an undervalue. 
 I am now pretty far advanced in life, and all my views are 
 centred in the happiness and welfare of my children you will 
 therefore find from me every indulgence which you have a right 
 to expect from an affectionate parent. 
 
 " I have been for some time in retirement and shall not probably 
 return again to public life ; my anxiety for my country in these 
 times of danger, makes me sometimes dabble a little in politics, 
 and keep up a correspondence with some men upon the public 
 stage. You know I am not apt to form opinions lightly and 
 without due examination. And I can venture to say that the 
 French court and nation may confide in the honor and good faith 
 of America. We reflect with gratitude on the important aids 
 France has given us ; but she must not, and I hope will not, 
 attempt to lead us into a war of ambition or conquest, or trail us 
 around the mysterious circle of European politics. We have 
 little news worth communicating nothing of consequence has 
 happened here this campaign, the enemy having generally kept 
 close within their lines, and the American army not strong enough 
 to force them. We have a long time expected the evacuation of 
 Charlestown, the enemy having dismantled their outworks and 
 embarked their heavy artillery and some of their troops. How 
 ever, by the last accounts (in December) they had still a garrison 
 there. By late accounts from Kentucky, we are informed that 
 General Clarke, with twelve hundred volunteers, had crossed the 
 Ohio river and destroyed six of the Shawnese towns, destroying 
 also about two thousand barrels of their corn and bringing off 
 furs and other plunder to the value of three thousand pounds, 
 which was sold, and the money divided among his men ; this will 
 
GENERAL CLARKE AND THE CHICK A SAWS. 
 
 35 
 
 probably drive these savages near the lakes or the Mississippi. 
 Upon Clarke s return the Chickasaws sent deputies to him to treat 
 for peace. Everything was quiet in the new settlements, and 
 upwards of five thousand souls have been added to them since 
 last September. The people there are extremely uneasy lest the 
 free navigation of the Mississippi to the sea should not be secured 
 to them upon a treaty of peace. If it is not, it will occasion 
 another war in less than seven years. The inhabitants think they 
 have a natural right to the free, though not the exclusive, naviga 
 tion of that river, and in a few years they will be strong enough 
 to enforce that right." 
 
 1 Niles, " Principles and Acts of the Revolution," p. 127. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE YEAR OF THE PEACE. 
 I783- 
 
 In March, 1783, Colonel Mason addressed a letter to 
 General Washington, in behalf of the latter s young kins 
 man, Lawrence Washington, of Chotank, who had been 
 engaged in a duel with Mr. Philip Alexander, in which 
 he had mortally wounded his antagonist. The father of 
 Lawrence, whom George Mason designates as u old Mr. 
 Lawrence Washington," was evidently the same person to 
 whom General Washington left a bequest in his will, speak 
 ing of him and his cousin, Robert Washington, as the 
 " acquaintances and friends of his juvenile years." They 
 were descendants of Lawrence, the brother of Col. John 
 Washington. Lund Washington was one of this same 
 family. 1 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 March igth. 1783. 
 DEAR GENERAL : 
 
 My motives for troubling your Excellency at this particular 
 time are motives of humanity. Mr. Lawrence Washington, Junr., 
 who will deliver this has been unfortunately engaged in a duel, or 
 rather an affray, with Mr. Philip Alexander of Chotanck ; in 
 which his antagonist was mortally wounded and died six or seven 
 days after. I have taken some pains to inform myself of the real 
 truth of the case, and have seen several testimonials, signed by 
 
 1 "George Washington and Mount Vernon " ; Moncure D. Conway, 
 " Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society," vol. iv. 
 
 36 
 
LAWRENCE WASHINGTON AND MR. ALEXANDER, 37 
 
 unprejudiced persons of credit, and though Mr. Washington may 
 not be strictly justifiable in a legal sense, I am entirely of opinion 
 that he has done no more than any man of sensibility and honour 
 would have thought himself obliged to do under the same circum 
 stances of provocation. Mr. Alexander appears to have been, in 
 every instance, the aggressor ; the provocation given Mr. Wash 
 ington was of the most interesting and aggravating kind an 
 attempt to blast the reputation of a young lady of family and 
 character, allied to him by the nearest ties of blood. This is one 
 of the few cases which does not admit the usual reparation of 
 other wrongs, in a court of justice ; a young lady s character being 
 of too delicate a nature to be submitted to such an investigation ; 
 and however false the defamation, however generally disbelieved, 
 the injury is lasting. The custom of the world, the manners of 
 the age we live in, the voice of nature calls upon relations 
 and friends to redress an injured person, who from the natural 
 weakness and incapacity of her sex is deprived of the means 
 of doing it. 
 
 Mr. Alexander after refusing to accept a challenge, and pro 
 fessing to act upon the defensive, added fresh injuries to those 
 he had already offered, and continued to insult and abuse Mr. 
 Washington in the grossest manner ; and when they afterwards 
 met at a public place and walked out together, fired his pistol 
 first (at not more than a yard s distance) with a manifest intention 
 to kill the other, before he knew whether it was Mr. Washington s 
 design to act offensively or not ; the ball missed him, though so 
 very close that the powder burned his face. Mr. Washington 
 instantly stepped back, and drawing a pistol from his belt, under 
 his great-coat, shot the other in the body, which brought him to 
 the ground. This was done in the sight of many people, and I 
 think proves that Mr. Washington, in firing his pistol, acted upon 
 the defensive. The only circumstances against him are his for 
 mer challenge and his having desired Mr. Alexander, that day, 
 to walk aside with him. Upon the whole, though I think Mr. 
 Washington may safely stand his trial, and trust himself in the 
 hands of an honest and impartial jury, yet he has been judiciously 
 advised to absent himself for the present, until men s passions 
 and prejudices have subsided, as he must first be tried by an 
 examining court in the county where the deceased had many 
 
38 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 relatives and friends : and the circumstances of Mr. Alexander s 
 remaining wounded and his life despaired of, several days before 
 he died, during which time most of the neighbors visited him, has 
 contributed not a little to heighten the prejudices against Mr. 
 Washington. Such spectacles naturally excite our compassion 
 and, of course, our resentment against the man who has been the 
 cause ; our passions are inflamed too much to consult our reason ; 
 and it is not until cool reflection returns that we are capable of 
 inquiring into the merits. For these reasons, Mr. Washington has 
 determined to pass a month or two in the army, if you shall be 
 pleased to permit him to act in it as a volunteer. 
 
 I am well apprized of your Excellency s strict attention to the 
 authority of the civil power, and thoroughly sensible how greatly 
 and justly it has endeared your character to your fellow-citizens ; 
 I should therefore be one of the last men in the world who would 
 presume to recommend to your countenance or protection either 
 a criminal or a fugitive from justice ; but I think, in my con 
 science, that this young gentleman has been rather unfortunate 
 than culpable ; and am assured and convinced he means to return 
 and submit himself to a fair trial, by the laws of his country ; if 
 the friends of the deceased, after due reflection, shall judge fit to 
 prosecute him ; which according to the best of my judgment I 
 think I should not do, if Mr. Alexander had been my nearest 
 relation. 
 
 I can truly declare that I have not the smallest connection, or 
 even acquaintance with either of the parties. I own I can t help 
 feeling, as a man and as a father, for old Mr. Lawrence Washing 
 ton, who is a very worthy man, and is exceedingly distressed by 
 this unhappy accident. Your Excellency s permitting his son to 
 remain, for a short time, in the army will alleviate his present 
 distress, and, in a little time, I hope, he will have nothing to fear. 
 I sincerely wish you health, and every felicity ; and with sentiments 
 of the highest respect and esteem, I have the honour to be 
 
 Your Excellency s most affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON, 
 
 His Excellency General Washington, 
 Head Quarters. 
 
 P. favour Mr. Lawrence Washington, Junr. 1 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR CONCLUDED. 39 
 
 Thomson Mason, who was employed to defend Mr. 
 Washington, also wrote to the Commander-in-chief on the 
 same subject, the i/th of March, from " Chappawamsic." 
 He enclosed a detailed statement of the difficulty between 
 Mr. Lawrence Washington " second son of that very worthy 
 man, Mr. Lawrence Washington of Chetauque," and " Mr. 
 Philip Alexander, a son of John Alexander of the same 
 place." Thomson Mason s letter concludes in these words : 
 
 * Permit me now, sir, to return you my warmest acknowledg 
 ments for your very great kindness showed to my son Stevens 
 Thomson at the siege of York, of which both my son and self 
 retain the most grateful sense. The success of that siege, so 
 glorious to your Excellency, gave none of your numerous friends 
 more unfeigned pleasure than your Excellency s most obedient 
 and most obliged humble servant, 
 
 " THOMSON MASON." 1 
 
 The preliminaries of the treaty of peace were signed by 
 the European powers in January, 1783. The Tory ministry 
 of Lord North had given place to the Whigs under the 
 Marquis of Rockingham. Fox was at the head of the 
 foreign department, and Lord Shelburne had charge of the 
 colonies. Fox and Shelburne differed on the question of 
 the status of the colonies, whether they should be treated as 
 already independent, or as made so by the treaty. Lord 
 Shelburne supported the latter view, and carried his point. 
 It was finally decided, through the suggestion of John 
 Adams, that the United States would not require from 
 Great Britain a formal declaration of their independence, if 
 the same form was used by the British commission treating 
 with them as was used in treating with other powers. 8 
 
 Thomson Mason, in a letter to be given later, compares a 
 certain party in the Virginia Assembly to the Shelburne 
 faction in Parliament. The following letter was written by 
 Colonel Mason to Arthur Lee, than in Congress : 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
 * " Life of John Adams," p. 216 : American Statesmen Series. 
 
40 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 March 25, 1783. 
 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I thank you for your several favors since I had the pleasure of 
 seeing you last, the receipt of which I should have acknowledged 
 earlier, but have been a long time disabled, by a very sore finger, 
 from holding a pen. 
 
 Since your last of the i2th instant, informing me of the arrival 
 of Capt. Barney, &c., I have seen a printed hand bill containing 
 the preliminary Articles between Great Britain and the United 
 States, and so far as I am able to judge, they are, upon the whole, 
 as favorable as America, in her present situation, has a right 
 to expect. The grand points are ceded to her, and as for the 
 payment of debts contracted before the war, it is no more than 
 justice requires, nor do I think it would have been sound policy 
 in us to have abrogated them, had it been in our power. The 
 far-fetched distinctions which have been attempted to be shown 
 between this and other wars would hardly have been approved, 
 as understood by mankind in general ; and with what degree of 
 faith could the merchants of other nations have trusted their 
 effects here, if their private property was in danger of being 
 wrested from them and applied to our own use, upon any 
 national quarrel, and upon arguments and principles in which we 
 should be both judges and parties. There can t, therefore, be a 
 stronger proof of the weakness or wickedness of our Assembly, 
 than their late instructions to our delegates in Congress. 
 
 I once thought that we ought to risk a long war in order to 
 bring the remaining British colonies into our Union, but time and 
 reflection have altered my opinion. I have seen that lust of 
 power, so natural to the mind of man, prevailing in Congress at a 
 much earlier period than could well have been expected. I have 
 seen some of the States, from partial, local, temporary views, 
 conniving at, and fostering principles which would inevitably end 
 in their own destruction. I have seen our legislatures trampling 
 under foot the obligations of morality and justice, and wantonly 
 invading the sacred rights of their fellow-citizens. It may not be 
 amiss to have some rival power at their door, some powerful 
 motives to restrain them within the bounds of moderation. It 
 will at least be a comfortable reflection, that if our government 
 should grow intolerable (which, judging of the future from the 
 
LETTER TO ARTHUR LEE. 41 
 
 past, is neither impossible nor improbable) a man would have 
 some place of refuge, the means of sheltering himself from anar 
 chy, ignorance and knavery. But I hope everything from peace. 
 I hope then to see our great national council, as well as our 
 different assemblies, filled with men of honest characters, and of 
 independent circumstances and principles, for until this shall be 
 the case, our affairs can never go well. I therefore hope that the 
 preliminary articles agreed to by our commissioners at Paris, will 
 be ratified by Congress ; that Capt. Barney may return with 
 them as speedily as possible ; and that nothing on our part may 
 be wanting to hasten so desirable an event, for I presume his 
 passport from the King of Great Britain is both in and out. 
 I am anxious to hear the determination of Congress upon this 
 important subject, and if there is no injunction of secrecy (and I 
 don t see why there should) shall be much obliged to you for the 
 earliest communication. 
 
 The refugee barges are lately returned, and again plundering 
 on the shores of Potomac. One of their crews was lately pretty 
 roughly handled by a small party of Northumberland militia. 
 They lost two of their rascally officers and a few men, upon 
 which they fled with the greatest precipitation. It is a mortifying 
 reflection, and accords badly with the ideas of sovereignty and 
 independence, that the power of two States is not sufficient to 
 protect us from a band of robbers. 
 
 I have lately received two or three letters from Europe, via 
 Philadelphia, every one of them broken open and sealed up again 
 there, or at some of the intervening post-offices, as almost all the 
 letters I have had these two years past from Europe have been. 
 The post-office is a considerable tax upon the people ; under proper 
 regulations and in honest hands, it would be a great convenience 
 and benefit to the public, but by such vile practices as these it is 
 likely to become a nuisance to society. If Congress fails to put 
 it under better regulations, or don t compel the postmaster- 
 general to be more circumspect in the appointment of his 
 deputies, the different States will soon be under the necessity 
 of taking it out of their hands into their own. 
 
 I sincerely wish you health, and am with great esteem and 
 respect, 
 
 Dear sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
42 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 P. S. I beg leave to trouble you with the three inclosed letters 
 to Mr. Johnson of Nantes, covering letters to my son George, and 
 as they are duplicates, beg the favor of you to forward them by 
 different vessels. 1 
 
 Captain Joshua Barney, the celebrated naval hero of the 
 Revolution, had sailed for France the preceding November 
 carrying despatches to Dr. Franklin, and he had returned 
 now with the welcome preliminaries of peace, and also with 
 a loan of money from the French king. 
 
 The Virginia Assembly met in May, and was confronted 
 with the important issues of the peace, as they affected Vir 
 ginia and her section, as also with matters of internal gov 
 ernment, and the powers of the Federal Congress. George 
 Mason wrote to two of his friends in the Assembly, William 
 Cabell and Patrick Henry, on the same day, asking them for 
 their interest in support of a project of his son s, Thomson 
 Mason, jr. Colonel Mason discusses public affairs in these 
 letters, and, as was natural, writing them both at one sitting 
 probably, he uses the same language frequently to his two 
 correspondents. But there is a sufficient variety in their 
 contents to warrant the publication of both letters, 
 
 FAIRFAX Co., GUNSTON HALL, 
 DEAR SIR : Ma y 6th > 1783- 
 
 I congratulate you most sincerely, upon the establishment of 
 American liberty and independence. Happiness and prosperity 
 are now within our reach ; but to attain and preserve them must 
 depend upon our own wisdom and virtue. I hope the Assembly 
 will revise several of our laws, and abolish all such of them as are 
 contrary to the fundamental principles of justice. This and a 
 strict adherence to the distinctions between right and wrong for 
 the future, is absolutely necessary, to restore that confidence and 
 reverence in the people for the legislature, which a contrary con 
 duct has so greatly impaired, and without which their laws must 
 ever remain little better than a dead letter. Frequent interference 
 with private property and contracts, retrospective laws destructive 
 of all public faith, as well as confidence between man and man, 
 and flagrant violations of the Constitution must disgust the best 
 
 ! MS. Letter. 
 
LETTER TO WILLIAM CABELL. 43 
 
 and wisest part of the community, and occasion a general deprav 
 ity of manners, bring the legislature into contempt, and finally 
 produce anarchy and public convulsion. 
 
 I write to you with the freedom and sincerity of a friend, 
 knowing that you detest such measures as much as I do. They 
 drove me out of the Assembly, with a thorough conviction that 
 it was not in my power to do any manner of good. The love of 
 my country is not extinguished by it, and if I recover tolerable 
 health, and have just cause to think I can do any essential public 
 service, I shall return again into the legislature. 
 
 We are told here that the present Assembly intend to dissolve 
 themselves to make way for a general convention to new model 
 the Constitution. Will such a measure be proper, without a 
 requisition from a majority of the people ? If it can be done 
 without such requisition, may not the caprice of future Assemblies 
 repeat it from time to time, until the Constitution shall have lost 
 all stability, and anarchy introduced in its stead ? Or at any rate, 
 will it not be better to defer it a year or two, until the present fer 
 ment (occasioned by the late sudden change) has subsided, and 
 men s minds have had time to cool ? We are very much alarmed, 
 in this part of the country, least the Assembly should pass some 
 laws infringing the Articles of Peace, and thereby involve us in a 
 fresh quarrel with Great Britain, who might make reprisals upon 
 our shipping or coasts, without much danger of offending the late 
 belligerent powers in Europe, but I trust that more prudent and 
 dispassionate councils will prevail. 
 
 One of my sons and one William Allison have lately erected a 
 snuff manufactory in this county, and have already made a large 
 quantity of snuff, which they intend to send soon into different 
 parts of the country. Fearing the attempts of the British mer 
 chants [to send] such a manufacture here, they have presented a 
 petition to the Assembly, for laying a duty upon snuff imported 
 from foreign countries. The reasons for this are fully stated in 
 their petition, which I beg the favor of you to examine, and if you 
 think their request just and reasonable, I natter myself they will 
 be favored with your interest in the General Assembly. 
 
 I am with much respect and esteem, Dear sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, G. MASON/ 
 
 To Col. William Cabell. 
 
 1 "Virginia Historical Register, vol. iii., p. 84. 
 
44 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 FAIRFAX COUNTY, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 DEAR SIR : Ma ? 6 I783 
 
 Although it is a long time since I had the honor of hearing from 
 you, I reflect, and ever shall reflect, with pleasure on our former 
 acquaintance and the proofs I have experienced of your esteem 
 and friendship. I have enjoyed but indifferent health since I 
 retired from public business : should I recover a better state of 
 health, and have just cause to think I can render any essential 
 public service, I shall return again to the Assembly. 
 
 I congratulate you most sincerely on the accomplishment of 
 what I know was the warmest wish of your heart, the establish 
 ment of American independence and the liberty of our country. 
 We are now to rank among the nations of the world, but whether 
 our independence shall prove a blessing or a curse, must depend 
 on our own wisdom or folly, virtue or wickedness ; judging of the 
 future by the past, the prospect is not promising. Justice and 
 virtue are the vital principles of republican government ; but 
 among us a depravity of manners and morals prevails to the 
 destruction of all confidence between man and man. It greatly 
 behooves the Assembly to revise several of our laws ; to abolish 
 all such as are contrary to the fundamental principles of justice, 
 and by a strict adherence to the distinctions between right and 
 wrong for the future to restore that confidence and reverence in 
 the people for the legislature which has been so greatly impaired 
 by a contrary conduct, and without which our laws can never be 
 much more than a dead letter. It is in your power, my dear sir, 
 to do more good and prevent more mischief than any man in this 
 State ; and I doubt not that you will exert the great talents with 
 which God has blessed you in promoting the public happiness and 
 prosperity. We are told that the present Assembly intend to dis 
 solve themselves, in order to make way for a general convention 
 to new-model the constitution of government. Will such a 
 measure be proper without a requisition of the people ? If it can 
 be done without such requisition, the caprice of future Assemblies 
 may repeat it from time to time until the stability of the constitu 
 tion is totally destroyed and anarchy introduced in its stead. Or 
 at any rate will it not be better to defer it a year or two until the 
 present ferment (occasioned by the late sudden change) has sub 
 sided and men s minds have had time to cool ? 
 
LETTER TO PATRICK HENRY. 45 
 
 The people in this part of the country are made very uneasy by 
 the reports we have from below, that the Assembly will make 
 some laws or resolutions respecting British debts which may 
 infringe the articles of the peace, under the mistaken idea that 
 Great Britain will not risk a renewal of the war on account of 
 such an infraction of the treaty. We see by the late public papers 
 that the terms of peace with America are so strongly censured in 
 both houses of Parliament, that it has occasioned or will occasion 
 a total change in the ministry. A new ministry averse to the 
 treaty, or even the ministry who concluded it, might resent or 
 avenge any infraction of its provisions in any particular State, by 
 reprisals upon the ships or coasts of such State, or by sending 
 two or three frigates to intercept their trade, without danger of 
 involving themselves in a new war ; for the power of war and 
 peace and of making treaties being in Congress and not in the 
 separate States, any such act would be considered as an unwar 
 rantable assumption of power in the State adopting it ; and we 
 have no reason to expect that either the late belligerent powers in 
 Europe, or even the American States in general, would make a 
 common cause of it. It is easy to foresee that, in such an event, 
 our situation would be neither safe nor honorable. Had it been 
 in the power of the American commissioners (which it certainly 
 was not) to have abolished the British debts here, it would have 
 been but short-sighted policy to have done so. The far-fetched 
 arguments which have been used to show the distinction between 
 this and other wars, would not have been approved or compre 
 hended, by the bulk of mankind ; and with what degree of confi 
 dence would foreign merchants have ventured their effects here, 
 if upon any national quarrel they were liable to confiscation ? 
 I could have wished, indeed, that some reasonable time had been 
 allowed for the payment of the British debts, and that the interest 
 on them had been relinquished. As to the first, the desire of the 
 British merchants to reinstate themselves in their trade here will 
 probably prevent their pressing their debtors, and as to the last, 
 their bond-debts only will carry interest. It is notorious, that the 
 custom of giving interest upon common accounts was introduced 
 by the partiality of the merchants of whom the jurors at the 
 general court were chiefly composed for several years before the 
 late Revolution. Under our present circumstances, I think the 
 
46 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON, 
 
 accounts of the British creditors may be safely trusted to the 
 Virginia juries without any interposition of the legislature. In 
 conversation upon this subject we hear sometimes a very absurd 
 question : " If we are now to pay the debts due to British mer 
 chants, what have we been fighting for all this while ? " Surely 
 not to avoid our just debts or to cheat our creditors ; but to 
 rescue our country from the oppression and tyranny of the British 
 government, and to secure the rights and liberties of ourselves and 
 of our posterity, which we have happily accomplished. The min 
 istry in Great Britain and the Tories here have indeed constantly 
 accused us of engaging in the war to avoid the payment of our 
 just debts ; but every honest man has denied so injurious a charge 
 with indignation. Upon the whole we have certainly obtained 
 better terms of peace than America had cause to expect ; all the 
 great points are ceded to us, and I cannot but think it would be 
 highly dangerous and imprudent to risk a breach of it. 
 
 The people here too are greatly alarmed at a prevailing notion, 
 that those men who have paid the British debts into the Treasury 
 in depreciated paper money, instead of making up the real value 
 to their creditors, will now attempt to throw the difference upon 
 the shoulders of the public and raise it by taxes upon the people. 
 I should hope that such an iniquitous scheme will be rejected 
 with the contempt it deserves. If it is adopted it will probably 
 cause some violent convulsion ; the people being determined, in 
 many parts of the country, to form associations against it, and to 
 resist the payment of any taxes imposed on them for discharging 
 the private debts of individuals. 
 
 I hope the Assembly will, as soon as they meet, postpone the 
 collection of taxes (which by an act of last session were to be 
 paid in this month) until August or September ; the war being 
 ended, the delay will occasion no material inconvenience to the 
 public, and though it will not diminish the revenue a shilling, it 
 will lessen the taxes upon the people 100 % by enabling them 
 to pay with one half the tobacco or other produce which it 
 would at this time require. If the people are compelled to pay 
 immediately, the merchants taking advantage of their necessity 
 will keep down the price of tobacco in a manner that may affect 
 the market through the whole season ; whereas if the collection 
 of taxes be postponed, the people will be under no necessity of 
 
A SNUFF FACTORY IN FAIRFAX COUNTY. 47 
 
 selling until the arrival of a great many ships has increased the 
 demand, and raised the price of country produce. In short, the 
 immediate collection of the taxes will, in a great measure, deprive 
 the people of the benefits of peace this year. 
 
 One of my sons and one William Allison (who have in partner 
 ship erected a snuff manufactory in this county) have presented 
 a petition to the Assembly for laying a duty upon snuff imported 
 from foreign countries ; the reasons in support of it being fully 
 stated in their petition, I will not trouble you with a recapitulation, 
 but beg the favor of you to examine the petition, and if you think 
 it just and reasonable I natter myself it will have your support 
 and patronage. My son George (who is still in Europe) desires 
 me to present his most respectful compliments to you, with his 
 thanks for the testimonial you were so kind as to give him under 
 the seal of the commonwealth ; it has been of great service in 
 recommending him to the notice of many gentlemen of rank and 
 fortune. I have lately received a letter from him dated Paris the 
 2oth February, in which he gives very strong hints of great 
 duplicity in some articles of European politics, such as, he says, 
 he does not care to venture upon paper that is to cross the 
 Atlantic, but shall reserve the communication until he arrives in 
 America, which he expects will be about the middle of July ; and 
 he concludes with the following expression : " I wish America 
 would put her trust only in God and herself, and have as little to 
 do with the politics of Europe as possible." He tells me our old 
 friend Mazzey [Mazzei ?] was then in Paris and preparing to 
 return to America. 
 
 I have reason to apologise for this long letter, but I hope your 
 candor will excuse it and ascribe it to its true cause, the unfeigned 
 esteem and regard with which I am, dear sir, 
 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 To Hon. Patrick Henry. 1 
 
 After seven years of war the land was blessed with peace. 
 After the long struggle to secure the autonomy they had 
 established, the independence of the American States was 
 acknowledged by all the world. Small wonder that men s 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
48 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 minds were in a " ferment " through the " late sudden 
 change." This was no time for remodelling the State con 
 stitution George Mason felt. What Virginia s duties were, 
 and what the crisis demanded from her representatives in 
 the Assembly, Colonel Mason states clearly and forcibly in 
 "The Address and Instructions of their Constituents" to 
 Alexander Henderson and Charles Broadwater, the delegates 
 from Fairfax County at this time. Though no names are 
 signed to this paper there can be no doubt, to those who are 
 familiar with his style and his opinions, that George Mason 
 was the writer of it ; and as the leading citizen of his county, 
 and on so many previous occasions its spokesman, the pre 
 sumption is most natural that the like office was assigned to 
 him at this time. 
 
 " May 3Oth, 1783. 
 " GENTLEMEN : 
 
 " We have committed to you the greatest and most sacred trust, 
 which a free people can repose in any of their fellow-citizens ; 
 the care of our dearest and most important interests, the protec 
 tion of our rights and liberty, and the power of making, on our 
 behalf, those laws by which we are to be governed, and this com 
 monwealth preserved in safety and prosperity. And although we 
 confide thoroughly in your integrity and attachment to the public 
 good, yet we judge it expedient, at this critical and important 
 season, to communicate to you our sentiments, and to exercise our 
 undoubted right of instructing you, as our immediate Representa 
 tives in the Legislature. 
 
 " And first, Gentlemen, we desire and expressly instruct you, that 
 you give not your assent to, and on the contrary, that you oppose, 
 to the utmost of your power, the smallest infraction of the late 
 Treaty of Peace, either with respect to the payment of debts, or 
 in any other matter whatsoever, whereby the public faith, sol 
 emnly pledged by the American Commissioners duly authorized, 
 may be violated, and this country again involved in the calamities 
 of war, or the danger of reprisals. 
 
 "We also direct and instruct you, that you use your utmost 
 endeavors to enact a law for repayment of the principal and 
 interest to each and every individual, who hath paid paper money 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO DELEGA TES IN THE ASSEMBL Y. 49 
 
 into the public treasury, in discharge of debts due to British 
 creditors, according to its real value in specie, to be adjusted by 
 the legal scale of depreciation, at the time each sum was respect 
 ively placed in the Treasury ; and that such debts, as well as all 
 other private debts and contracts, be thereafter left to the common 
 course of the laws of the land. And in case of any division of the 
 House, upon either of these subjects, or upon any other important 
 matter, whereby the rights of the people, and the safety of the 
 Commonwealth may be endangered, the maxims of justice contra 
 vened, or the fundamental principles of the Constitution violated ; 
 we desire and instruct you to call for and cause to be published, 
 the yeas and nays upon the state of the question, that so the 
 people may, at least, be enabled to distinguish their country s foes 
 from its friends, and hereafter to separate the tares from the corn. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you, that you give not your assent to, 
 and that you firmly oppose, granting any exclusive privileges or 
 advantages in our trade, to any particular kingdom or nation, other 
 than what may be stipulated in the Commercial Treaties con 
 cluded by the authority of Congress, it being the true and per 
 manent interest of America to admit the trade of all nations, upon 
 equal terms, without preference to any, further than the goodness 
 and cheapness of their commodities may entitle them to. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you that you give not your assent to, and 
 that you oppose, any further occlusion of the Courts of Justice ; 
 as withholding the due and regular administration of justice 
 in any country, must loosen the bonds of society, corrupt the 
 morals of the people, and tend to produce anarchy and public 
 confusion. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you to oppose all future emissions of 
 paper money ; all interference of the Legislature in private con 
 tracts, they being properly cognizable in the judiciary departments 
 of the State ; all ex post facto laws, except such only as are war 
 ranted by the greatest emergencies, and the plain principles of 
 justice ; and that you endeavour to procure a revisal or repeal of 
 all laws, which may have been heretofore made, contrary to such 
 principles. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you to oppose any further delay in the 
 collection of this year s taxes than will be absolutely necessary to 
 give the people the benefit of this summer s market, for their com- 
 Vol. II. 4 
 
5<3 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 modities now on hand ; all such delays being highly injurious to 
 public credit. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you to promote a strict enquiry into the 
 expenditure of public money, and the bringing to speedy account 
 and punishment all public delinquents and defaulters. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you to endeavour to procure ample jus 
 tice to the officers and soldiers of the American army ; who though 
 constantly surrounded with uncommon distress and difficulties, 
 have so bravely defended the rights and liberties of their country. 
 
 " We desire and instruct you that you assent not to, and that you 
 oppose repealing the law for preventing extensive credits upon open 
 accounts ; and also that you assent not to, but oppose the imposi 
 tion of any greater duty upon imported iron or cordage than shall 
 be imposed upon other imported goods, for the reasons respectively 
 given in our petitions to the Assembly upon these subjects. 
 
 " W T e desire and instruct you strenuously to oppose all encroach 
 ments of the American Congress upon the sovereignty and juris 
 diction of the separate States ; and every assumption of power, 
 not expressly, vested in them, by the Articles of Confederation. 
 If experience shall prove that further powers are necessary and 
 safe, they can be granted only by additional articles to the Con 
 federation, duly acceded to by all the States ; for if Congress, 
 upon the plea of necessity, or upon any pretence whatever, can 
 arrogate powers not warranted by the Articles of Confederation, 
 in one instance, they may in another, or in an hundred ; every 
 repetition will be strengthened and confirmed by precedents. 
 
 " And in particular we desire and instruct you to oppose any 
 attempts which may be made by Congress to obtain a perpetual 
 revenue, or the appointment of revenue officers. Were these 
 powers superadded to those they already possess, the Articles of 
 Confederation, and the Constitutions of Government in the 
 different States would prove mere parchment bulwarks to 
 American liberty. 
 
 " We like not the language of the late address from Congress 
 to the different States, and of the report of their committee upon 
 the subject of revenue, published in the same pamphlet. If 
 they are carefully and impartially examined, they will be found 
 to exhibit strong proofs of lust of power : They contain the same 
 kind of arguments which were formerly used in the business of 
 
CONGRESS NO POWER TO LEVY TAXES. 51 
 
 ship money ^ and to justify the arbitrary measures of the race of 
 Stuarts in England. And the present king and council of Great 
 Britain might not improperly adopt great part of them, to prove 
 the expediency of levying money without consent of Parliament. 
 After having reluctantly given up part of what they found 
 they could not maintain, they still insist that the several States 
 shall invest the United States in Congress assembled with a power to 
 levy, for the use of the United States, the following duties, &c., and 
 that the revenue officers shall be amenable to Congress. The very 
 style is alarming. The proposed duties may be proper, but the 
 separate States only can safely have the power of levying taxes. 
 Congress should not have even the appearance of such a power. 
 Forms generally imply substance, and such a precedent may be 
 applied to dangerous purposes hereafter. When the same man, or 
 set of men, holds both the sword and the purse, there is an end of 
 liberty. As little are we satisfied with the resolution of Congress 
 of the loth of October, 1780, lately renewed, engaging that the 
 unappropriated lands that may be ceded or relinquished to the 
 United States by any particular States, shall be disposed of for the 
 common benefit of the United States. Who is to judge of the 
 quality and legality of pretended appropriations ? And will this 
 vague resolution be a sufficient bar to Congress against confirming 
 the claims under Indian purchases, or pretended grants from the 
 Crown of Great Britain, in which many of their own members are 
 interested as partners, and by which great part of the ceded lands 
 may be converted to private, instead of public purposes? The 
 intrigues of the great land companies, and the methods by which 
 they have strengthened their interest are no secret to the public. 
 We are also at a loss to know whence Congress derives the powers 
 of demanding cessions of lands and of erecting new States before 
 such powers have been granted them by their constituents. 
 
 " And finally we recommend it to you (for in this we will not 
 presume to give positive instructions) to endeavour to obtain an 
 instruction from the General Assembly to the Virginia delegates in 
 Congress, against sending ambassadors to the courts of Europe ; 
 it being an expence which (in our present circumstances) these 
 United States are unable to support. Such appointments can 
 hardly fail of producing dangerous combinations, factions, and 
 cabals, in the great council of America. And from the great 
 
52 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 distance and the difficulty of knowing and examining their con 
 duct, there is danger, too, that some of the persons so sent, may 
 be corrupted and pensioned by the courts where they reside. We 
 are of opinion, that consuls to superintend our trade (at less than a 
 tenth part of the charge of ambassadors) will be sufficient to 
 answer every good purpose. And nature having separated us, by 
 an immense ocean, from the European nations, the less we have to 
 do with their quarrels or politics, the better. Having thus, Gentle 
 men, given you our opinions and instructions, upon such subjects 
 as we deem at this time most important, we remain, with senti 
 ments of great respect and esteem, your friends and fellow- 
 citizens." 
 
 Thomson Mason was in the Assembly during this session, 
 and his views upon public affairs were given to his con 
 stituents in the following letter : 
 
 To the Freeholders of Stafford County : 
 
 RICHMOND, June loth, 1783. 
 GENTLEMEN : 
 
 I return you my sincere thanks for the confidence you have 
 placed in me, in electing me a delegate to represent you in the 
 General Assembly ; and I shall now, in return, lay before you the 
 views and motives which induced me to offer myself a candidate at 
 your late election. It is needless to assert, that no private interest 
 of my own actuated me, because from your acquaintance with me 
 from my youth, you know it did not. The fears of some of you, 
 that I would endeavour to prevent the Treaty of Peace from 
 being ratified, or the payment of British debts, were groundless ; 
 no man was more desirous of a peace, or entertained a more fixed 
 regard for the strict rules of justice than myself, and my disposition 
 is not vindictive ; but I think the safety of my country depends 
 upon excluding from the rights of citizenship those who joined the 
 enemy and not only deserted us in the hour of distress, but by 
 their arms and false councils assisted our enemies in prolonging 
 the war against us. And those who remained among us, and 
 avowed principles incompatible with American liberty, I think also 
 
 1 The Virginia Gazette, June 7, 1783. 
 
THOMSON MASON TO HIS CONSTITUENTS. 53 
 
 ought never to be trusted with any office, civil or military, nor 
 even to be allowed to vote for any man who is to guide our public 
 councils. I wished also to suspend all executions on judgments 
 obtained for debts contracted before the war, so as to issue for 
 one fourth or fifth part of the debt annually, till the whole was 
 discharged, in order to place the debtor as near as we could in the 
 same flourishing situation that he was when that debt was con 
 tracted ; for I really dreaded, that if Tory and refugee creditors 
 were suffered to return and harass their debtors with that rapacious 
 and vindictive spirit which we have reason to suppose they will, 
 that those citizens who had been most active in defence of the 
 liberties of their country would be the devoted victims of their fury, 
 and in the present scarcity of money, great part of the property of 
 this country would centre in the hands of the avowed enemies to 
 liberty ; and as power is the constant, the necessary attendant on 
 property, that after all the struggles of the virtuous, the wicked 
 would at last prevail, and introduce a more slavish dependence 
 upon Britain than that from which we have just emerged. 
 
 I wished also to prevent the money paid into the Treasury, 
 either for British debts or loans, from being accounted for on any 
 other terms, than at the real depreciation at the time it was paid 
 in. I wished to introduce some regular system into our revenue 
 laws, so as to pass several distinct laws establishing separate sub 
 stantial funds ; first for the support of our civil government, 
 secondly, for the annual payment of the interest of our foreign 
 debt, thirdly, for the payment of the annual interest of the debt 
 due to the army, and fourthly, for that due to our own citizens ; 
 that these funds should be most sacredly applied to the separate 
 purpose for which each was designed, and the overplus go towards 
 sinking the principal of each ; and I was not without hopes that 
 the increase of our inhabitants, commerce, and wealth would be 
 so rapidly great, that the excess of each fund would pay off that 
 principal in less than twelve years. 
 
 I wished to encourage the culture of hemp, by giving a bounty 
 to the makers of it, and laying such a duty on imported cordage 
 as would pay that bounty, that we might not be altogether de 
 pendent upon foreigners for the means of fitting out vessels, either 
 for necessary defence or the extension of our commerce. 
 
 And I wished to place our bay and river trade, and above all 
 
54 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 our fisheries, on such a foundation, as to render them useful 
 nurseries of free seamen ; on the increase of which our naval 
 strength and the extension of our commerce so materially 
 depend. 
 
 Whether I shall succeed in all or any of these views, I shall be 
 better able to inform you when I return ; in the meantime think 
 me not guilty of inconsistency, if you find by the journals that I 
 should often vote against measures which by them seem to be 
 proposed by myself ; for where there are a large number to 
 deliberate upon any measure, in which a majority are to agree, 
 the measure is often so altered as to make it exceedingly different 
 from what it was first intended to be. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with the highest sentiments of gratitude and 
 esteem, your sincerely affectionate, 
 
 THOMSON MASON. 
 
 The great question before the Assembly, in the estimation 
 of Madison, Jefferson, and Joseph Jones was the report on 
 the federal impost. The duty law passed at a previous ses 
 sion had been repealed, it was said through the agency of 
 the Lees, Richard Henry, and Arthur, but it was now hoped 
 that it would be re-enacted. Jefferson wrote to Madison, 
 on the 3d of May, giving a somewhat cynical sketch of the 
 House, and the attitude of its prominent members in regard 
 to the articles proposed by Madison covering this subject. 
 The Lees were against them : " Henry, as usual, is involved 
 in mystery " ; Thomson Mason " is a meteor whose path 
 cannot be calculated. All the powers of his mind seem at 
 present to be concentrated in one single object the pro 
 ducing a convention to new-model the State constitution. 
 This is a subject much agitated, and seems the only one they 
 will have to amuse themselves with till they shall receive 
 your propositions." 2 Joseph Jones hurried from his seat in 
 Congress to attend the Assembly, and he wrote regularly to 
 Madison while in Richmond to report the progress of affairs. 
 Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee he describes as the 
 
 1 Virginia Gazette, June 14, 1783. 
 
 2 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. i., Appendix, p. 310. 
 
JEFFERSON AND JOSEPH JONES. 55 
 
 " two great commanders " in the House, but he intimates 
 that there is too much said and too little done. On the 2 1st 
 of June he wrote : 
 
 " We are now as usual putting to sleep many of the bills that 
 have employed our time and attention for great part of this ses 
 sion. Among them two, one for the benefit of debtors, the other 
 for regulating the proceedings in the county courts. These were 
 thought to have some connection and ought to rest together. Mr. 
 Mason introduced and patronized the debtors bill. I was not in 
 the House when it was read, but understand it allowed all 
 creditors to obtain judgment, but suspended execution, rather 
 permitted it for a fifth of the debt annually, for five years, 
 comprehending as well foreign as domestic credits. I came 
 into the House during the debate and from the observations of 
 R. H. L [ee] and those who opposed the bill its principle was 
 severely reprobated. Mr. Mason and C. M. T. [Charles Minn 
 Thruston] warmly supported it and pronounced it indispensably 
 necessary to preserve the people from ruin and the country inde 
 pendent. The disposition of the members, however, was so 
 prevalent for lopping off all business not really necessary that the 
 latter gentlemen were obliged to submit to its being referred to 
 the next session. This bill, at least so far as respected British 
 creditors, would have had more advocates but for the late period 
 at which it was introduced, and because there already existed and 
 will continue in force until the ist of December a law that pro 
 hibits suits for or on account of British subjects." 
 
 A letter from Thomson Mason to John Francis Mercer, 
 half-brother to George and James Mercer, and at this time 
 in the Continental Congress, gives a graphic account of 
 Virginia politics, and brings before us in lively colors the 
 aspect of the Assembly which was just about to close its 
 session. 
 MY DEAR SIR : RICHMOND, 22d June, 1783. 
 
 I must entreat your forgiveness in having so long neglected to 
 answer your very obliging favor of April, but have really been so 
 much engaged in the duties of my profession, and the business of 
 " Letters of Joseph Jones," p. 120. 
 
56 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the public, that I have scarce had a moment s leisure. Add to 
 this the very infirm state of my health, and at times the total dis 
 ability of my better hand, and you will be convinced that my 
 silence proceeded not from any disrespect, for believe me, sir, I 
 esteem you as I ought. 
 
 I thank you most sincerely for the very interesting intelligence 
 you gave me, of which I endeavoured to avail myself to promote 
 the public good, though I am sorry to say to little purpose, as the 
 Shelborne faction, as I have christened them, are yet very power 
 ful though they lose ground. 
 
 -I never saw the provisional Treaty of Peace till I reached Gar- 
 rard s, in my way to this place, and did not determine upon the 
 part I afterwards took on that occasion, till I knew whether I 
 could prevail on my son who was here to declare himself for Lou- 
 don, and till I had consulted your brother whether it might not 
 interfere with your election. The result of these conferences 
 ended in both my son and myself writing up to our respective 
 counties, that we would serve if they chose us. In my letter to 
 my son John which I desired him to make public, I expressed my 
 wishes that all my friends would also be yours, and was not with 
 out hopes that we should both have been elected, and we certainly 
 should have been so, but a particular party, having made several 
 unsuccessful attempts to raise you up an opponent, had after I 
 left the county, prevailed on young Col. Garrard to set up in 
 professed opposition to you, in partnership with Col. Carter. He 
 rode from house to house in the county, and supported by Col. 
 Carter prevailed upon many to promise him, even before my in 
 tentions were known. Notwithstanding this, if our election had 
 been managed properly you would have run Col. Carter hard ; 
 but instead of our staunch friends (which actually formed a 
 majority of those present) pushing us both from the beginning, 
 which they ought to have done, as both the other candidates were 
 our professed enemies, they only pushed in such who were only 
 for one of us, and they giving one vote, some to Garrard and some 
 to Carter, added to those who were their staunch friends, run 
 those gentlemen so far ahead that our friends began to be appre 
 hensive we should both be dropped, and Garrard having declared 
 that he would resign his pretensions if you were withdrawn, out 
 witted your friends so far as to withdraw you, expecting by so 
 
THOMSON MASON TO JOHN FRANCIS MERCER. 57 
 
 doing that I should then be certainly elected, as Garrard would 
 then withdraw. But here they found themselves deceived ; Gar 
 rard and Carter still continued to push their elections, and my 
 friends threw their votes upon Carter till they got me about a 
 dozen votes ahead of Garrard, who finding he had not another 
 vote resigned, and upwards of thirty of my friends then thought 
 it unnecessary to vote at all, not duly considering that this might 
 possibly have overturned my election in case of a controversy. 
 Your old friend Col. Mountjoy quarrelled with his brother-in-law 
 on account of his conduct in setting up in opposition to you. 
 Thus I have given you a particular account of the election as 
 stated to me, for I was not there ; if I had [been] I think you 
 would have run my colleague hard ; if not have turned him out, 
 though many untruths, and the inconvenience of serving in Con 
 gress and Assembly, were I am told urged much to your prejudice. 
 
 The Assembly have passed an act to render members of Con 
 gress ineligible in future for the Assembly. I fancy some maneu 
 vering was intended to your prejudice in the ballot for members of 
 Congress. It was the general sense of gentlemen without doors, 
 that there would be no election till the November session ; but 
 upon my going up to defend Mr. Lawrence Washington of King 
 George (who was discharged from further trial for the death of 
 Mr. Alexander) the House in that week proceeded to ballot for 
 members of Congress, and you were not even put in nomination 
 for some time, which my son Stephens perceiving, got so far the 
 better of his false modesty, as to propose you, and afterwards 
 supported your interest warmly without doors. Mr. Jefferson, 
 Mr. Hardy, yourself, Dr. Lee and Col. Monroe were elected. It 
 was lucky for Dr. Lee that the election came on so soon, as I am 
 told the part he took two days afterwards against a French ship, 
 which having been seized through the ignorance of the captain, 
 he petitioned for the interposition of the Assembly and obtained 
 it, against the violent opposition of several who always have been 
 staunch Whigs. Dr. Lee joined in this opposition, and by so 
 doing gave great umbrage to many who had before voted for him, 
 as a delegate to Congress, but declared they would never do so 
 again. So much for private intelligence. 
 
 I am really alarmed at the critical situation we stand in with 
 Great Britain, and the more so from their refusal to deliver up to 
 
58 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 several of the citizens of this State their slaves, when demanded 
 under the authority of the Executive, by their respective masters, 
 in direct violation of the Treaty. I cannot entirely agree with 
 you in your sentiments on the subject of British debts. The occlu 
 sion of the courts of justice by any law, would certainly be a legal 
 impediment, but still I think that even this might be justly done 
 without infringing the treaty, if we made no distinction between 
 the British and domestic creditor, for every country has an in 
 herent right of regulating her internal police, and surely where 
 there is no discrimination, a British sovereign has no right by the 
 law of nations, to expect, much less to demand greater privileges 
 from us for his subjects than we grant to our own citizens. And 
 the present situation of our country is such, that the justice we 
 owe our citizens, renders it necessary to place them before they 
 are called upon to pay their debts, in the same situation they were 
 in when those debts were contracted. Under this idea I drew and 
 introduced a bill for the relief of debtors, and another for the 
 security of creditors. Under the last I placed our courts in such 
 a situation as to enable the creditor in all cases where no defence 
 could be made, to obtain a judgment in six months at the farthest, 
 and in all other cases in fifteen months. By the first bill I enabled 
 all debtors upon giving an additional security, who were also to 
 be liable to execution upon the judgment against the principal, in 
 case of non-payment, to pay off the judgments when obtained in 
 five annual payments ; the judgments to carry interest, and remain 
 in force for six years without being revived by Set: fa., and an 
 execution to issue annually for one fifth of the judgment, and 
 interest against principal and security, till the whole was dis 
 charged. All interest during the war was to cease, and no debts 
 to be affected by this act contracted after the passing of it ; with 
 a proviso that it should not extend to any debts contracted with 
 foreigners during the war by individuals. 
 
 These laws being for the mutual advantage of debtor and cred 
 itor, and a mere regulation of our internal police, in which the 
 British subject was placed on the same footing with our own 
 citizens (indeed the word British was not even mentioned in the 
 bill) nor any kind of distinction set up, I well hoped would have 
 gone down ; but the Shelborne faction were apprehensive it might 
 possibly give umbrage to Britain, and induce them to infringe the 
 
BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF DEBTORS. 59 
 
 treaty. They put off the consideration of the first bill to the next 
 session of the Assembly, and I myself moved for putting off that 
 for speedy trials to the same time, and after a pretty warm oppo 
 sition succeeded. 
 
 We have also been warmly engaged upon a bill to declare who 
 should in future become citizens of this State. The bill as I 
 had modelled it (for it was first brought in with great severity 
 and too little discrimination) excluded all persons who being resi 
 dents of the United States after the Declaration of Independence 
 had aided and assisted the enemy, from ever becoming citizens 
 or residing amongst us for any longer or other time than was or 
 should be stipulated in the provisional articles or definitive treaty 
 of peace ; that all others who either left us or, remaining amongst 
 us, had avowed principles inimical to the independence of America, 
 should be incapable of holding any post, civil or military, of sit 
 ting in either House of Assembly, of voting at any election, or of 
 participating in our councils for the preservation of that indepen 
 dence which they had endeavoured to prevent. Here again the 
 Shelborne faction took the alarm, and the threat of being here a 
 week longer when harvest was approaching, induced a ma 
 jority to postpone the consideration of this also till the next 
 session of Assembly, for which, as I had the yeas and nays taken, 
 I fancy their constituents will not thank them much on their return. 
 
 The plan proposed by Congress for placing in their hands a 
 permanent fund for the discharge of the federal debt was rejected 
 by a great majority as a precedent dangerous to liberty upon 
 this principle, that as we had already entrusted them with the 
 sword, if we were to give them the purse also, the control we should 
 afterwards have over them would be but a feeble barrier against 
 future encroachments ; for such was the lust of power, that who 
 ever was in possession of it would still endeavour to extend it, 
 and though we should even change our members of Congress 
 annually it would be immaterial to us whether we chose A. B. C. 
 or X. Y. Z., since every letter of the alphabet, whilst they were 
 members of any body, would endeavour to support and extend 
 the power of that body, and I candidly confess, my friend, that I 
 joined with the majority in this opinion. Yet sensible of the 
 necessity of establishing funds, we have laid an impost of five per 
 cent, ad valorem and the duties recommended by Congress ex- 
 
60 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON, 
 
 actly agreeable to their idea of this matter, as to the quantum, but 
 it is to be collected by our own officers, and paid by them to the 
 Congressional receiver, who is to give a receipt for it, to be car 
 ried to our account and credited to this State upon a future 
 settlement, and this is to continue till the whole debt is dis 
 charged. But this act is not to be applied to this purpose until 
 the other States have passed laws similar to it. This fund it is 
 calculated will amount to forty-thousand pounds, and we have 
 added to it our whole land tax, which amounts at this time to 
 ninety-five thousand pounds annually, and will be an increasing 
 fund as our back lands are rapidly settling. This tax is to be 
 paid by the sheriffs to our treasurer and by him paid to the Con 
 tinental receiver, who is to give a receipt for the same, and carry 
 it to our credit on a future settlement ; and if these funds should 
 fall short, the deficiency is to be made good out of the slave tax, 
 which amounts to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds 
 annually, but as we do not expect that this last fund will ever be 
 called on, in aid of the others, we have ventured to appropriate 
 part of the slave tax to other purposes. That I may be perfectly 
 understood upon this subject, the duties upon imposts and the 
 land tax are appropriated to Congress till the whole of the Con 
 tinental debt is discharged, without having any other regard to 
 this State s particular quota of that debt than to have credit at a 
 future settlement of what we may pay more than our quota 
 amounts to. 
 
 Without regard to our internal police of revenue we have 
 passed a law to establish a fund for paying the annual interest of 
 the certificates granted our officers and soldiers, and the principal 
 at eight annual payments, the first payment to be made the first 
 day of January, 1786. To do this we have laid an additional tax 
 of id. per bushel upon salt, # 2 /per ct. on imported hemp, i/perct. 
 on imported cordage, i / per Ib. on imported snuff, 4d. per gal 
 lon on imported spirits, 6 per gallon upon wine, a duty upon tea, 
 sugar and some other articles which I do not recollect, and 5 / 
 per hogshead on tobacco.% [Mr. Mason makes this marginal note : 
 " N. B. I think the articles marked thus # ought not to have 
 been taxed, because the first being a necessary of life will fall 
 heavy upon the poor especially in the back parts where it will 
 raise the price of salt even in Loudon to 7 or 8/ and in coun- 
 
VIRGINIA S FUNDS AND LIABILITIES. 6 1 
 
 ties further back to double that sum, and tobacco is an export."] 
 This it is thought will amount to thirty thousand pounds. The 
 deficiency is to be made good by the slave tax. It is presumed 
 that a fund of seventy thousand pounds will answer the ends pro 
 posed by this law. 
 
 For my own part I think this law an unwise one, because no 
 new tax ought ever to be appropriated to any purpose but to the 
 contingent charges of government, till experience has evinced that 
 the commodity taxed will bear it with convenience, and some 
 certain estimate can be made of what it will produce, as when it 
 is once appropriated to a permanent fund it cannot afterwards be 
 discontinued, however inconvenient, without a breach of public 
 faith. I should therefore have been better pleased that the whole 
 seventy thousand pounds had been drawn from the State tax, 
 and these duties appropriated to the contingent charges of gov 
 ernment, and then they might have been altered hereafter as 
 experience might have convinced us was necessary. Besides 
 there not being a particular portion of the slave tax fund set 
 apart for this use, and the civil list, the deficiencies to Congress 
 and the deficiency to the officers and soldiers, all being quartered 
 upon that fund, without pointing out what proportion of it shall 
 be applied to each, will introduce confusion ; some creditors will 
 get all, some none, and our credit be thereby impaired, for I am 
 convinced our funds are amply sufficient, but from want of sys 
 tem and method in that department alone, all our distresses 
 arrive. To illustrate this I will state the true situation of our 
 debts and funds as nearly as I can from memory, which though 
 not strictly right will be nearly so. 
 
 Annual land tax . . . . . 95,000 increasing rapidly. 
 Impost . . . . . . 40,000 
 
 ^135,000 
 Part of slave tax ..... 15,000 
 
 \ 50,000 to be paid to Congress. 
 Annual balance of slave tax ........ ^"105,000 
 
 Additional imposts ......... 30,000 
 
 Poll tax upon whites, rapidly increasing ..... 50,000 
 
 Upon horses, cattle and wheel carriages ...... 40,000 
 
 Upon ordinary and marriage licences ...... 5,ooo 
 
 ,230,000 
 
62 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Officers and soldiers certificates ....... ,70,000 
 
 Civil list expenditures, including the executive, judiciary and legis 
 
 lative and members to Congress ...... 30,000 
 
 Loan Office certificates, 250,000, is ...... 15,000 
 
 British debts paid into the treasury when settled a depreciation 
 
 50,000 ........... 3,ooo 
 
 Foreign and domestic debt 150,000 ...... 15,000 
 
 Contingent charges of government ....... 20,000 
 
 Balance to be applied towards paying the principal . . . 
 
 We yesterday received the report from a committee to whom 
 was referred Mr. Simon Nathan s claim to a large quantity of 
 tobacco, under an award given by some gentlemen in Philadel 
 phia to whom it was submitted by our delegates in Congress at 
 the request of the governor. The committee had voted it 
 reasonable, upon a supposition that the State was bound by the 
 acceptance of the bills by the governor, and the award in Phila 
 delphia ; but it appearing manifestly that the bills were drawn 
 for paper currency at a depreciated value, only equal to ^"1500, 
 though the bills were for ^ 13,000, and that the governor had 
 actually paid 200,000 tobacco at 25 per ct., a large majority 
 refused to pay more, upon this principle, that the governor being 
 deceived or even mistaken at the time of his acceptance, that 
 acceptance was not binding for more than was actually due ; and 
 it appearing upon the face of the award, that the arbitrators were 
 mistaken in the matter of fact, viz. that they were drawn for 
 specie value the State was not bound by it, since that would be a 
 sufficient foundation for setting aside an award in any court of 
 judicature. The matter is again to be referred to arbitrators in 
 Maryland. 1 
 
 Thus I have now given you a particular account of all our public 
 affairs worth mentioning. And now let me ask my young friend 
 if none of the young ladies of Philadelphia have had influence 
 enough with you to resign the name given you by some ladies in 
 Prince William ? I presume you have heard that your acquaint 
 ance my son Stephens was married the first of May. He and his 
 
 1 Compare the letter of Edmund Randolph on this subject, Conway s " Life 
 of Randolph," p. 51. Thomson Mason gives good reasons for the so-called 
 " repudiation." 
 
GENERAL GREENE IN ALEXANDRIA. 63 
 
 lady (formerly Miss Polly Armistead) who are both in town, pre 
 sent their compliments to you. 
 
 Adieu my dear sir, and believe me to be 
 
 Your sincerely affectionate 
 
 THOMSON MASON. 
 
 George Mason wrote from " Gunston Hall," the 2/th of 
 August to Messrs. Hunter, Allison, and Company, merchants 
 in Alexandria, a letter of business relating to his tobacco 
 sales, and in a postscript he gives the news he had lately 
 received from Europe. " I have a letter," he writes, " from 
 my son George, dated in Nantes, June 2Oth, where he has 
 been waiting six or seven weeks for a passage in the Hannibal, 
 Capt. Cunningham. He says the definitive treaty is proceed 
 ing slowly, on account of the difficulties of adjusting matters 
 with the States-General. The court of London, have in the 
 meantime made provision by proclamation, for a commercial 
 intercourse with the United States of America. The Al- 
 gerines have fitted out a small fleet on purpose to cruise 
 against American vessels, notwithstanding the Emperor of 
 Morocco s orders to his Admiral. I very much suspect this 
 a British intrigue to discourage our trade in the Mediterra 
 nean." 
 
 General Greene, returning from the South in the fall of 
 1783, records in his diary the incidents of his journey. 
 Near Dumfries his carnage was overturned, and he was 
 much bruised. But he spent an agreeable evening there 
 at Colonel Grayson s, and dined on the I3th of September 
 at " Mount Vernon." At Alexandria he was taken ill with 
 fever, which prevented him from accepting the public din 
 ner the citizens wished to give him. He writes from Alex 
 andria : 
 
 " R. H. Lee and many others came to see me, but I was too 
 unwell to enjoy company, and most part of the time to see any. 
 . . . Colonel [name illegible] and his son William, an amiable 
 youth, was to see me, and carried off Major Hyrne on a visit to 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
64 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Mr. Mason s, where one of the young ladies made a great impres 
 sion on his heart." 1 
 
 This was probably Colonel Mason and his son William 
 Mason. 
 
 At the meeting of the Assembly in October, General 
 Nelson presented a bill to invest the United States with 
 a power to lay certain duties for the use of the United 
 States. This power of taxation was the one the States least 
 liked to entrust to Congress, but an urgent public necessity 
 eventually forced the measure from them. On the 26th of 
 November, the speaker laid before the House a letter from 
 Edmund Randolph, respecting the proceedings of the per 
 sons appointed to vindicate the title of Virginia to western 
 territory, stating the progress made in that business. Rives, 
 in his " Life of Madison," says of the work appointed the 
 committee that it does not appear the task was ever exe 
 cuted. A defence, however, was prepared, as would appear 
 from this letter of Edmund Randolph to the Speaker of 
 the House. In it he speaks of the difficulty of getting the 
 committee together, and adds : 
 
 " Mr. George Mason has already, however, perused aitd 
 approved about a third of the composition. If the General 
 Assembly will therefore permit the work to go into print under 
 the correction of Mr. Mason and myself, we may probably be 
 able soon to concert the measures necessary for its publication, 
 as I shall see him on my way to Alexandria about the 24th 
 of next month, whither I am going on business of Mr. Nathan." * 
 
 On the 8th of December the House resolved : 
 
 " That the delegates of this State to the Congress of the United 
 States be instructed and fully authorized to convey, by proper 
 instrument, in writing on the part of this State to the Congress 
 of the United States, all right, title and claim, which the said 
 Commonwealth hath to the lands northward of the Ohio, upon 
 
 1 " Life of Genl. Nathaniel Greene," vol. ii., George Washington Greene, p. 
 508. 
 
 2 MS. Letter, State Library, Richmond. 
 
MADISON VISITS " GUNS TON HALL." 65 
 
 the terms contained in the act of Congress of the thirteenth 
 September last : Provided that lands be reserved out of these 
 hereby proposed to be ceded sufficient to make good the several 
 military bounties agreed to be given to sundry officers by resolu 
 tions of both Houses of Assembly : the lands hitherto reserved 
 being insufficient for that purpose." 
 
 And on the I5th Joseph Jones presented a bill in accord 
 ance with this resolution. 1 This cession was accepted by 
 Congress and, as Hinsdale says in his able work on this 
 subject, it ended the long struggle between Virginia and the 
 States in Congress opposed to her rights, leaving Virginia 
 substantially victorious. She retained, as she had desired, 
 the lands now forming the States of Kentucky and West 
 Virginia, " the territory south-east of the Ohio, the sole 
 question at issue." 5 In the interests of peace and union, 
 Virginia had made a generous gift to the Confederacy. She 
 parted with two hundred and seventy thousand, five hundred 
 and fifty square miles of territory, which by its sale since to 
 private individuals has enriched the Federal treasury to the 
 extent of more than a hundred million of dollars. 3 George 
 Mason, as has been seen, first sketched the terms of this 
 cession, and by his influence, in and out of the Assembly, 
 aided in securing its adoption by his State. 
 
 What Colonel Mason thought of the measures of the 
 Assembly at this session we learn through a letter from 
 Madison to Jefferson, written after his return from Congress 
 then sitting at Annapolis : 
 
 "ORANGE, December roth, 1783. 
 
 " I took Col. Mason in my way, and had an evening s conver 
 sation with him. I found him much less opposed to the general 
 impost than I expected. Indeed he disclaimed all opposition 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
 2 " The Old Northwest," p. 245. A part of this territory was torn from Vir 
 ginia, in direct violation of the Constitution, and erected into a new State, 
 within our own time. 
 
 3 Bill introduced into the Virginia Assembly, February, 1888. 
 
 Vol. II. 5 
 
66 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 to the measure itself, but had taken up a vague apprehension, 
 that, if adopted at this crisis, it might embarrass the defence of 
 our trade against British machinations. He seemed, upon the 
 whole, to acquiesce in the territorial cession, but dwelt much on 
 the expediency of the guaranty. On the article of a convention 
 for revising our form of State government, he was sound and 
 ripe, and, I think would not decline a participation in the work. 
 His heterodoxy lay chiefly in being too little impressed with 
 either the necessity or the proper means of preserving the 
 Confederacy." l 
 
 Jefferson wrote to Madison from Annapolis on the follow 
 ing day, making anxious inquiries as to the sentiments of 
 the recluse at " Gunston" on the subject of the State 
 Constitution : 
 
 " You have seen G. M. I hope, and had much conversation 
 with him. What are his sentiments as to the amendment of our 
 constitution ? What amendments would he oppose ? Is he 
 determined to sleep on, or will he rouse and be active ? I 
 wish to hear from you on this subject." 2 
 
 His compatriots were all desirous to know George Mason s 
 views, and to see him back again in public life. Joseph 
 Jones wrote to Jefferson on the 2gth of December in regard 
 to the British debt question and other important subjects 
 that would come before the Assembly at its next session. 
 And he feared the abilities of this body would not be equal 
 to the trust : " Madison s aid I think we may depend on " ; 
 he adds, " perhaps old Mr. G. Mason s, as the business of 
 the land offices requires revision, and his apprehensions on 
 that subject, if nothing else, may draw him from his retire 
 ment." 3 
 
 Washington resigned his commission in December, and 
 left Annapolis in time to reach " Mount Vernon " Christmas- 
 eve. From a young lady s letter, Miss Lewis of Fredericks- 
 
 " Madison Papers," vol. i., p. 579. 
 
 2 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. i., p. 335, Appendix. 
 s " Letters of Joseph Jones," p. 137. 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY IN ifol. 67 
 
 burg, probably the daughter of Colonel Fielding Lewis, 
 General Washington s brother-in-law, we obtain a lively pic 
 ture of the home-coming of the chief and the attendant 
 festivities. And the foremost figure among the guests was 
 Colonel Mason, whose appearance is pleasantly portrayed 
 by the pen of his fair young admirer : 
 
 " I must tell you what a charming day I spent at Mount Ver- 
 non with Mama and Sally. The general and madame came home 
 on Christmas Eve, and such a racket the servants made, for they 
 were glad of their coming ! Three handsome young officers 
 came with them. All Christmas afternoon people came to pay 
 their respects and duty. Among them were stately dames and 
 gay young women. The general seemed very happy, and Mis 
 tress Washington was busy from daybreak making everything as 
 agreeable as possible for everybody. Among the most notable 
 of the callers was Mr. George Mason, of Gunston Hall, who was 
 on his way home from Alexandria, and who brought a charming 
 granddaughter with him, about fourteen years old. He is said to 
 be one of the greatest statesmen and wisest men in Virginia. We 
 had heard much of him and were delighted to look in his face, 
 hear him speak, and take his hand, which he offered in a courtly 
 manner. He is straight in figure but not tall, and has a grand 
 head and clear gray eyes. He has few white hairs, though they say 
 he is about sixty years old." l 
 
 1 " Mary and Martha Washington," B. J. Loosing, p. 229. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 VIRGINIA S COMPACT WITH MARYLAND. 
 
 1784-1787- 
 
 The following letter, found among Monroe s papers, 1 is 
 believed to have been written by him to George Mason, to 
 whom the younger statesman had applied for advice on the 
 several important public questions before the country. Mon 
 roe was at this time in Congress at Annapolis : 
 
 "ANNAPOLIS, February, 1784. 
 " DEAR SIR : 
 
 "Your favor of the 5th ultimo did not reach me till a few days 
 since from the difficulty the severity of the season hath created 
 in passage of the rivers. I am particularly happy to receive it as it 
 promises to me, in the office which I hold, the aid of your age, 
 judgment and experience. I have paid great attention to your 
 reasoning, and think that in two instances, viz., the peace estab 
 lishment and the seat for the residence of Congress, it is conclu 
 sive. If no European power had possessions on the continent I 
 should suppose the idea of a standing army would never have 
 been brought upon the carpet. The Indian incursions or trade, 
 as you observe, would more regularly come within the cognizance 
 of the State exposed or to derive advantage from it. But the 
 possessions of these powers, and particularly of Great Britain, is a 
 matter of more serious import. The impolicy of New York hath 
 already thrown a considerable body of people into Nova Scotia ; 
 and Canada, in tracts at present uninhabited, is certainly capable 
 
 1 Evidently the rough, first draft of the letter sent to his correspondent. 
 There was some doubt at first as to its authorship, but Mr. Bancroft, to whom 
 the MS. was shown, pronounced it unmistakably Monroe s handwriting. 
 
 68 
 
JAMES MONROE TO GEORGE MASON. 69 
 
 of maintaining extensive settlements. Many European countries, 
 in a higher northern latitude, are thickly settled, and the lands of 
 Canada are perhaps richer than those of the Swiss Cantons, Den 
 mark, Sweden or Russia. These provinces are also well tim 
 bered, and at the same time that the inhabitants promise to be an 
 hardy and robust race of men give them all the advantages from 
 their situation of a nursery for seamen, dock-yards for building 
 ships and a share in our carrying business. 
 
 " The court of London hath turned its attention to the Indies, 
 proposing to attempt such arrangements as may compensate to the 
 nation the loss of America. But what can Great Britain promise 
 [herself] from the Indies which she doth not now possess. If 
 colonies are established upon the footing we lately stood, and 
 emigration is encouraged, how long will they be connected with 
 the parent country ? And will not such establishments which 
 take the Indies out of the Company induce the necessity of stand 
 ing armies and respectable fleets to prevent insurrection, and 
 turn the tide of commerce into the bosom of the parent country, 
 and will not this expense be thrown upon the state ? And as the 
 climate suits a despotic government, and the general in com 
 mand may be popular with his troops, is it not rational to suspect 
 he will seek the sovereignty himself ? If these questions could 
 be answered in the negative, I think it will be granted that the 
 possession of India will only prove a commercial advantage. The 
 inhabitants of these provinces will have but little attatchment to 
 the parent country, and will personally be never brought to add 
 to its number or increase its strength in any European operation, 
 While this trade and government are in the possession of a com 
 pany, the nation is free from the expense of these troops or fleets. 
 Considering therefore all the relative circumstances, I think it a 
 doubtful question whether this change would be of public advan 
 tage, while most certainly it would prove very materially injurious 
 to the Crown. The Crown now has the advantage of the sale 
 occasionally of the renewal of the charter to the Company, and 
 of this it would of course be deprived. I think therefore the 
 conclusion just that the monopoly of the trade and expense of 
 the government will remain with the Company, and that any 
 arrangement the court of London may make with respect to that 
 country will only tend to create dependants on the Crown and 
 
70 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 increase its influence in the Parliament without effecting any 
 material change in the constitution of India. View the prospects 
 of Britain as we will in the East and I cannot see how in any 
 event any arrangements can turn to any great national advantage. 
 Will the population of India increase the number of British citi 
 zens ? Will any Eastern arrangement increase the fleet or add to 
 the army but to guard itself ? I am therefore of opinion that if 
 the court of London are wise they will be cautious how they 
 interpose in the affairs of the East. 
 
 " I am therefore of opinion that the Court of London will still 
 turn her attention to this continent in every consideration she 
 may have in view to add to or increase her national strength. 
 Passion or folly may sometimes govern her councils, but in time 
 she will observe her error and attempt to correct the fault. I 
 think as national advantages are to be derived from it, she will 
 turn her attention to these provinces, and there is a kind of 
 energy in the natives of that country which is not to be found in 
 the peasantry of any of the monarchies of Europe. When any of 
 the countries are overstocked in France or Spain the overplus 
 turn beggars in the street or starve ; but the people of England 
 seek a dwelling in foreign climes and distant countries. I suppose, 
 therefore, these provinces will prove a drain to the surplus of 
 citizens in Great Britain. What will be their policy with respect 
 to these provinces, whether they will extend to them the freedom 
 of the British Constitution, or keep in them a standing army, be 
 this as it may, will it not be a desirable circumstance to us to 
 prevail on them to keep few or no troops in Canada ? Will not 
 this be a proper subject for a convention between us ? But 
 if they will not acceed to it, I still think with you that the 
 defence of the country should be thrown on the militia." 1 
 
 Colonel Mason s friends in Fairfax County were anxious 
 to see him again in the Assembly, and some of them, it 
 seems, in the spring of 1784 were about to take a step that 
 would force him to re-enter the Legislature, as they hoped. 
 Against this proceeding he made a vigorous protest in a 
 letter to his friend Mr. Cockburn, declaring that it was an 
 infringement of his personal liberty : 
 
 1 Gouverneur Collection. The MS. draft is endorsed by Monroe, " Supposed 
 to have been written to Col. George Mason." 
 
COLONEL MASON AND THE COUNTY ELECTION. 71 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, April 18, 1784. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have been lately informed that some people intend to open a 
 poll for me at the election to-morrow in this county. I hope this 
 will not be offered for I have repeatedly declared that I cannot 
 serve the county at this time as one of its representatives. I 
 should look upon such an attempt in no other light than an 
 oppressive and unjust invasion of my personal liberty, and was I 
 to be elected under such circumstances I should certainly refuse to 
 act, be the consequences what they may. I mention this to you 
 in your official capacity as high sheriff of the county, and if a 
 poll is demanded for me I must request the favor of you to 
 inform the people publicly of my resolution, and that such a 
 demand is made against my consent or approbation. If ever 
 I should see a time when I have just cause to think I can render 
 the public essential service and can so arrange my domestic con 
 cerns so as to enable me to leave my family for any length of 
 time, I will most cheerfully let the county know it, but this is not 
 the case in either instance at present. 
 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 Others besides his constituents, as we have seen, wished to 
 recall George Mason to the councils of the State. Madison 
 and Jefferson were still urging changes in the Virginia Con 
 stitution. Madison wrote to his friend on this subject 
 March i6th : " Much will depend on the politics of Mr. 
 Henry which are wholly unknown to me. Should they be 
 adverse, and G. Mason not in the Assembly, hazardous as 
 delay is, the experiment must be put off to a more au 
 spicious conjunction." 1 After the opening of the session 
 he writes from Richmond, deploring Jefferson s departure to 
 Europe at this time, and adds in regard to the contemplated 
 revision of the Constitution: " As Col. Mason remains in 
 private life, the expediency of starting the idea will depend 
 much on the part to be expected from R. H. Lee and Mr. 
 Henry." 
 
 1 Mason Papers. - " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 73. 
 
 " Una., vol. i. , p. 80. 
 
72 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 In the meantime though George Mason was no longer 
 in the Assembly, his State had some work for him to do 
 which he could not refuse to undertake. On the 28th of 
 June the following resolution was introduced in the House 
 of Delegates : 
 
 " Whereas great inconveniences are found to result from the 
 want of some concerted regulations between this State and 
 the State of Maryland, touching the jurisdiction and naviga 
 tion of the river Potomac ; Resolved, That George Mason, Ed 
 mund Randolph, James Madison, jun., and Alexander Henderson, 
 Esqrs. be appointed commissioners ; and that they, or any three 
 of them, do meet such commissioners as may be appointed on 
 the part of Maryland, and in concert with them frame such liberal 
 and equitable regulations concerning the said river, as may be 
 mutually advantageous to the two States ; and that they make 
 report thereof to the General Assembly." 
 
 Questions of trade and revenue were much discussed at 
 this session, and the subject of the British debts still agitated 
 the Assembly and the people. Should the treaty of peace 
 be carried out in all its provisions, while the British still held 
 the western posts, was asked. At the fall session of 1784-5 
 the subject was renewed in the Assembly, and through Madi 
 son s influence, provision was finally made for payments of 
 British debts in seven annual instalments. But the House 
 adjourned before the bill was acted upon, and the matter 
 remained practically unsettled until after the adoption of 
 the Federal Constitution. Other subjects of interest to 
 Colonel Mason brought before this Assembly were the assess 
 ment plan, and resolutions adding to the duties assigned the 
 commission of which he had been appointed a member at 
 the previous session. On the nth of November the House 
 resolved : " That the people of this commonwealth, accord 
 ing to their respective abilities, ought to pay a moderate tax 
 or contribution annually, for the support of the Christian 
 religion, or of some Christian church, denomination or com- 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
VIRGINIA" s PROPOSAL TO PENNSYLVANIA. 73 
 
 munion of Christians, or of some form of Christian wor 
 ship." Patrick Henry, who favored the resolution, was 
 made chairman of the committee appointed to bring in a 
 bill on the subject. Those who opposed the assessment, 
 with Madison at their head, finally induced the Assembly to 
 postpone consideration of the bill until the following Novem 
 ber. It was to be published with a record of the votes upon 
 it, in handbills, and twelve copies given to each member to 
 be distributed in their respective counties, and the people 
 were requested to signify their opinion respecting the adop 
 tion of such a bill to the next session of the Assembly. On 
 the 28th of December the House came to the following 
 resolutions : 
 
 " That the commissioners or any two of them appointed on the 
 twenty-eighth of June last, to concert with commissioners on the 
 part of Maryland, regulations touching the navigation and juris 
 diction of the Potomac, be further authorized to unite with the said 
 commissioners in representing to the State of Pennsylvania, that 
 it is in contemplation of the said two States to promote the clear 
 ing and extending the navigation of the Potomac, from tide water 
 upwards as far as the same may be found practicable ; to open a 
 convenient road from the head of such navigation to the waters 
 running into the Ohio ; and to render the waters navigable as far 
 as may be necessary and proper : That the said works will require 
 great expense, which may not be repaid unless a free use be se 
 cured to the said States and their citizens, of the waters of the 
 Ohio and its branches so far as the same lie within the limits of 
 Pennsylvania. That as essential advantages will accrue from 
 such works, to a considerable portion of said State, it is thought 
 reasonable that the legislature thereof, should by some previous 
 act, engage that for the encouragement of the said works, all articles 
 of produce and merchandise which may be conveyed to or from 
 either of the said two States through either of the said rivers, 
 within the limits of Pennsylvania to or from any place without 
 the said limits, shall pass throughout free from all duties or tolls 
 whatsoever other than such tolls as may be established and be 
 necessary for reimbursing expenses incurred by the State or its 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
74 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASOA r . 
 
 citizens, in clearing, or for defraying the expense of preserving 
 the navigation of the said rivers : And that no articles imported 
 into the State of Pennsylvania through the channel or channels, 
 or any part thereof to be opened as aforesaid and vended or used 
 within the said State, shall be subject to any duties or imposts 
 other than such articles would be subject to if imported into the 
 said State through any other channel whatsoever : That in case 
 a joint representation in behalf of this State and of Maryland 
 shall be rendered by circumstances unattainable, the said com 
 missioners or any two of them, may of themselves make such 
 representations on the subject to the State of Pennsylvania, as 
 will in such event become proper." J 
 
 We obtain a glimpse of Colonel Mason in domestic life, 
 and of the family circle, through a letter to his daughter, 
 Mrs. McCarty, on the death of an infant. The original 
 letter has been carefully preserved by this lady s grand 
 daughter : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, February loth, 1785. 
 MY DEAR CHILD : 
 
 I most sincerely condole with you for the loss of your dear 
 little girl, but it is our duty to submit with all the resignation 
 human nature is capable of to the dispensation of Divine Provi 
 dence which bestows upon us our blessings, and consequently 
 has a right to take them away. A few years experience will con 
 vince us that those things which at the time they happened we 
 regarded as our greatest misfortunes have proved our greatest 
 blessings. Of this awful truth no person has lived to my age 
 without seeing abundant proof. Your dear baby has died inno 
 cent and blameless, and has been called away by an all wise and 
 merciful Creator, most probably from a life of misery and mis 
 fortune, and most certainly to one of happiness and bliss. 
 
 Your sisters are both at Col. Blackburn s and not expected 
 home before Sunday or you should immediately have their com 
 pany. Your brother George and his wife are in Chotanck. I 
 wish you could come to Gunston Hall. In the meantime I would 
 by all means advise you to lose a little blood without delay, and 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
DEATH OF THOMSON MASON. 75 
 
 to take two or three times a day twenty or thirty drops of spirits 
 of lavender of which I send you some by the bearer. I am, my 
 
 dear child, 
 
 Your affectionate father 
 
 GEORGE MASON. 
 
 P. S. Mrs. Mason says your sisters told her they should go 
 to Col. Cook s, and would not be at home before the middle of 
 next week. She begs that you will come to Gunston Hall. 
 
 " Colonel Cooke " was Travers Cooke, of Stafford County, 
 son of Sir John Cooke and grandson of Raleigh Travers. 
 Colonel Cooke s son, John Cooke, married Mary Mason, one 
 of George Mason s daughters. 
 
 In this same month of February, 1785, Colonel Mason lost 
 his brother, Thomson Mason, who died on the 26th, and was 
 buried at his place, " Raspberry Plain," in Loudoun County. 
 He drew up his will shortly before his death. Bailey Wash 
 ington, Jr., was named one of his executors. He describes 
 himself as " Thomson Mason of Stafford County in the 
 Commonwealth of Virginia Esq. : " He begins with the 
 usual solemn formula, giving his soul into the hands of his 
 Creator " to dispose of as His justice and mercy shall think 
 fit, and I humbly beg," adds the testator, " that through the 
 merit and mediation of my blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ 
 the manifold sins I have committed in this life will be for 
 given, and I declare that I have lived and hope to die in the 
 belief of the Christian faith." To his widow, who was his 
 second wife, Thomson Mason left all the estate that came to 
 him through his marriage with her. She had been a Miss 
 Westwood, of Elizabeth City County, and the country-seat, 
 " Errol," in that county, which is mentioned in the will, was 
 probably her patrimony. She was the widow of Dr. Wallace 
 at the time of her marriage with Thomson Mason. Mrs. 
 Mason was to receive a life estate in lands of Thomson 
 Mason on Chappawamic Run, in Stafford County, lying 
 below " lands of the late Mr. Moncure " ; also in another 
 plantation on the same run in Prince William County, lying 
 below the property of Col. Burr Harrison and Robert Carter, 
 
76 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Esq. There were about twelve hundred and twenty acres 
 in the two tracts, and the testator reserved out of them for 
 his son, John Thomson Mason, his choice of fifty acres, " to 
 be laid off in a square for a seat, on which side the run he 
 pleases, so that it does not include the garden, orchard, or 
 any of the housing in the county of Stafford, or any of the 
 low grounds in the same county." John Thomson Mason 
 was to fall heir to this Stafford and Prince William property, 
 eventually, with other lands in the same counties, amounting 
 in all to three thousand acres. This the third son of Thom 
 son Mason made his home later in Maryland, where he 
 owned a beautiful country-seat in Montgomery County, 
 called " Montpelier." He became an eminent lawyer of 
 Maryland. Stevens Thomson, the eldest son of Thomson 
 Mason, was confirmed by his father s will in his possession 
 of " Raspberry Plain," already given him by deed, with the 
 plate and furniture belonging to it. He was also to have a 
 square of four acres of land on which to build a public-house, 
 with certain unimproved lots in the towns of Richmond and 
 Manchester, " which were drawn in the late Colonel Byrd s 
 lottery, by tickets marked with the initials of his mother s or 
 his brother George s name." Stevens Thomson Mason was 
 also to have the ground in Richmond " on which the public 
 storehouse lately stood," together with the money due from 
 the public for its valuation, etc., it having been destroyed 
 during Arnold s raid. Other bequests of houses, lots, etc., 
 were left to the eldest son. And to the second son, Abram 
 Barnes Thomson, his father also left lands in Loudoun 
 County, besides town lots drawn in Colonel Byrd s lottery. 
 
 To his only daughter, Ann Thomson Mason, her father 
 bequeathed certain slaves and a sum of money. She mar 
 ried Richard McCarty Chichester, son of Richard Chichester, 
 of " Newington," and a brother of Sarah Chichester, wife of 
 Thomson Mason, of " Hollin Hall." Mrs. Mason, by her 
 husband s will, was to have the household furniture at 
 " Errol " and at " Chappawamsic," with all the stock at the 
 former place. She was to have also a chariot and harness 
 
EXTRACTS FROM HIS WILL. 77 
 
 and four chariot horses well matched ; also the use of certain 
 slaves, " Silvia," " Catina," and others. A square of one 
 hundred and fifty acres of land in Loudoun County was to be 
 laid off in half-acre lots for a town, and sold to the highest 
 bidder for a term of twenty-one years, with a ground rent of 
 two silver dollars on each lot. The two youngest sons of 
 Thomson Mason, the only children of his second marriage, 
 were very young at the time of their father s death, and in 
 the latter s will, after naming their mother and two of their 
 half-brothers as their guardians, he gives the following in 
 structions as to their education. He desires " that they may 
 be put to learning English at one of their guardian s houses 
 till eight years of age, and that then they be kept at writing, 
 arithmetic, and reading elegant English authors and modern 
 languages till they are twelve years of age, and then to be 
 kept at learning the Latin language, book-keeping, mathe 
 matics, and other useful branches of literature, till the age 
 of eighteen, and then to be put out to such business or pro 
 fession as their geniuses are best calculated for." Thomson 
 Mason then adds a caution against the temptations of the 
 gayer portion of the State. " I positively direct," he says, 
 " that neither of my younger sons, Westwood Thomson 
 Mason or William Temple Thomson Mason, shall reside on 
 the south side of James River or below Williamsburg before 
 they respectively attain the age of twenty-one years, lest 
 they should imbibe more exalted notions of their own 
 importance than I could wish any child of mine to possess." 
 Thomson Mason provides watches for each of his children 
 by name, except Stevens, who it is presumed was already in 
 possession of one. His wife is to have "a new gold watch 
 with an embossed case and equipage, suitable for a lady, of 
 the price of thirty guineas," purchased for her. His own 
 gold watch is to go to the youngest son. Ann Thomson is 
 to have the " equipage that was her mother s," and a gold 
 watch purchased for twenty guineas to go with it. The 
 three other sons are to have each a silver horizontal watch. 
 John is to have his father s brass barrelled pistols. 
 
78 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 A faithful servant was rewarded after the following 
 manner : 
 
 " I direct that my negro man Jack be allowed to settle upon 
 any of my lands in Loudon, Stafford or Prince William and that 
 my executors lay off for him thirty acres of good arable land and 
 ten acres of pasturage to tend a crop for himself, build him a barn 
 of logs twenty feet square and furnish him one cow, two sows, 
 one ewe and a mare of ten pounds value, one bar share plow, one 
 Dutch plow, one broad hoe, one narrow hoe, one axe, one mat 
 tock, five bushels oats, five baskets rye, five bushels of wheat and 
 ten barrels of corn to stock his plantation and set him forward, 
 and let him have one month s work of an able negro man and the 
 loan of my ox cart for the same time to put his little farm in 
 order ; with liberty to get rails and firewood off my adjacent 
 lands." 
 
 In addition to the farm and stock, his master gave Jack 
 the annual sum of six pounds specie. The use of the land 
 was given him for life, the stock forever. He was to be pro 
 tected in all his just rights and " subject to the control of no 
 person whatsoever, and this provision I have made for him," 
 concludes the testator, " as a grateful acknowledgment of the 
 remarkable fidelity and integrity with which he has con 
 ducted himself to me for twenty years and upwards." Jack 
 was to receive also three hundred-weight of pork. To his 
 wife s maid, Catina, if ever she should be parted from her 
 mistress, her master left her two hundred-weight of pork, 
 and certain articles of clothing annually. Certain profits of 
 the estate were to be used " in the purchase of white ser 
 vants, stocks and improvements." Two " indented farming, 
 white servants," who have four or five years to serve, were 
 to be purchased for one of the testator s sons, " provided 
 they do not exceed the price of thirty pounds each." Thom 
 son Mason, like most of the Virginia planters of his day, 
 owned thorough-bred horses and took an interest in the turf. 
 In his will he leaves to his son, John Thomson, his " riding 
 horse Rupert, the young St. George s mare, the two-year-old 
 
PROTEST OF THE FAIRFAX JUSTICES. 79 
 
 sorrel filly, her year-old Sweeper horse colt, and Camilla and 
 her colts." To another son is left, among less distinguished 
 steeds, " a bay Tamerlane colt," and to a third son his 
 " Eclipse bay horse colt." 
 
 In giving directions for his burial, Thomson Mason makes 
 the one allusion to his brother that is found in his will. He 
 desires to be buried at " Raspberry Plain," where his son 
 George lies, and he wishes the remains of his first wife to be 
 brought from " the family burying-ground at my brother s," 
 to be laid beside his own. 
 
 George Mason must have felt this loss keenly. But un 
 fortunately no letters have been preserved which allude to it. 
 And now, while the work of the younger brother was over, 
 the elder one was to come forward into the federal arena in a 
 way that could have been little dreamed of by either of them 
 in 1785. But for two years longer George Mason remained 
 out of the Assembly. In the meantime he was not unem 
 ployed. Two months after his brother s death we find him 
 attending a meeting of the county court of Fairfax, at Alex 
 andria, on the 22d of March, and as the presiding justice, 
 drawing up a protest against what he conceived to be a vio 
 lation of the rights of the court by the executive : 
 
 " 1785, March 22. At a court held for the county of Fairfax. 
 "Present: 
 
 " George Mason, John Gibson, 
 
 Charles Broadwater, David Stuart, 
 
 Alexander Henderson, William Payne, 
 
 George Gilpin, (Gentlemen Justices). 
 
 " A new commission for this county, signed by the Hon. Benj. 
 Harrison Esq: late Governor of this Commonwealth being this 
 day presented and read, whereby the Justices of the county are 
 constituted and appointed de novo, and consequently are required 
 to take the oath of qualifications over again, notwithstanding they 
 1 Will of Thomson Mason (on record at Stafford Court House). Old copy 
 in possession of Arthur Mason Chichester, Loudoun County, Va. 
 
 Volume ii. of Grigsby s " Convention of 1788 " (" Virginia Historical Collec 
 tions," vol. x.) contains sketches of Thomson and Stevens Thomson Mason. 
 
8o LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 had before taken them under the commonwealth, and several of 
 the justices have been many years acting magistrates, by virtue 
 of former commissions, for this county. The court, unanimously 
 refuse to receive, and do protest against the same, for the follow 
 ing reasons &c. 
 
 " P. WAGENER, Clk. Ct. 
 
 " A copy of the protest to be transmitted to the executive." 
 
 The protest goes on to state that they object to such 
 commissions because "of unnecessary multiplication and 
 repetition of oaths, rendering them common and familiar, 
 etc. Because such a commission would afford a dangerous 
 precedent and tend to renew, in this commonwealth, one of 
 the many abuses and arbitrary practices of the late monarchi 
 cal government here, yielding to the secretary an unnecessary 
 fee and to the governor and council an unjust and oppressive 
 power of insulting or turning any man out of his office of a 
 civil magistrate, as prejudice, malice, or caprice might dic 
 tate, without a hearing, or without a cause of complaint 
 against him ; for the constituting and appointing the former 
 acting justices de novo, necessarily implies the power of 
 vacating the former commissions ; that the justices derive 
 their office entirely from the last, and consequently, that by 
 issuing a new commission, and misplacing any man in it, he 
 might lose his rank, and might be degraded from the first to 
 the last justice in the county ; or by leaving out any justice s 
 name he would thenceforward be deprived of his office, both 
 of which, it is notorious, were frequently practised under the 
 former government. Because it is conceived that the exer 
 cise of such a power is altogether illegal, giving to the execu 
 tive power of the State an undue and dangerous influence 
 over the courts of justice, directly contrary to the Declaration 
 of Rights and to the fundamental principles of our free gov 
 ernment. And although this court hath no cause to believe 
 that the present commission was issued for any such evil 
 purposes, yet we should think we were deficient in the duty 
 we owe to our country and to posterity, if we suffered our- 
 
MEETING OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 8 1 
 
 selves to become accessory to establishing a precedent 
 evidently tending to introduce them, and by renewing the 
 oppressive maxims and practices of the government from 
 which we have so lately been rescued by force of arms, 
 to sap the foundations of that liberty which has been pur 
 chased at the expense of so much blood and treasure." 
 
 In this same month of March the commissioners met at 
 Alexandria to settle the jurisdiction of the Chesapeake Bay 
 and the Potomac and Pokomoke rivers. Maryland had sug 
 gested the time and place of meeting, and her commissioners 
 arrived in good season. By some inadvertence, however, 
 the Virginia commissioners were not informed when and 
 where they were to hold the conference, and on this account 
 only George Mason and Alexander Henderson were able to 
 be present. By invitation of General Washington the com 
 missioners adjourned from Alexandria to " Mount Vernon." 
 Ten days before, Washington records in his journal a visit to 
 Colonel Mason and some of his neighbors. Finding Law 
 rence Lewis, who lived at " Woodlawn," away from home, 
 he proceeded to Colonel Mason s, where he " dined and 
 lodged," leaving " Gunston Hall " for Mr. Cockburn s, at 
 " Springfield," about twelve the next day. On the 2oth, 
 the diary relates : 
 
 u Major Jenifer came here to dinner, and my carriage went to 
 Gunston Hall to take Col. Mason to a meeting of commissioners 
 at Alexandria for settling the jurisdiction of Chesapeake Bay and 
 the rivers Potomac and Pokomoke between the States of Virginia 
 and Maryland. The commissioners on the part of Virginia be 
 ing Col. Mason, the Attorney General, Mr. Madison and Mr. 
 Henderson. On that of Maryland, Major Jenifer, Thomas John 
 son, Thomas Stone and Samuel Chase, Esqrs." 2 
 
 Two of the Maryland gentlemen had written to George 
 Mason that they would stop at his house on their way to 
 Alexandria, and they were very probably there at this time. 
 
 1 "Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. iv., p. 16. 
 " 2 MS. Journals, State Department. 
 Vol. II. 6 
 
82 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 On the 24th, General Washington writes : " Sent my car 
 nage to Alexandria for Col. Mason according to appoint 
 ment, who came in about dusk." The next day, the 
 journal continues, about one o clock Major Jenifer, Mr. 
 Stone, Mr. Chase, and Mr. Henderson arrived at " Mount 
 Vernon." This was Friday. Saturday and Monday the 
 commissioners were in session, and Tuesday they all left 
 for their homes. Colonel Mason drove back to " Gunston " 
 in the " Mount Vernon " carriage, " by the return of which/* 
 adds Washington, " he sent me some young shoots of the 
 Persian jessamine and Guelder rose." It is a very meagre 
 chronicle, and one cannot but wish that some of the table- 
 talk at " Mount Vernon " during these four days had been 
 preserved for us. The commission, it will be seen, finished 
 their work on the 28th, having been four days apparently at 
 Alexandria and four at " Mount Vernon." 
 
 On the fifth of April Colonel Mason wrote from " Gunston 
 Hall " to General Washington, sending him a present of 
 some cider. He had broached, he says, four or five hogs 
 heads, and filled the bottles with the best, though there was 
 not much difference, " all being made of Maryland red 
 streak and managed in the same manner." The cider this 
 year is not so clear and fine, he tells his friend, and he does 
 not know the reason except that he had ground his apples 
 last fall later than usual. And Colonel Mason adds: "As 
 the cider in bottles will not ripen for use until late in May, 
 I have also filled a barrell out of the same, which I beg your 
 acceptance of." He recommends that a little ginger should 
 be put in it, as it improves sweet cider ; and he sends Wash 
 ington some watermelon seed which he had promised him. 1 
 Colonel Mason, in this letter, speaks of suffering again with 
 the gout. He had gone back from the convention at " Mount 
 Vernon " to the pleasant home interests and occupations, to 
 the enjoyment of the rural tastes, which he shared with the 
 retired commander-in-chief. But in the meanwhile he was 
 preparing also to give an account to the Assembly of the 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
LETTER TO MADISON. 83 
 
 work undertaken by the commission. The responsibility of 
 its seeming irregularity had fallen upon him, a responsibility 
 he would not evade, and which he felt the circumstances 
 fully justified his assuming. Joseph Jones, however, only 
 expressed a surprise which was natural when he wrote to 
 Madison, June I2th, of the rumor that had reached him on 
 the subject. He says : " I know not whether any copy of the 
 resolution you allude to has been officially communicated to 
 Mr. Mason. Such as Beckley copied for the executive have 
 been, so whether tJiat should have been of the number I can 
 not tell, as we are not yet favored with the journals by the 
 printer, and I cannot inform myself at the clerk s office, Mr. 
 Beckley being out of town." The Assembly now only met 
 once a year, in October, and the resolution referred to was 
 probably the one passed at the last session of the House, 
 when new powers were delegated to the commission ap 
 pointed the previous June. Joseph Jones adds : " I heard, 
 but have only heard, that Mason and Henderson proceeded 
 to execute the other branch of the business committed to 
 the commissioners without the attendance, or call for at 
 tendance, of the other commissioners. What they have done 
 has not come to my knowledge." 
 
 Madison had already written on the 2d of June to George 
 Mason, probably making inquiries on the subject, and the 
 latter sent the following letter of explanation in reply : 
 
 " GUNSTON HALL, August 9th, 1785. 
 " DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I should have answered your favor of the second of June, long 
 ago, had not ill health, and the absence of my sons from home ? 
 disabled me from making out the copies of the proceedings of 
 the Virginia and Maryland Commissioners which I now enclose, 
 and upon which I wish to be favored with your sentiments. 
 
 " We thought ourselves unfortunate in being deprived of yours 
 and my friend the Attorney s assistance, in this important busi 
 ness ; and nothing but absolute necessity should have induced 
 me to enter upon it without you. But the Maryland gentlemen 
 " Letters of Joseph Jones," p. 144. 
 
84 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 would have been much disgusted with a disappointment, after 
 attending at such a distance in very bad weather. We waited 
 some days expecting your arrival in Alexandria, when I received 
 a letter from the Attorney, upon other business, without mention 
 ing a word of the meeting, or of the Assembly s appointment. 
 This convinced us that there must have been some blunder or 
 neglect, in some of the public offices, in not giving the proper 
 notification to the Virginia Commissioners. The Maryland gentle 
 men declared that nothing had been omitted on their part, that 
 they had written an official letter to the Virginia Commissioners 
 (addressed by their governor to the commissioners) proposing 
 the time and place, if agreeable to them ; and if not, desiring 
 they would name some other ; that having received no answer, 
 they took it for granted that the time and place was accepted, 
 and attended accordingly. 
 
 " So great has been the neglect in some of our public depart 
 ments that neither Mr. Henderson or myself had been furnished 
 with copies of the Assembly s resolutions. And I should not have 
 known that I was one of the persons appointed, had I not by mere 
 accident, two or three days before the meeting, been informed of 
 it by two of the Maryland commissioners writing to me that they 
 should endeavor to take my house in their way, and go with me 
 to Alexandria. His Excellency General Washington happened 
 to have a copy of the Assembly s resolutions respecting the ap 
 plication to be made to the government of Pennsylvania, which 
 he very obligingly gave me, by which any two or more of the 
 commissioners were empowered to proceed. And it was natural 
 for us to conclude that these last resolutions had pursued the 
 style of the former respecting the jurisdiction of the two States ; 
 as well as that the subject had been taken up upon the same 
 principles as in the year 1778, when commissioners were directed 
 to settle the jurisdiction of the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers 
 Potomac and Pokomoke 1 ; in which sentiments Mr. Henderson, 
 from what he was able to recollect of the resolutions, concurred. 
 
 " Thus disagreeably circumstanced, only two of the Virginia 
 commissioners present, and without any copy of the resolves upon 
 the principal subject, we thought it better to proceed than to dis- 
 
 1 George Mason, Thomas Ludwell Lee, and James Henry were the Virginia 
 commissioners appointed, 1778. 
 
MARYLAND S SINE QUA NON. 8$ 
 
 appoint the Maryland commissioners ; who appeared to have 
 brought with them the most amicable dispositions, and expressed 
 the greatest desire of forming such a fair and liberal compact, as 
 might prove a lasting cement of friendship between the two 
 States ; which we were convinced it is their mutual interest 
 to cultivate. We therefore upon the particular invitation of the 
 General adjourned to Mount Vernon and finished the business 
 there. Some time after, Mr. Henderson wrote to Mr. Beckley 
 (clerk of the House of Delegates) for a copy of the resolves ; 
 upon receiving which we were surprised to find no mention made 
 of Chesapeake or Pokomoke River, that our powers were confined 
 to Potomac River, and to not less than three of the commissioners. 
 I am still inclined to think that the omission of Chesapeake Bay 
 and Pokomoke River was owing to a mistake or inadvertence, in 
 not attending to the resolves of 1778 ; and, if so, it was perhaps 
 lucky that we had not been furnished with a copy of the resolves ; 
 for the Maryland commissioners had an express instruction from 
 their Assembly to consider the relinquishment, on the part of Vir 
 ginia, of any claim of laying tolls, c., on vessels passing through 
 the capes of Chesapeake as a sine qua non j and if it was refused 
 immediately to break off all further conference with the Virginia 
 commissioners. 
 
 " This blundering business, however, will give me the trouble 
 and expence of a journey to Richmond, next session, to apologize 
 for and explain our conduct ; where, if the substance of the com 
 pact is approved by the Assembly, I hope forms will be dispensed 
 with, especially as the breach of them has been the fault of some 
 of their own officers, not ours, and as I am conscious of our hav 
 ing been influenced by no other motives than the desire of 
 promoting the public good." 
 
 With this letter George Mason sent to Madison drafts of 
 the communication of the Virginia commissioners to the As 
 sembly, stating briefly the points that had been settled ; and 
 also the letter to the president of the Executive Council of 
 Pennsylvania from the commission on the subject of co 
 operation with Virginia and Maryland. 2 The following 
 memorandum was added as a postscript to the letter to 
 
 1 Madison MSS.. State Department. 2 Appendix i. 
 
86 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Madison. The suggested correction or alteration in the 
 compact was not made, however, as may be seen by refer 
 ence to the law in the Virginia and Maryland codes. 
 
 " Memorandum. The concluding clause of the seventh article 
 of the compact is not so clearly expressed as it ought to be, and 
 is capable of a construction which was not intended ; and though 
 it would be a strained and unnatural one, it had better be re 
 moved. The words are provided, &c., and that the citizens of 
 neither State shall have a right to fish with nets or seins upon the 
 shores of the other. This may be construed to restrain the citi 
 zens of either State, having lands upon the river in the other, 
 from fishing with nets or seins upon their own shores ; which 
 would be unreasonable and unjust , although in its present form, 
 it seems to be the grammatical construction. The addition of 
 two or three words will set it right thus : And that the citizens 
 of neither State shall have a right to fish with nets or seins upon 
 the shores of the citizens of the other. I never observed this cir 
 cumstance till very lately, or I am sure I could easily have had it 
 altered by the Maryland commissioners, at any time before the 
 meeting of their Assembly. The fisheries upon Potomac River 
 are becoming a very important object, and therefore I could wish 
 the above clause in the compact properly amended. If the 
 amendment goes no farther than I have mentioned, it will occa 
 sion no objection from Maryland, and I wish the article to be no 
 otherwise altered, for this was the most difficult business we had 
 to settle with the Maryland commissioners. The idea of the 
 right of fishing on both shores of Potomac River is one the 
 Marylanders are not fond of parting with ; and I trust it will be 
 found we have obtained everything for Virginia, with respect to 
 Potomac River, which she can desire. The exceptionable part 
 of the article before mentioned was really a mistake. Not hav 
 ing time now to write to my friend the Attorney upon this 
 subject, Mr. Madison will be pleased to mention it to him. 
 
 " And I shall be particularly obliged to Mr. Madison to inform 
 me what is done with respect to the Northern Neck, on the sub 
 ject of the records in the late proprietor s office, entering, or 
 resurveying lands, quit-rents, &c. 
 
RELIGIOUS ASSESSMENT CONTROVERSY. 8/ 
 
 Another subject which interested George Mason at this 
 time was the Assessment Bill. Its fate was to be decided at 
 the next session of the Assembly, and so energetically did 
 its enemies work against it, its rejection was readily secured. 
 To George Mason, in great part, this success was due. 
 Madison, in a letter to one of Colonel Mason s grandsons, 
 written in 1826, gives the following account of the matter: 
 
 " During the session of the General Assembly, 1784-5, a bill 
 was introduced into the House of Delegates, providing for the 
 legal support of Teachers of the Christian Religion, and being 
 patronized by the most popular talents in the House, seemed 
 likely to obtain a majority of votes. In order to arrest its 
 progress, it was insisted with success, that the bill should be 
 postponed till the ensuing session ; and in the meantime be 
 printed for public consideration. That the sense of the people 
 might be better called forth, your highly distinguished ancestor, 
 Col. George Mason, Col. George Nicholas, also possessing 
 much public weight, and some others thought it advisable that 
 a remonstrance against the bill should be prepared for general 
 circulation and signature, and imposed on me the task of draw 
 ing up such a paper. The draught having received their sanction, 
 a large number of printed copies were distributed, and so exten 
 sively signed by the people of every religious denomination, that at 
 the ensuing session the projected measure was entirely frustrated, 
 and under the influence of the public sentiment thus manifested 
 the celebrated bill Establishing Religious Freedom created 
 into a permanent barrier against future attempts on the rights of 
 conscience, as declared in the great charter prefixed to the Con 
 stitution of the State." 
 
 The fact of Madison s authorship of the " Remonstrance " 
 was not generally known until after his death, and there 
 were some persons in Virginia who attributed it to George 
 Mason. 2 Colonel Mason probably wrote to a number of his 
 friends enclosing them this paper for signature, and two of 
 
 MS. Letter. Compare Rives " Madison," vol. i., p. 631. 
 2 Oration of Mr. Williams on the death of Madison. 
 

 88 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 these letters, written, the first part of them, in identical 
 terms, one to General Washington and one to Robert Carter 
 of " Nomini," are preserved. The letter to Washington is 
 as follows : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, October 2cl, 1785. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I take the liberty of enclosing you a Memorial and Remon 
 strance to the General Assembly, confided to me by a particular 
 friend whose name I am not at liberty to mention ; and as the 
 principles it avows entirely accord with my sentiments on the 
 subject (which is a very important one), I have been at the 
 charge of printing several copies to disperse in the different 
 parts of the country. You will easily perceive that all manner of 
 declamation and address to passions have been avoided, as unfair 
 in themselves, and improper for such a subject ; and although 
 the Remonstrance is long, that brevity has been aimed at, but the 
 field is extensive. 
 
 If upon consideration, you approve the arguments and the 
 principles upon which they are founded, your signature will both 
 give the Remonstrance weight, and do it honor. I would have 
 waited on you personally upon this occasion, but have been so 
 shattered by a late violent fit of the convulsive cholic, com 
 plicated with the gout in my stomach, that I am hardly able to 
 walk across the floor. The bearer will deliver you a packet 
 inclosing another copy for my friend Doctor Stuart. I am in 
 hopes he and his colleague will endeavor to forward the sub 
 scriptions in this county. Mrs. Mason, and the family here, pre 
 sent their compliments to you, your lady and Miss Bassett, with, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 In the letter to Robert Carter, George Mason says : 
 
 " If upon consideration you approve the reasoning and the 
 principles upon which it is founded, I make no doubt you will 
 endeavor to promote the subscriptions in your part of the 
 country ; if they can be completed, and the Remonstrance 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT. 89 
 
 sent down to the Assembly, by the first or second week in 
 November, I presume it will be in good time." 
 
 Washington wrote in reply to Colonel Mason : 
 
 MOUNT VERNON, October 3d, 1785. 
 
 I have this moment received yours of yesterday s date, enclos 
 ing a memorial and remonstrance against the Assessment Bill, 
 which I will read with attention. At present I am unable to do 
 it, on account of company. The bill itself I do not recollect 
 ever to have read ; with attention I am certain I never did, but 
 will compare them together. 
 
 Although no man s sentiments are more opposed to any kind 
 of restraint upon religious principles than mine are, yet I must 
 confess, that I am not amongst the number of those, who are so 
 much alarmed at the thoughts of making people pay towards the 
 support of that which they profess, if of the denomination 
 of Christians, or declare themselves Jews, Mahometans, or other 
 wise, and thereby obtain proper relief. As the matter now 
 stands, I wish an assessment had never been agitated, and as it 
 has gone so far, that the bill could die an easy death ; because I 
 think it will be productive of more quiet to the State, than by 
 enacting it into a law, which in my opinion would be impolitic 
 admitting there is a decided majority for it, to the disquiet of a 
 respectable minority. In the former case, the matter will soon 
 subside ; in the latter, it will rankle and perhaps convulse the 
 State. The dinner bell rings, and I must conclude with an 
 expression of my concern for your indisposition. 
 
 Sincerely and affectionately, I am, &c. 2 
 
 Councillor Carter s answer to George Mason was a more 
 emphatic condemnation of the proposed law. He wrote 
 from " Nomony Hall," October 15, 1785 : 
 
 " SIR : 
 
 " Your favor inclosing a copy of a Remonstrance and Memo 
 rial against a bill for establishing a provision for teachers of the 
 Christian religion was put into my hands this day. The violence 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
 2 "Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. xii., Appendix, p. 404. 
 
go LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 offered therein to the Declaration of Rights and the presumptu 
 ous aid intended to Christ s visible church below, were very 
 alarming and in the month of last June I joined some persons 
 in the lower counties in this neck in offering to the people, there, 
 a petition addressed to the General Assembly noting therein some 
 reasons against the bill and praying that it might be rejected. I 
 fully intend to present to the people to-morrow the Remonstrance 
 and Memorial." l 
 
 Many of the Virginia statesmen, however, still clung to the 
 principle of some compulsory law for the support of religion. 
 Edmund Randolph, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and 
 John Page of " Rosewell," afterwards Governor of Virginia, 
 all of them members of the Church of England, favored an 
 assessment by the State for this purpose. John Page wrote 
 to Jefferson in August, 1785 : " We have endeavored eight 
 years in vain to support the rational sects by voluntary con 
 tributions/ And the clergy of the former establishment 
 were many of them without the means of remaining in their 
 parishes. Yet churchmen such as George Mason, Madison, 
 and George Nicholas looked beyond the exigencies of the 
 hour, and were ready to sacrifice present convenience for the 
 sake of the principle involved. And theirs, which was the 
 religion of a majority of the landed gentry, was, of course, 
 the " rational sect " which suffered most from the new order 
 of things. 
 
 Colonel Mason wrote to Washington early in November, 
 making reference to the proceedings of the Assembly then 
 in session : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, gth November, 1785. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 The bearer waits on you with a side of venison (the first we 
 have killed this season), which I beg your acceptance of. 
 
 I have heard nothing from the Assembly except vague reports 
 of their being resolved to issue a paper currency ; upon what 
 principles or funds I know not ; perhaps upon the old threadbare 
 security of pledging solemnly the public credit. I believe such 
 
 1 Carter Letter-Books. 
 
LETTER TO WASHINGTON. 91 
 
 an experiment would prove similar to the old vulgar adage of 
 carrying a horse to the water. They may pass a law to issue it, 
 but twenty laws will not make people receive it. 
 
 I intended to go down to Richmond about the fifteenth of the 
 month to have reported the compact with the Maryland commis 
 sioners, but I have lately had so severe a fit of the convulsive 
 colic, or the gout, in my stomach, that I dare not venture far 
 from home ; it held me from Sunday evening till Tuesday morn 
 ing, and has left me so weak that I am hardly able to walk across 
 the floor. 
 
 We hope to hear that you, your lady, and family are well ; to 
 whom Mrs. Mason and the family here present their best compli 
 ments, with those of, dear sir, 
 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 Washington, in his diary, records a visit made to Colonel 
 Mason on the 25th of this month. He writes : " Set out 
 after breakfast, accompanied by Mr. G. Washington to make 
 Mr. Mason at Colchester a visit, but hearing on the road that 
 he had removed from there I turned in to Gunston Hall 
 where we dined and returned in the evening." a The two 
 friends doubtless discussed Assembly affairs, the Assessment 
 Bill, the paper-money question, the commercial compact with 
 Maryland, etc. 
 
 Madison had visited " Mount Vernon " early in Septem 
 ber and also on the I2th of October, staying until the I4th, 
 as we learn from Washington s diary. And it was probably 
 on the latter occasion that he went also to " Gunston Hall." 
 The constant attacks of illness, of which Colonel Mason 
 makes mention in his letters at this time, had prevented him 
 from going to Richmond with the report of the commission, 
 which he wished to lay before the Assembly, so he was 
 obliged to send it in a letter to the Speaker of the House. 
 He wrote, about the same time, to Madison : 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. Bancroft s " History of the Consti 
 tution," vol. i., Appendix, p. 468. 
 8 MS. Journals, Toner Transcripts. 
 
92 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, December yth, 1785. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have had such frequent fits of the convulsive colic, compli 
 cated with the gout in the stomach, since you were here, that I 
 dare not undertake a journey to Richmond ; and therefore, after 
 putting it off as long as I well could, in hopes of recovering such 
 health as would permit me to present the compact with the State 
 of Maryland, in person, I have now inclosed it in a letter to the 
 Speaker. I incurred a small expense of ^3 15 9, in waiting 
 three or four days in Alexandria for the Maryland commissioners ; 
 which the Assembly may repay me if they please, otherwise I am 
 very well satisfied without it. I also incurred an expense equal 
 to about ^5 in specie, attending the committee upon the revisal 
 of the laws in Fredericksburg, and about double that sum in 
 Williamsburg, at different times, after the sessions of Assembly 
 ended, in collecting evidence, and cross examining witnesses be 
 tween the Commonwealth and Colonel Richard Henderson, in 
 the cause which I was directed to manage, by a vote of both 
 Houses ; but I never made any particular account of it. 
 
 I must intreat you, if you find it necessary, to make my apology 
 to the Assembly for having rather exceeded our authority. I gave 
 you the reasons in a former letter, soon after the meeting of the 
 commissioners ; but least you should not recollect them, I will 
 repeat them. . . . My paper draws to an end, and leaves me 
 only room to beg your attention to the inclosed memorandum, to 
 express my desire of hearing from you on the subject of the com 
 pact, and such other public matters as you may have time to com 
 municate, as soon as convenience will permit ; and to assure you 
 that I am with the most sincere esteem and regard, 
 
 Dear sir, 
 Your affectionate friend and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 On the 1 3th of December the Speaker laid before the 
 House a letter from George Mason, Esq., enclosing the pro 
 ceedings of the commissioners o n the compact between the 
 States of Virginia and Maryland respecting the jurisdiction 
 and navigation of the rivers Potomac and Pokomoke ; which 
 
 1 Madison MSS., State Department. 
 
THE ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION. 93 
 
 were read and referred to the Committee on Commerce, and, 
 on the 3Oth, the bill to ratify the compact passed the House. 1 
 The compact consisted of a dozen articles on the jurisdiction 
 of the Chesapeake Bay and the two rivers mentioned, cover 
 ing the items of tolls, fisheries, lighthouses, buoys, piracies, 
 etc. And the letter to the Speaker from the Virginia com 
 missioners opened up other and wider views of the commis 
 sion : such as the regulation of gold and silver money passing 
 current in the two States, bills of exchange, etc., duties on 
 imports or exports, which it was proposed should be settled 
 by an annual commission, appointed by the legislatures of 
 the two States, the number of the commissioners to be not 
 less than three or more than five from each State. The 
 conference at " Mount Vernon," as it proved, was the first 
 step in the direction of a new federal government. Mary 
 land, in ratifying the compact and supplementary report of 
 the commission, proposed that Pennsylvania and Delaware 
 should be invited to unite in the same commercial system. 
 The Virginia legislature went still further. On the 2ist of 
 January, 1786, at the close of the session, the following 
 resolution passed the House : 
 
 " That Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Walter Jones, 
 St. George Tucker, and Meriwether Smith be appointed com 
 missioners, who, or any of them, shall meet such commissioners 
 as may be appointed by the other States of the Union at a time 
 and place to be agreed on, to take into consideration the trade of 
 the United States ; to examine the relative situations and trade 
 of the said States ; to consider how far a uniform system in their 
 commercial regulations may be necessary to their common inter 
 est and their permanent harmony ; and to report to the several 
 States, such an act relative to this great object as, when unani 
 mously ratified by them, will enable the United States in Congress 
 effectually to provide for the same." a 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. This letter of George Mason to the Speaker, 
 etc. (as in the Madison MSS.), is in the State Library, Richmond. 
 8 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
94 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 At first only three commissioners were named, Tucker 
 and Smith were then added by the House, and when the 
 resolution was sent to the Senate it was amended by the 
 addition of three others George Mason, William Ronald, 
 and David Ross. Ronald s name was struck out at his own 
 desire, but the rest stood. Madison thought that there were 
 too many, and that the multitude of associates would " stifle 
 the thing in its birth and was probably meant to do so." 1 
 
 There had been much excitement in the Assembly over 
 the question of regulating trade ; on the one hand, lest the 
 power of the States should be abridged, and, on the other, 
 lest the power of Congress should be inadequate to the pur 
 poses for which the Union had been formed. Mr. Tyler 
 introduced the proposition of a convention at the last 
 moment, having vainly sought an earlier opportunity to 
 effect his object. To invest Congress with the means of 
 regulating commerce, and yet insure certain qualifying 
 clauses, it was thought would satisfy both the friends of 
 Congress and the upholders of the rights of the States. 
 Colonel Mason s opinions on the subject were not clearly 
 known. It was suspected that he was adverse to a stronger 
 Union, and those who favored it desired to obtain an influ 
 ence so important. Monroe wrote to Madison from New 
 York, where Congress was in session, on the 3d of Septem 
 ber : " I consider the convention of Annapolis as a most 
 important era in our affairs. . . . Prevail, I beg of you, 
 on Colonel Mason to attend the convention. It will give 
 him data to act on afterward in the State." 2 The conven 
 tion met on the nth of September, 1786, but George Mason 
 did not attend, doubtless on account of the attacks of gout, 
 from which he still suffered. Commissioners were present 
 from four States only New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl 
 vania, and Virginia. Edmund Randolph, Madison, and 
 St. George Tucker were the three delegates who at- 
 
 1 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 217. The names do not appear in the 
 printed journal of the Senate. 
 
 2 Rives " Life of Madison," vol. ii., p. 123. 
 
FREE NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 95 
 
 tended from Virginia. The convention adjourned on the 
 I4th, proposing that all the States should meet in the 
 following May at Philadelphia " to render the Constitution 
 adequate to the exigencies of the Union." 
 
 Monroe was uneasy at this time concerning the projects 
 of Jay and his party. He saw in them an attempt to break 
 up the Union, and he wrote to the prominent men in Vir 
 ginia to ascertain and influence their views on the subject. 
 In a letter to Madison of the 2Qth of September, he says: 
 
 " I wrote some weeks since to Colonel Mason upon this 
 subject, at the time I wrote Governor Henry, but have received 
 no answer from him, from which circumstance, as well as that 
 of R. H. Lee s being in the opposite sentiment, there is room to 
 conjecture he is not with us." 
 
 It was generally taken for granted, it seems, that Lee and 
 Mason would concur in their political views. General Henry 
 Lee, who was in Congress at this time, also wrote to General 
 Washington, incidentally giving his testimony to the con 
 sideration in which George Mason was held, and the desire 
 that was felt to bring him back into public life. In regard 
 to the navigation of the Mississippi, which Spain, in the pro 
 jected treaty with her Jay was negotiating, proposed to close 
 to the United States for thirty years, he says : " Should this 
 matter come before our Assembly, much will depend on Mr. 
 Mason s sentiments." And Washington replies on the 3ist : 
 
 " Colonel Mason is at present in a fit of the gout. What 
 his sentiments on the subject are, I know not, nor whether he 
 will be able to attend the Assembly during the present session. 
 For some reasons, however, which need not be mentioned, I am 
 inclined to believe he will advocate the navigation of that river." * 
 
 There was another subject on which much was expected 
 from George Mason ; this was the question of emitting 
 
 1 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. ii., p. 397. 
 
 2 " Correspondence of the American Revolution," Sparks, vol. iv., p. 140; 
 " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 205. 
 
g6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 paper money. And on the I2th of August Madison had 
 written to Jefferson, referring to the action of the several 
 States who advocated the measure : " Whether Virginia is to 
 remain exempt from the epidemic malady, will depend on 
 the ensuing Assembly. My hopes rest chiefly on the exer 
 tions of Colonel Mason, and the failure of the experiment 
 elsewhere." Bancroft says that aided by an unfavorable 
 balance of trade and the burden of heavy taxation, an effort, 
 it was known, would be made by Meriwether Smith and 
 others to issue a paper medium in 1786: " Aware of the 
 danger, Washington insisted that George Mason should be 
 a candidate for the Assembly ; and his election proved 
 a counterpoise to the public cry." : Colonel Mason had not 
 consented to serve again in the Assembly, but the honor 
 was forced upon him ; and Washington, in his journal of 
 April 17, 1786, speaks of going "up to Alexandria to an 
 election of delegates to represent the county, Colo. Mason 
 and Doctr. Stuart elected." And he adds, the "suffrages 
 of the people fell upon the first contrary to, and after 
 he had declared he could not serve, and on the other 
 whilst he was absent at Richmond. Capt. West who 
 had offered his services and was present was rejected. 
 The votes were, for Col. Mason 109, for Dr. Stuart 105, 
 and for Capt. West 84." 3 George Mason s health did not 
 permit him to attend at this year s session of the Assembly, 
 but he was present the following October. The question of 
 paper money was brought up 1786-7, and was defeated ; 
 its emission was denounced as " unjust, impolitic, and de 
 structive of public confidence, and of that virtue which is the 
 basis of republican government." 4 George Nicholas headed 
 the long list of those who voted in favor of this resolution, 
 and doubtless George Mason s influence was felt here, as in 
 the assessment controversy, though he was not present. On 
 
 1 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 245. 
 
 - " History of the Constitution," vol. i., p. 238. 
 
 3 Washington s MS. Journals. Toner Transcripts. 
 
 4 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
APPOINTED A DELEGATE TO PHILADELPHIA. 97 
 
 the 4th of December, 1786, the Assembly appointed seven 
 deputies to the convention in Pennsylvania, George Wash 
 ington, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, 
 James Madison, George Mason, and George Wythe. 1 Pat 
 rick Henry declined the appointment, and James McClurg 
 was nominated in his place. 
 
 But one letter of George Mason s, written in 1786, has 
 been preserved. This was addressed to " Col. John Fitz 
 gerald, Merchant in Alexandria." It is on the subject of 
 Colonel Mason s tobacco shipments to Bordeaux, where he 
 hears of the failure of a certain house to which his consign 
 ments had been sent : " I should think," he writes, " it will 
 be proper for me, without loss of time, to write to some 
 merchant of credit in Bordeaux, authorizing him to take 
 possession of the tobacco and sell it on my account, for 
 which purpose perhaps a power of attorney from me may 
 be necessary in case the authority merely of a letter should 
 be disputed. Mercantile transactions are so out of my line 
 of life that I am really at a loss how to proceed, and shall 
 be obliged to you for your advice." 2 
 
 The year 1787 was to bring George Mason out of his 
 retirement into a wider field of action than he had ever 
 before entered. He had come forward at the call of his 
 State to serve in the Federal Convention, a council to which 
 all were now anxiously looking as the final effort to amend 
 the Union. It was to meet in Philadelphia in May. Madi 
 son, who was an ardent advocate of a stronger federal gov 
 ernment, wrote from Congress to Jefferson on the 2$d of 
 April : 
 
 " The prospect of a full and respectable convention grows 
 stronger every day. . . . Our Governor, Mr. Wythe, Mr. 
 Blair, and Col. Mason will pretty certainly attend. The last, 
 I am informed, is renouncing his errors on the subject of the 
 confederation, and means to take an active part in the amend 
 ment of it." 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 2 MS. Letter. 
 
 Vol. II. 7 
 
98 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Colonel Mason s " errors," in the eyes of Madison, con 
 sisted undoubtedly in his wholesome fears of drawing too 
 tight the bonds of union. With Patrick Henry and Richard 
 Henry Lee he was jealous of unnecessary encroachments on 
 the sovereignty of Virginia. Edmund Randolph, then gov 
 ernor, was at this time of the same party. The following 
 letters were written to Edmund Randolph in reply to the 
 latter, who had given Colonel Mason notice of the time 
 appointed for the meeting of the convention, and informed 
 him that the money to defray his expenses would be pro 
 vided by the State. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, April i2th, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have received your favour, notifying the time appointed for 
 the meeting of the deputies of the different States in the city 
 of Philadelphia, and informing me that the money was ready in 
 the treasury to be advanced us, for defraying our expenses ; this 
 last is, at present, an article of such importance to me, that 
 without it, I could hardly have attended ; having been dis 
 appointed in the payment of several sums of tobacco sold ; so 
 that I have lately been obliged to commence suits in Virginia 
 and Maryland, for nearly the amount of six thousand pounds, 
 upon contracts, in which I expected punctuality. 
 
 I have desired the bearer, my neighbor Col. Wagener, to 
 bring me up, from the treasury, the sum of sixty pounds. 
 Should our stay in Philadelphia prove shorter than I expect, 
 whatever money may remain, more than my due, shall be punc 
 tually returned. You will oblige me exceedingly in giving what 
 ever directions may be necessary from the Executive, for remit 
 ting the said sum of sixty pounds to me by Col. Wagener ; as I 
 shall not probably meet with another safe hand, in time. 
 
 I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing you at Gunston 
 Hall, on your way to Philadelphia ; and have the honor to be, 
 with greatest respect, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 1 MS. Letter. The address is missing in the original. 
 
LETTERS TO EDMUND KANDOLPII. 99 
 
 C.UNSTON HALL, April 23d, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have received your favor by Col. Wagener with the sum of 
 sixty pounds from the treasury. I was unacquainted with the 
 sum allotted for each deputy, and was afraid of exceeding it. 
 Considering the number of deputies from the different States, 
 the great distance of some of them, and the probability that we 
 may be obliged to wait many days before a full meeting can be 
 obtained, we may, perhaps, be much longer from home than I at 
 first expected. I will, therefore, accept your very obliging offer 
 of getting the balance of the sum of ^100 (vizt.^4o), invested 
 for me in Philadelphia Bank notes, or good notes on Mr. Robert 
 Morris, either of which, I presume, will be equal to cash in the 
 city of Philadelphia, and you will do me the favor to bring them 
 up with you. Whatever remains more than our allowance of six 
 dollars per day, shall be punctually returned to the treasury. 
 
 I think to set out time enough to spend a day or two in 
 Annapolis, in order to have a little conversation with some of the 
 Maryland deputies on the subject of the convention, and if 
 the weather proves fine to cross the bay there ; otherwise to go 
 through Baltimore. I expect to have the pleasure of seeing you 
 at Gunston Hall on your way, and if you will do me the favor to 
 let me know at what time to expect you, I will regulate my 
 movements accordingly. I am, with the greatest regard and 
 esteem, dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 (r. MASON. 1 
 
 1 "Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. iv., p. 272. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IN THE FEDERAL CONVENTION. 
 May-July, 1787. 
 
 Of the Convention which framed the Constitution of the 
 United States, Flanders says : 
 
 " Over its deliberations presided Washington ; the genial 
 wisdom of Franklin illustrated its debates ; the trained mind, 
 extensive information and reflective habits of Madison ; the 
 fertile resources, the ready and trenchant talents of Gouverneur 
 Morris ; the liberal views and sound sense of Charles Cotesworth 
 Pinckney ; the inflexible integrity and unbending republicanism of 
 Colonel Mason ; the penetrating mind and persuasive eloquence 
 of Rufus King, were all displayed on this conspicuous theatre, 
 and more or less determined the course and result of the Con 
 vention." 
 
 To this brilliant assemblage we now follow the subject of 
 our memoir. Colonel Mason arrived in Philadelphia the 
 1 7th of May, and two letters of his to George Mason, Jr., 
 and one to Arthur Lee, bring us to the threshold of the new 
 scene in which he was to act such a conspicuous part. 
 
 " PHILADELPHIA, May 2oth, 1787. 
 " DEAR GEORGE : 
 
 " Upon our arrival here on Thursday evening, seventeenth May, 
 I found only the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania fully repre 
 sented ; and there are at this time only five New York, the two 
 Carolinas, and the two before mentioned. All the States, Rhode 
 
 1 "Chief Justices of the United States," vol. ii., p. 127. 
 
LETTER TO HIS SON GEORGE. IOI 
 
 Island excepted, have made their appointments ; but the mem 
 bers drop in slowly ; some of the deputies from the Eastern 
 States are here, but none of them have yet a sufficient represen 
 tation, and it will probably be several days before the Convention 
 will be authorized to proceed to business. The expectations and 
 hopes of all the Union centre in this Convention. God grant 
 that we may be able to concert effectual means of preserving 
 our country from the evils which threaten us. 
 
 " The Virginia deputies (who are all here) meet and confer 
 together two or three hours every day, in order to form a proper 
 correspondence of sentiments ; and for form s sake, to see what 
 new deputies are arrived, and to grow into some acquaintance 
 with each other, we regularly meet every day at three o clock. 
 These and some occasional conversations with the deputies of 
 different States, and with some of the general officers of the late 
 army (who are here upon a general meeting of the Cincinnati), ;ij 
 are the only opportunities I have hitherto had of forming any * 
 opinion upon the great subject of our mission, and, consequently, I 
 a very imperfect and indecisive one. Yet, upon the great princi-i 
 pies of it, I have reason to hope there will be greater unanimity 
 and less opposition, except from the little States, than was at first 
 apprehended. The most prevalent idea in the principal States 
 seems to be a total alteration of the present federal system, and 
 substituting a great national council or parliament, consisting of 
 two branches of the legislature, founded upon the principles of 
 equal proportionate representation, with full legislative powers 
 upon all the subjects of the Union ; and a&. executive : and to 
 make the several State legislatures subordinate to the national, 
 by giving the latter the power of a negative upon all such laws 
 as they shall judge contrary to the interest of the federal Union. 
 It is easy to foresee that there will be much difficulty in organizing 
 a government upon this great scale, and at the same time reserv 
 ing to the State legislatures a sufficient portion of power for 
 promoting and securing the prosperity and happiness of their 
 respective citizens ; yet with a proper degree of coolness, liberal 
 ity and candor (very rare commodities by the bye), I doubt not 
 but it may be effected. There are among a variety some very f 
 eccentric opinions upon this great subject ; and what is a very | 
 extraordinary phenomenon, we are likely to find the republicans, f 
 
102 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 on this occasion, issue from the Southern and Middle States, and 
 the anti-republicans from the Eastern ; however extraordinary 
 this may at first seem, it may, I think be accounted for from a 
 very common and natural impulse of the human mind. Men 
 disappointed in expectations too hastily and sanguinely formed^ 
 tired and disgusted with the unexpected evils they have experi 
 enced, and anxious to remove them as far as possible, are very 
 apt to run into the opposite extreme ; and the people of the 
 Eastern States, setting out with more republican principles, have 
 consequently been more disappointed than we have been. 
 
 " We found travelling very expensive from eight to nine 
 dollars per day. In this city the living is cheap. We are at the 
 old Indian Queen in Fourth Street, where we are very well accom 
 modated, have a good room to ourselves, and are charged only 
 twenty-five Pennsylvania currency per day, including our servants 
 and horses, exclusive of club in liquors and extra charges ; so 
 that I hope I shall be able to defray my expenses with my public 
 allowance, and more than that I do not wish." 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, May 21, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I take the opportunity by Col. Carrington of returning the 
 papers you left in my hands, when I had the pleasure of your 
 company at Gunston Hall. 
 
 I arrived in this city on Thursday evening last, but found so 
 few of the deputies here from the several States that I am unable 
 to form any certain opinion on the subject of our mission. The 
 most prevalent idea I think at present is a total change of the 
 federal system, and instituting a great national council or parlia 
 ment upon the principles of equal, proportionate representation, 
 consisting of two branches of the legislature invested with full 
 legislative powers upon the objects of the Union ; and to make 
 the State legislatures subordinate to the national by giving to the 
 latter a negative upon all such laws as they judge contrary to the 
 principles and interest of the Union ; to establish also a national 
 executive, and a judiciary system with cognizance of all such mat 
 ters as depend upon the law of nations, and such other objects as 
 the local courts of justice may be inadequate to. 
 
 1 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. ii., Appendix, p. 421. 
 
LETTER TO ARTHUR LEE. 1 03 
 
 I shall do myself the honor of corresponding with you from 
 time to time, and shall be much obliged to you for your senti 
 ments upon the important subjects that will be agitated in this 
 Convention, upon which the prosperity and the safety of our 
 country will so materially depend. 
 
 I have received your favor by Major Jackson ; nothing that I 
 have heard has yet been mentioned upon this subject among the 
 deputies now here ; though I understand there are several candi 
 dates, which I am surprised at, as the office will be of so short 
 duration, and merely honorary, or possibly introductory to some 
 thing more substantial. 
 
 I am with the greatest esteem and regard 
 
 Dear Sir 
 Your most obedient servant 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 The Honorable Arthur Lee, Esq : 
 New York. 1 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, May 27, 1787. 
 DEAR GEORGE : 
 
 T wrote you by the post a few days after my arrival in this 
 city. I shall be glad to know whether my letter has come safe 
 to hand, as also the letters I wrote from Baltimore to your 
 brothers William and Thomson, to which I have not yet received 
 any answer. I wish to be informed also whether you have had 
 any good rains and what prospect of the crops of wheat and 
 tobacco. It is impossible to judge how long we shall be de 
 tained here, but from present appearances I fear until July, if 
 not later. I begin to grow heartily tired of the etiquette and 
 nonsense so fashionable in this city. It would take me some 
 months to make myself master of them, and that it should 
 require months to learn what is not worth remembering as many 
 minutes, is to me so discouraging a circumstance as determines 
 me to give myself no manner of trouble about them. I have not 
 yet been able to do anything respecting your brother John, and 
 fear I shall meet with much difficulty on that subject. 
 
 1 MS. Letter (published in " Life of A. Lee," vol. ii., p. 319). On the same 
 sheet of the original are given seven amendments to the Constitution in the 
 handwriting of Arthur Lee. See Appendix ii. The biographer of Arthur Lee 
 regrets " the loss of the residue of the valuable letters of ( .. Mason." 
 
104 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 We had yesterday, for the first time, a representation of seven 
 States New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vir- 
 ginia, and the two Carolinas, and it is expected that the deputies 
 from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Georgia will be here by 
 Monday or Tuesday. The State of Rhode Island has refused 
 to appoint deputies, and although New Hampshire has appointed 
 it is thought we shall be deprived of their representation by no 
 provision having been made for defraying their expenses. The 
 State of Delaware has tied up the hands of her deputies by an 
 express direction to retain the principle in the present Con 
 federation of each State having the same vote ; no other State, 
 so far as we have yet seen, hath restrained its deputies on any 
 subject. 
 
 Nothing was done yesterday but unanimously appointing 
 General Washington President ; Major Jackson (by a majority of 
 five States to two) Secretary ; reading the credentials from the 
 different States on the floor, and appointing a committee to draw 
 up and report the rules of proceeding. It is expected our doors 
 will be shut, and communications upon the business of the Con 
 vention be forbidden during its sitting. This I think myself a 
 proper precaution to prevent mistakes and misrepresentation 
 until the business shall have been completed, when the whole 
 may have a very different complexion from that in which the 
 several crude and indigested parts might in their first shape 
 appear if submitted to the public eye. 
 
 Present me kindly to Betsy, to the family at Gunston, to Mr. 
 McCarty and Sallie, and to all our friends. 
 I am, dear George, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 Richard Henry Lee had declined a seat in the Conven 
 tion, wishing to leave himself free to act in Congress as his 
 convictions should determine. He wrote to George Mason, 
 giving his views in regard to the changes to be desired, 
 knowing that Colonel Mason would be likely to forward 
 them. 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
RICHARD HENRY LEE TO GEORGE MASON. 105 
 
 May 15, 1787, CHANTILLY. 
 
 DEAR SIR It has given me much pleasure to be informed that 
 General Washington and yourself have gone to the Convention. 
 We may hope, from such efforts, that alterations beneficial will 
 take place in our Federal Constitution, if it shall be found, on 
 deliberate inquiry, that the evils now felt do flow from errors in 
 that constitution ; but, alas ! sir, I fear it is more in vicious 
 manners, than mistakes in form, that we must seek for the 
 causes of the present discontent. The present causes of com 
 plaint seem to be, that Congress cannot command the money 
 necessary for the just purposes of paying debts, or for support 
 ing the federal government ; and that they cannot make treaties 
 of commerce, unless power unlimited, of regulating trade be 
 given. The Confederation now gives right to name the sums 
 necessary, and to apportion the quotas by a rule established. 
 This rule is, unfortunately, very difficult of execution, and, 
 therefore, the recommendations of Congress on this subject 
 have not been made in federal mode ; so that States have 
 thought themselves justified in non-compliance. If the rule 
 were plain and easy, and refusal were then to follow demand, I 
 see clearly, that no form of government whatever, short of force, 
 will answer ; for the same want of principle that produces 
 neglect now, will do so under any change not supported by power 
 compulsory ; the difficulty certainly is, how to give this power in 
 such manner as that it may only be used to good, and not abused 
 to bad, purposes. Whoever shall solve this difficulty will receive 
 the thanks of this and future generations. With respect to the 
 want of power to make treaties of trade, for want of legislation, 
 to regulate the general commerce, it appears to me, that the 
 right of making treaties, and the legislative power contended for 
 are essentially different things ; the former may be given and 
 executed, without the danger attending upon the States parting 
 with their legislative authority, in the instance contended for. 
 If the third paragraph of the sixth article were altered, by 
 striking out the words, in pursuance of any treaties already pro 
 posed by Congress, to the courts of France and Spain ; and the 
 proviso stricken out of the first section in the ninth article, Con 
 gress would then have a complete and unlimited right of making 
 treaties of all kinds, and, so far, I really think it both right and 
 
106 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MA SO IV. 
 
 necessary ; but this is very different from, and in danger far 
 short of, giving an exclusive power of regulating trade. A min 
 ister of Congress may go to a foreign court with full power to 
 make a commercial treaty ; but if he were to propose to such 
 court that the eight northern States in this Union, should have 
 the exclusive right of carrying the products of the five southern 
 States, or of supplying these States with foreign articles, such a 
 proposition of monopoly would be rejected ; and, therefore, no 
 danger here from the power of making treaty ; but a legislative 
 right to regulate trade through the States may, in a thousand 
 artful modes, be so abused as to produce the monopoly aforesaid, 
 to the extreme oppression of the staple States, as they are called. 
 I do not say that this would be done, but I contend that it 
 might be done ; and, where interest powerfully prompts, it is 
 greatly to be feared that it would be done. Whoever has served 
 long in Congress, knows that the restraint of making the consent 
 of nine States necessary, is feeble and incompetent. Some will 
 sometimes sleep, and some will be negligent, but it is certain that 
 improper power not given cannot be improperly used. 
 
 The human mind is too apt to rush from one extreme to 
 another ; it appears, by the objections that came from the differ 
 ent States, when the Confederation was submitted for considera 
 tion, that the universal apprehension was, of the too great, not 
 the defective powers of Congress. Whence this immense change 
 of sentiment, in a few years ? for now the cry is power, give Con 
 gress power. Without reflecting that every free nation, that hath 
 ever existed, has lost its liberty by the same rash impatience, and 
 want of necessary caution. I am glad, however, to find, on this 
 occasion, that so many gentlemen, of competent years, are sent 
 to the Convention, for, certainly, " youth is the season of credu 
 lity, and confidence a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom." 
 The States have been so unpardonably remiss, in furnishing their 
 federal quotas, as to make impost necessary, for a term of time, 
 with a provisional security, that the money arising shall be un 
 changeably applied to the payment of their public debts ; that 
 accounts of the application, shall be annually sent to each State ; 
 and the collecting officers appointed by, and be amenable to the 
 States : or, if not so, very strong preventives and correctives of 
 official abuse and misconduct, interpose, to shield the people from 
 
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEW SYSTEM. IO/ 
 
 oppression. Give me leave, sir, to detain you a moment longer, 
 with a proposition that I have not heard mentioned. It is that 
 the right of making paper money shall be exclusively vested in 
 Congress ; such a right will be clearly within the spirit of the 
 fourth section of the ninth article of the present confederation. 
 This appears to me, to be a restraint of the last importance to the 
 peace and happiness of the Union, and of every part of it. 
 Knaves assure, and fools believe, that calling paper money, and 
 making it tender, is the way to be rich and happy ; thus the 
 national mind is kept in constant ferment ; and the public coun 
 cils in continual disturbance by the intrigues of wicked men, for 
 fraudulent purposes, for speculating designs. This would be a 
 great step towards correcting morals, and suppressing legislative 
 frauds, which, of all frauds, is the most hateful to society. Do 
 you not think, sir, that it ought to be declared, by the new system, 
 that any State act of legislation that shall contravene, or oppose, 
 the authorized acts of Congress, or interfere with the expressed 
 rights of that body, shall be ip so facto void, and of no force what 
 soever ? 
 
 My respects, if you please, to your brethren of the Convention, 
 from this State, and pardon me for the liberty I have taken of 
 troubling you with my sentiments on the interesting business that 
 calls you to Philadelphia. I have the honour to be, with affec 
 tionate esteem and regard, 
 
 Your friend and servant, 
 
 RICHARD HENRV LEE. 
 
 George Mason, Esq. 1 
 
 The Convention met on Friday, the 25th of May, seven 
 States being represented. On the following Monday nine 
 other deputies took their seats, and Connecticut and Mary 
 land were added to the number of States present. The rules 
 as reported were read. Mr. King of Massachusetts objected 
 to that one authorizing any member to call for the yeas and 
 nays and have them entered on the minutes. Colonel Mason 
 seconded the objection, adding " that such a record of the 
 opinions of members would be an obstacle to a change of 
 
 1 " Life of Richard II. Lee," vol. ii., p. 71. 
 
IOS LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEOKGE MASON. 
 
 them on conviction ; and in case of its being hereafter pro 
 mulgated must furnish handles to the adversaries of the 
 
 o 
 
 result of the meeting." The rule was then rejected. Madi 
 son tells us in his report of these debates that previous to 
 the opening of the Convention it had been a subject of dis 
 cussion among the members present, as to how the States 
 should vote in the Convention. Several of the members 
 from Pennsylvania had urged that the large States unite in 
 refusing to the small States an equal vote, but Virginia, be 
 lieving this to be injudicious if not unjust "discountenanced 
 and stifled the project." On the 2Qth the real business of 
 the Convention was opened by Edmund Randolph, who as 
 Governor of Virginia was put forward as spokesman by his 
 colleagues. He began by saying that as the Convention had 
 originated from Virginia, and the delegation from this State 
 supposed that some proposition was expected from them, 
 the task had been imposed on him. After enumerating the 
 defects of the Confederation, he detailed the remedy pro 
 posed. This latter was set forth in fifteen resolutions and 
 was called afterwards the Virginia plan of government. 
 Charles Pinckney from South Carolina had also a draft of a 
 federal government, which was read and like the former re 
 ferred to a committee of the whole House. 
 
 The first proposition debated was a resolution presented 
 by Edmund Randolph but formulated by Gouverneur Mor 
 ris, " That a national government ought to be established 
 consisting of a Supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judici 
 ary." Here South Carolina asked if Mr. Randolph meant to 
 abolish the State governments. Doubts were expressed by 
 members from Massachusetts and South Carolina whether 
 the deputies could discuss a system founded on different 
 principles from the Federal Constitution. Gouverneur Mor 
 ris explained the difference, as he conceived it, between a 
 federal and a national government. The term federal, how 
 ever, was to change its signification, and to be used by the 
 advocates of a " national government " to describe themselves. 
 
 " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 724. 
 
DELINQUENT STATES COULD NOT BE COERCED. 109 
 
 George Mason spoke after Mr. Morris, and put his finger on 
 one of the chief weaknesses of the existing system. He ob 
 served, " not only that the present Confederation was defi 
 cient in not providing for coercion and punishment against 
 delinquent States, but argued very cogently that punishment 
 could not in the nature of things be executed on the States 
 collectively, and therefore that such a government was neces 
 sary as could directly operate on individuals, and would 
 punish those only whose guilt required it." This was a 
 cardinal principle, that coercion could not be used against 
 States. And here George Mason was in direct opposition to 
 a clause in the sixth resolution of the Virginia plan, as pre 
 sented by Edmund Randolph, which declared that the 
 National or Federal legislature should have the power "to 
 call forth the force of the Union against any member of the 
 Union failing to fulfil its duty under the Articles thereof." 
 Of all the Virginia delegation, apparently, Washington, 
 Madison, Randolph, McClurg, and Mason, the latter alone 
 saw clearly the danger here, and he was the first one in the 
 Convention to suggest the solution of the difficulty which 
 was subsequently adopted. 
 
 On the 3 1st of May Georgia was represented in the Con 
 vention, making ten States present. It was agreed without 
 debate on this day that the " National Legislature " ought 
 to consist of two branches, but the succeeding resolution, 
 that the members of the first branch ought to be elected by 
 the people of the several States, provoked some discussion. 
 It was opposed, says Yates, " strange to tell by Massachu 
 setts and Connecticut, who supposed they ought to be 
 chosen by the legislatures ; and Virginia supported the re 
 solve, alleging that this ought to be the democratic branch of 
 government, and as such immediately vested in the people." 2 
 Colonel Mason spoke first after Sherman and Gerry, and 
 Madison followed after Wilson, of Pennsylvania, all three of 
 the latter contending for an election of the larger branch of 
 
 1 ibid., p. 748. 
 
 - Yates Minutes, Elliot s " Debates," second edition, 1861, vol. i., p. 392. 
 
I1O LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Congress by the people. " It was to be," said George 
 Mason, " the grand depository of the democratic principle 
 of the government. It was, so to speak, to be our House 
 of Commons. It ought to know and sympathize with every 
 part of the community ; and ought therefore to be taken, 
 not only from different parts of the whole republic, but also 
 from different districts of the larger members of it ; which 
 had in several instances, particularly in Virginia, different 
 interests and views arising from difference of produce, of 
 habits, etc. He admitted that we had been too demo 
 cratic, but was afraid we should incautiously run into the 
 opposite extreme. We ought to attend to the rights of 
 every class of the people. He had often wondered at the 
 indifference of the superior classes of society to this dictate 
 of humanity and policy ; considering, that, however afflu 
 ent their circumstances, or elevated their situations, might 
 be, the course of a few years not only might, but certainly 
 would, distribute their posterity throughout the lowest 
 classes of society. Every selfish motive, therefore, every 
 family attachment, ought to recommend such a system of 
 policy as would provide no less carefully for the rights 
 and happiness of the lowest, than of the highest, order of 
 citizens. 
 
 On the ist of June the Convention considered the ques 
 tion of the Executive. It was moved that his term of office 
 should be for seven years, though others advocated three 
 years, providing for re-eligibility. George Mason " was for 
 seven years at least, and for prohibiting a re-eligibility, as the 
 best expedient, both for preventing the effect of a false 
 complaisance on the side of the Legislature towards unfit 
 characters ; and a temptation on the side of the Executive to 
 intrigue with the Legislature for a re-appointment." And 
 seven years was the term then agreed upon. On the mode of 
 appointing the Executive, whether it should be by Congress, 
 as proposed in the Virginia plan, or by the people, as was 
 moved at this time, there was some debate. George Mason 
 
 1 " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 754. 2 Ibid., p. 766. 
 
OBJECTIONS TO A SINGLE EXECUTIVE. Ill 
 
 advocated the latter mode " but thought it impracticable. 
 He wished, however, that Mr. Wilson, who had suggested 
 the election by the people might have time to digest it in 
 his own form." On the following day the subject was 
 renewed, but the plan of Presidential Electors was not agreed 
 to. In regard to a resolution " that the Executive be made 
 removable by the National Legislature," George Mason said : 
 " Some mode of displacing an unfit magistrate is rendered 
 indispensable by the fallibility of those who choose, as well 
 as by the corruptibility of the man chosen. He opposed 
 decidedly the making the Executive the mere creature of 
 the Legislature, as a violation of the fundamental principles 
 of good government." : 
 
 The vote on the question of a single Executive was taken 
 on Monday, the 4th of June. Colonel Mason happened 
 not to be in the House at the time, but he was known to be 
 opposed to the resolve. Later in the day he spoke against 
 vesting the executive powers in a single person. Among 
 these powers, he went on to say, was that of appointing to 
 offices in certain cases. 
 
 " The probable abuses of a negative had been well explained 
 by Dr. Franklin, as proved by experience, the best of all tests. 
 Will not the same door be opened here ? The Executive may 
 refuse its assent to necessary measures, till new appointments 
 shall be referred to him ; and having by degrees engrossed 
 all these into his own hands, the American Executive, like the 
 British, will, by bribery and influence, save himself the trouble 
 and odium of exerting his negative afterwards. We are, Mr. 
 Chairman, going very far in this business. We are not, indeed, 
 constituting a British government, but a more dangerous mon 
 archy, an elective one. We are introducing a new principle into 
 our system, and not necessary, as in the British government, 
 where the executive has greater rights to defend. Do gentlemen 
 mean to pave the way to hereditary monarchy ? Do they flatter 
 themselves that the people will ever consent to such an inno 
 vation ? If they do, I venture to tell them, they are mistaken. 
 1 Ibid., p. 768. IMd., p. 776. 
 
112 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The people never will consent. And do gentlemen consider the 
 danger of delay, and the still greater danger of a rejection, not 
 for a moment, but forever, of the plan which shall be proposed to 
 them ? Notwithstanding the oppression and injustice experi 
 enced among us from democracy, the genius of the people is in 
 favor of it ; and the genius of the people must be consulted. He 
 could not but consider the Federal system as in effect dissolved 
 by the appointment of this convention to devise a better one. 
 And do gentlemen look forward to the dangerous interval 
 between extinction of an old, and the establishment of a new, 
 government ; and to the scenes of confusion which may ensue ? 
 He hoped that nothing like a monarchy would ever be attempted 
 in this country. A hatred to its oppressions had carried the 
 people through the late Revolution. Will it not be enough 
 to enable the Executive to suspend offensive laws, till they shall 
 be coolly revised, and the objections to them overruled by a 
 greater majority than was required in the first instance ? He 
 never could agree to give up all the rights of the people to 
 a single magistrate. If more than one had been fixed on, 
 greater powers might have been entrusted to the Executive. 
 He hoped this attempt to give such powers would have its 
 weight hereafter, as an argument for increasing the number of 
 the executive." l 
 
 George Mason s views on the subject of the Executive are 
 further elaborated in the following speech, which is pre 
 served in manuscript, and which is undated, but was evi 
 dently written for delivery in the Convention at this or a 
 subsequent period. 
 
 " It is not yet determined how the Executive is to be regulated, 
 whether it is to act solely from its own judgment, or with 
 the advice of others ; whether there is, or is not to be a council 
 annexed to it, and if a council how far their advice shall operate 
 in controlling the judgment of the supreme magistracy. If there 
 is no Council of State and the executive power be vested in 
 a single person, what are the provisions for its proper operation, 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 787. 
 
SPEECH ON THIS QUESTION. 113 
 
 upon casual disability by sickness or otherwise. These are sub 
 jects which must come under our consideration, and perhaps 
 some of the most important objections would, be obviated by 
 placing the executive power in the hands of three, instead of one 
 person. 
 
 " There is also to be a council of revision, invested, in a great 
 measure, with a power of negative upon the laws ; and an idea 
 has been suggested, either within or without doors, that this 
 council should be formed of the principal officers of the state, 
 I presume of the members of the Treasury Board, the^Board of 
 War, the Navy Board, and the Department for Foreign Affairs. 
 It is unnecessary, if not improper, to examine this part of the 
 subject now, but I will venture to hazard an opinion, when 
 it comes to be thoroughly investigated, that we can hardly find 
 worse materials out of which to create a council of revision, 
 or more improper or unsafe hands in which to place the power 
 of a negative upon our laws. It is proposed, I think, sir, in the 
 plan upon your table, that this council of revision shall be 
 formed out of the members of the Judiciary departments joined 
 with the Executive; and I am inclined to think, when the subject 
 shall be taken up, it may be demonstrated, that this will be the 
 wisest and safest mode of constituting this important council of 
 revision. But the federal inferior courts of justice must, I pre 
 sume, be fixed in the several respective States, and consequently 
 most of them at a great distance from the seat of the federal 
 government. The almost continual operation of the council 
 of revision upon the acts of the national parliament, and upon 
 their negative of the acts of the several State legislatures, will 
 require that this council should be easily and speedily convened, 
 and consequently, that only the judges of the Supreme Federal 
 Court, fixed near the seat of government, can be members of it. 
 Their number will be small. By placing the Executive in three 
 persons, instead of one, we shaft not only increase the number of 
 the council of revision (which I have endeavored to show will 
 want increasing), but by giving to each of the three a vote in the 
 council of revision, we shall increase the strength of the Execu 
 tive in that particular circumstance in which it will most want 
 strength in the power of defending itself against the encroach 
 ments of the legislature. These, I must acknowledge, are, with 
 Vol. II 8 
 
114 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 me, weighty considerations for vesting the Executive rather in 
 three than in one person. 
 
 " The chief advantages which have been urged in favor of unity 
 in the Executive, are the secresy, the dispatch, the vigor and 
 energy which the government will derive from it, especially in 
 time of war. That these are great advantages, I shall most 
 readily allow. They have been strongly insisted on by all 
 monarchical writers ; they have been acknowledged by the ablest 
 and most candid defenders of republican government ; and it 
 cannot be denied that a monarchy possesses them in a much 
 greater degree than a republic. Yet perhaps a little reflection 
 may incline us to doubt whether these advantages are not greater 
 in theory than in practice, or lead us to enquire whether there is 
 not some pervading principle in republican government which 
 sets at naught and tramples upon this boasted superiority, as 
 hath been experienced to their cost, by most monarchies which 
 have been imprudent enough to invade or attack their republi 
 can neighbors. This invincible principle is to be found in the 
 love, the affection, the attachment of the citizens to their laws, 
 to their freedom, and to their country. Every husbandman will 
 be quickly converted into a soldier when he knows and feels 
 that he is to fight not in defence of the rights of a particular 
 family, or, a prince, but for his own. This is the true construc 
 tion of the/rtf arts et focis which has, in all ages, performed such 
 wonders. It was this which in ancient times enabled the little 
 cluster of Grecian republics to resist, and almost constantly to 
 defeat, the Persian monarch. It was this which supported the 
 States of Holland against a body of veteran troops through a 
 thirty years war with Spain, then the greatest monarchy in 
 Europe, and finally rendered them victorious. It is this which 
 preserves the freedom and independence of the Swiss Cantons in 
 the midst of the most powerful nations. And who that reflects 
 seriously upon the situation of America, in the beginning of the 
 late war without arms without soldiers without trade, money 
 or credit, in a manner destitute of all resources, but must ascribe 
 our success to this pervading, all-powerful principle ? 
 
 " We have not yet been able to define the powers of the Execu 
 tive, and however moderately some gentlemen may talk or think 
 upon the subject, I believe there is a general tendency to a strong 
 
EXECUTIVE CONSISTING OF THREE PERSONS. I I 
 
 Executive, and I am inclined to think a strong Executive necessary. 
 If strong and extensive powers are vested in the Executive, and 
 that executive consists only of one person, the government will 
 of course degenerate (for I will call it degeneracy) into a mon 
 archy a government so contrary to the genius of the people 
 that they will reject even the appearance of it. I consider the 
 federal government as in some measure dissolved by the meeting 
 of this Convention. Are there no dangers to be apprehended 
 from procrastinating the time between the breaking up of this 
 Assembly and the adoption of a new system of government ? I 
 dread the interval. If it should not be brought to an issue in 
 the course of the first year the consequences may be fatal. Have 
 not the different parts of this extensive government, the several 
 States of which it is composed a right to expect an equal partici 
 pation in the Executive, as the best means of securing an equal 
 attention to their interests ? Should an insurrection, a rebellion 
 or invasion happen in New Hampshire when the single supreme 
 magistrate is a citizen of Georgia, would not the people of New 
 Hampshire naturally ascribe any delay in defending them to such 
 a circumstance and vice versa ? If the Executive is vested in 
 three persons, one chosen from the Northern, one from the 
 Middle, and one from the Southern States, will it not contribute 
 to quiet the minds of the people and convince them that there 
 will be proper attention paid to their respective concerns ? Will 
 not three men so chosen bring with them, into office, a more per 
 fect and extensive knowledge of the real interests of this great 
 Union ? Will not such a mode of appointment be the most 
 effectual means of preventing cabals and intrigues between the 
 legislature and the candidates for this office, especially with 
 those candidates who from their local situation, near the seat of 
 the federal government, will have the greatest temptations and 
 the greatest opportunities ? Will it not be the most effectual 
 means of checking and counteracting the aspiring views of 
 dangerous and ambitious men, and consequently the best secur 
 ity for the stability and duration of our government upon the 
 invaluable principles of liberty ? These Sir, are some of my 
 motives for preferring an Executive consisting of three persons 
 rather than of one." J 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
Il6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Edmund Randolph advocated in the Convention this sug 
 gestion of his colleague, that the Executive should consist 
 of three members, taken from the three sections of the 
 country. 
 
 On Wednesday, June 6th, the important question was 
 debated as to the election of the first branch of the legis 
 lature. Should it be by the State legislatures or by the 
 people ? The latter method, embraced in the Virginia plan, 
 was now advocated by both Madison and Mason. " Under 
 the existing Confederacy," said George Mason, " Congress 
 represent the States and not the people of the States ; their 
 acts operate on the States, not on the individuals. The case 
 will be changed in the new plan of government. The people 
 will be represented ; they ought therefore to choose the 
 Representatives. The requisites in actual representation 
 are, that the Representatives should sympathize with their 
 constituents ; should think as they think, and feel as they 
 feel ; and that for these purposes they should be residents 
 among them. Much, he said, had been alleged against 
 democratic elections. He admitted that much might be 
 said ; but it was to be considered that no government was 
 free from imperfections and evils ; and that improper elec 
 tions in many instances were inseparable from republican 
 governments. But compare these with the advantage of 
 this form, in favor of the rights of the people, in favor 
 of human nature ! He was persuaded there was a better 
 chance for proper elections by the people, if divided into 
 large districts, than by the State Legislatures. Paper-money 
 had been issued by the latter, when the former were against 
 it. Was it to be supposed that the State Legislatures, then, 
 would not send to the National Legislature patrons of such 
 projects, if the choice depended on them." The Conven 
 tion recurring again to the Executive, the resolution to 
 give the latter power, with the assistance of some of the 
 judiciary, to revise the laws passed by the legislature, was 
 reconsidered, and Colonel Mason was for " giving all possi- 
 
 " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 803. 
 
SENATE APPOINTED BY STATE ASSEMBLIES. I I/ 
 
 ble weight to the revisionary institution. The executive 
 power," he thought, " ought to be well secured against 
 legislative usurpations on it. The purse and the sword 
 ought never to get into the same hands, whether legislative 
 or executive." 
 
 On the following day another great point in the forma 
 tion of the Constitution was debated. The motion was 
 made by Mr. Dickinson for the appointment of the Senate 
 by the State legislatures, and carried in the affirmative. 
 George Mason was the last one to speak on this occasion. 
 " Whatever power," he said, " may be necessary for the 
 national government, a certain portion must necessarily be 
 left with the States. It is impossible for one power to 
 pervade the extreme parts of the United States, so as to 
 carry equal justice to them. The State Legislatures also 
 ought to have some means of defending themselves against 
 encroachments of the national government. In every other 
 department we have studiously endeavoured to provide for 
 its self-defence. Shall we leave the States alone unprovided 
 w r ith the means for this purpose ? And what better means 
 can we provide, than the giving them some share in, or 
 rather to make them a constituent part of, the national 
 establishment ? There is danger on both sides, no doubt ; 
 but we have only seen the evils arising on the side of the 
 State governments. Those on the other side remain to be 
 displayed. The example of Congress does not apply. 
 Congress had no power to carry their acts into execution, as 
 the national government will have." 2 The thirteenth resolu 
 tion of the Virginia plan, providing for making amendments 
 to the Constitution without the assent of the legislature of 
 the Union, came up for consideration on the nth, and 
 Colonel Mason urged the necessity of such a provision : 
 
 " The plan now to be formed will certainly be defective, as the 
 Confederation has been found on trial to be. Amendments, there 
 fore, will be necessary ; and it will be better to provide for them 
 
 1 Ibid., p. Si i. * Ibid., p. 820. 
 
IlS LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 in an easy, regular and constitutional way, than to trust to chance 
 and violence. It would be improper to require the consent of 
 the national legislature, because they may abuse their power, 
 and refuse their assent on that very account. The opportunity 
 for such an abuse may be the fault of the Constitution calling 
 for amendment." l 
 
 George Mason seconded a motion made by Madison the 
 following day, relating to the payment of members of the 
 federal legislature. He thought " that it would be improper 
 to leave the wages to be regulated by the States, first the 
 different States would make different provision for their 
 representatives, and an inequality would be felt among them, 
 whereas he thought they ought to be in all respects equal ; 
 secondly, the parsimony of the States might reduce the 
 provision so low, that, as had already happened in choosing 
 delegates to Congress, the question would be, not who were 
 most fit to be chosen, but who were most willing to serve." 
 The qualification for the age of Senators was fixed at thirty. 
 Amono; George Mason s memoranda of the Convention are 
 
 fc> o 
 
 this note and resolve, showing his agency in an important 
 part of the Convention s work : 
 
 " G. Mason begs the favor of Maj. Jackson to correct the 
 following Resolution, in the manner it hath been agreed to by 
 the Convention. 
 
 " 4. Resolved, That the members of the second branch of the 
 legislature of the United States ought to be chosen by the indi 
 vidual legislatures, to be of the age of thirty years at least, to 
 hold their offices for the term of six years, one third to go out 
 biennially ; to be ineligible to and incapable of holding any office 
 under the authority of the United States, except those peculiarly 
 belonging to the functions of the second branch, during the 
 term for which they were chosen and for one year thereafter." 3 
 
 The Committee of the Whole had debated from day to 
 day the resolutions contained in the Virginia plan, and on 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 844. - Ibid., p. 849. 3 Mason Papers. 
 
VIRGINIA AND NEW JERSEY PLANS COMPARED. 119 
 
 the 1 3th of June they reported nineteen resolutions based 
 upon those of Virginia, forming a system of government in 
 outline. On the following day Mr. Paterson, of New Jersey, 
 asked for time to prepare another plan founded on the Ar 
 ticles of Confederation. This was submitted to the Conven 
 tion on the 1 5th. The Virginia and the New Jersey plan 
 were contrasted briefly by one of the members : 
 
 Virginia plan proposes two branches in the legislature. 
 Jersey, a single legislative body. 
 
 Virginia, the legislative powers derived from the people. 
 Jersey, from the States. 
 Virginia, a single executive. 
 Jersey, more than one. 
 
 Virginia, a majority of the legislature can act. 
 Jersey, a small majority can control. 
 
 Virginia, the legislature can legislate on all national concerns. 
 Jersey, only on limited objects. 
 Virginia, legislature to negative all State laws. 
 Jersey, giving power to the executive to compel obedience 
 by force. 
 
 Virginia, to remove the executive by impeachment. 
 Jersey, on application of a majority of the States. 
 Virginia, for the establishment of inferior judiciary tribunals. 
 Jersey, no provision. 1 
 
 Neither of these plans commended themselves to men like 
 Hamilton, who wanted a strong government, and were 
 afraid of democracy or giving power to the people. He 
 thought the Virginia plan " but pork still with a little change 
 of the sauce." The Articles of Confederation amended, as 
 in the New Jersey plan, set forth a government approved of 
 by the opposite wing of the Convention, consisting of men 
 like Lansing, who professed an ultra devotion to the rights 
 and autonomy of the States, yet strangely enough were 
 ready to admit the use of force against them by the general 
 government. George Mason, more consistent both as a 
 
 1 Yates Minutes, Elliot, vol. i., p 414. 
 
120 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 champion of State sovereignty and a believer in the rights 
 of the people, sought to give each idea its practical exposi 
 tion in the new government. In a debate, June 2Oth, on 
 giving two branches to the legislature, Colonel Mason 
 summed up the arguments in its favor, replying to those 
 who opposed it. Paterson s propositions had been re 
 jected by the committee the day before, and the nineteen 
 resolutions based on the Virginia plan were again reported. 
 The second resolution referred to the constitution of the 
 legislature. 
 
 " He did not expect this point would have been reagitated. 
 The essential differences between the two plans had been clearly 
 stated. The principal objections against that of Mr. Randolph 
 were, the want of power, and the want of practicability. There 
 can be no weight in the first, as the fiat is not to be here, but in the 
 people. [The power in the Convention to frame an entirely new 
 Constitution is meant here.] He thought with his colleague (Mr. 
 Randolph) that there were, besides, certain crises, in which all 
 the ordinary cautions yielded to public necessity. He gave as 
 an example, the eventual treaty with Great Britain, in forming 
 which the Commissioners of the United States had boldly disre 
 garded the improvident shackles of Congress ; had given to their 
 country an honorable and happy peace, and instead of being 
 censured for the transgression of their powers had raised to 
 themselves a monument more durable than brass. The imprac 
 ticability of gaining the public concurrence, he thought, was still 
 more "groundless. Mr. Lansing had cited the attempts of Con 
 gress to gain an enlargement of their powers, and had inferred, 
 from the miscarriage of these attempts, the hopelessness of the 
 plan which he (Mr. Lansing) opposed. He thought a very dif 
 ferent inference ought to have been drawn, viz., that the plan 
 which Mr. Lansing espoused, and which proposed to augment 
 the powers of Congress, never could be expected to succeed. He 
 meant not to throw any reflections on Congress as a body, much 
 less on any particular members of it. He meant, however, to 
 speak his sentiments without reserve on this subject ; it was a 
 privilege of age, and perhaps the only compensation which nature 
 had given for the privation of so many other enjoyments ; and 
 
TWO BRANCHES IN THE LEGISLATURE. 121 
 
 he should not scruple to exercise it freely. Is it to be thought 
 that the people of America, so watchful over their interests, so 
 jealous of their liberties, will give up their all, will surrender 
 both the sword and the purse, to the same body, and that, too, 
 not chosen immediately by themselves ? They never will. They 
 never ought. Will they trust such a body with the regulation of 
 their trade, with the regulation of their taxes, with all the other 
 great powers which are in contemplation ? Will they give un 
 bounded confidence to a secret journal, to the intrigues, to the 
 factions, which in the nature of things appertain to such an. 
 assembly ? If any man doubts the existence of these characters 
 of Congress, let him consult their Journals for the years seventy- 
 eight, seventy-nine, and eighty. It will be said, that if the people 
 are averse to parting with power, why is it hoped that they will 
 part with it to a national legislature ? The proper answer is, 
 that in this case they do not part with power ; they only transfer 
 it from one set of immediate representatives to another set. 
 Much has been said of the unsettled state of the mind of the 
 people. He believed the mind of the people of America, as 
 elsewhere, was unsettled as to some points, but settled as to 
 others. In two points he was sure it was well settled, first, in 
 an attachment to republican government ; secondly, in an attach 
 ment to more than one branch in the legislature. Their consti 
 tutions accord so generally in both these circumstances, that 
 they seem almost to have been preconcerted. This must either 
 have been a miracle, or have resulted from the genius of the 
 people. The only exceptions to the establishment of two branches 
 in the legislature are the State of Pennsylvania and Congress ; 
 and the latter the only single one not chosen by the people them 
 selves. What has been the consequence ? The people have been 
 constantly averse to giving that body further powers. 
 
 ** It was acknowledged by Mr. Paterson that his plan could not 
 be enforced without military coercion. Does he consider the 
 force of this concession ? The most jarring elements of nature, 
 fire and water themselves, are not more incompatible than such a 
 mixture of civil liberty and military execution. Will the militia 
 march from one State into another, in order to collect the arrears 
 of taxes from the delinquent members of the republic ? Will 
 they maintain an army for this purpose ? Will not the citizens of 
 
122 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the invaded State assist one another, till they rise as one man and 
 shake off the Union altogether ? Rebellion is the only case in 
 which the military force of the State can be properly exerted 
 against its citizens. In one point of view, he was struck with 
 horror at the prospect of recurring to this expedient. To punish 
 the non-payment of taxes with death was a severity not yet 
 adopted by despotism itself ; yet this unexampled cruelty would 
 be mercy compared to a military collection of revenue in which the 
 bayonet could make no discrimination between the innocent and 
 the guilty. He took this occasion to repeat, that, notwithstand 
 ing his solicitude to establish a national government, he never 
 would agree to abolish the State governments, or render them ab 
 solutely insignificant. They were as necessary as the general gov 
 ernment, and he would be equally careful to preserve them. He 
 was aware of the difficulty of drawing the line between them, but 
 hoped it was not insurmountable. The Convention, though com 
 prising so many distinguished characters, could not be expected 
 to make a faultless government. And he would prefer trusting 
 to posterity the amendment of its defects, rather than to push the 
 experiment too far." 
 
 Judge Yates, who gives his abstract of the debates in the 
 first person always, has reported this speech of George 
 Mason s a little differently, and of course, as he only pro 
 fessed to give minutes, much more briefly: 
 
 " These measures are supported by one who, at his time 
 of life, has little to hope or expect from any government. 
 . . . What ! would you use military force to compel the 
 observance of a social compact ? It is destructive to the rights 
 of the people. Do you expect the militia will do it ? or do 
 you mean a standing army ? The first will never on such an oc 
 casion, exert any power ; and the latter may turn its arms against 
 the government which employs them. I never will consent to 
 destroy State governments, and will ever be as careful to preserve 
 the one as the other. . . . That the one government will be 
 productive of disputes and jealousies against the other, I believe ; 
 but it will produce mutual safety. I shall close with observing, 
 " Madison Papers," vol., ii., p. 912. 
 
REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE. 12$ 
 
 that though some have expressed much warmth on this and 
 former occasions, I can excuse it, as the result of sudden passion ; 
 and hope that although we may differ in some particular points, 
 if we mean the good of the whole, our good sense, upon re 
 flection, will prevent us from spreading our discontent farther." 
 
 The Convention did not go again into committee of the 
 whole, but continued to debate the nineteen resolutions 
 from the iQth of June until the 23d of July. Some of 
 these were referred to grand committees, consisting of one 
 member from each State, or they were referred to select 
 committees consisting of five members. On the question 
 of the election of the first branch of the legislature, it was 
 moved that it should be as each State legislature directed, 
 v/hen Colonel Mason was again on his feet : 
 
 " I am for preserving inviolably the democratic branch of the 
 government. True we have found inconveniences from pure 
 democracies ; but if we mean to preserve peace and real freedom, 
 they must necessarily become a component part of the national 
 system. Change this necessary principle, and if the government 
 proceeds to taxation, the States will oppose your powers." 3 
 
 When the motion was considered of the election of 
 the first branch for two years, George Mason observed, 
 " that the States being differently situated, such a rule 
 ought to be formed as would put them as nearly as possible 
 on a level. If elections were annual, the middle States 
 would have a great advantage over the extreme ones. He 
 wished them to be biennial, and the rather as in that case 
 they would coincide with the periodical elections of South 
 Carolina, as well of the other States." 3 On the subject of the 
 " fixed stipends to be paid out of the national treasury " 
 to the representatives, Colonel Mason moved to change the 
 phraseology of the resolve ; that is to say, " to receive an 
 
 1 Elliot s " Debates," vol. i., p. 429. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 433. 
 
 3 " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 930. 
 
124 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 adequate compensation for their services, and to be paid out 
 of the treasury," which motion was agreed to. 1 
 
 Jefferson, in characterizing George Mason s merits as a 
 public speaker, notices the " touch of biting cynicism " which 
 sometimes seasoned his arguments. Examples of this qual 
 ity are to be found in the following passages. The question 
 of the age required for members of Congress was brought 
 up by Colonel Mason, and he moved to insert " twenty-five 
 years of age as a qualification for members of the first 
 branch." He " thought it absurd that a man to-day should 
 not be permitted by the law to make a bargain for himself, 
 and to-morrow should be authorized to manage the affairs 
 of a great nation. It was the more extraordinary as every 
 man carried with him, in his own experience, a scale for 
 measuring the deficiency of young politicians ; since he 
 would, if interrogated, be obliged to declare that his politi 
 cal opinions at the age of twenty-one were too crude and 
 erroneous to merit an influence on public measures. It had 
 been said, that Congress had proved a good school for our 
 young men. It might be so, for anything he knew ; but if 
 it were, he chose that they should bear the expence of their 
 own education." 2 The exclusive clause in the third resolve 
 being under consideration, George Mason spoke as follows: 
 
 " It seems as if it were taken for granted that all offices will 
 be filled by the Executive, while I think many will remain in the 
 gift of the legislature. In either case it is necessary to shut the 
 door against corruption. If otherwise, they may make or multi 
 ply offices in order to fill them. Are gentlemen in earnest when 
 they suppose that this exclusion will prevent the first characters 
 from coming forward ? Are we not struck at seeing the luxury 
 and venality which has already crept in among us ? If not 
 checked, we shall have ambassadors to every petty State in 
 Europe ; the little republic of St. Marino not excepted. We 
 must in the present system remove the temptation. I admire 
 many parts of the British constitution and government, but I 
 
 1 Yates Minutes, Elliot, vol. i., p. 436. 
 * " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 936. 
 
MASON REPLIES TO MADISON AND WILSON. 12$ 
 
 detest their corruption. Why has the power of the Crown in 
 creased, so remarkably increased, the last century ? A stranger, 
 by reading their laws, would suppose it considerably diminished ; 
 and yet by the sole power of appointing the increased officers of 
 the government, corruption pervades every town and village in 
 the kingdom. If such a restriction should abridge the right of 
 election, it is still necessary, as it will prevent the people from 
 ruining themselves. And will not the same causes here produce 
 the same effects ? I consider this clause as the corner-stone on 
 which our liberties depend ; and if we strike it out, we are erect 
 ing a fabric for our destruction." * 
 
 The subject was continued on the following day, June 
 23d, when Madison renewed his motion to render the mem 
 bers of the first branch " ineligible during their term of ser 
 vice, and for one year after, to such offices only, as should 
 be established, or the emolument augmented, by the legis 
 lature of the United States during the time of their being 
 members." Colonel Mason " thought the motion of his 
 colleague but a partial remedy for the evil. He appealed 
 to him as a witness of the shameful partiality of the legis 
 lature of Virginia to its own members. He enlarged on 
 the abuses and corruption in the British Parliament con 
 nected with the appointment of its members. He could not 
 suppose that a sufficient number of citizens could not be 
 found who would be ready, without the inducement of eligi 
 bility to offices, to undertake the legislative service. Genius 
 and virtue, it may be said [he here alluded to some remarks 
 of Mr. Wilson], ought to be encouraged. Genius, for aught 
 he knew might ; but that virtue should be encouraged by 
 such a species of venality, was an idea that at least had the 
 merit of being new." 2 Yates, in reporting this speech, gives 
 the substance of the last clause in these words : 
 
 " It is asserted that it will be very difficult to find men suffi 
 ciently qualified as legislators without the inducement of emolu- 
 
 1 Yates Minutes, Elliot, vol. i., p. 437. 
 * " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 940. 
 
126 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ments. I do believe that men of genius will be deterred unless 
 possessed of great virtues. We may well dispense with the first 
 characters when destitute of virtue. I should wish them never 
 to come forward. But if we do not provide against corruption, 
 our government will soon be at an end ; nor would I wish to 
 put a man of virtue in the way of temptation. Evasions and 
 caballing [he continued] would evade the amendment. Nor 
 would the danger be less, if the executive has the appointment 
 of officers. The first three or four years we might go on well 
 enough, but what would be the case afterwards ? I will add, that 
 such a government ought to be refused by the people ; and it 
 will be refused." 
 
 On the 25th of June, the vexed question of the mode of 
 appointing the Senate was brought up, Mr. Wilson moving 
 that the members be elected by electors chosen by the 
 people. This was a point which divided, as a class, the 
 large and small States, the former advocating proportional 
 representation in both Houses, the latter opposing it, and, as 
 Bancroft observes, the election of the Senate by the State 
 legislatures was looked upon " as the stepping-stone to an 
 equal representation." : And while Virginia s vote went 
 with that of Pennsylvania against a doctrine so important 
 for the preservation of the individual commonwealth, it was 
 one of Virginia s representatives who consistently supported 
 it as a pillar of States-rights. " It has been agreed, on all 
 hands," said George Mason, "that an efficient government 
 is necessary ; that to render it such, it ought to have the 
 faculty of self-defence ; that to render its different branches 
 effectual each of them ought to have the same power of 
 self-defence. He did not wonder that such an agreement 
 should have prevailed on these points. He only wondered 
 that there should be any disagreement about the necessity 
 of allowing the State governments the same self-defence. If 
 they are to be preserved, as he conceived to be essential, 
 they certainly ought to have this power ; and the only mode 
 
 1 Yates Minutes, Elliot, vol. i., p. 440. 
 
 - " History of the Constitution," vol. ii., p. 56. 
 
THE "CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE." I2/ 
 
 left of giving it to them was by allowing them to appoint 
 the second branch of the national legislature." Dr. John 
 son, of Connecticut, in advocating this means of self-defence 
 for the States, gives George Mason credit as the author 
 of the scheme. " This is the idea of Col. Mason, who 
 appears to have looked to the bottom of this matter." 
 Much has been written, of late, on the " Connecticut Com 
 promise," as Bancroft styles it, the equal representation of 
 the States in the Senate, and here is one of the three repre 
 sentatives from Connecticut who urged the measure upon 
 the Convention avowing that it was the " idea " of Colonel 
 Mason, that the States should appoint the members of the 
 Senate, the " stepping-stone " to equal representation. The 
 proportional representation in the first branch, which would 
 make the large States more powerful there, was acquiesced 
 in by the small States in consideration that an equality in 
 the Senate would give them the same voice in its councils as 
 their more powerful sisters. The small States, led by Con 
 necticut, finally effected this settlement in the Convention. 
 But Sherman, Ellsworth, and Johnson only made practical 
 an idea independently evolved by the Virginia statesman, 
 who, wiser than his colleagues, had " looked to the bottom 
 of this matter." Madison, in the Federalist, frankly avowed 
 his subsequent conversion to the equality of votes in the 
 Senate, which he opposed throughout the sessions of the 
 Convention. 3 
 
 A recent writer says : 
 
 " The adoption of different bases for the two Houses, the 
 House of Representatives representing the States according to 
 population while the Senate represented them equally, was one 
 of the most important pieces of work which the Convention 
 accomplished, as well as the one which it reached most unwil- 
 
 1 Madison Papers, vol. ii., p. 958. 
 
 - Ibid., p. 987. 
 
 3 As John Dickinson, representing the small State of Delaware in the Con 
 vention, made the motion for the appointment of the Senate by the State legis 
 latures, he is entitled to some of the credit for this measure. 
 
128 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 lingly. All the States experimenting to find different bases for 
 their two Houses, Virginia had come nearest to the appearance 
 of the final result, in having her Senate chosen by districts and 
 her Representatives by counties ; and as the Union already had 
 its ( districts formed (in the States) one might think that the 
 Convention merely followed Virginia s experience. But the real 
 process was far different and more circuitous." 
 
 In fact, says this writer, it was the Connecticut system, 
 where the towns were equally represented in the lower 
 House, while the upper one was chosen from the whole 
 people, which was the model proposed by Connecticut dele 
 gates to the Convention. 1 George Mason, however, stand 
 ing apart from his colleagues, did, in effect, propose the 
 Virginia constitution, of which he was the author, as a type 
 for the new constitution, when he advocated both ideas 
 combined equal and unequal representation, for the legis 
 lature of the Union, or the choice of one House by the 
 people and of the other by the States. 
 
 In regard to the qualifications of senators, Colonel Mason 
 thought that u one important object in constituting the 
 Senate was to secure the rights of property. To give them 
 weight and firmness for this purpose, a considerable duration 
 in office was thought necessary. But a longer term than six 
 years would be of no avail in this respect, if needy persons 
 should be appointed. He suggested, therefore, the pro 
 priety of annexing to the office a qualification of property. 
 He thought this would be very practicable, as the rules of 
 taxation would supply a scale for measuring the degree of 
 wealth possessed by every man." 
 
 It was now nearly the last of June. Five weeks, as Dr. 
 Franklin anxiously noted, had been spent in trying to 
 reconcile the opposing views that were to be found in the 
 Convention ; to steer between the rock of centralized gov 
 ernment and the whirlpool, as it was deemed, of a pure 
 
 1 "The First Century of the Constitution," article in The New Princeton 
 Review, Sept., 1887. 
 
 * Madison " Papers," vol. ii., p. 971. 
 
LETTER TO HIS SON GEORGE. 1 29 
 
 confederation ; to decide upon the features of the equitable 
 via media. " Groping as it were in the dark to find political 
 truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when they found it," 
 it were well, Dr. Franklin thought to implore for them 
 selves each day the Divine guidance. The proposal came a 
 little late, it is true, and there might be reason to think, as 
 was suggested, that it would alarm the people. But surely 
 the daily consecration was needed, and the proposition 
 should have been agreed to. On the question for allowing 
 each State one vote in the Senate, there seemed to be 
 at this time no hope of a settlement. It was then deter 
 mined to appoint a committee, consisting of one member 
 from each State, in order, if possible, to effect a solution of 
 the difficulty. George Mason was the significant choice 
 from Virginia, and the Convention adjourned from Monday 
 the 2d, to Thursday the 5th, of July. 
 
 The following letters were written by Colonel Mason to 
 George Mason, Jr.. and to Beverley Randolph during the 
 month of June. The solemn words to his son on the great 
 responsibility of the work in which he was engaged, evince 
 George Mason s profound sense of duty, and his earnest 
 desire to carry out its obligations. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, June ist, 1787. 
 DEAR GEORGE : 
 
 . . . The idea 1 formerly mentioned to you, before the 
 Convention met, of a great national council, consisting of two 
 branches of the legislature, a judiciary and an executive, upon 
 the principle of fair representation in the legislature, with powers 
 adapted to the great objects of the Union, and consequently a 
 control in these instances, on the State legislatures, is still the 
 prevalent one. Virginia has had the honor of presenting the 
 outlines of the plan, upon which the convention is proceeding ; 
 but so slowly that it is impossible to judge when the business will 
 be finished, most probably not before August festina lente may 
 very well be called our motto. When I first came here, judging 
 from casual conversations with gentlemen from the different 
 States, I was very apprehensive that soured and disgusted with 
 
130 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the unexpected evils we had experienced from the democratic 
 principles of our governments, we should be apt to run into the 
 opposite extreme, and in endeavoring to steer too far from 
 Scylla, we might be drawn into the vortex of Charybdis, of 
 which I still think there is some danger, though I have the 
 pleasure to find in the convention, many men of fine republican 
 principles. America has certainly, upon this occasion, drawn 
 forth her first characters ; there are upon this Convention many 
 gentlemen of the most respectable abilities, and so far as I can 
 discover, of the purest intentions. The eyes of the United States 
 are turned upon this assembly, and their expectations raised to a 
 very anxious degree. 
 
 May God grant, we may be able to gratify them, by establishing 
 a wise and just government. For my own part, I never before 
 felt myself in such a situation ; and declare I would not, upon 
 pecuniary motives, serve in this convention for a thousand 
 pounds per day. -The revolt from Great Britain and the for 
 mations of our new governments at that time, were nothing 
 compared to the great business now before us : there was then 
 a certain degree of enthusiasm, which inspired and supported 
 the mind ; but to view, through the calm, sedate medium of rea 
 son the influence which the establishment now proposed may 
 have upon the happiness or misery of millions yet unborn, is an 
 object of such magnitude, as absorbs, and in a manner suspends 
 the operations of the human understanding. 
 
 Remember me kindly to Betsy and all the family ; let me know 
 from time to time how they do. I am, dear George, 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. All communications of the proceedings are forbidden 
 during the sitting of the Convention ; this I think was a necessary 
 precaution to prevent misrepresentations or mistakes ; there be 
 ing a material difference between the appearance of a subject in 
 its first crude and undigested shape, and after it shall have been 
 properly matured and arranged. 
 
 I would thank you to desire Thomson to send me, if he can 
 find it, the plan I drew, two or three years ago, for equalizing the 
 Virginia land tax, which I have promised a copy of to the North 
 Carolina delegates ; I believe he will find it among the loose 
 
LETTER TO BEVERLEY RANDOLPH. 131 
 
 papers on the right hand division of the second drawer in my 
 desk and bookcase in the little parlor ; and I should be glad to 
 have the strictures I wrote some time ago, upon the port bill ; 
 but where it is I don t remember ; it lay among the loose papers 
 in one of the dining-room windows, which a little before I left 
 home I tied up in a bundle and I believe put into one of the 
 pigeon-holes in the bookcase in the dining-room, but am not cer 
 tain. Pray desire him in looking over the papers, not to dissort 
 them, but make them up again together, in the same separate 
 bundles, and where any of the bundles are endorsed, to make 
 them up again with the endorsations on the outside. 
 
 G. M. 1 
 
 George Mason to Hon. Beverley Randolph : 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, June soth, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 The Convention having resolved that none of their proceedings 
 should be communicated during their sitting, puts it out of my 
 power to give you any particular information upon the subject. 
 Festina hnte seems hitherto to have been our maxim. Things, 
 however, are now drawing to that point on which some of the 
 fundamental principles must be decided, and two or three days 
 will probably enable us to judge which is at present very 
 doubtful whether any sound and effectual system can be estab 
 lished or not. If it cannot, I presume we shall not continue 
 here much longer ; if it can, we shall probably be detained til 
 September. 
 
 I feel myself disagreeably circumstanced in being the only 
 member of the Assembly in the Virginia delegation, and, conse 
 quently, if any system shall be recommended by the Convention 
 that the whole weight of explanation must fall upon me ; and if 
 I should be prevented by sickness or accident from attending the 
 Assembly, that it will be difficult for the Assembly to obtain such 
 information as may be necessary upon the subject, as I presume 
 that in the progress through the legislature many questions may 
 be asked and inquiries made, in which satisfactory information, 
 from time to time, can hardly be given but by a member of the 
 House in his place. 
 
 1 Mason Papers ; Niles "Principles and Acts of the Revolution," p. 128 ; 
 Bancroft s History of the Constitution," vol. ii., p. 424. 
 
132 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 We have just received information here that Mr. Wythe has 
 made a resignation, and does not intend to return. Under these 
 circumstances I would beg leave to submit it to the consideration 
 of the Executive, whether it might not be proper to fill the vacancy 
 in the delegation, occasioned by Mr. Wythe s resignation, with 
 some member of the Assembly. Mr. Corbin being here, his ap 
 pointment, if it shall be judged proper, would occasion little 
 additional charge to the State, if the Convention should, unfor 
 tunately, break up without adopting any substantial system that 
 event will happen, I think before the appointment can reach 
 this place ; if the Convention continues to proceed on the busi 
 ness, with a prospect of success, Mr. Corbin is on the spot ; and 
 I doubt it may be difficult to prevail on any member of the 
 Assembly, now in Virginia, to come hither at this late stage of 
 the business. 
 
 I beg you will do me the favor to lay this subject before the 
 Council, and believe me, with the greatest esteem and regard, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 The report of the grand committee, which was made on 
 the 5th of July, consisted of two propositions made mutually 
 conditional. The compromise consisted in giving the first 
 branch of the legislature the power of originating money 
 bills, a concession, as it was maintained, made by the small 
 States in order that the large States should concede the 
 equal vote in the Senate. There had been hot and hasty 
 words in the Convention, and threats of secession, and of 
 looking to foreign countries for assistance. And it was felt 
 that a crisis had come and a determined effort must be made 
 to meet it. In reply to animadversions on the report, George 
 Mason explained that it " was meant not as a specific propo 
 sition to be adopted, but merely as a general ground of 
 accommodation. There must be some accommodation on 
 this point, or we shall make little further progress in the 
 work. Accommodation was the object of the House in the 
 
 1 "Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. iv., j>. 310. 
 
YATES AND LANSING LEAVE THE CONVENTION. 133 
 
 appointment of the committee, and of the committee in 
 the report they had made. And however liable the report 
 might be to objections, he thought it preferable to an appeal 
 to the world by the different sides, as had been talked of by 
 some gentlemen. It could not be more inconvenient to any 
 gentleman to remain absent from his private affairs, than it 
 was for him, but he would bury his bones in this city, rather 
 than expose his country to the consequences of a dissolution 
 of the Convention without anything being done." A mo 
 tion was made to put restrictions upon the representation of 
 the Western States, when Colonel Mason said " the case of 
 new States was not unnoticed in the committee ; but it was 
 thought, and he was himself decidedly of opinion, that if 
 they made a part of the Union, they ought to be subject to 
 no unfavorable discriminations. Obvious considerations 
 required it." : And in this opinion Edmund Randolph 
 concurred. 
 
 The minutes of Judge Yates cease at this time, as he and 
 his colleague, Mr. Lansing, left the Convention on the 6th 
 of July, thoroughly dissatisfied with the course matters were 
 taking. The first proposition in the report was under dis 
 cussion on this day. This fixed the representation in the 
 first branch as " one member for every forty thousand 
 inhabitants." It was moved by Gouverneur Morris to refer 
 this to a select committee of five. With it went the clause 
 relating to money bills, and Dr. Franklin thought they could 
 not be voted for separately. George Mason then suggested 
 a reference of the rest of the report to the committee just 
 appointed. He urged that " the consideration which weighed 
 with the committee [the grand committee that reported on 
 the 5th] was, that the first branch would be the immediate 
 representatives of the people ; the second would not ; should 
 the latter have the power of giving away the people s money, 
 they might soon forget the source from whence they received 
 it. We might soon have an aristocracy. He had been much 
 
 " Madison Papers, "vol. ii., p. 1033. 
 2 Ibid., p. 1035. 
 
134 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 concerned at the principles which had been advanced by 
 some gentlemen, but had the satisfaction to find they did 
 not generally prevail. He was a friend to proportional 
 representation in both branches, but supposed that some 
 points must be yielded for the sake of accommodation." 
 The clause allowing each State one vote in the second 
 branch was taken up and agreed to on the /th. And on the 
 9th the report of the committee of five on the clause fixing 
 representation in the first branch of the legislature was given 
 to the Convention. This altered the representation from 
 " one member to every forty thousand inhabitants," and 
 gave fifty-six members for the first Congress, and this num 
 ber to be augmented from time to time. The change did 
 not give satisfaction, and the first part of the report was 
 then put into the hands of another grand committee, Madi 
 son this time being the member selected from Virginia. 
 And here the representation was augmented to sixty-five 
 members. But it was becoming more and more apparent 
 that the question of the balance of power was not so much 
 between the large and small States as between the Northern 
 and Southern States, and the Southern members contended 
 that the changes made in the representation of the House 
 were unfavorable to the South. Mr. Madison proposed to 
 double the number from each State ; some of the Northern 
 members were for a reduction, urging the expense. Mr. 
 Gerry, however, proposed to increase the number. George 
 Mason " admitted that the objection drawn from the con 
 sideration of expense had weight both in itself and as the 
 people might be affected by it. But he thought it out 
 weighed by the objections against the smallness of the 
 number. Thirty-eight will, he supposes, as being a majority 
 of sixty-five, form a quorum. Twenty will be a majority of 
 thirty-eight. This was certainly too small a number to make 
 laws for America. They would neither bring with them all 
 the necessary information relative to local interests, nor 
 possess the necessary confidence of the people. After 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. 1040-1042. 
 
THE PROPER RULE OF REP RE SENT A TION. 135 
 
 doubling the number, the laws might still be made by so 
 few as almost to be objectionable on that account." Mr. 
 Madison s motion being lost, and the report of the commit 
 tee of eleven agreed to, Edmund Randolph moved that the 
 legislature take a periodical census to redress inequalities in 
 the representation. Colonel Mason here gave expression to 
 his fears, that the South would not be sufficiently secured 
 in her rights by the new Constitution : 
 
 " The greater the difficulty we find in fixing a proper rule of 
 representation, the more unwilling ought we to be to throw the 
 task from ourselves on the General Legislature. He did not 
 object to the conjectural ratio which was to prevail in the outset ; 
 but considered a revision from time to time, according to some 
 permanent and precise standard, as essential to the fair repre 
 sentation required in the first branch. According to the present 
 population of America, the Northern part of it had a right to 
 preponderate ; and he could not deny it. But he wished it not 
 to preponderate hereafter, when the reason no longer continued. 
 From the nature of man, we may be sure that those who have 
 power in their hands will not give it up, while they can retain it. 
 On the contrary, we know that they will always, when they can, 
 rather increase it. If the Southern States, therefore, should have 
 three-fourths of the people of America within their limits, the 
 Northern will hold fast the majority of representatives. One- 
 fourth will govern the three-fourths. The Southern States will 
 complain, but they may complain from generation to generation 
 without redress. Unless some principle, therefore, which will do 
 justice to them hereafter shall be inserted in the Constitution, 
 disagreeable as the declaration was to him, he must declare he 
 could neither vote for the system here, nor support it in his 
 State. Strong objections had been drawn from the danger to 
 the Atlantic interests from new Western States. Ought we to 
 sacrifice what we know to be right in itself, lest it should prove 
 favorable to States which are not yet in existence ? If the 
 Western States are to be admitted into the Union, as they arise, 
 they must, he would repeat, be treated as equals, and subjected 
 to no degrading discriminations. They will have the same pride, 
 
 1 Ibid . , ]>. 1061. 
 
136 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 and other passions, which we have ; and will either not unite 
 with, or will speedily revolt from, the Union, if they are not in 
 all respects placed on an equal footing with their brethren. It 
 has been said, they will be poor, and unable to make equal con 
 tributions to the general treasury. He did not know but that, in 
 time, they would be both more numerous and more wealthy than 
 their Atlantic brethren. The extent and fertility of their soil 
 made this probable ; and though Spain might for a time deprive 
 them of the natural outlet for their productions, yet she will, be 
 cause she must, finally yield to their demands. He urged that 
 numbers of inhabitants, though not always a precise standard of 
 wealth, was sufficiently so for every substantial purpose." 1 
 
 The representation to be regulated on a census of the free 
 white inhabitants and three fifths of the slaves was the next 
 proposition discussed. Some of the Northern members of 
 the Convention were opposed to any representation of the 
 slaves, while the extreme Southern delegates insisted that 
 they should be counted equally with the whites. The three- 
 fifths basis was another one of the compromises of the Con 
 stitution. George Mason advocated it, and on a motion for 
 an equal representation of the blacks, declared he " could 
 not agree to the motion, notwithstanding it was favorable 
 to Virginia, because he thought it unjust. It was certain 
 that the slaves were valuable, as they raised the value of 
 land, increased the exports and imports, and of course the 
 revenue, would supply the means of feeding and supporting 
 an army, and might in cases of emergency become them 
 selves soldiers. As in these important respects they were 
 useful to the community at large, they ought not to be 
 excluded from the estimate of representation. He could 
 not, however, regard them as equal to freemen, and could 
 not vote for them as such. He added, as worthy of remark, 
 that the Southern States have this peculiar species of prop 
 erty, over and above the other species of property common 
 to all the States." a Mr. Sherman said that he had become 
 convinced by the observations of Mr. Randolph and Colonel 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1064. - Ibid., p. 1068. 
 
MOTION MADE BY GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 137 
 
 Mason that the periods and the rule of revising the rep 
 resentation ought to be fixed by the Constitution. George 
 Mason " objected to a motion [made by Rutledge] to 
 include wealth with population in the estimate, as requiring 
 of the legislature something too indefinite and impracticable, 
 and leaving them a pretext for doing nothing." In reply 
 to Gouverneur Morris, who reiterated his objections to 
 admitting the Western country on an equal footing with the 
 Atlantic States, Colonel Mason, while agreeing with him, 
 " that we ought to leave the interests of the people to the 
 representatives of the people," said, that " the objection 
 was, that the legislature would cease to be the representa 
 tives of the people. It would continue so no longer than 
 the States now containing a majority of the people should 
 retain that majority. As soon as the southern and western 
 population should predominate, which must happen in a 
 few years, the power would be in the hands of the minority, 
 and \vould never be yielded to the majority, unless provided 
 for by the Constitution." 
 
 Gouverneur Morris startled the Convention on the I2th 
 by a proposal that " taxation should be in proportion to 
 representation." This was a blow aimed at the Southern 
 proposition for a full representation of the slaves. George 
 Mason in reply " admitted the justice of the principle but 
 was afraid embarrassments might be occasioned to the legis 
 lature by it. It might drive the legislature to the plan 
 of requisitions." Morris then limited his motion to direct 
 taxation, and this was agreed to. After a little further 
 skirmishing, it was finally decided that representation 
 should be proportioned to direct taxation, and both to the 
 number of the free white and three fifths of the slave popu 
 lation. On a motion to assess the inhabitants of the States, 
 until a census could be taken according to the number 
 of their representatives in the first branch, Colonel Mason 
 said he " did not know that Virginia would be a loser by the 
 proposed regulation, but had some scruple as to the justice 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1071. 2 Ibid., p. 1075. 3 Ibid., p. 1089. 
 
138 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of it. He doubted much whether the conjectural rule 
 which was to precede the census would be as just as it 
 would be rendered by an actual census." The equal vote 
 in the Senate was the next disputed point taken up. The 
 small States refused to confederate on any other terms, and 
 the large States as a class still opposed it. On the i6th 
 an adjournment was voted to enable the dissatisfied ones to 
 talk over the subject, and the result was satisfactory, for the 
 compromise was finally effected at this time. 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1089. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CHAMPION OF STATES-RIGHTS. 
 July-September, 1787. 
 
 The mode of electing the Executive was under discussion 
 on the 1 7th of July. George Mason approved of an election 
 by the legislature rather than by the people at large. In 
 animadverting upon some of the opinions that had been ex 
 pressed, Colonel Mason said : 
 
 " It is curious to remark the different language held at different 
 times. At one moment we are told that the legislature is entitled 
 to thorough confidence, and to indefinite power. At another, that 
 it will be governed by intrigue and corruption, and cannot be 
 trusted at all. But not to dwell on this inconsistency, he would 
 observe that a government which is to last ought at least to be 
 practicable. Would this be the case if the proposed election 
 should be left to the people at large ? He conceived it would be 
 as unnatural to refer the choice of a proper character for Chief 
 Magistrate to the people, as it would, to refer a trial of colors to 
 a blind man. The extent of the country renders it impossible, 
 that the people can have the requisite capacity to judge of the 
 respective pretensions of the candidates." 1 
 
 On a motion to strike out seven years as the term of office 
 for the Executive, and substitute " during good behaviour," 
 Colonel Mason spoke decisively against it : 
 
 " This motion was made some time ago, and negatived by a 
 very large majority. He trusted that it would be again negatived. 
 1 " Madison Papers," vol. ii., p. 1122. 
 139 
 
140 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 It would be impossible to define the misbehaviour in such a man 
 ner as to subject it to a proper trial ; and perhaps still more im 
 possible to compel so high an offender, holding his office by such 
 a tenure, to submit to a trial. He considered an executive during 
 good behaviour as a softer name only for an executive for life. 
 And that the next would be an easy step to hereditary monarchy. 
 If the motion should finally succeed, he might himself live to see 
 such a revolution. If he did not, it was probable his children or 
 grandchildren would. He trusted there were few men in that 
 House who wished for it. No State, he was sure, had so far re 
 volted from republican principles, as to have the least bias in its 
 favor." 
 
 On the 1 8th the subject of the judiciary was discussed, and 
 it was proposed that the judges should be appointed " by the 
 Executive with the consent of the Senate," instead of by the 
 Senate as declared in the eleventh resolution of the report. 
 George Mason spoke as follows : 
 
 " The mode of appointing the judges may depend in some de 
 gree on the mode of trying impeachments of the executive. If 
 the judges were to form a tribunal for that purpose they surely 
 ought not to be appointed by the executive. There were in 
 superable objections besides against referring the appointment to 
 the executive. He mentioned as one, that as the seat of govern 
 ment must be in some one State ; and as the executive would re 
 main in office for a considerable time, for four, five or six years 
 at least, he would insensibly form local and personal attachments 
 within the particular State that would deprive equal merit else 
 where of an equal chance of promotion." 
 
 Concerning the twelfth resolution, " that the national legis 
 lature be empowered to appoint inferior tribunals," Colonel 
 Mason " thought many circumstances might arise, not now 
 to be foreseen, which might render such a power absolutely 
 necessary." : Objections being made to the sixteenth reso 
 lution guaranteeing a republican constitution to each State 
 by the United States, George Mason said, " if the general 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1127. Ibid., p. 1131. * Ibid., p. 1137. 
 
POWERS OF THE JUDICIARY. 141 
 
 government should have no right to suppress rebellions 
 against particular States, it will be in a bad situation indeed. 
 As rebellions against itself originate in and against individual 
 States, it must remain a passive spectator of its own subver- 
 
 The appointment of the Executive through electors having 
 been decided upon, the question of impeachment was re 
 sumed. Colonel Mason declared : 
 
 " No point is of more importance than that the right of im 
 peachment should be continued. Shall any man be above jus 
 tice ? Above all, shall that man be above it who can commit the 
 most extensive injustice ? When great crimes were committed, 
 he was for punishing the principal as well as the coadjutors. 
 There had been much debate and difficulty as to the mode of 
 choosing the executive. He approved of that which had been 
 adopted at first, namely, of referring the appointment to the na 
 tional legislature. One objection against electors was the danger 
 of their being corrupted by the candidates, and this furnished a 
 peculiar reason in favor of impeachment whilst in office. Shall the 
 man who has practised corruption, and by that means procured 
 his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punish 
 ment by repeating his guilt ? " 
 
 On the motion to associate the judiciary "with the execu 
 tive in the revisionary power," Colonel Mason said, "he had 
 always been a friend to this provision. It would give a con 
 fidence to the executive, which he would not otherwise have, 
 and without which the revisionary power would be of little 
 avail." He urged again, " that the defence of the executive 
 was not the sole object of the revisionary power. He ex 
 pected even greater advantages from it. Notwithstanding 
 the precautious taken in the constitution of the legislature, 
 it would still so much resemble that of the individual States, 
 that it must be expected frequently to pass unjust and per 
 nicious laws. This restraining power was therefore essen 
 tially necessary. It would have the effect, not only of 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1139. 2 Ibid., p. 1154. 
 
142 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 hindering the final passage of such laws, but would discour 
 age demagogues from attempting to get them passed. It 
 has been said (by Mr. Luther Martin), that if the judges 
 were joined in this check on the laws, they would have a 
 double negative, since in their expository capacity of judges 
 they would have one negative. He would reply, that in this 
 capacity they could impede, in one case only, the operation 
 of laws. They could declare an unconstitutional law void. 
 But with regard to every law, however unjust, oppressive or 
 pernicious, that did not come plainly under this description, 
 they would be under the necessity, as judges, to give it a 
 free course. He wished the further use to be made of the 
 judges of giving aid in preventing every improper law. Their 
 aid will be the more valuable, as they are in the habit and 
 practice of considering laws in their true principles, and in 
 all their consequences." 
 
 In regard to the appointment of judges, Mr. Madison 
 made the motion that they should be nominated by the 
 Executive, and the appointments so made, unless disagreed 
 to by two thirds of the Senate, were to hold good. Governor 
 Randolph favored the motion. Colonel Mason did not 
 assent to it ; he " found it his duty to differ from his col 
 leagues in their opinions and reasonings on this subject. 
 Notwithstanding the form of the proposition, by which the 
 appointment seemed to be divided between the executive 
 and Senate, the appointment was substantially vested in the 
 former alone. The false complaisance which usually pre 
 vails in such cases will prevent a disagreement to the first 
 nominations. He considered the appointment by the ex 
 ecutive as a dangerous prerogative. It might even give him 
 an influence over the judiciary department itself. He did 
 not think the difference of interest between the Northern 
 and Southern States could be properly brought into this 
 argument. It would operate, and require some precautions 
 in the case of regulating navigation, commerce, and imposts ; 
 but he could not see that it had any connect i with the 
 * Ibid., pp. 1163-1168. 
 
APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES. 143 
 
 judiciary department." Madison had contended that ap 
 pointments by the Senate would give the balance of power 
 to the Northern States. The committee had given the 
 appointment of judges to the second branch of the legisla 
 ture, but a motion had been made on the i8th to alter 
 this decision, which was revived by Madison. 
 
 On the 23d the Convention debated on the mode of ratify 
 ing the Constitution. Should it be by the States through their 
 legislatures, or by conventions of the people in each State? 
 George Mason warmly espoused the latter alternative. He 
 " considered a reference of the plan to the authority of the 
 people as one of the most important and essential of the 
 resolutions. The legislatures have no power to ratify it. 
 They are the mere creatures of the State constitutions, and 
 cannot be greater than their creators. And he knew of no 
 power in any of the constitutions he knew there was no 
 power in some of them that could be competent to this 
 object. Whither, then, must we resort ? To the people, 
 with whom all power remains that has not been given up in 
 the constitutions derived from them. It was of great mo 
 ment, he observed, that this doctrine should be cherished, as 
 the basis of free government. Another strong reason was 
 that, admitting the legislatures to have a competent authority, 
 it would be wrong to refer the plan to them, because suc 
 ceeding legislatures, having equal authority, could undo the 
 acts of their predecessors; and the national government 
 would stand in each State on the weak and tottering foun 
 dation of an act of Assembly. There was a remaining con 
 sideration of some weight. In some of the States, the gov 
 ernments were not derived from the clear and undisputed 
 authority of the people. This was the case in Virginia. 
 Some of the best and wisest citizens considered the Consti 
 tution as established by an assumed authority. A national 
 constitution derived from such a source would be exposed 
 to the severest criticism." 
 
 A moti was made that the members of the Senate 
 
 ! Ibid., p. 1174. Ibid., p. 1177. 
 
144 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 should vote/^r capita, and that the number from each State 
 should be three. Colonel Mason thought " three from each 
 State, including new States, would make the second branch 
 too numerous. Besides other objections, the additional 
 expense ought always to form one, where it was not abso 
 lutely necessary." The puzzling question of the mode of 
 electing the Executive was discussed on the 24th and 25th. 
 Among other plans, the motion was made that he should be 
 appointed by the legislature, and be not eligible " for more 
 than six years in any twelve years." Colonel Mason ap 
 proved the suggestion : 
 
 " It had the sanction of experience in the instance of Congress, 
 and some of the executives of the States. It rendered the exec 
 utive as effectually independent as an ineligibility after his first 
 election ; and opened the way, at the same time, for the advan 
 tage of his future services. He preferred on the whole the 
 election by the national legislature ; though candor obliged him 
 to admit, that there was great danger of foreign influence, as had 
 been suggested. This was the most serious objection, with him, 
 that had been urged." ! 
 
 On the 24th of July, the twenty-three resolutions which 
 the Convention had elaborated from the nineteen resolutions 
 reported on the igth of June were referred to a Committee 
 of Detail to be shaped into a constitution. This committee 
 consisted of five members, Gorham, Ellsworth, Wilson, Ran 
 dolph, and Rutledge, three Northern and two Southern 
 men. The resolution on the Executive was not given to the 
 committee until the 26th. On this day George Mason 
 made the opening speech in the Convention, passing in 
 review the various propositions that had been made in 
 regard to the subject under discussion : 
 
 " In every stage of the question relative to the executive, the 
 difficulty of the subject and the diversity of the opinions concern 
 ing it, have appeared. Nor have any of the modes of constitut 
 ing that department been satisfactory. First, it has been proposed 
 that the election should be made by the people at large ; that is, 
 1 Ibid., p. 1185. - Ibid., p. 1202. 
 
SPEECH ON MODE OF ELECTING THE EXECUTIVE. 145 
 
 that an act which ought to be performed by those who know 
 most of eminent characters and qualifications, should be per 
 formed by those who know least ; secondly, that the election 
 should be made by the legislatures of the States ; thirdly, by the 
 executives of the States. Against these modes, also, strong ob 
 jections have been urged. Fourthly, it has been proposed that 
 the election should be made by electors chosen by the people for 
 that purpose. This was at first agreed to ; but on further consid 
 eration has been rejected. Fifthly, since which, the mode of 
 Mr. Williamson, requiring each freeholder to vote for several 
 candidates, has been proposed. This seemed, like many other 
 propositions, to carry a plausible face, but on closer inspection is 
 liable to fatal objections. A popular election in any form, as 
 Mr. Gerry has observed, would throw the appointment into the 
 hands of the Cincinnati, a society for the members of which 
 he had a great respect, but which he never wished to have a 
 preponderating influence in the government. Sixthly, another 
 expedient was proposed by Mr. Dickinson, which is liable to 
 so palpable and material an inconvenience, that he had little 
 doubt of its being by this time rejected by himself. It would ex 
 clude every man who happened not to be popular within his own 
 State ; though the causes of his local unpopularity might be of 
 such a nature, as to recommend him to the States at large. 
 Seventhly, among other expedients, a lottery has been intro 
 duced. But as the tickets do not appear to be in much demand, 
 it will probably not be carried on, and nothing therefore need be 
 said on that subject. After reviewing all these various modes, 
 he was led to conclude, that an election by the national legisla 
 ture, as originally proposed, was the best. If it was liable to 
 objections, it was liable to fewer than any other. He conceived, 
 at the same time, that a second election ought to be absolutely 
 prohibited. Having for his primary object for the polar star of 
 his political conduct the preservation of the rights of the peo 
 ple, he held it as an essential point, as the very palladium of civil 
 liberty, that the great officers of state, and particularly the execu 
 tive, should at fixed periods return to that mass from which they 
 were at first taken, in order that they may feel and respect those 
 rights and interests which are again to be personally valuable to 
 them." 
 
 Vol. TI. 10 
 
146 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 He concluded with moving, that the constitution of the 
 Executive, as reported by the Committee of the Whole, 
 be reinstated, viz. : " that the executive be appointed for 
 seven years [by the legislature] and be ineligible a second 
 time." Mr. Dickinson s proposition had been that each 
 State should select its best citizen, and out of the thirteen 
 names the Executive should be chosen, either by the na 
 tional legislature or by electors appointed by it. It was 
 from Mr. Wilson of Pennsylvania, that the singular scheme 
 emanated, which called forth George Mason s shrewd sar 
 casm. This was, to elect the Executive for six years, by not 
 more than fifteen of the members of the legislature, these 
 members to be drawn from it not by ballot but by lot, and 
 they were to retire immediately and make the election with 
 out separating. Colonel Mason s resolution passing in the 
 affirmative, he then moved " that the Committee of Detail 
 be instructed to receive a clause requiring certain qualifica 
 tions of landed property and citizenship of the United 
 States, in members of the national legislature ; and dis 
 qualifying persons having unsettled accounts with, or being 
 indebted to, the United States, from being members of the 
 national legislature." He observed " that persons of the 
 latter descriptions had frequently got into the State legis 
 latures, in order to promote laws that might shelter their 
 delinquencies ; and that this evil had crept into Congress, if 
 report was to be regarded." 1 Gouverneur Morris opposed 
 this discrimination, when Colonel Mason mentioned " the 
 parliamentary qualifications adopted in the reign of Queen 
 Anne, which he said had met with universal approbation." 
 Mr. Morris retorted that these " had been disregarded in 
 practice ; and were but a scheme of the landed against the 
 monied interest." 2 The first part of Colonel Mason s mo 
 tion passed in the affirmative ; the clause disqualifying pub 
 lic debtors was lost. He next observed " that it would be 
 proper, as he thought, that some provision should be made 
 in the Constitution against choosing for the seat of the gen- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1211. - Ibid., pp. 1212, 1213. 
 
PROVISION FOR THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 147 
 
 eral government, the city or place at which the seat of any 
 State government might be fixed. There were two objec 
 tions against having them at the same place, which, without 
 mentioning others, required some precaution on the subject. 
 The first was, that it tended to produce disputes concerning 
 jurisdiction. The second and principal one was, that the in 
 termixture of the two legislatures tended to give a provincial 
 tincture to the national deliberations." He moved " that 
 the committee be instructed to receive a clause to prevent 
 the seat of the national government being in the same city 
 or town with the seat of the government of any State, 
 longer than until the necessary public buildings could be 
 erected." There was some opposition to this, and Colonel 
 Mason then said " he did not mean to press the motion 
 at this time, nor to excite any hostile passions against the 
 system. He was content to withdraw the motion for the 
 present." The Convention then adjourned from the 26th 
 of July to the 6th of August, in order to give the Commit 
 tee of Detail time to prepare a constitution. 
 
 The report of the committee delivered to the Convention 
 on the 6th of August consisted of twenty-three articles. 2 It 
 was taken up the following day for consideration. The pre 
 amble, " We, the people of the States of " etc., with the first 
 and second articles, was agreed to. The third article was 
 debated, and George Mason " doubted the propriety of giv 
 ing each branch a negative on the other in all cases/ There 
 were some cases in which it was, he supposed, not intended 
 to be given, as in the case of balloting for appointments." 
 Mr. Morris moved to insert " legislative acts," instead of " in 
 all cases." Colonel Mason " thought the amendment of Mr. 
 Gouverneur Morris extended too far. Treaties are in a sub 
 sequent part declared to be laws ; they will therefore be 
 subjected to a negative, although they are to be made, as 
 proposed, by the Senate alone. He proposed that the mu 
 tual negative should be restrained to cases requiring the 
 distinct assent of the two Houses." Mr. Morris considered 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. I2I8-I220. - Ibid., pp. I2I8-I22O. 
 
148 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 this " but a repetition of the same thing ; the mutual nega 
 tive and distinct assent being equivalent expressions. Trea 
 ties, he thought, were not laws." * The whole clause in regard 
 to a negative was struck out at the instance of Madison, 
 and Gouverneur Morris motion passed in the negative. 
 Discussion then followed on the concluding clause, ap 
 pointing the time for the legislature to meet. Colonel 
 Mason " thought the objection against fixing the time 
 insuperable ; but that an annual meeting ought to be 
 required as essential to the preservation of the Constitu 
 tion. The extent of the country will supply business. And 
 if it should not, the legislature, besides legislative, is to have 
 inquisitorial powers, which cannot safely be long kept in a 
 state of suspension." 2 The clause received, at this time, cer 
 tain alterations which proved to be final. The qualifications of 
 electors coming up for consideration, Mr. Morris wished to 
 restrain the right of suffrage to freeholders. The Constitu 
 tion left it to the States to decide, each one in its own way. 
 George Mason said : 
 
 " The force of habit is certainly not attended to by those gentle 
 men who wish for innovations on this point. Eight or nine States 
 have extended the right of suffrage beyond the freeholders. What 
 will the people there say, if they should be disfranchised ? A 
 power to alter the qualifications, would be a dangerous power in 
 the hands of the legislature. We all feel too strongly the remains 
 of ancient prejudices, and view things too much through a Brit 
 ish medium. A freehold is the qualification in England, and 
 hence it is imagined to be the only proper one. The true idea, in 
 his opinion, was that every man having evidence of attachment 
 to, and permanent common interest with, the society, ought to 
 share in all its rights and privileges. Was this qualification re 
 strained to freeholders ? Does no other kind of property but 
 land evidence a common interest in the proprietor ? Does 
 nothing besides property mark a permanent attachment ? Ought 
 the merchant, the monied man, the parent of a number of chil 
 dren whose fortunes are to be pursued in his own country, to be 
 
 1 "Madison Papers," vol. ii\., pp. 1243-1244. - Ibid., p. 1246. 
 
A 2V IMPORTANT QUESTION DISCUSSED. 149 
 
 viewed as suspicious characters, and unworthy to be trusted with 
 the common rights of their fellow citizens ? " 
 
 The second section of the fourth article required of a rep 
 resentative that he should have been a citizen of the United 
 States at least three years before his election. Colonel 
 Mason was " for opening a wide door for emigrants ; but 
 did not choose that foreigners and adventurers make laws 
 for us and govern us. Citizenship for three years was not 
 enough for ensuring that local knowledge which ought to be 
 possessed by the representative. This was the principal 
 objection to so short a term. It might also happen, that a 
 rich foreign nation, for example Great Britain, might send 
 over her tools, who might bribe their way into the legisla 
 ture for insidious purposes." He moved that " seven " years, 
 instead of "three" be inserted. 2 The motion was agreed 
 to. It was then proposed to alter the next clause, and 
 require a representative to be a resident for a certain term 
 of years, of the State which should elect him. George 
 Mason thought seven years, which was suggested, too 
 long, " but would never agree to part with the principle. 
 It is a valuable principle. He thought it a defect in the 
 plan, that the representatives would be too few to bring 
 with them all the local knowledge necessary. If residence 
 be not required, rich men of neighboring States may employ 
 with success the means of corruption in some particular dis 
 trict, and thereby get into the public councils after having 
 failed in their own States. This is the practice in the 
 boroughs of England." : He then moved, with Mr. Ells 
 worth, to insert " one year " for previous inhabitancy. The 
 fifth section, giving the power of originating money-bills to 
 the House of Representatives, again met with opposition. 
 Colonel Mason said, " he was unwilling to travel over this 
 ground again. To strike out the section, was to unhinge 
 the compromise of which it made a part. The duration of 
 the Senate made it improper. He did not object to that 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. 1250-1252. - Ibid., p. 1256. n Ibid., p. 1259. 
 
150 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 duration. On the contrary, he approved of it. But joined 
 with the smallness of the number, it was an argument against 
 adding this to the other great powers vested in that body. 
 His idea of an aristocracy was, that it was the government 
 of the few over the many. An aristocratic body, like the 
 screw in mechanics, working its way by slow degrees, and 
 holding fast whatever it gains, should ever be suspected of 
 an encroaching tendency. The purse-strings should never be 
 put into its hands." The section was struck out, however, 
 on the motion of Madison. The next day Edmund Ran 
 dolph and others moved to reconsider it. Dr. Franklin be 
 lieved the two clauses, the originating of money-bills in the 
 House, and the equality of votes in the Senate, were essen 
 tially connected by the compromise which had been made 
 by the grand committee and reported the 5th of July. 
 George Mason thought " this was not the time for discussing 
 this point. When the originating of money-bills shall be 
 reconsidered, he thought it could be demonstrated, that it 
 was of essential importance to restrain the right to the 
 House of Representatives, the immediate choice of the 
 people." On considering the first section of article fifth, 
 Edmund Randolph wished to postpone the last sentence, 
 " each member shall have one vote." It \vas observed that 
 this could not be necessary, " as in case the sanction as to 
 originating money-bills should not be re-instated, and a re 
 vision of the Constitution should ensue, it would still be 
 proper that the members should vote per capita. A post 
 ponement of the preceding sentence, allowing to each State 
 two members, would have been more proper." Colonel 
 Mason replied, " he did not mean to propose a change of this 
 mode of voting per capita in any event. But as there 
 might be other modes proposed, he saw no impropriety in 
 postponing the sentence. Each State may have two mem 
 bers, and yet may have unequal votes. He said that unless 
 the exclusive right of originating money-bills should be 
 restored to the House of Representatives, he should not 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1266. - Ibid., p. 1271. 
 
CONSTITUTION APPRO VED OF AS THEN MO ULDED. I 5 I 
 
 from obstinacy, but duty and conscience oppose through 
 out the equality of representation in the Senate." 1 The 
 third section was taken up and Gouverneur Morris proposed 
 to make fourteen year s citizenship, instead of four, a qualifi 
 cation for senators. Colonel Mason " highly approved of the 
 policy of the motion. Were it not that many, not natives 
 of this country, had acquired great credit during the Revo 
 lution, he should be for restraining the eligibility into the 
 Senate, to natives." Nine years was finally made the 
 period of citizenship required. 
 
 In considering article sixth, section third, several of the 
 members contended that less than a majority in each House 
 should constitute a quorum. George Mason " opposed the 
 change. This is a valuable and necessary part of the plan 
 he urged. In this extended country, embracing so great a 
 diversity of interests, it would be dangerous to the distant 
 parts to allow a small number of members of the two 
 Houses to make laws. The central States could always 
 take care to be on the spot ; and by meeting earlier than the 
 distant ones, or worrying their patience, and outstaying 
 them, could carry such measures as they pleased. He ad 
 mitted that inconveniences might spring from the secession 
 of a small number ; but he had also known good produced 
 by an apprehension of it. He had known a paper emission 
 prevented by that cause in Virginia. He thought the Con 
 stitution as now moulded, was founded on sound principles, 
 and was disposed to put into it extensive powers. At the 
 same time he wished to guard against abuses as much as 
 possible. If the legislature should be able to reduce the 
 number at all, it might reduce it as low as it pleased, and the 
 United States might be governed by a junto. A majority 
 of the number which had been agreed on was so few that he 
 feared it would be made an objection against the plan." 
 The right of expulsion, article sixth, section sixth, Madison 
 observed " was too important to be exercised by a bare ma 
 jority of a quorum," and he moved that " with the concur- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1272. -Ibid., p. 1274. 3 Ibid., p. 1287. 
 
152 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 rence of two-thirds " might be inserted between " may " and 
 "expel/ an amendment that both Randolph and Mason 
 approved of. The seventh section, that the yeas and nays 
 shall at the desire of one fifth of the members be entered on 
 the journal, it was proposed to alter. Some were for allow 
 ing any member to call for the yeas and nays, and others 
 proposed to strike them out altogether. Colonel Mason 
 "liked the section as it stood. It was a middle way between 
 two extremes." Whether the clause should be retained, 
 that the Congress publish their proceedings from time to 
 time, was debated, and George Mason was in favor of it. 
 He "thought it would give a just alarm to the people, 
 to make a conclave of their legislature." The words, how 
 ever, were inserted, " except such parts thereof as may in 
 their judgment require secrecy." s Recurring to article 
 fourth, section second, Colonel Mason s alteration requiring 
 citizenship of the United States for seven years as a qualifi 
 cation for representatives, was assailed, and four years sug 
 gested as a substitute. Mr. Sherman, in defending the 
 theory of the longer term, said that the United States had 
 not "pledged their faith" to foreigners, as was asserted, 
 giving them equal privileges with native citizens, but the 
 individual States had done this, and the former could there 
 fore make discriminations. Mr. Madison was shocked at 
 this doctrine. Colonel Mason, however, was struck, as he 
 said, " not, like Mr. Madison, with the peculiarity, but with 
 the propriety, of the doctrine of Mr. Sherman. The States 
 have formed different qualifications themselves for enjoying 
 different rights of citizenship. Greater caution would be 
 necessary in the outset of the government than afterwards. 
 All the great objects would then be provided for. Every 
 thing would be then set in motion. If persons among us 
 attached to Great Britain should work themselves into our 
 councils, a turn might be given to our affairs, and particu 
 larly to our commercial regulations, which might have 
 pernicious consequences. The great houses of British mer- 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. I2QI, 1292. 2 Ibid., p. 1294. 
 
SPEECH ON ORIGINATING MONEY-BILLS. 153 
 
 chants would spare no pains to insinuate the instruments of 
 their views into the government." The important section 
 fifth of article fourth was reconsidered again, and Edmund 
 Randolph moved to alter the clause in regard to originating 
 money-bills by inserting " for the purpose of revenue," and 
 allowing amendments by the Senate with certain restrictions. 
 Colonel Mason spoke at length on this subject : 
 
 "This amendment removes all objections urged against the 
 section, as it stood at first. By specifying purposes of revenue, it 
 obviated the objection that the section extended to all bills under 
 which money might incidentally arise. By authorizing amend 
 ments in the Senate it got rid of the objections that the Senate 
 could not correct errors of any sort, and that it would introduce 
 into the House of Representatives the practice of tacking foreign 
 matter to money bills. These objections being removed, the 
 arguments in favor of the proposed restraint on the Senate ought 
 to have their full force. First, the Senate did not represent the 
 people, but the States, in their political character. It was im 
 proper therefore that it should tax the people. The reason was 
 the same against their doing it, as it had been against Congress 
 doing it. Secondly, nor was it in any respect necessary, in order 
 to cure the evils of our republican system. He admitted that, 
 notwithstanding the superiority of the republican form over every 
 other, it had its evils. The chief ones were, the danger of the 
 majority oppressing the minority, and the mischievous influence 
 of demagogues. The general government of itself will cure 
 them. As the States will not concur at the same time in their 
 unjust and oppressive plans, the general government will be able 
 to check and defeat them, whether they result from the wicked 
 ness of the majority, or from the misguidance of demagogues. 
 Again the Senate is not like the House of Representatives, chosen 
 frequently, and obliged to return frequently among the people. 
 They are to be chosen by the States for six years will probably 
 settle themselves at the seat of government will pursue schemes 
 for their own aggrandizement will be able by wearying out the 
 House of Representatives, and taking advantage of their im 
 patience at the close of a long session, to extort measures for that 
 
 1 Ibid. , p. 1304. 
 
154 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 purpose. If they should be paid, as he expected would be yet 
 determined and wished to be so, out of the national treasury, 
 they will, particularly, extort an increase of their wages. A bare 
 negative was a very different thing from that of originating bills. 
 The practice in England was in point. The House of Lords 
 does not represent nor tax the people, because not elected by the 
 people. If the Senate can originate, they will, in the recess of 
 the legislative sessions, hatch their mischievous projects, for their 
 own purposes, and have their money bills cut and dried (to use 
 a common phrase) for the meeting of the House of Representa 
 tives. He compared the case to Poyning s law, 1 and signified 
 that the House of Representatives might be rendered by degrees 
 like the parliament of Paris, the mere depository of the decrees 
 of the Senate. As to the compromise, so much had passed on 
 that subject that he would say nothing about it. He did not 
 mean by what he had said, to oppose the permanency of the 
 Senate. On the contrary he had no repugnance to an increase 
 of it, nor to allowing it a negative, though the Senate was not, by 
 its present Constitution, entitled to it. But in all events he would 
 contend that the purse strings should be in the hands of the 
 representatives of the people." 2 
 
 When article sixth, section ninth, regarding the ineligi- 
 bility of members of Congress to office, was debated, and a 
 motion was made to alter it, George Mason proposed ironi 
 cally " to strike out the whole section, as a more effectual 
 expedient for encouraging that exotic corruption which 
 might not otherwise thrive so well in the American soil ; 
 for completing that aristocracy which was probably in the 
 contemplation of some among us ; and for inviting into the 
 legislative service those generous and benevolent characters, 
 who will do justice to each other s merit, by carving out 
 offices and rewards for it. In the present state of American 
 morals and manners, few friends, it may be thought, will be 
 
 1 Poyning s Act, made under the administration of Sir Edward Poyning, 
 Vicegerent of Ireland in the reign of Henry VII. Under this law no measure 
 could be opened in the Irish Parliament unless it had been examined and passed 
 by the king in council. 
 
 9 " Madison Papers," vol. Hi., p. 1308. 
 
DANGERS OF THE TREATY-MAKING POWER. 155 
 
 lost to the plan, by the opportunity of giving premiums to 
 a mercenary and depraved ambition." The tenth section 
 provided that members be paid by their respective States. 
 The Convention discussed it with special reference to the 
 Senate, when Colonel Mason remarked " that the clause as 
 it now stands makes the House of Representatives also de 
 pendent on the State legislatures ; so that both Houses will be 
 made the instruments of the politics of the States, whatever 
 they may be." 2 It was finally agreed to pay the members of 
 the legislature out of the treasury of the general government. 
 It was proposed to amend section twelfth so as to read : 
 
 " Each House shall possess the right of originating all bills, 
 except bills for raising money for the purposes of revenue, or for 
 appropriating the same, and for fixing the salaries of the officers 
 of the government, which shall originate in the House of Repre 
 sentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend 
 ments as in other cases." 
 
 George Mason seconded the motion. " He was extremely 
 earnest to take this power from the Senate, who, he said, 
 could already sell the whole country by means of treaties." ! 
 Mr. Mercer then contended " that the Senate ought not to 
 have the power of treaties "; a power which belonged to the 
 executive department, adding " that treaties would not be 
 final, so as to alter the laws of the land, till ratified by legis 
 lative authority." Colonel Mason, to whose observations 
 Mr. Mercer had alluded, replied that he " did not say that a 
 treaty would repeal a law ; but that the Senate by means of 
 treaties might alienate territory, &c., without legislative 
 sanction. The cessions of the British islands in the West 
 Indies, by treaty alone, were an example. If Spain should 
 possess herself of Georgia, therefore, the Senate might by 
 treaty dismember the Union. He wished the motion to be 
 decided now, that the friends of it might know how to 
 conduct themselves." 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1318. 3 Ibid., p. 1331. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 1327. 4 Ibid., p. 1332. 
 
156 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The Convention proceeding to article seventh, the first 
 section, first clause, giving the legislature power " to lay and 
 collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises," was considered, 
 and Colonel Mason " urged the necessity of connecting with 
 the powers of levying taxes, duties, &c., the prohibition in 
 article seventh, section four, l that no tax should be laid on 
 exports/ He was unwilling to trust to its being done in a 
 future article. He hoped the Northern States did not mean 
 to deny the Southern this security. It would hereafter be 
 as desirable to the former, when the latter should become 
 the most populous." He professed his jealousy for the pro 
 ductions of the Southern, or Staple States, as he called 
 them. He moved the following amendment : " Provided, 
 that no tax, duty, or imposition shall be laid by the legisla 
 ture of the United States on articles exported from any 
 State." But the question was left to be decided later. The 
 clause giving Congress the power to " emit bills on the credit 
 of the United States," it was proposed to strike out. Colo 
 nel Mason " had doubts on the subject. Congress, he 
 thought, would not have the power, unless it were ex 
 pressed. Though he had a mortal hatred to paper money, 
 yet as he could not foresee all emergencies, he was unwilling 
 to tie the hands of the legislature. He observed that the 
 late war could not have been carried on, had such a prohibi 
 tion existed." He was still "averse to tying the hands of 
 the legislature altogether" he added later. " If there was 
 no example in Europe, as just remarked [by Pierce Butler], 
 it might be observed, on the other side, that there was none 
 in which the government was restrained on this head." But 
 the motion for striking out was agreed to. 1 In regard to the 
 clause to appoint a treasurer by ballot, Mr. Read moved that 
 this appointment should be left to the Executive. George 
 Mason, in opposition to Mr. Read s motion, " desired it 
 might be considered, to whom the money would belong; 
 if to the people, the legislature, representing the people, 
 ought to appoint the keepers of it." 2 In the clause " to de- 
 
 1 Ibid., pp. 1339-1344. * Ibid., p. 1347. 
 
REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE MILITIA. 
 
 clare the law and punishment of piracies and felonies," etc., 
 Madison moved to strike out " and punishment." Colonel 
 Mason doubted " the safety of it, considering the strict rule 
 of construction in criminal cases. He doubted also the pro 
 priety of taking the power in all these cases wholly from the 
 States." It was moved to insert " declare " war instead of 
 " make " war, and Colonel Mason was against giving the 
 power of war to the Executive, as was suggested, " because 
 not safely to be trusted with it ; or to the Senate, because 
 not so constructed as to be entitled to it. He was for clog 
 ging, rather than facilitating war; but for facilitating peace." 
 He preferred " declare " to " make," and the motion was 
 agreed to. 
 
 On the 1 8th of August Madison submitted certain powers 
 to be added to those of the general legislature, and George 
 Mason introduced the subject of regulating the militia. He 
 thought " such a power necessary to be given to the gen 
 eral government. He hoped there would be no standing 
 army in time of peace, unless it might be for a few garrisons. 
 The militia ought, therefore, to be the more effectually pre 
 pared for the public defence. Thirteen States will never 
 concur in any one system, if the disciplining of the militia be 
 left in their hands. If they will not give up the power over 
 the whole, they probably will over a part, as a select militia." 
 He moved to refer to the Committee of Detail, " a power 
 to regulate the militia," as one of the prerogatives of the 
 federal legislature. But he was led later to change his 
 mind on this point. Mr. Rutledge wished to refer a clause 
 to the committee, " that funds appropriated to public cred 
 itors should not be diverted to other purposes." Colonel 
 Mason said he " was much attached to the principle, but 
 was afraid such a fetter might be dangerous in time of war. 
 He suggested the necessity of preventing the danger of 
 perpetual revenue, which must of necessity subvert the 
 liberty of any country. If it be objected to on the princi 
 ple of Mr. Rutledge s motion, that public credit may require 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1347- 
 
158 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 perpetual provisions, that case might be excepted, it being 
 declared that in other cases no taxes should be laid for a 
 longer term than . . . years. He considered the caution 
 observed in Great Britain on this point as the palladium of 
 public liberty." And Colonel Mason interposed later a 
 motion that the committee prepare a clause for restraining 
 perpetual revenue, which was agreed to nem. con. A grand 
 committee was appointed to consider the necessity and ex 
 pediency of the United States assuming all the State debts, 
 and George Mason was the member from Virginia placed on 
 this committee. Returning to the subject of the militia, 
 Colonel Mason moved to give Congress power " to make 
 laws for the regulation and discipline of the militia of the 
 several States, reserving to the States the appointment of 
 the officers." He considered " uniformity as necessary in 
 the regulation of the militia throughout the Union." Mr. 
 Ellsworth " was for going as far in submitting the militia to 
 the general government, as might be necessary ; but thought 
 the motion of Mr. Mason went too far." And Mr. Dickin 
 son thought the States ought not to give up all power over 
 the militia. Colonel Mason then alluded to his idea of a 
 select militia. He * was led to think that would be, in fact, 
 as much as the general government could advantageously be 
 charged with. He was afraid of creating insuperable objec 
 tions to the plan. He withdrew his original motion, and 
 moved a power * to make laws for regulating and disciplining 
 the militia, not exceeding one tenth part in any one year, 
 and reserving the appointment of officers to the States. 
 General Pinckney renewed Colonel Mason s original motion. 
 In the course of the debate that followed, Mr. Sherman 
 " took notice that the States might want their militia " 
 for their own defence and for other purposes. Colonel 
 Mason " thought there was great weight in the remarks 
 of Mr. Sherman," and moved an exception to his motion, 
 " of such part of the militia as might be required by the 
 States for their own use," and the two motions were 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1356. - Ibid., p. 1361. 3 Ibid., p. 1362. 
 
QUALIFIED SOVEREIGNTY OF THE UNITED STATES. 159 
 
 referred to the grand committee, 1 of which Mason was a 
 member. 
 
 George Mason about this time moved to enable Congress 
 " to enact sumptuary laws." No government, he urged, 
 " can be maintained unless the manners be made consonant 
 to it. Such a discretionary power may do good, and can do 
 no harm. A proper regulation of excises and of trade, 
 may do a great deal ; but it is best to have an express pro 
 vision. It was objected to sumptuary laws, that they were 
 contrary to nature. This was a vulgar error. The love of 
 distinction, it is true, is natural ; but the object of sump 
 tuary laws is not to extinguish this principle, but to give it a 
 proper direction." : The motion, however, was not carried. 
 
 On the 2Oth the Convention discussed the second section 
 of article seventh, concerning treason. Colonel Mason was 
 in favor of pursuing the statute of Edward III. In the 
 course of the discussion it was contended that there could 
 be no treason against a particular State. Colonel Mason 
 replied : " The United States will have a qualified sovereignty 
 only. The individual States will retain a part of the sover 
 eignty. An act may be treason against a particular State, 
 which is not so against the United States. He cited the 
 rebellion of Bacon in Virginia, as an illustration of the doc 
 trine." The section was amended so as to read " Treason 
 against the United States shall consist only in levying war 
 against them, or in adhering to their enemies "; when Colo 
 nel Mason moved to insert the words, " giving them aid and 
 comfort," as restrictive of " adhering to their enemies," etc. 
 The latter, he thought, " would be otherwise too indefinite." 
 And this motion was agreed to. On the 2ist George Mason 
 called for the twelfth section of article sixth, which had been 
 postponed on the 1 5th. He " wished to know how the proposed 
 amendment, as to money-bills, would be decided, before he 
 agreed to any further points "; but the subject was again 
 postponed, and the section of the seventh article on the 
 power of taxing exports was debated. George Mason said : 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1364. * Ibid., p. 1369. 3 Ibid., p. 1373. 
 
l6o LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 44 If he were for reducing the States to mere corporations, as 
 seemed to be the tendency of some arguments, he should be 
 for subjecting their exports as well as imports to a power of 
 general taxation. He went on a principle often advanced 
 and in which he concurred, that a majority, when interested, 
 will oppress the minority. This maxim had been verified 
 by our own legislature [Virginia]. If we compare the States 
 in this point of view, the eight Northern States have an 
 interest different from the five Southern States ; and have, 
 in one branch of the legislature, thirty-six votes, against 
 twenty-nine, and in the other in the proportion of eight 
 against five. The Southern States had therefore ground for 
 their suspicions. The case of exports was not the same with 
 that of imports. The latter were the same throughout the 
 States ; the former very different. As to tobacco, other 
 nations do raise it, and are capable of raising it, as well as 
 Virginia, &c. The impolicy of taxing that article had been 
 demonstrated by the experiment of Virginia." The power 
 to tax exports was denied to the general government, and Vir 
 ginia s vote against it was due to Mason, Randolph, and Blair. 
 The clause allowing the importation of slaves called forth 
 a heated debate. George Mason, in opposition to Mr. Sher 
 man, of Connecticut, who was for leaving the clause as it 
 stood, made a speech of some length. 44 This infernal traf 
 fic," he said, " originated in the avarice of British merchants. 
 The British Government constantly checked the attempts of 
 Virginia to put a stop to it. The present question concerns 
 not the importing States alone, but the whole Union. The 
 evil of having slaves was experienced during the late war. 
 Had slaves been treated as they might have been by the 
 enemy, they would have proved dangerous instruments in 
 their hands. But their folly dealt by the slaves as it did by 
 the Tories. He mentioned the dangerous insurrection of 
 the slaves in Greece and Sicily ; and the instructions given 
 by Cromwell to the commissioners sent to Virginia, to arm 
 the servants and slaves, in case other means of obtaining its 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1387. 
 
SPEECH AGAINST THE SLAVE TRADE. l6l 
 
 submission should fail. Maryland and Virginia, he said, had 
 already prohibited the importation of slaves expressly 
 North Carolina had done the same in substance. All this 
 would be in vain, if South Carolina and Georgia be at liberty 
 to import. The Western people are already calling out for 
 slaves for their new lands ; and will fill that country with 
 slaves, if they can be got through South Carolina and Georgia. 
 Slavery discourages arts and manufactures. The poor de 
 spise labor when performed by slaves. They prevent the 
 emigration of whites, who really enrich and strengthen a 
 country. They produce the most pernicious effect on man 
 ners. Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They 
 bring the judgment of heaven on a country. As nations 
 cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they 
 must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, 
 Providence punishes national sins by national calamities. 
 He lamented that some of our Eastern brethren had, from a 
 lust of gain, embarked in this nefarious traffic. As to the 
 States being in possession of the right to import, this 
 was the case with many other rights, now to be properly 
 given up. He held it essential in every point of view, that 
 the general government should have power to prevent the 
 increase of slavery." 1 George Mason s attitude here must 
 not be misunderstood. He was no abolitionist in the modern 
 sense of the term. While he regretted the existence of 
 slavery in the South and opposed the slave trade, at the 
 same time he insisted that the rights of his section in this 
 species of property should be protected, and he wished for a 
 guarantee in the Constitution to insure it. He is himself an 
 instance that the effect of slavery on manners was not essen 
 tially deleterious. No doubt this was the case in individual 
 instances, but, as a class, there were no nobler men nor more 
 gracious women than the old slave-holding aristocracy of the 
 South, from whence came the patriots and sages of 1776, 
 and the generation that gave equally shining names to his 
 tory in 1861. As the Virginia poet sings: 
 
 Ibid., p. 1391. 
 Vol. II ii 
 
1 62 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Who shall blame the social order 
 
 Which gave us men as great as these ? 
 Who condemn the soil of th forest 
 Which brings forth gigantic trees ? " 
 
 After some further debate on this clause relating to slav 
 ery, Gouverneur Morris proposed that the whole subject be 
 committed, including the clauses regarding taxes on exports 
 and a navigation act. " These things may form a bargain 
 among the Northern and Southern States" said Morris. This 
 was the beginning of the compact so reprobated by Colonel 
 Mason, which altered the Constitution, as he declared, fun 
 damentally, and made it impossible for him to subscribe to it. 
 The committee was appointed, a grand committee, including 
 one member from each State, and Madison, as might be 
 expected, was the choice from Virginia. 
 
 While the seventh article was under consideration some 
 what later, it was moved to add, as an additional power to be 
 given to the general legislature, a negative on all the laws 
 of the several States interfering with the interests of the 
 Union, provided two thirds of each House assent to the 
 same. Colonel Mason " wished to know how the power was 
 to be exercised. Are all laws whatever to be brought up ? 
 Is no road nor bridge to be established without the sanction 
 of the general legislature ? Is this to sit constantly in order 
 to receive and revise the State laws? He did not mean by 
 the remarks, to condemn the expedient ; but he was appre 
 hensive that great objections would lie against it." The 
 grand committee, to whom the subject had been referred, had 
 given to the United States power to assume the several 
 State debts, making their report on the 2ist, and on the 25th 
 the Convention modified this decision, simply affirming " that 
 the engagements of the Confederation should be equally 
 valid against the United States under this Constitution." 
 Colonel Mason "objected to the term shall fulfil the en 
 gagements and discharge the debts, &c., as too strong. It 
 may be impossible to comply with it. The creditors should 
 
 1 Ibid., r>. 1410. 
 
AN OBNOXIOUS BARGAIN CONSUMMATED. 163 
 
 be kept in the same plight. They will in one respect be 
 necessarily and properly in a better. The government will 
 be more able to pay them. The use of the term shall will 
 beget speculations, and increase the pestilential practice of 
 stock-jobbing. There was a great distinction between origi 
 nal creditors and those who purchased fraudulently of the 
 ignorant and distressed. He did not mean to include those 
 who have bought stock in the open market. He was sensible 
 of the difficulty of drawing the line in this case, but he did not 
 wish to preclude the attempt. Even fair purchasers, at four, 
 five, six, eight for one, did not stand on the same footing 
 with the first holders, supposing them not to be blamable. 
 The interest they received, even in paper, is equal to their 
 purchase money. What he particularly wished was, to leave 
 the door open for buying up the securities, which he thought 
 would be precluded by the term * shall as requiring nominal 
 payment, and which was not inconsistent with his ideas of 
 public faith. He was afraid, also, the word shall might ex 
 tend to all the old continental paper." On this same day 
 the report of the committee of eleven delivered into the 
 Convention the twenty-fourth, allowing the importation of 
 " such persons as the several States now existing, shall think 
 proper to admit " etc., was discussed. Gouverneur Morris was 
 for making this clause read " the importation of slaves into 
 North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia shall not be 
 prohibited," etc. George Mason was not " against using the 
 term * slaves, but against naming North Carolina, South 
 Carolina and Georgia, lest it should give offence to the 
 people of those States. 2 The year 1800 was fixed in the 
 report as the term when the importation of slaves should 
 cease. This was changed to 1808. Objections were 
 made by Sherman to the tax on slaves as acknowledging 
 them to be property, to which Colonel Mason replied, " not 
 to tax, will be equivalent to a bounty on, the importation of 
 slaves." Gouverneur Morris remarked, that as the clause 
 stood it implied that the legislature might tax freemen im- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1425. * Ibid., p. 1428. " Ibid., p. 1429. 
 
164 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ported ; to which Colonel Mason replied : " The provision, 
 as it stands, was necessary for the case of convicts, in order 
 to prevent the introduction of them." It was finally amended 
 so as to read " importation " only, instead of " migration 
 and importation," as in the report of the committee. 1 
 
 Certain propositions made in regard to regulating trade 
 were referred to a grand committee, and George Mason was 
 the member selected for Virginia, the choice being made as 
 usual by ballot. 3 Colonel Mason and Mr. Madison moved 
 to add to the oath to be taken by the supreme executive 
 " and will, to the best of my judgment and power, preserve, 
 protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," 
 which amendment passed. Article eleven, section second, 
 having reference to the salaries of the judges, was consid 
 ered, and it was urged to reinstate the words " increased or," 
 before the word " diminished." Colonel Mason contended 
 strenuously for the motion. " There was no weight," he said, 
 " in the argument drawn from changes in the value of the 
 metals, because this might be provided for by an increase of 
 salaries, so made as not to affect persons in office ; and this 
 was the only argument on which much stress seemed to have 
 been laid." 3 The amendment, however, was not made. A 
 proposition followed, to prohibit the States from interfering 
 in private contracts, and Mr. Madison conceived " that a 
 negative on the State laws could alone secure the effect." 
 George Mason replied : " This is carrying the restraint too 
 far. Cases will happen that cannot be foreseen where some 
 kind of interference will be proper and essential. He men 
 tioned the case of limiting the period for bringing actions 
 on open account that of bonds after a certain lapse of time 
 asking whether it was proper to tie the hands of the 
 States from making provision in such cases." A motion 
 was made restricting the power of the States, in the words, 
 " nor pass bills of attainder, nor retrospective laws," which 
 received the assent of the Convention, Virginia, however, 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1430. 3 Ibid., p. 1437. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 1432. * Ibid., p. 1443. 
 
RESTRICTIONS ON THE POWERS OF THE STATES. 165 
 
 voting against it. Madison then moved to insert " nor lay 
 embargoes." Colonel Mason thought " the amendment 
 would be not only improper but dangerous, as the general 
 legislature would not sit constantly, and therefore could not 
 interpose at the necessary moments. He enforced his ob 
 jection by appealing to the necessity of sudden embargoes, 
 during the war, to prevent exports, particularly in the case of 
 a blockade." J The motion was lost. Madison moved next 
 that the prohibition, " nor lay imposts or duties on imports," 
 be transferred from article thirteen, where the consent of 
 the general legislature may license the act, to article twelve, 
 which would make the prohibition absolute. To this George 
 Mason observed, " that particular States might wish to 
 encourage, by impost duties, certain manufactures, for 
 which they enjoyed natural advantages, as Virginia the 
 manufacture of hemp, &c." 2 This motion was lost ; but 
 coming to article thirteen it was moved to insert after the 
 word "imports" the words "or exports," which passed by a 
 majority of one only, all the Southern States except North 
 Carolina being in the negative. 
 
 On the 2Qth of August the Convention took up the im 
 portant section of article seven relating to navigation acts, 
 which the committee of eleven had, in accordance with the 
 compromise before mentioned, reported to be struck out. 
 This provision required the assent of two thirds of the mem 
 bers present in each House to pass a navigation act. Mr. 
 Pinckney moved to postpone the report in favor of the 
 following proposition : " That no act of the legislature for 
 the purpose of regulating the commerce of the United 
 States with foreign powers, among the several States, shall 
 be passed without the assent of two thirds of the members 
 of each House." Colonel Mason spoke with much feeling 
 on the subject : 
 
 " If the government is to be lasting it must be founded in the 
 confidence and affections of the people ; and must be so con- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1444. 2 Ibid., p. 1445. 
 
1 66 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 structed as to obtain these. The majority will be governed by 
 their interests. The Southern States are the minority in both 
 Houses. Is it to be expected that they will deliver themselves 
 bound, hand and foot, to the Eastern States, and enable them to 
 exclaim, in the words of Cromwell, on a certain occasion the 
 Lord hath delivered them into our hands ?" 1 
 
 The question to postpone was lost, South Carolina joining 
 with the Northern States in their unanimous vote against 
 it. The report striking out section sixth was agreed to, and 
 thus the die was cast and the way made easy for that sec 
 tional legislation which was to lead at length to the Nullifi 
 cation crisis, and was to be one of the causes of the war 
 between the States. 
 
 In considering article seventeen relating to the admission 
 of new States, Gouverneur Morris made a fresh motion, put 
 ting restrictions on them, and Madison and Mason both 
 opposed him. Colonel Mason said : " If it were possible by 
 just means to prevent emigration to the western country, 
 it might be good policy. But go the people will, as they 
 find it for their interest ; and the best policy is to treat 
 them with that equality which will make them friends not 
 enemies." 2 On the question of filling the blank in article 
 twenty-one naming the number of States sufficient for rati 
 fying the Constitution, thirteen, ten, nine, and eight were all 
 suggested. George Mason was for " preserving ideas familiar 
 to the people. Nine States had been required in all great 
 cases under the Confederation, and that number was on that 
 account preferable." 3 Article twenty-second was taken up : 
 " This Constitution shall be laid before the United States in 
 Congress assembled, for their approbation, etc.," and it was 
 moved by Mr. Gerry to postpone it. George Mason " sec 
 onded the motion, declaring that he would sooner chop off 
 his right hand, than put it to the Constitution as it now 
 stands. He wished to see some points, not yet decided, 
 brought to a decision, before being compelled to give a final 
 opinion on this article. Should these points be improperly 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1453. - Ibid., p. 1457. " Ibid., p. 1473. 
 
COLONEL MASON S EMPHATIC DISAPPROBATION. l6/ 
 
 settled, his wish would then be to bring the whole subject 
 before another general convention." Gouverneur Morris 
 on the 3d of September, moved to amend the report con 
 cerning the respect to be paid acts, records, etc., of one State 
 in other States so as to read, " and the legislature shall, by 
 general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, rec 
 ords, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof," 
 instead of " and the effect which judgments obtained in one 
 State shall have in another." Colonel Mason favored the 
 motion, particularly if the " effect " was to be restrained to 
 judgments and judicial proceedings. 2 
 
 Certain parts of the Constitution had been referred to a 
 grand committee on the 3 1st of August, Madison being the 
 delegate from Virginia on the committee, and their report 
 was made the 4th of September. Much of it referred to the 
 Executive, the manner of his election, etc. He was to be 
 balloted for by electors, not chosen by the legislature, was to 
 serve for four years instead of seven, but in case more than 
 one candidate had a majority of votes, then the Senate was 
 to choose by ballot one of these candidates for President. 
 Colonel Mason " confessed that the plan of the committee 
 had removed some capital objections, particularly the danger 
 of cabal and corruption. It was liable, however, to this 
 strong objection, that nineteen times in twenty the President 
 would be chosen by the Senate, an improper body for the 
 purpose." 3 The question was debated the following day, 
 when George Mason spoke as follows. He " admitted that 
 there were objections to an appointment by the legislature, 
 as originally planned. He had not yet made up his mind, 
 but would state his objections to the mode proposed by the 
 committee. First, it puts the appointment in fact into the 
 hands of the Senate, as it will rarely happen that a majority 
 of the whole vote will fall on any one candidate ; and as the 
 existing President will always be one of the five highest, his 
 reappointment will of course depend on the Senate. Sec 
 ondly, considering the powers of the President and those of 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1475. 9 Ibid., p. 1480. 3 Ibid., p. 1490. 
 
1 68 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the Senate, if a coalition should be established between 
 these two branches, they will be able to subvert the Con 
 stitution. The great objection with him \vould be removed 
 by depriving the Senate of the eventual election." He 
 accordingly moved to strike out the words " if such number 
 be a majority of that of the electors." This would make 
 the person having the highest number of votes, though not 
 a majority, President. Gouverneur Morris thought the 
 point of no great consequence, and that it was probable 
 that a majority of votes would fall on the same man. Colo 
 nel Mason replied : " Those who think there is no danger of 
 there not being a majority for the same person in the first 
 instance, ought to give up the point to those who think oth 
 erwise." 2 George Mason s motion was lost by a large 
 majority. Then, after several other propositions made by 
 different members, Colonel Mason moved to strike out the 
 word " five " and insert the word u three," as the highest 
 candidates for the Senate to choose from, which motion was 
 also lost. He continued his objections : " As the mode of 
 appointment is now regulated, he could not forbear express 
 ing his opinion that it is utterly inadmissible. He would 
 prefer the government of Prussia to one which will put all 
 power into the hands of seven or eight men, and fix an 
 aristocracy worse than absolute monarchy." This question 
 coming up again the following day, it was proposed that an 
 eventual choice should be made by the House in conjunction 
 with the Senate, and finally that the House of Representa 
 tives be substituted for the Senate. Colonel Mason " liked 
 the latter mode best as lessening the aristocratic influence of 
 the Senate," and the motion was agreed to by an almost 
 unanimous vote. 4 Other amendments were made which 
 met with George Mason s approval, and the clause received 
 its final form. 
 
 In considering the section, " the Vice-President shall be 
 ex-officio president of the Senate," Colonel Mason spoke at 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1499. :< Ibid., p. 1503. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 1499. 4 Ibid-, P- i5i*- 
 
DESIRES A PRIVY COUNCIL FOR THE PRESIDENT. 169 
 
 some length. He 4< thought the office of Vice-President an 
 encroachment on the rights of the Senate, and that it mixed 
 too much the legislative and the executive, which, as well as 
 the judiciary department, ought to be kept as separate as 
 possible. He took occasion to express his dislike of any 
 reference whatever, of the power to make appointments, to 
 either branch of the legislature. On the other hand, he was 
 averse to vest so dangerous a power in the President alone. 
 As a method for avoiding both, he suggested that a privy 
 council, of six members, to the President, should be estab 
 lished, to be chosen for six years by the Senate, two out of 
 the Eastern, two out of the Middle, and two out of the 
 Southern quarters of the Union ; and to go out in rota 
 tion, two every second year, the concurrence of the Senate 
 to be required only in the appointment of ambassadors, and 
 in making treaties, which are more of a legislative nature. 
 This would prevent the constant sitting of the Senate, which 
 he thought dangerous, as well as keep the departments 
 separate and distinct. It would also save the expense of 
 constant sessions of the Senate. He had, he said, always 
 considered the Senate as too unwieldy and expensive for 
 appointing officers, especially the smallest, such as tide- 
 waiters, &c. He had not reduced his idea to writing, but it 
 could be easily done, if it should be found acceptable." 
 This idea of a council was supported by Mr. Wilson, but 
 opposed by Mr. King. Colonel Mason then said, " that in 
 rejecting a council to the President we were about to try an 
 experiment on which the most despotic governments had 
 never ventured. The Grand Seignior himself had his divan. 
 He moved to postpone the consideration of the clause 
 [" and may require the opinion in writing of the principal 
 officer in each of the Executive Departments, upon any sub 
 ject relating to the duties of their respective offices,"] in 
 order to take up the following : That it be an instruction 
 to the Committee of the States to prepare a clause or 
 clauses for establishing an Executive Council, as a Coun- 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1518. 
 
LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 cil of State, for the President of the United States, to con 
 sist of six members, two of which from the Eastern, two 
 from the Middle, and two from the Southern States, with a 
 rotation and duration of office similar to those of the Senate: 
 such Council to be appointed by the Legislature or by the 
 Senate. 
 
 This motion, seconded by Dr. Franklin and approved of 
 by Madison and others, was rejected by the Convention. 
 
 The Constitution on the 8th of September was referred to 
 a committee of five to revise the style. Johnson, Hamilton, 
 Morris, Madison, and King composed this committee, and 
 the final draft of the Constitution was the work of Gouv- 
 erneur Morris. The clause referring to the Senate the trial 
 of impeachments against the President was taken up by the 
 Convention on the 8th, and George Mason inquired : 
 
 " Why is the provision restrained to treason and bribery only ? 
 Treason, as denned in the Constitution, will not reach many great 
 and dangerous offences. Hastings is not guilty of treason. At 
 tempts to subvert the Constitution may not be treason, as above 
 denned. As bills of attainder, which have saved the British 
 constitution, are forbidden, it is the more necessary to extend the 
 power of impeachments." 
 
 He moved to add, after " bribery," " or maladministra 
 tion." Colonel Mason was seconded by Mr. Gerry, but 
 Madison objecting to the vagueness of the term " mal 
 administration," he withdrew it and substituted " other high 
 crimes and misdemeanours " [against the State]. The ques 
 tion then passed in the affirmative. 2 The word " State " 
 was afterwards struck out and " United States " unani 
 mously inserted, to prevent ambiguity. But these words 
 " United States " were finally struck out by the committee 
 on style. On the loth Edmund Randolph stated at some 
 length his objections to the Constitution as now formulated. 
 He made a motion to submit the system to the Congress, 
 thence to the State legislatures and conventions, the pro- 
 1 Ibid., p. 1523. 9 Ibid., p. 1528. 
 
WISHES TO HAVE A BILL OF RIGHTS. \J\ 
 
 cess to close with another general convention, with power 
 to adopt or reject amendments proposed by the State con 
 ventions. Colonel Mason " urged and obtained that the 
 motion should lie on the table for a day or two, to see what 
 steps might be taken with regard to the parts of the system 
 objected to by Mr. Randolph." On the I2ththe Committee 
 of Style and Arrangement reported the Constitution, and it 
 was moved to reconsider the clause requiring three fourths 
 of each House to overrule the negative of the President, and 
 insert two thirds. Gouverneur Morris said the difference in 
 the two proportions amounted " in one House to two mem 
 bers only ; and in the other to not more than five/ George 
 Mason said he " had always considered this as one of the 
 most exceptionable parts of the system. As to the numeri 
 cal argument of Mr. Gouverneur Morris, little arithmetic was 
 necessary to understand that three fourths was more than 
 two thirds, whatever the numbers of the legislature might 
 be. The example [given by Morris and Hamilton] of New 
 York depended on the real merits of the laws. The gentle 
 men citing it had no doubt given their own opinions. But 
 perhaps there were others of opposite opinions who could 
 equally paint the abuses on the other side. His leading 
 view was to guard against too great -an impediment to the 
 repeal of laws." The amendment was made, Virginia s 
 vote counting in the negative, however, as Mason and 
 Randolph were opposed by Washington, Blair, and Madi 
 son. It was then observed that no provision was made for 
 juries in civil cases, to which Mr. Gorham replied : " It is 
 not possible to discriminate equity cases from those in which 
 juries are proper." Colonel Mason said he " perceived the 
 difficulty mentioned by Mr. Gorham. The jury cases can 
 not be specified. A general principle laid down, on this 
 and some other points, would be sufficient. He wished the 
 plan had been prefaced with a Bill of Rights, and would 
 second a motion if made for the purpose. It would give 
 great quiet to the people ; and with the aid of the State 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1563. 
 
1^2 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASOA\ 
 
 Declarations, a bill might be prepared in a few hours." Mr. 
 Gerry concurred in the idea, and moved for a committee to 
 prepare a Bill of Rights, George Mason seconding the motion. 
 Mr. Sherman thought it was not required, as the State 
 Declarations of Rights were not repealed by this Constitution. 
 Colonel Mason replied : " The laws of the United States 
 are to be paramount to State Bills of Rights." On the 
 question for a committee to prepare a Bill of Rights, five 
 States voted in the affirmative and the five Southern States 
 in the negative. Massachusetts was absent. 1 Virginia s vote 
 probably went as before, Washington, Blair, and Madison 
 against Mason and Randolph. 
 
 The clause relating to exports was reconsidered at the 
 instance of Colonel Mason, who urged " that the restrictions 
 on the States would prevent the incidental duties necessary 
 for the inspection and safe-keeping of their produce, and be 
 ruinous to the Staple States, as he called the five Southern 
 States. He moved as follows : k< Provided nothing herein 
 contained shall be construed to restrain any State from lay 
 ing duties upon exports for the sole purpose of defraying 
 the charges of inspecting, packing, storing, and indemnify 
 ing the losses in keeping the commodities in the care of 
 public officers, before exportation." In answer to a remark 
 which he anticipated to wit, that the States could provide 
 for these expenses by a tax in some other way, he stated 
 the inconvenience of requiring the planters to pay a tax 
 before the actual delivery for exportation. Mr. Madison 
 seconded the motion, but the Convention soon after ad 
 journed without further action in the matter. The next day 
 George Mason, who was the first to address the Convention, 
 said he " had moved without success for a power to make 
 sumptuary regulations. He had not yet lost sight of his 
 object. After descanting on the extravagance of our man 
 ners, the excessive consumption of foreign superfluities, and 
 the necessity of restricting it, as well with economical as 
 republican views, he moved that a committee be appointed 
 
 1 Ibid,, p. 1566. 
 
AGAINST VESTING FURTHER POWERS IN CONGRESS. 173 
 
 to report articles of association for encouraging, by the 
 advice, the influence, and the example of the members of 
 the Convention, economy, frugality, and American manu 
 factures." The motion was seconded and without debate 
 agreed to, and a committee of five appointed, Colonel 
 Mason at the head of it. But no report, it seems, was 
 ever made by this committee. George Mason renewed at 
 this time his proposition of the day before " on the subject 
 of inspection laws, with an additional clause giving to Con 
 gress a control over them in case of abuse as follows : 
 Provided, that no State shall be restrained from imposing 
 the usual duties on produce exported from such State, for 
 the sole purpose of defraying the charges of inspecting, 
 packing, storing, and indemnifying the losses on such 
 produce, while in the custody of public officers; but all 
 such regulations shall, in case of abuse, be subject to the 
 revision and control of Congress. There was no debate, 
 and the question passed in the affirmative. 1 
 
 In considering the section, " Each House shall keep a 
 journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
 the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment 
 require secrecy," Colonel Mason and Mr. Gerry moved to 
 insert after the word " parts " the words " of the proceedings 
 of the Senate," so as to require publication of all the pro 
 ceedings of the House of Representatives. But the question 
 passed in the negative. 2 Dr. Franklin moved to add to the 
 powers vested in Congress " to provide for cutting canals 
 where deemed necessary." Madison wished to enlarge the 
 motion, "to grant charters of incorporation, &c." Colonel 
 Mason was for " limiting the power to the single case of 
 canals. He was afraid of monopolies of every sort, which 
 he did not think were by any means already implied by the 
 Constitution, as supposed by Mr. Wilson. " : The motion, 
 however, limiting the power to the case of canals, was lost. 
 Colonel Mason, " being sensible that an absolute prohibition 
 of standing armies in time of peace might be unsafe, and 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1569. 2 Ibid., p. 1573. 3 Ibid., p. 1577. 
 
T74 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 wishing at the same time to insert something pointing out 
 and guarding against the danger of them, moved to preface 
 the clause (Art. I., Sect. 8), to provide for organizing, arm 
 ing, and disciplining the militia, &c., with the words * and 
 that the liberties of the people may be better secured 
 against the danger of standing armies in time of peace. 
 Both Randolph and Madison were in favor of the motion, 
 but only two States, Virginia and Georgia, voted for it. 
 George Mason then moved to strike out from the clause 
 (Art. I., Sect. 9) " no bill of attainder, nor any ex post facto 
 law, shall be passed," the words " nor any ex post facto 
 law." He " thought it not sufficiently clear that the prohi 
 bition meant by this phrase was limited to cases of a criminal 
 nature ; and no legislature ever did or can altogether avoid 
 them in civil cases." 2 All the States opposed. "the motion, 
 however. In Article I., Section 9, it was moved by Colo 
 nel Mason to insert the words " or enumeration " after, as 
 explanatory of, " census." He also moved a clause requiring 
 " that an account of the public expenditures should be annu 
 ally published." The motion was altered by striking out 
 " annually " and inserting " from time to time," and passed 
 in this form. 3 The subject of inspection laws was again 
 taken up, and, in consequence of the proviso moved by 
 George Mason, and agreed to by the Convention on the 
 1 3th, this part of the section was laid aside in favor of the 
 form now in the Constitution (Art. I., Sect. 10). But a 
 motion to strike out the last words of the paragraph, " and 
 all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of 
 the Congress," passed in the negative. All the States then 
 agreed to the substitute except Virginia. 4 Messrs. Mc- 
 Henry and Carroll, of Maryland, moved that " no State 
 shall be restrained from laying duties of tonnage for the 
 purpose of clearing harbours and erecting light-houses." 
 Colonel Mason, in support of this motion, " explained and 
 urged the situation of the Chesapeake, which peculiarly 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1578. 8 Ibid., p. 1581. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 1579. 4 Ibid., p. 1584. 
 
HIS MOTION IN REGARD TO NAVIGATION ACTS. 
 
 required expenses of this sort." But in place of this right 
 reserved the motion passed " that no State shall lay any 
 duty on tonnage without the consent of Congress." On 
 the subject of the power of the Executive to grant reprieves 
 and pardons, Edmund Randolph moved to except " cases 
 of treason," and Colonel Mason supported the motion. 
 Madison thought the Senate should share this power with 
 the President, if it was to be given to the latter. Colonel 
 Mason replied " that the Senate has already too much 
 power. There can be no danger of too much lenity in 
 legislative pardons, as the Senate must concur ; and the 
 President moreover can require two thirds of both Houses." 2 
 
 The motion received the support of only two States, Vir 
 ginia and Georgia. George Mason thought the plan of 
 amending the Constitution " exceptionable and dangerous. 
 As the proposing of amendments is in both the modes 
 to depend, in the first immediately, and in the second 
 ultimately, on Congress, no amendments of the proper kind 
 would ever be obtained by the people, if the government 
 should become oppressive, as he verily believed would be 
 the case." 3 
 
 Returning for the last time to a subject which he considered 
 of vital importance, Colonel Mason expressed " his discontent 
 at the power given to Congress, by a bare majority to pass 
 navigation acts, which he said would not only enhance the 
 freight, a consequence he did not so much regard, but would 
 enable a few rich merchants in Philadelphia, New York and 
 Boston, to monopolize the staples of the Southern States, 
 and reduce their value perhaps fifty per cent." He then 
 moved " that no law in the nature of a navigation act be 
 passed before the year 1808, without the consent of two 
 thirds of each branch of the Legislature." Maryland, Vir 
 ginia, and Georgia were the only States that voted in the affirm 
 ative on this motion. North Carolina was absent, and South 
 Carolina apparently regarded herself as pledged to Northern 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1586. :1 Ibid., p. 1591. 
 
 4 Ibid., p. 1588. 4 Ibid., p. 1593. 
 
1/6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 interests here. Edmund Randolph animadverted on the in 
 definite and dangerous power given by the Constitution to 
 Congress, and he made a motion " that amendments to the 
 plan might be offered by the State conventions, which should 
 be submitted to, and finally decided on by, another general 
 convention." George Mason seconded the motion, and fol 
 lowed Randoph in strictures " on the dangerous power and 
 structure of the government, concluding that it would end 
 either in monarchy, or a tyrannical aristocracy ; which, he 
 was in doubt, but one or other, he was sure. This Constitu 
 tion had been formed without the knowledge or idea of the 
 people. A second convention will know more of the sense 
 of the people, and be able to provide a system more conso 
 nant to it. It was improper to say to the people, Take this 
 or nothing. As the Constitution now stands, he could 
 neither give it his support or vote in Virginia; and he could 
 not sign here what he could not support there. With the 
 expedient of another convention, as proposed, he could 
 sign." l This was Colonel Mason s last utterance in the 
 Federal Convention. He was followed by Elbridge Gerry, 
 who stated briefly his objections to the proposed system. 
 Then, on the proposition of Edmund Randolph for a second 
 convention, all the States voted in the negative. This was 
 on Saturday, the I5th of September. On Monday, the i/th, 
 the engrossed Constitution was read and signed by all the 
 members present except George Mason, Edmund Randolph, 
 and Elbridge Gerry. 
 
 George Mason told Jefferson that the Constitution as 
 agreed to only a fortnight before met with his approval. It 
 was, however, somewhat earlier that the changes were made 
 which so altered its character as to render it, in .Mason s 
 opinion, no longer a safe charter of government. Luther 
 Martin, in answering an assertion of one of his political 
 adversaries, in 1788, that he had cautioned certain members 
 of the Convention to be on their guard against the wiles of 
 Elbridge Gerry, " for that he and Mason held private meet- 
 
 Ibid., p. 1594. 
 
PRIVATE MEETINGS OF STATES-RIGHTS MEMBERS. I// 
 
 ings, where the plans were concerted to aggrandize, at the 
 expense of the small States, Old Massachusetts and the 
 Ancient Dominion/ " gives an account of the efforts of the 
 States-rights party to restore the Constitution to the form 
 first " agreed to." " Some time in the month of August," 
 he says, " a number of members who considered the system, 
 as then under consideration, and likely to be adopted, ex 
 tremely exceptionable, and of a tendency to destroy the 
 rights and liberties of the United States, thought it advisa 
 ble to meet together in the evenings, in order to have a com 
 munication of sentiments, and to concert a plan of conven 
 tional opposition to, and amendment of, that system, so as, 
 if possible, to render it less dangerous. Mr. Gerry was the 
 first who proposed this measure to me, and that before any 
 meeting had taken place, and wished we might assemble at 
 my lodgings ; but not having a room convenient we fixed 
 upon another place. There Mr. Gerry and Mr. Mason did 
 hold meetings ; but with them also met the delegates from 
 New Jersey and Connecticut, a part of the delegation from 
 Delaware, an honorable member from South Carolina, [Charles 
 Pinckney?] one other from Georgia and myself. Those were 
 the only private meetings that ever I knew or heard to be 
 held by Mr. Gerry and Mr. Mason meetings at which I my 
 self attended until I left the Convention and of which the 
 sole object was not to aggrandize the great at the expense of 
 the small, but to protect and preserve, if possible, the ex 
 istence and essential rights of all the States, and the liberty 
 and freedom of their citizens." 
 
 Hoping against hope and vigilant to the end, Colonel 
 Mason is to be seen at his post in the last weeks of the Con 
 vention, striving to bring about alterations of more or less 
 signficance and value. The vote of the 2Qth of August had 
 been a great disappointment to him, but he still sought to 
 reverse its decision. Among his manuscripts is to be found 
 a paper showing the points of the Constitution to which he 
 
 1 Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, March 18, 1788. Letter of 
 Luther Martin. 
 
 Vol. II 12 
 
1/8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 took exception and the amendments designed by him at this 
 time. Opposite most of these notes, of which there are 
 twenty in all, George Mason has marked in the margin 
 " agreed " or " refused," as the case might be. One of them, 
 endorsed as " not proposed," is as follows : 
 
 " Sect. 2 Art. 4. The citizens of one State having an estate 
 in another, have not secured to them the right of removing their 
 property as in the Fourth Article of the Confederation. Amend 
 by adding the following clause : And every citizen having an 
 estate in two or more States shall have a right to remove his 
 property from one State to another." 
 
 George Mason s reference to Article V fixes the date of the 
 manuscript to some extent. He says : 
 
 " By this article Congress only have the power of proposing 
 amendments at any future time to this Constitution, and should 
 it prove ever so oppressive the whole people of America can t 
 make, or even propose alterations to it ; a doctrine utterly sub 
 versive of the fundamental principles of the rights and liberties 
 of the people." 
 
 Here Colonel Mason s watchfulness was of great service 
 in detecting and bringing to light a device of Gouverneur 
 Morris to prevent the States from having the power to pro 
 pose amendments. George Mason gave an account of the 
 circumstance to Jefferson, who thus reports it : 
 
 " One morning Gouverneur Morris moved an instrument for 
 certain alterations (not one half the members yet come in). In 
 a hurry and without understanding, it was agreed to. The com 
 mittee [on style] reported so that Congress should have the 
 exclusive power of proposing amendments. George Mason 
 observed it on the report and opposed it. King denied the con 
 struction. Mason demonstrated it, and asked the committee by 
 what authority they had varied what had been agreed. Gouv 
 erneur Morris then imprudently got up and said, By authority of 
 the Convention, and produced the blind instruction before men- 
 
FR US TRA riON OF A N A D VERSA R Y S SCHEME. 1 79 
 
 tioned, which was unknown by one half the house, and not till 
 then understood by the other. They then restored it as it 
 originally stood/ l 
 
 Morris was not scrupulous, as his own admissions show, 
 in his desire to secure a centralized government. He tells 
 how, in his capacity of draftsman for the committee on style, 
 he sought by the wording of another portion of the Constitu 
 tion, the article on the judiciary, to give it a more decided bias 
 in the desired direction. 2 Mason and Morris were types of op 
 posing political views, and it is noticeable in the debates 
 of the Convention how often they engaged one another in 
 combat. They were strongly contrasted in character also, 
 which made the antagonism more complete. 
 
 George Mason s last and cardinal amendment is given in 
 this manuscript as originally proposed by him : 
 
 " No law in the nature of a Navigation Act shall be 
 passed without the assent of two thirds of the members 
 present in each House." 
 
 In another hand, the qualifying phrase is inserted which 
 it was believed might make it more acceptable " before the 
 year 1808." : Among George Mason s manuscripts, relating 
 to the period of the Federal Convention, is a draft of a con 
 stitution in the handwriting of Edmund Randolph. It is 
 discussed at length by Mr. Moncure D. Conway in his 
 biography of Randolph. 4 This paper, full of details, and 
 with marginal notes by John Rutledge, was evidently used 
 in one of the Convention committees. Other manuscripts, 
 chips preserved by George Mason from the Convention 
 workshop, are a fragment of a speech of his, and some 
 suggestions, in an unknown hand, on the subject of the 
 judiciary. 5 
 
 " Jefferson s Works." vol. ix., Anas, p. ng. 
 
 " Life and Writings of Gouverneur Morris," Sparks, vol. in., p. 323. 
 
 Appendix ii. 
 
 " Life of Edmund Randolph," p. 73. 
 
 Appendix ii. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LAST YEAR IN THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY. 
 
 1787-1788. 
 Washington notes in his journal September 17, 1787 : 
 
 " Met in Convention, when the Constitution received the unani 
 mous assent of eleven States, and of Col. Hamilton from New 
 York, the only delegate from thence in Convention, and was sub 
 scribed to by every member present, except Governor Randolph 
 and Colonel Mason from Virginia, and Mr. Gerry from Massa 
 chusetts. The business being thus closed the members adjourned 
 to the City Tavern, dined together, and took a cordial leave of 
 each other. After which I returned to my lodgings, did some 
 business with and received the papers from the Secretary of the 
 Convention, and retired to meditate on the momentous work, 
 which had been executed, after not less than five, for a large part 
 of the time six, and sometimes seven hours sitting every day 
 (except Sundays and the ten days adjournment to give a commit 
 tee an opportunity and time to arrange the business) for more 
 than four months." 
 
 We have no record of George Mason s last day in the 
 Convention. But his meditations upon the " momentous 
 work " there executed were, doubtless, of a very different 
 nature from Washington s. He went home, perhaps, in 
 company with his* neighbor of " Mount Vernon," and dis 
 cussed by the way the Constitution and its shortcomings. 
 Alexandria is said to have been strongly in favor of the new 
 
 "Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix. (Appendix), p. 541. 
 1 80 
 
EXPEDIENT SUGGESTED BY EDMUND RANDOLPH. iSl 
 
 government. And such was certainly the bias of a Phila 
 delphia paper, which published in its editorial columns a 
 remarkable story purporting to be a veracious account of 
 George Mason s reception in Alexandria on his return from 
 the Convention. " We hear from Alexandria," says this 
 Baron Munchausen, " that on the arrival of Mr. Mason (one 
 of the delegates in Convention) at Alexandria, he was waited 
 on by the Mayor and Corporation of that town, who told 
 him, they were not come to return him their thanks for his 
 conduct in refusing to sign the Federal Constitution, but to 
 express their abhorrence to it, and to advise him to withdraw 
 from that town within an hour, for they could not answer 
 for his personal safety from an enraged populace should he 
 exceed that time." George Mason was too much respected 
 by the mayor and corporation of Alexandria to have received 
 from them any such treatment as is here described, even had 
 the town been so foolish as to resent the action of their rep 
 resentative, which is by no means proved. And as neither 
 Washington nor George Mason refer to any such incident, 
 in their letters, it may well be dismissed as completely ficti 
 tious. Edmund Randolph, too, would most likely have 
 reported it to Madison, if his " dissenting colleague " had 
 met with such an experience, when he wrote from Bowling 
 Green, September 3oth : 
 
 " In Alexandria the inhabitants are enthusiastic [/. e. in favor 
 of the Constitution], and instructions to force my dissenting col 
 league to assent to a convention are on the anvil. I wrote to 
 him yesterday suggesting to him this expedient : to urge the 
 calling of a convention as the first act of the Assembly : if they 
 should wish amendments let them be stated and forwarded to the 
 States. Before the meeting of the convention an answer may be 
 obtained. If the proposed amendments be rejected, let the con 
 stitution immediately operate : if approved by nine States, let the 
 assent of our convention be given under the exceptions of the 
 points amended. This will, I believe, blunt the opposition, which 
 will be formidable, if they must take altogether or reject." 2 
 
 1 The Pennsylvania Journal, October 17, 1787. 
 
 2 " Life of Edmund Randolph," M. I). Conway, p. 95. 
 
1 82 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE AIASON. 
 
 This letter of Edmund Randolph to George Mason has 
 been lost, and it is not very clear, partly owing to the fact 
 that the sentence is not punctuated at all in the manuscript, 
 what the Governor meant, as he described his scheme to 
 Madison. On the subject of calling a convention, George 
 Mason did not need any prompting, either from his Alex 
 andria constituents or from Edmund Randolph. He had 
 prepared, in the last days of the Convention, his " Objec 
 tions to the Constitution." These he enclosed to Washing 
 ton, in a letter dated October /th. He writes : 
 
 " I take the liberty to enclose to you my objections, to the new 
 constitution of government, which a little moderation and tem 
 per at the latter end of the Convention might have removed. I 
 am, however, most decidedly of opinion, that it ought to be sub 
 mitted to the people for that special purpose, and should any 
 attempt be made to prevent the calling of such a Convention here, 
 such a measure shall have every opposition in my power to give 
 it. You will readily observe that my objections are not numer 
 ous (the greater part of the enclosed paper containing reasonings 
 upon the probable effects of the exceptionable parts), though in 
 my mind some of them are capital ones." 
 
 Colonel Mason in his letter then leaves politics for agri 
 culture, and tells his correspondent of the failure of some of 
 his crops, and that Dr. Williamson and Colonel Davie, of 
 North Carolina, whom he had met at the Convention, had 
 shown him letters mentioning large crops of corn in their 
 State. He proposes to supply himself there, and will write 
 to Dr. Williamson at Edenton for this purpose. And George 
 Mason offers to make a contract for Washington also, should 
 the latter desire it. 1 
 
 George Mason wrote out his objections to the Constitution 
 before leaving the Convention, apparently, as they are found 
 on the edition of the Constitution printed for the benefit of 
 the members, and given to them September I3th. This was 
 the " Report " of the " Committee on Style and Arrange- 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
MASON S "OBJECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION." 183 
 
 ment." George Mason s copy, 1 which is among the few that 
 have been preserved, is full of interlineations and marginal 
 notes, having been used, no doubt, in Committee of the 
 Whole. The " Objections," as they appeared afterwards in 
 pamphlet form, were somewhat expanded, and there were 
 changes in the style here and there. 2 They were not a great 
 many, as George Mason told Washington, but they covered 
 the whole ground, and were dwelt upon fully in the debates 
 of the Virginia Convention some months later. In the 
 " Address of the Sixteen Seceding Members of the Legisla 
 ture of Pennsylvania," September 2Qth, 3 as Washington wrote 
 Madison, George Mason s objections are detailed, and no 
 doubt he was in communication with the Antifederalists of 
 Pennsylvania and gave them the benefit of his views. His 
 objections were circulated among his friends in manuscript 
 before they appeared in print, and Madison wrote a reply to 
 them in a letter to Washington, October i8th. 4 It is evident 
 they excited a great deal of interest and no little alarm 
 among the Federalists, though Madison affected to think 
 them of small importance. They were published in Rich 
 mond, " Addressed to the Citizens of Virginia," 5 probably 
 in November or December, 1787, and it is said they were 
 also published in Boston, " mutilated of that which pointed 
 at the regulation of commerce." An answer to them ap 
 peared in the Massachusetts Centinel of the i8th of Decem 
 ber, copied from the Connecticut Courant, which was supposed 
 to have been written by Ellsworth, or Sherman, or some 
 equally able champion of the Constitution. 7 The most 
 elaborate reply to George Mason s " Objections " was that 
 made by James Iredell, of North Carolina, published in the 
 biography of the latter, and reprinted among the pamphlets 
 
 1 Owned by Mrs. St. George Tucker Campbell, of Philadelphia. 
 Appendix ii. 
 
 3 American Museum, vol. ii., p. 362. 
 
 4 " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., App. vi. 
 
 5 " Pamphlets on the Constitution.," Paul L. Ford, p. 390. 
 
 6 " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 288. 
 
 7 " The Republic of Republics," p. 444, P. ( . Centz, Appendix A, No. i. 
 
184 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON, 
 
 collected by Mr. Ford. James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, was 
 one of the most prominent advocates of the Constitution, 
 in its unamended shape, and his pamphlet in its defence is 
 considered the ablest on that side that appeared at this 
 period. An amusing " Recipe for an anti-Federalist essay, 
 which was published in one of the newspapers of the day, 
 brings Wilson and Mason together as typical men of the two 
 parties. The phrase " well-born," alluded to as a shibboleth 
 of the Federalists, belonged to John Adams, and will be 
 met with later in the debates of the Virginia Convention : 
 
 " Take well-born nine times ; aristocracy nine times ; lib 
 erty of the press thirteen times ; * liberty of conscience once ; 
 negro slavery once ; trial by jury seven times ; great men 
 six times ; * Mr. Wilson forty times ; and lastly, George Mason s 
 right hand in a cutting-box nineteen times. Put all together, 
 boil or roast or fry, and dish at pleasure. After being once 
 used the remains of the same dish may be served a dozen times 
 ad libitum." 
 
 Edmund Randolph published a letter embodying his objec 
 tions to the Constitution, and Richard Henry Lee wrote 
 very ably in advocacy of amendments to the charter of gov 
 ernment as it then stood. As Mason and Randolph had 
 been the Virginia Antifederalists of the Convention, so 
 Richard Henry Lee and William Grayson were leaders of 
 this party in Congress. The following letter from Richard 
 Henry Lee to George Mason, written in reply to one from 
 the latter, giving an account of the last days of the Conven 
 tion, details the action of Lee in Congress in his efforts to 
 advance the cause which he had at heart. Unfortunately, 
 all the letters of Mason to Lee written at this period have 
 been lost. Tradition says that the wife of Ludwell Lee, son 
 of R. H. Lee, converted many of these letters into covers 
 for her preserve-jars, and so like similar treasures among the 
 Bland Papers, which served to line baskets of eggs, they 
 perished ignobly. 
 
 1 Review in The Nation, January 17, 1889. 
 
RICHARD HENRY LEE TO GEORGE MASON. 185 
 
 NEW YORK, October ist, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I have waited until now to answer your favor of September 
 loth from Philadelphia, that I might inform you how the Con 
 vention plan of government was entertained by Congress. Your 
 prediction of what would happen in Congress was exactly veri 
 fied. It was with us, as with you, this or nothing ; and this 
 urged with a most extreme intemperance. The greatness of the 
 powers given, and the multitude to be created produces a coali 
 tion of monarchy men, military men, aristocrats and drones, 
 whose noise, impudence and zeal exceeds all belief. Whilst the 
 commercial plunder of the South stimulates the rapacious trader. 
 In this state of things the patriot voice is raised in vain for such 
 changes and securities as reason and experience prove to be 
 necessary against the encroachments of power upon the indis 
 pensable rights of human nature. Upon due consideration of 
 the Constitution under which we now act, some of us were 
 clearly of opinion that the Thirteenth Article of the Confedera 
 tion precluded us from giving an opinion concerning a plan sub 
 versive of the present system, and eventually forming a new 
 Confederacy of nine instead of thirteen States. The contrary 
 doctrine was asserted with great violence in expectation of the 
 strong majority with which they might send it forward under 
 terms of much approbation. Having procured an opinion that 
 Congress was qualified to consider, to amend, to approve or dis 
 approve, the next game was to determine that though a right to 
 amend existed, it would be highly inexpedient to exercise that 
 right, but merely to transmit it with respectful marks of appro 
 bation. In this state of things I availed myself of the right to 
 amend, and moved the amendments, a copy of which I send 
 herewith, and called the ayes and nays to fix them on the jour 
 nal. This greatly alarmed the majority and vexed them ex 
 tremely ; for the plan is to push the business on with great 
 dispatch, and with as little opposition as possible, that it may be 
 adopted before it has stood the test of reflection and due exami 
 nation. They found it most eligible at last to transmit it merely, 
 without approving or disapproving, provided nothing but the 
 transmission should appear on the journal. This compromise 
 was settled and they took the opportunity of inserting the word 
 
1 86 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 unanimously, which applied only to simple transmission, hoping 
 to have it mistaken for an unanimous approbation of the thing. 
 It states that Congress having received the Constitution unani 
 mously transmit it, &c. It is certain that no approbation was 
 given. This Constitution has a great many excellent regulations 
 in it, and if it could be reasonably amended would be a fine 
 system. As it is, I think t is past doubt, that if it should be estab 
 lished, either a tyranny will result from it, or it will be prevented 
 by a civil war. I am clearly of opinion with you that it should 
 be sent back with amendments reasonable, and assent to it 
 withheld until such amendments are admitted. You are well 
 acquainted with Mr. Stone and others of influence in Maryland. 
 I think it will be a great point to get Maryland and Virginia to 
 join in the plan of amendments and return it with them. If you 
 are in correspondence with our chancellor Pendleton it will be 
 of much use to furnish him with the objections, and if he approves 
 our plan, his opinion will have great weight with our Conven 
 tion ; and I am told that his relation Judge Pendleton of South 
 Carolina has decided weight in that State, and that he is sensible 
 and independent. How important will it be then to procure his 
 union with our plan, which might probably be the case if our 
 chancellor was to write largely and pressingly to him on the sub 
 ject, that if possible it may be amended there also. It is certainly 
 the most rash and violent proceeding in the world to cram thus 
 suddenly into men a business of such infinite moment to the 
 happiness of millions. One of your letters will go by the packet 
 and one by a merchant ship. 
 
 My compliments, if you please, to your lady and to the young 
 ladies and gentlemen. 
 
 I am, dear sir, affectionately yours, 
 
 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 
 
 Suppose when the Assembly recommended a Convention to 
 consider this new Constitution they were to use some words like 
 these : It is earnestly recommended to the good people of Virginia 
 to send their most wise and honest men to this Convention that it 
 may undergo the most intense consideration before a plan shall 
 be without amendments, adopted that admits of abuses being 
 practised by which the best interests of this country may be 
 
WASHINGTON S VIEW OF THE SITUATION. 1 8? 
 
 injured and civil liberty greatly endangered. This might per 
 haps give a decided tone to the business. 
 
 Please to send my son Ludwell a copy of the amendments 
 proposed by me to the new Constitution sent herewith. 1 
 
 These amendments correspond almost entirely with the 
 " Objections " of George Mason. The chief variation is in the 
 manner of composing the Executive Council. Washington 
 wrote to Madison on the loth of October, soon after receiv 
 ing George Mason s letter with his " Objections to the 
 Constitution " : 
 
 " As far as accounts have been received from the southern and 
 western counties, the sentiment with respect to the proceedings 
 of the Convention is favorable. Whether the knowledge of this 
 or a conviction of the impropriety of withholding the Constitu 
 tion from the State conventions, has worked most in the breast of 
 Col. Mason, I will not decide ; but the fact is, he has declared 
 unequivocally, in a letter to me, for its going to the people. Had 
 his sentiments, however, been opposed to the measure, his in 
 structions (for the delegates of his county are so instructed) 
 would compel him to vote for it. Yet I have no doubt, that his 
 assent will be accompanied by the most tremendous apprehen 
 sions which the highest coloring can give to his objections. To 
 alarm the people seems to be the groundwork of his plan. The 
 want of a qualified navigation act is already declared to be a 
 means by which the price of produce in the Southern States will 
 be reduced to nothing, and will become a monopoly of the East 
 ern and Northern States. To enumerate the whole of his objec 
 tions is unnecessary, because they are detailed in the address of 
 the seceding members of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, which, 
 no doubt, you have seen." 
 
 Comparing George Mason and Richard Henry Lee, Wash 
 ington adds : 
 
 " The political tenets of Col. M. and Colonel R. H. L. are 
 always in unison. It may be asked which of them gives the tone ? 
 Without hesitation I answer the latter because I believe the latter 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
1 88 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 
 
 will receive it from no-one. He has, I am informed, rendered 
 himself obnoxious in Philadelphia by the pains he took to dis 
 seminate his objections among some of the leaders of the seceding 
 members of the legislature of that State. His conduct is not less 
 reprobated in this country. How it will be relished generally is 
 yet to be learned by me." l 
 
 The late commander-in-chief clearly belongs to the " mili 
 tary men " of whom Richard Henry Lee speaks in his letter 
 to Mason. He advocated a strong government, and could 
 see no need for bills of rights. He was not in a temper to 
 appreciate the motives of the opposition leaders. But it is 
 difficult to see why he should think it necessary to take from 
 George Mason the credit of originality, on a subject which 
 had been so thoroughly canvassed by him in the Federal 
 Convention, and to suppose that Lee gave the " tone " to 
 his " political tenets." Two independent thinkers may be 
 " always in unison," it has been often seen, upon principles 
 which each one has arrived at by his own method. So the 
 mere fact that Mason s " Objections " antedated Lee s 
 " Amendments " would not be an argument against Lee s 
 originality, though his paper closely resembled that of his 
 friend. Five days later Washington wrote to Henry Knox : 
 
 " It is highly probable that the refusal of our Governor and 
 Colonel Mason to subscribe to the proceedings of the Convention 
 will have a bad effect in this State ; for as you well observe, they 
 must not only assign reasons for the justification of their own 
 conduct, but [it is highly probable that these reasons will be 
 clothed in most terrific array for the purpose of alarming." 2 
 
 The Virginia Assembly met on the 1 5th of October. It was 
 the last Assembly under the old freer life of the Confederation ; 
 and it was to be Colonel Mason s last session in the Virginia 
 Legislature. Besides the regular business of the Assembly, 
 the all-important question of the new Federal Constitution 
 was to come up, incidentally, in the recommendation of a 
 
 1 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. ii., p. 443 (Appendix). 
 
 2 " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 270. 
 
APPREHENSIONS OF THE FEDERALISTS. 189 
 
 convention. Madison wrote from Congress to Washington 
 on the 28th, expressing his anxiety as to the attitude on this 
 point of George Mason and Patrick Henry. He had heard 
 from one of his correspondents in the Assembly " that Colo 
 nel Mason had not got down, and it appears that Mr. Henry 
 is not at bottom a friend." He is therefore " not without 
 fears that their combined influence and management may yet 
 create difficulties." 1 The resolution of Congress transmit 
 ting the Constitution to the several State legislatures came 
 under consideration on the iQth, when Patrick Henry de 
 clared that it must go before a convention of the people, as 
 the Assembly had no power to decide the matter. George 
 Mason must have arrived in the Assembly by the 23d, as on 
 this day Edmund Randolph wrote to Madison from Rich 
 mond : u Mr. Mason has declared in Assembly that although 
 he is for amendments, he will not quit the Union even if 
 they should not be made." Then follows a phrase in this 
 letter showing that there had been some display of feeling 
 on Mason s part, apparently, against Madison, which is not 
 to be wondered at under the circumstances. The indistinct 
 manuscript reads : " Colonel Mason has said nothing good 
 [sic] and you may rest yourself in safety in my hands, for I 
 will certainly repel the smallest insinuation." 2 If Madison 
 feared the influence of Mason, it might well be that Mason 
 returned the compliment. Already the Federalist had begun 
 its work, in which Madison s pen was to be so potent. 
 And George Mason must have viewed with chagrin a publi 
 cation which was to do so much towards establishing political 
 views of which he emphatically disapproved. However, as 
 will be seen subsequently, the two statesmen, if estranged 
 for a short period, renewed later their former friendly 
 relations. 
 
 On the 25th of October the House debated the question 
 of calling a convention, and the following account is given 
 of the proceedings in a letter from Petersburg to a Phila- 
 
 1 "Correspondence of the American Revolution," Sparks, vol. iv., p. 185. 
 " Life of Edmund Randolph," M. D. Conway, p. 97. 
 
190 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MA SOX. 
 
 delphia newspaper, dated November ist, the only record 
 that has been preserved of the debate, it would seem. The 
 writer says : " On Thursday last the House of Delegates of 
 this State took under consideration the resolution of Con 
 gress by which the appointment of a State Convention was 
 recommended." The debate was opened by Francis Corbin, 
 who " spoke with approbation of the new plan of govern 
 ment." He closed his speech with a resolution that a 
 convention be called according to the recommendation of 
 Congress. Patrick Henry rose to oppose the resolution, as 
 it then stood. 
 
 " He did not question the propriety or necessity of calling a 
 Convention. No man was more truly Federal than himself, but 
 he conceived that, if this resolution was adopted, the Convention 
 would only have it in their power to say that the new plan should 
 be adopted, or rejected, and that however defective it might appear 
 to them, they would not be authorised to propose amendments. 
 There were errors and defects in the Constitution, and he there 
 fore proposed the addition of some words to Mr. Corbin s reso 
 lutions by which the power of proposing amendments might be 
 given." 
 
 Mr. Corbin defended his resolution, and George Nicholas 
 seconded his defence. 
 
 " He warmly reprobated Mr. Henry s amendment, because it 
 would give the impression that the Virginia Assembly thought 
 amendments might be made to the new government, whereas he 
 believed there was a decided majority in its favor. At the same 
 time he did not deny the right of the Convention to propose 
 amendments." 
 
 The writer goes on to say : 
 
 " Mr. Mason, who had just taken his seat in the House, rose 
 to second Mr. Henry s motion. He told the Committee that he 
 felt somewhat embarrassed at the situation in which he then 
 stood. He had been honored with a seat in the Federal Con 
 vention, and all knew that he had refused to subscribe to their 
 proceedings. This might excite some surprise, but it was not 
 
DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 191 
 
 necessary at that hour, he said, to make known his reasons ; at 
 a proper season they should be communicated to his countrymen. 
 He would, however, declare that no man was more completely 
 federal in his principles than he was : that from the east of 
 New Hampshire to the south of Georgia, there was not a man 
 more fully convinced of the necessity of establishing some general 
 government : that he regarded our perfect union as the rock of 
 our political salvation : but, that he had considered the new 
 federal government according to that measure of knowledge 
 which God had given him that he had endeavored to make 
 himself master of the important subject ; that he had deeply and 
 maturely weighed every article of the new Constitution ; and 
 with every information which he could derive, either from his 
 own reflection, or the observations of others, he could not approve 
 it. He said : I thought it wrong, Mr. Chairman, I thought it 
 repugnant to our highest interests, and if with these sentiments I 
 had subscribed to it, I might have been justly regarded as a 
 traitor to my country. I would have lost this hand before it 
 should have marked my name to the new government. 
 
 John Marshall spoke next : 
 
 " He thought Mr. Corbin s resolution improper for the reason 
 given by Mr. Henry. He thought Mr. Henry s amendment 
 improper for the reasons given by Mr. Nicholas. He wished 
 that the future Convention should have the fullest latitude in 
 their deliberations, etc., but he thought, with Mr. Nicholas, that 
 the people should have no reason to suppose that their Legisla 
 ture disapproved the new federal government, and therefore he 
 proposed this resolution : That a Convention should be called, 
 and that the new Constitution should be laid before them for their 
 free and ample discussion." 
 
 This resolution passed without opposition. The other 
 speakers in the debate were Prentis, Bland, Thruston, and 
 Benjamin Harrison. And it was decided that the conven 
 tion should meet in May, the election of members to take 
 place in March. 1 
 
 The first mention of George Mason s name in the printed 
 
 1 Pen us} ha n ia Packet, November 10, 1787. 
 
IQ2 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 journal of the Assembly occurs on the 26th of October, the 
 day after the debate just given, when he is added to the 
 Committees on Revenue and Trade. Between this date and 
 the 8th of November there is no further reference to him in 
 the journal, but we learn from other sources how he was 
 employed. On Saturday, the 3d of November, he answered 
 the expectations of his friends by giving the death-blow to 
 paper currency. In a letter to Washington, written a few 
 days later, he tells of the petitions before the House for an 
 emission of paper money, and other similar expedients, 
 against which he argued, maintaining that they were founded 
 upon fraud and knavery. Though he called upon the advo 
 cates of these measures to come forward and explain their 
 motives, not one of them was bold enough to enter the lists 
 against such a champion, and the resolutions which he had 
 prepared passed unanimously. 
 
 " Resolved, 6<r., That the present scarcity of circulating money 
 has been, in a great measure, caused by the general fear and 
 apprehension of an emission of paper currency ; inducing monied 
 men to lock up their gold and silver, or remit it to Europe, and 
 prefer receiving a very low interest for it there, to the risk of 
 lending or letting it out here ; That money, by the common 
 consent and custom of commercial nations, is and ought to be 
 considered as a scale or standard by which to estimate the com 
 parative value of commodities ; and that nothing can be more 
 improper and unjust than to substitute such a standard as would 
 be more uncertain and variable than the commodities themselves. 
 That an emission of paper money would be ruinous to trade and 
 commerce, and highly injurious to the good people of this Com 
 monwealth ; and that by weakening their confidence in the laws 
 and government, corrupting their manners and morals, destroying 
 public and private credit and all faith between man and man, it 
 would increase and aggravate the very evils it is intended to 
 remedy ; That the making paper currency, or anything but gold 
 and silver coin, a tender in discharge of debts contracted in 
 money is contrary to every principle of sound policy as well as 
 justice." 1 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. Virginia Gazette, November 22, 1787. 
 
VIRGINIA AND THE MISSISSIPPI NA VIGA TION. 193 
 
 In the first resolution an amendment was made, striking 
 out " remit to Europe, &c.," and inserting " preferring the 
 loss of interest." George Mason enclosed a copy of these 
 resolutions in his letter to Washington. And he tells his 
 correspondent of a resolution which passed on the third also, 
 prohibiting the importation of spirits and some other things, 
 all of which he thought impolitic. Madison ascribes this 
 resolution to Patrick Henry. 1 A plan was before the House, 
 Mason writes, for " a three years instalment of all debts," 
 which he thought exceptionable, but as he had no hope that 
 the opposition against it would be effective he meant to try 
 and change it by making the consent of the creditor neces 
 sary and the instalments voluntary. Colonel Mason also 
 enclosed Washington the u resolutions upon the proposed 
 Federal government." On the 8th of November, the 
 House in committee on the state of the commonwealth 
 came to the following resolution : 
 
 " That the delegates of this Commonwealth in Congress ought 
 to be instructed to urge that honorable body to allow a credit to 
 this State against the present existing requisitions of Congress 
 for the ascertained amount of the claim of this Commonwealth 
 against the United States for expenses incurred on account of 
 the territory ceded to Congress by this State." 2 
 
 The committee of ten appointed to prepare these instruc 
 tions included George Mason, Patrick Henry, and James 
 Monroe. Four days later other important resolutions were 
 passed by the House. The question of the free navigation 
 of the Mississippi was still unsettled, and the Assembly now 
 restated Virginia s position on the subject in these resolu 
 tions : 
 
 " That the free use and navigation of the western streams and 
 rivers of this Commonwealth and of the waters leading to the 
 sea, do of right appertain to the citizens thereof, and ought to be 
 considered as guaranteed to them by the laws of God and nature 
 
 1 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 366. 
 3 Journal of the Assembly. 
 Vol. II n 
 
IQ4 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 as well as compact ; That every attempt in Congress or elsewhere 
 to barter away such right ought to be considered as subversive 
 of justice, good faith and the great foundations of moral recti 
 tude, and particularly destructive of the principles which gave 
 birth to the late Revolution as well as strongly repugnant to all 
 confidence in the Federal Government, and destructive to its 
 peace, safety, happiness and duration ; That a committee ought 
 to be appointed to prepare instructions to the delegates repre 
 senting this State in Congress to the foregoing import, and to 
 move that honorable body to pass an act acknowledging the 
 rights of this State, and that it transcends their power to cede or 
 suspend them ; and desiring the said delegates to lay before the 
 General Assembly such transactions as have taken place respect 
 ing the cession of the western navigation." l 
 
 Mason and Henry were appointed on the committee here 
 recommended. But a subject was presently to be considered 
 where these two leaders are found on opposite sides. This 
 was the controversy respecting the immediate payment of 
 British debts. Should all legal obstacles be removed in the 
 way of their liquidation, in accordance with a provision in 
 the treaty of peace, or should they remain on the statute 
 books until Great Britain fulfilled her part in evacuating the 
 posts on the western frontier? George Mason supported 
 the resolutions for repealing the former legislation in this 
 matter, while Patrick Henry opposed them. The former 
 was ably seconded here by George Nicholas. The contest 
 lasted three days, but at length George Mason triumphed. 
 He gives an interesting account of the debate in a letter to 
 Washington of the 2/th of November. The journal of the 
 Assembly records that on the i/th, the committee of the 
 whole House resolved : " That all and every act or acts of 
 Assembly now in force in this Commonwealth repugnant to 
 the treaty of peace between the United States and the King 
 of Great Britain, or any article thereof, ought to be repealed ; 
 but the operation of this law shall be suspended until the 
 executive shall be informed by Congress that the other 
 
 1 ibid. 
 
PAYMENT OF BRITISH DEBTS. 195 
 
 States in the Union have passed similar laws of repeal." A 
 motion was made by Patrick Henry to strike out from the 
 word " repealed " to the end of the sentence, and insert " but 
 the operation of such repeal ought to be suspended until 
 the treaty of peace is complied with on the part of Great 
 Britain." This amendment passed in the negative. Another 
 amendment was then proposed, to insert after the word 
 "repealed" " and that an act ought to pass, to compel the 
 payment of all debts due to British subjects, in such time 
 and manner as shall consist with the exhausted situation of 
 this Commonwealth." This was also negatived, and the 
 main question then passed in the affirmative. 1 The commit 
 tee of ten to whom the resolution was then referred, to 
 prepare the necessary bill, consisted of Francis Corbin, 
 George Mason, George Nicholas, and others, concluding 
 with Monroe and Marshall. George Mason wrote Washing 
 ton how " Mr. C n, with the vanity so natural to a 
 young man," undertook to draw up the bill without consult 
 ing his colleagues, and did his work so injudiciously that it 
 would require to be " regenerated " in the committee before 
 it could be presented. On the 24th a bill passed the House 
 declaring tobacco receivable in payment of certain taxes for 
 the year 1787. George Mason voted against it, and in his 
 letter to Washington he speaks of it as " a foolish and inju 
 dicious project." Colonel Mason, on this day, was added to 
 the committee " to amend the several acts making provision 
 for the poor." On the 26th he was made chairman of a 
 committee of seven who were to bring in a bill explaining 
 and amending " the act for preventing fraudulent gifts of 
 slaves." The following day, leave was given to bring in a 
 bill " to remedy abuses in certain cases, and for the relief of 
 debtors," and George Mason was one of a committee of six 
 appointed to prepare it. 2 In his letter to Washington of 
 this date, Colonel Mason says : " Little progress has yet been 
 made on the subject of revenue. I shall use my best endeav 
 ors to prevent the receipt of public securities of any kind 
 1 Ibid. Ihid. 
 
196 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 iii taxes. ... By way of experiment, and to show the 
 members the utility of such a plan, we have this day, against 
 a strong opposition, ordered about ,6,000 now in the 
 treasury to be immediately applied to that purpose," [/ . r., 
 purchasing the securities up at the market-price]. On the 
 28th, the House in committee of the whole on the state of 
 the commonwealth, resolved : " That the executive ought to 
 be authorized to dispose of the public tobacco now in the 
 treasury, in such manner and for specie, or such public 
 securities, whether State or Continental, as may seem to 
 them best for the public interest." And George Mason was 
 appointed on the committee to prepare the necessary bills. 
 
 Two days later, resolutions passed the House, making 
 provision " for ascertaining the privileges and defraying the 
 expenses " of the members of the Convention, which was to 
 meet the first Monday in the following June, instead of 
 May as at first decided on. And it was further resolved, 
 that if this Convention " should deem it proper to send 
 a deputy or deputies to confer with the Convention or 
 Conventions of any other State or States in the Union, the 
 General Assembly will make provision for defraying the 
 expenses thereof." 1 Patrick Henry and George Mason 
 were placed second and third on the committee appointed 
 for this purpose. This last resolution was considered a 
 triumph for the Antifederalists, and gave the other party 
 no small alarm. Bushrod Washington wrote an account of 
 the matter, three days later, December 3d, to his anxious 
 relative at " Mount Vernon." He says : 
 
 " I am sorry to inform you, that the Constitution has lost 
 so considerably that it is doubted whether it has any longer 
 a majority in its favor. From a vote which took place the other 
 day, this would appear certain, though I cannot think it so 
 decisive as its enemies consider it. It marks, however, the 
 inconsistency of some of its opponents. At the time the resolu 
 tions calling a Convention were entered into, Colonel Mason 
 sided with the friends of the Constitution, and opposed any hint 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
PROVISION FOR THE CONVENTION IN JUNE. 197 
 
 being given, expressive of the sentiments of the house as to 
 amendments [?]. But, as it was unfortunately omitted at that 
 time to make provision for the subsistence of the Convention, it 
 became necessary to pass some resolution on the subject ; when 
 a resolution was added, providing for any expense which may 
 attend an attempt to make amendments. As Colonel Mason 
 had, on the former occasion, declared that it would be improper 
 to make any discovery of the sentiments of the House on the 
 subject, and that we had no right to suggest anything to a 
 body paramount to us, his advocating such a resolution was 
 matter of astonishment. It is true, he declared, it was not 
 declaratory of our opinion. But the contrary must be very 
 obvious. As I have heard many declare themselves friends to 
 the Constitution since the vote, I do not consider it altogether 
 decisive of the opinion of the House with regard to it." 
 
 There was some debate in the Assembly, evidently, on 
 these resolutions. But it may be certain, whatever George 
 Mason said on the 3Oth of November was not inconsistent 
 with the opinions so emphatically expressed by him on the 
 25th of October. 
 
 On the ist of December, Colonel Mason and several other 
 members were appointed to prepare a bill " to supply the 
 defect of evidence of the Royal assent to certain Acts of 
 Assembly under the former government." And on this day 
 the vexed question of the British debts was again before the 
 House, and two amendments were made to the bill. The 
 first two clauses, including the preamble, were stricken out 
 and the following was inserted : 
 
 " Whereas it is stipulated by the fourth article of the treaty of 
 peace between the king of Great Britain and the United States 
 of America in Congress assembled, that creditors on either side 
 shall meet with no lawful impediment in the recovery of the full 
 value in sterling money, of all bona fide debts heretofore con 
 tracted. Be it therefore enacted, &c. That such of the act 
 or acts of the legislature of this Commonwealth, as have pre 
 vented, or might prevent, the recovery of debts due to British 
 "Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 273. 
 
198 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 subjects, according to the true intent and meaning of the said 
 treaty of peace, shall be and are hereby repealed." 
 
 This first amendment may have been due to the making 
 over in the committee of the illy drawn instrument as it 
 came from Mr. Corbin s hands. But the second amendment 
 showed Patrick Henry s influence, and in fact was meant to 
 nullify the whole bill. The proviso that the operation of 
 the law shall be suspended until the Governor with the 
 advice of the Council shall, by his proclamation declare 
 the same to be in force ; which proclamation he is hereby 
 empowered and directed, with the advice aforesaid to issue 
 on receiving official information from Congress that the 
 other States in the Union have passed laws enabling British 
 creditors to recover their debts agreeably to the terms of 
 the treaty, was struck out and in its place was inserted : 
 
 " Provided that this act shall be suspended until the Governor 
 with the advice of the Council shall, by his proclamation notify 
 to this State that Great Britain hath delivered up to the United 
 States the posts therein now occupied by British troops, which 
 posts were stipulated by treaty to be given up to Congress imme 
 diately after the conclusion of peace ; and is also taking measures 
 for the further fulfilment of the said treaty, by delivering up the 
 negroes belonging to the citizens of this State taken away con 
 trary to the seventh article of the treaty, or by making such 
 compensation for them as shall be satisfactory to Congress." l 
 
 Patrick Henry " carried his point," as Madison wrote 
 Jefferson. 2 
 
 No doubt the subject was warmly debated this day also 
 between Mason and Henry. There was much to be said on 
 both sides, and that side advocated by Patrick Henry was 
 the one most likely to appeal to popular favor. An attack 
 was made on the church glebes at this time, on a petition of 
 the Presbyterians praying a repeal of the law reserving to 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
 2 "Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 379. 
 
OTHER WORK IN THE ASSEMBLY. 199 
 
 the Episcopal Church the church buildings and glebes. 
 George Mason was not prepared to go the length of depriv 
 ing the Church of her rightful property, and he voted 
 against the resolution to sell the glebe lands in the parishes 
 which were without a rector. And it was not until some 
 years after Colonel Mason s death that the spoliation was 
 effected. On the 6th of December the House in com 
 mittee of the whole, considering that " the distresses of the 
 people, arising from a variety of causes, are such, that 
 property taken in execution to satisfy debts and contracts, 
 does not in most cases sell for near its value, thereby in the 
 end tending to the ruin both of debtor and creditor. Re 
 solved &c. That some act of the legislature ought to pass 
 for remedy thereof ; That an act ought to pass for establish 
 ing district courts, and for reforming the county courts." 
 George Mason, Patrick Henry, and George Nicholas were 
 on the committee of sixteen, who were to prepare a bill for 
 these purposes. 1 A resolve which Colonel Mason enclosed 
 to Washington in his letter of November 2/th was on this 
 subject of debts, and suggested a measure for the accom 
 modation of both debtor and creditor. A few days later 
 George Mason was made chairman of a committee to amend 
 two acts concerning roads, to repair some and open others. 
 These roads passed through Colonel Mason s own neighbor 
 hood, so it was a matter in which his constituents were 
 specially interested. The former acts, it seems, had proved 
 oppressive, in requiring tolls from those who received no 
 benefit by the turnpikes. The new bill, as drawn up by 
 George Mason remedied this injustice. As much travelling 
 in those days was done by private conveyance, the subject 
 of tolls was an important one to the country gentlemen. 
 The report of the treasurer s account was referred to a com 
 mittee of which Colonel Mason was a member. And on 
 the seventeenth he was appointed one of a committee of 
 five to prepare a bill u concerning debts due to and from 
 citizens, partners with British subjects." A committee, con- 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
200 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 sisting of Nicholas, Mason, Cabell, Monroe, Corbin, and 
 Henry, was appointed to amend the acts " for sequestering 
 British property and enabling those indebted to British 
 subjects to pay off such debts, and directing the proceed 
 ings in suits where such subjects are parties." 
 
 George Mason was also at this time appointed chairman 
 of a committee of six, who were " to call on the commission 
 ers now engaged in liquidating and adjusting the expenses 
 incurred by this commonwealth, for the northwestern terri 
 tory ceded to Congress, and request of them a statement 
 of their proceedings therein &c." On the 22d of December 
 George Mason was appointed chairman of a committee of 
 six to prepare a bill " for regulating the rights of cities,, 
 towns and boroughs, and the jurisdiction of corporation 
 courts." This act recites : 
 
 " Whereas the accumulating different and distinct offices of 
 power and authority in the same persons has a tendency to 
 introduce abuses, and to create an improper and dangerous 
 influence in a few individuals, contrary to the spirit and genius 
 of republican government, and naturally productive of oppres 
 sion and subversive of liberty : Be it therefore enacted by the 
 General Assembly, that from and after the first day of March 
 next, no person being a member of any corporation court, court 
 of hustings or common council be capable of acting as a justice 
 of any county court." 
 
 And in conclusion it is enacted that, 
 
 " Whereas it is contrary to the true principles of representa 
 tion, that a freehold estate in any particular place should enable 
 the possessor to vote in the elections of different and distinct 
 places, so the citizens of a town etc., sending a delegate to the 
 Assembly are not to vote in the county elections." 2 
 
 In its statesman-like recurrence to fundamental principles 
 this bill is easily traceable to George Mason s pen. A week 
 later, Colonel Mason reported a bill to the House, " pro- 
 
 1 Ibid. 3 Herring s " Statutes," vol. xii. 
 
A TRUSTEE OF RANDOLPH ACADEMY. 
 
 viding for the regular payment of the expenses accruing 
 from the trial of criminals in the county and corporation 
 courts." In a bill providing for the manumission of slaves, 
 an amendment was proposed and lost, that those emanci 
 pated should leave the State within twelve months or be 
 sold at public auction. Colonel Mason voted for the amend 
 ment. On the last day of December an act was passed by 
 the Assembly for establishing and incorporating the Ran 
 dolph Academy, which was to be situated in the western 
 part of the State, in one of the following counties : Har 
 rison, Monongalia, Randolph, and Ohio. One sixth of 
 the fees appropriated to the support of William and Mary 
 College was to go to the aid of this new institution. Ed 
 mund Randolph, Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, George 
 Mason, and George Nicholas were among the trustees 
 named, and they were to hold their first meeting on the 
 second Monday in the following May, at Morgantown in 
 Monongalia. 1 It is not probable that Colonel Mason 
 attended this meeting, if it was ever held. And but little 
 is heard of the Academy in the later legislation of the 
 Assembly. Morgantown and its neighborhood were still 
 subject to raids from the Indians on the border, and pro 
 tected by scouts and rangers from these incursions, and the 
 inhabitants were scarcely in a situation to patronize institu 
 tions of learning. George Mason and three other members 
 of the Assembly were appointed on the 3d of January to 
 bring in a bill " to authorize the executive to establish fire 
 companies." Two days later the journal of the House 
 records a determined effort that was made, when it came 
 to the third reading of the bill " to enable citizens, partners 
 with British subjects to recover their proportion of debts/ 
 to postpone it until the following March. The vote was 
 equally divided, forty-three on each side. The Speaker 
 decided the question by a vote in the negative. George 
 Mason, of course, voted against the postponement. 
 
 The last action of Colonel Mason in the Assembly was to 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
202 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 give in his report from the committee appointed to confer 
 with the commissioners engaged in liquidating and adjusting 
 the expenses incurred by Virginia for the northwestern terri 
 tory ceded to Congress. And here, it seems, it was necessary 
 to look sharply to Virginia s interests. Congress was un 
 generously anxious to evade Virginia s just claims. There 
 had been much delay in getting the board appointed, the 
 deed of cession dating from the spring of 1784, more than 
 three years previously. There were three commissioners 
 forming the board ; one was appointed by the United States 
 and one by Virginia, while the third w r as appointed by the 
 two other commissioners. George Mason enclosed the 
 resolve of the House of Delegates to the board, in a letter 
 requesting to know at what time they could have their pro 
 ceedings ready for inspection. The board from the " Office 
 of Illinois Accounts," December 2Oth, responded that they 
 were uncertain whether to comply or not, but finally decided 
 that it was proper to notice the request, and they would 
 submit the rough entries for perusal by Monday or Tuesday 
 next. The commissioner appointed by Congress, however, 
 dissented from the " propriety of our furnishing the informa 
 tion to the house of delegates requested by their note &c., 
 because that as commissioners appointed to settle these ac 
 counts between the State of Virginia and the United States I 
 think that we cannot prior to our final report, consistent with 
 our duty to each party communicate any official information 
 to one party without the privity or consent of the other." 
 The committee then say that being refused information from 
 the above commissioner they entered upon the examination 
 of the proceedings of the board as laid before them by the 
 other two gentlemen. The deed ceding the territory speci 
 fied " that the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred 
 by this State in subduing any British posts, or in maintain 
 ing forts and garrisons within and for the defence, or in 
 acquiring any part of the territory so ceded or relinquished, 
 shall be fully reimbursed by the United States." But the 
 committee, after their examination, declare that they " find 
 
THE COMMISSION ON ILLINOIS ACCOUNTS. 203 
 
 the negotiation now in such a train that Virginia, unless the 
 General Assembly interpose, will be denied a credit for 
 great part of the money she has actually and bona fide paid, 
 in acquiring and maintaining the territory so ceded and 
 relinquished to the United States. Questions have arisen 
 concerning the true spirit, intent and meaning of the words 
 necessary and reasonable expenses, as used in the act of 
 session ; on the depreciation of money advanced by this 
 State ; on bills paid, bona fide by the State on the Illinois 
 account, and on the expenses of establishing and maintain 
 ing forts Jefferson and Nelson &c. Your committee," as the 
 report proceeds to state, " observing the progress of this 
 business, so unfavorable to the interest of the State and so 
 inconsistent with the apparent intentions of the contracting 
 parties, requested the commissioners to reconsider the busi 
 ness and to do Virginia that justice to which, in the opinion 
 of the committee, she is entitled. But the commissioner on 
 the part of Congress and the third commissioner have in 
 formed us that they mean to proceed unless the powers 
 given them be revoked by both the contracting parties." 
 Virginia had incurred expenses in subduing British posts 
 and maintaining forts, etc., to the amount of more than two 
 hundred and twenty thousand pounds. And yet if the 
 accounts were settled as proposed by the commission, this 
 would be " reduced to a pittance not worth acceptance." 
 The General Assembly protested against these proceedings 
 of the commissioners, and the Virginia delegates in Con 
 gress were instructed to assure that body that the General 
 Assembly " animated by the same spirit which governed 
 them in the cession of such a vast territory to the Union, 
 will be satisfied with the reimbursement of such sums which 
 she [Virginia] hath actually expended in acquiring, main 
 taining and defending said territory to be paid in reasonable 
 instalments." These resolutions were carried to the 
 Senate by Colonel Mason. Instrumental as he had been in 
 urging upon his State to make this cession, in the interest of 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
2O4 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 harmony and union, to the general government, George 
 Mason was watchful of his " country s " rights, and he now 
 sought, as his final work in her legislative halls, to secure to 
 Virginia the modest and equitable terms named in her deed 
 of gift. 
 
 The following letters from George Mason to General 
 Washington afford an interesting view of the proceedings of 
 the Assembly up to the latter part of November. 
 
 RICHMOND, NOVEMBER 6, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 On Saturday last, in a committee of the whole house upon the 
 state of the commonwealth, to whom were referred sundry peti 
 tions, some praying for an emission of paper money, and others 
 for making property at an appraised value, a tender in the dis 
 charge of debts, I moved and carried the resolutions of which I 
 inclose a copy. During the discussion of the subject, alter treat 
 ing the petitions as founded upon fraud and knavery, I called 
 upon any of the members of the House, who were advocates for 
 such measures, if any there were, to come boldly forward, and 
 explain their real motives. But they declined entering into the 
 debate, and the resolutions passed unanimously. I hope they 
 have given this iniquitous measure a mortal stab, and that we 
 shall not again be troubled with it. 
 
 A resolution this day passed for an absolute prohibition of all 
 imported spirits, with some others, in my opinion, almost equally 
 impolitic, and calculated to subject the eastern part of the State 
 to the arbitrary impositions of the western. The prohibition of 
 the single article of rum, would cut off a net revenue of eleven 
 thousands pounds per annum. When the bill is brought in, I 
 think they will find such insuperable difficulties in the mode of 
 carrying into execution, as will oblige them to abandon the project. 
 
 I take the liberty of inclosing a copy of the resolutions upon 
 the proposed Federal Government ; by which it will appear 
 that the Assembly have given time for full examination and dis 
 cussion of the subject, and have avoided giving any opinion of 
 their own upon the subject. I beg to be presented to your lady 
 and family, and am, with greatest respect and regard, 
 
 GEORGE MASON. 
 
LETTERS TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 P. S. A plan is before the House for a three years instalment 
 of all debts. Though, in my opinion, very exceptionable, it is 
 better than the plans of that kind heretofore proposed, and I be 
 lieve will be adopted, in spite of every opposition that can be 
 made to it. I shall, therefore, instead of pointing the little oppo 
 sition I can make against the whole, endeavour to change the 
 plan, by making the consent of the creditor necessary, and the 
 instalments voluntary, and, in such cases, giving the force of 
 judgments to the instalment bonds. 1 
 
 RICHMOND, November 27, 1787. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I this morning received your favor of the fifteenth, and shall 
 do myself the honor of communicating such of our proceedings 
 as are important ; though very little business, of that kind, has 
 yet been completed. The Instalment Plan, after being presented 
 to the committee of the whole house upon the state of the com 
 monwealth, and some hours debate upon the subject, has been 
 postponed from time to time. From the best information I can 
 collect, I fear there is a majority for it ; I shall therefore, when 
 ever the committee proceed upon the consideration, endeavor to 
 substitute the Resolve, of which I enclose a copy, and upon 
 which I wish to be favored with your sentiments. 
 
 The performance of the treaty with respect to British debts, 
 has taken up three days of warm debate ; Mr. Henry, General 
 Lawson and Meriwether Smith on one side, and Col. George 
 Nicholas (who is improved into a very useful member) and my 
 self on the other. The yeas and nays were demanded upon these 
 questions on this subject ; first upon an amendment proposed by 
 Mr. Henry for suspending the operation until the treaty should 
 be fully performed on the part of Great Britain, which was 
 rejected by a majority of thirty-three ; secondly upon an amend 
 ment proposed by Mr. Ronald, tantamount to an instalment of 
 British debts. Knowing that instalments were calculated to 
 please a strong party, we avoided going into the subject at large, 
 and confined ourselves to the impropriety of installing British 
 debts, before we could know the sense of the legislature upon a 
 general instalment of all debts ; as any discrimination would be 
 
 1 " Correspondence of the American Revolution," Sparks, vol. iv., p. 190. 
 
206 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON, 
 
 a palpable infraction of the treaty. The amendment was rejected 
 by a majority of twenty-two ; the main question was then put 
 upon the resolve for repealing all laws which prevented the 
 recovery of British debts, with a clause suspending the operation 
 of the repeal until other States shall also pass laws to enable 
 British subjects to recover debts, and carried by a majority of 
 forty. A bill has been brought in in consequence of the said 
 Resolve, once read and committed to a committee of the whole 
 house on Friday next. Some of the most respectable characters 
 in the house were nominated a committee to prepare the bill ; 
 
 but Mr. C n with the vanity so natural to a young man, took 
 
 upon himself to draw without the other gentlemen having time 
 to consider it, and has drawn it so very injudiciously, that in its 
 present shape, it would infallibly be thrown out on the third 
 reading. However we will take care to regenerate it in the com 
 mittee, and I make no doubt of its passing the House of Dele 
 gates ; there will be a strong but I trust a fruitless opposition in 
 the senate. As soon as the Treaty Bill is secured we will bring 
 forward the Sequestration business ; ^275,000 paper currency 
 of the average value of about 14^. in the pound having been paid 
 into the treasury, in discharge of British debts. In the discussion 
 of this subject, I expect we shall see some long faces. 
 
 A bill for receiving tobacco in discharge of taxes will certainly 
 pass ; it is in my opinion a foolish and injurious project ; as such 
 it was opposed, but to no purpose. After finding their strength, 
 the first step was to raise the last year s price of the James river 
 tobacco ; we had then nothing left but to endeavor to bring up 
 the price of our tobacco in proportion, in which we, with some 
 difficulty succeeded, and got our tobacco fixed at 28.?., the James 
 river tobacco having been previously settled at 30.5-. 
 
 Little progress has yet been made on the subject of revenue. 
 I shall use my best endeavors to prevent the receipt of public 
 securities of any kind in taxes (as the only effectual means of 
 digging up speculation by the roots) and appropriating a good 
 fund for purchasing them up at the market price. By way of 
 experiment and to show the members the utility of such a plan, 
 we have this day, against a strong opposition, ordered about 
 ^6,000 now in the treasury, to be immediately applied to that 
 purpose ; which I hope will have a good effect upon the minds of 
 
RESOLVE ON INSTALMENT OF DEBTS. 2O/ 
 
 the members. Yet I fear the interest of the speculators is too 
 powerful, to suffer any regular extensive system upon this subject. 
 
 The bill for prohibiting the importation of spirits stands com 
 mitted to a committee of the whole house, the day after to-mor 
 row. Dr. Stuart tells me he has sent you one of the printed bills ; 
 you will find it fraught with such absurdities as render it perfectly 
 ridiculous, yet I much doubt their finding them out so as to amend 
 the bill in the committee. The opposers ought to let them go on 
 their own way, and reserve their attack to the passage on the third 
 reading. As the bill now stands, according to the strict gram 
 matical construction, spirits are subject to forfeiture after they 
 have been swallowed, and the informer will be equally subject to 
 the penalty with the persons he informs against. But besides the 
 nonsense of the bill, the very principle of it is impolitic as it will 
 affect our commerce and revenue ; partial and unjust in sacrific 
 ing the interest of one part of the community to the other. I am 
 afraid this scrawl is hardly legible, being obliged as I am to write 
 with bad spectacles, bad light and bad ink. 
 
 I beg my compliments to your lady, and the family at Mount 
 Vernon, and am with the most sincere respect and esteem, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your affectionate and obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 The resolution enclosed, of which the writer asked Wash 
 ington s opinion, is to the following effect : 
 
 u Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee, in order to 
 alleviate, as far as is consistent with justice, the present distresses 
 of the people of this commonwealth, to prevent tedious and ruin 
 ous law-suits, and by making it their mutual interest to encourage 
 and promote voluntary and amicable settlements and compositions 
 between debtors and creditors, that the force of judgments ought 
 to be given to all bonds on account of debts contracted or due 
 before the day of 1 7&7, which shall be entered into 
 
 within one year after the day of by the mutual con 
 
 sent of debtor and creditor, for the instalment of debts by annual 
 payments, for any number of years not exceeding six years ; and 
 that no appeal or replevin ought to be allowed upon the judg- 
 
208 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ments or executions, which shall be obtained in virtue of such 
 instalment bonds, when they respectively become due." 1 
 
 Madison in a letter to Jefferson of the Qth of December 
 makes the following allusions to the Liquor Bill and the Port 
 Bill of this session. He says : 
 
 " I find Mr. Henry has carried a Resolution for prohibiting the 
 importation of rum, brandy and other spirits, and, if I am not 
 misinformed, all manufactured leather, hats and sundry other 
 articles are included in \)<\Q prohibition. Enormous duties at least, 
 are likely to take place on the last and many other articles. A 
 project of this sort, without the concurrence of the other States, 
 is little short of madness. . . . Col. Mason made a regular 
 and powerful attack on the Port Bill, but was left in a very small 
 majority. I found at the last session that that regulation was not 
 to be shaken, though it certainly owes its success less to its 
 principal merits than to collateral and casual considerations." 2 
 
 The port bill was amended, however, probably in accord 
 ance with Colonel Mason s views. George Mason returned 
 to " Gunston Hall " on the 4th of February, and Washington 
 wrote to Madison the following day, expressing his anxiety 
 about the approaching Convention, the election of delegates 
 being the absorbing topic just then. He says : " Many have 
 asked me with anxious solicitude, if you did not mean to get 
 into the Convention, conceiving it of indispensable import 
 ance. Colonel Mason who returned but yesterday, has I am 
 told, offered himself for Stafford county and his friends say 
 he can be elected, not only in that, but in the counties of 
 Prince William and Fauquier also." 3 Here we see Madison 
 and Mason were instinctively pitted against each other in 
 Washington s thoughts, as leaders of the two parties in the 
 approaching struggle. George Mason, on his side was 
 anxious to secure Richard Henry Lee as an ally in the Con 
 vention. Arthur Lee who probably visited " Gunston 
 
 1 Washington MSS., State Department. 
 
 - " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 364. 
 
 3 " Writings of Washington/ Sparks, vol. ix., p. 313. 
 
ARTHUR LEE AT " GUNSTON HALL: 209 
 
 Hall " at this time, wrote from Alexandria to his brother on 
 the iQth of February : 
 
 " Col. Mason laments very much that you do not stand for the 
 Convention. He says there will be no one in whom he can confide. 
 That you will be regarded as having deserted a cause on which 
 you have published your persuasion of its being of the last 
 moment to your country. That this belief will be strengthened 
 by a report which some of your friends have propagated, that you 
 have given up all idea of opposing the constitution because your 
 friends think differently, and have recommended two violent con 
 stitutionalists to the freeholders of Westmoreland. He is afraid 
 these things will injure your character so much that should 
 another General Convention be ordered you will not be among 
 the delegates, which he shall consider a misfortune to the country. 
 It is his opinion that the Convention will recommend another 
 General Convention." 
 
 The letters of the public men in Virginia at this time are 
 full of speculations as to the probable complexion of the 
 Convention, and the result anticipated was federal or anti- 
 federal according to the bias of the writer. Madison writing 
 to Jefferson in December, represents " the body of the peo 
 ple in Virginia as favorable" to the Constitution. "What 
 change," he adds, " may be produced by the united influ 
 ence of Mr. Henry, Mr. Mason, and the Governor with some 
 pretty able auxiliaries is uncertain." a Cyrus Griffin gave 
 currency to some of the extravagant rumors of the day, 
 when he wrote from New York, February I5th: 
 
 "Col. R. H. Lee and Mr. John Page, men of influence in Vir 
 ginia, are relinquishing their opposition ; but what to us is very 
 extraordinary and unexpected, we are told that Mr. George 
 Mason has declared himself so great an enemy to the Constitu 
 tion that he will heartily join Mr. Henry and others in promoting 
 a Southern Confederacy." : 
 
 1 Lee Papers, University of Virginia. (Quoted in " Life of E. Randolph," 
 p. 99.) 
 
 2 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 364. 
 
 3 Bancroft s " History of the Constitution," vol. ii., p. 461. 
 
 Vol. II 14 
 
2IO LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Again, in April, he speaks of the personal characteristics 
 of the more eminent members of the opposition in the 
 Convention, clearly showing to which side he leaned : 
 
 " In point of virtues and real abilities the federal members are 
 much superior. Henry is mighty and powerful, but too inter 
 ested ; Mason too passionate, the governor by nature timid and 
 undecided, and Grayson too blustering." 
 
 Randolph was still looked upon as an Antifederalist by 
 the uninitiated. Madison, about the same time, writes of 
 the opponent whom it is probable he most feared : " Colonel 
 Mason is growing every day more bitter and outrageous in 
 his efforts to carry his point, and will probably in the end 
 be thrown by the violence of his passions into the politics of 
 Mr. Henry." a Washington wrote to Lafayette in April, ex 
 pressing a belief that the Convention would favor the adop 
 tion of the Constitution. He adds : " There will, however, be 
 powerful and eloquent speeches on both sides of the ques 
 tion. . . . Henry and Mason are its great adversaries. 
 The Governor, if he opposes it at all, will do it feebly." : 
 The position of Edmund Randolph, still undefined to the 
 public, was evidently no secret to Washington. George 
 Mason s ally in the Convention of 1787 was to be his foe in 
 the Convention of 1788, and already in April had given 
 token of his tergiversation. Washington s influence in Fair 
 fax County had doubtless contributed to the election there 
 in March, of Federalists to the Convention. But Stafford 
 County elected George Mason with Andrew Buchanan. 
 The characteristic story is told of George Mason at this 
 time, that " he was informed that if he opposed the ratifica 
 tion of the Federal Constitution the people of Alexandria 
 would mob him, [when] he mounted his horse, rode to the 
 town, and going up the court-house steps, said to the sheriff, 
 Mr. Sheriff, will you make proclamation that George Mason 
 1 ibid., p. 463. 
 
 2 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 388. 
 
 a " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 356. 
 
LETTER TO ROBERT CARTER. 211 
 
 will address the people ? A crowd assembled, and Mason 
 addressed them, denouncing the Constitution with bitter 
 invective, after which he mounted his horse and returned 
 home." One of the opposition delegates, from Loudoun 
 County, was George Mason s nephew, Stevens Thomson 
 Mason. His vote was always given to the Antifederalists, 
 though his youth and modesty prevented him from speaking 
 in the Convention. 
 
 Two letters of George Mason, written in April and May, 
 are all that remain to us of his correspondence at this 
 period. One of them is addressed to Robert Carter, of 
 " Nomini," and the other to John Francis Mercer, who had 
 been a delegate in the Federal Convention from Maryland, 
 and held similar views to Mason on the subject of the Con 
 stitution. He had taken charge of some law business for 
 Colonel Mason on the death of Thomas Stone, which event 
 occurred in Alexandria the previous October : 
 
 (iuxsTox HALL, April 3oth, 1788. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 This will be delivered you by my son John, who is going to 
 settle in Bordeaux, having lately entered into partnership with 
 two Maryland gentlemen (Messrs. Joseph and James Fenwick) 
 who about a year or two ago established a house there, the firm 
 of which has hitherto been Joseph Fenwick and Company. 
 Their capital will not be large (only about 1,000 sterling each), 
 and their plan is to give no credit, nor even advance more than 
 the value of effects in their hands for any man. This at the 
 same time that it will enable them to send out their correspond 
 ent s goods, upon better terms than those can, who buy upon 
 credit, will also be the most effectual means of rendering safe 
 whatever property their friends shall think fit to commit to their 
 charge. They are determined to examine themselves, into the 
 prices and quality of all the goods they send to America ; and as 
 wines, brandy, silks, cambrics, chintz, calicoes, and several other 
 articles may be purchased in France, of which Bordeaux is one 
 of the greatest trading towns, as cheap as in any part of Europe, 
 
 1 J. Esten Cooke in Magazine of American History, May, 1884. 
 
212 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 they hope to be able to give general satisfaction ; and there 
 being no other American house in Bordeaux they flatter them 
 selves with considerable encouragement and preference, from 
 their own country, so long as they continue to deserve it. They 
 daily expect a ship of about 300 hhds. to load in Potomac river, 
 upon consignment, to their address. Any tobacco, clear of 
 trash and sound, although not of extraordinary quality, will 
 answer the French market ; but from the number of British and 
 Irish smugglers who frequent Bordeaux, I have reason to believe 
 that fine, stout, dark, waxy tobacco, of the best quality, will find 
 as good a market there as in Europe. 
 
 If you can make it convenient to encourage the house, with a 
 consignment of some of your tobacco, I am sure you will find 
 from them the strictest justice ; and I hope their attention to 
 their friends interest, by rendering the correspondence mutually 
 advantageous, will merit a continuation of your favors, 
 
 I am, dear sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 Robert Carter, Esq., 
 Nominy, 
 
 Westmoreland County. 
 Per Mr. John Mason. 1 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, May i, 1788. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 Your favor of the i8th of April did not come to hand until to 
 day. I am exceedingly obliged to you for the trouble you have 
 taken to investigate the situation of my affair with Rutland. Had 
 my former counsel, Mr. Stone, taken half as much, it would have 
 saved me a great deal of vexation, and probably much loss, which, 
 I fear, by his neglect I shall now sustain. 
 
 I thoroughly agree with you in thinking Mr. James Little s debt, 
 under the circumstances you mention, must have preference to 
 mine, and that my case, so far as it is affected by that debt, is 
 without remedy. The only thing which could be done is what 
 you have so kindly determined to do, to see that the sale is fairly 
 conducted, that the value, as near as circumstances will admit, 
 may be procured for that part of the property on which the fi: fa: 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
LETTER TO JOHN FRANCIS MERGER. 213 
 
 was served for Mr. Little s debt, that my security may be as little 
 [word illegible^ by it as possible. I should be glad to know 
 whether Rutland s new store, or warehouse and wharf (which I 
 conceive the most valuable part of his improvements) are upon 
 the part advertised to be sold for Mr. Little s debt. From Rut 
 land s account of things, I am also inclined to suspect there has 
 been some attempt made by him and Mr. Duvall, to subject my 
 mortgaged property to some demand of the State against them. 
 Upon reflecting on some past circumstances, I have some hopes 
 that, upon examination it will appear that Mrs. Rutland was of 
 age when she relinquished her right of dower, on the twenty- 
 second of February, 1787. Mr. Rutland went to London with a 
 shipload of tobacco in 1 783, and I remember it was reported he 
 was engaged to this lady some time before he left the country. 
 However, if Mrs. Rutland was not of age at the the time she re 
 linquished her right of dower, I hope she will be prevailed on to 
 relinquish it now ; not only from motives of justice, as I gave 
 Mr. Rutland the indulgence I did, upon the assurance of her re- 
 linquishment of dower, but because her relinquishment will do 
 her no injury though it may benefit me ; for the land will be sold 
 by virtue of Mr. Carroll s mortgage made before her marriage, 
 which I presume will bar her claim of dower against the pur 
 chaser, and her pretension of dower as to my mortgage would 
 have no other effect than injuring me, in causing the land to sell 
 for less than its value. I think I have been informed that Mr. 
 Rutland had a tract of land or two, particularly one in Mont 
 gomery, Frederick or Washington, at the time of my judgment 
 against him, which Mr. Stone did not include in my mortgage, 
 thinking the mortgaged premises sufficient without ; and if I re 
 member right, there is a clause in the mortgage declaring, if they 
 should prove insufficient, that I do not lose my remedy against 
 any other part of his property. Those lands then, if he had such 
 at the time, are still subject to my judgment, in whatsoever hands 
 they may now be, and it may probably be a matter of importance 
 to me ; as I very much fear that the incumbrances upon the 
 mortgaged premises, which I knew nothing of, confiding entirely 
 in Mr. Stone on the occasion, will fall short of securing my debt. 
 I beg the favor of you, my dear sir, to inquire particularly in this 
 matter, and I must also entreat you to push my attachment 
 
214 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 against Mr. Stephen West to as speedy decision as you can ; I 
 presume Mr. West can have no defence to make but such as tends 
 merely to delay. 
 
 I wish to know, as soon as you can conveniently inform me, 
 whether you have got my papers from Mr. Stone s executors, par 
 ticularly the state of the case in Ross s suit against me for a tract 
 of the Ohio Company s land, and your opinion of the said suit. 
 I think I gave you some memorandum also respecting the Ohio 
 Company s title to a tract of land adjoining Fort Cumberland, 
 called the Treasury of Walnut Bottom fraudulently granted by 
 Governor Eden to one French, a creature of his. 
 
 From the returns I have seen of the elections here, I think the 
 Convention of Virginia will be so equally divided, that no man 
 can at present form a judgment of what may be the determina 
 tion. The Federalists, as they improperly style themselves, talk 
 of a considerable majority ; but it is notorious that many of them 
 \torn\ honor of their cause be it spoken, stick at no falsehood or 
 [torn] to accomplish their purpose. As soon as any tolerably 
 \torn\ judgment can be formed of the politics of our Convention 
 I will not fail to communicate them to you. 
 
 I beg my compliments to your lady, and am, with the most 
 sincere esteem and regard, dear sir, 
 
 Your affectionate friend and servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 Col. John Francis Mercer, 
 
 Annapolis, Maryland. 1 
 
 Richard Henry Lee, from his home in Westmoreland, 
 wrote to George Mason at this time, giving his views as to 
 the course Virginia should pursue in the coming con 
 vention. 
 
 CHANTILLY, May 7, 1788. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 Your son delivered me the letter that you were pleased to write 
 me on the 3oth instant, and I have promoted his views, as far as it 
 is in my power at present, by directing the tobacco I had intended 
 to sell in the country, to be put on board his vessel. I am 
 inclined to think, for the reasons assigned by him, that the 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
LETTER FROM RICHARD HENRY LEE. 
 
 French market will be as good a one, at least, as any that we can 
 send to. 
 
 Give me leave now, dear sir, to make a few observations on 
 the important business that will call you to Richmond next 
 month. It seems pretty clear at present, that four other States, 
 viz., North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, and New Hamp 
 shire, will depend much upon Virginia for their determination 
 on the Convention project of a new constitution ; therefore it 
 becomes us to be very circumspect and careful about the 
 conduct we pursue, as, on the one hand, every possible exertion 
 of wisdom and firmness should be employed to prevent danger 
 to civil liberty, so, on the other hand, the most watchful precau 
 tion should take place to prevent the foes of union, order, and 
 good government, from succeeding so far as to prevent our 
 acceptance of the good part of the plan proposed. I submit 
 to you, sir, whether, to form a consistent union of conduct, 
 it would not be well for six or eight leading friends to amend 
 ments to meet privately, and, having formed the best possible 
 judgment of the members sentiments from knowledge of the 
 men, to see how far it may be safe to press either for modes of 
 amendment or the extent of amendments, and to govern accord 
 ingly. But, certainly, the firmest stand should be made against 
 the very arbitrary mode that has been pursued in some States, 
 that is, to propose a question of absolute rejection or implicit 
 admission. For though it is true that the Convention plan looks 
 something like this, yet I think every temperate man must agree 
 that neither the Convention, nor any set of men upon earth, have 
 or had a right to insist upon such a question of extremity. To 
 receive the good and reject the bad is too necessary and inherent 
 a right to be parted with. As some subtle managers will be 
 upon the Convention, I believe you will find entrapping questions 
 proposed at first as a ground-work of proceeding, which will 
 hamper, confine, and narrow all attempts to proper investigation 
 or necessary amendment, and this will be done under the plaus 
 ible pretext of losing all by attempting any change. I judge that 
 it will be so here, because I observe a similar conduct has been 
 pursued in other places, as in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I 
 trust that such uncandid and dangerous stratagems will be 
 opposed and prevented in the Convention of Virginia, and a 
 
2l6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 thorough, particular, and careful examination be first made into 
 all its parts as a previous requisite to the formation of any ques 
 tion upon it. During this process a tolerable judgment may be 
 formed of the sentiments of the generality, and a clue furnished 
 for forming successful propositions for amendment, as the candid 
 friends to this system admit that amendments may be made to 
 improve the plan, but say that these amendments ought to be 
 made, and may be obtained from the new Congress without 
 endangering a total loss of the proposed Constitution. I say 
 that those who talk thus, if they are sincere, will not object to 
 this plan which, as I propose it, is something like the proceeding 
 of the Convention Parliament of 1688 ; in the form of ratifica 
 tion, insert plainly and strongly such amendments as can be 
 agreed upon, and say, that the people of Virginia do claim, 
 demand and insist upon these as their undoubted rights and lib 
 erties which they mean not to part with, and if these are not 
 obtained and secured by the mode pointed out in the fifth article 
 of the Convention plan, in two years after the meeting of the new 
 Congress, that Virginia shall, in that case, be considered as dis 
 engaged from this ratification. Under this proposition a develop 
 ment will be made of the sincerity of those who advocate the new 
 plan, the beneficial parts of it retained, and a just security given 
 to civil liberty. In the fifth article it is stated that two-thirds of 
 Congress may propose amendments, which, being approved by 
 three-fourths of the legislatures, become parts of the Consti 
 tution. By this mode, the new Congress may obtain our amend 
 ments without risking the convulsion of conventions, and the 
 friends of the plan will be gratified in what they say is necessary, 
 the putting the government in motion, when, as they again say, 
 amendments may and ought to be obtained. By this mode, too, 
 in all probability, the undetermined States, may be brought to 
 harmonize, and the formidable minorities, in the assenting States, 
 may be quieted. By this friendly and reasonable accommoda 
 tion, the perpetual distrust and opposition, that will inevitably 
 follow the total adoption of the plan, from the State legislatures, 
 may be happily prevented, and friendly united exertions take 
 place. Much reflection has convinced me that this mode is the 
 best that I have had an opportunity of cultivating. I have, 
 therefore, taken the liberty of recommending it to your serious 
 
SAMUEL ADAMS AND GEORGE MASON. 2 1/ 
 
 and patriotic attention ; in the formation of these amendments 
 localities ought to be avoided as much as possible. 
 
 The danger of monopolized trade may be prevented by calling 
 for the consent of three-fourths of the United States on regula 
 tions of trade. The trial by jury, in this State, to be insisted on, 
 as it is used under our present government, and confining the 
 supreme federal court to the jurisdiction of law, excluding fact. 
 The Massachusetts amendments, except the second, and extend 
 ing the seventh to foreigners as well as citizens of other States, 
 appear to me to be very good, and for their adoption the aid ot 
 that powerful State may be secured. The freedom of the press 
 is, by no means, sufficiently attended to by Massachusetts, nor 
 have they remedied the want of responsibility by the impolitic 
 combination of president and senate. It does appear to me, 
 that, in the present temper of America, if the Massachusetts 
 amendments, with those suggested by me, being added, and 
 inserted in our ratification as before stated, we may easily agree, 
 and I verily believe that the most essential good consequences 
 would be the result. 
 
 Affectionately yours, 
 
 RICHARD HENRY LEE. 
 
 George Mason, Esq. : 
 Gunston Hall. 1 
 
 A curious mention is made of George Mason in a letter of 
 Samuel Adams to Richard Henry Lee, showing that he 
 had been, apparently, defending Mason against the stric 
 tures of the Boston Federalists. Adams writes to his 
 Virginia correspondent on the 3d of December, 1787, dis 
 cussing the new Constitution, and he adds, in a postscript: 
 " As I have thought it a piece of justice, I have ventured to 
 say, that I had often heard from the best patriots from 
 Virginia, that Mr. G. Mason was an early, active, and able 
 advocate for the liberties of America." a There had been 
 no opportunity for personal acquaintance between these 
 two representative men of their sections, it would seem. 
 Yet we can fancy they would have had much sympathy in 
 
 1 " Life of R. H. Lee," vol. ii., p. 88. By Richard II. Lee. 
 8 Ibid., p. 130. 
 
21 8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 their tastes and convictions, for in the characteristics of 
 independence, public spirit, and absence of personal ambition 
 there is great resemblance between them. And on the 
 political question of the hour, Samuel Adams and George 
 Mason held the same just views, as to the distinction, as 
 Adams phrased it, between the federal powers vested in 
 Congress and the sovereign authority belonging to the 
 several States, which is the palladium of the private and 
 personal rights of the citizens." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION. 
 1788. 
 
 Virginia had assembled in her Convention of 1788, a re 
 markable body of men, the flower of her statesmen, sages, 
 patriots. It may fairly be affirmed that no other common 
 wealth on the continent could have called together as great an 
 array of abilities. And yet Virginia had not exhausted her 
 resources ; Washington, Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, were 
 not included in this famous Convention. William Wirt, in 
 his rhetorical manner, has given a characterization of the 
 most conspicuous members. There were, among the younger 
 generation Madison, Marshall, Monroe ; there were " those 
 sages of other days, Pendleton and Wythe ; there was seen 
 displayed the Spartan vigor and compactness of George 
 Nicholas ; and there shone the radiant genius and sensibility 
 of Grayson ; the Roman energy and the Attic wit of George 
 Mason was there ; and there also the classic taste and har 
 mony of Edmund Randolph ; * the splendid conflagration 
 of the high-minded Innes ; and the matchless eloquence of 
 the immortal Henry." 
 
 On the one side were ranged Madison, Marshall, Pendle 
 ton, George Nicholas, Innes, and Edmund Randolph ; on the 
 other George Mason, Patrick Henry, William Grayson, 
 James Monroe, Benjamin Harrison, and John Tyler. " Con 
 spicuous among those who opposed the ratification of the 
 constitution," writes Flanders, "were Patrick Henry, George 
 
 1 Wirt s " Life of Patrick Henry," p. 263. 
 2iq 
 
22O LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Mason and William Grayson ; a combination of eloquence, 
 vigor, and genius, not often surpassed and seldom equalled/ 1 
 Says George Ticknor Curtis in his account of the opposition 
 to the Constitution in Virginia : 
 
 " The State was to feel, it is true, the almost overshadowing 
 influence of Washington in favor of the new system . . . But 
 it was to feel also the strenuous opposition of Patrick Henry, that 
 great natural orator of the Revolution, whose influence over 
 popular assemblies was enormous, and who added acuteness, 
 subtility, and logic to the fierce sincerity of his unstudied ha 
 rangues, and the not less strenuous or effective opposition of 
 George Mason, who had little of the eloquence and passion of 
 his renowned compatriot, but who was one of the most profound 
 and able of all the American statesmen opposed to the Constitu 
 tion, while he was inferior in general powers and resources to not 
 more than two or three of those who framed and advocated it." * 
 
 William Grayson, the least known of the great trio in 
 opposition, was from George Mason s neighborhood, and 
 they were doubtless intimate personal friends. Grayson s 
 home was in Dumfries, and on his untimely death, in 1790, 
 he was buried in the family vault at " Belle Air," the seat of 
 his brother, the Rev. Spence Grayson, rector of Dettingen 
 parish, Prince William County, whose country place was 
 near the county town. The Graysons, it is believed, were 
 first or second cousins of James Monroe, whose father s 
 Christian name was Spence. 3 
 
 The Convention met in Richmond on the 2d of June, at 
 the " public buildings," or old Capitol, and Edmund Pendle- 
 
 1 "Chief Justices of the United States," vol. ii., p. 328. 
 
 * " Constitutional History of the United States," vol. i., p. 63. 
 
 3 Mr. William Grayson Mann, whose maternal grandfather, Robert Carter, of 
 " Sabine Hall," married William Grayson s only daughter, writes the author : 
 I have at different times during the last thirty-five years attempted to collect 
 materials for writing the life of this truly great man, but in vain. No state 
 papers or speeches in extenso survived the destruction by fire of the old family 
 mansion at Dumfries, a few miles south of Mount Vernon, on the Potomac. 
 Col. Grayson had studied law at the Inner Temple, where I have found the 
 chambers he once occupied." 
 
LEADERS OF THE TWO PARTIES. 221 
 
 ton was elected president. A committee of privileges and 
 elections being appointed, Benjamin Harrison was named 
 chairman, and George Mason came second on the list of 
 members. After some preliminary business Colonel Mason 
 moved an adjournment, the Convention to meet the next 
 day at the " New Academy on Schockoe Hill." This build 
 ing, erected in 1786 for the promotion of the arts and scien 
 ces, was used also as a theatre. It was burned down later, 
 and near it the new theatre was built, destroyed by fire in 
 1811, on the site of which now stands the Monumental 
 Church. Here at the " New Academy " the Convention held 
 their sessions after the first day, and their meetings were 
 open to the public, visitors coming from all parts of the 
 State to hear the important subject under discussion. And 
 the assemblage was a most imposing one numerically. u It 
 was," says Grigsby, " more than four times greater than the 
 Convention which framed the Federal Constitution when that 
 body was full, and it exceeded it, as it ordinarily w r as, more 
 than six times." It consisted, as this writer adds, " of the 
 public men of three generations." l The army, the judiciary, 
 the planters of the State, were the three interests most 
 prominent in the representation, and the old soldiers were 
 generally in favor of the Constitution, as the habits of the 
 army officer naturally lead him to approve of the strong arm 
 in government, while the lawyer looks more to the questions 
 of principle that are involved, and is more jealous of liberty. 
 Of all this assemblage of more or less prominent figures 
 there were four, says our historian, who attracted the atten 
 tion of strangers before all the rest. Pendleton and Wythe, 
 leaders among the Federalists, " with George Mason and 
 Patrick Henry, were those first sought by the spectator, as in 
 a convention, forty years later, were Madison, Monroe, Mar 
 shall, and Fayette." !l George Mason and Patrick Henry had 
 rooms at the Swan, a famous tavern on Broad Street, still 
 standing, and they were often seen together walking arm in 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 34. Hugh Blair Grigsby. 
 - Ibid. , note to p. 36. 
 
222 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 arm on their way to the Convention. "George Mason was 
 dressed in a full suit of black, arid was remarkable for the 
 urbanity and dignity with which he received and returned 
 the courtesies of those who passed him." : 
 
 A question had been decided on the 2d of June, the first 
 day of the Convention, of which we have an account in a 
 contemporary newspaper, with the arguments of George 
 Mason on the subject. This was, whether Robertson (with 
 his assistants), to whom we are indebted for our reports of 
 the Convention, should be employed by this assembly to 
 take down their speeches. George Mason opposed it firstly 
 as contrary to parliamentary usage, and secondly because he 
 believed Robertson to be a Federal partisan and, therefore, 
 not likely to do justice to the arguments of the opposition 
 members. A correspondent of the Fredericksburg Virginia 
 Herald, one of the interested throng of spectators in attend 
 ance on the Convention in Richmond, wrote June 2d : 
 
 u It was to-day agitated whether the short-hand gentlemen 
 should be suffered to take down the business of the house for 
 public information. Opposed by Henry, Mason, Grayson and 
 White with success. Mr. Mason rested his opposition upon this 
 ground, that these gentlemen were strangers that it was an im 
 portant trust for anyone for not only the people at large might 
 be misinformed, but a fatal stab might be given to a gentleman of 
 the house from a perversion of his language that it was a breach 
 of privilege, and had been frequently determined so by the House 
 of Commons ; that to show the member who moved the question, 
 that his objections proceeded from those principles, and not from 
 a wish to be again a member of another Conclave, he had given 
 his voice for an adjournment to the Theatre, where, surrounded 
 by his countrymen, he would endeavor to speak the language of 
 his soul. Mr. Nicholas was up several times upon this subject, 
 and had been the first mover of it, but at last relinquished it as 
 not tenable." 2 
 
 George Mason refers to this matter of the short-hand 
 writer in one of his letters to his son to be given later. The 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 4 (note). 2 Maryland Journal, June 10, 1788. 
 
MASON S APPEARANCE DESCRIBED. 223 
 
 prejudice against reporters lingered long in the House of 
 Commons, and was shared, it seems, by these eighteenth- 
 century Americans. 
 
 On the 3d of June, after the resolution of Congress on the 
 subject of the Constitution, the report of the Federal Con 
 vention, and the resolutions of the General Assembly were 
 read, George Mason addressed the Convention. Grigsby 
 pictures the scene : 
 
 " In an instant the insensible hum of the body was hushed, and 
 the eyes of all were fixed upon him. How he appeared that day 
 as he rose in that large assemblage, his once raven hair white as 
 snow, his stalwart figure, attired in deep mourning, still erect, his 
 black eyes fairly flashing forth the flame that burned in his bosom, 
 the tones of his voice deliberate and full as when, in the first 
 House of Delegates, he sought to sweep from the statute book 
 those obliquities which marred the beauty of the young republic, 
 or tittered that withering sarcasm which tinges his portrait by the 
 hand of Jefferson, we have heard from the lips, and seen reflected 
 from the moistened eyes, of trembling age. His reputation as the 
 author of the Declaration of Rights and of the first Constitution 
 of a free Commonwealth ; as the responsible director of some of 
 the leading measures of general legislation during the war and 
 after its close ; his position as a prominent member of the Gen 
 eral Convention that framed the Constitution, which had been 
 adopted under his solemn protest, and his well-known resolve to 
 oppose the ratification with all his acknowledged abilities, were 
 calculated to arrest attention. He was sixty-two years old, and 
 had not been more than twelve years continuously in the public 
 councils, but from his entrance into public life he was confessedly 
 the first man in every assembly of which he was a member, though 
 rarely seen on the floor except on great occasions. But the interest 
 with which he was now watched was heightened by another cause. 
 From his lips was anxiously awaited by all parties the programme 
 of the war which was to be waged against the new system." 
 
 There was a division among the Antifederalists as to the 
 line of policy to be pursued. Patrick Henry considered that 
 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 70. 
 
224 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON, 
 
 the General Convention had usurped powers not bestowed 
 upon them in overthrowing the Articles of Confederation, 
 George Mason could not take this ground as he had been a 
 member of the Convention and approved of the change, 
 though he was not satisfied as to the final result. And he 
 urged now a discussion of the Constitution, clause by clause, 
 before any general previous question be put. He wished for 
 a full and free investigation of the subject, since they sought 
 to secure, " as far as possible, to the latest generation, the 
 happiness and liberty of the people." : This mode of dis 
 cussion proved eventually of great disservice to his own 
 party, while it helped the Federalists. But as Grigsby says : 
 
 " The main object of Mason was to prevent a premature com 
 mittal of the House by a vote on any separate part of the Consti 
 tution ; for he well knew that an approval of one part would be 
 urged argumentatively to obtain the approval of another part, and 
 that, if the Constitution were approved in detail, it would be ap 
 proved as a whole ; and so far as his motion postponed immedi 
 ate voting, it was wise and well-timed." : 
 
 Yet, to restrict the discussion of the general tendency of 
 the Constitution and confine the debate to single clauses gave 
 the Federalists an advantage, as the historian of the Conven 
 tion points out. However, the Antifederalists, who were 
 fully persuaded of the injurious scope of the whole instru 
 ment, were not to be restrained from dwelling upon this 
 fact. Tyler, in the interests of the opposition, then moved 
 that a committee of the whole Convention should take into 
 consideration the proposed form of government. Madison 
 signified his assent to this arrangement, and George Mason 
 moved his resolution, which was agreed to by the Convention. 
 
 Thus was the plan of campaign laid down at the outset 
 by the two protagonists of the Convention, Mason and 
 Madison. They had waged a Avar of principle in the Fed 
 eral Convention which had been merely adjourned, as to 
 its final issue, to the soil of their native State. Though the 
 
 1 Appendix iii. - " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 72. 
 
PROGRAMME OF THE A NTIFEDERALISTS. 22$ 
 
 party of Madison had been the victor in the former assem 
 blage, yet was there a good prospect of the amendment 
 party triumphing here. Henry Lee, of Westmoreland, 
 wished the discussion to begin immediately, but the other 
 side was not to be hurried, as many of the members had not 
 yet arrived, and both George Mason and Benjamin Harrison 
 advocated an adjournment until the next day. On the 4th 
 of June the business properly commenced, the Convention 
 resolving itself into a committee of the whole, George 
 Wythe in the chair. Nicholas, Henry, Randolph, and 
 Mason were the four speakers on this day. Edmund Ran 
 dolph showed his colors, coming out unequivocally for the 
 unamended Constitution, he who had a few months before in 
 the Federal Convention declared for amendments and a 
 " Second General Convention." Patrick Henry did not fall 
 into line immediately with George Mason, but rather over 
 stepped the mark, and his first exception to the Constitution 
 was taken in somewhat free-lance fashion. He took issue 
 with the Federal Convention for changing the character of 
 the government " to the utter annihilation of the most 
 solemn engagements of the States." There was a con 
 federacy of nine States to be formed to the exclusion of the 
 other four, and this new confederacy was to form a consoli 
 dated government. Henry then made his famous objection 
 to the phrase in the preamble, " We, the People," etc. 1 That 
 it was understood by the Federal Convention in any " con 
 solidated " sense, or as other than a convenient style of ex 
 pression for the people of the several States, may be most 
 positively denied, or George Mason s jealous ear would have 
 been offended, and his voice have been raised against it. 
 Since neither Mason nor any other defender of the States in 
 the Convention saw fit to oppose the use of this phrase, it is 
 apparent that they were quite sure of its harmless nature. 
 However, it was to be distorted, as Patrick Henry feared, 
 from its obvious signification, and to be used by the party 
 of consolidation for their own purposes at a later day. 
 
 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson, 
 vol. ii 15 
 
226 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The first and second sections of the first article were 
 under consideration. Randolph had spoken after Henry. 
 " He was followed," says Grigsby, " by Mason, whose words 
 were now watched with an interest hardly exceeded by that 
 which existed when he first rose to address the house ; for 
 he too had been a member of the General Convention, and 
 had declared in that body that, on certain conditions, none 
 of which included the words of the preamble, he would 
 approve the Constitution ; but though no parliamentarian, 
 he saw the snare into which his opponents were anxious 
 that he should fall, and adroitly avoided it by taking ground 
 which placed him in instant communion with Henry." l He 
 maintained that the clause in the second section, " giving 
 the first hint of the general government laying direct taxes," 
 changed the union into a " national government." He urged 
 with great force the danger of leaving the manner of levying 
 taxes to those who, in the nature of things, cannot be ac 
 quainted with the situation of those on whom they are to 
 impose them, when it can be done by those who are well 
 acquainted with it. He thought the general government 
 should have " the power of demanding their quotas of the 
 States, with an alternative of laying direct taxes in case of 
 non-compliance." The same sum raised in one way, as he 
 declared, would be very oppressive raised in another way. 
 The second objection made by Colonel Mason was directed 
 against that part of the same section which dealt with repre 
 sentation. He did not think it a full and free representation. 
 The Constitution did not expressly provide one representa 
 tive for every thirty thousand, but it states : " the number of 
 representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000." So it 
 might be reduced without violating the letter of the law. 
 Colonel Mason concluded with reiterating his objection to 
 the taxing power given Congress. With this feature amended, 
 this part of the Constitution would receive his sanction, but 
 he regarded it as a sine qua 11011? Madison closed the debate 
 with a few remarks, reserving a fuller reply to a future occa- 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention." p. 92. ~ Appendix iii. 
 
MADISON DISPARAGES IIIS OPPONENTS. 22/ 
 
 sion. George Mason does not seem to have spoken in the 
 Federal Convention against giving Congress the power of 
 direct taxation. He had there urged the clause against 
 taxing exports, and further reflection had evidently im 
 pressed him with the conviction that the power of Congress 
 should be limited, in this matter of revenue, to the duties 
 on imposts, as explained in the fourth amendment of the 
 Virginia Convention. Madison on the evening of the 4th of 
 June wrote an account of the Convention proceedings to 
 Washington, which the latter in turn retailed to John Jay a 
 few days later. It is evident the course taken by Edmund 
 Randolph had greatly elated the Federalists. Madison 
 writes disparagingly of his antagonists, Henry and Mason, 
 accusing them of making " a lame figure " in the recent 
 debate. Still he is by no means confident of the result. 
 " Kentucky . . . is supposed to be generally adverse, and 
 every kind of address is going on privately to work on the 
 local interests and prejudices of that and other quarters." ; 
 There were fourteen representatives in the Convention from 
 the district of Kentucky. 
 
 Unlike the Federal Convention, which held secret ses 
 sions, the Virginia Convention, as has been said, was open 
 to the public, and was attended by large crowds of citizens, 
 who gave the most eager attention to all that was said. It 
 is to be regretted that there were not some fluent scribes 
 among these spectators, to write down their impressions of 
 the scenes they witnessed, and to preserve for posterity a 
 record of the logic and eloquence there manifested. The 
 reports of Robertson, as will appear, were not wholly to be 
 relied on. And the Federalist Madison writing under the 
 excitement of the contest \vas certainly not to be trusted 
 in his estimate of the Antifederalist champions opposed to 
 him. But with the debates before us, as they have come 
 down to our generation, there seems no cause for the Feder 
 alists to take any credit to themselves, up to this point of 
 time. George Nicholas had advocated the system of repre- 
 
 " Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. ix., p. 370 (note) and p. 373. 
 
228 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 sentation, but the ambiguity remained unanswerable, in the 
 wording of the provision. Edmund Randolph could only 
 put forth in his defence of the Constitution and of himself 
 the poor plea of expediency. To the three or four tangi 
 ble objections made by the opposition to the first part of 
 the Constitution there was as yet no answer given. 
 
 From the 4th of June to the I3th, though still nominally 
 employed upon the first and second sections of the first 
 article, the Convention in fact diverged widely from the 
 point, and discussed the Constitution at large. The great 
 speech of the 5th of June was made by Patrick Henry in 
 answer to Pendleton and General Henry Lee. He brought 
 forward new objections. " How does your trial by jury 
 stand ? In civil cases gone not sufficiently secured in 
 criminal." He thought also that the militia should not be 
 in the hands of Congress. And he dwelt upon the folly of 
 looking for subsequent amendments when it was in their 
 power to insist upon them beforehand. He quoted from 
 the Virginia Bill of Rights, the third article, on the right of 
 the people to reform or abolish their government ; the fifth 
 article, on taxation ; the sixth article, requiring the consent 
 of the people to suspend the laws ; and showed how each 
 was endangered by the new Constitution. One phrase here 
 is prophetic : " When the people of Virginia at a future day 
 shall wish to alter their government, though they should be 
 unanimous in this desire, yet they may be prevented there 
 from by a despicable minority at the extremity of the United 
 States." He objected to giving Congress the control of the 
 custom-houses, and also to the inadequate representation of 
 the people in that body. Like the other Southern patriots, 
 Henry believed that the South would eventually be numeri 
 cally stronger than the North, a pathetic illusion as was too 
 soon made apparent. The whole scheme of the government 
 Henry thought too extravagant, and the President, with 
 " the powers of a king," at the head of the army might 
 eventually overthrow American liberties. Another specific 
 objection advanced by Henry was the control given to Con- 
 
SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY. 2 29 
 
 gress over the time, place, and manner of elections. Again 
 he denounced the clause concerning the publication of the 
 journals " from time to time " only. Without the obligation 
 to publish their proceedings, they would be without public 
 responsibility. " The Senate, by making treaties, may de 
 stroy your liberty and laws for want of responsibility." 
 Jay s treaty, a few years later, seemed to many, just such a 
 case as was here anticipated. Stevens Thomson Mason, 
 who was with Henry now in the Convention, mindful of this 
 doctrine of responsibility, which his uncle had also enforced 
 in the Federal Convention, was the senator, it will be 
 remembered, who gave Jay s treaty to the public prints in 
 1795. Patrick Henry concluded his powerful speech by 
 beseeching the Convention not to hurry Virginia into an 
 acceptance of the proposed government simply because 
 eight States had adopted it. They should insist upon its 
 being amended, and not fear this bugbear of anarchy that 
 \vas suggested. Pennsylvania he thought had been " tricked " 
 into adopting the Constitution. " If the other States who 
 have adopted it have not been tricked, still they were too 
 much hurried into its adoption. There were very respecta 
 ble minorities in several of them, and if reports be true, a 
 clear majority of the people are averse to it. If we also 
 accede, and it should prove grievous, the peace and pros 
 perity of our country [Virginia], which we all love, will be 
 destroyed." Edmund Randolph made the opening argu 
 ment on the following day. He referred to a portion of 
 George Mason s speech in these words : " It is objected by 
 the honorable gentleman over the way, that a republican 
 government is impracticable in an extensive territory, and 
 the extent of the United States is urged as a reason for the 
 rejection of this Constitution." And he contended that if 
 the laws were wisely made and executed, the extent of the 
 country would be no bar to the adoption of a " good gov 
 ernment." For the definition of a good government, how 
 ever, the factor of territory must be taken into account, 
 
 1 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson, p. 55. 
 
230 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 George Mason contended. A monarchy, though repugnant 
 to the genius of America, might be a good government under 
 certain conditions. A republic, to be a good government, 
 must be small, and a union of republics should be of a 
 marked federal character to make it secure of retaining its 
 freedom. There was, of course, no exact prototype of the 
 government now proposed, by which the fathers could be 
 guided. And the Constitution had its national as well as 
 federal features. But Edmund Randolph had objected just 
 as strongly as George Mason to the " national " theories of 
 Hamilton in the Federal Convention, and it was to bring 
 back the Constitution from its deflections out of the orbit 
 originally designed for it that amendments were sought for. 
 Edmund Randolph in this speech animadverted severely 
 upon the legislation of Virginia, meaning that his reflections 
 should hit Mason and Henry, who had been prominent as 
 its law-makers. George Mason had drafted the first land 
 law, and Randolph refers to complaints on this point. 
 
 Madison and George Nicholas were the other speakers at 
 this time. Madison at the close of his argument showed how 
 little he favored consolidation, though he supported a sys 
 tem which came so dangerously near it. He said of the new 
 Constitution : " I believe its tendency will be, that the State 
 governments will counteract the general interest, and ulti 
 mately prevail." His was indeed a short-sighted political 
 wisdom, as he lived to discern. Francis Corbin, the young 
 member of the legislature of whom George Mason makes 
 indulgent mention in his letter from the Assembly given in 
 the last chapter, answered Patrick Henry. But in spite of 
 Corbin s compliments to the <k declamatory talents " of the 
 great orator, Henry appears not to have considered him a 
 foeman quite worthy of his steel. And then, too, Patrick 
 Henry wished to make the two-sided governor declare him 
 self at large, that the opportunity for reprisals might be more 
 complete. Lord Chesterfield amused himself with a para 
 graph that appeared in one of the London papers relating to 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 78. 
 
EDMUND RANDOLPH CHANGES SIDES. 2$l 
 
 the health of Charles Townshend, who was proverbial for his 
 fickle changes of party : " The Right Honorable Charles 
 Townshend has been indisposed of a pain in his side, but it 
 is not stated in which side." His Excellency, Governor Ran 
 dolph had left the world equally in doubt as to " which 
 side " must be understood as that of his intimate convic 
 tions, in the struggle going on. Patrick Henry now asked 
 him to continue his observations as he wished to hear all that 
 could be said in defence of a system he [Henry] found so 
 defective. Randolph responded to the invitation, and in the 
 course of his remarks, while on the subject of direct taxation, 
 he argued against the " expedient, proposed by a gentleman 
 whom I do not now see in the house [Mr. George Mason] 
 . . . that this power shall be only given to the general 
 government, as an alternative after requisitions shall have 
 been refused." And again he replied to George Mason, to 
 whom he ascribed the observation, " that there could not be 
 a fellow-feeling between the national representatives and 
 their constituents, and that oppression must be inseparable 
 from their exercise of the power of imposing taxes." Madi 
 son followed Randolph, with a long speech, making quota 
 tions of which Robertson gives only the substance, a plan 
 which he follows with a part of the speech itself. Henry 
 closed the debate with a comprehensive reply to the argu 
 ments of the Federalists, and he took occasion to remind 
 " His Excellency " of his former expressions of opinion. He 
 indulged in a little excusable irony, and caught up an incau 
 tious word of Randolph s on which he dilated, much to his 
 victim s discomfiture. Patrick Henry concluded his speech 
 with an ultimatum, under three heads, as indispensably 
 necessary " : a bill of rights ; a " general positive provision 
 securing to the States and the people, every right which was 
 not conceded to the general government ; and that every 
 implication should be done away." 
 
 The first week of the Convention had closed with Patrick 
 Henry s speech of Saturday. On Monday the Qth of June, 
 
 Ibid., p. 114. 
 
232 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 " Henry and Mason, who had, according to their usual habit, 
 walked arm in arm from the Swan, were seen to pause a few 
 moments at the steps of the Academy, evidently engaged in 
 consultation, and with difficulty made their way to their 
 seats in the house." The crowd of spectators had increased 
 and filled the floor and galleries to overflowing. Henry rose 
 to conclude his unfinished argument. He brought forward 
 a subject of great interest to all present, the question of the 
 Mississippi navigation. Seven States, or the whole North, 
 as he said, were willing to relinquish this river which it was to 
 the interest of the six Southern States to retain, and under 
 the new government the South would be likely to lose it. 
 He reviewed the several dangers to which it was asserted 
 Virginia would be liable if she did not accept the Constitu 
 tion, and showed the fallacy of these assumptions. And he 
 expatiated afresh on the objections against it already ad 
 vanced. General Henry Lee was the next speaker, and after 
 him came the irate governor. The latter poured out the vials 
 of his wrath on Patrick Henry, and read a portion of his 
 public letter (objecting to the Constitution), to prove that he- 
 had not been inconsistent. There was then a little scene 
 which must have caused a good deal of excitement in the 
 Convention. After Patrick Henry had disavowed any inten 
 tion of giving offence, Edmund Randolph made answer, that 
 but for this concession "he would have made some men s 
 hair stand on end by the disclosure of certain facts." Henry 
 asked him to speak if he had anything to disclose, but Ran 
 dolph made no reply to this challenge, and proceeded further 
 in his own justification, throwing down his letter on the 
 clerk s table to lie there " for the inspection of the curious 
 and malicious." He continued his argument, after this 
 ebullition, and concluded it on the following day. Monroe, 
 Marshall, Harrison, and Nicholas were the other speakers on 
 the loth, and the ball of debate was tossed back and forth, 
 each side reiterating arguments and making citations to 
 strengthen its position. Benjamin Harrison was one of the 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 151. 
 
THE COMMITTEE OF OPPOSITION. 233 
 
 amendment party, but he only spoke in the Convention on 
 this one occasion, when he ably seconded the position of 
 Mason and Henry. 
 
 It will be seen from Edmund Randolph s remark in his 
 speech on Saturday, the /th, that George Mason was not at 
 that time in the Convention. It is not unreasonable to 
 suppose that his absence from his seat on this day had some 
 connection with the arrival in Richmond of Colonel Oswald, 
 of Philadelphia, who brought pamphlets and letters from 
 the " Federal Republican Society " in New York to the 
 leaders of the opposition in the Virginia Convention. Madi 
 son reported the news of this portentous event in a letter 
 on Monday to his friend and ally, Alexander Hamilton, the 
 leader of the Federalists in New York : " Oswald of Phila 
 delphia came here on Saturday, and has closet interviews 
 with the leaders of the opposition." 1 On the same clay 
 Patrick Henry, William Gray son, and George Mason all 
 wrote letters to General John Lamb, Chairman of the New 
 York Society, to send back by Colonel Oswald. The Anti- 
 federalists had not been dilatory in their work of opposi 
 tion. They had already formulated in their committee, of 
 which Colonel Mason was chairman, a bill of rights, and 
 some of the amendments they meant to bring forward in 
 the Convention. Patrick Henry wrote to Lamb that four 
 fifths of the people in Virginia were opposed to the Consti 
 tution, and south of the James River nine tenths : " And 
 yet, strange as it may seem, the numbers in Convention 
 appear equal on both sides, so that the majority, which way 
 soever it goes, will be small. The friends and seekers of 
 power have with their usual subtlety wriggled themselves 
 into the choice of the people." In regard to General 
 Lamb s proposition that they should form in Virginia a 
 society like the one in New York, Henry adds : 
 
 "If they [the Federalists] shall carry their point and preclude 
 previous amendments, which we have ready to offer, it will be- 
 1 " Works of Hamilton," John C. Hamilton, vol. i., p. 456. 
 
234 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 come highly necessary to form the society you mention. . . . 
 Col. George Mason has agreed to act as chairman of our republi 
 can society. His character I need not describe. He is every 
 way fit ; and we have concluded to send you by Col. Oswald a 
 copy of the bill of rights, and of the particular amendments we 
 intend to propose in our Convention." 
 
 William Grayson acknowledges the letter sent him by 
 Colonel Oswald, and says he laid it the same evening before 
 the " Committee of Opposition," and they had " directed 
 their chairman to answer it by Colonel Oswald. Some of our 
 proposed amendments," he adds, " are finished in the Com 
 mittee ; the others will be forwarded as soon as agreed 
 on." He speaks of their affairs as suspended by a hair, and 
 that " seven or eight dubious characters, whose opinions are 
 not known," will by their decisions decide the important 
 question. 2 The following is George Mason s letter to Gen 
 eral Lamb : 
 
 RICHMOND, June gth, 1788. 
 SIR : 
 
 I have had the honor to receive your letter dated the r8th of 
 May, in behalf of the Federal Republican Committee of New 
 York, upon the subject of the government proposed by the late 
 Convention to the respective States for their adoption, and haye 
 communicated it to several respectable gentlemen of the Conven 
 tion now met in this city, who are opposed to the adoption 
 without previous amendments. They receive with pleasure the 
 proposition of your Committee for a free correspondence on the 
 subject of amendments, and have requested me to transmit to 
 your Committee such as we have agreed on as necessary for 
 previous adoption. 
 
 Although there is a general concurrence in the Convention of 
 this State that amendments are necessary, yet the members are 
 so equally divided with respect to the time and manner of obtain 
 ing them, that it cannot now be ascertained whether the majority 
 will be on our side or not ; if it should be so I have no doubt 
 but that an official communication will immediately take place 
 between the Conventions of this State and yours. 
 
 1 " Life and Times of General Lamb," Isaac Q. Leake, p. 306. 2 Ibid. 
 
GEORGE MASON TO GENERAL JOHN LAMB. 235 
 
 As the amendments proposed by the Convention of Massachu 
 setts are the first which have been offered to the public, and con 
 tain in them many things that are necessary, it is deemed proper 
 to make them the basis of such as may finally be agreed on ; and 
 it may also be proper to observe that an Executive Council will 
 be necessary, because power and responsibility are two things 
 essential to a good executive, the first of which cannot be safely 
 given, nor the latter insured where the legislative senate form a 
 part of the Executive. The judiciary, the exclusive legislative 
 power over the ten miles square, and the militia are subjects to 
 which our attention will next be turned, and we shall communi 
 cate the result of our deliberations with all possible despatch. 
 
 The nature of the opposition here is such that it has not yet 
 taken any particular form, being composed only of members of 
 the Convention who meet to prepare such amendments as they 
 deem necessary to be offered to the Convention. If it should 
 hereafter become necessary to assume one, it is hoped that 
 system and order will everywhere appear suitable to the import 
 ance and dignity of the cause. In the meantime it is recom 
 mended to communicate with you, under cover to Capt. Jacob 
 Reed, Junr., of Queen street, New York, in order to prevent any 
 interruption that curiosity might give. We approve of the pre 
 caution, and also advise that Mr. George Fleming, merchant of 
 this city, be made the instrument of safe conveyance on your 
 part. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and humble servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 Honorable John Lamb, Esq : 
 
 Chairman of the Federal Republican Committee 
 in New York. 1 
 
 From the 4th to the nth of June, George Mason s voice 
 was not heard in the Convention, but he had been busy in 
 the Committee of Opposition, preparing the bill of rights 
 and amendments. He had left it to Patrick Henry to speak 
 for the cause while he was occupied in writing for it. On 
 the iith, which was Wednesday, he rose after Madison and 
 
 1 Lamb Papers, New York Historical Society. 
 
236 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 made a long and careful reply to the arguments of the 
 Federalists. Grigsby says here in allusion to the circum 
 stance that Mason succeeded Madison : 
 
 " It has been remarked by one of the most celebrated orators 
 of the present age, that it is an advantage to a speaker of the first 
 order of ability, and to such only, to succeed the delivery of a 
 first-rate speech, that the attention of the audience is fixed 
 firmly on the subject in debate, and that there is a craving for a 
 reply. In this respect, Mason could not have been more for 
 tunate, and in another not less so : for the speech which had just 
 been delivered was addressed to the reason and not to the 
 passions of the House, and the eminent perfection of Mason 
 rested on his logical power, in his knowledge of the British pol 
 ity, and in his experience as a statesman." 
 
 He remarked first on the propriety at the present juncture 
 of discussing the Constitution at large instead of confining 
 the debate to a single clause. He maintained that the case 
 of Great Britain s representation, as cited by George Nich 
 olas, was not applicable to the United States. Yet, he 
 asked, in what respect was the American system superior as 
 Nicholas declared, when Great Britain with a territory ten 
 times smaller had 550 members in Parliament, while the 
 United States had but 65 in Congress? He spoke of 
 the ineffectiveness of the clause restraining members of 
 Congress from holding office. There is a hiatus in the 
 report of Mason s speech here, as Robertson says he spoke 
 too low to be heard. He is found, however, soon after, to be 
 dwelling upon the " unconditional power of taxation " given 
 to the government, and fortifying his argument against it by 
 examples of its power for evil. He then read a letter of 
 Robert Morris to show the sort of taxes that were already 
 in agitation. The next point made was the need for a bill 
 of rights, as a check to the general government and a safe 
 guard to the people of the State, threatened in their reserved 
 powers by the second clause of the sixth article. George 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. iSS. 
 
TAXATION AND REPRESENTATION. 237 
 
 Mason in speaking of the small representation of Virginia in 
 Congress, while advocating the democratic, as opposed to 
 the aristocratic theory of representative government, made 
 an allusion to the famous phrase of John Adams. He said 
 the ten members from Virginia would be chosen, " if not 
 wholly, yet mostly from the higher order of the people, 
 from the great, the wealthy, the well-born the well-born, 
 Mr. Chairman, that aristocratic idol, that flattering idea, that 
 exotic plant which has been lately imported from the ports 
 of Great Britain, and planted in the luxuriant soil of this 
 country." John Adams while in England had written and 
 published the first volume of his " Defence of the American 
 Constitutions," against the strictures of Turgot. The book 
 came out during the session of the Federal Convention, and 
 was much read by the members, and was believed to have 
 influenced them in favor of a strong central government. 
 In the preface and in the conclusion, he seemed to advocate 
 a more aristocratic government than suited the romantic 
 republicanism of the American patriots of the day. 
 
 George Mason then referred to a statement made by 
 Nicholas in regard to the increase of representation : 
 
 " The worthy gentleman says that the number must be 
 increased, because representation and taxation are in proportion, 
 and that one cannot be increased without increasing the other, 
 nor decreased without decreasing the other. Let us examine 
 the weight of this argument. If the proportion of each State 
 equally and ratably diminishes, the words of the Constitution 
 [one for every 30,000] will be as much satisfied as if it had been 
 increased in the same manner, without any reduction of the 
 taxes. Let us illustrate it familiarly. Virginia has ten repre 
 sentatives ; Maryland has six. Virginia will have to pay a sum 
 in proportion greater than Maryland, as ten to six. Suppose 
 Virginia reduced to five and Maryland to three. The relative 
 proportion of money, paid by each, will be the same as before ; 
 and yet the honorable gentleman said, that if this did not 
 convince us, he would give up. I am one of those unhappy men 
 who cannot be amused with assertions. A man from the dead 
 
238 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 might frighten me ; but I am sure that he could not convince me 
 without using better arguments than I have yet heard. The 
 same gentleman showed us that though the Northern States had 
 a most decided majority against us, yet the increase of popu 
 lation among us would, in the course of years, change it in our 
 favor. A very sound argument indeed, that we should cheerfully 
 burn ourselves to death in hopes of a joyful and happy resurrection ! 
 
 In the course of his remarks, after picturing Holland with 
 its free institutions in contrast to Spain in her poverty, he 
 added : " They tell us, that if we be powerful and respecta 
 ble abroad, we shall have liberty and happiness at home. 
 Let us secure that liberty, that happiness first, and we shall 
 then be respectable." Then followed another caustic obser 
 vation, one of those touches of ironic humor for which the 
 speaker was famous : 
 
 " I have some acquaintance with a great many characters who 
 favor this government, their connections, their conduct, their 
 political principles, and a number of other circumstances. There 
 are a great many wise and good men among them. But when I 
 look round the number of my acquaintance in Virginia, the 
 country wherein I was born, and have lived so many years, and 
 observe who are the warmest and the most zealous friends to this 
 new government, it makes me think of the story of the cat trans 
 formed into a fine lady forgetting her transformation and 
 happening to see a rat, she could not restrain herself, but sprang 
 upon it out of the chair." 
 
 Of the desirableness of a general government there was 
 no doubt, George Mason continued. But, he added : 
 
 " I hope that it is not to the name, but to the blessings of 
 union that we are attached. . . . The security of our liberty 
 and happiness is the object we ought to have in view in wishing 
 to establish the union. If instead of securing these, we endanger 
 them, the name of union will be but a trivial consolation." 
 
 Difficulties with Maryland about the Potomac, the western 
 lands of Virginia, the magnitude of her debts, were pleas put 
 
LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE IMPERILLED. 239 
 
 forward by Edmund Randolph as reasons for joining the new 
 government. Of the first, George Mason said he could 
 speak with authority, having been one of the commissioners 
 to form a compact with Maryland, and he knew of no cause 
 of alarm there. As to the second, he believed, if the Con 
 stitution were to be adopted without amendments, the 
 Indiana Company would drive out the settlers between the 
 Alleghany and Blue Ridge, though their rights and title 
 had been confirmed by the Virginia Assembly. George 
 Mason proved to be a prophet here, as to the action of the 
 Indiana Company, as they brought suit against Virginia in 
 the federal court, after the adoption of the Constitution. Of 
 the third plea, Mason said : " And shall we, because involved 
 in debts, take less care of our rights and liberties ? Shall we 
 abandon them, because we owe money which we cannot 
 immediately pay? Will this system enable us to pay our 
 debts and lessen our difficulties ? Perhaps the new govern 
 ment possesses some secret, some powerful means of turning 
 everything to gold. It has been called by one gentleman 
 the philosopher s stone. The comparison was a pointed one, 
 at least in this, that, on the subject of producing gold they 
 will be both equally delusive and fallacious." Colonel 
 Mason then proceeded to give Randolph a home thrust on 
 the subject of his change of front : 
 
 " My honorable colleague in the late Convention seems to 
 raise phantoms, and to show a singular skill in exorcisms, to 
 terrify and compel us to take the new government, with all its 
 sins and dangers. I know that he once saw as great danger in it 
 as I do. What has happened since to alter his opinion ? If any 
 thing, I know it not. But the Virginia legislature has occasioned 
 it, by postponing the matter. The Convention had met in 
 June, instead of March or April. The liberty or misery of 
 millions yet unborn are deeply concerned in our decision. When 
 this is the case, I cannot imagine that the short period between 
 the last of September and first of June ought to make any 
 difference." l 
 
 1 Appendix iii. 
 
240 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Grigsby explains the story of the cat and the fine lady as 
 having reference to a class of men in Virginia favorable to 
 the new Constitution, who had been disaffected throughout 
 the Revolution, who had " hung on the rear of the friends of 
 freedom, and sought to obstruct their progress when they 
 could effect their object safely and without suspicion." 
 From their high positions and wide family connections it 
 was difficult to assailthem, yet Mason had the courage to 
 denounce their course. 
 
 Henry Lee of Westmoreland, a gallant and skilful soldier, 
 but no match for George Mason in statesmanship, censured 
 " the honorable gentleman last up " for his endeavor " to 
 draw our attention from the merits of the question, by jocose 
 observations and satirical allusions." Grigsby thinks it 
 evident from Lee s remarks, that the story of the cat was 
 " not the only piece of fun with which Mason relieved one 
 of his ablest arguments," but, he adds, " there is not a 
 shadow of humor in any other part of the reported speech 
 [?]. But to continue General Lee s remarks : u He [Mason] 
 ought to know that ridicule is not the test of truth. Does 
 he imagine that he that can raise the loudest laugh is the 
 soundest reasoner? Sir, the judgments and not the risibility 
 of gentlemen are to be consulted." He also found fault 
 with Mason for showing the letter of Robert Morris, whose 
 proposed scheme of taxation he professed to consider as 
 merely the opinion of a private gentleman, though Morris 
 was the financial agent of Congress. But the same princi 
 ple," he added, " has also governed the gentleman when he 
 mentions the expressions of another private gentleman 
 t/ic well-born that our federal representatives are to be 
 chosen from the higher orders of the people from the well 
 born. Is there a single expression like this in the Constitu 
 tion ? This insinuation is totally unwarrantable. 
 Is it proper that the Constitution should be thus attacked 
 with the opinions of every private gentleman ? I hope we 
 shall have no more of such groundless assertions. Raising 
 a laugh, sir, will not prove the merits, nor expose the defects 
 
SPEECH OF WILLIAM GRAY SON. 241 
 
 of this system " Evidently the Convention had shown its 
 appreciation of Mason s shafts of satire. And they must 
 in turn have been amused by this solemn rebuke of his 
 levity administered to such a master of sound reasoning as 
 George Mason. 
 
 William Grayson made his first speech in the Convention 
 at this time, concluding his argument on the following day, 
 and his voice was a great accession to the strength of the 
 opposition. He too ridiculed the imaginary clangers sug 
 gested by Edmund Randolph as the alternative of rejection. 
 And he saw evils in a Constitution where the executive was 
 " fettered in some parts, and as unlimited in others as a 
 Roman dictator," and where there was " an inequality of 
 representation and want of responsibility " in the legislature. 
 Grayson thought, with Mason and Henry, that the power of 
 direct taxation should remain with the States : " Give up 
 this and you give up everything, as it is the highest act of 
 sovereignty ; surrender up this inestimable jewel, and you 
 throw a pearl away richer than all your tribe." And he 
 made the prophecy that " this government will operate as a 
 faction of seven States to oppress the rest of the Union." 
 In the further consideration of this subject Grayson said : 
 
 " An observation came from an honorable gentleman (Mr. 
 Mason) when speaking of the propriety of the general govern 
 ment exercising this power, that according to the rules and doc 
 trine of representation, the thing was entirely impracticable. I 
 agreed with him in sentiments. I waited to hear the answer 
 from the admirers of the new Constitution. What was the 
 answer ? Gentlemen were obliged to give up the point with re 
 spect to general uniform taxes. They have the candor to 
 acknowledge that taxes on slaves would not affect the Eastern 
 States, and that taxes on fish or pot-ash would not affect the 
 Southern States. They are then reduced to this dilemma. In 
 order to support this part of the system, they are obliged to con 
 trovert the first maxims of representation. The best writers on 
 this subject, lay it down as a fundamental principle, that he who 
 lays a tax, should bear his proportion of paying it." 
 
 1 " Debates of the Virginia Convention, Robertson, p. 197 . 
 Vol. II 1 6 
 
242 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The other speakers on the I2th were Pendleton and 
 Madison for the Constitution and Henry in reply. The lat 
 ter said of taxation : " This government subjects everything 
 to the Northern majority. Is there not then a settled pur 
 pose to check the Southern interest ? We thus put un 
 bounded power over our property in hands not having a 
 common interest with us." The navigation of the Missis 
 sippi was made the theme of discussion for the following 
 day. And General Lee, Monroe, Grayson, Henry, Nicholas, 
 Randolph, and Corbin all spoke. Mr. Corbin had scarcely 
 commenced his speech, however, when a violent storm arose 
 which compelled him to close abruptly, and the Convention 
 then adjourned for the day. 1 The subject of debate on the 
 1 3th was one of great interest, as it affected Virginia and the 
 whole South, and as a result of the eloquence and reasoning 
 of the Antifederalists, on the danger of losing the Mississippi, 
 ten out of the fourteen delegates to the Convention from 
 Kentucky voted with the opposition. 2 Theodoric Bland, 
 one of the Antifederalists, wrote on this day to Arthur Lee, 
 giving an account of the position of parties and of the 
 progress of the discussion. Bland was a personal friend of 
 George Mason s and there was some correspondence between 
 them, doubtless, of which there remains now no record. In 
 one of George Mason s letters written in 1791, he alludes to 
 the death of his " worthy friend, Col. Bland." The following 
 extracts from Theodoric Eland s letter to Lee express the 
 sentiments of the Antifederalists at this juncture : 
 
 RICHMOND, June i3th, 1788. 
 
 " DEAR ARTHUR, I was yesterday favored with yours, and 
 assure you I am in doubt whether the pleasure or the pain on the 
 subject of your congratulation, affects me at this time most 
 heavily. On the one hand I see my country on the point of em 
 barking and launching into a troubled ocean, without chart or 
 compass to direct her ; one half of her crew hoisting sail for the 
 land of energy, and the other looking with a longing aspect on the 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 260. * " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 247. 
 
COLONEL BLAND TO ARTHUR LEE. 243 
 
 shore of liberty. I have but one ray of hope, and that arises from 
 an observation that they are yet in perfectly good humour with 
 each other. I have as yet sat as a speechless spectator, nor shall 
 I be induced to alter that character but as a mediator, and with 
 a view of concentrating the two parties now (after twelve days 
 session) almost equally divided ; each side boasting by turns of a 
 majority of from 3 to 8, on the general question, of adopting or 
 rejecting, although I really at this time think there is a decided 
 majority for anterior amendments, that is who do not think it 
 prudent to mount a high-blooded, fiery steed, without a bridle. 
 The amendments which will be proposed will contain simple 
 propositions guarding the rights of the States, &c. . . . The 
 strongest efforts are made here to inculcate the absolute necessity 
 of posterior amendments, or unconditional submission, for fear 
 of losing, as it is called, the government, and strong dispositions 
 are shown to precipitate the Convention into that measure, but 
 hitherto the fear of miscarrying altogether, has restrained the 
 gentlemen on the side of the new Constitution. 
 
 "We object not against any powers which shall not be hurtful. 
 That the government shall want no aids for its own support or 
 execution, provided that such restraints shall be imposed upon it 
 as shall support and ensure the State privileges, and the liberty 
 of the individual against oppression. We have yet proceeded no 
 farther in the discussion than the article of direct taxation, on 
 which point they have collected all their force, and I think they 
 have left hitherto the advantage considerably on our side." 
 
 Colonel Bland then tells of a duel that had just taken 
 place in Richmond, but the principals were not members of 
 the Convention. He adds : 
 
 " I mention this to show you that the heats have not yet entered 
 that body, although the thunders roll, and the lightnings flash 
 every day, both in the natural and political atmosphere. [There 
 had been danger of a duel, however, between Henry and Ran 
 dolph.] Our chief-magistrate has at length taken his party, and 
 appears to be reprobated by the honest of both sides, but this is 
 too precious a morsel to be left out. Although lukewarm, he 
 
244 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 has openly declared for posterior amendments, or in other words, 
 unconditional submission." 
 
 On the evening of the I3th Madison wrote his version of 
 affairs to Washington, from the standpoint of federalism. 
 
 " Appearances at present are less favorable than at the date of 
 my last. Our progress is slow, and every advantage is taken of 
 the delay to work on the local prejudices of particular sets of 
 members. British debts, the Indiana claim, and the Mississippi 
 are the principal topics of private discussion and intrigue, as 
 well as of public declamation. . . . The business is in the 
 most ticklish state that can be imagined. . . . Oswald of 
 Philadelphia has been here with letters for the anti-federal leaders 
 from New York, and probably Philadelphia. He staid a very 
 short time here during which he was occasionally closeted with 
 H-y, M-s-n, &c." 2 
 
 On the 1 4th of June the president was ill and unable to 
 attend the Convention, and John Tyler, an Antifederalist, 
 was unanimously elected vice-president to preside during 
 the inability of the executive officer. The subject of the 
 Mississippi was postponed, the Convention deciding to dis 
 cuss the Constitution clause by clause. But William Gray- 
 son had something to say on the question of the great river 
 before the matter was dropped. He thought its possession 
 deeply concerned the Southern States. Without it there 
 could be no expansion westward. And he reiterated his 
 argument as to the " national contest " that is, whether 
 one part of the continent should govern the other. " The 
 Northern States have the majority and will endeavor to re 
 tain it. This is therefore a contest for dominion, for empire. 
 I apprehend that God and nature have intended, from the 
 extent of territory and fertility of soil, that the weight of 
 population should be on this side of the continent. At 
 present, for various reasons, it is on the other side." The 
 
 " Life of Arthur Lee," Richard II. Lee, vol. ii., p. 337. 
 
 2 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 399. 
 
 3 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Roberston. 
 
POWER OF CONGRESS OVER THE MILITIA. 245 
 
 third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sections of the first 
 article were read and commented on, Tyler, Monroe, Henry, 
 and Grayson urging objections ; Randolph, Nicholas, and 
 Madison making reply. After the reading of the eighth 
 section George Mason made a speech on the power of Con 
 gress over the militia. He wished " such an amendment as 
 this that the militia of any State should not be marched 
 beyond the limits of the adjoining State ; and if it be neces 
 sary to draw them from one end of the continent to the 
 other, I wish such a check as the consent of the State legis 
 lature to be provided." He was averse to a standing army, 
 and thought the militia the safeguard of the state. Congress 
 was to have the power to arm and organize the militia, but 
 they might neglect to do this, and Colonel Mason wished 
 that there should be an express declaration that the State 
 governments might arm and discipline them, in case the 
 general government neglected this duty. He also thought 
 the militia should never be subject to martial law but in time 
 of war. 1 The discussion of this subject was continued by 
 Madison, Henry, C. Clay, Nicholas, and Randolph. George 
 Mason, after reading to the Convention the sixteenth clause 
 of this eighth section, maintained "that it included the power 
 of annexing punishments, and establishing necessary disci 
 pline," and therefore most ignominious punishments might be 
 inflicted by Congress, on the worthiest citizens. The speaker 
 then reverted to the subject of representation as inadequate, 
 which was " a conclusive reason for granting no powers to 
 the government, but such as were absolutely indispensable, 
 and these to be most cautiously guarded." On the power 
 of impeachment, of which he entertained great suspicions, 
 he said, " after a treaty manifestly repugnant to the interests 
 of the country was made," how was the Senate to be pun 
 ished ? " The House of Representatives were to impeach 
 them. The senators were to try themselves. If a majority 
 of them were guilty of the crime [of bribery and corruption] 
 would they pronounce themselves guilty ? Yet this is called 
 
 1 Appendix iii. 
 
246 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 responsibility." Referring to the ultimate power given 
 Congress over elections, he was called to order by George 
 Nicholas for leaving the section under discussion, but was 
 allowed to proceed : " He was of opinion that the control 
 over elections tended to destroy responsibility." He could 
 see no good reason for it and thought it was dangerous : 
 " I have no power which any other person can take from me. 
 I have no right of representation, if they can take it from 
 me. I say, therefore, that Congress may, by this claim, take 
 away the right of representation, or render it nugatory, 
 despicable, or oppressive." After some further argument 
 on this point, Colonel Mason took notice of a clause in the 
 fifth section, on publishing the proceedings of Congress, and 
 he urged that the words " from time to time " should be 
 replaced by others less ambiguous. The Confederation had 
 provided that their journal should be published monthly, 
 with certain exceptions. Here was an additional want of 
 responsibility in the new government. In conclusion, Colo 
 nel Mason urged that the provision regarding adjournment 
 was objectionable. " Neither house can adjourn without 
 the consent of the other for more than three days. The 
 Senate might have it in their power to worry the House 
 into a compliance with their wishes, by refusing to adjourn, 
 and they could have no objection to long sessions, as they 
 were elected for six years, and would probably make their 
 homes in the Federal city." 
 
 The eighth section was still under consideration on Mon 
 day, the i6th, and George Mason spoke seven times on this 
 day. After a speech by Patrick Henry, Madison answered 
 him, and concluded by having the acts of the Assembly 
 read, which provided for calling out the militia. Colonel 
 Mason asked for what purpose they were read. He thought 
 " they militated against the cession of this power to Con 
 gress, because the State governments could call forth the 
 militia when necessary, so as to compel a submission to the 
 laws ; and as they were competent to it, Congress ought not 
 
 1 ibid. 
 
THE TEN AffLES SQUARE. 247 
 
 to have the power." He was not satisfied with the explana 
 tion that General Lee had given of the word organization. 
 The latter maintained that it did not include the infliction 
 of punishments. Whereas George Mason insisted that 
 organizing and disciplining the militia embraced the power 
 of inflicting punishments, which might be made severe and 
 ignominious. It was said the militia would only be subject 
 to martial law when in actual service. But what was there 
 to hinder Congress from inflicting it always ? Madison re 
 plied, and the subject was discussed by Henry, Corbin, 
 Grayson, and Marshall. George Mason said it had been 
 asked who were the militia, if they were not the people of 
 the country. He thought they did at this time consist of 
 the whole people, but they might at some future period be 
 confined to the lower and middle classes, under the new 
 government. Then ignominious punishments and heavy 
 fines might be expected. Discriminating laws might be 
 made by Congress exempting its members and others from 
 militia duty. George Nicholas professed to find an incon 
 sistency in the propositions severally advanced by William 
 Grayson and George Mason, and asserted that they both 
 opposed the power given Congress on " contradictory prin 
 ciples." Mason replied u that he was totally misunderstood. 
 The contrast between his friend s objection and his was im 
 proper. His friend had mentioned the propriety of having 
 select militia, like those of Great Britain, who should be 
 more thoroughly exercised than the militia at large could 
 possibly be. But hc y himself, had not spoken of a selection 
 of militia, but of the exemption of the highest classes of the 
 people from militia service ; which would justify apprehen 
 sions of some ignominious punishments." The opponents 
 of the Constitution all feared the power given Congress over 
 the federal district, and George Mason spoke on the subject 
 at this time : 
 
 " This ten miles square may set at defiance the laws of the sur 
 rounding States, and may, like the custom of the superstitious 
 days of our ancestors, become the sanctuary of the blackest 
 
248 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 crimes. ... If any of their [the Federal government s] officers, 
 or creatures should attempt to oppress the people, or should 
 actually perpetrate the blackest deed, he has nothing to do but 
 get into the ten miles square. . . . It is an incontrovertible 
 axiom, that, when the dangers that may arise from the abuse are 
 greater than the benefits that may result from the use, the power 
 ought to be withheld." 
 
 Such he conceived to be the case here. And, alluding to 
 a remark of Edmund Randolph, he added : 
 
 " We are told by the honorable gentleman that Holland has its 
 Hague. I confess I am at a loss to know what inference he could 
 draw from that observation. This is the place where the deputies 
 of the United Provinces meet to transact the public business. 
 But I do not recollect that they have any exclusive jurisdiction 
 whatever in that place, but are subject to the laws of the province 
 in which the Hague is. To what purpose the gentleman men 
 tioned that Holland has its Hague I cannot see." 
 
 George Mason thought that Congress should only have 
 exclusive power as regarded the police and good govern 
 ment of the place. 
 
 Of the last, or " sweeping clause," as it was termed, of the 
 eighth section, the Antifederalists had no opinion whatever. 
 George Mason replied to Madison and Pendleton on this 
 head : " Gentlemen say there is no new power given by this 
 clause. Is there anything in this Constitution which secures 
 to the States the powers which are said to be retained ? Will 
 powers remain to the States which are not expressly guarded 
 and reserved " ? He then stated an imaginary case, not an 
 impossible one, of oppression arising under powers exercised 
 by the federal government, and protests being made by 
 public writers against such misgovernment. Could not Con 
 gress call this encouraging sedition, and lay restrictions on 
 the liberty of the press ? Here Colonel Mason anticipated 
 exactly what took place in the sedition law of the second 
 administration. As with the liberty of the press, he con 
 tinued, so with the trial by jury and other personal rights. 
 
THE ^SWEEPING CLAUSE." 249 
 
 He then referred to the second of the Articles of Confedera 
 tion " reserving to the States respectively every power, juris 
 diction, and right, not expressly delegated to the United 
 States. This clause has never been complained of, but 
 approved by all. Why not, then, have a similar clause in 
 this Constitution, in which it is the more indispensably 
 necessary than in the Confederation, because of the great 
 augmentation of power vested in the former ? " At the con 
 clusion of his remarks, Patrick Henry suggested that the 
 Bill of Rights be read to the Convention from the eighth to 
 the thirteenth article. George Nicholas then spoke in de 
 fence of the Constitution as it stood, and was followed in 
 reply by Colonel Mason. He still thought the amendment 
 he had proposed was necessary. The people of Virginia 
 had reserved certain rights when they had formed their 
 government, and he asked : 
 
 " Why should it not be so in this Constitution ? Was it because 
 we were more substantially represented in it than in the State 
 government ? If in the State government, where the people were 
 substantially and fully represented, it was necessary that the great 
 rights of human nature should be secure from the encroachments 
 of the legislature, he asked if it was not more necessary in this gov 
 ernment, where they were but inadequately represented ? ... He 
 could see no clear distinction between rights relinquished by a 
 positive grant, and lost by implication." 
 
 Speeches were then made by Henry, Gray son, and Nicholas. 
 George Mason rose to correct Nicholas who had asserted 
 that the Virginia Bill of Rights did not prohibit torture, 
 whereas, in fact, it was provided against by two clauses. 2 
 
 The ninth and tenth sections of the first article, with the 
 first section of the second, were debated on Tuesday the 
 i ;th. George Mason was the first to speak after the read 
 ing of the first clause ; also after the reading of the second, 
 third, and fourth, and again after the fifth and sixth. He 
 called this a fatal section, " which has created more dangers 
 
 1 Ibid. 2 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson. 
 
250 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 than any other." He reprobated the clause allowing the 
 importation of slaves for twenty years. Yet at the same 
 time that the slave-trade was continued, there was no pro 
 tection for the slaves already in the country. A tax might 
 be laid which would amount to manumission. " So that 
 they have done what they ought not to have done, and 
 have left undone what they ought to have done. This 
 clause was discussed by Madison, Tyler, Henry, and Nicho 
 las, when the next three clauses were read and George 
 Mason said of the fourth, on the subject of a capitation 
 or other direct tax, that it was no restriction. " It only 
 meant that the quantum to be raised of each State, should 
 be in proportion to their numbers. . . . But the general 
 government was not precluded from laying the proportion 
 of any particular State on any one species of property they 
 might think proper." And by laying heavy taxes on slaves 
 they might destroy this property. Madison replied to 
 Mason, and after the reading of the fifth and sixth clauses, 
 the latter spoke again. He objected to the publication of 
 the Treasury accounts " from time to time " only. The ex 
 pression was a loose one and might mean any time, monthly 
 or once in seven years. It was urged that there might be 
 matters which would require secrecy. " But he did not con 
 ceive that the receipts and expenditures of the public money 
 ought ever to be concealed." And now occurred a second 
 little encounter between George Mason and " Light-Horse 
 Harry." The latter "thought such trivial arguments, as 
 that just used by the honorable gentleman, would have no 
 weight with the committee. He conceived the expression to 
 be sufficiently explicit and satisfactory," etc., etc. Colonel 
 Mason " begged to be permitted to use that mode of argu 
 ing to which he had been accustomed. However desirous he 
 was of pleasing that worthy gentleman, his duty would not 
 give way to that pleasure." After a justification of the clause 
 by Nicholas, Corbin, and Madison, George Mason answered, 
 " that in the Confederation, the public proceedings were to 
 to be published monthly, which was infinitely better than 
 
EX POST FACTO LAWS. 2s I 
 
 depending on men s virtue to publish them or not, as they 
 might please." After the reading of the seventh clause 
 Patrick Henry made the first speech, passing in review the 
 whole section, which he characterized as the bill of rights of 
 the Constitution, or its substitute. And he pointed out how 
 far its restrictions fell short of the requirements needed. 
 Edmund Randolph replied at considerable length, and 
 Henry rejoined that he lamented " that he could not see 
 with that perspicuity which other gentlemen were blessed 
 with." 
 
 After the reading of the first clause of the tenth section 
 Patrick Henry spoke again. Madison made a rejoinder, and 
 then George Mason took the floor. Henry had deprecated 
 the restrictions on the States that they could not emit bills 
 of credit, make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 
 in payment of debts, pass ex post facto laws, etc. ; and he 
 feared one effect would be that Virginia would have to pay 
 for her share of Continental money, shilling for shilling, and 
 he asked if there had not been State speculations in this 
 matter. George Mason said that both States and individu 
 als had speculated enormously. Madison had referred to 
 the first clause in the sixth article as protecting the States. 
 Mason considered this satisfactory as far as it went ; " that is, 
 that the Continental money ought to stand on the same 
 ground as it did previously, or that the claim should not be 
 impaired. . . . Neither the State legislatures nor Congress 
 can make an ex post facto law. The nominal value must 
 therefore be paid. . . . The clause under consideration 
 does away with the pretended security in the clause which 
 was adduced by the honorable gentleman." After speeches 
 by Madison, Henry, Nicholas, and Randolph, George Mason 
 again addressed the chair, maintaining that though the 
 debt was transferred to Congress, they had no means of 
 paying it, because they could not pass ex post facto laws. 
 " And it would be ex post facto to all intents and pur 
 poses to pay off creditors with less than the nominal sum, 
 which they were originally promised." He disputed the 
 
252 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 technical definition of such a law, which Edmund Randolph 
 declared related only to criminal cases, whereas it was, 
 according to the ordinary use of words, simply a retrospec 
 tive law. The federal court would have to decide, and it 
 would be their duty to pronounce such laws unconstitu 
 tional. He proceeded to mention a remarkable effect this 
 Constitution would have. 
 
 " How stood our taxes before this Constitution was introduced ? 
 Requisitions were made on the State legislatures, and if they 
 were unjust they could be refused. . . . But now this could 
 not be done ; for direct taxation is brought home to us. The 
 federal officer collects immediately of the planters. When it 
 withholds the only possible means of discharging these debts, 
 and by direct taxation prevents any opposition to the most enor 
 mous and unjust demand, where are you ? Is there a ray of 
 hope ? " 
 
 What was here feared from direct taxation has come to pass 
 through another form of the power given Congress in the 
 eighth section. Experience has proved that indirect taxa 
 tion was the more dangerous prerogative. George Mason 
 continued. It was said " the United States can be plain 
 tiffs, but never defendants. If so it stands on very unjust 
 grounds. The United States cannot be come at for anything 
 they may owe, but may get what is due to them. There is 
 therefore no reciprocity." After Madison had spoken in 
 reply to Mason, asserting that the clause was merely declara 
 tory, and things existed just as they were before, Mason 
 declared himself " still convinced of the rectitude of his 
 former opinion. He thought it might be put on a safer 
 footing by three words. By continuing the restriction of ex 
 post facto laws to crimes, it would then stand under the new 
 government as it did under the old." Colonel Mason was 
 the first to speak after the reading of the next clause. He 
 objected to its restrictions upon the States, as preventing 
 Virginia from making " any inspection law but what is sub 
 ject to the control and revision of Congress. Hence gentle- 
 
PRINCIPLE OF RESPONSIBILITY NEGLECTED. 253 
 
 men, who know nothing of the business, will make rules 
 concerning it which may be detrimental to our interests. 
 . . . Under this clause that incidental revenue which is 
 calculated to pay for the inspection, and to defray contin 
 gent charges, is to be put into the federal treasury. But if 
 any tobacco house is burnt, we cannot make up the loss. I 
 conceive this to be unjust and unreasonable. When any 
 profit arises from it, it goes into the federal treasury. But 
 when there is any loss or deficiency from damage, it cannot 
 be made up. Congress are to make regulations for our 
 tobacco. Are men in the States where no tobacco is made 
 proper judges of this business ? This is one of 
 
 the most wanton powers of the general government." 
 George Nicholas defended the clause, and said a tax could 
 be laid to make up for the loss of warehouses destroyed by 
 fire. Colonel Mason replied " that the State legislatures 
 could make no law but what would come within the general 
 control given to Congress ; and that the regulation of the 
 inspection, and the imposition of duties, must be inseparably 
 blended together." George Mason rose after the reading 
 of the first section of the second article and expressed his 
 unqualified disapprobation of some of its provisions. " The 
 great fundamental principle of responsibility in republican 
 ism is here sapped." This referred to the election of the 
 President without rotation. 
 
 " It may be said that a new election may remove him, and 
 place another in his stead. If we judge from the experience of 
 all other countries, and even our own, we may conclude that, as 
 the President of the United States may be re-elected, so he will. 
 . . . This President will be elected time after time ; he will 
 be continued in office for life." 
 
 Turning to Edmund Randolph, Colonel Mason continued : 
 
 The honorable gentleman, my colleague in the late Federal 
 Convention, mentions with applause those parts of which he had 
 expressed his disapprobation. He says not a word. If I am 
 
254 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 mistaken let me be put right. 1 I shall not make use of his name ; 
 but in the course of this investigation I shall use the arguments 
 of that gentleman against it." 
 
 The " honorable gentleman " must have writhed under these 
 words, and the promise they held out of turning his own 
 weapons against him was not reassuring to the time-serving 
 governor. The danger of European influence was then 
 dwelt upon. George Mason thought " some stated time 
 ought to be fixed when the President ought to be reduced to 
 a private station," and he advocated eight years of office out 
 of twelve or sixteen years. As it was, he might remain in 
 office for life. The danger here dreaded may now seem 
 chimerical. And public opinion has decided against a third 
 term, so that eight years is practically the limit. But none 
 the less there remains no constitutional restriction against 
 the possible perils inherent in the article under considera 
 tion. Edmund Randolph now proceeded to confute his 
 former opinions, but George Mason made no further reply 
 to him. The latter spoke next on the subject of the Vice- 
 President, whom he considered an unnecessary officer. He 
 had addressed the Convention twelve times during this day s 
 session. 2 
 
 After speeches, on Wednesday, from Monroe and Grayson, 
 George Mason discussed the mode of electing the Executive, 
 as open to objection : 
 
 " A majority of the whole number of electors is necessary to 
 elect the President. It is not the greatest number of votes that is 
 required, but a majority of the whole number of electors. If there 
 be more than one having such majority, and an equal number, one 
 of them is to be chosen by ballot of the House of Representatives. 
 But if no one have a majority of the actual number of electors 
 appointed, how is he to be chosen ? From the five highest on the 
 list, by ballot of the lower house, and the votes to be taken by 
 
 1 The punctuation of this sentence in Robertson is evidently incorrect, and 
 has been altered here. 
 
 2 Appendix iii. " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson. 
 
ALL BALANCES DESTROYED. 2$ 5 
 
 States. I conceive he ought to be chosen from the two highest on 
 the list. This would be simple and easy. Then indeed the people 
 would have some agency in the election. But when it is extended 
 to the five highest, a person having a very small number of votes 
 may be elected." 
 
 And in regard to the second section of the article on the 
 Executive, George Mason said : 
 
 " It has been wittily observed that the Constitution has married 
 the President and the Senate has made them man and wife. I 
 believe the consequence that generally results from marriage will 
 happen here. They will be continually supporting and aiding 
 each other ; they will always consider their interest as united. 
 . . . The executive and legislative powers thus connected will 
 destroy all balances ; this would have been prevented by a consti 
 tutional council, to aid the President in the discharge of his office, 
 vesting the Senate, at the same time, with the power of impeaching 
 them." 
 
 Madison in his reply took issue with Mason on the construc 
 tion of the phrase, " majority of the whole number of electors 
 appointed." However, the present mode of electing the Ex 
 ecutive, by special conventions, the electoral college simply 
 registering the result of the vote on the nominees of the 
 conventions, is a wide departure in practice from the theory 
 contemplated by the Constitution. 
 
 George Mason was the first to speak after the reading of 
 the first clause of the second section of article second. He 
 was alarmed at the great powers given the President. That 
 of commanding the army in person he thought very danger 
 ous. He believed a general superintendence was sufficient, 
 and he took occasion to remark on the virtues and magna 
 nimity of Washington, who, had he been ambitious, might 
 have done much harm to the country: " So disinterested and 
 amiable a character as General Washington might never 
 command again." He thought the President should not 
 have the pardoning power. General Lcc said the President 
 would not necessarily command in person and might only do 
 
256 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 so in case he was a military man and the public safety 
 required it. To this Mason retorted, that the President 
 might command if he pleased, and might make a dangerous 
 use of his power. George Nicholas compared the State and 
 federal governments, in the power of the former over the 
 militia and the latter over the army and navy, and George 
 Mason replied that " the Governor did not possess such ex 
 tensive powers as the President, and had no influence over 
 the navy. The liberty of the people had been destroyed by 
 those who were military commanders only. The danger here 
 was greater by the junction of great civil powers to the com 
 mand of the army and fleet." Madison animadverted upon 
 Mason s objection to giving the Executive the pardoning 
 power, and said that it would not be proper to vest it in the 
 House of Representatives, because large popular bodies were 
 more apt to be swayed by passion. He instanced the case of 
 Massachusetts and Shay s Rebellion, where the same legisla 
 ture at different sessions were actuated by exactly opposite 
 sentiments. To this Colonel Mason answered that " they [the 
 Assemblies] were both right ; for in the first instance, when 
 such ideas of severity prevailed, a rebellion was in existence, 
 in such circumstance it was right to be rigid. But after it 
 was over, it would be wrong to exercise unnecessary severity." 
 The second clause was read, and George Mason was again on 
 his feet, objecting to this most dangerous provision, " as 
 thereby five States might make a treaty, ten Senators, the 
 representatives of five States being two-thirds of a quorum. 
 These ten might come from the five smallest States." George 
 Nicholas answered Colonel Mason, but the latter was not pre 
 pared to agree with him in his argument as to the superiority 
 of the Constitution over the Confederation on this point. 
 The subject was discussed for some time longer, both Henry 
 and Grayson, among others, making speeches on this question 
 of the treaty power. On Thursday, the iQth, after Grayson 
 and Nicholas had spoken, George Mason continued his 
 remarks on the same topic. He considered this as " one of 
 the greatest acts of sovereignty," and thought it should be 
 
TREATY-MAKING POWER DISCUSSED. 
 
 most carefully guarded. As it was, the President had more 
 power than the King of England. " Could the King give 
 Portsmouth to France? He could not do this without an 
 express act of Parliament without the consent of the legis 
 lature in all its branches. There are other things which the 
 King cannot do, which may be done by the President and 
 Senate in this case." The common law of England, he said, 
 was not the common law of this country. And there was 
 nothing in the Constitution to prevent the relinquishment of 
 territory by treaty. " No treaty to dismember the empire, 
 ought to be made without the consent of three-fourths of the 
 legislature in all its branches." And only unavoidable neces 
 sity could excuse such a treaty when it would doubtless have 
 the " general and uniform vote of the Continental Parlia- 
 
 o 
 
 ment." l Corbin, Henry, and Madison all spoke on this 
 occasion ; the former exhibiting, as Grigsby says, " great 
 perspicacity in anticipating the real action of the Federal 
 Government," in regard to treaties. 2 
 
 1 Appendix iii. 
 
 2 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 274. 
 
 vol. ii 17 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN ANTIFEDERALIST LEADER. 
 1788. 
 
 The Convention had now reached, Thursday the iQth of 
 June, a most important part of the Constitution the first 
 and second sections of the third article, on the federal judi 
 ciary. It was a theme, says the historian of the Convention, 
 " which, in itself considered, possessed an importance in the 
 eyes of our fathers that language would vainly attempt to 
 measure, which was discussed with a fulness of learning, 
 with a keenness of logic, and with a glow of eloquence that 
 it might well elicit, and which, though technical, and seen 
 through a vista of seventy [now a hundred] years, cannot 
 fail to strike a responsive chord in the hearts of every true 
 son and daughter of our noble Commonwealth." And it 
 possessed an additional interest as it was to be " the last 
 battle-ground of the parties into which the Convention 
 was in nearly equal portions divided." Grigsby reminds 
 us that the experience of a century " will place a child 
 apparently on the same level with a giant, and the merest 
 tyro in politics with a Somers or a Mason," and he adds 
 " that the fears and gloomy predictions uttered by the oppo 
 nents of the Constitution have, by the vigilance and caution 
 which they inspired, operated in a material degree in pre 
 venting their own fulfilment." Edmund Pendleton having 
 first spoken, in favor of the proposed system, Colonel 
 Mason said he had hoped the friends of the Constitution 
 
 1 Grigsby s " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 276. 
 
<> TA TE GO VERNMEN TS A ND J UDICIA RIES. 259 
 
 would have had the candor to point out the objections that 
 must be apparent to all. " It is with great reluctance," he 
 added, " I speak of this department, as it lies out of my line. 
 I should not tell my sentiments upon it, did I not conceive 
 it to be so constructed as to destroy the dearest rights of 
 the community." He asked what power remained to the 
 State courts. He could see no limitation to the power of 
 the federal courts, and Congress might establish any num 
 ber of them ; while the discrimination between their juris 
 diction and that of the State courts existed only in name. 
 
 " To what disgraceful and dangerous length does the principle 
 of this go ! For if your State judiciaries are not to be trusted 
 with the administration of common justice, and decision of dis 
 putes respecting property between man and man, much less 
 ought the State governments to be trusted with power of legis 
 lation. The principle itself goes to the destruction of the legis 
 lation of the States, whether or not it was intended. As to my 
 own opinion, I most religiously and conscientiously believe that 
 it was intended, though I am not absolutely certain. But I 
 think it will destroy the State governments, whatever may have 
 been the intention. There are many gentlemen in the United 
 States who think it right, that we should have one great, national, 
 consolidated government, and that it was better to bring it about 
 slowly and imperceptibly rather than all at once. This is no 
 reflection on any man, for I mean none. To those who think 
 that one national, consolidated government is best for America, 
 this extensive, judicial authority will be agreeable ; but I hope 
 there are many in this Convention of a different opinion, and who 
 see their political happiness resting on their State governments." 
 
 Though George Mason had said he meant no reflection 
 on any man, there was one member of the Convention who 
 could not but consider his remarks as personal. Madison 
 alone of those present who had been delegates to the Fed 
 eral Convention felt a responsibility for its work. Randolph 
 had changed sides, and George Wythe, though voting with 
 the Federalists on that occasion, had taken no conspicuous 
 
260 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 part in the matter. Then, too, Madison was now hand in 
 glove with Alexander Hamilton, whose views were well 
 known to be inimical to State sovereignty. These two were 
 at this time writing the letters of The Federalist for the 
 enlightenment of the general public, while carrying on an 
 anxious private correspondence, in which their sympathy is 
 seen to be complete on the subject of adopting the un- 
 amended Constitution. Madison, therefore, interrupted 
 Colonel Mason, and asked for " an unequivocal explana 
 tion." To this challenge Mason made reply : 
 
 " I shall never refuse to explain myself. It is notorious that 
 this is a prevailing principle. It was at least the opinion of 
 many gentlemen in Convention, and many in the United States. 
 I do not know what explanation the honorable gentleman asks. 
 I can say, with great truth, that the honorable gentleman, in 
 private conversation with me, expressed himself against it ; 
 neither did I ever hear any of the delegates from this State 
 advocate it." 
 
 With this explanation Madison professed himself satisfied, 
 and George Mason continued his argument. He passed in 
 review the powers given the judiciary, approving of some 
 unconditionally, of others under restrictions, but excepting 
 to some altogether as " utterly inconsistent with reason and 
 good policy." He dwelt upon the hardships and expense to 
 a poor man in case of oppression by federal officials. 
 
 " Even suppose the poor man should be able to obtain judg 
 ment in the inferior court, for the greatest injury, what justice 
 can he get on appeal ? Can he go four hundred or five hundred 
 miles ? Can he stand the expense attending it ? On this occa 
 sion they are to judge of fact as well as law. He must bring his 
 witnesses where he is not known, where a new evidence may be 
 brought against him, of w r hich he never heard before, and which 
 he cannot contradict." 
 
 While admitting that in maritime and chancery cases 
 jurisdiction as to fact was necessary, he thought in common- 
 
UNLIMITED POWER OF FEDERAL COURTS. 261 
 
 law controversies it was inexpedient and dangerous. And 
 he proposed an amendment, which is to be found as corre 
 sponding to the first part of the fourteenth amendment 
 adopted by the Convention. In regard to controversies 
 between citizens of different States, Colonel Mason said : 
 
 " Can we not trust our State courts with the decision of these ? 
 If I have a controversy with a man in Maryland if a man in 
 Maryland has my bond for ^100, are not the State courts com 
 petent to try it ? Is it suspected that they would enforce the 
 payment if unjust, or refuse to enforce it if just ? The very idea 
 is ridiculous." 
 
 He dilated further upon this case, and then proceeded to 
 consider that of the British creditor and the citizens of Vir 
 ginia, and he thought there were many instances where the 
 federal courts could oblige the latter to pay a debt twice 
 over. Again, in regard to disputed lands he saw peril to 
 many in the community. " I am personally endangered," 
 he went on to say, " as an inhabitant of the Northern Neck. 
 The people of that part will be obliged, by the operation of 
 this power, to pay the quitrent of their lands. . . . Lord 
 Fairfax s title was clear and undisputed. After the Revolu 
 tion, we taxed his lands as private property. After his death, 
 an act of Assembly was made, in 1782, to sequester the quit- 
 rents due, at his death, in the hands of his debtors. Next 
 year an act was made restoring them to the executor of the 
 proprietor. Subsequent to this, the treaty of peace was 
 made, by which it was agreed that there should be no 
 further confiscations. But after this an act of Assembly 
 passed confiscating this whole property. As Lord Fairfax s 
 title was indisputably good, and as treaties are to be the 
 supreme law of the land, will not his representatives be able 
 to recover all in the federal court ? " Next he named the 
 great land companies, who would now come forward : 
 
 " All that tract of country between the Blue Ridge and the 
 Alleghany Mountains, will be claimed, and probably recovered in 
 
262 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the federal court, from the present possessors, by those companies 
 who have a title to them. . . . Again, the great Indiana 
 purchase, which was made to the westward, will, by this judicial 
 power, be rendered a cause of dispute. . . . Three or four 
 counties are settled on the land to which that company claims a 
 title, and have long enjoyed it peaceably. All these claims 
 before those courts, if they succeed, will introduce a" scene of 
 distress and confusion never heard of before. Our peasants will 
 be, like those mentioned by Virgil, reduced to ruin and misery, 
 driven from their farms, and obliged to leave their country 
 Nos patriam fugimus, et dulcia linquimus arva" 
 
 George Mason then proposed an amendment, " that the 
 judicial power shall extend to no case where the cause of 
 action shall have originated before the ratification of this 
 Constitution, except in suits for debts due to the United 
 States, disputes between States about their territory, and 
 disputes between persons claiming lands under the grants of 
 different States." This forms the concluding clause of the 
 fourteenth amendment recommended by the Convention. 
 
 Grigsby observes that " Madison manifested great sensi 
 tiveness during the speech of Mason, and it is not to be 
 disguised that he did touch doctrines in the [Federal] Con 
 vention which would have led the way to the plan denounced 
 by Mason ; for he is reported by Yates to have said that the 
 States were never sovereign, and were petty corporations." * 
 Though it was past the hour for adjournment, Madison rose 
 to reply to Mason " to break the effect " of his speech. And 
 on the following day Madison continued his argument. 
 " There was an evident interest shown," says Grigsby, " to 
 hear the speech of Madison, who, like Mason, was not a 
 lawyer, on a topic which was beyond the usual sphere of a 
 politician, and which had been argued with such eminent 
 ability by Mason the day before." Patrick Henry spoke 
 in reply to Madison, and he was followed by Pendleton, who 
 
 1 Appendix iii. 
 
 * " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," note to p. 285. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 290. 
 
PENDLETON AND MARSHALL ANSWER MASON. 263 
 
 sought to refute the arguments of Mason and Henry. He 
 accused George Mason of making a mistake in his speech 
 " on the propriety of a jury from the vicinage." Grigsby 
 comments here : 
 
 " Pendleton sought to make mirth with those gentlemen of the 
 law in the Convention who thought that none but lawyers can 
 understand legal questions. The fact is that Mason was clearly 
 right, and Pendleton clearly wrong. Mason did not contend 
 that a jury from the vicinage was the sole benefit accruing from 
 jury trial, but that it was an important one, as it assuredly is, 
 which a criminal, carried a thousand miles from his home would 
 lose. As Pendleton wholly excludes from his view this great 
 benefit, it is he that errs, and not Mason." 1 
 
 Pendleton also referred to the case supposed by Mason, 
 that a Virginian holding his bond might, through malice, 
 assign it to a citizen of a neighboring State, and asserted 
 that this was not a well-founded objection. Colonel Mason 
 replied : 
 
 " The honorable gentleman has said that there can be no 
 danger in the first instance because it is not within the original 
 jurisdiction of the Supreme Court ; but that the suit must be 
 brought in the inferior federal court of Virginia. He supposes 
 there can never be an appeal, in this case, by the plaintiff, 
 because he gets a judgment on his bond ; and that the defendant 
 alone can appeal, who therefore, instead of being injured, obtains 
 a privilege. Permit me to examine the force of this." 
 
 And the speaker proceeded to show that his objection was 
 a legitimate one, and he added : " The honorable gentle 
 man recommends to me to alter my proposed amendment. 
 I would as soon take the advice of that gentleman as any 
 other, but though the regard which I have for him be great, 
 I cannot assent on this great occasion." Marshall occupied 
 the attention of the house for the remainder of the day s 
 session. He passed in review some of George Mason s 
 
 1 Ibid., note to p. 294. 
 
264 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 objections to the great powers given the judiciary, and 
 pronounced them chimerical. Mason had said of the clause, 
 " to controversies between a State and the citizens of an 
 other State," in reference to the land companies, that these 
 claims would be tried before a federal court : 
 
 " Is not this disgraceful ? Is this State to be brought to the 
 bar of justice like a delinquent individual ? Is the sovereignty 
 of the State to be arraigned like a culprit, or private offender ? 
 . . . What is to be done if a judgment be obtained against a 
 State ? Will you issue a fieri facias ? It would be ludicrous to 
 say you could put the State s body in jail. How is the judgment, 
 then, to be enforced ? A power which cannot be exercised ought 
 not to be granted." 
 
 And Marshall replied : " / hope no gentleman will think 
 that a State will be called at the bar of the federal court." 
 Later events justified George Mason s fears, and necessitated 
 the eleventh amendment. Edmund Randolph had a few 
 remarks to make on Friday, to the effect " that the faults 
 which he once saw in this system he still perceived ! " He 
 unfolded his views on the following day, after an able speech 
 by Grayson. " It seems to have been a rule," said the latter, 
 " with the gentlemen on the other side, to argue from the 
 excellency of human nature, in order to induce us to grant 
 away (if I may be allowed the expression) the rights and 
 liberties of our country. I make no doubt the same argu 
 ments were used on a variety of occasions. I suppose, sir, 
 this argument was used when Cromwell was invested with 
 power. The same argument was used to gain our assent to 
 the stamp act." 
 
 Madison wrote to Alexander Hamilton on Friday the 
 2Oth, and also on Sunday the 22d. He spoke of the debates 
 having " advanced as far as the judiciary department, 
 against which a great effort is making." He referred to the 
 project of the Antifederalists to bring forward a bill of 
 rights and amendments as conditions of ratification. 
 
 1 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson, p. 402. Appendix iii. 
 
MADISON WRITES TO ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 26$ 
 
 " The plan meditated by the friends of the Constitution is to 
 preface the ratification with some plain and general truths that 
 cannot affect the validity of the act, and to subjoin a recommen 
 dation, which may hold up amendments as objects to be pursued 
 in the constitutional mode. These expedients are rendered pru 
 dent by the nice balance of numbers, and the scruples entertained 
 by some who are in general well affected." 
 
 He was by no means sure of a majority, however, and 
 he adds : 
 
 " It unluckily happens, that our legislature, which meets at this 
 place to-morrow, consists of a considerable majority of Anti- 
 federal members. This is another circumstance that ought to 
 check our confidence. As individuals they may have some influ 
 ence ; and as coming immediately from the people at large they 
 can give any color they please to the popular sentiments at this 
 moment, and may in that mode throw a bias on the representa 
 tives of the people in Convention." 
 
 The last week of the Convention opened inauspiciously 
 for the needs of the future historian, as on this day, Monday 
 the 23d, the short-hand writer was absent, and only very 
 incomplete notes of the speeches were preserved. George 
 Mason spoke four times on the 23d, and made his last 
 heroic efforts to procure amendments. Only once again 
 was his voice heard in the Convention, when on the 24th he 
 rose to correct an erroneous statement made by Edmund 
 Randolph. On the 236 the first and second sections of the 
 third article were still under consideration. George Nicholas 
 urged that the Convention proceed to the next section, but 
 Henry did not consider the objections of the opposition had 
 been answered in a manner to give satisfaction. He called 
 in question a statement of Marshall s, relating to the trial by 
 jury, which the latter rose to explain, declaring that it was 
 as well secured in the Constitution as in the Virginia Bill of 
 Rights. Henry replied to this at considerable length. George 
 Nicholas made the succeeding speech (after Stephen), and 
 
 1 " Works of Hamilton," John C. Hamilton, vol. i., p. 462. 
 
266 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 in the course of his remarks gave offence to Patrick Henry. 
 The atmospheric conditions were not favorable to coolness 
 of temper, either in- or out-of-doors, and the crisis of political 
 excitement had been reached, probably, on this day, with 
 the members of the Assembly, as they arrived in Richmond, 
 swelling the eager audience, too much interested in the 
 work of the Convention to organize their own Houses. 
 The president, after some heated discussion between 
 Nicholas and Henry, observed, " that he hoped gentlemen 
 would not be personal, that they would proceed to investi 
 gate the subject calmly and in a peaceable manner." After 
 speeches by Monroe, Madison, Grayson, and Henry, of 
 which we have only the outlines, George Mason spoke in 
 conclusion, on the judiciary. With respect to concurrent 
 jurisdiction," said Mason in reply to Madison, who had 
 observed " that county courts had exercised this right with 
 out complaint," the argument adduced seemed to him very 
 unsatisfactory: 
 
 " Have Hanover and Henrico the same objects ? Can an 
 officer in either of those counties serve a process in the other ? 
 The federal judiciary has concurrent jurisdiction throughout 
 the States, and therefore must interfere with the State judiciaries. 
 
 . . If we were forming a general government, and not 
 States, I think we should perfectly comply with the genius of the 
 paper before you ; but if we mean to form one great national 
 government for thirteen States, the arguments which I have 
 heard hitherto in support of this part of the plan do not apply at 
 all. We are willing to give up all powers which are necessary to 
 preserve the peace of the Union, so far as respects foreign 
 nations, or our own preservation, but we will not agree to a 
 federal judiciary, which is not necessary for this purpose, 
 because the powers there granted will tend to oppress the 
 middling and lower class of people." 
 
 After further discussion of this point, Colonel Mason sat 
 down, to rise again on the reading of the first section of the 
 fourth article. He professed not to understand the latter 
 
MASQAT S FINAL APPEAL AND WARNING. 267 
 
 part of this clause : "Full faith and credit shall be given to 
 all acts ; and how far it may be proper that Congress shall 
 declare the effects, I cannot clearly see into." After the 
 reading of the second section, George Mason spoke again. 
 He reverted to observations made at an earlier stage in 
 their proceedings, " on the security of property coming 
 within this section." He thought then and he was still 
 convinced that there was no security. 1 " More than sixty 
 years after this remark was made by Mason," says Grigsby, 
 " one of his grandsons in the Senate of the United States 
 drew up an act to carry this clause of the Constitution into 
 effect." And he adds : " If it had been objected to the first 
 clause of this section, that a Southern gentleman could not 
 travel with his servants through another State without 
 having them forcibly taken from him, or in transitu to some 
 other State, the friends of the Constitution would have 
 answered that from their own experience no such result 
 would ever follow." 2 
 
 William Grayson was the first to speak after the reading 
 of the third section, which in its first clause related to the 
 admission of new States, and in its second clause to the 
 jurisdiction of Congress over federal territory. Grayson 
 foretold the difficulty there would be in admitting new 
 Southern States into the Union, with a Northern majority 
 against them. George Mason here made his last speech in 
 the Convention. But unfortunately no report of it can be 
 said to be extant. The meagre record published by Robert 
 son gives us only a faint reflex of its scope and purpose. 
 He " took a retrospective view of several parts [of the Con 
 stitution] which had been before objected to. He endeav 
 ored to demonstrate the dangers that must inevitably arise 
 from the insecurity of our rights and privileges, as they 
 depended on vague, indefinite, and ambiguous implications. 
 The adoption of a system so replete with defects, he appre 
 hended could not but be productive of the most alarming 
 
 1 Appendix iii. 
 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," note to p. 304. 
 
268 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 consequences. He dreaded popular resistance to its opera 
 tion. He expressed, in emphatic terms, the dread fid effects 
 which must ensue, should the people resist ; and concluded 
 by observing, that he trusted gentlemen would pause before 
 they would decide a question which involved such awful 
 consequences." Such is the brief synopsis of this final ap 
 peal. The eloquence and earnestness of the speaker are 
 barely suggested to us, not in anywise reproduced. But 
 their effect on his hearers was evidently not slight. Some 
 intimation of this may be gathered from the speech of Gen 
 eral Henry Lee, which followed Mason s, in which the 
 federal advocate sought to do away with the impression his 
 opponent had made. 1 We learn, too, what Madison thought 
 of George Mason s speech, through a letter written by him 
 to Washington, on the evening of the 23d. Unfortunately 
 no report from the lips of friends remains to supplement the 
 unsympathetic relation of political adversaries. But Madison s 
 letter is important as filling out, to some extent, the abbre 
 viated journal of the day s proceedings. And we learn in it 
 that Mason was answered by others beside Lee, and that 
 George Mason concluded his arraignment of the Constitu 
 tion, and his forecast of its perils, by " declaring his deter 
 mination, for himself, to acquiesce in the event, whatever it 
 might be." Madison wrote to his friend : 
 
 " We got through the Constitution by paragraphs to-day. . . . 
 The opposition will urge previous amendments. Their conversa 
 tion to-day seemed to betray despair. Colonel Mason, in par 
 ticular, talked in a style which no other sentiment could have 
 produced. He held out the idea of civil convulsions as the 
 effect of obtruding the government on the people. He was an 
 swered by several, and concluded with declaring his determina 
 tion, for himself, to acquiesce in the event, whatever it might be. 
 Mr. Henry endeavored to gloss what had fallen from his friend ; 
 declared his aversion to the Constitution to be such that he could 
 not take the oath ; but he would remain in peaceable submission 
 to the result." 2 
 
 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson. Appendix iii. 
 2 " Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 401. 
 
REQUIREMENTS OF THE ANTIFEDERAL1STS. 269 
 
 On the 24th, George Wythe proposed a resolution of rati 
 fication, and that amendments should be recommended to 
 Congress on its first session under the Constitution. Henry 
 declared the motion premature, and after a speech of some 
 length he informed the committee that he had a resolution 
 prepared, to refer a declaration of rights, with certain 
 amendments to the most exceptionable parts of the Consti 
 tution, to the other States in the Confederacy, for their con 
 sideration, previous to ratification. These were nearly the 
 same, Robertson says, as the amendments ultimately passed 
 by the Convention. And there is every reason to believe 
 that, though presented by Patrick Henry, they were written 
 by George Mason, the chairman of the Committee of Op 
 position, and a transcript of them is preserved among George 
 Mason s papers. 1 Edmund Randolph spoke after Henry, 
 and commented on Wythe s form of ratification, declaring 
 it sufficient, as a declaration of rights. He also passed in 
 review the various amendments proposed by Henry. In 
 regard to the seventh and eighth, he said : 
 
 " I have never hesitated to acknowledge that I wished the 
 regulation of commerce had been put in the hands of a 
 greater body than it is in the sense of the Constitution. But I 
 appeal to my colleagues in the Federal Convention, whether 
 this was not a sine qua non of the Union." 
 
 To this George Mason replied : 
 
 " It never was, nor in my opinion ever will be, a sine qua non 
 of the Union. I will give you, to the best of my recollection, the 
 history of that affair. This business was discussed at Phila 
 delphia for four months, during which time the subject of com 
 merce and navigation was often under consideration ; and I 
 assert, that eight States out of twelve, for more than three 
 months, voted for requiring two-thirds of the members present 
 in each House to pass commercial and navigation laws. ... If 
 I am right, there was a great majority for requiring two-thirds of 
 the States in this business, till a compromise took place between 
 
 1 Appendix iv. 
 
2/O LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the Northern and Southern States ; the Northern States agreeing 
 to the temporary importation of slaves, and the Southern States 
 conceding, in return, that navigation and commercial laws should 
 be on the footing on which they now stand. . . . These are 
 my reasons for saying that this was not a sine qua non of their 
 concurrence." l 
 
 George Mason was followed by John Dawson, a young 
 member of the opposition, who addressed the Convention 
 now for the first time. To him succeeded Grayson, Madi 
 son, and Henry. The latter made that memorable appeal to 
 his hearers which Wirt has so graphically described, where, 
 as it was said, he seemed to look beyond the horizon, to the 
 "beings of a higher order," who were witnesses of the im 
 portant work then about to be consummated in behalf of 
 posterity, and as he thrilled his auditors with his eloquence, 
 a thunder-storm mingled its turbulence with the human 
 emotions the orator had aroused, bringing the scene to a 
 dramatic conclusion. 
 
 The next day, Wednesday, was the last day of the Con 
 vention. Innes, the eminent lawyer, spoke then for the first 
 time, bringing all his powers of intellect to bear in favor of 
 the new government ; while the clear-headed, conservative 
 Tyler answered him in a zealous plea for the liberties 
 of the States. Other speeches were made by less prominent 
 members, Patrick Henry and Edmund Randolph closing the 
 debate. The latter made a solemn justification of himself 
 for the benefit of " some future annalist." The vote was 
 then taken on a resolution for previous amendments, and 
 it passed in the negative, eighty to eighty-eight. The reso 
 lution of ratification with subsequent amendments passed in 
 the affirmative, eighty-nine for it and seventy-nine against it. 
 Two more days were taken up with the work of preparing 
 and voting on the form of ratification and amendments. 
 Though the committee named to prepare the form of ratifi 
 cation was a purely Federalist one, consisting of Randolph, 
 
 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson. Appendix iii. 
 
THE CONSTITUTION RATIFIED. 2/1 
 
 Nicholas, Madison, Marshall, and Corbin, yet they stated in 
 unmistakable terms the doctrine of State sovereignty in 
 the assertion that the " powers granted under the Consti 
 tution, being derived from the people of the United States, 
 may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be per 
 verted to their injury or oppression." The "people" here 
 meant precisely what it meant in the preamble to the Con 
 stitution as expounded by Madison, " not the people as 
 composing one great body, but the people as composing 
 thirteen sovereignties." Virginia here declares the right of 
 secession, as a correlative of accession, for all of the thirteen 
 sovereignties. The committee to prepare amendments con 
 sisted of the prominent members of both parties, including 
 on the one side Mason, Henry, and Grayson, and on the 
 other Madison, Marshall, and Edmund Randolph. George 
 Wythe, as chairman of this committee, reported a bill of 
 rights and amendments on the 27th. There were twenty ar 
 ticles in the former paper, and twenty amendments proposed, 
 and they correspond in substance, with one or two excep 
 tions, to those agreed on by the Committee of Opposition, 
 as may be seen by comparing them with the drafts among 
 George Mason s papers. The Convention adjourned on the 
 27th of June. The hard-fought battle was over, but the 
 victory was not altogether with the Federalists. They had 
 been forced to concede most of the amendments they had 
 so strenuously opposed, though they were not made a con 
 dition precedent to ratification. The Convention had 
 pledged its delegates to the first Congress under the new 
 government to recommend to its consideration the objections 
 of the Antifederalists and their amendments ; the latter to 
 be acted upon as the Constitution required. The expedi 
 ency plea put forward by Edmund Randolph, that it was a 
 question of " union or no union," as eight States had al 
 ready ratified the compact, no doubt had its effect on the 
 weak and the wavering in the Convention, and brought over 
 the small majority to the Federalists. 
 
 Madison wrote to Jefferson on the 2.d.th of July from New 
 
2/2 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 York, where he had gone to attend Congress, telling his 
 correspondent of the last days of the Convention in Virginia. 
 He anticipates no " irregular opposition to the system." He 
 adds : 
 
 "What local eruptions may be occasioned by ill-timed or rigor 
 ous executions of the treaty of peace against British debts, I will 
 not pretend to say. But although the leaders, particularly Henry 
 and Mason, will give no countenance to popular violence, it is not 
 to be inferred that they are reconciled to the event, or will give 
 it a positive support. On the contrary, both of them declared 
 they could not go that length, and an attempt was made under 
 their auspices to induce the minority to sign an address to the 
 people, which if it had not been defeated by the general modera 
 tion of the party, would probably have done mischief. Among a 
 variety of expedients employed by the opponents to gain prose 
 lytes, Mr. Henry first, and after him Col. Mason, introduced the 
 opinions expressed in a letter from you to a correspondent (Mr. 
 Donald or Skipwith I believe) and endeavored to turn the influ 
 ence of your name even against parts of which I knew you ap 
 proved." l 
 
 Jefferson had written that he wished for a bill of rights 
 and amendments. And he had made the suggestion that 
 the object could be obtained in this way; the nine first Con- 
 ventions by adopting the Constitution would secure the 
 good that it contained, and the four latest Conventions, 
 whichever they might be, by refusing to accede to it until 
 amendments were secured, would force the others to assent 
 to them. Patrick Henry, and it seemed George Mason also, 
 though of this Robertson gives us no intimation, very natu 
 rally counting Jefferson among the Antifederalists, had 
 sought to secure in the Convention any strength that might 
 be obtained by bringing forward his views. But, as Henry 
 pointed out, Jefferson s advice could not be followed, unless 
 they were certain as to the course of the New Hampshire 
 Convention then in session : " They tell us," said Henry, in 
 
 1 "Writings of Madison," vol. i., p. 405. 
 
POLICY SUGGESTED BY JEFFERSON. 2/3 
 
 a speech made the I2th of June, " that from the most au 
 thentic accounts, New Hampshire will adopt it [the Consti 
 tution]. Where then will four States be found to reject it, 
 if we adopt it ? Do not gentlemen see, that if we adopt, 
 under the idea of following Mr. Jefferson s opinion, we 
 amuse ourselves with the shadow, while the substance is 
 given away ? If Virginia be for adoption, what States will 
 be left, of sufficient respectability and importance, to secure 
 amendments by their rejection ? " As New Hampshire 
 adopted the Constitution on the 2ist of June, she made the 
 ninth State, and the four States that remained, containing 
 more than a third of the population of the thirteen, would 
 have been able, as Jefferson said, to secure amendments by re 
 fusing to ratify the compact without them. Virginia s impor 
 tance in the Confederacy we are made to realize by Grigsby s 
 statement of statistics : " Her population was over three- 
 fourths of all that of New England. It was not far from 
 double that of Pennsylvania. It was not far from three times 
 that of New York. It was over three-fourths of all the popu 
 lation of the Southern States ; . . . and it was more than 
 a fifth of the population of the whole Union." Unfortu 
 nately the slow methods of transportation at that day did 
 not admit of the news of New Hampshire s action reaching 
 Richmond before the adjournment of the Convention. The 
 intelligence was received in New York on the 24th, and not 
 until the last day of June or 1st of July was it known in 
 Richmond by an express sent from Hamilton to Madison. 
 
 In the letter of Madison s given above, reference is made 
 to an address prepared by Mason and Henry to be distributed 
 among the people for their signatures. No trace of such a 
 paper is to be found, nor is there any mention elsewhere of 
 such a design on the part of the two great leaders of the 
 opposition. On the contrary, an anecdote has been pre 
 served, which represents Patrick Henry as quelling the mani 
 festation of feeling among the Antifederalists which would 
 lead them to obstruct the new government : 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 8. 
 vol. ii 1 8 
 
274 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 " In the evening of the day of the final vote, General Meade 
 and Mr. Cabell assembled the discontents in the old Senate Cham 
 ber, and after a partial organization of the party, a deputation 
 was sent to Patrick Henry inviting him to take the chair. The 
 venerable patriot accepted. Understanding that it was their 
 purpose to concert a plan of resistance to the operations of the 
 Federal government, he addressed the meeting with his accus 
 tomed animation upon important occasions ; observing he had 
 done his duty strenuously, in opposing the Constitution, in the 
 proper place > and with all the powers he possessed. The question 
 had been fully discussed and settled, and that as true and faith 
 ful republicans, they had all better go home, etc." 
 
 The General Assembly, which met in extra session, called 
 together to consider a remonstrance sent them by the Court 
 of Appeals, remained in Richmond from the 23d to the 3Oth 
 of June. The governor and many delegates were members 
 of the Convention. But while the latter was in session 
 their attendance, of course, on its important deliberations 
 prevented them from taking their seats in the Assembly. 
 And in this connection, a treacherous action is charged 
 upon Edmund Randolph, which went far to secure the 
 federal triumph in the Convention. George Mason, as 
 a member of the Assembly, was doubtless present there 
 after the 27th, and some resolutions of his, evidently 
 written to be laid before the House, are found among his 
 papers, though there is no trace of them on the journal of 
 the Assembly. They reflect severely on the action of 
 Edmund Randolph, the executive, who is accused of sup 
 pressing important papers in order to further the cause of 
 the Federalists in Virginia. Madison and others had ac 
 cused the opposition of artifices to bring about their object, 
 though what these were does not clearly appear. The 
 counter-charge made by the other party it is difficult to dis 
 prove. Randolph, it was said, had delayed his official letter 
 to Governor Clinton, of New York, transmitting the pro 
 ceedings of the Virginia Assembly concerning the proposed 
 
 1 Southern Literary Messenger, vol. i., p. 332, MSS. of late David Meade 
 Randolph. 
 
MASON S RESOLUTIONS OF CENSUKE. 2/5 
 
 Convention, from December until the following March. 
 And a letter Clinton had written to the Governor of Vir 
 ginia in reply, " on the subject of a free and cordial inter 
 course and communication of sentiments " between the 
 Conventions of the two States, was not only withheld by 
 Randolph from the Convention, but was not laid before the 
 Assembly until after the Convention Jiad ratified the Consti 
 tution. The following is a copy of the resolutions of censure. 
 In the original draft there are some erasures and interlinea 
 tions not materially affecting the substance of the paper. 
 
 " Resolved, that the official letter from his Excellency, George 
 Clinton, Esquire, Governor of the State of New York, dated March 
 the T 788, to his Excellency Edmund Randolph, Esquire, 
 
 Governor of this Commonwealth, on the subject of a free and 
 cordial intercourse and communication of sentiments between 
 the Conventions of the States of New York and Virginia upon the 
 new constitution of government recommended by the late Federal 
 Convention, which letter was laid before the General Assembly on 
 the day of this instant June, ought to have been laid before 
 
 the Convention of this Commonwealth at their first meeting, for 
 their consideration. Resolved, that by the said letter s being with 
 held from the Convention of this Commonwealth the Convention 
 hath been precluded from exercising their judgment upon the ex 
 pediency of so important a measure as that mentioned in the said 
 letter from his Excellency Governor Clinton. 
 
 " Resolved that a committee of be chosen by ballot, to wait 
 
 on his Excellency Edmund Randolph, Esquire, to know his reasons 
 for not laying the said letter before the delegates of the people of 
 this Commonwealth in the late Convention, as well as for delaying 
 to lay the same before the General Assembly until the day after 
 the ratification of the new constitution of government ; and also to 
 enquire from what causes the official letter from Governor Ran 
 dolph to Governor Clinton, transmitting the proceedings of the 
 General Assembly in the last session concerning the Convention of 
 Virginia, was delayed from the day of December to the 
 
 day of March in its conveyance to New York, and that the said 
 committee make report of their proceedings therein to the General 
 Assembly." 
 
 1 Mason Tapers. 
 
276 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The letter of Governor Randolph dated December 27, 
 1787, is preserved among the Clinton papers, and is endorsed 
 in George Clinton s handwriting : " Letter from Gov. Ran 
 dolph, of the 27th Dec., 1787, with act respecting Conven 
 tion. Ansd. 8th May, 1788." There is no statement as to 
 when the letter was received. But in a letter from Clinton 
 to John Dawson, a member of the opposition, written the 
 following December, Governor Clinton, in reference to the 
 legislature then in session, says : 
 
 " The letter of the Legislature of Virginia is not yet received and 
 I am not without apprehensions that measures may be taken, to 
 retard the delivery of it so as to defeat its utility. You will not, I 
 am persuaded, ascribe my suspicion on this occasion to an undue 
 degree of jealousy when you recollect the circumstance respecting 
 my letter which was laid before your Convention." 1 
 
 This letter, as we have seen, was not laid before the 
 Convention, but was written for that purpose. And instead 
 of being written in March, as George Mason s resolutions 
 state, it was written in May, unless, indeed, there was a 
 March letter of which there is now no trace. But Clinton s 
 endorsement on Randolph s letter would seem to be conclu 
 sive, as to the May letter being the one referred to in the 
 resolutions, and its context bears out this conclusion. It was 
 as follows : 
 
 " NEW YORK, 8th May, 1788. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " Your Excellency s letter of the 2yth of December, although it 
 appears to have been committed to the post office at Richmond, did 
 not come to my hands until the yth of March. The Act enclosed 
 was immediately communicated to the legislature, but it was after 
 they had passed their resolutions for calling a Convention, and so 
 near the close of their sessions, that no order was taken in conse 
 quence of it. 
 
 " The system of government proposed by the Federal Convention, 
 is an object of such vast importance to the happiness of America 
 1 Clinton Papers, Xe\v York Historical Society. 
 
GOVERNOR CLINTON S LETTER. 2JJ 
 
 that it appears to me essential that the people of the different 
 States cultivate and cherish the most friendly sentiments towards 
 each other, especially during their deliberations on that interesting 
 subject. The Convention of this State are to meet at Poughkeepsie 
 on the i yth of June, to take the proposed system into considera 
 tion, and I am persuaded they will with great cordiality hold a 
 communication with any sister State on the important subject, and 
 especially with one so respectable in point of importance, ability 
 and patriotism as Virginia. I think I may venture to assure your 
 Excellency, that the people of this State are disposed to keep up 
 that friendly intercourse, and preserve that unanimity respecting 
 any great change of government, which appears to be the object of 
 the Act of your legislature, and which it is the duty of every good 
 man to promote and cherish, and I have no doubt but that our 
 Convention will possess the same sentiments. 
 
 "As the session of your Convention will take place before that of 
 this State, they will, I presume, commence the measures for hold 
 ing such communications as shall be deemed necessary. I cannot 
 refrain from expressing regret that a similar conduct has not been 
 observed by the States who have already had the proposed system 
 under consideration. Friendly communications on the subject, and 
 temperate discussions would, it is to be presumed, have had a most 
 happy tendency in accommodating it much more to the sentiment 
 and wishes of the people of America than is likely to be the case 
 in the form it is offered by the General Convention, and acceded 
 to by some of the States. Should it be adopted by small majorities 
 in the larger States we cannot reasonably hope it will operate so as 
 to answer the salutary purposes designed. As I have no direction 
 from the legislature on the subject of your communication, your 
 Excellency will be pleased to consider this letter as expressive of 
 my own sentiments, but I have at the same time a well-founded 
 confidence that a majority of the people of the State over which I 
 have the honor to preside will concur in them." 
 
 Randolph s letter " appeared to have been committed to the 
 post-office at Richmond," but luhen it was put in the post- 
 office, or where the detention occurred, must remain a mystery. 
 Edmund Randolph wrote to Clinton in August, asking him 
 
 1 " Life of Edmund Randolph," M. D. Conway, p. no. 
 
2/8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE AM A SON. 
 
 to look at his letter enclosing the law " concerning our late 
 Convention." He speaks of the report in Richmond, that it 
 had been withheld " for a considerable time " : " The back 
 of my letter," he adds, " will show the day on which it was 
 put in the post-office ; and I am desirous of knowing the 
 date which is impressed by the postmaster. If your Excel 
 lency can inform me of any reasons such as your absence 
 from town, etc., which could have prevented the letter from 
 reaching your hands, as soon as it ought, I will thank you to 
 add them." ! 
 
 This long delay of two months and eleven days prevented 
 the message from Virginia reaching New York until after 
 the Legislature of that State had concluded their business 
 and named a date for the meeting of their Convention. 
 The Legislature of Virginia had adjourned also, so that 
 Clinton could make no communication to them. There is 
 every reason to believe that had this resolution from Virginia 
 reached New York in the proper time, the two Conventions 
 would have co-operated and the Antifederalists would have 
 gained previous amendments in both States. The first reso 
 lutions on the subject of the Convention, it will be remem 
 bered, passed the House of Delegates on the 25th of 
 October. These, Governor Randolph writes Clinton, were 
 transmitted to him on the I4th of November ; the second 
 resolutions, which Randolph calls the " law," were passed on 
 the 3Oth of November and sent on to New York the 2/th of 
 December. Here was a delay of twenty-seven days, of 
 which there is no explanation, in sending on the Virginia 
 resolves to New York. But the Federalists in the Legisla 
 ture of Virginia opposed one of these resolutions, the one 
 which their opponents deemed of the first importance. This 
 was in reference to sending " a deputy or deputies to confer 
 with the Convention or Conventions of any other State or 
 States in the Union." Richard Henry Lee in a letter to 
 General Lamb of June 2/th, replying to one from the latter 
 of the i8th of May, " but this day received," laments that it 
 
 1 Ibid,, p. 114. 
 
SOCIETY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLICANS, 279 
 
 did not reach him sooner. He thought the plan of cor 
 respondence proposed by the society of which Lamb was 
 chairman, " would have produced salutary consequences ; as 
 it seems to Jiavc been t/ic idea of our Assembly when they sent 
 the proposed plan to a Convention." The mails seem to have 
 been tampered with in more than one instance, in the inter 
 ests of the Federalists. Governor Clinton timed his reply 
 to the communication from Virginia so that it should reach 
 Governor Randolph before the opening of the Convention. 
 A letter dated the 8th of May ought to have been received 
 in Richmond about the I5th. It was very natural that 
 George Mason should have supposed that it had been re 
 ceived at that date. Randolph, in communicating it to the 
 Legislature, as he asserts, on the 23d, the day the Assembly 
 met, says that " immediately upon receiving " it he laid it 
 before the council-board and requested " their opinion 
 whether it was of a public or private nature. They conceived 
 it to be of the former description, and therefore it is now for 
 warded." * The inference is that there had been but a short 
 interval between its consideration by the council and its 
 transmission to the Assembly. Who was responsible for its 
 delay from the I5th of May, when it should have reached 
 Richmond, and its reception by the Governor about the 22d 
 of June ? Even then there was time, had Randolph desired 
 to act an upright part, to have brought it before the Con 
 vention, for which it was intended. There was no quorum 
 in the House until the 24th, and none in the Senate until 
 the following day. The Governor s message and its im 
 portant enclosure, the journal says, was only partly read on 
 the 24th and laid over till the next day. Good care was 
 taken evidently that the character of Clinton s letter should 
 not be known until after the Convention had ratified the 
 Constitution on the 25th. The Legislature was in sympathy 
 with the opposition, and Governor Randolph and his con 
 federates feared its influence upon the Convention. Accord- 
 
 " Life and Times of General Lamb," Isaac Q. Leake, p. 306. 
 - " Life of Edmund Randolph," M. D. Conway, p. 112. 
 
280 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ing to George Mason, the letter of Clinton was not read in 
 the Assembly until the 26th. m Clinton s communication is 
 not mentioned in the journal, which states only that a letter 
 from the Governor enclosing " sundry letters and papers " 
 was laid before the House on the 24th and " partly read " 
 that day, and the reading resumed on the 25th. On this 
 day a letter from the Governor, stating " several otJier mat 
 ters" was received, partly read, and the reading concluded 
 on the 26th. 1 
 
 The Society in New York of the Federal Republicans car 
 ried on a secret correspondence with the opposition leaders 
 in the Virginia Convention, as we have seen. And on the 
 2 1st of June, Governor Clinton wrote from the New York 
 Convention to General Lamb, telling him that papers and 
 letters from Virginia, of which Colonel Oswald had been the 
 bearer, had been communicated to the Committee of Oppo 
 sition in that body, and he now enclosed to Lamb for him 
 to forward, a letter from them " to Colonel Mason, Chairman 
 of the Virginia Committee." And he adds: " The letter to 
 Colonel Mason, you will observe, is put under cover to Mr. 
 George Fleming, merchant of Richmond, as advised in Mr. 
 Mason s letter." ! No copy of this letter has been preserved, 
 and it is not probable that it reached its destination before 
 the Virginia Convention adjourned, if Colonel Mason re 
 ceived it at all. So the Virginia Convention was precluded 
 from all opportunity of concerting measures with the Con 
 vention in New York. And the ratification in Virginia, 
 without previous amendments, was followed by the same 
 course in New York a month later. North Carolina, all 
 honor be given her, refused to ratify the Constitution with 
 out amendments, and closed her Convention, August 1st, 
 with the passage of resolutions to this effect. Governor 
 Clinton had sent a circular letter from the New York Con 
 vention to the several States, asking for another General 
 Convention, to be procured in the constitutional manner. 
 
 1 Journal of the Virginia Assembly. 
 
 2 " Life and Times of General Lamb," Isaac Q. Leake, p. 315. 
 
COLONEL OSWALD AND LETTERS OF " CENTINEL." 28 1 
 
 In Pennsylvania, the able letters of " Ccntinel," the Junius 
 of this contest, were addressed to the country about this time 
 through the columns of Colonel Oswald s paper, the Inde 
 pendent Gazetteer, in reply to the Federalist, and to James 
 Wilson. Of the latter, this clever Antifcderalist writer said, 
 he could " bewilder truth in all the mazes of sophistry, and 
 render the plainest propositions problematical." The " Cen- 
 tinel " letters called attention to the bribery of the post- 
 riders in Pennsylvania by the Federalists, who in this way 
 held back New York papers of importance which might have 
 influenced the Convention in the former State. The short 
 hand writer in the Pennsylvania Convention was also bought 
 up by the Federalists and only the speeches of Wilson and 
 the one other leader of his party in this body were published, 
 a flagrant act of political corruption. It has been noticed 
 that the ten amendments afterwards added to the Consti 
 tution bore a marked resemblance to the fifteen amendments 
 offered by the minority in the Pennsylvania Convention. 
 And it is suggested "that when Madison, in 1789, drew up 
 the amendments for the House of Representatives, he made 
 use of those offered by the minority of the Convention of 
 Pennsylvania." These were based, however, on the ob 
 jections of George Mason as given in the address of the 
 Antifederalists in the Pennsylvania Legislature. Massachu 
 setts, the first State to propose subsequent amendments 
 through her Convention, no doubt took the Pennsylvania 
 amendments as a basis for her own, as in Virginia, George 
 Mason says the opposition had before them the Massachu 
 setts amendments, as doubtless had been the case in Mary 
 land and South Carolina. New Hampshire in her twelve 
 amendments, acted, apparently, without concert with Vir 
 ginia, but the thirty-one amendments of New York and the 
 twenty-six of North Carolina were framed with the Virginia 
 amendments as a basis, in addition to those that had gone 
 before. The Antifederalists were substantially in accord 
 
 1 "Pennsylvania and the Federal Convention, 1787-1788," edited by J. B. 
 McMaster and F. IX Stone, p. 19. 
 
282 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 throughout the country, except in case of the amendment 
 desired by the Southern States, requiring a two-thirds vote 
 to pass commercial laws. This point might have been 
 settled, as George Mason believed, in a second General Con 
 vention, had Virginia united with North Carolina in making 
 it a condition of ratification. Though it was not one of the 
 amendments proposed by South Carolina, as it would have 
 unhinged the " bargain " to which she was a party in the 
 Federal Convention, it was well known that her people gen 
 erally would have welcomed it. 
 
 If it is as a member of the Federal Convention only that 
 George Mason excites a national interest, and his autograph 
 is sought for by collectors, it is in his twofold character of 
 the framer of her first form of government, and the consistent 
 advocate of her State sovereignty and reserved rights, that 
 he has a claim upon Virginia s regard and gratitude. Not 
 Virginia alone, however, but all the States should recognize 
 here, in George Mason s States-rights record, his patriotic 
 wisdom and foresight. Certainly the South has had cause 
 to know him as the advocate of its best interests. Undoubt 
 edly had he and his party secured all that they strove for in 
 1788, there would have been no war in 1861. 
 
 Judge Chamberlain in a recent paper read before the 
 American Historical Association makes the admission that 
 the acceptance of the Constitution of 1787 was the " triumph 
 of the legitimate successors of the Anti-Revolutionary party 
 of 1775," and he adds that " the Revolutionary questions 
 from 1789 to 1860 caused dissatisfaction in the States of the 
 South as great nearly as that between the colonies and Great 
 Britain from 1763 to 1775." He enumerates four points 
 which were grievances under the colonial system, and which 
 remained under altered conditions, engrafted on the govern 
 ment of the American Union. The colonists had complained 
 of the King s prerogatives ; under the Federal Constitution 
 the Executive was clothed with still greater powers. The 
 commercial laws enacted by Parliament had been felt to be 
 burdensome and unjust ; yet by the provision of the Con- 
 
BILL OF RIGHTS AND AMENDMENTS. 283 
 
 stitution relating to navigation laws, Congress was enabled 
 to pass in its first session an act " similar in principle and de 
 sign to acts of Charles II.," which with some modifications 
 is still in force. So with the question of taxation without 
 adequate representation, as complained of in some of the 
 territories. And lastly, the powers of the judiciary under 
 the royal government were not sufficiently controlled by the 
 people ; the Constitution increased this grievance " to an 
 extent unknown to the colonies." This condition of things 
 to which the Federal Convention reduced the States "was 
 brought about only with great difficulty," says Judge Cham 
 berlain, " for there was a large minority led by such men as 
 George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, and Samuel Adams, who 
 strenuously contended that in adopting the Constitution of 
 1787 the people surrendered everything, except indepen 
 dence, for which they had fought seven years." 
 
 George Mason, as chairman of the Committee of Oppo 
 sition in the Virginia Convention, left among his papers 
 two drafts of amendments and a draft of a bill of rights, 
 with several forms of a resolve that was to introduce them. 2 
 This declaration of rights, which was based, as were the 
 other State bills of rights, on the early paper written by 
 George Mason in 1776, is substantially the same as that 
 adopted by the Convention, with the exception of one 
 important clause in the third section. This was, " that 
 whenever any government shall be found inadequate or 
 contrary to these purposes, [the benefit, etc., of the people] 
 a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalien- 
 able, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, 
 and to establish another in such manner as shall be judged 
 most conducive to the public weal." The Constitution 
 received ten amendments in the two years succeeding its 
 adoption. Of these, the first eight correspond to the eighth, 
 eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seven 
 teenth, eighteenth, and twentieth sections of the bill of 
 
 1 " Papers of the American Historical Association," vol. iii., No. i. 
 a Appendix iv. 3 Ibid. 
 
284 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 rights recommended by the Virginia Convention. The 
 ninth amendment corresponds to some extent with Virginia s 
 seventeenth amendment, while the tenth amendment ex 
 presses, though not in identical terms, the principle of 
 Virginia s first amendment. These two amendments, as has 
 been sarcastically observed, " meant something to the mind 
 of that generation ; to subsequent generations the meaning 
 depended upon degrees of latitude." The first Virginia 
 amendment, as it was formulated by George Mason, was 
 taken from the Articles of Confederation, and was as follows : 
 " That each State in the Union shall retain its sovereignty, 
 freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, 
 and right \vhich is not by this Constitution expressly dele 
 gated to the Congress of the United States." * A few years 
 later, though George Mason did not live to see it, his argu 
 ments, to some extent, bore fruit in the eleventh amendment, 
 which prohibits suits against States in the federal courts. 
 The most important of the Antifederalist amendments 
 which were not incorporated in the Constitution, related to 
 the powers of Congress in regard to taxation, navigation 
 laws, treaties, and the regulation of elections ; to the great 
 powers given the federal judiciary, and to certain features 
 in the composition of the executive office, and its duration. 
 The iniquity of a federal election law, to be passed by a 
 sectional party, which has recently menaced the Southern 
 States, recalls the wise provision of Virginia in her sixteenth 
 amendment (taken from the third amendment of the oppo 
 sition), in which the true intent of the framers of the Con 
 stitution is clearly stated : " That Congress shall not alter, 
 modify, or interfere in the times, places, or manner of hold 
 ing elections for senators and representatives, or either of 
 them, except when the legislature of any State shall neglect, 
 refuse, or be disabled by invasion or rebellion to prescribe the 
 same." s This was one of the questions argued in The 
 
 1 Magazine of American History, vol. xv., p. 589. " The Virginia Conven 
 tion, 1788," A. W. Clason. 
 
 2 Appendix iv. 
 
 3 " Debates of the Virginia Convention," Robertson. 
 
JEFFERSON DAVIS ON GEORGE MASON. 285 
 
 Federalist, and explained there in accordance with the Vir 
 ginia amendment. The first step in violation of this part of 
 the Constitution was taken in 1871, by the act appointing 
 federal supervisors of elections through the circuit judges. 
 
 Jefferson Davis, in the Senate of the United States in 
 1860, referring to the debates in the Federal Convention, on 
 giving power to Congress to coerce the States, pays the 
 following tribute to George Mason, as " one whose wisdom, 
 as we take a retrospective view, seems to me marvellous." 
 Mr. Davis says of him : " Not conspicuous in debate, at least 
 not among the names which first occur when we think of that 
 bright galaxy of patriots and statesmen, he was the man who, 
 above all others, it seems to me, laid his finger upon every 
 danger, and indicated the course that danger was to take." 
 One of the great dangers which George Mason had foretold 
 soon made itself apparent, the beginning of a course of 
 sectional legislation inflicting great injury on the South. 
 In 1800, Jefferson writes : " While the navigating and pro 
 vision States, who are the majority, can keep open all the 
 markets, or at least sufficient ones for their objects, the cries 
 of the tobacco makers, who are the minority, and not at all 
 in favor, will hardly be listened to." And comparing the 
 situation to the fable of the monkey using the cat s paws, he 
 says: " It shows that G. Mason s proposition in the Conven 
 tion was wise, that on laws regulating commerce two-thirds 
 of the votes should be requisite to pass them." * Twenty- 
 eight years later this was the result, according to Benton : 
 
 " Under federal legislation the exports of the South have been 
 the basis of the federal revenue. Virginia, the two Carolinas 
 and Georgia defray three-fourths of the annual expense of sup 
 porting the federal government ; and of this great sum nothing 
 or next to nothing returns to them in shape of government ex 
 penditures it flows northward. This is the reason why wealth 
 disappears from the South and rises up in the North. Federal 
 legislation does all this." 3 
 
 1 Speech in United States Senate, May 7, 1860. 
 
 - " Jefferson s Works," II. A. Washington, vol. vi., p. 323. 
 
 c Speech in United States Senate, 1825. 
 
286 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Direct or internal taxation the Antifederalists wished to 
 reserve to the State government while giving up external 
 or indirect taxation to the federal government. This proved 
 to be a mistake, and it was through the tariff that the South 
 was impoverished, yet the eighth Virginia amendment would 
 have secured her interests, and given her "an absolute gua 
 ranty of power." ! 
 
 How much Virginia gave up when she entered into the 
 Union of 1787, and how great her prosperity had been 
 previously, Grigsby points out in his invaluable history of 
 the Convention that sealed her fate : " In the five years of 
 peace," after the Revolution, he says, " our tobacco, grain, 
 and other productions of the soil and the forest maintained 
 the grandest commerce that had ever spread its wings from 
 an Anglo-Saxon settlement in the New World towards the 
 shores of the Old, and such as was never seen in the colony, 
 and such as, with the exception of a short period, has never 
 been seen in Virginia since." He calls attention to the 
 instructive fact " that the period from the death of Charles 
 the First in 1641 to the restoration of Charles the Second 
 a period of nineteen years and the period between the 
 peace of 1783 and the adoption of the Federal Constitution 
 of 1788 a space of five years have been the most pros 
 perous in our history ; and that of the two centuries and 
 a half of Virginia [this was written in 1858] it was during 
 those two periods only she enjoyed the benefits of a trade 
 regulated by her own authority, unrestricted and untaxed." 2 
 The mistake of the Virginia Federalists was in the false 
 estimate they had formed of the general condition and 
 commerce of Virginia : 
 
 "It led, in the vain hope of sudden improvement, to the 
 hasty adoption of the present Federal Constitution without 
 previous amendments, and to the surrender of the right of regu 
 lating its commerce by the greatest State of the confederation to 
 an authority beyond its control. ... It destroyed our direct 
 
 1 " Letters and Times of the Tylers," Lyon G. Tyler, vol. i., p. 144. 
 5 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," p. 14. 
 
MISTAKE OF THE VIRGINIA FEDERALISTS. 287 
 
 trade with foreign powers. It banished the flag of Virginia from 
 the seas. Instead of building and manning the ships which 
 carried the product of our labor to foreign ports, and which 
 brought back the product of the labor of others to our own ports, 
 as some were persuaded to believe would be the result of the 
 change, it compelled us thenceforth to commit our produce to 
 the ships of other States, and to receive our foreign supplies 
 through other ports than our own. It brought about the strange 
 result that, instead of a large part of the cost of defraying the 
 expenses of the government of Virginia being derived from the 
 duties levied upon foreign commerce, these duties, though levied 
 upon a scale unknown in that age, will not suffice [in 1858] to 
 pay the expenses of collection by other hands than our own." 1 
 
 In the last quarter of a century, or since the war, the 
 United States government has grown rich with the high 
 tariffs which it has imposed upon the people in violation of 
 all sound economic law ; and statesmen and social reformers 
 see in a return to the principle of the early Republic, a tariff 
 for revenue only, the sole cure for the labor troubles of the 
 time. " Our present tariff laws," wrote the Secretary of the 
 Treasury during Cleveland s administration, " are a needless 
 oppression instead of an easy burden. All our customs 
 revenue might be collected by strictly revenue duties upon 
 a few score articles, instead of by extravagant or prohibitory 
 duties upon more than four thousand articles." 2 In that 
 year, 1886, there were a million idle working-men in the 
 land, while the treasury was groaning under its huge surplus. 
 The political situation since then has grown steadily worse, 
 with a faction in power opposed to every measure of reform, 
 and seeking to dissipate the surplus in extravagant schemes 
 of partisan legislation. During the century that has passed 
 since the formation of the Union, it has been seen that the 
 powers of Congress under the "necessary and proper" 
 clause of the Constitution have been augmented to an 
 alarming extent. The Antifederalists in reprobating the 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 1 8. 
 
 2 Letter of Secretary Manning to President Cleveland, i8S6. 
 
288 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 "sweeping clause," as they termed it, were wise indeed, in 
 their generation, and their fears of centralization have been 
 amply justified. The Due de Noailles, a French observer 
 of American government, points out that the constitutional 
 limitations of the legislative power have been almost entirely 
 neutralized by this dangerous clause. 1 Our great Southern 
 statesman, Jefferson Davis, noting the tendency to central 
 ization which is the outcome of the unbridled power of 
 Congress, refers to Madison s fear " when the Constitution 
 was being formulated, that young men under its provisions 
 would not care to enter Congress, preferring the finer field 
 opened to them by the legislatures of the sovereign States. 
 What would he think now," adds President Davis, " could 
 he return to earth and see what centralization has done and 
 is doing? What would be his feelings when he saw one 
 house of Congress passing the Blair Educational Bill, while 
 the other was considering and finally passing a bill in regard 
 to bogus butter? " 2 The Senate, it was believed, would by 
 its dignity and wisdom balance any extravagant or inex 
 pedient legislation in the larger and popular branch of 
 Congress. But the degeneracy of the Senate is a theme for 
 the diatribes of the American political philosopher. To a 
 river and harbor bill the Senate attaches " indefensible 
 jobs." Of a canal scheme, which would construct a canal 
 entirely within the limits of a single State, " a measure that 
 inaugurates a system that would lead to the most prodigal 
 extravagance the inauguration of a class of legislation that 
 is in the face of the Constitution, if the Constitution means 
 anything," 3 the Senate is the patron. And the Senate is 
 responsible for beginning the extravagant pension legislation 
 which has become one of the crying corruptions of the 
 federal government. 
 
 One of George Mason s amendments to the Constitution, 
 which was not included among those adopted by the Feder 
 alists of the Virginia Convention, is as follows : 
 
 1 "Cent Ans de Republique aux Etats-Unis," t. i., p. 229, Paris, 1886. 
 
 2 Southern Bivouac, August, 1886, " Jefferson Davis at Home." 
 
 3 The Action, July 15, 1886. 
 
GEORGE MASON S PREVISION. 289 
 
 " That there shall be a constitutional, responsible Council, 
 to assist in the administration of government, with the power 
 of choosing out of their own body a president, who in case of the 
 death, resignation or disability of the President of the United 
 States, shall act, pro tempore, as Vice President, instead of a vice 
 president elected in the manner prescribed by the Constitution ; 
 and that the power of making treaties, appointing ambassadors, 
 other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Courts, 
 and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments 
 are not otherwise provided for by the Constitution, and which 
 shall be established by law, be vested in the President of the 
 United States with the assistance of the Council so to be ap 
 pointed. But all treaties so made or entered into shall be sub 
 ject to the revision of the Senate and House of Representatives 
 for their ratification." 
 
 The fear expressed by George Mason, that in case no 
 council was provided for the President one would grow out 
 of the great departments, " the worst and most dangerous of 
 all ingredients in a free country," proved to be prophetic, as 
 Washington did create such a council, and suffered its mem 
 bers to guide his actions. 2 The supervision over treaties 
 which the Antifederalists desired for the House of Repre 
 sentatives is to-day as much a living issue as it was under the 
 first administration. The House asserted its right in the 
 case of Jay s treaty, and the decision left the matter an 
 open question. It came up again with the Louisiana Pur 
 chase treaty; and lastly in 1867, when the purchase of 
 Alaska was made, the House reaffirmed its privilege. In 
 the bill appropriating the amount to be paid for the new 
 territory, the preamble attached to it in the House stated 
 that the stipulations of the treaty were such as " by the 
 Constitution are submitted to the power of Congress and 
 over which Congress has jurisdiction ; and it being for such 
 reasons necessary that the consent of Congress should be 
 given to said stipulations before the same can have full force 
 and effect," etc. The Senate refused to concur in this pre- 
 
 1 Appendix iv. 
 
 " " Life of Edmund Randolph," M. D. Comvay, p. 139. 
 vol. ii 19 
 
2QO LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 amble and substituted another which was violently opposed, 
 and only passed at length by a very small majority, many 
 members not voting. 
 
 The amendment in regard to the Executive, " That no 
 person shall be capable of being President of the United 
 States for more than eight years in any term of sixteen 
 years," has become, it would seem, an unwritten law, to be 
 read between the lines of the constitutional compact. In 
 connection with the judiciary system of the United States, 
 a direct confirmation of George Mason s foresight may be 
 noted in the operation of the federal courts. In his argu 
 ment on the subject in the Virginia Convention, he supposes 
 a case and says that even if a " poor man should be able to 
 obtain judgment in the inferior court, for the greatest injury, 
 what justice can he get on appeal ? Can he go four hundred 
 or five hundred miles? On this occasion they are to judge 
 of fact as well as law. He must bring his witnesses where he 
 is not known, where a new evidence may be brought against 
 him, of which he never heard before and which he cannot 
 contradict." Again in another connection he says : " How 
 will a poor man who is injured or dispossessed unjustly, 
 get a remedy ? Is he to go to the federal court, seven or 
 eight hundred miles ? He might as well give his claim up. 
 He may grumble, but finding no relief he will be con 
 tented." Owing to the fee system by which the federal 
 official is remunerated instead of receiving a salary, the diffi 
 culty as suggested by George Mason is made even worse. 
 The compensation of the commissioner before whom the 
 complaint is sworn depends on the number of warrants 
 issued, the number of days over which the hearings extend, 
 and the number of witnesses recognized. A recent writer, 
 who calls attention to this matter, says : 
 
 " He [the commissioner] and the marshal can readily play into 
 each other s hands, the marshal by finding cases and the commis 
 sioner by giving the marshal processes to serve. Then usually 
 one commissioner does all the criminal business for a district and 
 offenders may be taken before this one from the most remote 
 
CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 29 1 
 
 parts of the district, at great expense to the United States and 
 hardship to themselves, as they are called on to find bail and 
 counsel where they are strangers. The case is prejudged. The 
 prisoner must find bail, and if he admits guilt he must stay 
 in jail. . . . He may be in jail weeks, waiting bail for an 
 offense punishable only by fine or a small term of imprisonment. 
 If tried and acquitted, the attorney gets twice as much as if 
 he pleads guilty, and if convicted he is entitled to an additional 
 fee." 
 
 George Mason in the Virginia Convention expressed his 
 belief that the great powers given the federal judiciary 
 tended to destroy the State governments. In 1819 we 
 find Jefferson writing of the judiciary as " on every occasion 
 driving us into consolidation." He described them at one 
 time as " the corps of sappers and miners, steadily working 
 to undermine the independent rights of the States, and to 
 consolidate all power in the hands of that government in 
 which they have so important a freehold estate." 2 John 
 Randolph of Roanoke, agreed with Jefferson that "the 
 judiciary gravitates towards consolidation," and he consid 
 ered the District of Columbia " to be the TTOUGTGO and the 
 Supreme Court to be the lever of the political Archi 
 medes." 3 If the federal judiciary gravitated towards con 
 solidation in the first half century of the Union, its course 
 since has been fearfully accelerated. The modern Republi 
 can in his interpretation of the Constitution takes the place 
 of the early Federalist and has developed his theories. The 
 " puissant doctrine " of the implied powers, Mr. Woodrow 
 Wilson contends, has made Congress omnipotent, and its 
 power over the States is to be extended still further ; 
 while the privileges of the federal courts permit them to 
 "annul State action, but State courts cannot arrest the 
 growth of congressional power." Elsewhere, in writing 
 
 1 " Federal Criminal Procedure and the Fee System," The Nation, July 22, 
 1886. 
 
 2 "Jefferson s Works," II. A. Washington, vol. vii., p. 134. 
 
 3 Garland s " Life of John Randolph," vol. ii., p. 145. 
 
 4 "Congressional Government," Boston, 1885, p. 24. 
 
292 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of the relations of the federal judiciary to the States of the 
 Union he takes occasion to notice the illegality of the three 
 last amendments to the Constitution : 
 
 " The integrity of the powers of the States has depended solely 
 upon the conservatism, the conservative legal conscience, of the 
 federal courts. State functions have certainly not decayed ; 
 but the prerogatives of the States have been preserved, not by 
 their own forces of self-defense, but by the national government s 
 grace of self-restraint." 
 
 It is admitted that this royal grace of self-restraint was 
 not always maintained by the federal courts : 
 
 " The actual encroachments which the latter have permitted 
 themselves . . . were not needed to prove the potential suprem 
 acy of the federal government. They showed how that potential 
 supremacy would on occasion become actual supremacy ; but 
 they added nothing but illustration to the principle that there is 
 no guarantee but that of conscience that justice will be vouch 
 safed a suitor when his adversary is both court and opposing 
 litigant." 
 
 As an instance of the " strong instinct to keep within the 
 sanction of the law," that inspires the federal conscience, 
 there is adduced the case of the amendments. When these 
 " were being forced upon the Southern States by means 
 which were revolutionary, the outward forms of the Consti 
 tution were observed. But it was none the less manifest 
 with what sovereign impunity the national government 
 might act in stripping those forms of their genuineness." 
 Another political writer, in discussing the changes in the 
 federal government since 1789, finds this alteration most 
 marked in the department of the judiciary. He says of the 
 courts that they " have increased steadily in power and 
 independence, so far as their relations to the two co-ordi 
 nate branches of government are concerned. The change, 
 silent, steady, has certainly transformed the governments 
 
 1 The Atlantic Monthly, April, 1886, article by Woodrow Wilson. 
 
MADISON S FOLLY, MASON S WISDOM. 293 
 
 within themselves, and to the Federal Union it has furnished 
 the main bulwark of its power." 
 
 The biographer of John Randolph wrote in 1850, of 
 George Mason, calling him " the champion of the States 
 and the author of the doctrine of State Rights." " Many 
 of the prophecies of this profound statesman," he adds, 
 " are recorded in the fulfilments of history many of the 
 ill-forebodings of the inspired orator [Patrick Henry] are 
 daily shaping themselves into sad realities." : Eleven years 
 later and Southern discontent had culminated in the sad 
 reality of war. " The predictions of George Mason and 
 others," writes Professor Bledsoe, " in which they foretold 
 the wrongs and aggressions of the Northern States, if armed 
 with the formidable powers of the new government, Mr. 
 Madison just set aside as unfounded and uncharitable suspi 
 cions. Now in regard to this point we need not ask who 
 was the wiser of the two, George Mason or James Madison, 
 nor need we try the question by any imperfect notions of 
 our own. For time has pronounced its irreversible verdict 
 in favor of the wisdom of George Mason." It was per 
 ceived very clearly by Madison as well as Mason that the 
 Constitution was to be a compact between two sections with 
 wholly different interests and different social institutions. 
 And it was with the understanding that the Southern States 
 were to be secured in all their rights that the Union of 1789 
 was formed. How these rights were violated, notably in 
 questions affecting the institution of slavery, is matter of 
 history. A systematic endeavor to repress the expansion of 
 the South into new States was one feature of this injustice. 
 And before the generation that formed the new government 
 had passed away, the cloud was seen in the horizon, no 
 larger than a man s hand, out of which in after years was to 
 burst the storm of civil war. There were two Federalists, 
 
 1 "American Constitutions," by Horace Davis, Johns Hopkins University 
 Studies, Third Series. 
 
 2 Garland s " Life of John Randolph," vol. i.. p. 367. 
 
 3 "Is Davis a Traitor ? " p. 169. 
 
2Q4 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 members of the Convention of 1788, who lived to see and 
 deplore the tendency of the government which they had 
 urged upon Virginia. Madison, in his later public acts, in a 
 measure retrieved the errors of his earlier manhood. And 
 Francis Corbin acknowledged with grief to John Randolph 
 in 1818 his conviction that the " centripetal force of this con 
 federacy is greater than the centrifugal." He saw " that 
 men of a certain description are resolved at all hazards and 
 by all means, to break down the State sovereignties, our only 
 barrier against Federal tyranny, and to erect on their ruins a 
 uniform system of consolidated despotism." 1 Jefferson 
 wrote in 1820: "The coincidence of a marked principle, 
 moral and political, with a geographical line, once con 
 ceived, would never be obliterated from the mind ; that 
 it would be recurring on every occasion and renewing irrita 
 tions, until it would kindle such mutual and mortal hatred, 
 as to render separation preferable to eternal discord." * 
 Again he says of the policy of the Abolitionists : " All 
 know that permitting the slaves of the South to spread 
 into the West will not add one being to that unfortunate 
 condition, that it will increase the happiness of those exist 
 ing, and by spreading them over a larger surface, will dilute 
 the evil everywhere, and facilitate the means of getting rid 
 of it." : There is something most pathetic in the words of 
 this patriot of 76, as with mournful prevision he looks for 
 ward to the inevitable issue : 
 
 " What does the Holy Alliance in and out of Congress mean 
 to do with us on the Missouri question ? . . . Are we then to 
 see again Athenian and Lacedemonian Confederacies ? to urge 
 another Peloponnesian war to settle the ascendancy between 
 them ? Or is this the tocsin of merely a servile war ? That 
 remains to be seen ; but not I hope by you or me. Surely they 
 will parley awhile and give us time to get out of the way." 
 
 1 In memoriam of Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, Washington, 1872. 
 - " Jefferson s Works," H. A. Washington, vol. vii., p. 158. 
 " Ibid., p. 194. 
 4 Ibid., p. 200. 
 
STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND SECESSION. 295 
 
 On the question of the ultimate course to be pursued, Jeffer 
 son s voice gives no uncertain sound. And we cannot doubt 
 that George Mason would have been equally explicit. After 
 anticipating the " longer and greater sufferings " which 
 would justify secession, he adds : " We must have patience 
 . . . and separate from our companions only when the sole 
 alternatives left are the dissolution of our union with them, 
 or submission to a government without limitation of powers. 
 Between these two evils, when we must make a choice, there 
 can be no hesitation." So John Randolph in 1814, when 
 New England had serious thoughts of putting in practice 
 the principle of secession, wrote of the possible " Southern 
 Confederacy " that would remain, and while deprecating such 
 an issue in his letter to the inhabitants of the Eastern States, 
 he maintained that if there was hostility between the States 
 of the Union they should separate : " For with every other 
 man of common sense," he adds, " I have always regarded 
 union as the means of liberty and safety ; in other words, of 
 happiness, and not an end to which these are to be sacri 
 ficed." 2 In this connection, the words of Hamilton in The 
 Federalist may be noted. Replying to the supposed case of 
 a combination of States refusing to appoint Senators, he 
 says, " it is not from a general and permanent combination 
 of the States that we can have anything to fear." But 
 granting the existence of such a combination of States, it 
 " would suppose a fixed and rooted disaffection in the great 
 body of the people, which will either never exist at all, or 
 will in all probability proceed from an inaptitude of the 
 general government to the advancement of their happiness, 
 in which event no good citizen could desire its continuance." 3 
 The principle of community independence and sovereignty, 
 proclaimed first by George Mason in the Virginia Bill of 
 Rights, reiterated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of 
 Independence, asserted in the Articles of Confederation, and 
 
 1 Ibid., p. 427. 
 
 2 Garland s " Life of John Randolph," vol. ii., p. 51. 
 
 3 The Federalist, No. 59. 
 
296 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 acknowledged by Great Britain in the treaty of peace, it 
 remains for the modern exponents of the American political 
 system to disavow. One of them gravely writes : 
 
 " There is no power granted or * reserved to the local States 
 or its people which may not be taken away without their consent. 
 They possess no power which is not held at the will of a power 
 higher and outside of themselves. This view may not conform 
 to the intent of the framers of the Constitution or to later opin 
 ion as to the effect of their work, but what is of more importance, 
 it conforms to actual facts as they exist. We have now reached 
 a point where we can afford to see these facts as they are, and we 
 shall escape much confusion of thought if we cease to talk of 
 Sovereign States and a divided sovereignty." 
 
 If this be so, then have we realized the worst fears of the 
 Antifederalists. But if such was not " the intent of the framers 
 of the Constitution," it is expedient that the people who pro 
 fess to live still under the institutions of 1787-89, should see 
 that the " actual facts " conform to the theory of the fathers. 
 A Democratic Executive has sought in the exercise of the veto 
 power to restrain the centralizing legislation of Congress ; 
 and recent decisions of a Republican Supreme Court tend in 
 the same conservative direction, declaring against the dan 
 gerous principle that the Federal Legislature can supersede 
 that of the States. 2 The doctrine of State sovereignty is 
 indeed the anchor to which we should cling as the only hope 
 of political liberty. To quote again from that wise Southern 
 statesman who has just gone from us, the President of the 
 Confederate States : 
 
 " By all that is revered in the memory of our Revolutionary 
 sires, and sacred in the principles they established, let not the 
 children of the United States be taught that our Federal Govern 
 ment is sovereign ; that our sires, after having by a long and 
 bloody war won community independence, used the power, not 
 
 1 Letter on " American Sovereignty," E. Burritt Smith, The Nation, Feb. 4, 
 1886. 
 
 2 Decision of Supreme Court on Civil Rights Act, 1883, etc., etc. 
 
COMMUNITY INDEPENDENCE. 297 
 
 for the end sought, but to transfer their allegiance, and by oath 
 or otherwise bind their posterity to be the subjects of another 
 Government, from which they could only free themselves by 
 force of arms." 
 
 The early Federalists loved to compare the Union to a 
 house with its thirteen compartments and its one roof shel 
 tering all. The Antifederalists might have suggested that a 
 fit motto over the door of this house would be the words 
 which Dante saw inscribed over the entrance to the Inferno : 
 
 " Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch entrate." 
 1 Letter to Jackson (Miss.) Clarion, June 20, 1885. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHER AND SEER. 
 1788-1790. 
 
 Upon the adjournment of the Convention George Mason 
 returned to " Gunston Hall," and the following letters to his 
 son in France, written at this time, contain characteristic 
 allusions to public events : 
 
 VIRGINIA, FAIRFAX COUNTY, 
 GUNSTON HALL, July 21, 1788. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 I have been so ill for these two days past that I have been 
 unable to sit up, and now write in great pain. You must there 
 fore excuse the shortness of this letter. 
 
 I enclose you the two or three last days proceedings of the 
 Virginia Convention, by which you will see the small majority 
 which has ratified the new project. The minority are as respecta 
 ble for their weight and influence as their number, and it will 
 require their most prudent exertion to keep the people quiet in 
 some parts of the country. . . . The debates are not yet 
 published, nor is there any cause to expect that they will be 
 authentic. The short-hand man who took them down being a 
 Federal partizan, they will probably be garbled in some such 
 partial manner as the debates in the Pennsylvania Convention 
 have been by Lloyd. 
 
 I have desired Captain Fenwick to send you some patterns of 
 sundry coarse articles which being in great annual demand in all 
 the States that have many slaves, if they could be made in France 
 and furnished upon equal or better terms than in Great Britain, 
 it would contribute greatly to increase the commercial intercourse 
 
 298 
 
LETTERS TO JOHN MASON IN FRANCE. 299 
 
 between the two countries ; and would be an inducement to the 
 country gentlemen as well as merchants here to ship tobacco to 
 France. I enclose you a letter to Mr. Jefferson upon the sub 
 ject, left open for your perusal, which you will please to seal and 
 forward. You will perceive by it, that I have some expectation 
 the French ministry will patronize the manufacturers in imitating 
 these articles for the American trade. If they do, and the hint 
 originates from your house, it may prove very advantageous to 
 its credit, especially if the attempt succeeds. You will there 
 fore, if you find occasion, confer with Mr. Jefferson upon the 
 subject. I have desired Capt. Fenwick to send with the patterns, 
 the British sterling first cost of each article. You can easily 
 compute and accommodate the difference between the English 
 and French measure &c. The fault of all the coarse French 
 woolens I have seen is their being stiffened and battered up with 
 paste or glue. The nearer the coarse woolens which our negroes 
 have been accustomed to are imitated the better ; and particular 
 attention should be paid to the width, which should be full three 
 fourths of an English yard. 
 
 The hoes and irons should be made of good iron, the blades 
 of the hoes hardened, and the axes well steeled and tempered. 
 The workmen should be informed that tar is not put over the 
 hoes and axes to conceal cracks or flaws, but to preserve them 
 from rusting. I am not able to sit up longer at present, than to 
 wish you health, and success in your business, and to desire you 
 will let me hear from you, as often, and as particularly as you can. 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 September 2, 1788. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 This will be delivered you by Capt. Gregory, commander and 
 owner of the ship Commerce, who brings a load of tobacco for the 
 Farmers General to Bordeaux ; and was so obliging to call 
 upon me, a day or two ago, to know if I had any commands to 
 the port to which he was going, and to assure me they should be 
 delivered with his own hands. 
 
3OO LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MA SOX. 
 
 Notwithstanding Col. Fitzgerald s brig was delayed so long, by 
 his negligence, I was prevented writing by her, when she sailed, 
 by her going down the river, without my knowing it. I had 
 wrote you by her, about a month before, at the time she was 
 expected to have sailed, which letter, I hope has come safe to 
 hand, but am afraid the bag of hominy I sent you by her had 
 been so long on board, that it will be moulded or damaged. At 
 the time I wrote you by the said brig I was extremely ill with the 
 convulsive cholic complicated, I believe, with the gout in my 
 stomach ; which continued with little or no intermission three 
 days and nights, and left me in so debilitated a state, that I was 
 not able to go out of the house for four or five weeks ; and it is 
 not until within these few days that I have begun to recruit. 
 
 I enclose you a letter for Mr. Jefferson, respecting the French 
 endeavoring to supply us (from patterns sent) with some 
 particular articles of coarse manufacture, which hitherto have 
 been imported only from Great Britain. It is a subject of much 
 greater importance than you may at first conceive, and I think I 
 should not exaggerate, in saying that the annual demand for them 
 in the five Southern States, is not less than 10,000,000 of Livres. 
 Judge then what effect the French being able to supply us with 
 these articles upon equal or better terms than Great Britain, 
 would have upon the commercial intercourse between the two 
 countries, and the shipment of American produce to France. I 
 desired Capt. Fenwick to send you the patterns by the brig, but 
 forgot to ask him about them when he was here last. He is now 
 down the country, endeavoring to collect tobacco for a small brig 
 of Messrs. Forrest and Stoddert, which he has chartered, and is 
 now loading at Georgetown, so that he will not probably have an 
 opportunity of writing by Capt. Gregory. 
 
 A violent storm of wind and rain, which we had about the 2oth 
 of August, with the almost continual rains for many days after 
 wards, has done great damage to the tobacco, and I think will 
 shorten the crops much, as well as injure the quality of the whole, 
 which I believe will in general be unusually bad this year. I 
 think your brothers and myself have lost between thirty and forty 
 hogsheads of tobacco in our own crops ; our wheat has also suf 
 fered some damage, and our hay a great deal. The Indian corn 
 appeared at first to be greatly injured, but has recovered more 
 
AMERICA N- PROD UCE A ND FRENCH MANU.FA CTURES, 30 1 
 
 than could have been expected, so that the crops of corn will be 
 pretty good. The shortness of the crop of tobacco will con 
 siderably affect the interest of your house ; if the crop of tobacco 
 had been as good as it promised about the first of August, your 
 consignments next summer would have been very considerable. 
 I have written to my friends in the Eastern and Southern States 
 in favor of your house, which I hope will have a good effect. 
 
 I did not apply (as you desired) to Mr. Alexander; my 
 acquaintance with him was hardly sufficient to warrant such a 
 request ; and his character in France (as I have heard) being 
 doubtful, I did not think letters from him would operate to your 
 advantage. My late illness has hitherto prevented my writing to 
 Doctor Franklin ; but I will do it soon, though I doubt whether 
 letters from him will be of much service to your house, as his in 
 timacies were more among the literati than the mercantile part of 
 the nation. I sent you in my last letter lists of the firms of most 
 of the mercantile houses in the lower parts of Virginia. I would 
 recommend it to you, to endeavor to cultivate a correspondence 
 with the American minister, Mr. Jefferson, which I think will be 
 serviceable to you, and give credit to the house. I hope you de 
 termine to persevere in the line you set out, of giving no credits 
 whatever in America ; and I wish you to be very careful and par 
 ticular in purchasing the goods you send to your correspondents 
 upon the best terms, it being a matter upon which your consign 
 ments will in great measure depend. 
 
 Pray write to me often, and particularly, respecting your situa 
 tion, your success and prospects in business ; what health you 
 enjoy, how you like the country you are in and what progress 
 you make in the language, or anything else interesting to you, 
 and consequently to me. 
 
 I send you by the Brig the proceedings of the Virginia Conven 
 tion. I have not yet seen a publication of the debates. Notwith 
 standing there was in the New York Convention a majority of two to 
 one against the new Constitution without previous amendments, yet 
 after the adoption by Virginia they thought themselves under the 
 necessity of adopting also, for fear of being left out of the Union, 
 and of civil commotions. They have drawn up amendments 
 nearly similar to those of Virginia and recommended them unani- 
 
302 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 mously in the strongest manner, and they have written a circular 
 to all the other States soliciting their cooperation in obtaining 
 the amendments by application to the new Congress at their first 
 meeting which it is expected will be in March in New York, so 
 there is still hope of safe and proper amendments. The North 
 Carolina Convention has rejected the new Constitution unless 
 previous amendments are made, by a great majority. I have not 
 yet seen their amendments but am informed they are much the 
 same as those recommended by Virginia. Your brothers have 
 sent you a number of late newspapers, which will give you pretty 
 full information of the present state of American politics. 
 
 All your brothers and sisters who are at home, have written to 
 you by this opportunity. The family are all well, and desire to 
 be kindly remembered to you. I am extremely anxious to hear 
 of your safe arrival and am, dear John, 
 
 Your most affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. Your friend Mr. Anthony called to see me, and spent 
 an evening with me last week on his return from North Carolina ; 
 where he tells me he has been near three months, and is to return 
 thither again in October. If I am not mistaken he is about com 
 mitting matrimony with a Miss Hill, daughter of Mr. Whitmel 
 Hill, the most wealthy man in the State of North Carolina. 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 December 18, 1788. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Capt. Fenwick s letter from George Town last week, per the 
 post, having miscarried (as most of my letters via Alexandria do), 
 I knew nothing of the ship Washington being so near sailing, 
 until I was informed, this evening by express from Capt. F. that 
 the ship would be down to-night, or early to-morrow morning, so 
 that I have very little time left to write to you by her. I have 
 not received any letter from you since your arrival at Bordeaux, 
 but one of the fifteenth of August per the Coulteana, Capt. Lime- 
 bourg, via Norfolk ; and that so soon after your arrival that you 
 were then able to give me little account of your affairs or situa 
 tion, or how you liked the place. I hope to be particularly in 
 formed in your next letters. 
 
POLITICAL DETAILS. 303 
 
 I wrote you by Fitzgerald s brig, and also by Capt. Gregory 
 who was so obliging as to call on me on purpose, and promised 
 to deliver the packet with his own hand. By one of these oppor 
 tunities (I now forget which), I sent you the proceedings of the 
 Virginia Convention, and informed you of the then state of 
 American politics. North Carolina has rejected the new govern 
 ment unless previous amendments, almost the same with the sub 
 sequent amendments proposed by Virginia, can be obtained. 
 Rhode Island has yet done nothing decisive on the subject. New 
 York discouraged by the adoption in Virginia, with a majority in 
 their Convention of two to one against the new form of govern 
 ment, received it upon the minority s agreeing to recommend 
 unanimously amendments similar to those in Virginia, and voting 
 a circular letter from their president Governor Clinton to invite 
 the concurrence of the other States in an immediate application 
 to the new Congress for calling another Federal Convention to 
 consider them. The other States have all adopted ; Connecticut, 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland without recom 
 mending any amendments ; New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
 South Carolina and I think Georgia, with recommendation of 
 amendments. The Virginia Legislature now sitting have taken 
 up the subject upon the ground of the New York circular letter 
 and by a large majority have voted an application to Congress 
 for immediately calling a Federal Convention to consider the 
 amendments proposed by this and other States. Their address 
 to Congress for this purpose is a very firm, and in my opinion, 
 proper one. They have also wrote a circular to the other States 
 desiring their concurrence. . . . Colonel R. H. Lee and 
 Colonel Grayson are appointed members of the Senate for this 
 State. Virginia is divided into ten districts as nearly equal as 
 circumstances will permit, the rule of computation being the 
 number of militia in each county, each district to choose one 
 representative [who has been a resident of the district for twelve 
 months last past] to the new government, and it is thought the 
 elections will go very generally in favor of men who are for call 
 ing a Federal Convention to make amendments. Our district 
 consists of the counties of London, Fairfax, Prince William, 
 Fauquier, Stafford, and King George. Several candidates are 
 talked of by the other party, to wit Ludwell Lee, Dr. Stuart, Mr. 
 
304 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Fitzhugh of " Chatham," Leven Powell and Martin Pickett ; but 
 they will hardly, I suppose, be foolish enough to start more than 
 one. The gentlemen for the amendments have not yet fixed 
 upon a candidate and I doubt we shall be at a loss for one, 
 several who have been applied to having refused. If we can pre 
 vail upon a proper person to offer I think there will be little 
 doubt of his succeeding. Mr. James Monroe of Fredericksburg 
 (late member of Congress) opposes Mr. Madison in the Spottsyl- 
 vania and Orange district and it is thought will carry his election. 
 Beverley Randolph is chosen Governor of Virginia in the room 
 of young A Id. 
 
 Several of our late Convention acquaintance are appointed 
 members of the Federal Senate ; John Langdon, Esq : from New 
 Hampshire, Caleb Strong, Esq: from Massachusetts, Dr. Johnson 
 and Oliver Ellsworth, Esq: from Connecticut, Mr. Paterson from 
 Jersey, Robert Morris from Pennsylvania, George Read and 
 Richard Bassett, Esqurs: from Delaware. So much for politics. 
 For domestic occurrences I refer you to your sisters, who I make 
 no doubt will give you a satisfactory detail. 
 
 Your partner Mr. Joseph Fenwick has written to me to desire 
 my interest in getting him the appointment of Consul in Bor 
 deaux. Upon talking with your brother George upon the sub 
 ject, I find he had recommended the same thing to you, before 
 you left Virginia, a circumstance I was not before apprised of. 
 But as Mr. Fenwick has written to me to recommend him, before 
 he knew of your previous intention (indeed before your arrival 
 in Bordeaux) your brother George and I are both of opinion that 
 it will be proper to make the application for him, in preference to 
 you, for several reasons ; first because he is an older man, and 
 consequently has more experience ; secondly because he will 
 probably remain longer in France ; and above all, because we 
 would avoid giving the smallest cause for any jealousy or mis 
 understanding between you. You may therefore assure Mr. 
 Fenwick that what interest I may have, with our new rulers, shall 
 be most cordially exerted in his favor, as soon as the new Con 
 gress meets ; though I have no reason to expect my interest will 
 have much weight in the new government, having, as you know, 
 warmly opposed it, in its present shape, both in the Federal Con 
 vention and our own. In my opinion a letter of recommendation 
 
THE CONSULSHIP AT BORDEAUX. 305 
 
 from our Minister, Mr. Jefferson, would have a good effect. Pray 
 excuse me particularly to Mr. Fenwick, for not writing to him by 
 this opportunity. The ship s sailing so suddenly and unex 
 pectedly has not left me time ; and I could have said little to 
 him but a repetition of what I have said, and shall say, to you. 
 
 The debates in the Virginia Convention are published, at least 
 one volume of them. As soon as I can get them I will send them 
 to you, though I believe they will be hardly worth your attention, 
 being, I am told, very partially garbled by the short-hand writer 
 who took them down and published them. This I always ex 
 pected, as I understood the man was a federal partizan and they, 
 you know as well as I do, stick at nothing. He had the audacity 
 to desire the sanction of Convention authority for his work, even 
 before he began it, and got a member to make a motion for that 
 purpose on the first day of the Convention, but upon the im 
 propriety and absurdity of it being properly exposed by Mr. 
 Henry and myself, the member who made the motion (George 
 Nicholas) was ashamed of it and withdrew it. So that they come 
 out with no other sanction than the credit of the publishers. 
 Some of the Federalists (as they call themselves) revised and 
 corrected their speeches. I know that some of the principal 
 gentlemen on the other side were privately applied to by the 
 short-hand writer to do the same, but treated the proposal with 
 contempt. 
 
 One thing with respect to the appointment Mr. Fenwick de 
 sires, I had almost forgot to mention ; I fear some difficulties 
 may arise from it, and being of opinion with Mr. Fenwick, that such 
 an appointment would be advantageous to the house, I wish to 
 have it in my power, by proper information on the subject to ob 
 viate them. Hitherto, I believe, there has been only one Ameri 
 can consul-general in France ; unless the arrangement is altered, 
 it is probable Mr. Barclay will be continued ; it may be necessary 
 therefore to show, that a particular consul will be requisite at 
 Bordeaux or in its neighborhood, for that part of the kingdom. 
 
 I am told there are a great many young Irishmen in Bordeaux ; 
 if we may judge of them by the samples we have here, they are 
 neither safe nor respectable companions. I trust I am as free as 
 most men, from illiberal national prejudices ; but yet I wish you 
 to converse with them with caution, and to avoid as far as good 
 
 VOL. II. 20 
 
306 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 manners will permit, all intimacy with them. Your not being able 
 to speak French will naturally lead you into company, and intima 
 cies with those whom you can converse with easily ; this you must 
 guard against, and submit to a little inconvenience to avoid greater 
 evils ; and I hope you will soon acquire the French language. 
 
 In a letter Capt. Fenwick showed me from his brother, I ob 
 serve Mr. Whitesides of London makes you an offer of a credit 
 of ;iooo sterling upon his house, &c. You are obliged to Mr. 
 Whitesides for his friendship and ought to return him thanks for 
 the offer, but I would, by no means, advise you to accept it ; the 
 custom of drawing and re-drawing being the most dangerous, in 
 my opinion, of all mercantile expedients. Put yourselves in no 
 man s power ; an accident, or a sudden, unexpected call for 
 money, you could not pay, might ruin you in a moment ; a suffi 
 cient reason surely for avoiding accepting credits, further than 
 you can clearly and safely see your way through, if you take them 
 at all. And if the business of your house becomes considerable 
 (as I think it will) your neighboring merchants and secret rivals 
 will look upon you with a jealous eye, and seize any opportunity 
 of destroying you. The older I grow, the more experience has 
 convinced me, that there are few men to be safely confided in 
 ran nantes in gurgite vasto. 
 
 Stick to your first principles oi giving no credits yourselves ; 
 especially in America where large credits must infallibly ruin 
 you, and small ones are not worth the charge of collecting. By 
 giving extensive credits you may, indeed, acquire a large fortune 
 upon paper ; but you will never have any anywhere else. Dili 
 gence, frugality and integrity will infallibly increase your busi 
 ness and your fortunes, if you can content yourselves with 
 moderate things at first. You will rise, perhaps, by slow degrees, 
 but upon a solid and safe foundation. It is a terrible thing for a 
 man to spend the prime of his life in business, to no other pur 
 pose than to ruin himself, and others ; and yet this is the case 
 with the greater part of those who are called men of great enter- 
 prize men of deep speculation, &c. Your business (after the 
 house comes to be generally known) will depend entirely upon 
 the prices you can render for the commodities consigned you, 
 and the prices of the articles you send in return no man will 
 long continue any business, unless he finds gain in it. 
 
ADVICE. 307 
 
 I have written to most of my friends in the different States, in 
 forming them of your plan, and recommending the house. From 
 the answers I have received, I have reason to think you will meet 
 with encouragement, both from the eastward and southward ; 
 I think it would be proper for you to write to the gentlemen of 
 your acquaintance in the late Federal Convention, and in Boston. 
 I have spoken also to a great many of my friends in Virginia ; 
 most of them express a desire of giving your house a preference ; 
 but vague promises of that sort are little to be relied on. I en 
 close you a list of some of those I would advise you to write to. 
 
 The crop of tobacco this year in Virginia is a common one, as 
 to quantity, neither very great nor small the quality bad, and I 
 think the price in the country will be rather low, not more than 
 iS/ to 2o/ Virginia currency per hundred upon Potomac and 
 Rappahannock. I applied to some of my Assembly friends 
 lately recommending the shipping to your house a quantity of the 
 public tobacco received for taxes ; I don t yet know the result ; 
 I am sure it would be to the advantage of the public, but I fear 
 our finances are too low, and the public too needy, to adopt such 
 a plan. 
 
 When I saw Capt. Fenwick about a month ago, I was speaking 
 to him, about chartering a small ship, to load with wheat, upon 
 consignment. I think one might be speedily filled up, and could 
 put a considerable quantity on board her myself ; but I have not 
 heard whether he has determined on doing it or not. I have not 
 yet received any rents, or got any of my own crops prized, and 
 therefore am unable to send you any tobacco by the Washington, 
 but shall send some by the first ship which loads here for your 
 house in the spring. 
 
 Pray let me hear from you often, and particularly, and believe 
 me, dear John, 
 
 Your most affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON, 
 
 P. S. Your brother Thomson, and his family, have just moved 
 from Gunston to his own seat of Hollin Hall Your brother 
 Thomas is at the Academy in Fredericksburg. 
 John Mason, Esq.: 
 
 Merchant in Bordeaux. 1 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
308 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OP GEORGE MASON. 
 
 With excellent advice to his son on the conduct of his 
 business, and wise warnings against unseemly companions, 
 Colonel Mason mingles in these letters shrewd suggestions 
 of a public nature. He wished to see France, the recent 
 ally of the Americans in the Revolution, taking the place of 
 England in supplying the States of the South with the 
 coarse woollen fabrics used for their negroes. And he has 
 a proposal for the Assembly, that they should ship some of 
 the tobacco received for taxes to Bordeaux, consigned to 
 the house of Mason & Fenwick, a measure which would 
 be advantageous for Virginia, as well as profitable to the 
 firm. The political excitement of the Convention struggle 
 had subsided ; its unsettled questions lying over for adjust 
 ment, it was hoped, by the new Congress. We get echoes, 
 however, from the late field of action ; an account of the 
 federal partisan," the unappreciated Robertson, and his 
 efforts to secure corrected copies of the speeches in the Con 
 vention. It is to be regretted that there was not an Anti- 
 federalist reporter there also, to whom Mason and Henry 
 could have given their confidence. As it is, posterity is 
 under obligations to the Federalist. George Mason s allu 
 sion to the late governor young A Id " -compressed in 
 two words all the scorn felt by his true and vehement nature 
 for the man who, as Mason believed, had betrayed his 
 country, Virginia, and thrown away the opportunity of 
 securing her dearest interests. 
 
 The Virginia Assembly in the fall of this year, under the 
 leadership of Patrick Henry, passed the resolutions, com 
 mended by Colonel Mason, for calling a second Federal 
 Convention. This was urged upon Congress and upon the 
 several States. And Richard Henry Lee and William 
 Grayson, two of the most able and determined advocates of 
 amendments, were elected to the Senate, and were pledged 
 to bring forward the subject on the meeting of Congress. 
 Madison, defeated for the Senate, was elected by the Feder 
 alists to a seat in the House of Representatives. The 
 division of Virginia into Congressional districts at this 
 
THE FAIRFAX COUNTY COUA T. 309 
 
 session, of which George Mason speaks, has been instanced 
 by a recent writer, upon very insufficient grounds, as the 
 earliest example of gerrymandering. The charge is made 
 that the districts were so carved out as to promote the elec 
 tion of the Antifederalists. 1 Just the opposite accusation 
 was made at the time by the Antifederalists, it seems. 
 Theodoric Bland, who calls the Federalists the " Non- 
 Emendo-Tories," in a letter to Richard Henry Lee, tells of 
 " their manoeuvres " to prevent the latter s appointment to 
 the Senate. " Much pains," he adds, " is taken to lay off 
 the districts so as to include the most consequent Non- 
 Emcndo-Torics, but I expect this bill, which is almost 
 entirely of their carving, will be hushed up and served out 
 to the public in a more delicate form than it at present 
 appears in." : As it finally passed, George Mason thought 
 it a proper one, and he opposed, on constitutional grounds, 
 as will be seen later, a projected alteration in the formation 
 of his own district. The Virginia Legislature, in the fall of 
 1788, showed their appreciation of Colonel Mason s services 
 to the Commonwealth by naming a county after him. An 
 act passed for dividing the county of Bourbon in the district 
 of Kentucky, and the new county thus formed was called 
 Mason. 
 
 At the January court of Fairfax County in this winter of 
 17881789, George Mason, as the presiding justice, used his 
 influence in upholding one of the great principles of free 
 government. As the record of the court states : 
 
 " On a motion for levying tobacco for the purpose of defraying 
 the expences of building a new court-house or repairing of the 
 present one, it was objected that the court had no legal authority 
 to levy any money or tobacco on the inhabitants of the county 
 for any purpose whatever, and the question being put whether 
 they were vested with that power or not George Mason, Charles 
 Broadwater, Martin Cockburn, Richard Chichester [and eight 
 others whose names are given] were of opinion that the power of 
 
 1 Tyler s " Life of Henry," p. 313, American Statesmen Series. 
 
 2 Lee 1 apers, Southern Literary Messenger, Jamiarv, 
 
$10 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 levying taxes by the courts was destroyed by an express article 
 in the bill of rights of this commonwealth." 
 
 But ten of the justices, including Dr. David Stuart, were 
 of the contrary opinion. And with this order is found a 
 request of the public officers of Fairfax County asking the 
 advice of the council and the opinion of the attorney-general 
 concerning the power of the county courts in levying taxes. 
 A gentleman who was living in Baltimore in 1827, wrote an 
 account of a meeting in Alexandria, at which he had been 
 present as a youth, when this subject was discussed. He 
 recalled the fact of there being a score or more justices on 
 the ground and a large crowd of gentlemen, most of them 
 eager for the proposed measure. Just before the meeting 
 opened it was announced that Colonel Mason was coming to 
 oppose the project. But as public opinion was so strongly 
 in its favor, and there were known to be so many good 
 speakers who would advocate it, an easy triumph was antici 
 pated. George Mason arrived, and when the question had 
 been argued at length by its friends, he rose and delivered 
 such a powerful and convincing argument as to its illegality, 
 maintaining that only the representatives of the people could 
 properly levy taxes, and the justices present were not such 
 representatives, that in all that hitherto confident assembly 
 there was not one dissenting voice, and the point was won. 
 These reminiscences, though they may possibly exaggerate 
 the triumph of Colonel Mason, prove at least that it was owing 
 to him that the court decided adversely to the motion, and 
 the impression of his eloquence must have been very vivid 
 and enduring upon his youthful hearer, since he attributed 
 to it such signal results. It may be presumed that the 
 council and the attorney-general supported Colonel Mason s 
 interpretation of the law. And an act of the Assembly 
 passed the 4th of December of this year, which empowered 
 the justices of Fairfax County to levy a sum on the tith- 
 able persons within the county sufficient for the new court- 
 
 " Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. iv., p. 553. 
 
LETTERS TO JAMES FEN WICK. 311 
 
 house buildings and the two acres of ground on which to 
 place them. 1 
 
 The following letters to Capt. James Fenwick, brother of 
 John Mason s partner, exhibit Colonel Mason in his character 
 of a busy and careful planter and farmer, shipping his tobacco 
 and wheat to merchants in Georgetown, to go from there to 
 France. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, March 8th, 1789. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 1 am sorry I am disappointed in shipping all our wheat by the 
 ship Maryland ; but it was impossible to help it. The bad weather 
 which delayed Mr. McCarty s boat so long, also prevented Mr. 
 Linton s vessel from getting out of Quantico Creek, until it was too 
 late to send up any more wheat for this ship ; but I shall depend 
 upon getting room for wheat we have left, in the Becky, and as I 
 expect she will be quickly despatched it may probably make no 
 great difference to me, and I beg you will get the matter so fixed, 
 that I may not be again disappointed. The bearer, Mr. McCarty s 
 shipper, brings up eight or nine hogsheads of tobacco for my son 
 George. You will be pleased to let me know by a line, when he 
 returns, at what time the ship Becky will certainly be ready to take 
 in wheat, and I will begin to send ours up immediately, and if this 
 cannot be yet known, as soon as it can you will be good [enough] 
 to inform me by a letter per post, directed to be left at the post- 
 office in Colchester, as I shall be anxious to get our wheat up in 
 due time. My people went down again, as soon as the river 
 opened, to Chickamuxon, to inspect my tobacco and despatch 
 Messrs. F[orest] and S[toddert] s craft, but have not yet re 
 turned. I imagine the hard frost last Wednesday night stopped 
 up the mouth of Chickamuxon Creek, or perhaps the low tides 
 have kept the craft aground. She will surely be up the first 
 good day, and I hope will bring up my tobacco in time for the 
 ship Maryland. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 Capt. James Fenwick, 
 George Town. 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly, 1789. 
 
312 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, March 27, 1789. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 The bearer, John Hill, brings up 550 bushels of wheat by our 
 measure which is all we have now ready ; this will fall short of the 
 quantity I owe Messrs. Forrest and Stoddert, in return for wheat 
 they were so kind [as] to put into the ship Becky upon my account. 
 But so soon as I know the loss in this last load, by the measure 
 ment at George Town, I will desire Messrs. Fenwick, Mason, and 
 Company to place to the credit of Messrs. F. and S. the nett pro 
 ceeds of as much of my wheat in the Becky as I am deficient in 
 repaying them, \vhich I presume will be the most agreeable method 
 to those gentlemen of settling it, as it will amount to the same 
 thing, as repaying the whole now at Georgetown. 
 
 I will thank you to transmit me by John Hill, when he returns, 
 a statement of all our wheat in both ships, according to their 
 respective manifests, that I may see whether it corresponds with 
 the statement I have given in my letters to F., M., & Co. Upon 
 having the account of our wheat in both ships, with the measure 
 ment at George Town of the load John Hill now brings, my son 
 William and I can easily adjust our respective quantities. 
 I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 In case of Capt. Fenwick s absence, Major Stoddert will be 
 pleased to open this. 1 
 
 Colonel Mason wrote to his son in this same month, on 
 the subject of the consulship which he hoped to obtain for 
 Mr. Joseph Fenwick. This letter is of special interest, in its 
 reference to Washington, as it bears testimony to the early 
 and intimate character of the friendship which had subsisted 
 between George Mason and George Washington a friend 
 ship which the former feared was likely to be interrupted by 
 political differences. Colonel Mason s visits to " Mount 
 Vernon," however, had not ceased in 1788. On the 2d of 
 November of that year, which fell on Sunday, he dined and 
 spent the day with Washington. 2 But in the struggle over 
 
 1 MS. Letters. Major Stoddert, Benjamin Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy 
 under John Adams. 
 
 3 Washington s Private Journals, Toner Transcripts. 
 
MASON S FRIENDSHIP FOR WASHINGTON. 313 
 
 the new Constitution, the old friends had no doubt drifted 
 apart. George Mason, the Revolution over in which he 
 and Washington had been wholly of one mind, saw now in 
 the untried future new dangers springing up to which Wash 
 ington was blind. Virginia and the South generally had 
 cause later to know him for the wiser man of the two. But 
 at this time he was in the party of the minority. And he 
 seems to have felt that he must justify himself in his position 
 of withstanding the current of public opinion. His con 
 science could bear witness, as he says, to the purity of his 
 motives. A civil war bears witness now to the sound 
 " judgment " which guided his conscience. 
 
 " GUNSTON HALL, March 13, 1789. 
 " DEAR JOHN : 
 
 "... I have not yet made an application on behalf of 
 Mr. Fenwick for the appointment of consul, as the President of 
 the United States has the nomination to offices. I thought there 
 was some impropriety and indelicacy in making application 
 before General Washington has accepted the office of President, 
 to which he has been elected by the unanimous suffrage of the 
 electors in all the ratifying States. You may assure Mr. Fenwick 
 that as soon as this ceremonial is adjusted I shall not fail to 
 exert whatever interest I have in his favor. You know the 
 friendship which has long existed (indeed from our early youth) 
 between General Washington and myself. I believe there are 
 few men in whom he placed greater confidence ; but it is possi 
 ble my opposition to the new government, both as a member of 
 the national and of the Virginia Convention, may have altered 
 the case. In this important trust, I am truly conscious of having 
 acted from the purest motives of honesty, and love to my coun 
 try, according to that measure of judgment which God has 
 bestowed on me, and I would not forfeit the approbation of my 
 own mind for the approbation of any man, or all the men upon 
 earth. My conduct as a public man, through the whole of the 
 late glorious Revolution, has been such as, I trust, will administer 
 comfort to me in those moments when I shall most want it, and 
 smooth the bed of death. But as Shakespeare says, Something 
 too much of this. 
 
3 14 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The letter closes with the following postscript : 
 
 " Send me by the first good ship to Potomac River insured, six 
 half hogsheads viz. : about one hundred and eighty or ninety 
 American gallons of good cogniac brandy in barrels or casks of 
 about thirty gallons each, iron-bound or very well secured and 
 tight, and covered each with a double empty cask to prevent 
 the sailors or the craftsmen in this country from making free 
 with it. Also a piece of silk, a pattern for your sister Betsy. I 
 would have it a handsome but not a very expensive silk, and 
 depend upon your taste in the choice of it. If trimmings are 
 necessary they should be sent with it, and sewing silk to make 
 it up." l 
 
 Colonel Mason wrote from "Gunston Hall" to Washing 
 ton ten days later on the subject of a coachman living with 
 him, whom the latter wanted to secure. He had been in 
 Colonel Mason s service, and Washington wished to know 
 his character. The man, a German, came to Maryland, " and 
 entered into an indenture to Colonel Fitzhugh," George 
 Mason s relative, " who thereupon paid his passage over to 
 serve him four years." After living two years in Maryland 
 with Colonel Fitzhugh, the latter recommended him as a 
 coachman to Colonel Mason, and he was found to be a good 
 driver and careful of horses, but lazy and quarrelsome. His 
 indenture expired in October, 1787, but he had wished to 
 remain at " Gunston," and Colonel Mason gave him then 
 ,15 a year with his clothes. He only kept him, however, 
 he tells his correspondent, because he could get no other 
 coachman. No servant of his own was capable of driving, 
 and this man had never attempted to teach any one of them ; 
 only a small negro had " ridden one of the four horses as 
 postillion." The duties of the German were to serve as 
 coachman, to wait at table, occasionally work in the garden, 
 take care of the stable and horses, and keep the key of the 
 corn house and give out the corn. But, in fact, he did little 
 more than drive and look after the horses. 2 Probably this 
 
 1 Mason Papers. - Washington MSS., Department of State. 
 
LETTER TO HIS SON JOHN. 315 
 
 German coachman went from Colonel Mason s service into 
 that of the new President, and drove for him the famous 
 cream-colored chariot painted by Cipriani. This letter of 
 March 23, 1789, is the last one of George Mason s letters to 
 Washington which has been preserved. 
 
 The following letter was written by Colonel Mason to his 
 son in France : 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 May 14, 1789. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 I have received your several letters, one via Norfolk and two 
 by the brigs Betsy and Nancy, besides the former ones, the 
 receipt whereof I had before mentioned. Your brother George 
 has received a letter from you of a later date, via Philadelphia, 
 wherein you mention your intention to set out for Paris the 
 next morning. ... I have written a long letter by this 
 opportunity to Fenwick, Mason, & Company upon several inter 
 esting particulars, to which I refer you, to save a repetition here. 
 I observe what you mention, with respect to overshipping goods 
 to some particular people ; perhaps in a few instances, now and 
 then, it is difficult to avoid this, but you should avoid it as much 
 as possible. The hazard is too great in large debts, and small 
 debts in this country are not worth a shilling in the pound ; and 
 there are some people who would otherwise ship you tobacco, 
 that upon getting in your debt, will immediately discontinue their 
 correspondence. But when you were mentioning with regret 
 your having overshipped goods to a small amount, I am surprised 
 at your silence with respect to the more important affair of Mr. 
 Whitesides. This has the appearance of its having been done 
 without your participation, or of your not being intimately 
 acquainted with the transactions and business of the house, 
 either of which may be productive of bad consequences. You 
 are upon the spot, ought to know, and have a right to be con 
 sulted in all important transactions. In order to entitle you 
 with the greater propriety to this, you should spare no pains or 
 application to make yourself well acquainted with business, so 
 as to be able to take a proper share in the management, as well 
 as to enable you to conduct the business of a separate house 
 yourself whenever it becomes necessary, which probably may be 
 
316 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 soon. Notwithstanding I understand you are likely to secure 
 yourselves, this affair gives me much uneasiness, for though I 
 have always heard a very good character of Mr. Fenwick and 
 that he is a diligent, attentive, discreet young man, yet this 
 transaction shows a kind of softness and milkiness of temper 
 liable to imposition, which both you and he ought to guard 
 against. Pray explain this business of Mr. Whitesides, and let 
 me know without reserve how it is like to terminate. ... I 
 believe your Convention acquaintance, Doctor McClurg of Rich 
 mond, has shipped you eight or ten hogsheads of tobacco per 
 the Washington. I would have you write him particularly by 
 the first convenient opportunity informing him of the prices 
 current, and what articles can be advantageously imported from 
 Bordeaux. It may be a means of opening you a correspondence 
 from James River, as Dr. McClurg is a member of our Executive 
 Council and a man of some interest in that part of the Country. 
 But you should always take care to be accurate in your quota 
 tions of the prices current at the time. This was not the case in 
 the list of the current prices transmitted in your letters of De 
 cember and January, wherein you quoted tobacco from 30 Ib to 
 32 Ib per ct. instead of 28 Ib.-io. 
 
 You are under obligations to Mr. Daniel Brent, of "Richland," 
 and his brother, Mr. Richard Brent, 1 for their utmost endeavors 
 to promote your interest here, and I believe to very good effect. 
 Your Stafford friends have not shipped you so generally as I 
 expected. One reason for this is that great part of their tobacco 
 upon low grounds was destroyed by the excessive rains last sum 
 mer, and another that I believe many of them are indebted to 
 the Scotch stores, and there is hardly a Scotch merchant in this 
 part of the country who does not wish your house at the devil. 
 
 I hope to hear soon that you and Mr. Fenwick have got to 
 housekeeping, for as your business is now grown considerable, 
 and there are of course many captains of ships and others to 
 whom it will be necessary for you to show civilities, I can t think 
 housekeeping will be any great addition to your expences, and I 
 am sure it will give some respectability to your house, besides 
 that it will be much more agreeable than living in a boarding- 
 
 1 These were sons of William Brent of " Richland," whose wife was a sister 
 of Mrs. Robert Brent of "Woodstock." 
 
SHIPMENTS OF WHEAT AND TOBACCO. 317 
 
 house. I still continue of opinion that it will be very imprudent 
 in you to come to America this year, but that it will be very 
 proper the year after. Indeed, the more I have reflected on this 
 subject the more I am confirmed in this opinion. 
 
 I mentioned to you in my letter by the Becky that it was not 
 then in my power to ascertain the respective quantities of wheat 
 shipped by me and your brothers Thomson and William. I now 
 send you, on the other side, an exact statement of all the wheat 
 we shipped you in the two ships, the Maryland and the Becky, 
 according to which, separate accounts of sales are to be rendered 
 us, notwithstanding the bills of lading for the whole may have 
 been taken in my name, as I would avoid blending your brothers 
 accounts with mine. You will observe that sixty-seven bushels 
 of the wheat included in your brother William s quantity properly 
 belongs to William Green, who, being very desirous to ship you 
 something, got your brother William to include it with his, as 
 the ship did not take in any wheat but from our family, except 
 Forrest and Stoddert s own. For this sixty-seven bushels your 
 brother William desires a separate account of sales may be 
 rendered to Green, and an account rendered to himself for only 
 his own proper wheat. It will also please Green mightily, which 
 is some consideration, as the man seems to be much attached to 
 you, and I believe intends to ship you his tobacco also. You 
 will observe too that Messrs. Forrest and Stoddert are to have 
 credit by me for the nett proceeds of fifty-four bushels of my 
 wheat in the Becky, and my account debited accordingly, it 
 being the quantity I still owe these gentlemen for what they were 
 so kind to lend me. On the other side is also a duplicate of the 
 list of goods I ordered in my letter per the Becky. I wish the 
 brandy may arrive before the new duties take place, and I hope 
 it will be of better quality than the brandy sent me last year by 
 Mr. Fenwick, which, though at a very high price, is exceeding 
 bad ; the man who furnished it must have been a knave, for I 
 make no doubt Mr. Fenwick expected it was good and paid a 
 price accordingly. The piece of silk ordered is for your sister 
 Betsy, and I expect you will choose it yourself. 
 
 I enclose you a list of the members of the new Congress, in 
 both Houses, by which you will see that a considerable number 
 of the Senate are our Convention acquaintance. 
 
318 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 I send you by Capt. Bond a barrel containing eight hams. I 
 wish they may arrive in good order, as I think they were exceed 
 ing good hams when they were packed up. I should be glad to 
 know whether the barrel of hominy and smoked beef, by Capt. 
 Rose got to hand in good order. Your brothers sent you by 
 Capt. Rose two female and one male oppossum. 
 
 We have had a mocking bird for you ever since last summer 
 which is quite tame and domestic, and intended to send it out 
 this spring, but it proves a female, and they seldom sing ; this 
 hardly attempts a single note, and therefore we shall not send it 
 abroad, to disgrace its native country. I would turn it out of the 
 cage, but I am afraid its liberty, after such long confinement, 
 would only make the poor thing a prey to the first hawk that 
 came in its way. We will endeavor to raise some young ones this 
 summer. I will also endeavor to raise a buck and doe fawn for 
 you this summer. . . . The family at Gunston is reduced 
 lately from a very large to a small one, consisting now only of 
 your sister Betsy, your brother William, Mrs. Mason and myself. 
 I most cordially wish you health and happiness, and am, dear 
 John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 Mr. John Mason, 
 
 Merchant in Bordeaux, 
 
 per the Washington, Capt. Bond. 1 
 
 The new Federal Government went into operation March 
 4, 1789, and Congress met in New York. Richard Henry 
 Lee brought forward the Virginia amendments, and William 
 Grayson wrote to Patrick Henry on this subject on the 2Qth 
 of September : 
 
 " With respect to amendments, matters have turned out ex 
 actly as I apprehended, from the extraordinary doctrine of play 
 ing the after game ; the lower House sent up amendments which 
 
 1 Mason Papers. There were IQOO bushels of wheat shipped by George 
 Mason and his sons in the ship Maryland, and 1298^ bushels in the Beckv. 
 
STEVENS THOMSON MASON. 319 
 
 held out a safeguard to personal liberty in a great many instances, 
 but this disgusted the Senate, and though we made every exertion 
 to save them, they are so mutilated and gutted, that in fact they 
 are good for nothing. . . . The Virginia amendments were 
 all brought into view and regularly rejected. . . . Their maxim 
 seems to have been to make up by construction, what the Consti 
 tution wants in energy." 
 
 Ten amendments, however, proposed at this time were made 
 a part of the Constitution in 1791. They were in substance 
 equivalent to some of those on the Virginia list. The tenth 
 amendment, which was endorsed by the Conventions of Vir 
 ginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, as 
 moved in the Senate by Richard Henry Lee, was in these 
 words : " The powers not delegated by the Constitution to 
 the United States, nor prohibited by it to the States, arc 
 reserved to the States respectively." Ellsworth, of Massa 
 chusetts, moved to add, " or to the people," a phrase which 
 was perverted from its plain signification, " or to the people 
 of the States," and used in later years as an argument against 
 States-rights and the doctrine of secession. 
 
 George Mason from his retirement at u Gunston Hall " 
 must have watched with great interest the course of events 
 in Congress, and the action of the Virginia Legislature upon 
 these amendments. Stevens Thomson Mason was in the 
 Virginia Senate, and doubtless in correspondence with his 
 uncle, by whose side he had sat in the Virginia Convention 
 and whose principles he had made thoroughly his own. 
 With his father no longer living, and his uncle s political 
 career closed, Stevens Thomson Mason represented the 
 name in public life at this time, and upon him, in some sort, 
 the mantle of his elders had fallen. The journal of the Virginia 
 Senate records that the House, on the 8th of December, 
 went into committee of the whole on the resolutions of the 
 House of Delegates ratifying the amendments (twelve in 
 number) proposed by Congress to the Constitution of the 
 
 1 " Letters and Times of the Tylers," Lyon < J. Tyler, vol. i., p. 165. 
 
32O LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 United States. They came to the following resolution : 
 That the third, eighth, eleventh, and twelfth amendments 
 be postponed until the next session of Assembly. The 
 others were agreed to, and then the motion was made, that 
 all or any members who voted for the postponement of the 
 above four articles be allowed to enter upon the journal the 
 reasons which influenced their vote and all or any of their 
 objections. On the I2th of December this was accordingly 
 done, and the entry is as follows : 
 
 " The Senate of Virginia having determined to postpone until 
 the next session of Assembly, the third, eighth, eleventh, and 
 twelfth articles of the amendments to the Constitution of the 
 United States, recommended by Congress, we, the underwritten 
 members of the majority on that question, deem it incumbent on 
 us, not only from the respect we owe to our constituents, and our 
 responsibility to them, but in order to prevent doubt and mis 
 representation, to enter on the Journals of the House the con 
 siderations which have influenced our decision on this subject, 
 and our principal objections to those articles. We are satisfied 
 that the people of Virginia would never have ratified the Consti 
 tution of the United States, but from a confident hope and firm 
 persuasion of speedily seeing it much more materially altered 
 and amended than it would be by ratifying the propositions lately 
 submitted by Congress to the State Legislatures. That although 
 we consider some of the amendments offered as similar, and 
 others nearly equivalent, to a part of the amendments proposed 
 by Virginia and other States, yet that some of them which seem 
 analogous to other amendments so proposed, are not substantially 
 the same and fall short of affording the same security to personal 
 rights, or of so effectually guarding against the apprehended mis 
 chiefs of the government ; of this description we consider the 
 3rd, 8th, nth and i2th articles. We conceive that the 3rd article, 
 which seems given in lieu of the i5th, i6th, igth and 2oth 
 articles of the bill of rights proposed by the Virginia Conven 
 tion, will not bear a comparison with these articles. The i5th 
 expressly declares the right of the people to assemble together to 
 consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, 
 and to petition for redress of grievances. The i6th asserts the 
 
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY CONGRESS. $21 
 
 right of the people to freedom of speech, and of writing and pub 
 lishing their sentiments, and secures the liberty of the press. 
 The i pth and 2oth hold sacred the rights of conscience, secure 
 to every religious sect or society the most perfect equality, and 
 effectually guard against any religious establishments. 
 
 " The 3rd amendment, recommended by Congress, does not 
 prohibit the rights of conscience from being violated or infringed ; 
 and although it goes to restrain Congress from passing laws es 
 tablishing any national religion, they might, notwithstanding, levy 
 taxes to any amount, for the support of religion or its preachers ; 
 and any particular denomination of Christians might be so 
 favored and supported by the General Government as to give it 
 a decided advantage over others, and in process of time render 
 it as powerful and dangerous as if it was established as the 
 national religion of the country. 
 
 " This amendment does not declare and assert the right of the 
 people to speak and publish their sentiments, nor does it secure 
 the liberty of the press. Should these valuable rights be in 
 fringed or violated by the arbitrary decisions of Judges, or by 
 any other means than a legislative act directly to that effect, the 
 people would have no avowed principle in the Constitution to 
 which they might resort for the security of these rights. 
 
 " The right of the people to instruct their representatives, and 
 their right to consult with each other for the common good, seem 
 too evident to be questioned in a republican government ; yet, 
 these rights are denied by Congress, and they have refused to 
 allow any amendment declaratory of them, as we discover by 
 their Journals ; and even the humble privilege of petitioning 
 against oppression is not fully asserted or secured ; as this privi 
 lege may be abridged or rendered nugatory without any law upon 
 the subject ; not to mention other means, it might be defeated by 
 a rule of either House, without violating the 3rd article of the 
 amendments. 
 
 " This amendment then, when considered as it relates to any 
 of the rights it is pretended to secure, will be found totally inade 
 quate, and betrays an unreasonable, unjustifiable, but a studied 
 departure from the amendment proposed by Virginia and other 
 States, for the protection of their rights. We conceive that this 
 amendment is dangerous and fallacious, as it tends to lull the 
 apprehensions of the people on these important points, without 
 
322 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 affording them security ; and mischievous, because by setting 
 bounds to Congress, it will be considered as the only restriction 
 on their power over these rights ; and thus certain powers in the 
 government, which it has been denied to possess, will be recog 
 nized without being properly guarded against abuse. 
 
 " The 8th article of the proposed amendments, so far from 
 securing the valuable trial by jury of the vicinage in criminal 
 prosecutions, leaves Congress the same power to abridge this 
 right as they possess by the original Constitution. They have 
 already by law fixed the districts co-extensive with the respective 
 States ; and they will at all times possess the power of regulating 
 the districts at pleasure, so that there appears to us nothing in 
 this amendment to restrain government from carrying a man 
 accused of a crime, out of his own neighborhood to any distance 
 within the limits of a State, to be tried by strangers, perhaps 
 enemies, where the advantages of this excellent mode of trial 
 might be entirely defeated, and where a person obnoxious to 
 Congress, might fall an innocent sacrifice to their resentment. 
 
 " We do not find that the nth article is asked for by Virginia 
 or any other State ; we therefore conceive that the people of Vir 
 ginia should be consulted with respect to it, even if we did not 
 doubt the propriety of adopting it ; but it appears to us highly 
 exceptionable. If it is meant to guard against the extension of 
 the powers of Congress by implication, it is greatly defective, and 
 does by no means comprehend the idea expressed in the lyth 
 article of amendments proposed by Virginia ; and as it respects 
 personal rights might be dangerous, because should the rights of 
 the people be invaded or called in question, they might be re 
 quired to show by the Constitution what rights they have re 
 tained ; and such as could not from that instrument be proved to 
 be retained, they might be denied to possess. Of this there is 
 ground to be apprehensive, when Congress are already seen 
 denying certain rights of the people heretofore deemed clear and 
 unexceptionable. 
 
 "We conceive that the i2th article would come up to the ist 
 article of the Virginia amendments, were it not for the words or 
 to the people. It is not declared to be the people of the respec 
 tive States ; but the expression applies to the people generally as 
 citizens of the United States, and leaves it doubtful what powers 
 
VIRGINIA RESOLUTIONS OF DISAPPROVAL. 523 
 
 arc reserved to the State Legislatures. Unrestrained by the Con 
 stitution or these amendments, Congress might, as the supreme 
 ruler of the people, assume those powers which properly belong 
 to the respective States, and thus gradually effect an entire 
 consolidation. 
 
 "We consider that of the many and important amendments 
 recommended by the Conventions of Virginia and other States, 
 these propositions contain all that Congress are disposed to grant ; 
 that all the rest are by them deemed improper, and that these are 
 offered in full satisfaction of the whole : and although the ratifi 
 cation of a part of the amendments that have been prayed for by 
 Virginia would not absolutely preclude us from urging others, yet 
 we conceive that by the acceptance of particular articles, we are 
 concluded as to the points they relate to. Considering therefore 
 that they are far short of what the people of Virginia wish, and 
 have asked, and deeming them by no means sufficient to secure 
 the rights of the people, or to render the government safe and 
 desirable, we think our countrymen ought not to be put off with 
 amendments so inadequate. 
 
 That being satisfied of the defects and dangerous tendency of 
 these four articles of the proposed amendments, we are con 
 strained to withhold our assent to them ; but unwilling for the 
 present to determine on their rejection, we think it our duty to 
 postpone them until the next session of Assembly, in order 
 that the people of Virginia may have an opportunity to con 
 sider of them, and judge for themselves ; and that the members 
 of the Legislature may be enabled to consult with, and know 
 the sentiments of their constituents on the subject." 
 
 S. T. Mason was one of the eight members of the Senate 
 who signed these resolutions, which were published shortly 
 afterwards in the Richmond paper. 1 The House of Dele 
 gates appointed some of its members to confer with a 
 delegation from the Senate on this subject, and Stevens 
 Thomson Mason " was one of the three senators chosen for 
 
 1 Journal of the Virginia Senate, 1789. 7"fo Virginia Independent Chronicle \ 
 January 13, 1790. 
 
 Stevens Thomson Mason was the grandfather of Stevens Thomson Mason, 
 the early " boy governor " of Michigan, one of the States carved out of Vir 
 ginia s western territory. 
 
324 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the purpose. The Senate, on the I4th of December, ordered 
 that Mr. Mason should acquaint the House of Delegates 
 that they adhered to their determination not to ratify the 
 amendments except in the conditional form declared by 
 their resolutions. The lower House of the Virginia Legis 
 lature at this session was under the influence of such Feder 
 alists as General Henry Lee. But in the Senate, the coun 
 sels of George Mason, of Henry, Grayson, and R. H. Lee 
 bore fruit. 
 
 Jefferson returned to America from Paris in the fall of 
 1789, to take his place in Washington s Cabinet. John 
 Mason had written to him offering him a passage on one of 
 his vessels, early in the summer ; and Jefferson in replying, 
 on the 1 6th of July, says : " I beg you to remember me in 
 the most friendly terms to your father. I have put off an 
 swering his letter because I expected constantly to make 
 my voyage to America and to see him at his own house." 1 
 He sailed from London to Norfolk in October, and visiting 
 friends all along the route from Norfolk, reached " Monti- 
 cello " only two days before Christmas. Setting out for New 
 York on the 1st of March, 1790, Jefferson stopped, on his 
 way, in Alexandria, where the mayor and citizens gave him 
 a public reception. He did not, however, go to " Gunston 
 Hall," owing to the badness of the roads at this season. 
 
 On the 1 2th of March, 1790, William Grayson, the distin 
 guished Virginia Senator, died at Dumfries, on his way to 
 Congress, and George Mason, it was hoped, would be in 
 duced to fill the vacancy. Governor Randolph wrote to 
 him announcing his appointment by the Executive, as the 
 Legislature was not in session : 
 
 RICHMOND, March 25th, 1790. 
 To COL. GEORGE MASON. 
 
 SIR : I do myself the honor to enclose you a commission ap 
 pointing you a senator for the State in the room of Col. Grayson 
 deceased. 
 
 1 Jefferson s " Works," H. A. Washington, vol. iii., p. 72. 
 
APPOINTED TO UNITED STATES SENATE. 325 
 
 Permit me to intreat your acceptance of this commission. The 
 very important subjects now before Congress, so interesting to 
 America in general, and more especially to your native State, call 
 for the counsels of the wisest of her citizens. 
 
 Impressed with the fullest conviction of your abilities and zeal 
 for the welfare of your country, I cannot doubt your compliance 
 with the unanimous wishes of the Executive. 
 
 I am, &c., 
 
 BEVERLEY RANDOLPH. 
 
 The Richmond paper of the 3ist of March announced: 
 " The Hon. George Mason, Esq : is appointed a senator of 
 the United States, in the room of the Hon. Col. William 
 Grayson, deceased." 2 
 
 But Colonel Mason was not to be prevailed upon to take 
 the office, and Governor Randolph, on the same day issued 
 the following proclamation : 
 
 Virginia to wit : 
 
 George Mason, Esq : who was duly chosen a senator for this 
 Commonwealth in pursuance of the Constitution for the United 
 States of America, having refused to act during the recess of the 
 Legislature of the Commonwealth, I, Beverley Randolph, being 
 governor or chief magistrate of the Commonwealth, have there 
 fore thought fit and with the advice and consent of the privy 
 council, or council of state, and by virtue of the said Constitution 
 to appoint John Walker, Esq : to be and act as a senator for the 
 Commonwealth until the next meeting of the Legislature thereof. 
 
 Given under my hand and the seal of the Commonwealth, this 
 3ist day of March, 1790. 
 
 [SEAL.] BEVERLEY RANDOLPH. 3 
 
 At the meeting of the Assembly in the autumn of this 
 year, James Monroe was elected to fill out Grayson s term, 
 and for the next succeeding six years. 
 
 1 Executive Journal, State Library, Richmond. 
 
 2 The Virginia Independent Chronicle, etc., 1790. 
 ! Mason Papers. 
 
326 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Colonel Mason alludes to his appointment to the Senate 
 in the following letter to his son : 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 May 20th, 1790. 
 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 I take the opportunity per the ship Confidence Capt. de Bore, 
 to send you, via Havre de Grace (where the ship is to touch for 
 orders) a duplicate of my letter of the 2yth of April last via New 
 Yoik, together with a duplicate of my letter of the same date, 
 and by the same route, to Messrs. Fenwick, Mason, & Company, 
 covering the first bill of a letter of exchange on Messrs : Thomas 
 Clagett & Company merchants in London for ^500 sterling, 
 payable to me, and by me endorsed to your house. I now 
 enclose the second bill of the same etc. 
 
 Capt. Fenwick has been obliged to charter the ship Confidence 
 at a very low freight rather than send her back (unchartered) in 
 ballast, which has been the fate of many of the ships sent out to 
 America for wheat and flour, and has reduced freights this year 
 lower than ever they were known before. My reason for remit 
 ting the above mentioned second bill by this conveyance, via 
 Havre de Grace, is, that it is uncertain when your ship the Wash 
 ington will be ready to sail. I fear it will be very difficult to pro 
 cure a load for her ; for the confusion and uncertain state of 
 affairs in France makes people cautious of venturing their prop 
 erty there, which together with the low price of tobacco at that 
 market last fall, discourages everybody from shipping thither, and 
 it will not answer to purchase on your own accounts, tobacco 
 now selling here from i8/ to 2o/ per hundred Virginia currency 
 and expected to be higher, at the same time that exchange for 
 bills on London is at 15 to 20 per ct. 
 
 I heartily wish the French nation success in establishing their 
 new government, upon the principles of liberty, and the sacred 
 rights of human nature ; but I dread the consequences of their 
 affairs remaining so long in an unsettled state. Their finances, 
 their commerce, and some of their most important interests must 
 suffer exceedingly by it ; besides the risk of the most respectable 
 part of the people (which is always found in the middle walks of 
 
LETTERS TO HIS SON JOHN. $2? 
 
 life) being disgusted and worn down with so long a scene of doubt 
 and uncertainty, not to say anarchy. 
 
 I have lately been appointed a senator for the commonwealth 
 of Virginia, in the Senate of the United States, but have refused 
 to serve. 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 John Mason, Esquire, 
 
 Merchant in Bordeaux. 1 
 
 In this letter Colonel Mason speaks of having " just 
 recovered from a three months fit of the gout," and doubt 
 less his state of health had something to do with his deter 
 mination to remain in private life. He wrote again to his 
 son about two weeks later : 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 June 3, 1790. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 This will be delivered you by your partner Mr. Joseph Fen- 
 wick, and as he proposes going by land to Boston, and embark 
 ing from thence, or from Portsmouth in New Hampshire, it will 
 hardly come to your hands before the latter end of September, 
 before which it is probable I shall have other different oppor 
 tunities of writing to you. Mr. Fenwick s long stay in America, 
 and the necessity you will be under of staying in Bordeaux, some 
 time after his arrival, to adjust and fully settle your affairs, so as 
 to take away all cause for any confusion or dispute hereafter, 
 will, I fear, prevent your embarking for America this year ; 
 unless you can get a passage to South Carolina, so as to arrive 
 there in the month of November, for I would wish you to avoid 
 a winter passage, especially after your late long ill state of health. 
 And therefore 1 think you had better stay in France until next 
 spring, than risk passage in the depth of winter ; more particu 
 larly if you come to any of the northern or middle States. 
 Should you spend this winter in France, and find Bordeaux still 
 disagree with your constitution, I would advise you to go to 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
328 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Marseilles, or some place in the south [of] France, and return to 
 Bordeaux in the spring ; as you will probably not meet with a 
 passage from any of the ports in the Mediterranean, and even if 
 you could, the danger of falling into the hands of the Algerines 
 is such a shocking circumstance, as I would have you by all 
 means avoid. 
 
 I would strongly recommend your availing yourself of every 
 means and opportunity of making yourself acquainted with the 
 commercial customs of France, and what of their produce or 
 manufactures will suit the respective States here, and can be 
 imported upon advantageous terms, so as to be able to give satis 
 factory information to the merchants in our different sea port 
 towns, which you will find of infinite advantage to your house, 
 when you make the tour you propose through the United States ; 
 which I still think it will be proper for you to do. 
 
 Adieu, my dear John, and believe me, 
 
 Your most affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 John Mason, Esq : 
 
 Merchant in Bordeaux. 1 
 
 Colonel Mason had written to Jefferson recommending 
 Mr. Fenwick as consul to Bordeaux, and Jefferson replied as 
 follows : 
 
 NEW YORK, June 13, 1790. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I have deferred acknowledging the receipt of 
 your favor of March i6th, expecting daily that the business of 
 the consulships would have been finished. But this was delayed 
 by the President s illness, and a very long one of my own, so 
 that it is not till within these two or three days that it has been 
 settled. That of Bordeaux is given to Mr. Fenwick, according 
 to your desire. The commission is making out, and will be 
 signed to-morrow or next day. 
 
 I intended fully to have had the pleasure of seeing you at 
 Gunston Hall on my way here, but the roads being so bad that 
 I was obliged to leave my own carriage to get along as it could, 
 and to take my passage in the stage, I could not deviate from the 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
JEFFERSON TO GEORGE MASON. 329 
 
 stage road. I should have been happy in a conversation with you 
 on the subject of our new government, of which, though I approve 
 of the mass, I would wish to see some amendments, further than 
 those which have been proposed, and fixing it more surely on a 
 republican basis. I have great hopes that pressing forward with 
 constancy to these amendments, they will be obtained before the 
 want of them will do any harm. To secure the ground we gain, 
 and gain what more we can, is, I think, the wisest course. I 
 think much has been gained by the late Constitution ; for the 
 former was terminating in anarchy, as necessarily consequent to 
 inefficiency. 
 
 The House of Representatives have voted to remove to Balti 
 more, by a majority of 53 against 6. This was not the effect of 
 choice, but of confusion into which they had been brought by the 
 event of other questions, and their being hampered with the rules 
 of the House. It is not certain what will be the vote of the 
 Senate. Some hope an opening will be given to convert it into 
 a vote of the temporary seat at Philadelphia, and the permanent 
 one at Georgetown. The question of assumption will be brought 
 on again, and its event is doubtful. Perhaps its opponents would 
 be wiser to be less confident in their success, and to compromise 
 by agreeing to assume the State debts still due to individuals, so 
 as to put the States in the shoes of those of their creditors whom 
 they have paid off. Great objections lie to this, but not so great 
 as an assumption of the unpaid debts only. My duties preventing 
 me from mingling in these questions, I do not pretend to be very 
 competent to their decision. In general, I think it necessary to 
 give as well as take in a government like ours. 
 
 I have some hope of visiting Virginia in the fall, in which case 
 I shall still flatter myself with the pleasure of seeing you ; in the 
 meantime, I am with unchanged esteem and respect, my dear sir, 
 Your most obedient friend and servant. ! 
 
 Jefferson on his return to " Monticello " in September 
 travelled again in his own carriage, Madison with him, 
 stopping two days at " Mount Vernon," and it is highly 
 probable he visited " Gunston Hall " at this time. George 
 Mason in this year, or perhaps a little earlier, resigned the 
 
 1 "Jefferson s Works," II. A. Washington, vol. iii., p. 147. 
 
330 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 office of justice of the peace, which he had probably held 
 since his early manhood. His name is given, with those of 
 Washington, McCarty, Bryan Fairfax, and others, in a list 
 preserved of the justices of Fairfax County in 1770. Twenty 
 years later the records state that on the 2ist of June, 1790, 
 the clerk of the court of Fairfax County, after certifying 
 that the court recommended George Augustine Washington 
 and others for magistrates, gave a list of justices, and those 
 marked removed, dead, etc., as a true statement of the 
 justices of the county : 
 
 " Robert Townsend Hooe, sheriff ; George Mason, resigned ; 
 Alexander Henderson, removed ; Charles Broadwater, dead ; 
 George Washington, president ; Martin Cockburn, resigned ; 
 Richard Chichester, resigned ; James Waugh, resigned."" 
 
 Jefferson in his letter to George Mason had referred to 
 the question of assumption then before Congress. It was 
 one of the " fiscal manoeuvres " of Alexander Hamilton, 
 which was believed to be a violation of the Constitution, 
 and injurious to many of the States. The debts of the 
 several Commonwealths were put down, on a rough estimate, 
 as twenty millions, and the people generally assessed to pay 
 this amount, whereas some States had a greater, some a less, 
 indebtedness than others, and the law thus acted unfairly 
 upon them. It was discovered also after the accounts were 
 settled, that the estimate had been much too large. Eleven 
 millions would have been sufficient, but by the operation of 
 the Assumption Act, an additional debt was created, reaching 
 in a few years to over ten millions. 3 The Virginia Assembly 
 in December, 1790, sent a memorial to Congress protesting 
 against this measure. They declare that " neither policy, 
 justice, nor the Constitution warrants it " ; that a large por 
 tion of the debt is already redeemed by the collection of 
 heavy taxes, but by this act " a heavy debt and consequently 
 
 1 " Virgina Calendar Papers," vol. i., p. 263. 
 
 2 Ibid., vol. v., p. 172. 
 
 3 Randall s " Life of Jefferson," vol. i., p. 608. 
 
VIRGINIA OPPOSES ASSUMPTION ACT. 331 
 
 heavy taxes will be entailed on the citizens of this Common 
 wealth from which they can never be relieved by all the 
 efforts of the General Assembly, whilst any part of the debts 
 contracted by any State in the American Union, and so 
 assumed, shall remain unpaid." The act without the smallest 
 necessity, as they averred, extorted from the General Assem 
 bly the power of taxing their own constituents for the pay 
 ment of their own debts, in such a manner as would be best 
 suited to their own ease and convenience, etc. Another 
 light in which it appeared more odious and deformed " was 
 this : During the discussions of the Federal Constitution, 
 they, the memorialists, were taught to believe " that every 
 power not expressly granted was retained." Under this 
 impression they ratified the Constitution, but there was no 
 clause in the Constitution authorizing Congress in express 
 terms to assume the debts of the States. 1 Stevens Thomson 
 Mason as a member of the Virginia Senate endorsed these 
 views, which were those also of his illustrious uncle. 
 
 On the loth of January, 1791, George Mason wrote two 
 letters, one to his son John, and one giving the news he had 
 received from France to his friend Thomas Jefferson. 
 Unfortunately the less important of these two epistles is 
 the only one of them that has been preserved. The one to 
 Jefferson has been lost, and it is only through the latter s 
 reply that anything can be known of its contents. Colonel 
 Mason s letter to his son is as follows : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, January 10, 1791. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 As I presume you have left Bordeaux before this time, and that 
 this letter may probably find you in the south of France, I enclose 
 you a copy of my letter of this date to Fenwick, Mason, and Com 
 pany to save myself the trouble of repeating its contents sepa 
 rately to you. This leaves me little more to add except telling 
 you that if the Washington sails in time, I shall send you, as you 
 desire, letters of introduction to some of my friends in South 
 Carolina, particularly to Col. William Washington, a gentleman 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
332 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 for whom I have the greatest regard, and with whom you were too 
 young to be acquainted when he went into the army. I have the 
 pleasure to inform you that all your brothers and sisters are well, 
 as is also the family at Gunston Hall. Mrs. Mason returns you 
 many thanks for your acceptable present of the political fan, and 
 gloves, and joins in our best wishes and respects to you, with, dear 
 John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 Jefferson wote to George Mason, in answer to his letter of 
 the loth of January : 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, February 4, 1791. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I am to make you my acknowledgments for your favor of 
 January loth, and the information from France which it con 
 tained. It confirmed what I had heard more loosely before, and 
 accounts still more recent are to the same effect. I look with 
 great anxiety for the firm establishment of the new government in 
 France, being perfectly convinced that if it takes place there, it 
 will spread sooner or later all over Europe. On the contrary 
 a check there would retard the revival of liberty in other coun 
 tries. I consider the establishment and success of their govern 
 ment as necessary to stay up our own, and to prevent it from 
 falling back to that kind of a half-way house, the English Consti 
 tution. It cannot be denied that we have among us a sect who 
 believe that to contain whatever is perfect in human institutions; 
 that the members of this sect have many of them names and 
 offices which stand high in the estimation of our countrymen. I 
 still rely that the great mass of our community is untainted with 
 these heresies, as is its head. On this I build my hope that we have 
 not labored in vain, and that our experiment will still prove that 
 men can be governed by reason. 
 
 You have excited my curiosity in saying there is a particular 
 circumstance, little attended to, which is continually sapping the 
 republicanism of the United States. What is it ? 
 
 What is said in our country of the fiscal arrangements now 
 going on ? I really fear their effect when I consider the present 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
JEFFERSON- ON FEDERA L GO VERNMENT MEASURES. 333 
 
 temper of the Southern States. Whether these measures be right 
 or wrong abstractedly, more attention should be paid to the gen 
 eral opinion. However, all will pass the Excise will pass the 
 Bank will pass. The only corrective of what is corrupt in our 
 present form of government, will be the augmentation of the 
 numbers in the lower House, so as to get a more agricultural rep 
 resentation, which may put that interest above that of the stock 
 jobbers. 
 
 I had no occasion to sound Mr. Madison on your fears 
 expressed in your letter. I knew before, as possessing his senti 
 ments fully on that subject, that his value for you was undimin- 
 ished. I have always heard him say that though you and he 
 appeared to differ in your systems, yet you were in truth nearer 
 together than most persons who were classed under the same 
 appellation. You may quiet yourself in the assurance of posses 
 sing his complete esteem. 
 
 I have been endeavoring to obtain some little distinction for 
 our useful customers, the French. But there is a particular inter 
 est opposed to it, which I fear will prove too strong. We shall 
 soon see. I will send you a copy of a report I have given in as 
 soon as it is printed. I know there is one part of it contrary to 
 your sentiments ; yet I am not sure you will not become sensible 
 that a change should be slowly preparing. 
 
 Certainly, whenever I pass your road, I shall do myself the 
 pleasure of turning into it. Our last year s experiment, however, 
 is much in favor of that by Newgate. 
 
 I am with great respect and esteem, dear Sir, 
 
 Your friend and servant. 
 
 No doubt Jefferson received later an explanation of the 
 remark which so excited his curiosity, " the particular circum 
 stance, little attended to, which is continually sapping the 
 republicanism of the United States." But for us there is 
 no answer to the query, though we may surmise that it had 
 reference to the powers given the Federal courts. The Judi 
 ciary Act of 1/89, which created the inferior United States 
 courts and so greatly extended the jurisdiction of the 
 
 1 " Jefferson s Works," H. A. Washington, vol. iii., p. 209. 
 
334 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Supreme Court, doubtless filled George Mason with alarm. 
 The fears he expresses to Jefferson lest Madison might be 
 estranged from him, it is pleasant to know, admitted of a 
 satisfactory reply. More and more as the years went on, 
 and the younger statesman watched the issue of the work in 
 which he and Mason had both been leaders, must Madison 
 have understood that they were "nearer together" in their 
 systems than many who were classed as of one party. Or 
 rather Mason s system was to be acknowledged by Madison 
 within a decade as that on which the liberties of his country 
 men depended. The report to which Jefferson refers was 
 delivered on the ist of February, 1791, and related to the cod 
 and whale fisheries. 1 
 
 The following letters were written in April and July to 
 John Mason who was about to return to America: 
 
 VIRGINIA, GUNSTON HALL, 
 
 April i6th, 1791. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Enclosed is a letter (to which I refer) written in January and 
 intended to have been sent via Baltimore or Philadelphia, but 
 hearing of no ships from either of those places to Bordeaux, it is 
 now sent per the Washington. She has been so long detained 
 here by the winter s frost, by having considerable repairs made 
 to her, and above all by the difficulty of procuring a load of 
 tobacco for her, in the unsettled and uncertain state of the 
 tobacco trade in France, that I think it probable you may have 
 embarked for America before her arrival at Bordeaux ; neverthe 
 less as you may perhaps have waited her arrival, I enclose you 
 some letters of introduction to my friends in Charles Town, 
 South Carolina, which you will seal and deliver if you take that 
 route, though I think it a bad season of the year to come to that 
 warm country, and you will have a very fatiguing journey from 
 thence to Virginia, in the latter end of the summer, which may 
 be injurious to your health after your long indisposition. I 
 therefore really think if you expect to arrive in America before 
 the beginning or middle of September you had better take your 
 
 1 Ibid., vol. vii., p. 538. 
 
LETTERS TO JOHN MASON. 335 
 
 passage to some of the Northern or Eastern States, and make a 
 tour to the Southern States in the course of next winter, and if 
 you purpose to establish a house in the commission line upon 
 Potomac River, your principal American consignments here will 
 be from the Eastern States, and therefore a tour through their 
 principal sea port towns, on your way home, in order to settle a 
 correspondence, may be an object of importance. However with 
 respect to your embarking for one of the Southern or Eastern 
 States, the season of the year, in which you expect to arrive will 
 be your best guide. I have shipped per the Washington thirty- 
 three hogsheads of tobacco. 
 
 I have received your letters dated in October and November 
 last, and rejoice to hear that your health is in a great measure 
 restored. I rejoice also to hear that I have been mistaken in my 
 opinion respecting the paper money, yet I think it was founded 
 on reason as well as experience ; but really the French Revolu 
 tion from the beginning has been attended with such extraordi 
 nary circumstances that the mr,n who judges of it by comparison 
 with anything else in the annals of mankind, will probably find 
 himself mistaken. 
 
 No doubt you have heard that an act of Congress has passed 
 for fixing the permanent seat of government of the Union, after 
 ten years, upon [the] Potomac, at such place as the President 
 should direct, between the mouth of the Eastern Branch and the 
 mouth of Conogochieg (about sixty miles from each other) with 
 the power of laying off ten miles square for the jurisdiction of 
 Congress, and fixing the spot for the public buildings, confining 
 the public buildings, however, to the eastern side of the river. 
 The President has had the ten miles square laid off in the follow 
 ing manner. Beginning on the upper side of the mouth of 
 Great Hunting Creek and running north-west ten miles (which 
 includes the town of Alexandria), thence north-east ten miles 
 (which crosses Potomac River a little above the Little Falls, and 
 includes all my tract of land there of about two thousand acres), 
 thence south-east ten miles (which includes George Town and 
 the navigable part of the Eastern Branch), thence south-west to 
 the beginning. He has also directed the city for the seat of 
 government, within the said ten miles square, to be laid off in 
 the following manner. Beginning on Potomac River on the 
 
336 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 lower side the mouth of Rock Creek (just below George Town) 
 thence with the meanders of Potomac River to the mouth of the 
 Eastern Branch and up the meanders of the Eastern Branch 
 about two miles to a point called (I think) Evan s Ferry, thence 
 a course to strike the main road from George Town to Bladens- 
 burg about half a mile from the ford, thence with the main road 
 to the ford of Rock Creek, and with the meanders of Rock Creek 
 to the beginning. These last boundaries contain about four 
 thousand acres, and the proprietors, I understand, have agreed to 
 give up the whole of the land (reserving the right of selling the 
 wood on it) to defray the charge of the public buildings, &c, 
 on condition of being paid the value of their houses and receiv 
 ing again respectively half the lots after the town is laid off 
 and the streets adjusted. The spot for the public buildings 
 (which is the most important point) is not yet fixed. The Alex 
 andrians, as usual, are very much buoyed up on the occasion 
 and think their fortunes made forever, although it is evident 
 to any cool, impartial, sensible man, that if the inland navi 
 gation of Potomac and Shenandoah is effectually completed 
 and the seat of the federal government fixed near the harbor 
 of the Eastern Branch, Alexandria must become a deserted 
 village. 
 
 Adieu my dear son ; this, I expect will be the last opportunity 
 I shall have of writing to you while you are in Europe. God bless 
 you and send you safe to your native country and friends. I hope 
 I shall soon have the pleasure of seeing you, and assuring you 
 personally, how much I am 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. Your friends here are all well, except your sister Cooke s 
 children, who are under inoculation for the small-pox, but I believe 
 are in a good way. We shall begin to inoculate here and at 
 " Lexington " about the end of May. 
 
 John Mason, Esquire, 
 Merchant in Bordeaux. 
 
 By the Washington, Capt. Chilton. 1 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
JAMES RIVER MERCHANTS. 337 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, July 12, 1791. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 I did not receive your letter of the i3th of May via Nantes, 
 until Saturday the pth instant, after that day s post had passed, 
 so that I had no opportunity of conveying a letter to Norfolk, until 
 this day s post. Herewith you will receive a packet (containing 
 several letters) which I have put under cover to Mr. John Brent/ 
 as you desired, and hope it will be in time ; but should you have 
 arrived, and have left Norfolk, before my packet reaches the 
 hands of Mr. Brent, I have desired him to send it immediately 
 after you (per post) to Petersburg or Richmond. The letters are 
 all left open for your perusal ; you will easily distinguish which 
 are intended as complimentary introductions, merely to entitle 
 you to civilities, and those which may be of use to you in the line 
 of business, or in making you acquainted with the most respecta 
 ble merchants, for I have myself so little acquaintance with the 
 James River merchants, that I am not able to recommend such 
 as it may be proper for you to confide in. Most of my letters 
 are to gentlemen in Richmond ; since the death of my worthy 
 friend Colo. Bland, I have no intimate acquaintance nearer Peters 
 burg than Colo. Heth and Mr. David Ross. Colo. Heth having 
 been some years a member of the executive council in Richmond, 
 and having married some years ago in the neighborhood of 
 Petersburg, and lived there a good while, and from his office of 
 collector of the upper district of James River, must be as well 
 acquainted with the situation, and character of all the merchants 
 there as any man in Virginia. I believe he lives near Cabbin 
 Point, or at Bermuda Hundred. You will find him a man of 
 information and good sense, and I am sure his friendship for me 
 will induce him to do you every service in his power ; and I think 
 you can confide in any information he gives you. Mr. Ross is 
 also a particular friend of mine, and I think will be ready to do 
 you any good offices in his power. I have also received many 
 instances of civility from Mr. Alexander, who is a very intelligent 
 man, and well acquainted with business. He resided many years 
 in France, and is perfectly acquainted with that country ; but he 
 is a Scotchman, and has the character of an artful, designing man. 
 With this caution, I think he may be serviceable to you, and if it 
 1 John Brent was a nephew of Mrs. Mason s. 
 
338 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 does not in any way interfere with his own interest, I make no 
 doubt will take pleasure in being so ; and I think his acquaint 
 ance is well worth your cultivating. Mr. David Ross is well 
 acquainted with all the merchants upon James River, and is 
 generally thought to understand commerce better than any man in 
 the State. He is a man of uncommon penetration, and depth of 
 understanding and judgment, by which he has acquired immense 
 possessions, but is said to be very much in debt. He is a very 
 plain man in his manners, and I have always found him a very 
 friendly man, but he too is a Scotchman. I thought it necessary, 
 however, to give you the outlines of his character. Mr. Ross 
 spends as much of his time in Richmond as in Petersburg. 
 
 The Governor, Colo. Harvie, and Mr. Marshall are all very 
 worthy men, and intimate friends of mine, but they have never 
 been in any mercantile line, though they may be serviceable to 
 you, in making you acquainted with the most respectable mer 
 chants, and in promoting connections with the country gentle 
 men, if you have a mind to form such. Mr. Hopkins has been 
 many years a commissioner of the Continental Loan Office. He 
 is well acquainted with everybody in that part of the country, has 
 been concerned in trade, is a man of good sense, and has always 
 supported a good character. 
 
 It is proper to inform you that Colo. Wood s, the Lieutenant 
 Governor s lady is a distant relation, a second cousin of ours, 
 and the daughter of the late Reverend Mr. Moncure, the most 
 valuable friend I ever had in my life. 
 
 Should you have occasion to lodge money any time in Rich 
 mond, the iron chests in the public treasury will be the safest 
 place. Colo. Harvie is a very intimate friend of Mr. Ambler, the 
 treasurer, and Mr. Marshall married one of his daughters ; either 
 of these gentlemen can procure you leave to do so. The present 
 price of tobacco at Richmond and Petersburg I am told is from 
 J 7 /6 to 20 / Virginia currency, upon Potomac 13 /, and I 
 believe almost any quantity could readily be bought here at 14 / 
 or at most 15 /. It is unfortunate you did not, immediately 
 upon the decree with respect to tobacco, charter and send out a 
 French ship or two. If you had at this instant three or four 
 French ships in the Potomac, they could be readily loaded upon 
 
FRIENDS IN RICHMOND. 339 
 
 consignment ; but I doubt you have lost the time and that it is now 
 too late to send orders for that purpose to France, as I have rea 
 son to believe several of the merchants here have advised their 
 correspondents in Europe to charter French ships as speedily as 
 they can. 
 
 Pray write to me as soon as you arrive ; a letter per post will 
 reach me in four or five days from Norfolk, and in two or three 
 from Richmond. I long to see you exceedingly, and so do all 
 your brothers and sisters ; yet I think if you load the ship in 
 James River, you had better not leave that part of the country, 
 until you despatch her. 
 
 Your brother George is in much better health than he has 
 been for two years past. He thinks he received much benefit, 
 last summer, from the use of the Augusta Springs. He and your 
 brother William spend this season there also. They set out the 
 day before yesterday, and don t intend to return before Sep 
 tember. 
 
 I wish to hear as soon as possible how your health is, and what 
 effect the voyage has had upon it ; I hope a good one, and am, 
 dear John, 
 
 Your most affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 Of the friends and acquaintances spoken of by Colonel 
 Mason in this letter, several will be recognized as prominent 
 names of contemporary statesmen. Colonel Bland, George 
 Mason s ally in the Convention, though a silent one ; " Mr. 
 Marshall," his able antagonist, who as Chief Justice was to 
 do so much later towards moulding the plastic form of the 
 new Confederation into its permanent shape, and giving it 
 that bias towards consolidation so much to be deplored ; 
 and Colonel Harvie, a member of the Continental Congress, 
 who was long a resident of Richmond, and afterwards 
 removed to " Belvidere," the beautiful country-seat of the 
 Byrds on James River. David Ross was a Scotch merchant 
 who acquired a large landed property in various parts of 
 Virginia s broad domain, and was the original owner of the 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
340 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 flour mills in Richmond afterwards belonging to the Haxalls. 
 His house, a wooden building on a cliff overlooking the 
 James River, was still standing in 1860. Mr. Jacqueline 
 Ambler, the Treasurer, was a son of Richard Ambler of York- 
 town, who had been a friend and correspondent of Colonel 
 Mason s mother. And Colonel Wood was connected with him 
 by marriage, as he has said. Extracts from a letter of Mrs. 
 Wood s have been given in a former chapter. Councillor 
 Carter wrote two letters to George Mason in August, 1791, 
 asking him " to sit as referee " in a case where his (Robert 
 Carter s) action as trustee of his father-in-law s estate had 
 been called in question. " The representatives " [the family 
 of Mrs. Elizabeth Lowndes of Bladensburg, a daughter, as 
 was Mrs. Carter, of the Hon. Benjamin Tasker], writes Colo 
 nel Carter, " are dissatisfied with my conduct in the business 
 mentioned before, and we have mutually chosen you to 
 hear and determine the matter of right." The 2Oth of Sep 
 tember was named as the time appointed for the decision, 
 which date apparently interfered with business of Colonel 
 Mason s, and his correspondent therefore proposed that the 
 former should appoint " both time and place for the hearing 
 of the matter." 
 
 1 Carter Letter-Books. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 1791-1792. 
 
 The new government had not been long in operation be 
 fore the contingency anticipated by George Mason in respect 
 to the Indiana Company arose the company bringing up 
 its claim against Virginia. There were other land schemes 
 agitated at this time also, such as the project of Morgan 
 and Gardoqui, which were calculated to affect seriously 
 Virginia s interests, and which were closely watched by her 
 representatives in Congress. 1 Colonel Morgan issued a hand 
 bill, " inviting a settlement under the authority of Spain at 
 New Madrid, near the mouth of the Ohio, on the Spanish 
 side," as William Grayson writes Patrick Henry in 1789. 
 The colonists were promised the free navigation of the Mis 
 sissippi, and a market at New Orleans free from duties for 
 all the produce of their lands. Morgan was a member of 
 the Indiana Company, and at the session of the Virginia 
 Assembly, October, 1791, he presented a " memorial of the 
 proprietors and share-holders of a tract of land called 
 Indiana." It set forth " that in the year 1776 they did 
 inform the General Assembly of the title to the said tract 
 of land, by a memorial then presented to them ; that al 
 though the legislature did afterward direct the said land to 
 be sold for the benefit of the State, and did refuse to allow 
 the memorialists any compensation therefor yet they are 
 convinced that this proceeded from a want of information 
 
 1 " Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. iv., p. 534. 
 341 
 
342 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 not then attainable ; and praying that their right to the said 
 land may be investigated in the manner most satisfactory to 
 the General Assembly, and in case it is established, that such 
 compensation may be made to them therefor, as is consist 
 ent with equity." 1 Roger West, one of the delegates in the 
 Assembly from Fairfax County, consulted George Mason as 
 to the course to be pursued, and the latter replied in the 
 following letter, from which extracts have been given in a 
 preceding chapter. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, November gth, 1791. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 Your favor of the 4th did not come to my hands until last 
 night, and the post leaving Colchester early to-morrow morning 
 does not leave me time to answer you upon so important a sub 
 ject as the Indiana claim, either to your satisfaction or to my own. 
 I have searched all my papers, endeavoring to find my former 
 argument in the Assembly, when I was appointed to collect the 
 evidence and manage the business on behalf of the Common 
 wealth, which (if I could have found it) would have given the 
 fullest information, but I imagine I must have lent it to some 
 member of the Assembly, who has never returned it, and con 
 ceiving the matter after so full an investigation and positive de 
 termination as it then had, forever at an end, I was the less 
 careful in preserving my notes and papers. Several depositions 
 were then produced and some witnesses examined at the bar of 
 the House, proving the mysterious and clandestine conduct of 
 Sir William Johnston (the King s agent) at the treaty at Fort 
 Stanwix, when the Indiana Company obtained their deed from 
 the Indians. The council books were also produced, in which 
 were many entries, previous to the Indiana Company s purchase, 
 for lands much further to the westward. The Indiana Company s 
 deed from the Indians was set aside and a declaratory act passed 
 upon the subject, as well as my memory serves me, in the May 
 session of 1779, principally upon the following points. First, the 
 purchase of the same lands from the Six Nations of Indians, at 
 the treaty of Lancaster in the year 1744, for the use of Virginia, 
 and paid for with our money. The book containing the records 
 
 1 Journal of the Assembly. 
 
LETTER TO ROGER WEST. 343 
 
 of this treaty and the deed of purchase was then produced, but I 
 have understood has been since destroyed, as well as all the other 
 Indian treaties, made here under the king s government, with the 
 books and papers of the council and of the Committee of Safety, 
 when General Arnold s troops burned the foundry at Westham 
 in which they had been placed upon the enemy s marching tow 
 ards Richmond. Second, because the Six Nations, who claimed 
 the lands by conquest, had lost their title (even if they had not 
 sold them at the treaty of Lancaster) by the same means by which 
 they first gained it conquest their tributaries and tenants, the 
 Shawnese and Delawares, with a mixture of the Six Nations 
 having been expelled, and driven over the Ohio (from whence 
 they never returned) and the lands on this side the Ohio con 
 quered in the war which happened a little before the Indiana 
 Company s purchase. Third, independent of the above reasons, 
 the deed to the Indiana Company by the law of Virginia ought 
 to have been recorded (like all other deeds) either in the county 
 where the land lay, as in Augusta, which was the then frontier 
 county of Virginia, or in the General Court, that for the want of 
 this the deed (if there had been no other objection) was void as 
 to all subsequent purchasers, and that the settlers upon the land 
 under Virginia titles, of which there were a great many before 
 the deed was recorded in Augusta, were in the equitable con 
 struction of the law, to be considered as purchasers. Fourth, 
 because the consideration of the deed was a compensation to the 
 Indian traders, for the losses they had suffered, and it was 
 thought they had no more right to require compensation than a 
 merchant who had his ship taken by an enemy s privateer, or any 
 other sufferer in the common calamities of war. Fifth, because 
 the traders to whom the Indian deed was made, being every one 
 of them citizens of Pennsylvania, from which this trade with the 
 Indians was carried on, if they had been entitled to compensation 
 at all, ought to have had such compensation out of the lands 
 under the chartered territory of Pennsylvania (for whose benefit 
 the trade had been carried on, by her own citizens) and not out 
 of the lands of Virginia, and this appeared in the strongest, or if 
 I may be allowed the expression, more barefaced point of view 
 as Pennsylvania had at that same treaty of Fort Stanwix made a 
 large purchase from the Indians of lands within her own charter. 
 
3/|/| LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 I presume the legislature cannot regularly give any decision in 
 favor of the Indiana Company without repealing the before men 
 tioned declaratory act, and the consequences of such a repeal 
 may extend much further and produce effects which may not at 
 first be foreseen. Among other things it would certainly open a 
 door to the revival of Col. Henderson s and Company s claim to 
 Kentucky, nor can any man tell when it would end. 
 
 In my humble opinion the matter s having been fully investigated, 
 the Indiana Company heard by their counsel at the bar of the House, 
 a dozen years ago, when there was much better evidence both 
 written and oral, than can now possibly be had, and a solemn 
 determination then made, is a sufficient reason against giving 
 any decision upon it now, when some of the witnesses are dead, 
 some removed we don t know where, and when even the record 
 evidence has been destroyed in the events of the late war. The 
 present applicant Mr. Morgan is entitled to as Yf\\\c\\ justice as any 
 other man, but surely a man who has endeavored to depopulate 
 the United States by seducing their citizens to quit their own 
 country and settle in the Spanish territory has little pretensions 
 to favor from us. 
 
 I have thus, sir, given you the best information upon the subject 
 the short time I had would allow. I remember the Indiana Com 
 pany when their claim at their own request was before the Assem 
 bly in 1779 produced in Williamsburg some English lawyers 
 opinions in their favor, upon a printed state of their case. To 
 show you (and if you think fit the Assembly) what sort of opinions 
 the English lawyers were accustomed to give, when the poor 
 American colonies and their rights were in question, I enclose 
 you an opinion of Mr. Attorney-General Pratt s in the year 1760 
 upon a dispute between the then proprietor of Maryland and the 
 people. Yet this is the same Mr. Pratt who has been since trans 
 formed into Lord Camden, the champion of liberty and the 
 defender of the rights of the people. I have long kept it as a 
 curiosity, you will therefore be pleased to take care of it and 
 return it to me. 
 
 I thank you exceedingly for getting Mr. John Hooe s petition 
 for a ferry postponed until the petition against it comes down. 
 It is still out among the people of this county, but I will endeavor 
 to get it as soon as possible and forward it to the Assembly, and 
 
SUIT BROUGHT BY INDIANA COMPANY. 345 
 
 have no doubt it will prove Mr. Hooe s projected new ferry not 
 only unnecessary but productive of much injury and oppression 
 to the people in its consequences, and calculated merely to serve 
 a local job. 
 
 I am with great respect, dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE MASON. 
 Roger West, Esq: 
 
 Now upon the General Assembly in Richmond. 1 
 
 The Indiana Company brought suit in the United States 
 Court against Virginia, and the Assembly of 1792 pronounced 
 upon the illegality of this proceeding. The committee, after 
 quoting from the journal of the Assembly for June 9, 17/9, 
 to show that the claim had been already decided, passed the 
 following resolution : 
 
 " That the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States does not and cannot extend to this case, it already having 
 been decided on before a tribunal fully competent to its decision ; 
 that the State cannot be made a defendant in the said court, at 
 the suit of any individual or individuals ; and that the executive 
 be requested to pursue such measures in this case, as may seem 
 most conducive to the interest, honor, and dignity of this Com 
 monwealth." 3 
 
 The claim had been prosecuted by the company for 
 twenty-nine years at an expense of over eighteen thousand 
 dollars, and it involved a tract of country embracing nearly 
 three millions of acres. 3 Its final overthrow was a benefit 
 both to Virginia and to the Union. 
 
 The opinion of Attorney-General Pratt, afterwards Lord 
 Camden, to which George Mason refers, is doubtless the one 
 given by him sustaining the claims made in 1757, by the 
 upper House of the Maryland Assembly to the appointment 
 of officers and the supervision of the acts of the lower 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
 3 Hening s " Statutes," vol. xiii. 
 
 3 " Virginia Calendar Papers," vol. vi. 
 
346 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 House. The upper House was the Council and consisted of 
 the appointees and creatures of the proprietor, Lord Balti 
 more. The opinion of the English lawyer concluded with 
 these words : 
 
 " The Upper House should take care how they admit encroach 
 ments of this kind, when they are supported by arguments drawn 
 from the exercise of the like rights in the Commons here. The 
 constitutions of the two assemblies differ fundamentally in many 
 respects. Our House of Commons stands upon its own laws ; 
 whereas Assemblies in the colonies are regulated by their respec 
 tive charters, usages, and the common law of England, and will 
 never be allowed to assume those which the House of Commons 
 are justly entitled to here, upon principles that neither can nor 
 must be applied to the colonies." 
 
 Mr. John Hooe s proposed new ferry was to have been 
 across the Occoquan River. And it seems, from the fact 
 that it was not established, that George Mason s views con 
 trolled the action of the Assembly. It was in this year, 
 1791, that Colonel Mason wrote his last political paper. It 
 relates to the division into Congressional districts. Virginia 
 had been divided into ten districts by the act of 1788. Of 
 these George Mason s district embraced the six counties of 
 Prince William, Stafford, Loudoun, Fairfax, King George* 
 and Fauquier. It is proposed, writes George Mason, at the 
 next Assembly to lay off the State into twenty-one Con 
 gressional districts. " The five counties of Stafford, Prince 
 William, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Fauquier (leaving out the 
 county of King George, to be added to some of the lower 
 counties) will now form two complete districts, and it will be 
 attempted to make Fairfax and Loudoun compose one of 
 these two districts ; and Stafford, Prince William, and Fau 
 quier compose the other district ; by which means the sub 
 stance of the right of suffrage, in electing members of 
 Congress will be taken from the people of Fairfax, and the 
 
 1 Scharf s " History of Maryland," vol. i., p. 503. 
 
VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. 347 
 
 name or shadow only left them." He gives his reasons for 
 believing that such a result will follow, and in a footnote 
 states what he thinks is the real motive of the " nefarious 
 project." This was to secure the election of Richard Bland 
 Lee, a Federalist. Colonel Mason s suggestion is that the 
 three small counties, Stafford, Prince William, and Fairfax, 
 should compose one district, and the two large counties, 
 Loudoun and Fauquier, the other, as in the districts for the 
 election of State senators, and in this way the small county 
 of Fairfax would not lose its voice in the election, as would 
 be the case if it was associated with a single, much larger 
 county. In the following year, 1792, the Assembly in 
 December, two months after George Mason s death, passed 
 an act forming nineteen Congressional districts instead of 
 the twenty-one anticipated. And the principle George 
 Mason contended for seems to have been in some measure 
 regarded. One district was formed of the large county of 
 Loudoun with the two small ones of Fairfax and Prince 
 William, while another district comprised the large county 
 of Fauquier and the two small counties of Culpepper and 
 Stafford. 1 George Mason s paper, which was probably writ 
 ten to be circulated among the freeholders of his county, 
 and to be used by its representatives in the Assembly, is full 
 of dignity, and is a clear and logical presentation of his 
 subject, basing its argument on the fundamental principles 
 of free government which its author had so often expounded 
 on greater occasions. But though the matter was not one 
 affecting a continent or a commonwealth, it involved a 
 political right and was therefore of value to the true patriot 
 and statesman, and makes a not unfitting close to his public 
 labors. 2 
 
 Colonel Mason s son John was still in Virginia, and some 
 notes to him from his father written in December, 1791, 
 bring to a conclusion the year s personal record for the 
 subject of our memoir. 
 
 1 Herring s " Statutes," vol. xiii. 
 
 2 Appendix v. 
 
348 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, December 6, 1791. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Having occasion to send the bearer, negro Charles, to Dr. 
 Craik, I take the opportunity by him, of informing you that I 
 expect my overseers, Green and Tugate, or one of them will go 
 to Alexandria to-morrow or next day, in my little boat. I will 
 direct them to apply to you, and you can let me know by them 
 whether you have sold my wheat, &c. I have also to desire you 
 will buy for me in town, upon the best terms you can for cash, 
 and send me down by the overseers, in my boat, the articles per 
 list on the other side. It will be best to have them ready for the 
 overseers before they come up, that the boat may not be detained, 
 and I will repay you the money for them when you return to 
 Gunston. I forgot to ask you whether you had taken out for me 
 (as I desired) from the Alexandria inspectors, the notes for my 
 little Hunting Creek crop, of which I gave you a memorandum. 
 If you have not pray take them out now, and bring them to me 
 when you come to Gunston. Notes have not been issued for any 
 of the said crop, except one hogshead, for which I gave Mitchell, 
 the overseer an order. 
 
 Since you went away I have been reflecting upon the situation 
 you are in with the ships you are now loading, and that if you 
 don t get the tobacco speedily they may perhaps be stopped by 
 the ice. Rather than you should incur this risk, I will ship you, 
 on board of both, or either of your ships (besides the notes 
 already delivered you), sixty-five hogsheads of tobacco, which 
 I have by me, four of which are in Aquia, two at the Falls, and 
 all the rest at Chickamuxon, Dumfries, Colchester, and Alexan 
 dria. Lindsay at Colchester owes me five hogsheads which he 
 has told me were ready whenever I called for them. If they are, 
 and I will send to him to-day to know, you may have them also, 
 as they may enable you to leave out the tobacco at Aquia or the 
 Falls, as may best answer your purpose. If you find it necessary 
 to take the tobacco I offer it will be proper to advise me of 
 it without delay. . . . The reason I did not incline to ship 
 this tobacco when I gave you the other notes, was that it is com 
 mon, ordinary, light tobacco, and I was dubious of the quality 
 answering the French market, now that the emulation among the 
 individual manufacturers will occasion a demand for tobaccos of 
 
TOBACCO SHIPPED TO FRANCE. 349 
 
 superior qualities, though considering the present low price and 
 unpromising prospects here, I think I can hardly lose by shipping 
 in French bottoms. 
 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, December 15, 1791. 
 
 12 o clock. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Your brother George having occasion to send to Alexandria, I 
 take the opportunity of writing by his messenger, and wish to hear 
 whether most of your long expected craft has arrived, and whether 
 you have secured tobacco enough for both of your ships, &c. 
 Thinking you would be glad to hear how your craft in Occoquan 
 is going on, I sent this morning to know. Mr. Bayley writes me 
 that the craft which took in tobacco from Colchester warehouse 
 for you, a few days ago, got out of Occoquan yesterday, and he 
 imagines is at Alexandria before this time ; and that another 
 craft of yours, I presume that which went to Chickamuxon for 
 my tobacco there, is now at the wharf at Colchester taking in 23 
 hhds. of my tobaccos and 5 hhds. shipped by Mr. Carter of 
 " Nomini " and will go off this evening. The mercury is now at 
 40 degrees in Fahrenheit s thermometer, 8 degrees above the 
 freezing point. If this weather holds another day it will cer 
 tainly open all the creeks. Indeed I expect the creek at Dum 
 fries will be open this afternoon, so that if the shippers of the 
 craft do their duty, all your tobaccos from these warehouses will 
 be up this week. About Christmas, or two or three days before, 
 the winter s frost may probably set in, before which time I hope 
 you may be able to get your ships loaded and down the river. 
 After you have made your arrangements, with respect to my 
 tobacco and got it on board the ships, give me the earliest in 
 formation you can, that I may have my letters, &c., ready. You 
 know it is my custom to enclose exact lists of the marked numbers 
 and weights [gross, tare, and nett] of my tobacco, with the bills of 
 lading. 
 
 Pray tell Mr. Wilson I am surprised at his not having sent a 
 vessel for my wheat, being very anxious to have it taken away 
 
350 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 before the frost sets in ; and therefore desire the opportunity 
 this fine weather affords may not be lost. 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 P. S. Please get me a good closet lock and send it by the 
 bearer if from Mr. Hodgson s to be charged to my account, if 
 from any other store you will please to pay the cash for it. 
 
 John Mason, Esq : 
 Alexandria. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, December 23, 1791. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Enclosed you have my letters for Bordeaux and Marseilles, 
 which I hope will be in time for the ships. Indeed I fear last 
 night s hard frost has blocked them up, though if to-day and to 
 morrow turn out mild weather, the river will open again, as the 
 ice is but thin yet. . . . And you will give the proper direc 
 tions about your brother Thomas s watch, and about the four 
 pieces of coarse grey blankets I have ordered from Bordeaux. 
 
 The overseer gave me a little bit of small cordage you sent down 
 to see if it would answer for leading lines. Leading lines should 
 be a very small size larger, and twisted in a different manner, 
 viz., what is called cable-laid ; they should also be made of the 
 soundest, strongest hemp. ... I have ordered the bearer, 
 Joe, to carry up a portmanteau, saddle and mail pillion, as you 
 desired, and hope to see you at Gunston on Saturday. 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 1 
 
 This last letter, written two days before Christmas, shows 
 us that John Mason was expected home for the holidays. 
 And no doubt there was a happy family party assembled on 
 this occasion. George Mason from " Lexington," with his 
 wife and children, were near enough to drive over to 
 " Gunston " at any time. William Mason was then living 
 with his father, though he afterwards removed permanently 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
ACCOUNT OF COLONEL MASON S FAMILY. 351 
 
 to " Mattawoman," the old Eilbeck place in Maryland. 
 Thomson Mason s house, " Hollin Hall," on an estate in 
 Fairfax, adjoining that of " Mount Vcrnon," was built for 
 him by his father about this time. Thomas Mason lived in 
 Alexandria in these years, though he settled later at "Wood- 
 bridge," his estate in Prince William County. John Mason, 
 after his final return from France, made his home on Mason s 
 Island, near Georgetown, bequeathed him in his father s will, 
 and there called Barbadoes. Mrs. McCarty was living at 
 "Cedar Grove," in the neighborhood of "Gunston Hall." 
 And of the three other sisters, two of them were located in 
 adjoining counties not far distant. Mary, Mrs. Cooke, lived 
 at " West Farm," in Stafford County, and Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 Thornton, at " The Cottage," in King George County. Ann, 
 the eldest daughter and her father s house-keeper during 
 his widowhood, had been married now some years, and her 
 home was at " Aquasco," in Prince George County, Mary 
 land. These brothers and sisters were an affectionate and 
 united family, and John Mason wrote of their early home- 
 life together as a very harmonious and happy one. And 
 he says : 
 
 " I can add with truth as I do with infinite pleasure, and as a 
 just tribute to the memories of my brothers and sisters, all of 
 whom have now for some years departed this life, that the most 
 sincere, constant affection and interchange of kindly offices sub 
 sisted afterwards among us all. And that there never was, to the 
 best of my knowledge, a single quarrel or even a transient cool 
 ness that ever took place between any of us." : 
 
 The affection between George Mason and his children was 
 very close and tender, as the letters of the former to his two 
 sons amply testify. As the daughters were all settled so 
 near him, but little occasion arose for correspondence no 
 doubt, as was the case also with the three sons who did not 
 go abroad. 
 
 1 MS. of General John Mason. 
 
352 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Early in January John Mason left " Gunston " again for a 
 trip to Philadelphia and New York. His father was suffer 
 ing at the time from an attack of the gout, as we learn from 
 this letter to his son : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, January 23d, 1792. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 I received your letter from Baltimore of the yth inst. and am 
 glad to hear you were like to meet with no disappointment in re 
 ceiving my money from Messrs. Smiths, and making the payment 
 I desired to Mr. Dulany. I was in hopes he would readily have 
 given up the interest during the war, as I believe every British 
 creditor who has received his debt, without a suit, has done it ; 
 and the Supreme Courts in this State, and I believe in most, if 
 not all the others, have constantly deducted it. There was, I 
 understand, an opinion given in the federal court in Connecticut 
 (though I believe not a final one) that interest upon British debts 
 was recoverable, which I suppose is what Mr. Dulany alluded to. 
 I wish I had thought to have desired you, just to make the ex 
 periment, whether he would not have given up the interest during 
 the war, by telling him that upon those terms only, the money 
 would be immediately paid. I am very anxious to hear the last 
 news from France. I presume you got your letters by the ships, 
 that had arrived at Baltimore from Bordeaux, the day after you 
 wrote to me. 
 
 I am also anxious to hear that you keep your health, being 
 apprehensive that this extreme cold weather (which is probably 
 still more severe to the Northward) will not agree with your con 
 stitution. The snow is now as deep here as it was in the hard 
 winter of 1740, indeed I think deeper than I ever saw it, except 
 in the winter of 1773. It will occasion, I expect, great losses in 
 the stocks of cattle in this part of the country, badly as it is 
 provided with provender, from the short crops of corn and 
 hay. 
 
 I have just recovered from the fit of the gout you left me in, 
 and am now able to walk about the house, though still a little 
 lame. In every other respect, thank God, I am in good health. 
 It has proved, however, a pretty severe fit, though a regular one 
 and remained confined to one of my feet. 
 
THE POTOMAC RIVER BRIDGE. 353 
 
 Present me to my friend Col. Monroe, and tell him I should 
 have done myself the honor of answering his letters sooner, had 
 not the gout forbid me, for it is not without pain that I am yet 
 able to sit at a table and write. 
 
 I have received a letter from Mr. Stoddert upon the subject 
 of the projected bridge, in which he gives me at large the 
 same reasons he did you to persuade me that its effects will be 
 favorable to a town on my land on this side the river. I verily 
 believe he is of that opinion himself, for I know him a man of 
 great candor. I enclose you a copy of my answer to him, by 
 which you will see I am willing to compromise with the gentle 
 men, upon fair and reasonable terms, though I thought it best at 
 present to leave the matter open, to see if they are inclined to 
 offer me such. Besides that I wish to act liberally on the occa 
 sion, I have some particular reasons for desiring to avoid any 
 dispute with them, which I will communicate to you when I see 
 you. The effects of the bridge as well as the practicability of 
 the execution are very doubtful, and I am at some loss to esti 
 mate what will be a just and reasonable compensation. I would 
 not willingly ask more nor take less. What do you think of 
 agreeing to take, forever, a certain part (say about a fifth) of 
 the gross tolls or money received annually for passengers &c., 
 without my having any concern in the building, repairs or 
 expences of the bridge ? I wish you would endeavor to make 
 yourself acquainted with, and inform me, of the tolls or rates 
 taken at the bridge from Boston to Charles Town, and the 
 annual amount of the money received. It is probable Mr. 
 Gerry, or some of the Massachusetts gentlemen in Congress, 
 can inform you. Or if you will write to Mr. Gorham he can 
 give you the fullest information being, if I recollect right, one 
 of the proprietors and managers. I should be glad also to 
 know the length and breadth of the Boston bridge, the width 
 of the spaces on each side for foot passengers, and the space 
 in the middle for carriages. Pray let me hear from you as 
 often as you conveniently can. Tell me how you have your 
 health, whether you have determined to go any further east 
 ward than New York, and when we may expect to see you 
 again at Gunston. Your brother George and his family are 
 well : he keeps his health this winter better than could have 
 
354 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 been expected, for I dreaded the effect of this severe weather 
 upon him. 
 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 per post 
 
 Mr. John Mason, 
 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 If Mr. Mason should have left Philadelphia, recommended to 
 the care of Mr. Joseph Anthony to forward to him. 1 
 
 In May Colonel Mason wrote the following letter of 
 business to John Francis Mercer : 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, May i2th, 1792. 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 I yesterday received a letter (forwarded by Mr. Johnson) from 
 you, dated the 23rd October, 1791, covering an old letter from 
 Mr. Rutland to you, respecting some land he said he had upon 
 James river. Had this letter come to my hands in Rutland s life 
 time it might have enabled me to have examined into the title, 
 situation and value of the land, and perhaps, by it, to have 
 secured part of my debt ; at present I do not know that it 
 will be of any use to me. 
 
 I wrote to you last fall, respecting two bonds from the late Mr. 
 George Frazer Hawkins, to me which I had formerly put into 
 your hands, and enclose you a memorandum of the dates and 
 amounts of them ; but I have not been favored with any answer 
 from you upon the subject, and Mr. Johnson tells me you do not 
 recollect having had them. If I now had the bonds I could find 
 means of obtaining the debt, and must entreat you to search for 
 them. I remember, at the time I gave them to you (in my own 
 house) seeing you put them into a pocket book you then had with 
 you. They must certainly be somewhere among your papers, 
 and if carefully searched for, I have no doubt may be found. 
 In case you cannot find them, I have to request that you will 
 advise me what manner I shall proceed to ascertain and recover 
 the debts ; for the sum is too large for me to lose, if the loss can 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
L A IV S UI TS IN MA R YLA ND. 355 
 
 be avoided. The said bonds are regularly entered and charged 
 in my ledger. I can prove by Col. Lyles (who transacted the 
 business with Mr. Hawkins for me) that he took two such bonds 
 from Mr. Hawkins, on my behalf, though perhaps he may not 
 recollect the precise dates, or respective amounts. These bonds 
 were both put in suit in Prince George s county court against 
 Mr. Hawkins, and the suits abated by his death ; and it appears 
 from the records of that court, that the two actions of debt, 
 George Mason vs. George Frazer Hawkins, respectively corre 
 spond exactly with the bonds charged in my ledger ; that is, the 
 said suits are exactly par double the sum (as the penalty) of each 
 of the bonds charged in my ledger. Upon the abatement of the 
 suits, on Mr. Hawkins s death, I withdrew the bonds from the 
 clerk s office of Prince George s county, and after having kept 
 them some time by me, gave them to you, that you might join my 
 claim to those of some of the other creditors, who I understood 
 had filed a bill in chancery, in order to subject Mr. Hawkins s 
 lands to the payment of his bond-debts, during the minority of 
 his devisees. Perhaps you may have lodged them in the chan 
 cery office for this purpose. I have cause to believe there are, or 
 soon will be assets in the hands of his executors, or rather in the 
 hands of his administrators, de bonis non, I beg you will let me 
 hear from you upon this subject, as soon as you have had time to 
 make the proper inquiries. 
 
 I am altogether unacquainted with the present state of my suit 
 with Mr. David Ross. I have wrote to Mr. Luther Martin once 
 or twice lately about it, but can get no answer from him, and 
 have reason to believe it has been very much neglected by him. 
 When I conversed with you about it last, you were of opinion 
 that it would not be proper (Mr. Ross s father having obtained a 
 patent for the land) to venture a trial at common law, upon the 
 ejectment, until we had either obtained a patent from the land 
 office, upon Mr. Bladen s certificate of survey, of many years 
 older date than Mr. Ross s patent, survey, or warrant, assigned to 
 me by Mr. Benjamin Tasker, Mr. Bladen s attorney in fact, a 
 patent ordered to be issued thereon to me, and the patent to me 
 actually drawn, but before the governor had affixed the seal, and 
 stopped by a caveat from Mr. Ross s father, and the caveat never 
 tried. Or else that we should by a bill in chancery, endeavor 
 
356 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 either to vacate Mr. Ross s patent, or compel him to convey to 
 me so much thereof as is included in Mr. Bladen s certificate of 
 survey for the tract called the " Pleasant Valley." The papers 
 and statement in yours and Mr. Martin s hands, give all the in 
 formation I am able to furnish, and I hope you will now be able 
 to attend to it, for I am extremely anxious to have the matter 
 fairly and speedily tried, upon its real merits, so that the title 
 may be clearly and finally settled, and enable me, if settled in my 
 favor, to sell the land, in order to close the Ohio Company s 
 affairs as speedily as possible. 
 
 I am, with great regard, dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 John F. Mercer, Esq., 
 Annapolis. 1 
 
 Colonel Mason seems to have suffered some annoyances 
 with his Maryland lawyers. First Mr. Thomas Stone, as he 
 thinks, is a little careless of his Virginia client s interests, 
 then Luther Martin, his Convention friend, proves forgetful 
 and will not answer his letters, and lastly his relative, Mr. 
 Mercer, cannot find some bonds that had been put in his 
 hands while on a visit at " Gunston Hall." Doubtless 
 George Mason, with his orderly habits and prompt methods, 
 could not always make allowances for the busy advocates 
 who were managing his affairs. Subsequent letters from 
 George Mason of " Lexington," written after his father s 
 death to John F. Mercer, show him winding up the Ohio 
 Company s concerns as Colonel Mason s executor. The 
 latter had left a statement in his own handwriting of the 
 Ohio Company s funds. The dividend when collected 
 would amount to 102 \2s. gd. James and John Francis 
 Mercer, as members of the Company, were to receive their 
 share. 
 
 The last letters of George Mason that are known to be 
 extant were written to his son John in May and August, 
 1792: 
 
 1 MS. Letter. 
 
LAST LETTERS TO HIS SON. 357 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, May 22, 1792. 
 DEAR JOHN : 
 
 Your man Lewis arrived here this morning with letters from 
 you and your brother Tom. 
 
 I am glad to hear my tobacco on board the Auguste, Capt. Ca- 
 bella, is insured, and thank you for the directions you have given 
 Messrs. Cathalan s respecting it. I have never heard in what 
 manner this vessel was lost, or whether her crew or any part of 
 the cargo was saved ; nor have I yet heard anything of the French 
 brig you loaded at Alexandria for Bordeaux, on board which I 
 had fifty hogsheads of tobacco. As I understand some very good 
 accounts of sales for good Virginia tobacco have lately been re 
 ceived from London, I think it probable you may be able to resell, 
 to advantage, the tobacco you have purchased if you should find 
 it necessary. 
 
 The prodigious fall of exchange between France and foreign 
 countries, and the great and continuing depreciation of their 
 assignats, are truly alarming circumstances, such as I very much 
 fear will be productive of general dissatisfaction and confusion, 
 and render it extremely difficult if not impracticable, to keep up 
 an army and support an expensive war. This summer must, I 
 presume, bring things to a crisis, and show the nation with 
 certainty, what they are to expect from the great powers of 
 Europe. Prussia, I have no doubt, would be ready enough to 
 guaranty the Low Countries to the Emperor, but I think the Eng 
 lish government will hardly hazard so unpopular a measure. 
 
 As I shall forward this letter by the first post, I am in hopes it 
 will find you in Norfolk, and shall therefore trouble you with the 
 execution of a piece of business there, which though at first 
 a trifle, is by the unexpected delay I have met with in it, now 
 become an object of considerable importance to me. I wanted a 
 few, a hundred feet of cypress scantling for the columns, rails, 
 ballusters &c of the piazzas and steps to your brother Thomson s 
 house. None of this scantling being large, it might, I dare say at 
 any time have been procured in a fortnight, if attention had been 
 paid to it. About this time twelvemonth or sooner, I wrote 
 to Mr. John Brent and enclosed him an exact bill of this scant 
 ling and at the same time a memorandum of a large quantity of 
 shingles I wanted, and desiring to know if they could be got at 
 
358 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Norfolk so as to be landed here in the course of last sum 
 mer or fall. I limited the price of the shingles, but as the quan 
 tity of cypress scantling was small I limited no price to that, but 
 desired Mr. Brent to have it got as soon as he could, and sent up 
 by the first vessel to Potomac river, to be landed about five 
 or six miles below Alexandria, just at the upper end of General 
 Washington s estate, and a very little below the large Pocorson, 
 that runs from the mouth of Great Hunting Creek two or three 
 miles down the river. Mr. Brent wrote me that the shingles 
 could not be procured at the price I had limited, but that I 
 might depend upon the scantling s being immediately got and 
 sent up by the first vessel, at all events in the course of the sum 
 mer (viz. : last summer). It not coming I have wrote repeatedly 
 to Mr. Brent, twice this spring per post, but have had no answer. 
 The captain of the packet from Alexandria to Norfolk was 
 desired to speak to Mr. Brent about it. Mr. Brent told him 
 the scantling was got, but had not been brought to Norfolk 
 but that it should be at Norfolk, ready for the packet when she 
 came down the next trip. The next trip the same excuse was 
 made and the same promise repeated. In short I find Mr. Brent 
 so careless and inattentive a man that no dependence or con 
 fidence can be placed in him. When the packet was at Alexan 
 dria some time ago your brother Thomson gave the captain a bill 
 of this scantling, and desired the captain if when he went next to 
 Norfolk Mr. Brent had not the scantling then ready for him to 
 depend no longer upon him, but to have the scantling got and 
 brought to Norfolk himself and bring it up with him. The 
 packet went from Alexandria a few days ago, and is now, I sup 
 pose, at Norfolk, where perhaps she may continue some time. I 
 have lately got all the shingles, which with all the weather board 
 ing are ready to put up. The house will be raised next week, and 
 I am in danger of having the building stopped, and half a dozen 
 workmen upon my hands, doing nothing, for want of this small 
 quantity of cypress scantling, without which the piazzas can t be 
 raised. What I have therefore to beg of you is to inquire imme 
 diately of Mr. Brent and the captain of the packet, and if neither 
 of them have already had the scantling got that you will endeavor 
 to have it got with all possible expedition, and sent up by the 
 packet now the"re, or if this can t be done, by the packet the next 
 
THOMSON MASON OF " IfOLLIN HALL." 359 
 
 trip, or by any other vessel which may happen to be coming 
 to Alexandria soon. 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 GUNSTON HALL, August 2oth, 1792. 
 DEAR JOHN, 
 
 About four or five years ago Mr. Henderson imported from 
 Scotland, upon annual wages, two stonemasons, James Reid and 
 Alexander Watson, very good workmen. Since the expiration of 
 their contract with Mr. Henderson they have been working in 
 Dumfries and about that part of the country, and last year made 
 some free stone chimney-pieces for Col. Cooke which I think 
 are well done and upon reasonable terms, to the best of my recol 
 lection, a guinea each. Being desirous to get these men to make 
 four free stone chimney-pieces for your brother Thomson s house, 
 I sent down to Dumfries three or four days ago to get one of 
 them to come up to take the dimensions of your brother Thom 
 son s chimneys that they might immediately get the chimney- 
 pieces, but was informed they are both at work at George Town, 
 I suppose about the new bridge building over Rock Creek. I 
 must therefore beg you will inquire them out, and see if you can 
 get them to do your brother s chimney-pieces, as soon as the Rock 
 Creek bridge is finished, which I am told will be by the last of 
 this month, and that, in the meantime, the sooner the better, you 
 will endeavor to get one of them to ride down to your brother 
 Thomson s to take the dimensions of the four chimneys, for which 
 he wants free stone chimney-pieces, and also of the fire place in 
 his best room, and give directions for a marble chimney-piece to 
 be sent for to England, unless one of those you have to dispose of 
 will suit it, or can be made by them to do so, which you will know 
 by getting the man to examine them after he returns from your 
 brother s. If you can get one of these men to go down to your 
 brother Thomson s you will be kind enough to let your man 
 Lewis go down with him to show him the way, and you will hire 
 a horse upon my account for the man to ride. I purpose that 
 these men shall get the stone themselves for Thomson s chimney- 
 pieces and hearth stones, either at Aquia or at the quarry near 
 Dumfries, whichever they think the best stone, and I will carry 
 them from thence to your brother Thomson s. 
 
360 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 This letter will be delivered you by our cousin, young George 
 Mason of Pohick, by whom you will let me know whether you 
 can get these men to do the chimney-pieces ; and also how com 
 mon tobacco in George Town warehouse sells at present, and if 
 likely to rise ? 
 
 I see in a late Alexandria newspaper notice of an intended 
 application to the Virginia Assembly at the next session for their 
 projected bridge over Potomac River, opposite, or nearly opposite 
 to George Town, and for a condemnation of land to join the 
 Southern abutment to, and for a road, if necessary. You should 
 take care to be fully prepared in time with a true plan and repre 
 sentation of the situation of the place as connected both with 
 George Town and the federal city, the comparative width of a bridge 
 in each of the places (that proposed by them above and that to and 
 from the Island) ; the true depth of water in both places should 
 be ascertained, in which I would not have you trust to any repre 
 sentation of theirs, and everything so done as to be authenticated 
 by affidavits : the new bridge over the mouth of Rock Creek 
 should also be laid down. And I think it would be of great im 
 portance if by writing to Mr. L Enfant you could procure his 
 opinion, with his reasons, in favor of a bridge at the Island, not 
 letting the George Town people know that you make any such 
 application. 
 
 I am something better than when you left me ; my fevers have 
 left me, but I am still very weak and low. 
 I am, dear John, 
 
 Your very affectionate father, 
 
 G. MASON. 
 John Mason, Esq : 
 
 George Town, Maryland. 
 By favor of Mr. George Mason, Junr., of Pohick. 
 
 What were George Mason s sentiments regarding the gen 
 eral government which he had seen inaugurated with so 
 many misgivings ? We have caught a glimpse of them 
 through Jefferson s letter of February, 1791, and from the 
 same source, in connection with a significant phrase in one 
 of Washington s letters, George Mason s views may be very 
 
 1 Mason Papers. 
 
GEORGE MASON S POLITICAL SENTIMENTS. 361 
 
 clearly determined. Jefferson wrote to Washington on the 
 23d of May, 1792, urging him to come forward for a second 
 presidential term, and giving him a remarkably candid 
 review of the objections that had been made to the admin 
 istration of the government. These objections Washington 
 repeats in a confidential letter to Alexander Hamilton, 
 classifying them under twenty-one several specifications. 1 
 Washington writes Hamilton on the 2Qth of July, from 
 " Mount Vcrnon," and says that on his way home and since 
 his arrival he had sought to learn " the sentiments which 
 are entertained of public measures." He finds that even 
 the moderate men, friends of the government, are alarmed 
 "at that system of policy and those interpretations," and he 
 adds : " Others less friendly, perhaps, to the government, 
 and more disposed to arraign the conduct of its officers 
 (among whom may be classed my neighbor and quondam 
 friend Col. M.), go further, and enumerate a variety of 
 matters, which, as well as I recollect, may be adduced under 
 the following heads." The " variety of matters " as given 
 by Washington, in Jefferson s words, are evidently to be 
 traced through the latter to George Mason. This is the last 
 time that Washington mentions his old friend, in his corre 
 spondence, and it does not seem likely there was much 
 intercourse just then between " Gunston Hall " and " Mount 
 Vernon." There is nothing, however, in George Mason s 
 letters to show any diminution of the friendship between 
 himself and Washington, though it is evident from what he 
 writes to his son in March, 1789, that he feared some such 
 alienation would arise. The objections, then, of George 
 Mason, Jefferson, and others, to the measures of the federal 
 government, related in the first place to the financial system 
 introduced by the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander 
 Hamilton. In carrying out those schemes, affecting the 
 public debt, the impost, the excise, " paper speculation," 
 etc., wrote Jefferson, " a corrupt squadron, deciding the 
 
 i "Writings of Washington," Sparks, vol. x., p. 250; and Appendix xii., 
 p. 504. 
 
362 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 voice of the legislature have manifested their dispositions to 
 get rid of the limitations imposed by the constitution of the 
 general legislature, limitations on the faith of which the 
 States acceded to that instrument." The only hope of 
 safety from the designs of these monarchists is in the 
 " numerous representation which is to come forward the 
 ensuing year" (1793). Jefferson in his letter concludes: 
 " I can scarcely contemplate a more incalculable evil than 
 the breaking of the Union into two or more parts," etc. 
 Washington, giving the plural pronoun, to include George 
 Mason and others, writes : 
 
 " They declare they can contemplate no evil more incalculable, 
 than the breaking of the Union into two or more parts ; yet when 
 they view the mass, which opposed the original coalescence, they 
 consider that it lay chiefly in the Southern quarter, and that the 
 legislature have availed themselves of no occasion of allaying it, 
 but, on the contrary, whenever Northern and Southern prejudices 
 have come into conflict, the latter has been sacrificed and the 
 former soothed. . . . That the Antifederal champions are 
 now strengthened in argument by the fulfilment of their pre 
 dictions, which have been brought about by monarchical Federal 
 ists themselves. . . . They have themselves adopted the very 
 constructions of the Constitution, of which, when advocating the 
 acceptance before the tribunal of the people, they declared it 
 unsusceptible ; whilst the republican Federalists, who espoused 
 the same government for its intrinsic merits, are disarmed of their 
 weapons, that which they denied as prophecy being now become 
 true history. Who, therefore, can be sure, they ask that these 
 things may not proselyte the small number, which was wanting 
 to place the majority on the other side ? And this, they add, is 
 the event at which they tremble." l 
 
 Thomas Jefferson, so soon to become the leader of a 
 triumphant Republican (or Democratic) party, which was to 
 carry out in the government, as far as possible, the States- 
 rights views of George Mason, turned with the affection and 
 
 ibid. 
 
LAST WORDS TO JEFFERSOX. 363 
 
 reverence of a disciple to the retired sage of " Gunston 
 Hall." It is evident that he had much correspondence with 
 him, and was eager to know his views on all public matters. 
 And in the spirit of Elias to the departing Elijah, the 
 younger statesmen visited and consulted with George Mason, 
 in the last weeks of the latter s life, gathering from his own 
 lips the final expression of a mind still as vigorous as ever 
 and imbued to the end with the patriot s devotion to free 
 dom. The mantle of the prophet was to fall on the shoulders 
 of one who, in his turn, and on a wider theatre, was to 
 preach the creed of that political gospel on which depends 
 the conservation of community independence and of personal 
 liberty. Jefferson left " Monticello " on the 22d of Septem 
 ber, on his way to Philadelphia, where Congress was to meet 
 early in November. He stopped, on his way, both at 
 " Mount Vernon" and "Gunston Hall." His conferences 
 at the latter place, as recorded in the Anas, are prefaced 
 with these words: "Gunston Hall, September 3Oth, 1792, 
 ex-rclatione George Mason." It was thus on the last day of 
 September, just a week before George Mason s death, that 
 this conversation was held. Jefferson reports the talk of 
 his host on the subject of the Federal Convention and its 
 work : 
 
 " The constitution as agreed to till a fortnight before the Con 
 vention rose, was such a one as he would have set his hand and 
 heart to. i. The president was to be elected for seven years, then 
 ineligible for seven years more. 2. Rotation in the Senate. 3. 
 A vote of two-thirds on particular subjects, and expressly on that 
 of navigation^ The three New England States were constantly 
 with us in all questions, Rhode Island not there, and New York 
 seldom ; so that it was these three States, with the five Southern 
 States, against Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. With 
 respect to the importation of slaves, it was left to Congress. This 
 disturbed the two Southernmost States, who knew that Congress 
 would immediately suppress the importation of slaves. Those 
 two States, therefore, struck up a bargain with the three New 
 England States, that if they would join to admit slaves for some 
 
364 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 years, the two Southernmost States would join in changing the 
 clause which required two-thirds of the legislature in any vote. 
 It was done. The articles were changed accordingly, and from 
 that moment the two Southernmost States and the three Northern 
 ones joined Pennsylvania, Jersey and Delaware, and made the 
 majority of eight to three against us, instead of eight to three for 
 us, as it had been through the whole Convention. Under this 
 coalition, the great principles of the Constitution were changed 
 in the last days of the Convention. The Constitution as agreed 
 to at first was, that amendments might be proposed either by 
 Congress or the legislatures. A committee were appointed to 
 digest and redraw. Gouverneur Morris and King were of the 
 committee. One morning Gouverneur Morris moved an instru 
 ment for certain alterations (not one-half the members yet come 
 in). In a hurry and without understanding, it was agreed to. 
 The committee reported so that Congress should have the exclu 
 sive power of proposing amendments. George Mason observed 
 it on the report and opposed it. King denied the construction. 
 Mason demonstrated it, and asked the committee by what 
 authority they had varied what had been agreed. G. Morris 
 then imprudently got up and said by authority of the Convention, 
 and produced the blind instruction before mentioned, which was 
 unknown by one-half of the House, and not till then understood 
 by the other. They then restored it as it originally stood." 
 
 As to the existing administration and its course : 
 
 " He [Mason] said he considered Hamilton as having done us 
 more injury than Great Britain and all her fleets and armies. That 
 his [Mason s] plan of settling our debt would have been something 
 in this way. He would have laid as much tax as could be paid 
 without oppressing the people ; particularly he would have laid 
 an impost of about the amount first laid by Congress, but some 
 what different in several of its articles. He would have suspended 
 all application of it one year, during which an office should have 
 been open to register unalienated certificates. At the end of the 
 year he would have appropriated his revenue, ist, To pay the 
 civil list ; 2nd, The interest of these certificates ; 3rd, Instal 
 ments of the principal ; 4th, A surplus to buy up the alienated 
 certificates, still avoiding to make any other provision for these 
 
HIS DEA Til A T " GUNS TON HALL" 365 
 
 last. By the time the unalienated certificates should have been 
 all paid, he supposed half the alienated ones would have been 
 bought up at market. He would then have proceeded to redeem 
 the residue of them." 
 
 These notes of George Mason s conversation by Thomas 
 Jefferson are the last words of his that have come down 
 to us. 
 
 George Mason died at " Gunston Hall " in the sixty-sev 
 enth year of his age, on the afternoon of Sunday, the /th of 
 October, 1792, and was buried by the side of his wife in the 
 family graveyard on the estate. 2 He had evidently been 
 suffering for some time from his old enemy the gout most 
 probably as he speaks in his letter to his son, the 2Oth of 
 August, of his " fevers " having left him, but that he is still 
 " very weak and low." On the 3Oth of September, however, 
 he was able to see Jefferson, and to converse with him freely 
 on matters of public importance. There was probably some 
 obituary notice of Colonel Mason in the Virginia Gazette 
 but no complete file of the paper for this year can be found. 
 In the Maryland Journal, published in Baltimore, there is 
 the following announcement of George Mason s death, 
 though the date assigned is incorrect. " On the I4th 
 ult. died, at Gunston Hall in Fairfax County, Virginia, 
 the Hon. George Mason, Esquire. In addition to his emi 
 nent talents as a statesman, he was a gentleman of great 
 Virtues and Patriotism." The Gentleman s Magazine for 
 January, 1793, contained also a notice of the death of this 
 distinguished American patriot, and the date is there rightly 
 given as October 7th : " At his domain of Gunston Hall, in 
 Fairfax County, Virginia, in the 67th year of his age, Col. 
 
 Jefferson MSS. In neither of the editions of "Jefferson s Works" are 
 these extracts printed correctly. Compare vol. ix., pp. 118-120. In Ran 
 dolph s "Jefferson," 1829, vol. iv., they are omitted altogether from the 
 " Anas." 
 
 2 Entry in the Gunston Bible. 
 
 3 The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, Friday, November 2, 
 1792. 
 
366 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 George Mason." Then follows the extract from his will 
 recommending a private station to his sons, but charging them 
 to defend and cherish the liberties of their country. 1 There 
 remains no account of George Mason s funeral, and unfortu 
 nately neither Washington nor Jefferson could have been 
 present, as they had repaired to the seat of government in 
 Philadelphia before his death occurred, Jefferson arriving 
 there on the 5th. On the 1st of October he was with Wash 
 ington at " Mount Vernon." At Washington s funeral some 
 years later, a son of George Mason was one of the intimate 
 circle of friends invited to attend the ceremonies. No stone, 
 unhappily, marks the grave of George Mason. The five sons, 
 who all survived him, doubtless proposed to pay this filial 
 tribute to a parent so revered and beloved. But they left the 
 purpose unaccomplished. One of the grandsons, in his 
 generation, contemplated the erection of a suitable memorial 
 to his great ancestor. But only the plan and inscription 
 remain to testify to the pious design. In a letter to 
 his cousin, Hon. James Murray Mason, George Mason of 
 " Hollin Hall " and " Spring Bank " enclosed the projected 
 design. 
 
 Simplicity has always appeared to me to be the true and fitting 
 type of sepulchre, especially for those great men whose names are 
 their highest eulogium, whose deeds are their proudest monu 
 ment. I send the following as the most appropriate tomb for our 
 immortal ancestor, and would feel much gratified to have your 
 opinion on it : 
 
 " A granite pyramid 20 feet high on a foundation elevated 5 
 feet. Of course, from the top of the foundation to the apex 20 
 feet elevation, perpendicular. In each square of the foundation 
 to be inlaid a marble slab (or I should say freestone, for I would 
 
 1 The Gentleman! s Magazine, January, 1793, vol. Ixiii., p. 89. In the Col 
 umbian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette, of November 28, 1792, is this para 
 graph : The following is an extract from the will of the late Colonel George 
 Mason, deceased, of this county, which was lately admitted to record : I rec 
 ommend it to my sons " &c. An earlier number of this paper with the notice 
 of George Mason s death in it cannot be found. 
 
A GRAAWSON S EULOGIUM. 367 
 
 have it all from the rocks of his own native streams), to bear the 
 following inscription on the front : 
 
 George Mason 
 
 Born 
 
 Died - 
 
 On the opposite side, The Author of the Bill of Rights and the 
 Constitution of Virginia. On another side these words : Vitam 
 impendere vero? On that opposite to this, that sublime and sacred 
 charge contained in his last will : I recommend it to my sons 
 . . . to which themselves were born. " 
 
 The shadow of the Civil War soon after darkened the land, 
 and the grandsons of George Mason emerged from its gloom, 
 to die, old men, not many years later, their fortunes ruined 
 by the downfall of the Confederacy. 
 
 George Mason s will, dated nineteen years before his death, 
 left his family well provided for. 2 Though his expectations 
 from the Ohio Company s lands were not destined to be re 
 alized, he made later other purchases and investments, which 
 proved profitable, and he was esteemed at all times a man 
 of wealth, as wealth was estimated in those days. One of 
 George Mason s descendants, (the same gentleman who pro 
 jected the monument to him) thus sums up the condition of 
 his ancestor s worldly affairs at the time of his death, and 
 pays a just tribute to his practical wisdom in the care of his 
 estates : 
 
 " While the capacity of Col. Mason, as a statesman and a 
 writer and a speaker has been so often the subject of merited 
 laudation, it is indeed surprising that his still more admirable tal 
 ents for acquisition and economy have been entirely overlooked, 
 not only by those who have sketched his character for the public, 
 but even by his descendants who profited so largely through their 
 
 1 This is the exalted eulogium which Lucan bestows on Cato Uticences. He 
 says of that stern patriot, vitam impendere vero, " stake his life upon the truth," 
 in every word that he uttered and every deed that he dared. If the proud Stoic 
 deserved such praise, should it be denied to Liberty s purest and boldest votary ? 
 [Note by the author of the inscription.] 
 
 2 Appendix vi. 
 
368 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 exertion, There were few men in America in his time, who 
 evinced greater capacity for attaining honorable wealth, or exhib 
 ited a more eminent example of that only source of its mainte 
 nance, judicious economy. He undoubtedly inherited a large 
 patrimonial estate, but that was not only greatly augmented 
 during his life, but the foundation was laid for almost princely 
 wealth for his descendants. He devised to his sons alone, some 
 fifteen thousand acres, the greater part of his own acquisition, of 
 the very best land in the Potomac region. Most of these estates 
 were well improved, with large and comfortable mansions and all 
 necessary outbuildings. But he left to be divided among his 
 children what was solely acquired by himself ; sixty thousand 
 acres of among the finest lands in Kentucky, some three hundred 
 slaves, more than fifty thousand dollars worth of other personal 
 property, and at least thirty thousand dollars of debts, due on his 
 books, while his own indebtedness was absolutely nothing ; 
 showing that his enterprise and economy in private fully equalled 
 his genius and ability in public life, proving that fine talents, a 
 highly cultivated mind, and long, laborious and eminent public 
 services are not incompatible with that abnormis sapiens crasque 
 Minerva, so indispensable to the every-day business of life. A 
 most noble example, ever worthy the admiration, reverence and 
 imitation of his latest posterity." 
 
 Colonel Mason s library, which was divided between his 
 five sons, as his will provided, was extensive and well 
 selected. The present writer, however, has been unable to 
 trace any of these books. Some of them, it is known, were 
 literally scattered to the winds, as the leaves were torn from 
 them and thrown into the camp-fires of Federal soldiers, 
 when the country-seat in Loudoun County, where they were 
 to be found, was occupied by the enemy in i862. 2 The de 
 struction by fire, at an early period of the house on the 
 estate of one of George Mason s sons, and within recent 
 
 o 
 
 years a repetition of the same casuality in the case of one of 
 
 1 MS. Sketch by George Mason of " Hollin Hall" and " Spring Bank." 
 - This was soon after the Mason and Slidell affair, and the name of " Mason " 
 on the fly-leaf of a book was sufficient to insure its wanton destruction. 
 
HIS LIBRARY AND ITS DISPERSION. 369 
 
 his grandsons, will account for the loss of many of these 
 books, as well as of valuable family papers. That in this 
 library were many Greek and Latin classics, among which 
 were well-used copies of Catullus and Ovid, a letter of 
 George Mason of "Spring Bank" to John Esten Cooke 
 attests. The editor of the " Spotswood Letters " notices the 
 libraries, really extensive for the time, of the second William 
 Byrd of " Westover," of Sir John Randolph of Williamsburg, 
 and of John Mercer of " Marlboro ," and numerous others 
 nearly as large, " among them that of George Mason of 
 Gunston." We may assume from allusions and quotations 
 in George Mason s letters and speeches, that among his 
 books were to be found Virgil and Tacitus, Shakespeare and 
 Dry den and Pope ; English historians, political writers and 
 pamphleteers ; the French oracle on government, Montes 
 quieu ; the Italian sage Macchiavelli ; and the English Whig 
 writer, George Mason s contemporary, whom he so much ad 
 mired, the brilliant and caustic " Junius." With the aid of the 
 astronomer s manuscripts, published works, and correspon 
 dence, and an inventory returned by his immediate descend 
 ants, scholars have been able to reconstruct the library of 
 Galileo, arranging and classifying five hundred and twenty- 
 one volumes. Unfortunately little material remains for the 
 accomplishment of the same pious task in the case of any of 
 our eighteenth-century Virginians. 
 
 In making an estimate of George Mason s character and 
 abilities, we can but retouch the picture as portrayed by the 
 more intelligent and sympathetic of his contemporaries. One 
 of a famous group of historic figures, the friend and asso 
 ciate of Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Jefferson, Madi 
 son, Patrick Henry, they have all helped us, directly or 
 indirectly, to see him as he lived and walked among them. 
 Though we obtain no sketch of George Mason from the lips 
 of Washington and Lee, we are not left in doubt as to their 
 high regard for him. Washington s free and intimate cor- 
 
 1 R. A. Brock, Esq. Introduction to the " Spotswood Letters," Va. Hist. 
 Society Collections, Ne\v Series, vol. i 
 
370 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 respondence, carried on through the greater part of a life 
 time, attests his estimation of the sterling traits of character, 
 and the eminent talents of his friend. And this impression 
 is scarcely impaired at the last by the few slighting words 
 Washington suffered himself to write of Mason when his 
 early ally and familiar companion had become his deter 
 mined political opponent. Richard Henry Lee seems to 
 have had George Mason s entire confidence all through his 
 career, and we cannot fail to perceive how thorough was 
 Lee s appreciation of Mason, with whom he was in complete 
 sympathy apparently on all the great issues of the eventful 
 years in which they labored together, first for independence 
 of Great Britain, and secondly for the preservation of the 
 independence of the State against federal aggression. Jeffer 
 son, from first to last, looked upon George Mason as one of 
 the wisest of Virginians, or indeed of his contemporaries, on 
 the theatre of the American Revolution. In his correspond 
 ence with Mason, in his " Autobiography," in his "Anas," 
 this is fully demonstrated. Jefferson s character of Mason, as 
 sketched in the former s " Autobiography," has been given in 
 an earlier chapter, and need not be repeated here. These 
 two statesmen, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson, bore 
 the relation, more fully perhaps than Jefferson himself per 
 ceived, of master and disciple in the school of States-rights, 
 though Jefferson, like Madison, did not at first see with the 
 elder sage s clear vision. 
 
 Madison, in the stress and conflict of 1787-88, was not 
 prepared to do his great opponent justice. Both Washing 
 ton and Madison, as Grigsby says, " in the heat of the mo 
 ment wrote about Henry and Mason the Gamaliels at 
 whose feet he [Washington] sat for twenty years in a 
 manner that betrayed more passion than judgment." And 
 he adds : " Great as were the merits of Washington and 
 Madison, and none rejoices in them more than I do, it is 
 simply stating an historical fact in saying that in 1788 neither 
 of them stood in the estimation of the Virginia of that day 
 on the same platform with Patrick Henry and George Mason 
 
TRIBUTES OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 371 
 
 as a statesman." Madison s calmer judgment gave after 
 wards another verdict ; and he came not many years later to 
 be considered as an expounder of the States-rights doctrines 
 of which Mason was the early and consistent apostle. St. 
 George Tucker, who knew personally many of George 
 Mason s contemporaries, who had heard Richard Henry 
 Lee speak in public and thought him the " most mellifluous 
 orator " he had ever listened to, who had received the tradi 
 tion of Thomson Mason that he was " esteemed the first 
 lawyer at the bar," reports from Madison s own lips his 
 estimate of Thomson Mason s great brother. Among such 
 orators as Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, in a 
 galaxy that contained such a speaker as Innes, of whom 
 Tucker says that he " may be compared to an eagle in the 
 air ; you looked up at him with admiration and delight," 
 George Mason, Madison thought, was in a sense pre-emi 
 nent : " He possessed the greatest talents for debate of any 
 man he [Madison] had ever seen or heard speak." : Madi 
 son, in his old age, in a letter quoted in a previous chapter, 
 written to one of George Mason s grandsons, gives some 
 account of the former as a public man, and adds interesting 
 testimony to his genial, social qualities. He says to his 
 correspondent : 
 
 " The biographical tribute you meditate is justly due to the 
 merits of your ancestor, Colonel George Mason. It is to be re 
 gretted that, highly distinguished as he was, the memorials of him 
 on record, or perhaps otherwise attainable, are more scanty than 
 many of his contemporaries far inferior to him in intellectual 
 powers and public services. It would afford me much pleasure 
 to be a tributary to your undertaking [a biography of Mason]. 
 But although I had the advantage of being on the list of his per 
 sonal friends, and in several instances of being associated with 
 him in public life, I can add little for the pages of your work. 
 The public situation in which I had the best opportunity 
 of being acquainted with the genius, the opinions and the public 
 
 1 " History of the Virginia Federal Convention," note on p. 114. 
 IJ Kennedy s " Life of William Wirt," vol. i., p. 352. 
 
372 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 labors of your grandfather, was that of our co-service in the Con 
 vention of 1 787, which framed the Constitution of the United States. 
 The objections which led him to withhold his name from it have 
 been explained by himself. But none who differed from him on 
 some points will deny that he sustained throughout the pro 
 ceedings of the body, the high character of a powerful reasoner, 
 a profound statesman, and a devoted republican. 
 
 " My private intercourse with him was chiefly on occasional 
 visits to * Gunston when journeying to and from the North, in 
 which his conversations were always a feast to me. But though 
 in a high degree such, my recollection, after so long an interval, 
 cannot particularize them in a form adapted to biographical 
 use. I hope others of his friends still living, who enjoyed more 
 of his society, will be able to do more justice to the fund of in 
 structive observations and interesting anecdotes for which he 
 was celebrated." 
 
 Family tradition confirms this report of George Mason s 
 conversational powers. But alas ! no Boswell has preserved 
 for posterity the crumbs of these intellectual feasts. The 
 " fund of instructive observations," the " interesting anec 
 dotes," have passed into oblivion. Only one story has 
 floated down to us on the stream of time, illustrating 
 George Mason s quick and caustic wit. John Randolph of 
 Roanoke, who greatly admired Mason, alludes to it, though 
 he gives it an odd turn, when he says : " My judgment, I 
 believe, has not deserted me, and when it does, as old George 
 Mason said, I shall be the last person in the world to find it 
 out." : John Esten Cooke narrates the anecdote in a sketch 
 of George Mason, written in 1859, ^ or one f the New York 
 papers, and he repeats it in a later article. 3 In a private 
 letter to the present writer the story is worded as follows : 
 
 " The evidence of George Mason s humor, though it would 
 probably be more appropriate to call it wit, I thought I could 
 
 1 Rives "Life of Madison," vol. i., p. 162 (note). The original letter is 
 owned by the Virginia Historical Society. 
 
 9 Garland s " Life of John Randolph," vol. ii., p. 155. 
 
 3 " The Virginia Declaration of Independence," Magazine of American His 
 tory, May, 1884. 
 
CONVERSATIONAL TALENTS AND WIT. 3/3 
 
 see in his bon mot when a candidate for the legislature. His 
 opponent declared that the people of Stafford [Fairfax ?] knew 
 that Colonel Mason s mind was failing, to which he replied, that 
 when his adversary s mind failed nobody would ever discover 
 it, which I think was as biting as anything ever uttered by 
 Talleyrand." l 
 
 This retort of George Mason s recalls the anecdote related 
 of Sir John Maynard, the eminent lawyer and king s ser- 
 jeant, who, when eighty-six years old, having been sixty years 
 at the bar, was told by Jeffreys that he had got so old he 
 forgot the law. " T is true, Sir George," replied Maynard, 
 " I have forgot more law than you ever knew." 
 
 George Mason s high estimation of Patrick Henry, as he 
 saw him first in the early years of the Revolution, he has given 
 us through a letter to Martin Cockburn. What Patrick Henry 
 thought of George Mason has been happily preserved for 
 posterity in a paragraph of one of Virginia s chronicles: 
 " When Patrick Henry was a member of the Continental 
 Congress he said the first men in that body were Washing 
 ton, Richard Henry Lee, and Roger Sherman ; and later in 
 life [he declared] Roger Sherman and George Mason [were] 
 the greatest statesmen he ever knew." 2 The sketch of 
 George Mason s character, as given by Edmund Randolph 
 in his manuscript history of Virginia, has been quoted in a 
 former chapter. It is found in connection with the pen 
 portraits of Patrick Henry, of Thomas Jefferson, of Peyton 
 Randolph, of Richard Henry Lee, of Robert Carter Nicho 
 las, Edmund Pendleton, George Washington, Richard Bland, 
 Benjamin Harrison, George Wythe, John Blair, and Thomas 
 Ludwell Lee. These were the Virginia leaders in 1774. 
 A little later Madison is added to the group. This valuable 
 work of Edmund Randolph s was never completed, and but 
 a fragment of it, discovered in Staunton, in 1860, remains. 
 Randolph, it seems, contemplated writing for it, and did 
 actually prepare " parallels between the characters of certain 
 
 1 MS. letter of John Esten Cooke, October 28, 1885. 
 8 Howe s " Historical Collections of Virginia," p. 221. 
 
374 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 men, such, for instance, as those between General Washing 
 ton and Mr. Jefferson, President Madison and General Ham 
 ilton, George Mason and JoJm Dickerson, Benjamin Franklin 
 and John Jay, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee." 
 John Dickerson, the author of the famous " Farmer s Let 
 ters " of 1767, and of able public papers in the Congress of 
 1774 and of 1775, was yet behindhand in patriotic sentiment 
 in 1776, when he opposed the Declaration of Independence. 
 An undoubted patriot, he was an extremely cautious one, 
 and though his pen had prepared the way for revolution, his 
 step faltered on the threshold of the new era. Learned, 
 sensitive, pious, benevolent, pure-minded, and eminent, both 
 as a writer and an orator, one sees in him certain points of 
 resemblance to George Mason ; though broadly outlined 
 there is apparent a wide contrast in the man John Adams, 
 described in 1774 as " very modest, delicate, timid," and the 
 virile, masterful spirit of the Virginian. And as Federalist 
 and Antifederalist in 1787-88, the opinions of the two were 
 distinctly at variance. John Dickerson, in his letters of 
 " Fabius," supported the Constitution, while George Mason 
 was working in the cause of amendments to the instrument 
 they had jointly had a share in framing. Yet Dickerson, 
 like Madison, saw later the error of his ways. 
 
 Leaving George Mason s contemporaries for a succeeding 
 generation, we find Henry Lee, the son of " Light-Horse 
 Harry," Mason s martial antagonist in the Virginia Conven 
 tion of 1788, repeating, doubtless, the sentiment he had 
 heard from boyhood, when he wrote : " Among the many 
 profound statesmen Virginia has produced, he [George 
 Mason] was perhaps second to none in wisdom and virtue, 
 and by many of the most renowned of his contemporaries 
 was regarded as the wisest of them all." At length his 
 
 1 Life of Edmund Randolph," M. D. Conway, p. 378. 
 
 2 General and Governor Fitzhugh Lee, a son of Captain Sidney Smith Lee, 
 younger brother of the great Southern chieftain, Robert Edward Lee and half- 
 brother of Henry Lee above quoted, is descended through his mother, a 
 daughter of General John Mason, from George Mason, of Gunston. 
 
HIS STATUE AT RICHMOND. 375 
 
 State determined to mark her sense of his distinguished ser 
 vices. And in the oration delivered by the Hon. R. M. T. 
 Hunter, at the unveiling of the Crawford statue of Washing 
 ton, in Richmond, in 1858, the following reference was made 
 to Mason and others who were to surround 
 
 " The foremost man of Time." 
 
 " But Virginia here raises monuments to more than one of her 
 children, and as she bends over that group of her departed sons, 
 she may well shed the mingled tears of pride and grief. Among 
 these she will place Lewis, her bold pioneer, who wrestled with 
 the red man from the waters of the Holston to those of the Great 
 Kanawa, and finally made good the title of her State to the pos 
 session of the western wilderness on the bloody field of Point 
 Pleasant, from which he drove the Indian beyond the Ohio. 
 There will be found Nelson, the patriotic Governor of Virginia, 
 whose generous sacrifices and great public services called forth 
 the thanks of Washington at the siege of York. George Mason, 
 too, is to be placed there in the fondness of a mother s pride, he 
 whom history will proclaim one of the apostles of civil liberty, 
 the author of the Bill of Rights of Virginia, the orator and the 
 sage, whose vision was so nearly prophetic, and whose wisdom 
 and patriotism made him a great leader in his day." 
 
 Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were also described 
 in glowing terms, as among those to whom statues were 
 decreed. But before Virginia could carry out the suggestion 
 of her orator of 1858 and fill up her Revolutionary Pantheon 
 with the figures of George Rogers Clark and others, the 
 battle-fields of her second struggle for independence glorified 
 her history, while desolating her soil, and since then her later 
 heroes have rather thrust aside the earlier ones. But in 
 collecting these tributes to George Mason, we come to two 
 Virginia writers who saw, suffered in, and survived the 
 "Confederate Revolution." John Esten Cooke wrote of 
 George Mason in 1859: 
 
 " There was living in Virginia, at the outbreak of the Revolu 
 tion, in an old mansion called Gunston Hall, situated on the right 
 
3/6 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 bank of the Potomac, not far from Mount Vernon, one of the 
 most remarkable men, not only of his country and of his epoch, 
 but of all countries and all time. This man, who was not yet fifty 
 years old, had never yet held any public office, but the first states 
 men of his time consulted him and looked to him for guidance. 
 He was not a lawyer, but his opinions on government had all the 
 force and dignity of legislative decrees. He was not an agreeable 
 speaker [?] yet when he rose to address an assembly the greatest 
 orators Lee, Pendleton, Henry, and their co-mates listened to 
 him with avidity. Confined almost wholly to his plantation by 
 gout, or love of retirement, he nevertheless swayed and moulded 
 public opinion. In the most urgent crises of public affairs the 
 great actors looked, as it were, from the rostrum to the silent 
 figure behind the scenes. . . . His ancestors had all been 
 honorable and public-spirited ; they had lived and died as worthy 
 old planters, fighting bravely against the Indians, or figuring in 
 the House of Burgesses. They cultivated their acres, and kept up 
 the old style of living in all its profusion mingling socially with 
 the class which then ruled as titled persons rule at present in Eng 
 land. Thus, George Mason of Gunston Hall, at the time of the 
 Revolution, possessed by birth a position which entitled him to 
 consideration. But this would never have made him what he was 
 not a tithe of the force which he undoubtedly stood for in his 
 time. It was the man himself, stripped of all adventitious aids, 
 who asserted and maintained the vast intellectual dominion which 
 he certainly wielded over the minds of the first thinkers of that 
 age." 
 
 There are frequent allusions to this " remarkable man," as 
 he calls him, in John Esten Cooke s later sketches and 
 delineations of Virginia history ; his last article which touches 
 upon George Mason having been written in 1884, twenty-five 
 years after the first strain sung in Mason s praise. General 
 Richard Taylor writing of George Mason, in 1879, savs : 
 
 " Among the wise and good who in the past century secured the 
 independence of our country and founded its government, George 
 Mason of Virginia holds a place second to none." 
 
 1 New York Century, 1859. 
 
APPRECIA TION OF HIS GENIUS. 377 
 
 And he adds : 
 
 " On the soil of Virginia rests the tomb of George Mason, 
 within sound of the Capitol of the Union which he labored to 
 establish, while pointing out and in vain endeavoring to strengthen 
 the weak places in its foundation. A Virginian to the core, his 
 sympathies extended to the uttermost limits of the colonies, and 
 were as deeply stirred by the sufferings of Massachusetts as were 
 those of her own great patriots, the Adamses, Warren, Hancock. 
 Mayhap there lurks some germ of truth in the weird superstition 
 that disembodied spirits keep watch and ward over the resting- 
 places of their mortal remains. What changes has the spirit of 
 Mason witnessed since his body was returned to earth ! As the 
 mighty prophets of Israel, mournfully has he watched the fulfil 
 ment of his own predictions. He strove for a Union of consent 
 and love. He has seen one of force and hate. He urged indepen 
 dent States to create a common servant, the Federal Government, 
 as a useful agent. He has seen the creature they called into being 
 rend, like Frankenstein, its creators, disperse their assemblies at 
 the point of the bayonet, deprive their citizens of every legal right. 
 . . . With a sadness surpassing that of Rachel, he has seen 
 the wealth and cultivation of the South destroyed by unlettered 
 multitudes from the interior of the continent, directed by the 
 fanaticism of the East." l 
 
 Happily if George Mason s immortal spirit has seen the 
 woes of Virginia and her sister Commonwealths of the Con 
 federacy, it rejoices now in 1891, in their restored prosperity ; 
 when the " New South," affectionately reverent of her recent 
 not less than of her far off past, presses forward in a race for 
 the prizes of the future. 
 
 In conclusion, to the award of his contemporaries and 
 personal friends, to the discriminating eulogies of George 
 Mason s genius found in the utterances of Virginians and 
 Southern men of later times, may be added the impartial, 
 well-considered judgments of a number of Northern writers, 
 
 1 The North American Review, February, 1879, "A Statesman of the 
 Colonial Era." 
 
3/8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 two or three of whom are quoted in former chapters. In the 
 last category is found the late venerable historian Bancroft. 
 In several paragraphs, where Virginia has been his theme, he 
 has written in felicitous phrase of her patriot and statesman, 
 George Mason. After noting his talents in debate and 
 oratory, Bancroft adds : 
 
 " But his great strength lay in his sincerity, which made him 
 wise and bold, modest and unchanging, while it overawed his 
 hearers. He was severe, but his severity was humane, with no 
 tinge of bitterness, though he had a scorn for everything mean, 
 and cowardly, and low ; and he always spoke out his convictions 
 with frank directness. He had been truly loyal ; on renouncing 
 his King, he could stand justified to his own conscience only by 
 the purest and most unselfish attachment to human freedom." 1 
 
 And as General Taylor writes in the article above quoted : 
 
 " To be appreciated by the political student, who desires to 
 understand the principles of free government and the formative 
 history of the Federal Constitution, his work must be sought in 
 the Declaration of Rights, Constitution and revised Code of Vir 
 ginia, and in the debates of the Federal and Virginia Conventions, 
 as must his affectionate nature in such letters to his children and 
 friends as have been preserved ; and it may be safely asserted 
 that no one can carefully exhaust these sources without doubting 
 whether his own or any age has produced a man superior to 
 George Mason in all the elements of greatness." 
 
 1 Bancroft s " History of the United States," edition of 1876, vol. v., p. 258. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 I. 
 
 LETTERS RELATING TO THE COMPACT WITH MARYLAND. 
 ;J T _. MOUNT VERNON, March 28, 1785. 
 
 olK. . 
 
 We have the honor to transmit to the General Assembly, the 
 result of the deliberations of the Commissioners of Virginia and 
 Maryland, appointed to settle the navigation and jurisdiction of 
 that part of the Chesapeake Bay within the limits of Virginia, and 
 of the rivers Potomac and Pokomoke. 
 
 We flatter ourselves that, in the execution of this important 
 trust, the commissioners have consulted the true interest of both 
 governments, in a compact of such just and mutual principles, 
 that, executed with good faith, will perpetuate harmony, friend 
 ship, and good offices between the two States, so essential to the 
 prosperity and happiness of their people. In the conference on 
 the subject of our appointment, several matters occurred to the 
 commissioners, which they conceived very important to the com 
 merce of the two States ; and which, with all deference, we take 
 the liberty to communicate. 
 
 The commissioners were of opinion, these States ought to have 
 leave from the United States in Congress assembled, to form a 
 compact for the purpose of affording in due time, and in just 
 proportions between the two States, naval protection to such part of 
 Chesapeake Bay and Potomac river which may at any time hereafter 
 be left unprovided for by Congress. The commissioners did not 
 consider themselves authorized to make any compact on this sub 
 ject, and submit the propriety of the two governments making a 
 joint application to Congress, for their consent to enter into com- 
 
 379 
 
380 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 pact, for the purpose aforesaid ; such compact when made to be 
 laid before Congress for their approbation ; and to continue until 
 mutually dissolved by these States, or Congress shall declare that 
 such compact shall no longer exist. 
 
 It also appeared to the commissioners that foreign gold and 
 silver coin, received in the two States, as the current money 
 thereof, should pass at the same value, according to its fineness 
 and weight ; and if the species of coin could be regulated at the 
 same nominal value, it would be of great convenience to the com 
 merce and dealings between the citizens of the two States. The 
 damages on foreign bills of exchange protested are very different 
 in the two States, and it is obvious that they ought to be the 
 same, and should be considered in all cases, and to all purposes, 
 as of equal rank with debts upon contract in writing, signed by 
 the party, and it was suggested that fifteen pet. should be allowed, 
 without regard to the time of negotiation, and legal interest on the 
 principal from the time of protest. It was also conceived by the 
 commissioners, that drafts by the merchants of either State, upon 
 those of the other, in the nature of inland bills of exchange, 
 should be subject by law, to official protest, by a notary public, 
 and that the damages, for non-payment, should be the same in 
 both States ; and it was thought, that eight pet. should be 
 allowed upon protest, and legal interest upon the principal, from 
 the time of protest. 
 
 It appeared to the commissioners to be essential to the com 
 merce and revenue of the two governments, that duties on imports 
 or exports (if laid) should be the same in both States. 
 
 If these subjects should be deemed worthy notice, it may be 
 proper for the two legislatures, at their annual meeting in the 
 autumn to appoint commissioners to meet and communicate the 
 regulations of commerce and duties proposed by each State, and 
 to confer on such subjects as may concern the commercial inter 
 ests of both States. It was suggested that the number of the said 
 commissioners should be equal, and not less than three, nor more 
 than five, from each State ; and that they should annually meet in 
 the third week in September, at such place as they should appoint. 
 
 We have the honor to be with the greatest respect sir, 
 Your most obedient servants 
 
 G. MASON. 
 
 ALEXANDER HENDERSON. 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 P. S. The Commissioners also beg leave to transmit to the 
 General Assembly, the inclosed copy of their joint application to 
 the State of Pennsylvania respecting the communication between 
 Potomac River and the Western waters. 
 
 Honorable the Speaker of the House 
 of Delegates of Virginia. 
 
 VIRGINIA, MOUNT VERNON, March 28, 1785. 
 SIR: 
 
 In pursuance of directions from the legislatures of Virginia and 
 Maryland, respectively to us given, we beg leave to represent to 
 the State of Pennsylvania that it is in contemplation of the said 
 two States to promote the clearing, and extending the navigation 
 of Potomac, from tide-water, upwards, as far as the same may 
 be found practicable, to open a convenient road from the head of 
 such navigation, to the waters running into the Ohio, and to ren 
 der these waters navigable, as far as may be necessary and proper. 
 That the said works will require great expence, which may not be 
 repaid, unless a free use be secured to the said States, and their 
 citizens, of the waters of the Ohio and its branches, as far as the 
 same lie within the limits of Pennsylvania ; that as essential 
 advantages will accrue from such works to a considerable portion 
 of the said State, it is thought reasonable that the legislature 
 thereof should by some previous act engage, that for the encour 
 agement of the said works, all articles of produce or merchandise, 
 which may be conveyed to or from either of the said two States, 
 through either of the said rivers, within the limits of Pennsyl 
 vania, to or from any place without the said limits, shall pass 
 throughout free from all duties or tolls whatsoever, other than such 
 tolls as may be established and be necessary for reimbursing ex- 
 pences incurred by the State, or its citizens, in clearing, or for 
 defraying the expence of preserving the navigation of the said 
 rivers. And that no articles imported into Pennsylvania through 
 the channel or channels, or any part thereof to be opened as 
 aforesaid, and rendered or used within the said State, shall be 
 subject to any duties on imports, other than such articles would 
 be subject to, if imported into the said State through any other 
 channel whatsoever. 
 
 We request Sir, that you will take the earliest opportunity of 
 laying this representation, on behalf of the two States, before the 
 
382 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 legislature of Pennsylvania ; and that you will communicate the 
 result to the executives of Virginia and Maryland. 
 
 By acts of the legislatures of Virginia and Maryland for opening 
 the navigation of the river Potomac above tide-water, the citizens 
 of the United States have the same right of trading through the 
 said water, which the citizens of Maryland and Virginia enjoy ; 
 and we have no doubt but the legislature of your State will, 
 agreeably to this principle, give every encouragement to measures 
 which have for their object, the interest and convenience of their 
 citizens, and those of the other States in the Union. 
 
 We have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, Sir, your 
 most obedient servants, 
 
 G. MASON, ) Commissioners for the Common- 
 
 ALEXANDER HENDERSON, ) wealth of Virginia. 
 
 DANIEL OF ST. THOMAS JENIFER, ) Commissionerg for ^ 
 
 ( State of Maryland. 
 SAMUEL CHASE, 
 
 Honorable the President of the Executive Council 
 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 
 
 II. 
 
 OBJECTIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION, AND OTHER PAPERS. 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 1. Impost for 25 years and the collection of it. 
 
 2. The regulation of the commerce of the United States. 
 
 3. Regulation of the Highways and Ferries throughout the 
 United States. 
 
 4. Supreme federal Court of Error and Appeal, the judges to 
 be appointed by Congress with supreme jurisdiction in all causes 
 in which the United States are concerned. 
 
 5. All judges and executive officers appointed by the several 
 States to take an oath to observe and obey the federal laws and 
 the writs of error, decrees, judgments, orders, and warrants of the 
 federal court in federal causes. 
 
 6. The warrant of the Chief Justice and the President of Con 
 gress to be of force throughout all the United States, and all 
 
APPENDIX. 383 
 
 sheriffs, under sheriffs, constables, and other executive officers to 
 obey and execute them. 
 
 7. A Convention shall be holden to meet the ist Monday in 
 May every 5 years, for the purpose of examining into the admin 
 istration of the federal government for the five preceding years 
 and proposing such amendments and additional powers as to 
 them may seem necessary. For which purpose the said Conven 
 tion shall have power to appoint a committee which shall examine 
 the secret journals of Congress and report thereon. 
 
 (Arthur Lee on letter of George Mason s.) 
 
 NOTES ON THE CONSTITUTION IN HANDWRITING OF GEORGE 
 
 MASON. 
 
 In the beginning of the 4th clause of the 3rd section of the 
 ist Article, strike out the words the vice-president of the United 
 States, and instead of them insert a vice-president of the 
 United States shall be chosen in the manner hereinafter 
 directed who 
 
 In the 3rd clause of the 5th section of the ist Article, 
 after the words such parts add of the journals of the 
 senate. 
 
 At the end of the same clause add and a regular statement 
 and account of the receipts and expenditure of all public 
 money shall be annually published from time to time, [the word 
 " annually " is marked over as in the text and the last 
 
 r -iiii [agreed to] 
 
 four words are in another hand J. 
 
 In the 8th section of the ist Article to the beginning of the 
 clause, before the words To provide for organizing, arming and 
 disciplining the militia add That the liberties of the people may 
 be the better secured against the danger of regular troops 
 
 ^ . ... [refused] 
 
 or standing armies in time of peace. 
 
 In the 3rd clause of the gth section of the ist Article 
 strike out the words nor any ex post facto laws. 
 
 In the Ath clause of the same Article after the word 
 
 [agreed] 
 
 census add or enumeration. 
 
 In the ist clause of the loth section of the same Article 
 strike out ex post facto laws and after the words obliga 
 tion of insert previous. 
 
384 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 In the latter end of the 3rd clause of the 2nd Article enquire 
 of the committee about the senate chusing the vice president. 
 
 In the yth clause of the ist section of the 2nd Article strike 
 out the words during the period for which he shall have been elected 
 and instead of them insert so as in any manner to affect the 
 person in office at the time of such increase or diminution. 
 
 At the end of the ist clause of the 2nd section of the 2nd 
 Article add the words or Treason ; but he may grant reprieves 
 in cases of treason, until the end of the next ensuing session of 
 Congress. 
 
 At the end of the 2nd clause of the 2nd section of the 2nd 
 Article and which shall be established by law [added in another 
 hand], and the Congress may by law vest the appoint 
 ment of such inferior officers as they think proper in 
 the president alone, in the court of law, or the heads of Depart 
 ments. 
 
 Section 4th of the same Article Inconsistency between this 
 and the yth clause of the 3rd section of the ist Article amend 
 by inserting after the word office the words and disqualified from 
 holding or enjoying any office of honor, trust or profit under the 
 United States. 
 
 Article 3rd, section i before the word diminished insert en- 
 creased or 
 
 In the 2nd clause of the 2nd section of the 3rd Article strike 
 out the word Fact and insert Equity. 
 
 In the 3rd section of 3rd Article corruption of blood inaccu 
 rately expressed ; and no exception or provision for the wife, 
 who may be innocent, and ought not to be involved in ruin from 
 the guilt of the husband. 
 
 Section 2nd, Article 4th The citizens of one State having an 
 
 estate in another, have not secured to them the right of removing 
 
 their property as in the 4th Article of the Confederation amend 
 
 by adding the following clause : and every citizen having 
 
 proposed] an estate m two or more States shall have a right to 
 
 remove his property from one State to another. 
 
 Article 5th By this Article Congress only have the power of 
 proposing amendments at any future time to this constitution and 
 should it prove ever so oppressive, the whole people of America 
 can t make, or even propose alterations to it ; a doctrine utterly 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 subversive of the fundamental principles of the rights and liberties 
 of the people. 
 
 In the Qth section of the ist Article after the clause no tax or 
 duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State 
 
 Insert 
 
 No law in the nature of a Navigation Act shall be passed 
 [inserted in another hand "before the year 1808"] 
 without the assent of two thirds of the members present 
 in each House. 
 
 PAPER ON THE JUDICIARY IN AN UNKNOWN HAND. 
 
 The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
 Supreme Court and in such Courts of Admiralty as Congress shall 
 establish in any of the States. And also in Courts of Admiralty 
 to be established in such of the States as Congress shall direct. 
 
 The jurisdiction of the supreme courts shall extend to all cases 
 in law and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 
 United States and treaties made or which shall be made under 
 their authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
 ministers and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime 
 jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be 
 a party, to controversies between two or more States ; between 
 citizens of the same State claiming lands of different States, and 
 between a State and the citizens thereof and foreign States, citi 
 zens or subjects. 
 
 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
 consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, and suits 
 between persons claiming lands under grants of different States 
 the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction, and in all the 
 other cases before mentioned the Supreme Courts shall have 
 appellate jurisdiction as to law only, except in cases of equity and 
 admiralty and maritime jurisdiction in which last mentioned 
 cases the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as 
 to law and fact. 
 
 In all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, the Admi 
 ralty Courts appointed by Congress shall have original jurisdic 
 tion, and an appeal may be made to the Supreme Court of 
 Congress for any sum and in such manner as Congress may by 
 law direct. 
 
 VOL. II. 25 
 
386 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 In all other cases not otherwise provided for the Superior 
 State Courts shall have original jurisdiction, and an appeal may 
 be made to the Supreme federal Court in all cases where the sub 
 ject in controversy or the decree or judgment of the State court 
 shall be of the value of one thousand dollars and in cases of less 
 value the appeal shall be to the High Court of Appeals, Court of 
 Errors or other Supreme Court of the State where the suit shall 
 be tried. 
 
 The trial of all crimes, except in case of impeachment shall be 
 in the Superior Court of that State where the offence shall have 
 been committed in such manner as the Congress shall by law 
 direct except that the trial shall be by a jury. But when the 
 crime shall not have been committed within any one of the United 
 States the trial shall be at such place and in such manner as Con 
 gress shall by law direct, except that such trial shall also be by 
 a jury. 
 
 ROUGH DRAFT OF A PAPER, APPARENTLY IN THE HAND OF 
 G. MASON, WITH ERASURES AND INTERLINEATIONS. 
 
 At a time when our government is approaching to dissolution, 
 when some of its principles have been found utterly inadequate 
 to the purposes for which it was established, and it is evident 
 that without some material alterations it can not much longer 
 subsist, it must give real concern to every man who has his 
 country s interest at heart to find such a difference of sentiment 
 and opinion in an assembly of the most respectable and confi 
 dential characters in America, appointed for the special purpose 
 of revising and amending the federal constitution, so as to obtain 
 and preserve the important objects for which it was instituted 
 the protection, safety and happiness of the people. We all agree 
 in the necessity of new regulations ; but we differ widely in our 
 opinions of what are the safest and most effectual. Perhaps this 
 contrariety of sentiment arises from our not thoroughly consider 
 ing the peculiar circumstances, situation, character and genius of 
 the people of America, differing materially from that of any other 
 nation. The history of other nations has been minutely investi 
 gated, examples have been drawn from and arguments founded 
 on the practice of countries very dissimilar to ours. The treaties, 
 leagues, and confederacies between different sovereign, indepen- 
 
APPENDIX. 387 
 
 dent powers have been urged as proofs in support of the propriety 
 and justice of the single and equal representation of each indi 
 vidual State in the American Union ; and thence conclusions 
 have been drawn that the people of these United States would 
 refuse to adopt a government founded more on an equal 
 representation of the people themselves, than on the distinct 
 representation of each separate, individual State. If the different 
 States in our Union always had been as now substantially and in 
 reality distinct, sovereign and independent, this kind of reason 
 ing would have great force ; but if the premises on which it is 
 founded are mere assumptions not founded on facts, or at best 
 upon facts to be found only upon a paper of yesterday, and even 
 these contradictory to each other, no satisfactory conclusions can 
 be drawn from them. 
 
 OBJECTIONS TO THIS CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 There is no Declaration of Rights, and the laws of the general 
 government being paramount to the laws and constitution of the 
 several States, the Declarations of Rights in the separate States 
 are no security. Nor are the people secured even in the enjoy 
 ment of the benefit of the common law [which stands here upon 
 no other foundation than its having been adopted by the respec 
 tive acts forming the constitutions of the several States]. 
 
 In the House of Representatives there is not the substance but 
 the shadow only of representation ; which can never produce 
 proper information in the legislature, or inspire confidence in the 
 people ; the laws will therefore be generally made by men little 
 concerned in, and unacquainted with their effects and conse 
 quences. [This objection has been in some degree lessened by 
 an amendment, often before refused and at last made by an erasure, 
 after the engrossment upon parchment of the word forty and 
 inserting thirty, in the third clause of the second section of the 
 first article.] 
 
 The Senate have the power of altering all money bills, and of 
 originating appropriations of money, and the salaries of the 
 officers of their own appointment, in conjunction with the presi 
 dent of the United States, although they are not the representatives 
 of the people or amenable to them. 
 
388 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 These with their other great powers, viz. : their power in the 
 appointment of ambassadors and all public officers, in making 
 treaties, and in trying all impeachments, their influence upon and 
 connection with the supreme Executive from these causes, their 
 duration of office and their being a constantly existing body, 
 almost continually sitting, joined with their being one complete 
 branch of the legislature, will destroy any balance in the govern 
 ment, and enable them to accomplish what ursurpations they 
 please upon the rights and liberties of the people. 
 
 The Judiciary of the United States is so constructed and ex 
 tended, as to absorb and destroy the judiciaries of the several 
 States ; thereby rendering law as tedious, intricate and expensive, 
 and justice as unattainable, by a great part of the community, as 
 in England, and enabling the rich to oppress and ruin the poor. 
 
 The President of the United States has no Constitutional Coun 
 cil, a thing unknown in any safe and regular government. He 
 will therefore be unsupported by proper information and advice, 
 and will generally be directed by minions and favorites ; or he 
 will become a tool to the Senate or a Council of State will grow 
 out of the principal officers of the great departments ; the worst 
 and most dangerous of all ingredients for such a Council in a free 
 country ; [for they may be induced to join in any dangerous or 
 oppressive measures, to shelter themselves, and prevent an inquiry 
 into their own misconduct in office. Whereas, had a constitu 
 tional council been formed (as was proposed) of six members, 
 viz. : two from the Eastern, two from the Middle, and two from 
 the Southern States, to be appointed by vote of the States in the 
 House of Representatives, with the same duration and rotation of 
 office as the Senate, the executive^ would always have had safe and 
 proper information and advice ; the president of such a council 
 might have acted as Vice-President of the United States pro tern- 
 pore^ upon any vacancy or disability of the chief magistrate ; and 
 long continued sessions of the Senate, would in a great measure 
 have been prevented.] Trom this fatal defect has arisen the im 
 proper power of the Senate_ in the appointment of public officers, 
 and the alarming dependence and connection between that branch 
 of the legislature and the supreme Executive. 
 
 Hence also sprung that unnecessary [and dangerous] officer 
 the Vice-President, who for want of other employment is made 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 president of the Senate, thereby dangerously blending the execu 
 tive and legislative powers, besides always giving to some one of 
 the States an unnecessary and unjust pre-eminence over the others. 
 
 The President of the United States has the unrestrained power 
 of granting pardons for treason, which may be sometimes exer 
 cised to screen from punishment those whom he had secretly 
 instigated to commit the crime, and thereby prevent a discovery 
 of his own guilt. 
 
 By declaring all treaties supreme laws of the land, the Execu 
 tive and the Senate have, in many cases, an exclusive power of 
 legislation ; which might have been avoided by proper distinctions 
 with respect to treaties, and requiring the assent of the House of 
 Representatives, where it could be done with safety. 
 
 By requiring only a majority to make all commercial and navi 
 gation laws, the five Southern States, whose produce and circum 
 stances are totally different from that of the eight Northern and 
 Eastern States, may [will] be ruined, for such rigid and premature 
 regulations may be made as will enable the merchants of the 
 Northern and Eastern States not only to demand an exhorbitant 
 freight, but to monopolize the purchase of the commodities at 
 their own price, for many years, to the great injury of the landed 
 interest, and [the] impoverishment of the people ; and the danger 
 is the greater as the gain on one side will be in proportion to the 
 loss on the other. Whereas requiring two-thirds of the members 
 present in both Houses would have produced mutual moderation, 
 promoted the general interest, and removed an insuperable objec 
 tion to the adoption of this [the] government. 
 
 Under their own construction of the general .clause, at the end 
 of the enumerated powers, the Congress may grant monopolies in 
 trade and commerce, constitute new crimes, inflict unusual and 
 severe punishments, and extend their powers [power] as far as 
 they shall think proper ; so that -the State legislatures have no 
 security for the powers now presumed to remain to them, or the 
 people for their rights. v 
 
 There is no declaration of any kind, for preserving the liberty 
 of the press, or the trial by jury in civil eauses [cases] ; nor against 
 the danger of standing armies in time of peace. 
 
 The State legislatures are restrained from laying export duties 
 on their own produce. 
 
390 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Both the general legislature and the State legislature are ex 
 pressly prohibited making ex post facto laws ; though there never 
 was nor can be a legislature but must and will make such laws, 
 when necessity and the public safety require them ; which will 
 hereafter be a breach of all the constitutions in the Union, and 
 afford precedents for other innovations. 
 
 This government will set out [commence] a moderate aristoc 
 racy : it is at present impossible to foresee whether it will, in its 
 operation, produce a monarchy, or a corrupt, tyrannical [oppres 
 sive] aristocracy ; it will most probably vibrate some years between 
 the two, and then terminate in the one or the other. 
 
 The general legislature is restrained from prohibiting the fur 
 ther importation of slaves for twenty odd years ; though such 
 importations render the United States weaker, more vulnerable, 
 and less capable of defence. 
 
 [This is a draft of the original " Objections " as written by 
 George Mason on the blank sheets of the copy of the Constitu 
 tion, printed for the use of the members of the Convention, and 
 brought in September i3th. The words in brackets are those 
 additions or alterations which appear in the " Objections " as 
 printed later in pamphlet form. There was a change made also 
 in the arrangement of the paragraphs, in this final form of Mason s 
 paper, which there closes with the one beginning, " This govern 
 ment will commence," etc. (See " Pamphlets on the Constitu 
 tion," Paul L. Ford ; and Elliot s " Debates," vol. i., p. 494).] 
 
 III. 
 
 SPEECHES IN THE CONVENTION OF 1788. 
 
 Richmond, June 2, 1788. G. Mason put on the committee of 
 privileges and elections. He is second on the list. B. Harrison 
 first. Gov. Randolph third. Clerk and printer appointed. Then 
 on motion of G. M. the Convention adjourned until the next day, 
 to meet at the New Academy on Schockoe Hill. 
 
 Tuesday, June j. Serjeant-at-arms and door-keeper appointed. 
 Rules and regulations resolved on similar to those in House of 
 Delegates. Resolution of Congress, read of Sept. 28, report of 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 Federal Convention, together with resolutions of General Assem 
 bly of October 25, and act of Assembly concerning the Conven 
 tion now held. 
 
 Whereupon Mr. Mason addressed the president [Mr. Pendleton\ 
 as follows : Mr. President, I hope and trust, sir, that this Convention, 
 appointed by the people, on this great and important occasion, for 
 securing, as far as possible, to the latest generation, the happiness 
 and liberty of the people, will freely and fully investigate this im 
 portant subject. For this purpose I humbly conceive the fullest and 
 clearest investigation indispensably necessary, and that we ought 
 not to be bound by any general rules whatsoever. The curse 
 denounced by the divine vengeance will be small compared to 
 what will justly fall upon us, if from any sinister views we obstruct 
 the fullest inquiry. This subject, therefore, ought to obtain the 
 freest discussion, clause by clause, before any general previous ques 
 tion be put ; nor ought it to be precluded by any other question. 
 
 Mr. Tyler moved that the Convention should resolve itself into 
 a Committee of the whole Convention, to-morrow, to take into 
 consideration the proposed plan of government, in order to have 
 a fairer opportunity of examining its merits. 
 
 Mr. Mason, after recapitulating his former reasons for having 
 urged a full discussion, clause by clause, concluded by agreeing 
 with Mr. Tyler that a Committee of the whole Convention was 
 the proper mode of proceeding. 
 
 Mr. Madison concurred with the honorable gentleman in going 
 into a full and free investigation of the subject before them, and 
 said he had no objection to the plan proposed. Mr. Mason then 
 moved the following resolution, which was agreed to by the Con 
 vention unanimously : 
 
 Resolved, That no question, general or particular, shall be pro 
 pounded in this Convention, upon the proposed Constitution of 
 government for the United States, or upon any clause or article 
 thereof, until the said Constitution shall have been discussed, 
 clause by clause, through all its parts. 
 
 Mr. Tyler said he should renew his motion &c. 
 
 Mr. Lee urged the necessity of immediately entering into the 
 discussion. 
 
 Mr. Mason. Mr. President, no man in this Convention is more 
 averse to take up the time of the Convention than I am ; but I am 
 
392 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 equally against hurrying them precipitately into any measure. I 
 humbly conceive, sir, that the members ought to have time to 
 consider the subject. Precious as time is, we ought not to run 
 into the discussion before we have the proper means. 
 
 Wednesday, June 4. The preamble and two first sections of 
 Article I. were read. Mr. Nicholas made a long speech in favor 
 of the Constitution. Patrick Henry spoke against it animadverted 
 on the words " We, the people " thought it should have been " We y 
 the States." Gov. Randolph replied to Henry and concluded his 
 speech thus : " In the whole of this business I have acted in the 
 strictest obedience to the dictates of my conscience, in dischar 
 ging what I conceive to be my duty to my country." He had re 
 fused his signature, but as 8 States had adopted the Constitution, 
 he was a friend to Union. 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, whether the Constitution 
 be good or bad, the present clause [Art. I., Sect. 2] clearly dis 
 covers that it is a national government, and no longer a Confedera 
 tion. I mean that clause which gives the first hint of the general 
 government laying direct taxes. The assumption of this power of 
 laying direct taxes does, of itself, entirely change the confedera 
 tion of the States into one consolidated government. This power 
 being at discretion, unconfined, and without any kind of control, 
 must carry everything before it. The very idea of converting 
 what was formerly a confederation to a consolidated government, 
 is totally subversive of every principle which has hitherto gov 
 erned us. This power is calculated to annihilate totally the State 
 governments. Will the people of this great community submit 
 to be individually taxed by two different and distinct powers ? 
 Will they suffer themselves to be doubly harassed ? These two 
 concurrent powers cannot exist long together ; the one will destroy 
 the other : the general government being paramount to, and in 
 every respect more powerful than the State governments, the latter 
 must give way to the former. Is it to be supposed that one 
 national government will suit so extensive a country, embracing 
 so many climates, and containing inhabitants so very different in 
 manners, habits and customs ? It is ascertained, by history, that 
 there never was a government over a very extensive country with 
 out destroying the liberties of the people : history also, supported 
 by the opinions of the best writers, shows us that monarchy may 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 suit a large territory, and despotic governments ever so extensive a 
 country, but that popular governments can only exist in small terri 
 tories. Is there a single example, on the face of the earth, to support 
 a contrary opinion ? Where is there one exception to this general 
 rule ? Was there ever an instance of a general national govern 
 ment extending over so extensive a country, abounding in such a 
 variety of climates, &c., where the people retained their liberty ? 
 I solemnly declare that no man is a greater friend to a firm union 
 of the American States than I am ; but, sir, if this great end can 
 be obtained without hazarding the rights of the people, why 
 should we recur to such dangerous principles ? Requisitions have 
 been often refused, sometimes from an impossibility of complying 
 with them ; often from that great variety of circumstances which 
 retards the collection of moneys ; and perhaps sometimes from a 
 wilful design of procrastinating. But why shall we give up to the 
 national government this power, so dangerous in its nature, and 
 for which its members will not have sufficient information ? Is it 
 not well known that what would be a proper tax in one State 
 would be grievous in another ? The gentleman who has favored us 
 with a eulogium in favor of this system, must, after all the encomi 
 ums he has been pleased to bestow upon it, acknowledge that our 
 federal representatives must be unacquainted with the situation of 
 their constituents. Sixty-five members cannot possibly know the 
 situation and circumstances of all the inhabitants of this immense 
 continent. When a certain sum comes to be taxed, and the mode 
 of levying to be fixed, they will lay the tax on that article which 
 will be most productive and easiest in the collection, without con 
 sulting the real circumstances or convenience of a country, with 
 which, in fact, they cannot be sufficiently acquainted. 
 
 The mode of levying taxes is of the utmost consequence ; and yet 
 here it is to be determined by those who have neither knowledge of 
 our situation, nor a common interest with us, nor a fellow-feeling 
 for us. The subjects of taxation differs in three fourths, nay, I might 
 say with truth, in four fifths of the States. If we trust the national 
 government with an effectual way of raising the necessary sums, it 
 is sufficient : everything we do further is trusting the happiness 
 and rights of the people. Why, then, should we give up this 
 dangerous power of individual taxation ? Why leave the manner 
 of laying taxes to those who, in the nature of things, cannot be 
 
394 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 acquainted with the situation of those on whom they are to impose 
 them, when it can be done by those who are well acquainted with 
 it ? If, instead of giving this oppressive power, we give them such 
 an effectual alternative as will answer the purpose, without en 
 countering the evil and danger that might arise from it, then I 
 would cheerfully acquiesce ; and would it not be far more eligible ? 
 I candidly acknowledge the inefficacy of the Confederation ; but 
 requisitions have been made which were impossible to be complied 
 with requisitions for more gold and silver than were in the 
 United States. If we give the general government the power of 
 demanding their quotas of the States, with an alternative of laying 
 direct taxes in case of non-compliance, then the mischief would 
 be avoided ; and the certainty of this conditional power would, in 
 all human probability, prevent the application, and the sums 
 necessary for the Union would be then laid by the States, by those 
 who know how it can best be raised, by those who have a fellow- 
 feeling for us. Give me leave to say, that the sum raised one way 
 with convenience and ease, would be very oppressive another way. 
 Why, then, not leave this power to to be exercised by those who 
 know the mode most convenient for the inhabitants, and not by 
 those who must necessarily apportion it in such manner as shall 
 be oppressive ? 
 
 With respect to the representation so much applauded, I 
 cannot think it such a full and free one as it is represented ; but 
 I must candidly acknowledge that this defect results from the 
 very nature of the government. It would be impossible to have 
 a full and adequate representation in the general government ; 
 it would be too expensive and too unwieldy. We are, then, under 
 the necessity of having this a very inadequate representation. Is 
 this general representation to be compared with the real, actual, 
 substantial representation of the State legislatures ? It cannot bear 
 a comparison. To make representation real and actual, the num 
 ber of representatives ought to be adequate ; they ought to mix 
 with the people, think as they think, feel as they feel, ought to be 
 perfectly amenable to them, and thoroughly acquainted with their 
 interest and condition. Now, these great ingredients are either 
 not at all, or in a small degree, to be found in our federal repre 
 sentatives ; so that we have no real, actual, substantial representa 
 tion ; but I acknowledge it results from the nature of the 
 
APPENDIX. 395 
 
 government. The necessity of this inconvenience may appear a 
 sufficient reason not to argue against it ; but, sir, it clearly shows 
 that we ought to give power with a sparing hand to a government 
 thus imperfectly constructed. To a government which, in the 
 nature of things, cannot but be defective, no powers ought to be 
 given but such as are absolutely necessary. There is one thing in 
 it which I conceive to be extremely dangerous. Gentlemen may 
 talk of public virtue and confidence ; we shall be told that the 
 House of Representatives will consist of the most virtuous men on 
 the continent, and that in their hands we may trust our dearest 
 rights. This, like all other assemblies, will be composed of some 
 bad and some good men ; and considering the natural lust of 
 power so inherent in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail 
 to oppress the people. What I conceive to be so dangerous, is the 
 provision with respect to the number of representatives ; it does not 
 expressly provide that we shall have one for every thirty thousand, 
 but that the number shall not exceed that proportion. The ut 
 most that we can expect (and perhaps that is too much) is, that the 
 present number shall be continued to us ; " the number of repre 
 sentatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand." Now 
 will not this be complied with, although the present number 
 should never be increased nay, although it should be decreased ? 
 Suppose Congress should say that we should have one for every 
 200 thousand ; will not the Constitution be complied with ? for 
 one for every 200 thousand does not exceed one for every 
 thirty thousand. 
 
 There is a want of proportion that ought to be strictly guarded 
 against. The worthy gentleman tells us that we have no reason 
 to fear ; but I always fear for the rights of the people. I do 
 not pretend to inspiration ; but I think it is apparent as the day, 
 that the members will attend to local, partial interests, to prevent 
 an augmentation of their number. I know not how they will be 
 chosen ; but, whatever be the mode of choosing, our present 
 numbers will be ten ; and suppose our State is laid off in ten 
 districts, those gentlemen who shall be sent from those districts 
 will lessen their own power and influence in their respective dis 
 tricts if they increase their number ; for the greater the number 
 of men among whom any given quantum of power is divided, 
 the less the power of each individual. Thus they will have a 
 
396 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 local interest to prevent the increase of, and perhaps they will 
 lessen their own number. This is evident on the face of the 
 Constitution : so loose an expression ought to be guarded against, 
 for Congress will be clearly within the requisition of the Con 
 stitution although the number of representatives should always 
 continue what it is now, and the population of the country 
 should increase to an immense number. Nay, they may reduce 
 the number from sixty-five to one from each State, without violat 
 ing the Constitution ; and thus the number, which is now too 
 small, would then be infinitely too much so. But my principal 
 objection is, that the Confederation is converted to one general 
 consolidated government, which, from my best judgement of it, 
 (and which perhaps will be shown, in the course of this discussion, 
 to be really well founded,) is one of the worst curses that can pos 
 sibly befall a nation. Does any man suppose that one general 
 national government can exist in so extensive a country as this. I 
 hope that a government may be framed which may suit us, by 
 drawing a line between the general and State governments, and 
 prevent that dangerous clashing of interest and power, which 
 must, as it now stands, terminate in the destruction of one or the 
 other. When we come to the judiciary, we shall be more con 
 vinced that this government will terminate in the annihilation of 
 the State governments : the question then will be, whether a 
 consolidated government can preserve the freedom and secure 
 the rights of the people. 
 
 If such amendments be introduced as shall exclude danger, I 
 shall most gladly put my hand to it. When such amendments as 
 shall, from the best information, secure the great essential rights 
 of the people, shall be agreed to by gentlemen, I shall most 
 heartily make the greatest concessions, and concur in any reason 
 able measure to obtain the desirable end of conciliation and una 
 nimity. An indispensable amendment in this case is, that Congress 
 shall not exercise the power of raising direct taxes till the States 
 shall have refused to comply with the requisitions of Congress. 
 On this condition it may be granted ; but I see no reason to 
 grant it unconditionally, as the States can raise the taxes with 
 more ease, and lay them on the inhabitants with more propriety, 
 than it is possible for the general government to do. If Congress 
 hath this power, without control, the taxes will be laid by those 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 397 
 
 who have no fellow-feeling or acquaintance with the people. This 
 is my objection to the article now under consideration. It is a 
 very great and important one. I therefore beg gentlemen to con 
 sider it. Should this power be restrained, I shall withdraw my 
 objections to this part of the Constitution ; but as it stands, it is 
 an objection so strong in my mind, that its amendment is with me 
 a sine qua non of its adoption. I wish for such amendments, and 
 such only, as are necessary to secure the dearest rights of the 
 people. 
 
 Wednesday, June n. Madison made the opening speech. Some 
 conversation then followed on the mode of discussion [ ist and 2 nd 
 Henry advocating as the best plan, to discuss it at large Sections, 
 Madison approving of a regular, progressive discussion. 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, gentlemen will be pleased 
 to consider that, on so important a subject as this, it is impossible 
 in the nature of things, to avoid arguing more at large than is 
 usual. You will allow that I have not taken up a great part of 
 your time. But as gentlemen have indulged themselves in entering 
 at large into the subject, I hope to be permitted to follow them, 
 and answer their observations. 
 
 The worthy member, (Mr. Nicholas,) at a very early day, gave 
 us an accurate detail of the representation of the people in Britain, 
 and of the rights of the King of Britain ; and illustrated his ob 
 servations by a quotation from Dr. Price. Gentlemen will please 
 to take notice that those arguments relate to a single government, 
 and that they are not applicable to this case. However applicable 
 they may be to such a government as that of Great Britain, it will 
 be entirely inapplicable to such a government as ours. The gentle 
 man in drawing a comparison between the representation of the 
 people in the House of Commons, in England, and the represen 
 tation in the government now proposed to us, has been pleased to 
 express his approbation in favor of the American government. 
 Let us examine. I think that there are about 550 members in the 
 English House of Commons. The people of Britain have a rep 
 resentation in Parliament of five hundred and fifty members, who 
 intimately mingle with all classes of the people, feeling and know 
 ing their circumstances. In the proposed American government 
 in a country perhaps ten times more extensive we are to have a 
 representation of sixty-five, who from the nature of the govern- 
 
398 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ment, cannot possibly be mingled with the different classes of the 
 people, nor have a fellow-feeling for them. 
 
 They must form an aristocracy, and will not regard the interest 
 of the people. Experience tells us that men pay most regard to 
 those whose rank and situation are similar to their own. In the 
 course of the investigation, the gentleman mentioned the bribery 
 and corruption of Parliament, and drew a conclusion the very re 
 verse of what I should have formed on the subject. He said, if I 
 recollect rightly, that the American representation is more secured 
 against bribery and corruption, than the English Parliament. Are 
 sixty-five better than five hundred and fifty ? Bribery and corrup 
 tion, in my opinion, will be practised in America more than in Eng 
 land, in proportion as five hundred and fifty exceed sixty-five ; and 
 there will be less integrity and probity in proportion as sixty-five is 
 less than five hundred and fifty. From what source is the bribery 
 practised in the British Parliament derived ? I think the principal 
 source is the distribution of places, offices, and posts. Will any 
 gentleman deny this ? Give me leave, on this occasion, to recur to 
 that clause of the Constitution which speaks of restraint, and has 
 the appearance of restraining from corruption, &c., but which, 
 when examined, will be found to be no restraint at all. The clause 
 runs thus : " No senator or representative shall, during the time 
 for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office, under 
 the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, 
 or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such 
 time ; and no person holding any office under the United States 
 shall be a member of either house during his continuance in 
 office." This appears to me to be no restraint at all. It is to be 
 observed that this restraint only extends to civil officers. 
 
 But I will not examine whether it be a proper distinction or 
 not. What is the restraint as to civil officers ? Only that they 
 shall not be appointed to offices which shall have been created, or 
 the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during the 
 time for which they shall have been elected. They may be ap 
 pointed to existing offices, if the emoluments be not increased 
 during the time for which they were elected. 
 
 [Here Mr. Mason spoke too low to he heard.] 
 
 Thus, after the government is set in motion, the restraint will be 
 gone. They may appoint what number of officers they please. 
 
APPENDIX. 399 
 
 They may send ambassadors to every part of Europe. Here 
 is, sir, I think, as wide a door for corruption as in any govern 
 ment in Europe. There is the same inducement for corruption, 
 there is the same room for it, in this government, which they have 
 in the British government ; and in proportion as the number is 
 smaller, corruption will be greater. 
 
 That unconditional power of taxation which is given to that 
 government cannot but oppress the people. If, instead of this, a 
 conditional power of taxation be given, in case of refusal to com 
 ply with requisitions, the same end will be answered with conven 
 ience to the people. This will not lessen the power of Congress ; 
 we do not want to lessen the power of Congress unnecessarily. 
 This will produce moderation in the demand, and will prevent 
 the ruinous exercise of that power by those who know not our 
 situation. We shall then have that mode of taxation which is the 
 most easy, and least oppressive to the people, because it will be 
 exercised by those who are acquainted with their condition and 
 circumstances. This, sir, is the great object we wish to secure 
 that our people should be taxed by those who have a fellow- 
 feeling for them. I think I can venture to assert that the general 
 government will lay such taxes as are the easiest and the most 
 productive in the collection. This is natural and probable. 
 
 For example, they may lay a poll tax. This is simply and easily 
 collected, but is of all taxes the most grievous. Why the most 
 grievous ? Because it falls light on the rich, and heavy on the 
 poor. It is most oppressive : for if the rich man is taxed, he can 
 only retrench his superfluities ; but the consequence to the poor 
 man is, that it increases his miseries. That they will lay the most 
 simple taxes, and such as are easiest to collect, is highly probable, 
 nay, almost absolutely certain. I shall take the liberty, on this 
 occasion, to read you a letter, which will show, at least as far as 
 opinion goes, what sort of taxes will be most probably laid on us, 
 if we adopt this Constitution. It was the opinion of a gentleman 
 of information. It will in some degree establish the fallacy of 
 those reports which have been circulated through the country, 
 and which induced a great many poor, ignorant people to believe 
 that the taxes were to be lessened by the adoption of the pro 
 posed government. 
 
 [Here Mr. Mason read a letter from Mr. Robert Morris, finan- 
 
400 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 cier of the United States, to Congress, wherein he spoke of the 
 propriety of laying the following taxes for the use of the United 
 States ; viz., six shillings on every hundred acres of land, six 
 shillings per poll, and nine pence per gallon on all spirituous 
 liquors distilled in the country. Mr. Mason declared that he 
 did not mean to make the smallest reflection on Mr. Morris, 
 but introduced his letter to show what taxes would probably 
 be laid.] 
 
 He then continued : This will at least show that such taxes 
 were in agitation, and were strongly advocated by a considerable 
 part of Congress. I have read this letter to show that they will 
 lay taxes most easy to be collected, without any regard to our 
 convenience ; so that, instead of amusing ourselves with a 
 diminution of our taxes, we may rest assured that they will be 
 increased. But my principal reason for introducing it was, to 
 show that taxes would be laid by those who are not acquainted 
 with our situation, and that the agents of the collection may be 
 consulted upon the most productive and simple mode of taxation. 
 The gentleman who wrote this letter had more information on 
 this subject than we have ; but this will show gentlemen that we 
 are not to be eased of taxes. Any of those taxes which have 
 been pointed out by this financier as the most eligible, will be 
 ruinous and unequal, and will be particularly oppressive on the 
 poorest part of the people. 
 
 As to a poll tax, I have already spoken of its iniquitous opera 
 tion, and need not say much of it, because it is so generally 
 disliked in this State, that we were obliged to abolish it last 
 year. As to a land tax, it will operate most unequally. The 
 man who has one hundred acres of the richest land will pay as 
 little as a man who has one hundred acres of the poorest land. 
 Near Philadelphia, or Boston, an acre of land is worth one hun 
 dred pounds ; yet the possessor of it will pay no more than the 
 man with us whose land is hardly worth twenty shillings an acre. 
 Some landholders in this State will have to pay twenty times as 
 much as will be paid for all the land on which Philadelphia stands ; 
 and as to excise, this will carry the exciseman to every farmer s 
 house, who distils a little brandy, where he may search and 
 ransack as he pleases. 
 
 These I mention as specimens of the kind of tax which is to be 
 
APPENDIX. 401 
 
 laid upon us by those who have no information of our situation, 
 and by a government where the wealthy only are represented. 
 It is urged that no new power is given up to the general govern 
 ment, and that the Confederation had those powers before. That 
 system derived its power from the State governments. When the 
 people of Virginia formed their government, they reserved certain 
 great powers in the bill of rights. They would not trust their 
 own citizens, who had a similarity of interest with themselves, 
 and who had frequent and intimate communication with them. 
 They would not trust their own fellow-citizens, I say, with the 
 exercise of those great powers reserved in the bill of rights. Do 
 we not, by this system give up a great part of the rights, reserved 
 by the bill of rights to those who have no fellow-feeling for the 
 people to a government where the representatives will have no 
 communication with the people ? I say, then, there are great 
 and important powers, which were not transferred to the State 
 government, given up to the general government by this Consti 
 tution. Let us advert to the 6th article. It expressly declares, 
 that " this Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
 shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or 
 which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
 shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every 
 State shall be bound thereby ; anything in the Constitution or 
 laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Now, sir, if 
 the laws and Constitution of the general government, as expressly 
 said, be paramount to those of any State, are not those rights 
 with which we were afraid to trust our own citizens annulled and 
 given up to the general government ? The bill of rights is a part 
 of our own Constitution. The judges are obliged to take notice 
 of the laws of the general government ; consequently, the rights 
 secured by our bill of rights are given up. If they are not given 
 up, where are they secured ? By implication ! Let gentlemen 
 show that they are secured in a plain, direct, unequivocal manner. 
 It is not in their power. Then where is the security ? where is 
 the barrier drawn between the government and the rights of the 
 citizens, as secured in our own State government ? These rights 
 are given up in that paper ; but I trust that this Convention will 
 never give them up, but will take pains to secure them to the 
 latest posterity. If a check be necessary in our own State 
 
 VOL. II. 26 
 
4O2 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 government, it is much more so in a government where our 
 representatives are to be at the distance of a thousand miles from 
 us, without any responsibility. 
 
 I said, the other day, that they could not have sufficient 
 information. I was asked how the legislature of Virginia got 
 their information. The answer is easy and obvious. They get 
 it from one hundred and sixty representatives dispersed through 
 all parts of the country. In this government how do they get it ? 
 Instead of one hundred and sixty, there are but ten chosen, 
 if not wholly, yet mostly, from the higher order of the people 
 from the great, the wealthy the well-born the well-born, Mr. 
 Chairman, that aristocratic idol that flattering idea that exotic 
 plant which has been lately imported from the ports of Great 
 Britain, and planted in the luxurious soil of this country. 
 
 In the course of the investigation, much praise has been 
 lavished upon the article which fixes the number of representa 
 tives. It only says that the proportion shall not exceed one for 
 every thirty thousand. 
 
 The worthy gentleman says that the number must be increased, 
 [Nicholas, because representation and taxation are in proportion, 
 June 6.] an d that one cannot be increased without increasing 
 the other, nor decreased without decreasing the other. Let us 
 examine the weight of this argument. If the proportion of each 
 State equally and ratably diminishes, the words of the Constitu 
 tion will be as much satisfied as if it had been increased in the 
 same manner, without any reduction of the taxes. Let us illus 
 trate it familiarly. Virginia has ten representatives ; Maryland 
 has six. Virginia will have to pay a sum in proportion, greater 
 than Maryland, as ten to six. Suppose Virginia reduced to five, 
 and Maryland to three. The relative proportion of money, paid 
 by each, will be the same as before ; and yet the honorable gentle 
 man said, that if this did not convince us, he would give up. 
 I am one of those unhappy men who cannot be amused with 
 assertions. A man from the dead might frighten me ; but I am 
 sure that he could not convince me without using better argu 
 ments than I have yet heard. The same gentleman showed us 
 that though the Northern States had a most decided majority 
 against us, yet the increase of population among us would, in the 
 course of years, change it in our favor. A very sound argument 
 
APPENDIX, 403 
 
 indeed, that we should cheerfully burn ourselves to death in 
 hopes of a joyful and happy resurrection ! 
 
 The very worthy gentleman who presides was pleased to tell us 
 that there was no interference between the legislation of the 
 general government and that of the State legislatures. Pardon 
 me if I show the contrary. In the important instance of taxation 
 there is a palpable interference. Suppose a poll tax ; the general 
 government can lay a poll tax ; the State legislatures can do the 
 same ; and yet it is said there can be no interference. 
 
 My honorable colleague in the late federal Convention, in an 
 swer to another gentleman, who had said that the annals of man 
 kind could afford no instance of rulers giving up power, has told 
 us that eight States had adopted the Constitution, and that this 
 was a relinquishment of power. Ought this example to have any 
 weight with us ? If that relinquishment was imprudent, shall we 
 imitate it ? I will venture to assert that, out of a thousand in 
 stances where the people precipitately and unguardedly relin 
 quished their power, there has not been one instance of a 
 voluntary surrender of it back by rulers. He afterwards said, 
 that freedom at home and respectability abroad would be the 
 consequence of the adoption of this government, and that we can 
 not exist without its adoption. Highly as I esteem that gentleman, 
 highly as I esteem his historical knowledge, I am obliged to deny 
 his assertions. 
 
 If this government will endanger our liberties in its present 
 state, its adoption will not promote our happiness at home. 
 The people of this country are as independent, happy, and re 
 spectable as those of any country. France is the most powerful 
 and respectable nation on earth. Would the planters of this 
 country change their shoes for the wooden shoes of the peasants 
 of France ? Perhaps Russia is the next greatest power in Europe. 
 Would we change situations with the people of Russia ? We have 
 heard a great deal of Holland. Some have called its government 
 a democracy ; others have called it an aristocracy. It is well 
 known to be a republic. It has arisen to uncommon power and 
 wealth. Compared to its neighboring countries, its fortune has 
 been surprising. 
 
 [Here Mr. Mason made a quotation, showing the comparative 
 flourishing condition of the inhabitants of Holland, even a few 
 
404 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 years after they had shaken off the Spanish yoke ; that plenty and 
 contentment were to be everywhere seen, the peasants well 
 clothed, provisions plenty, their furniture and domestic utensils 
 in abundance, and their lands well stocked ; that, on the con 
 trary, the people of Spain were in a poor and miserable condition, 
 in want of every thing of which the people of Holland enjoyed the 
 greatest abundance.] 
 
 Mr. Mason then continued : As this was within a few years 
 after the Spanish revolution, this striking contrast could be owing 
 to no other cause than the liberty which they enjoyed under their 
 government. Here behold the difference between a powerful, 
 great consolidation, and a confederacy. They tell us that if we 
 be powerful and respectable abroad, we shall have liberty and 
 happiness at home. Let us secure that liberty, that happiness first, 
 and we shall then be respectable. 
 
 I have some acquaintance with a great many characters who 
 favor this government, their connections, their conduct, their 
 political principles, and a number of other circumstances. There 
 are a great many wise and good men among them. But when I 
 look round the number of my acquaintance in Virginia, the 
 country wherein I was born and have lived so many years, and ob 
 serve who are the warmest and the most zealous friends to this new 
 government, it makes me think of the story of the cat transformed 
 into a fine lady : forgetting her transformation, and happening to 
 see a rat, she could not restrain herself, but sprang upon it out of 
 the chair. 
 
 He (Governor Randolph) dwelt largely on the necessity of the 
 union. A great many others have enlarged on this subject. 
 Foreigners would suppose, from the declamation about union, that 
 there was a great dislike in America to any general American 
 government. I have never, in my whole life, heard one single 
 man deny the necessity and propriety of the union. This neces 
 sity is deeply impressed on every American mind. There can be 
 no danger of any object being lost when the mind of every man 
 in the country is strongly attached to it. But I hope that it is 
 not to the name, but to the blessings of union, that we are at 
 tached. Those gentlemen who are loudest in their praises of the 
 name, are not more attached to the reality than I am. The 
 security of our liberty and happiness is the object we ought to 
 
APPENDIX. 405 
 
 have in view in wishing to establish the union. If, instead of 
 securing these, we endanger them, the name of union will be but 
 a trivial consolation. If the objections be removed, if those parts 
 which are clearly subversive of our rights be altered, no man will 
 go farther than I will to advance the union. We are told, in 
 strong language, of dangers to which we will be exposed unless 
 we adopt this Constitution. Among the rest, domestic safety is 
 said to be in danger. This government does not intend our do 
 mestic safety. It authorizes the importation of slaves for twenty 
 odd years, and thus continues upon us that nefarious trade. In 
 stead of securing and protecting us, the continuation of this 
 detestable trade adds daily to our weakness. Though this evil is 
 increasing, there is no clause in the Constitution that will prevent 
 the Northern and Eastern States from meddling with our whole 
 property of that kind. There is a clause to prohibit the importa 
 tion of slaves after twenty years ; but there is no provision made 
 for securing to the Southern States those they now possess. It is 
 far from being a desirable property ; but it will involve us in great 
 difficulties and infelicity to be now deprived of them. There 
 ought to be a clause in the Constitution to secure us that prop 
 erty which we have acquired under our former laws, and the loss 
 of which would bring ruin on a great many people. 
 
 Maryland and the Potomac have been mentioned. I have had 
 some little means of being acquainted with that subject, having 
 been one of the commissioners who made the compact with Mary 
 land. There is no cause of fear on that ground. Maryland, says 
 the gentleman, has a right to the navigation of the Potomac. 
 This is a right which she never exercised. Maryland was pleased 
 with what she had in return for a right which she never exercised. 
 Every ship which comes within the State of Maryland, except 
 some small boats, must come within our country. Maryland was 
 very glad to get what she got by this compact, for she considered 
 it as next to getting it without any compensation on her part. 
 She considered it, at least, as next to a quid pro quo. 
 
 The back land, he says, is another source of danger. Another 
 day will show that, if that Constitution is adopted without amend 
 ments, there are twenty thousand families of good citizens in the 
 north-west district, between the Alleghany Mountains and the 
 Blue Ridge, who will run the risk of being driven from their lands. 
 
406 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 They will be ousted from them by the Indiana Company by the 
 survivors although their right and titles have been confirmed by 
 the Assembly of our own State. I will pursue it no farther now, 
 but take an opportunity to consider it another time. 
 
 The alarming magnitude of our debts is urged as a reason for 
 our adoption. And shall we, because involved in debts, take less 
 care of our rights and liberties ? Shall we abandon them because 
 we owe money which we cannot immediately pay ? Will this 
 system enable us to pay our debts and lessen our difficulties ? 
 Perhaps the new government possesses some secret, some power 
 ful means of turning everything to gold. It has been called by 
 one gentleman the philosopher s stone. The comparison was a 
 pointed one, at least in this, that, on the subject of producing 
 gold, they will be both equally delusive and fallacious. The one 
 will be as inapplicable as the other. The dissolution of the Union, 
 the dangers of separate confederacies, and the quarrels of bor 
 derers, have been enlarged upon to persuade us to embrace this 
 government. 
 
 My honorable colleague in the late Convention seems to raise 
 phantoms ; and to show a singular skill in exorcisms, to terrify 
 and compel us to take the new government, with all its sins and 
 dangers. I know that he once saw as great danger in it as I do. 
 What has happened since to alter his opinion ? If anything, I 
 know it not. But the Virginia legislature has occasioned it, by 
 postponing the matter. The Convention had met in June, instead 
 of March or April. The liberty or misery of millions yet unborn 
 are deeply concerned in our decision. When this is the case, I 
 cannot imagine that the short period between the last of Septem 
 ber and first of June ought to make any difference. The union 
 between England and Scotland has been strongly instanced by 
 the honorable gentleman to prove the necessity of our acceding 
 to this new government. He must know that the act of union 
 secured the rights of the Scotch nation. The rights and privi 
 leges of the people of Scotland are expressly secured. We wish 
 only our rights to be secured. We must have such amendments 
 as will secure the liberties and happiness of the people on a plain, 
 simple construction, not on a doubtful ground. We wish to give 
 the government sufficient energy, on real republican principles ; 
 but we wish to withhold such powers as are not absolutely neces- 
 
APPENDIX. 407 
 
 sary in themselves, but extremely dangerous. We wish to shut 
 the door against corruption in that place where it is most danger 
 ous to secure against the corruption of our own representatives. 
 We ask such amendments as will point out what powers are 
 reserved to the State governments, and clearly discriminate 
 between them and those which are given to the general govern 
 ment, so as to prevent future disputes and clashing of interests. 
 Grant us amendments like these, and we will cheerfully, with our 
 hands and hearts, unite with those who advocate it, and we will 
 do everything we can to support and carry it into execution. But 
 in its present form we never can accede to it. Our duty to God 
 and to our posterity forbids it. We acknowledge the defects of 
 the Confederation, and the necessity of a reform. We ardently 
 wish for a union with our sister States, on terms of security. 
 This I am bold to declare is the desire of most of the people. 
 On these terms we will most cheerfully join with the warmest 
 friends of this Constitution. On another occasion I shall point 
 out the great dangers of this Constitution, and the amendments 
 which are necessary. I will likewise endeavor to show that 
 amendments after ratification are delusive and fallacious perhaps 
 utterly impracticable. 
 
 Saturday, June 14, [Art. I., Section 8.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, unless there be some 
 restrictions on the power of calling forth the militia, to execute 
 the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, 
 we may very easily see that it will produce dreadful oppressions. 
 It is extremely unsafe, without some alterations. It would be to 
 use the militia to a very bad purpose, if any disturbance happened 
 in New Hampshire, to call them from Georgia. This would 
 harass the people so much that they would agree to abolish the 
 use of the militia, and establish a standing army. I conceive the 
 general government ought to have power over the militia, but it 
 ought to have some bounds. If gentlemen say that the militia of 
 a neighboring State is not sufficient, the government ought to have 
 power to call forth those of other States, the most convenient and 
 contiguous. But in this case, the consent of the State legislatures 
 ought to be had. On real emergencies, this consent will never be 
 denied, each State being concerned in the safety of the rest. 
 This power may be restricted without any danger. I wish such 
 
408 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 an amendment as this that the militia of any State should not be 
 marched beyond the limits of the adjoining State ; and if it be 
 necessary to draw them from one end of the continent to the 
 other, I wish such a check, as the consent of the State legislature, 
 to be provided. Gentlemen may say that this would impede the 
 government, and that the State legislatures would counteract it 
 by refusing their consent. This argument may be applied to all 
 objections whatsoever. How is this compared to the British 
 constitution ? Though the King may declare war, the Parliament 
 has the means of carrying it on. It is not so here. Congress can 
 do both. Were it not for that check in the British government, 
 the monarch would be a despot. When a war is necessary for 
 the benefits of the nation, the means of carrying it on are never 
 denied. If any unjust requisition be made on Parliament, it will 
 be, as it ought to be, refused. The same principle ought to be 
 observed in our government. In times of real danger, the States 
 will have the same enthusiasm in aiding the general government, 
 and granting its demands, which is seen in England, when the 
 King is engaged in a war apparently for the interest of the nation. 
 This power is necessary ; but we ought to guard against danger. 
 If ever they attempt to harass and abuse the militia, they may 
 abolish them, and raise a standing army in their stead. There 
 are various ways of destroying the militia. A standing army may 
 be perpetually established in their stead. I abominate and detest 
 the idea of a government where there is a standing army. The 
 militia may be here destroyed by that method which has been 
 practised in other parts of the world before ; that is, by rendering 
 them useless by disarming them. Under various pretences 
 Congress may neglect to provide for arming and disciplining the 
 militia ; and the State governments cannot do it, for Congress has 
 an exclusive right to arm them, &c. Here is a line of division 
 drawn between them the State and general governments. The 
 power over the militia is divided between them. The national 
 government has an exclusive right to provide for arming, organ 
 izing, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of 
 them as may be employed in the service of the United States. 
 The State governments have the power of appointing the officers, 
 and of training the militia, according to the discipline prescribed 
 by Congress, if they should think proper to prescribe any. 
 
APPENDIX. 409 
 
 Should the national government wish to render the militia useless, 
 they may neglect them, and let them perish, in order to have a 
 pretence of establishing a standing army. 
 
 No man has a greater regard for the military gentlemen than I 
 have. I admire their intrepidity, perseverance, and valor. But 
 when once a standing army is established in any country, the 
 people lose their liberty. When, against a regular and disciplined 
 army, yeomanry are the only defence, yeomanry, unskilful and 
 unarmed what chance is there for preserving freedom ? Give me 
 leave to recur to the page of history, to warn you of your present 
 danger. Recollect the history of most nations of the world. 
 What havoc, desolation and destruction, have been perpetrated by 
 standing armies ! An instance within the memory of some of this 
 house will show us how our militia may be destroyed. Forty 
 years ago, when the resolution of enslaving America was formed 
 in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful 
 man [Sir William Keith] who was governor of Pennsylvania, to 
 disarm the people ; that it was the best and most effectual way to 
 enslave them ; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken 
 them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neg 
 lecting the militia. [Here Mr. Mason quoted sundry passages to 
 this effect.] This was a most iniquitious project. Why should 
 we not provide against the danger of having our militia, our real 
 and natural strength destroyed ? The general government ought, 
 at the same time, to have some such power. But we need not 
 give them power to abolish our militia. If they neglect to arm 
 them, and prescribe proper discipline, they will be of no use. I 
 am not acquainted with the military profession. I beg to be ex 
 cused for any errors I may commit with respect to it. But I stand 
 on the general principles of freedom, whereon I dare to meet any 
 one. I wish that, in case the general government should neglect 
 to arm and discipline the militia, there should be an express dec 
 laration that the State governments might arm and discipline 
 them. With this single exception, I would agree to this part, as I 
 am conscious the government ought to have the power. 
 
 They may effect the destruction of the militia, by rendering the 
 service odious to the people themselves, by harassing them from 
 one end of the continent to the other, and by keeping them under 
 martial law. 
 
410 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 The English Parliament never pass a mutiny bill but for one 
 year. This is necessary ; for otherwise the soldiers would be on 
 the same footing with the officers, and the army would be dis 
 solved. One mutiny bill has been here in force since the revolu 
 tion. I humbly conceive there is extreme danger of establishing 
 cruel martial regulations. If, at any time, our rulers should have 
 unjust and iniquitous designs against our liberties, and should 
 wish to establish a standing army, the first attempt would be to 
 render the service and use of militia odious to the people them 
 selves subjecting them to unnecessary severity of discipline in 
 time of peace, confining them under martial law, and disgusting 
 them so much as to make them cry out, " Give us a standing 
 army ! " I would wish to have some check to exclude this 
 danger ; as, that the militia should never be subject to martial 
 law but in time of war. I consider and fear the natural propensity 
 of rulers to oppress the people. I wish only to prevent them 
 from doing evil. By these amendments I would give necessary 
 powers, but no unnecessary power. If the clause stands as it is 
 now, it will take from the State legislatures what divine Providence 
 has given to every individual the means of self-defence. Unless 
 it be moderated in some degree, it will ruin us, and introduce a 
 standing army. 
 
 Mr. George Mason, after having read the clause which gives 
 Congress power to provide for arming, organizing, and disciplining 
 the militia, and governing those in actual service of the Union, 
 declared it as his firm belief, that it included the power of annex 
 ing punishments, and establishing necessary discipline, more es 
 pecially as the construction of this, and every other part of the 
 Constitution, was left to those who were to govern. If so, he 
 asked if Congress could not inflict the most ignominious punish 
 ments on the most worthy citizens of the community. Would 
 freemen submit to such indignant treatment ? It might be thought 
 a strained construction, but it was no more than Congress might 
 put upon it. He thought such severities might be exercised on the 
 militia as would make them wish the use of the militia to be utterly 
 abolished, and assent to the establishment of a standing army. 
 He then adverted to the representation, and said it was not suffi 
 ciently full to take into consideration the feelings and sentiments 
 of all the citizens. He admitted that the nature of the country 
 
APPENDIX. 411 
 
 rendered a full representation impracticable. But he strongly 
 urged that impractibility as a conclusive reason for granting no 
 powers to the government but such as were absolutely indispen 
 sable, and these to be most cautiously guarded. He then recurred 
 to the power of impeachment. On this subject he entertained 
 great suspicions. He apologized for being suspicious. He en 
 tered into the world with as few suspicions as any man. Young 
 men, he said, were apt to think well of every one, till time and 
 experience taught them better. After a treaty manifestly repug 
 nant to the interests of the country was made, he asked how they 
 were to be punished. Suppose it had been made by the means 
 of bribery and corruption. Suppose they had received one hun 
 dred thousand guineas, or louis d ors, from a foreign nation, for 
 consenting to a treaty, how was the truth to be come at ? Corrup 
 tion and bribery of that kind had happened in other governments, 
 and might in this. The House of Representatives were to im 
 peach them. The senators were to try themselves. If a majority 
 of them were guilty of the crime, would they pronounce them 
 selves guilty ? Yet, says he, this is called responsibility. He 
 wished to know in what court the members of the government 
 were to be tried for the commission of indictable offences, or in 
 juries to individuals. He acknowledged himself to be no lawyer ; 
 but he thought he could see that they could be tried neither in 
 the State nor federal courts. The only means, therefore, of 
 bringing them to punishment, must be by a court appointed by 
 law ; and the law to punish them must also be made by them 
 selves. By whom is it to be made ? demanded he. By the very 
 men who are interested in not inflicting punishment. Yet, says 
 he, though they make the law, and fix the punishment to be 
 inflicted on themselves, it is called responsibility. If the senators 
 do not agree to the law, it will not be made, and thus they will 
 escape altogether. 
 
 [Mr. Mason then animadverted on the ultimate control of 
 Congress over the elections, and was proceeding to prove that it 
 was dangerous, when he was called to order, by Mr. Nicholas, 
 for departing from the clause under consideration. A desultory 
 conversation ensued, and Mr. Mason was permitted to proceed. 
 He was of opinion that the control over elections tended to 
 destroy responsibility. He declared he had endeavored to dis- 
 
412 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 cover whether this power was really necessary, or what was the 
 necessity of vesting it in the government, but he could find no 
 good reason for giving it ; that the reasons suggested were that, in 
 case the States should refuse or neglect to make regulations, or 
 in case they should be prevented from making regulations 
 by rebellion or invasion, then the general government should 
 interpose.] 
 
 Mr. Mason then proceeded thus : If there be any other cases, I 
 should be glad to know them ; for I know them not. If there be 
 no other, why not confine them to these cases ? But the power 
 here, as in a thousand other instances, is without reason. I have 
 no power which any other person can take from me. I have no 
 right of representation, if they can take it from me. I say, 
 therefore, that Congress may, by this claim, take away the right 
 of representation, or render it nugatory, despicable, or oppressive. 
 It is at least argumentative, that what may be done will be done, 
 and that a favorite point will be . done by those who can. 
 Suppose the State of Virginia should adopt such regulations as 
 gentlemen say, (and in which I accord with all my heart,) and 
 divide the State into ten districts. Suppose then, that Congress 
 should order, instead of this, that the elections should be held 
 in the borough of Norfolk. Will any man say that any man in 
 Frederick or Berkeley county would have any share in this 
 representation, if the members were chosen in Norfolk ? Nay, I 
 might go farther, and say that the elections for all the States 
 might be had in New York, and then we should have to go so 
 far that the privilege would be lost altogether ; for but few 
 gentlemen could afford to go thither. Some of the best friends 
 of the Constitution have advocated that the elections should be 
 in one place. This power is not necessary, and is capable of 
 great abuse. It ought to be confined to the particular cases 
 in which they assert it to be necessary. Whatever gentlemen 
 may think of the opposition, I will never agree to give any power 
 which I conceive to be dangerous. 
 
 I have doubts on another point. The 5th section of the ist 
 article provides, " that each house shall keep a journal of its pro 
 ceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such 
 parts as may, in their judgment, require secrecy." This enables 
 them to keep the negotiations about treaties secret. Under this 
 
APPENDIX. 413 
 
 veil they may conceal anything and everything. Why not insert 
 words that would exclude ambiguity and danger ? The words of 
 the Confederation, that defective system, are, in this respect, more 
 eligible. What are they ? In the last clause of the gih article it 
 is provided, "that Congress shall publish the journal of their pro 
 ceedings monthly, except such parts thereof, relating to treaties, 
 alliances, or military operations, as, in their judgment, require 
 secrecy." The proceedings, by that system, are to be published 
 monthly, with certain exceptions. These are proper guards. It is 
 not so here. On the contrary, they may conceal what they please. 
 Instead of giving information, they will produce suspicion. You 
 cannot discover the advocates of their iniquitous acts. This is 
 an additional defect of responsibility. 
 
 Neither house can adjourn, without the consent of the other, 
 for more than three days. This is no parliamentary rule. It is 
 untrodden ground, and it appears to me liable to much exception. 
 The senators are chosen for six years. They are not recallable for 
 those six years, and are ineligible at the end of the six years. It 
 stands on a very different ground from the Confederation. By 
 that system, they were only elected for one year, might be 
 recalled, and were incapable of reelection. But in the new 
 Constitution, instead of being elected for one, they are chosen for 
 six years. They cannot be recalled, in all that time, for any 
 misconduct ; and at the end of that long term may again be 
 elected. What will be the operation of this ? Is it not probable that 
 those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves 
 in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than 
 of our State ? They will purchase a good seat in or near the 
 town, and become inhabitants of that place. Will it not be, then, 
 in the power of the Senate to worry the House of Representatives 
 into anything ? They will be a continually existing body. They 
 will exercise those machinations and contrivances which the 
 many have always to fear from the few. The House of Repre 
 sentatives is the only check on the Senate, with their enormous 
 powers. But, by that clause, you give them the power of worry 
 ing the House of Representatives into a compliance with any 
 measure. The senators living on the spot will feel no incon 
 venience from long sessions, as they will vote themselves hand 
 some pay, without incurring any additional expenses. Your 
 
414 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 representatives are on a different ground from their shorter con 
 tinuance in office. The gentlemen from Georgia are six or seven 
 hundred miles from home, and wish to go home. The Senate, 
 taking advantage of this, by stopping the other house from 
 adjourning, may worry them into anything. These are my doubts, 
 and I think the provision not consistent with the usual parlia 
 mentary modes. 
 
 Monday, June 16. [The 8th Section still under consideration.] 
 Mr. George Mason asked to what purpose the laws were read. 
 [Acts of the Va. Assembly concerning the militia read on 
 motion of Madison.] The objection was, that too much power 
 was given to Congress power that would finally destroy the 
 State governments more effectually by insidious, underhanded 
 means, than such as could be openly practised. This, said he, is 
 the opinion of many worthy men, not only in this Convention, 
 but in all parts of America. These laws could only show that 
 the legislature of this State could pass such acts. He thought 
 they militated against the cession of this power to Congress, 
 because the State governments could call forth the militia when 
 necessary, so as to compel a submission to the laws ; and as they 
 were competent to it, Congress ought not to have the power. 
 The meeting of three or four persons might be called an insurrec 
 tion, and the militia might be called out to disperse them. He 
 was not satisfied with the explanation of the word organization 
 by the gentleman in the military line. (Mr. Lee.) He thought 
 they were not confined to the technical explanation, but that 
 Congress could inflict severe and ignominious punishments on 
 the militia, as a necessary incident to the power of organizing 
 and disciplining them. The gentleman had said there was no 
 danger, because the laws respecting the militia were less rigid 
 in the other States than this. This was no conclusive argu 
 ment. His fears, as he had before expressed, were, that grievous 
 punishments would be inflicted, in order to render the service 
 disagreeable to the militia themselves, and induce them to wish 
 its abolition, which would afford a pretence for establishing a 
 standing army. He was convinced the State governments ought 
 to have the control of the militia, except when they were abso 
 lutely necessary for general purposes. The gentleman had said 
 that they would be only subject to martial law when in actual 
 
APPENDIX. 415 
 
 service. He demanded what was to hinder Congress from inflict 
 ing it always, and making a general law for the purpose. If so, 
 said he, it must finally produce, most infallibly, the annihilation 
 of the State governments. These were his apprehensions ; but 
 he prayed God they might be groundless. 
 
 {Militia contin ued. ] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, a worthy member has 
 asked who are the militia, if they be not \he people of this country, 
 and if we are not to be protected from the fate of the Germans, 
 Prussians, &c., by our representation ? I ask, who are the militia ? 
 They consist now of the whole people, except a few public offi 
 cers. But I cannot say who will be the militia of the future day. 
 If that paper on the table gets no alteration, the militia of the 
 future day may not consist of all classes, high and low, and rich 
 and poor ; but they may be confined to the lower and middle 
 classes of the people, granting exclusion to the higher classes of 
 the people. If we should ever see that day, the most ignominious 
 punishments and heavy fines may be expected. Under the pres 
 ent government, all ranks of people are subject to militia duty. 
 Under such a full and equal representation as ours, there can be 
 no ignominious punishment inflicted. But under this national, 
 or rather consolidated government, the case will be different. 
 The representation being so small and inadequate, they will have 
 no fellow-feeling for the people. They may discriminate people 
 in their own predicament, and exempt from duty all the officers 
 and lowest creatures of the national government. If there were a 
 more particular definition of their powers, and a clause exempt 
 ing the militia from martial law except when in actual service, and 
 from fines and punishments of an unusual nature, then we might 
 expect that the militia would be what they are. But, if this be 
 not the case, we cannot say how long all classes of people will be 
 included in the militia. There will not be the same reason to 
 expect it, because the government will be administered by differ 
 ent people. We know what they are now, but know not how 
 soon they may be altered. 
 
 [Mr. George Nicholas spoke next, and in reference to Mason 
 and Gray son said : One objects because there will be select militia ; 
 another objects because there will be no select militia ; and yet 
 both oppose it on these contradictory principles, &c.] 
 
416 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Mr. Mason rose, and said that he was totally misunderstood. 
 The contrast between his friend s objection and his was improper. 
 His friend had mentioned the propriety of having select militia, 
 like those of Great Britain, who should be more thoroughly exer 
 cised than the militia at large could possibly be. But he, himself, 
 had not spoken of a selection of militia, but of the exemption of 
 the highest classes of the people from militia service, which would 
 justify apprehensions of severe and ignominious punishments. 
 
 {Powers of Congress in District of Columbia^ 
 
 Mr. George Mason thought that there were few clauses in the 
 Constitution so dangerous as that which gave Congress exclusive 
 power of legislation within ten miles square. Implication, he 
 observed, was capable of any extension, and would probably be 
 extended to augment the congressional powers. But here there 
 was no need of implication. This clause gave them an unlimited 
 authority in every possible case, within that district. This ten 
 miles square, says Mr. Mason, may set at defiance the laws of the 
 surrounding States, and may, like the custom of the superstitious 
 days of our ancestors, become the sanctuary of the blackest 
 crimes. Here the federal courts are to sit. We have heard a 
 good deal said of justice. It has been doubted whether jury trial 
 be secured in civil cases. But I will suppose that we shall have 
 juries in civil cases. What sort of a jury shall we have within the 
 ten miles square ? The immediate creatures of the government. 
 What chance will poor men get, where Congress have the power 
 of legislating in all cases whatever, and where judges and juries 
 may be under their influence, and bound to support their opera 
 tions ? Even with juries the chance of justice may here be very small, 
 as Congress have unlimited authority, legislative, executive, and 
 judicial. Lest this power should not be sufficient, they have it in 
 every case. Now, sir, if an attempt should be made to establish 
 tyranny over the people, here are ten miles square where the 
 greatest offender may meet protection. If any of their officers, 
 or creatures, should attempt to oppress the people, or should 
 actually perpetrate the blackest deed, he has nothing to do but 
 get into the ten miles square. Why was this dangerous power 
 given. Felons may receive an asylum there and in their strong 
 holds. Gentlemen have said that it was dangerous to argue 
 against possible abuse, because there could be no power dele- 
 
APPENDIX. 417 
 
 gated but might be abused. It is an incontrovertible axiom, that, 
 when the dangers that may arise from the abuse are greater than 
 the benefits that may result from the use, the power ought to be 
 withheld. I do not conceive that this power is at all necessary, 
 though capable of being greatly abused. 
 
 We are told by the honorable gentleman [. Randolph} that 
 Holland has its Hague. I confess I am at a loss to know what 
 inference he could draw from that observation. This is the place 
 where the deputies of the United Provinces meet to transact the 
 public business. But I do not recollect that they have any ex 
 clusive jurisdiction whatever in that place, but are subject to the 
 laws of the province in which the Hague is. To what purpose 
 the gentleman mentioned that Holland has its Hague, I cannot see. 
 
 Mr. Mason then observed that he would willingly give them 
 exclusive power, as far as respected the police and good govern 
 ment of the place ; but he would give them no more, because he 
 thought it unnecessary. He was very willing to give them, in this 
 as well as in all other cases, those powers which he thought indis 
 pensably necessary. 
 
 [Art. I., Sect. 8, Clause 18.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, gentlemen say there is 
 no new power given by this clause. Is there any thing in this 
 Constitution which secures to the States the powers which are 
 said to be retained ? Will powers remain to the States which are 
 not expressly guarded and reserved ? I will suppose a case. 
 Gentlemen may call it an impossible case, and suppose that Con 
 gress will act with wisdom and integrity. Among the enumerated 
 powers, Congress are to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and 
 excises, and to pay the debts, and to provide for the general 
 welfare and common defence ; and by that clause (so often called 
 the sweeping clause] they are to make all laws necessary to execute 
 those laws. Now, suppose oppressions should arise under this 
 government, and any writer should dare to stand forth, and expose 
 to the community at large the abuses of those powers ; could not 
 Congress under the idea of providing for the general r Alien and 
 welfare, and under their own construction, say that this Sedition 
 was destroying the general peace, encouraging sedition, laws ] 
 and poisoning the minds of the people ? And could they not, in 
 order to provide against this, lay a dangerous restriction o^ the 
 
 VOL. II. 27 
 
41 8 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 press ? Might they not even bring the trial of this restriction 
 within the ten miles square, when there is no prohibition against 
 it ? Might they not thus destroy the trial by jury ? Would they 
 not extend their implication ? It appears to me that they may 
 and will. And shall the support of our right depend on the 
 bounty of men whose interest it may be to oppress us ? That 
 Congress should have power to provide for the general welfare of 
 the Union, I grant. But I wish a clause in the Constitution, with 
 respect to all powers which are not granted, that they are retained 
 by the States. Otherwise, the power of providing for the general 
 welfare may be perverted to its destruction. 
 
 Many gentlemen, whom I respect, take different sides of this 
 question. We wish this amendment to be introduced, to remove 
 our apprehensions. There was a clause in the Confederation 
 reserving to the States respectively every power, jurisdiction, and 
 right, not expressly delegated to the United States. This clause 
 has never been complained of, but approved by all. Why not, 
 then, have a similar clause in this Constitution, in which it is the 
 more indispensably necessary than in the Confederation, because 
 of the great augmentation of power vested in the former ? In my 
 humble apprehension, unless there be some such clear and definite 
 expression, this clause now under consideration will go to any 
 thing our rulers may think proper. Unless there be some express 
 declaration that every thing not given is retained, it will be car 
 ried to any power Congress may please. 
 
 [Subject continued.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason still thought that there ought to be some 
 express declaration in the Constitution, asserting that rights not 
 given to the general government were retained by the States. 
 He apprehended that, unless this was done, many valuable and 
 important rights would be concluded to be given up by implication. 
 All governments were drawn from the people, though many were 
 perverted to their oppression. The government of Virginia, he 
 remarked, was drawn from the people ; yet there were certain 
 great and important rights, which the people, by their bill of 
 rights, declared to be paramount to the power of the legislature. 
 He asked, Wliy should it not be so in this Constitution ? Was it 
 because we were more substantially represented in it than in the 
 State government ? If in the State government, where the people 
 
APPENDIX. 419 
 
 were substantially and fully represented, it was necessary that the 
 great rights of human nature should be secure from the encroach 
 ments of the legislature, he asked if it was not more necessary in 
 this government, where they were but inadequately represented ? 
 He declared that artful sophistry and evasions could not satisfy 
 him. He could see no clear distinction between rights relinquished 
 by a positive grant, and lost by implication. Unless there were 
 a bill of rights, implication might swallow up all our rights. 
 
 [In answer to Mr. George Nicholas :] 
 
 Mr. George Mason replied that the worthy gentleman was 
 mistaken in his assertion that the bill of rights did not prohibit 
 torture ; for that one clause expressly provided that no man can 
 give evidence against himself ; and that the worthy gentleman 
 must know that, in those countries where torture is used, evidence 
 was extorted from the criminal himself. Another clause of the 
 bill of rights provided that no cruel and unusual punishments 
 shall be inflicted ; therefore, torture was included in the pro 
 hibition. 
 
 Tuesday June if. [Art. I., Sect. 9.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, this is a fatal section, 
 which has created more dangers than any other. The first clause 
 allows the importation of slaves for twenty years. Under the 
 royal government, this evil was looked upon as a great oppression, 
 and many attempts were made to prevent it ; but the interest of 
 the African merchants prevented its prohibition. No sooner did 
 the revolution take place, than it was thought of. It was one of the 
 great causes of our separation from Great Britain. Its exclusion 
 has been a principal object of this State, and most of the States in 
 the Union. The augmentation of slaves weakens the States ; and 
 such a trade is diabolical in itself, and disgraceful to mankind ; 
 yet, by this Constitution, it is continued for twenty years. As 
 much as I value a union of all the States, I would not admit the 
 Southern States into the Union unless they agree to the discon 
 tinuance of this disgraceful trade, because it would bring weakness 
 and not strength to the Union. And, though this infamous traffic 
 be continued, we have no security for the property of that kind 
 which we have already. There is no clause in this Constitution 
 to secure it ; for they may lay such a tax as will amount to manu 
 mission. And should the government be amended, still this 
 
420 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 detestable kind of commerce cannot be discontinued till after the 
 expiration of twenty years ; for the 5th article which provides for 
 amendments, expressly excepts this clause. I have ever looked 
 upon this as a most disgraceful thing to America. I cannot 
 express my detestation of it. Yet they have not secured us the 
 property of the slaves we have already. So that "they have 
 done what they ought not to have done, and have left undone 
 what they ought to have done." 
 
 [The 2d, 3d, and 4th clauses.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason said, that gentlemen might think themselves 
 secured by the restriction, in the 4th clause, that no capitation or 
 other direct tax should be laid but in proportion to the census 
 before directed to be taken ; but that, when maturely considered, 
 it would be found to be no security whatsoever. It was nothing 
 but a direct assertion, or mere confirmation of the clause which 
 fixed the ratio of taxes and representation. It only meant that 
 the quantum to be raised of each State should be in proportion to 
 their numbers in the manner therein directed. But the general 
 government was not precluded from laying the proportion of any 
 particular State on any one species of property they might think 
 proper. 
 
 For instance, if five hundred thousand dollars were to be raised, 
 they might lay the whole of the proportion of the Southern States 
 on the blacks, or any one species of property ; so that by laying 
 taxes too heavily on slaves, they might totally annihilate that kind 
 of property. No real security could arise from the clause which 
 provides that persons held to labor in one State, escaping into 
 another, shall be delivered up. This only meant that runaway 
 slaves should not be protected in other States. As to the ex 
 clusion of ex post facto laws, it could not be said to create any 
 security in this case ; for laying a tax on slaves would not be ex post 
 facto. 
 
 [The 5th and 6th clauses.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason apprehended the loose expression of " pub 
 lication from time to time " was applicable to any time. It was 
 equally applicable to monthly and septennial periods. It might 
 be extended ever so much. The reason urged in favor of this 
 ambiguous expression was, that there might be some matters 
 which require secrecy. In matters relative to military operations 
 
APPENDIX. 42 1 
 
 and foreign negotiations, secrecy was necessary sometimes ; but 
 he did not conceive that the receipts and expenditures of the 
 public money ought ever to be concealed. The people, he af 
 firmed, had a right to know the expenditures of their money ; but 
 that this expression was so loose, it might be concealed forever 
 from them, and might afford opportunities of misapplying the 
 public money, and sheltering those who did it. He concluded it 
 to be as exceptionable as any clause, in so few words, could be. 
 
 Mr. Lee (of Westmoreland) thought such trivial arguments as 
 that just used by the honorable gentleman would have no weight 
 with the committee, &c. 
 
 Mr. Mason begged to be permitted to use that mode of arguing 
 to which he had been accustomed. However desirous he was of 
 pleasing that worthy gentleman, his duty would not give way to 
 that pleasure. 
 
 [Mr. Nicholas, Mr. Corbin, Mr. Madison, approved of the 
 clause.] 
 
 Mr. Mason replied, that, in the Confederation, the public pro 
 ceedings were to be published monthly, which was infinitely better 
 than depending on men s virtue to publish them or not, as they 
 might please. If there was no such provision in the Constitution 
 of Virginia, gentlemen ought to consider the difference between 
 such a full representation, dispersed and mingled with every part 
 of the community, as the State representation was, and such an in 
 adequate representation as this was. One might be safely trusted, 
 but not the other. 
 
 [The ist clause of the loth section.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason declared he had been informed that some 
 States had speculated most enormously in this matter [Continental 
 money]. Many individuals had speculated so as to make great 
 fortunes on the ruin of their fellow-citizens. The clause which 
 has been read [Art. VI., Clause i], as a sufficient security, seemed 
 to him to be satisfactory as far as it went ; that is, that the Con 
 tinental money ought to stand on the same ground as it did 
 previously, or that the claim should not be impaired. Under the 
 Confederation, there were means of settling the old paper money, 
 either in Congress or in the State legislatures. The money had at 
 last depreciated to a thousand for one. The intention of State 
 speculation, as well as individual speculation, was to get as much 
 
422 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 as possible of that money, in order to recover its nominal value. 
 The means, says he, of settling this money, were in the hands of 
 the old Congress. They could discharge it at its depreciated value. 
 Is there that means here ? No, sir, we must pay it shilling for 
 shilling or at least at the rate of one for forty. The amount will 
 surpass the value of the property of the United States. Neither 
 the State legislatures nor Congress can make an ex post facto law. 
 The nominal value must therefore be paid. Where is the power 
 in the new government to settle this money so as to prevent the 
 country from being ruined ? When they prohibit the making ex post 
 facto laws, they will have no authority to prevent our being ruined 
 by paying that money at its nominal value. 
 
 Without some security against it, we shall be compelled to pay 
 it, to the last particle of our property. Shall we ruin our people 
 by taxation, from generation to generation, to pay that money ? 
 Should any ex post facto law be made to relieve us from such pay 
 ments, it would not be regarded, because ex post facto laws are 
 interdicted in the Constitution. We may be taxed for centuries, 
 to give advantage to a few particular States in the Union, and a 
 number of rapacious speculators. If there be any real security 
 against this misfortune, let gentlemen show it. I can see none. 
 The clause under consideration does away the pretended secu 
 rity in the clause which was adduced by the honorable gentleman 
 [Mr. Madison\. This enormous mass of worthless paper, which 
 has been offered at a thousand for one, must be paid in actual 
 gold and silver at the nominal value. 
 
 [The subject continued.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, the debt is transferred to 
 Congress, but not the means of paying it. They cannot pay it in 
 any other way than according to the nominal value ; for they are 
 prohibited from making ex post facto laws ; and it would be ex 
 post facto , to all intents and purposes, to pay off creditors with less 
 than the nominal sum which they were originally promised. But 
 the honorable gentleman [E. RandolpJi\ has called to his aid 
 technical definitions. He says, that ex post facto \xw$> relate solely 
 to criminal matters. I beg leave to differ from him. Whatever 
 it may be at the bar, or in a professional line, I conceive that, 
 according to the common acceptation of the words, ex post facto 
 laws and retrospective laws are synonymous terms. Are we to 
 
APPENDIX. 423 
 
 trust business of this sort to technical definition ? The contrary 
 is the plain meaning of the words. Congress has no power to 
 scale this money. The States are equally precluded. The debt 
 is transferred without the means of discharging it. Implication 
 will not do. The means of paying it are expressly withheld. 
 When this matter comes before the federal judiciary, they must 
 determine according to this Constitution. It says expressly, that 
 they shall not make ex post facto laws. Whatever may be the pro 
 fessional meaning, yet the general meaning of ex post facto law is 
 an act having a retrospective operation. This construction is 
 agreeable to its primary etymology. Will it not be the duty of 
 the federal court to say, that such laws are prohibited ? This goes 
 to the destruction and annihilation of all the citizens of the 
 United States, to enrich a few. Are we to part with every shilling 
 of our property, and be reduced to the lowest insignificancy, to 
 aggrandize a few speculators ? Let me mention a remarkable 
 effect this Constitution will have. How stood our taxes before 
 this Constitution was introduced ? Requisitions were made on 
 the State legislatures, and, if they were unjust, they could be 
 refused. If we were called upon to pay twenty millions, shilling 
 for shilling, or at the rate of one for forty, our legislature could 
 refuse it, and remonstrate against the injustice of the demand. 
 But now this could not be done ; for direct taxation is brought 
 home to us. The federal officer collects immediately of the 
 planters. When it withholds the only possible means of dischar 
 ging those debts, and by direct taxation prevents any opposition to 
 the most enormous and unjust demand, where are you ? Is there 
 a ray of hope ? As the law has never been my profession, if I 
 err, I hope to be excused. 1 spoke from the general sense of the 
 words. The worthy gentleman has told you that the United 
 States can be plaintiffs, but never defendants. If so, it stands on 
 very unjust grounds. The United States cannot be come at for 
 any thing they may owe, but may get what is due to them. There 
 is therefore no reciprocity. The thing is so incomprehensible 
 that it cannot be explained. As an express power is given to the 
 federal court to take cognizance of such controversies, and to 
 declare null all ex post facto laws, I think gentlemen must see 
 there is danger, and that it ought to be guarded against. 
 [In answer to Mr. Madison :] 
 
424 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Mr. Mason was still convinced of the rectitude of his former 
 opinion. He thought it might be put on a safer footing by three 
 words. By continuing the restriction of ex post facto laws to 
 crimes, it would then stand under the new government as it did 
 under the old. 
 
 [2d clause, icth section.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, if gentlemen attend to 
 this clause, they will see we cannot make any inspection law but 
 what is subject to the control and revision of Congress. Hence 
 gentlemen who know nothing of the business will make rules con 
 cerning it which may be detrimental to our interests. For forty 
 years we have laid duties on tobacco, to defray the expenses of 
 the inspection, and to raise an incidental revenue for the State. 
 Under this clause, that incidental revenue which is calculated to 
 pay for the inspection, and to defray contingent charges, is to be 
 put into the federal treasury. But if any tobacco-house is burnt, 
 we cannot make up the loss. I conceive this to be unjust and 
 unreasonable. When any profit arises from it, it goes into the 
 federal treasury. But when there is any loss or deficiency from 
 damage, it cannot be made up. Congress are to make regulations 
 for our tobacco. Are men, in the States where no tobacco is 
 made, proper judges of this business ? They may perhaps judge 
 as well, but surely no better than our own immediate legislature, 
 who are accustomed and familiar with this business. This is one 
 of the most wanton powers of the general government. I would 
 concede any power that was essentially necessary for the interests 
 of the Union ; but this, instead of being necessary, will be 
 extremely oppressive. 
 
 [In response to Mr. George Nicholas :] 
 
 Mr. George Mason replied, that the State legislatures could 
 make no law but what would come within the general control 
 given to Congress ; and that the regulation of the inspection, and 
 the imposition of duties, must be inseparably blended together. 
 
 [The ist section of Article II.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, there is not a more impor 
 tant article in the Constitution than this. The great fundamental 
 principle of responsibility in republicanism is here sapped. The 
 President is elected without rotation. It may be said that a new 
 election may remove him, and place another in his stead. If we 
 
A PPENDIX. 42 5 
 
 judge from the experience of all other countries, and even our 
 own, we may conclude that, as the President of the United States 
 may be reflected, so he will. How is it in every government 
 where rotation is not required ? Is there a single instance of a 
 great man not being reflected ? Our governor is obliged to 
 return, after a given period, to a private station. It is so in most 
 of the States. This President will be elected time after time : he 
 will be continued in office for life. If we wish to change him, 
 the great powers in Europe will not allow us. The honorable 
 gentleman, my colleague in the late federal Convention \E. Ran- 
 dolpti\) mentions with applause, those parts of which he had 
 expressed his disapprobation. 1 He says not a word. If I am 
 mistaken, let me be put right. I shall not make use of his name ; 
 but, in the course of this investigation I shall use the arguments 
 of that gentleman against it. 
 
 Will not the great powers of Europe, as France and Great 
 Britain, be interested in having a friend in the President of the 
 United States ? And will they not be more interested in his elec 
 tion than in that of the King of Poland ? The people of Poland 
 have a right to displace their King. But do they ever do it ? No. 
 Prussia and Russia, and other European powers, would not suffer 
 it. This clause will open a door to the dangers and misfortunes 
 which the people of Poland undergo. The powers of Europe will 
 interpose, and we shall have a civil war in the bowels of our 
 country, and be subject to all the horrors and calamities of an 
 elective monarchy. This very executive officer may, by consent 
 of Congress, receive a stated pension from European potentates. 
 This is not an idea altogether new in America. It is not many 
 years ago since the revolution that a foreign power offered 
 emoluments to persons holding offices under our government. 
 It will, moreover, be difficult to know whether he receives emolu 
 ments from foreign powers or not. The electors, who are to meet 
 in each State to vote for him, may be easily influenced. To pre 
 vent the certain evils of attempting to elect a new President, it 
 will be necessary to continue the old one. The only way to alter 
 this would be to render him ineligible after a certain number of 
 years, and then no foreign nation would interfere to keep in a 
 
 1 The punctuation has been altered here, as otherwise the sentence is unintel 
 ligible. 
 
426 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 man who was utterly ineligible. Nothing is so essential to the 
 preservation of a republican government as a periodical rotation. 
 Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his 
 constituents as the certainty of returning to the general mass of 
 the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate 
 their burdens. It is a great defect in the Senate that they are not 
 ineligible at the end of six years. The biennial exclusion of one 
 third of them will have no effect, as they can be reflected. Some 
 stated time ought to be fixed when the President ought to be 
 reduced to a private station. I should be contented that he might 
 be elected for eight years ; but I would wish him to be capable of 
 holding the office only eight years out of twelve or sixteen years. 
 But, as it now stands, he may continue in office for life ; or, in 
 other words, it will be an elective monarchy. 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, the Vice-President ap 
 pears to me to be not only an unnecessary but dangerous officer. 
 He is, contrary to the usual course of parliamentary proceedings, 
 to be president of the Senate. The State from which he comes 
 may have two votes, when the others will have but one. Besides 
 the legislative and executive are hereby mixed and incorporated 
 together. I cannot, at this distance of time, foresee the conse 
 quences ; but I think that, in the course of human affairs, he 
 will be made a tool of in order to bring about his own interest, 
 and aid in overturning the liberties of his country. There is 
 another part which I disapprove of, but which perhaps I do not 
 understand. " In case of removal of the President from office, or 
 of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and 
 duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-Presi 
 dent ; and the Congress may by law provide for the case of 
 removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President 
 and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as Presi 
 dent, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be 
 removed or a President shall be elected." The power of Congress 
 is right and proper so far as it enables them to provide what offi 
 cer shall act, in case both the President and Vice-President be 
 dead or disabled. But gentlemen ought to take notice that the 
 election of this officer is only for four years. There is no provi 
 sion for a speedy election of another President, when the former 
 is dead or removed. The influence of the Vice-President may 
 
APPENDIX. 427 
 
 prevent the election of the President. But perhaps I may be 
 mistaken. 
 
 Wednesday, June 18. [The ist section of Article II. still under 
 consideration.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason contended that this mode of election was a 
 mere deception, a mere ignis fatuus on the American people, 
 and thrown out to make them believe they were to choose him ; 
 whereas it would not be once out of fifty times that he would be 
 chosen by them in the first instance, because a majority of the 
 whole number of votes was required. If the localities of the States 
 were considered, and the probable diversity of the opinions of the 
 people attended to, he thought it would be found that so many 
 persons would be voted for, that there seldom or never could be a 
 majority in favor of one, except one great name who, he believed, 
 would be unanimously elected. He then continued thus : A 
 majority of the whole number of electors is necessary, to elect the 
 President. It is not the greatest number of votes that is required, 
 but a majority of the whole number of electors. If there be more 
 than one having such majority, and an equal number, one of them 
 is to be chosen by ballot of the House of Representatives. But if 
 no one have a majority of the actual number of electors appointed, 
 how is he to be chosen ? From the five highest in the list, by bal 
 lot of the lower house, and the votes to be taken by States. I 
 conceive he ought to be chosen from the two highest on the list. 
 This would be simple and easy ; then, indeed, the people would 
 have some agency in the election. But when it is extended to the 
 five highest, a person having a very small number of votes may be 
 elected. This will almost constantly happen. The States may 
 choose the man in whom they have most confidence. This, in my 
 opinion, is a very considerable defect. The people will, in reality, 
 have no hand in the election. It has been wittily observed that 
 the Constitution has married the President and Senate has made 
 them man and wife. I believe the consequence that generally 
 results from marriage will happen here. They will be continually 
 supporting and aiding each other : they will always consider their 
 interest as united. We know the advantage the few have over 
 the many. They can with facility act in concert and on a uniform 
 system : they may join, scheme, and plot, against the people with 
 out any chance of detection. The Senate and President will form 
 
428 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 a combination that cannot be prevented by the representatives. 
 The executive and legislative powers, thus connected, will destroy 
 all balances : this would have been prevented by a constitutional 
 council, to aid the President in the discharge of his office, vesting 
 the Senate, at the same time, with the power of impeaching them. 
 Then we should have real responsibility. In its present form, the 
 guilty try themselves. The President is tried by his counsellors. 
 He is not removed from office during his trial. When he is 
 arraigned for treason, he has the command of the army and navy, 
 and may surround the Senate with thirty thousand troops. It 
 brings to my recollection the remarkable trial of Milo at Rome. 
 We may expect to see similar instances here. But I suppose 
 that the cure for all evils the virtue and integrity of our repre 
 sentatives will be thought a sufficient security. On this great 
 and important subject, I am one of those (and ever shall be) who 
 object to it. 
 
 [In reply to Mr. Madison :] 
 
 Mr. Mason arose, and insisted that the person having the great 
 est number of votes would not be elected unless such majority was 
 one of the whole number of electors appointed ; that it would 
 rarely happen that any one would have such a majority, and as he 
 was then to be chosen from the five highest on the list, his election 
 was entirely taken from the people. 
 
 [ist clause, section 2d, Article II.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason, animadverting on the magnitude of the 
 powers of the President, was alarmed at the additional power 
 of commanding the army in person. He admitted the pro 
 priety of his being commander-in-chief, so far as to give orders 
 and have a general superintendency ; but he thought it would be 
 dangerous to let him command in person, without any restraint, as 
 he might make a bad use of it. He was, then, clearly of opinion 
 that the consent of a majority of both houses of Congress should 
 be required before he could take the command in person. If at 
 any time it should be necessary that he should take the personal 
 command, either on account of his superior abilities or other 
 cause, then Congress would agree to it ; and all dangers would be 
 obviated by requiring their consent. He called to gentlemen s 
 recollection the extent of what the late commander-in-chief might 
 have done, from his great abilities, and the strong attachment of 
 
APPENDIX. 429 
 
 both officers and soldiers towards him, if, instead of being disin 
 terested, he had been an ambitious man. So disinterested and 
 amiable a character as General Washington might never command 
 again. The possibility of danger ought to be guarded against. 
 Although he did not disapprove of the President s consultation 
 with the principal executive officers, yet he objected to the want 
 of an executive council, which he conceived to be necessary to any 
 regular free government. There being none such, he apprehended 
 a council would arise out of the Senate, which, for want of real 
 responsibility, he thought dangerous. You will please, says he, to 
 recollect that removal from office, and future disqualification to 
 hold any office, are the only consequences of conviction on im 
 peachment. Now, I conceive that the President ought not to have 
 the power of pardoning, because he may frequently pardon crimes 
 which were advised by himself. It may happen, at some future 
 day, that he will establish a monarchy, and destroy the republic. 
 If he has the power of granting pardons before indictment, or 
 conviction, may he not stop inquiry and prevent detection ? The 
 case of treason ought, at least, to be excepted. This is a weighty 
 objection with me. 
 
 [In answer to Mr. Lee :] 
 
 Mr. Mason replied, that he did not mean that the President was 
 of necessity to command, but he might if he pleased ; and if he 
 was an ambitious man, he might make a dangerous use of it. 
 
 [In reply to Mr. George Nicholas :] 
 
 Mr. Mason answered, that it did not resemble the State Consti 
 tution, because the governor did not possess such extensive powers 
 as the President, and had no influence over the navy. The liberty 
 of the people had been destroyed by those who were military 
 commanders only. The danger here was greater by the junction 
 of great civil powers to the command of the army and fleet. Al 
 though Congress are to raise the army, said he, no security arises 
 from that ; for, in time of war, they must and ought to raise an 
 army, which will be numerous, or otherwise, according to the 
 nature of the war, and then the President is to command without 
 any control. 
 
 [In reply to Mr. Madison :] 
 
 Mr. Mason vindicated the conduct of the assemblies [in Massa 
 chusetts] mentioned by the gentleman last up. He insisted they 
 
430 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 were both right ; for, in the first instance, when such ideas of 
 severity prevailed, a rebellion was in existence : [Shay s rebellion] 
 in such circumstance, it was right to be rigid. But after it was 
 over, it would be wrong to exercise unnecessary severity. 
 
 [26. clause, 2d section, Article II.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason thought this a most dangerous clause, as 
 thereby five States might make a treaty ; ten senators the repre 
 sentatives of five States being two thirds of a quorum. These 
 ten might come from the five smallest States. By the Con 
 federation, nine States were necessary to concur in a treaty. This 
 secured justice and moderation. His principal fear, however, was 
 not that five, but that seven, States a bare majority would make 
 treaties to bind the Union. 
 
 [Mr. George Nicholas answered Mr. Mason.] 
 
 Mr. Mason differed widely from the gentleman. He conceived 
 that the contiguity of some States, and remoteness of others, 
 would prevent that reciprocity which he had mentioned. Some 
 States were near the seat of government ; others far from it ; for 
 instance, Georgia was eight or nine hundred miles from it. Sup 
 pose, says he, a partial treaty is made by the President, and is to 
 be ratified by the Senate. They do not always sit. Who is to 
 convene them ? The President. Is it presumable that he would 
 call distant States to make the ratification, or those States whose 
 interest he knew to be injured by the treaty he had proposed ? 
 This, I conceive, will have a contrary effect from w r hat the gentle 
 man says. 
 
 Thursday, June ip. [The subject of treaties continued.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, it is true that this is one of 
 the greatest acts of sovereignty, and therefore ought to be most 
 strongly guarded. The cession of such a power, without such 
 checks and guards, cannot be justified ; yet I acknowledge such a 
 power must rest somewhere. It is so in all governments. If, in 
 the course of an unsuccessful war, we should be compelled to 
 give up part of our territories, or undergo subjugation if the gen 
 eral government could not make a treaty to give up such a part 
 for the preservation of the residue, the government itself, and 
 consequently the rights of the people, must fall. Such a power 
 must, therefore, rest somewhere. For my own part, I never heard 
 it denied that such a power must be vested in the government. 
 
APPENDIX. 431 
 
 Our complaint is, that it is not sufficiently guarded, and that it 
 requires much more solemnity and caution than are delineated in 
 that system. It is more guarded in England. Will any gentle 
 man undertake to say that the King, by his prerogative, can dis 
 member the British empire ? Could the King give Portsmouth to 
 France ? He could not do this without an express act of Parlia 
 ment without the consent of the legislature in all its branches. 
 There are other things which the King cannot do, which may be 
 done by the President and Senate in this case. Could the King, 
 by his prerogative, enable foreign subjects to purchase lands, and 
 have an hereditary indefeasible title ? This would require an ex 
 press act of Parliament. Though the King can make treaties, yet 
 he cannot make a treaty contrary to the constitution of his coun 
 try. Where did their constitution originate ? It is founded on a 
 number of maxims, which, by long time, are rendered sacred and 
 inviolable. Where are there such maxims in the American Con 
 stitution ? In that country, which we formerly called our mother 
 country, they have had for many centuries, certain fundamental 
 maxims, which have secured their persons and properties, and 
 prevented a dismemberment of their country. The common law, 
 sir, has prevented the power of the crown from destroying the 
 immunities of the people. We are placed in a still better condi 
 tion in a more favorable situation than perhaps any people 
 ever were before. We have it in our power to secure our liberties 
 and happiness on the most unshaken, firm, and permanent basis. 
 We can establish what government we please. But by that paper 
 we are consolidating the United States into one great government, 
 and trusting to constructive security. You will find no such 
 thing in the English government. The common law of England 
 is not the common law of these States. I conceive, therefore, 
 that there is nothing in that Constitution to hinder a dismember 
 ment of the empire. 
 
 Will any gentleman say that they may not make a treaty, where 
 by the subjects of France, England, and other powers, may buy 
 what lands they please in this country ? This would violate those 
 principles which we have received from the mother country. The 
 indiscriminate admission of all foreigners to the first rights of 
 citizenship, without any permanent security for their attachment 
 to the country, is repugnant to every principle of prudence and 
 
432 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 good policy. The President and Senate can make any treaty 
 whatsoever. We wish not to refuse, but to guard, this power, as 
 it is done in England. The empire there cannot be dismembered 
 without the consent of the national Parliament. We wish an ex 
 press and explicit declaration, in that paper, that the power which 
 can make other treaties cannot, without the consent of the national 
 Parliament the national legislature dismember the empire. The 
 Senate alone ought not to have this power ; much less ought a few 
 States to have it. No treaty to dismember the empire ought to be 
 made without the consent of three fourths of the legislature in all 
 its branches. Nor ought such a treaty to be made but in case of 
 the most urgent and unavoidable necessity. When such necessity 
 exists, there is no doubt but there will be a general and uniform 
 vote of the Continental Parliament. 
 
 [ist and 2d sections of Article III. The Judiciary.] 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, I had some hopes that the 
 candor and reason of the warmest friends of this Constitution 
 would have led them to point out objections so important. They 
 must occur, more or less, to the mind of every one. It is with 
 great reluctance I speak of this department, as it lies out of my 
 line. I should not tell my sentiments upon it, did I not conceive 
 it to be so constructed as to destroy the dearest rights of the 
 community. After having read the first section, Mr. Mason 
 asked, what is there left to the State courts ? Will any gentle 
 man be pleased, candidly, fairly, and without sophistry, to show 
 us what remains ? There is no limitation. It goes to every thing. 
 The inferior courts are to be as numerous as Congress may 
 think proper. They are to be of whatever nature they please. 
 Read the 26. section, and contemplate attentively the extent of 
 the jurisdiction of these courts, and consider if there be any 
 limits to it. 
 
 I am greatly mistaken if there be any limitation whatsoever, 
 with respect to the nature or jurisdiction of these courts. If there 
 be any limits, they must be contained in one of the clauses of this 
 section ; and I believe, on a dispassionate discussion, it will be 
 found that there is none of any check. All the laws of the United 
 States are paramount to the laws and Constitution of any single 
 State. " The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and 
 equity arising under this Constitution." What objects will not 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 this expression extend to ? Such laws may be formed as will go 
 to every object of private property. When we consider the nature 
 of these courts, we must conclude that their effect and operation 
 will be utterly to destroy the State governments ; for they will be 
 the judges how far their laws will operate. They are to modify 
 their own courts, and you can make no State law to counteract 
 them. The discrimination between their judicial power, and that 
 of the States, exists, therefore, but in name. To what disgraceful 
 and dangerous length does the principle of this go ! For if your 
 State judiciaries are not to be trusted with the administration of 
 common justice, and decision of disputes respecting property be 
 tween man and man, much less ought the State governments to be 
 trusted with power of legislation. The principle itself goes to 
 the destruction of the legislation of the States, whether or not it 
 was intended. As to my own opinion, I most religiously and con 
 scientiously believe that it was intended, though I am not abso 
 lutely certain. But I think it will destroy the State governments, 
 whatever may have been the intention. There are many gentle 
 men in the United States who think it right that we should have 
 one great national, consolidated government, and that it was better 
 to bring it about slowly and imperceptibly rather than all at once. 
 This is no reflection on any man, for I mean none. To those who 
 think that one national, consolidated government is best for Amer 
 ica, this extensive judicial authority will be agreeable ; but I hope 
 there are many in this Convention of a different opinion, and who 
 see their political happiness resting on their State governments. I 
 know, from my own knowledge, many worthy gentlemen of the 
 former opinion. 
 
 [Here Mr. Madison interrupted Mr. Mason, and demanded an 
 unequivocal explanation. As these insinuations might create a 
 belief that every member of the late federal Convention was of 
 that opinion, he wished him to tell who the gentlemen were to 
 whom he alluded.] 
 
 Mr. Mason then replied, I shall never refuse to explain myself. 
 It is notorious that this is a prevailing principle. It was at least 
 the opinion of many gentlemen in Convention, and many in the 
 United States. I do not know what explanation the honorable 
 gentleman asks. I can say, with great truth, that the honorable 
 gentleman, in private conversation with me, expressed himself 
 
 VOL. II. 28 
 
434 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 against it ; neither did I ever hear any of the delegates from this 
 State advocate it. 
 
 Mr. Madison declared himself satisfied with this, unless the 
 committee thought themselves entitled to ask a further ex 
 planation. 
 
 After some desultory remarks, Mr. Mason continued : 1 have 
 heard that opinion advocated by gentlemen for whose abilities, 
 judgment, and knowledge, I have the highest reverence and re 
 spect. I say that the general description of the judiciary involves 
 the most extensive jurisdiction. Its cognizance, in all cases 
 arising under the system and the laws of Congress, may be said to 
 be unlimited. In the next place, it extends to treaties made, or 
 which shall be made, under their authority. This is one of the 
 powers which ought to be given them. I also admit that they 
 ought to have judicial cognizance in all cases affecting ambassa 
 dors, foreign ministers and consuls, as well as in cases of maritime 
 jurisdiction. There is an additional reason now to give them this 
 last power ; because Congress, besides the general powers, are 
 about to get that of regulating commerce with foreign nations. 
 This is a power which existed before, and is a proper subject of 
 federal jurisdiction. The next power of the judiciary is also 
 necessary under some restrictions. Though the decision of con 
 troversies to which the United States shall be a party may at first 
 view seem proper, it may, without restraint, be extended to a dan 
 gerously oppressive length. The next with respect to disputes 
 between two or more States, is right. I cannot see the propriety 
 of the next power, in disputes between a State and the citizens of 
 another State. As to controversies between citizens of different 
 States, their power is improper and inadmissible. In disputes 
 between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under the grants 
 of different States, the power is proper. It is the only case in 
 which the federal judiciary ought to have appellate cognizance of 
 disputes between private citizens. Unless this was the case, the 
 suit must be brought and decided in one or the other State, under 
 whose grant the lands are claimed, which would be injurious, as 
 the decision must be consistent with the grant. 
 
 The last clause is still more improper. To give them cognizance 
 in disputes between a State and the citizens thereof, is utterly in 
 consistent with reason or good policy. 
 
APPENDIX. 435 
 
 Here Mr. Nicholas arose, and informed Mr. Mason that his 
 interpretation of this part was not warranted by the words. 
 
 Mr. Mason replied, that, if he recollected rightly, the propriety 
 of the power, as explained by him, had been contended for; but that, 
 as his memory had never been good, and was now impaired much 
 from his age, he would not insist on that interpretation. He then 
 proceeded : Give me leave to advert to the operation of this ju 
 dicial power. Its jurisdiction in the first case will extend to all 
 cases affecting revenue, excise, and custom-house officers. If I am 
 mistaken, I will retract. " All cases in law and equity arising under 
 this Constitution, and the laws of the United States," take in all 
 the officers of the government. They comprehend all those who act 
 as collectors of taxes, excisemen, &c. It will take in, of course, 
 what others do to them, and what is done by them to others. In 
 \vhat predicament will our citizens then be ? We know the diffi 
 culty we are put in by our own courts, and how hard it is to bring 
 officers to justice even in them. If any of the federal officers 
 should be guilty of the greatest oppressions, or behave with the 
 most insolent and wanton brutality to a man s wife or daughter, 
 where is this man to get relief ? If you suppose in the inferior 
 courts, they are not appointed by the States. They are not men 
 in whom the community can place confidence. It will be decided 
 by federal judges. Even suppose the poor man should be able to 
 obtain judgment in the inferior court, for the greatest injury, 
 what justice can he get on appeal ? Can he go four or five hun 
 dred miles ? Can he stand the expense attending it ? On this 
 occasion they are to judge of fact as well as law. He must bring 
 his witnesses where he is not known, where new evidence may be 
 brought against him, of which he never heard before, and which 
 he cannot contradict. 
 
 The honorable gentleman who presides here has told us that 
 the Supreme Court of appeals must embrace every object of mari 
 time, chancery, and common-law controversy. In the two first, 
 the appellate jurisdiction as to fact must be generally granted ; 
 because, otherwise, it could exclude appeals in those cases. But 
 why not discriminate as to matters of fact with respect to 
 common-law controversies ? The honorable gentleman has allowed 
 that it was dangerous, but hopes regulations will be made to suit 
 the convenience of the people. But mere hope is not a sufficient 
 
436 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 security. I have said that it appears to me (though I am no 
 lawyer) to be very dangerous. Give me leave to lay before the 
 committee an amendment, which I think convenient, easy, and 
 proper. 
 
 [Here Mr. Mason proposed an alteration neariy the same as 
 the first part of the fourteenth amendment recommended by the 
 Convention.] 
 
 Thus, sir, said Mr. Mason, after limiting the cases in which the 
 federal judiciary could interpose, I would confine the appellate 
 jurisdiction to matters of law only, in common-law controversies. 
 It appears to me that this will remove oppressions and answer every 
 purpose of an appellate power. A discrimination arises between 
 common-law trials and trials in courts of equity and admiralty. In 
 these two last, depositions are committed to record, and therefore, 
 on an appeal, the whole fact goes up ; the equity of the whole case, 
 comprehending fact and law, is considered, and no new evidence 
 requisite. Is it so in courts of common law ? There evidence is only 
 given viva voce. I know not a single case where there is an appeal of 
 fact as to common law. But I may be mistaken. Where there is an 
 appeal from an inferior to a superior court, with respect to matters 
 of fact, a new witness may be introduced, who is perhaps suborned 
 by the other party, a thousand miles from the place where the 
 first trial was had. These are some of the inconveniences and 
 insurmountable objections against this general power being given 
 to the federal courts. Gentlemen will perhaps say there will be 
 no occasion to carry up the evidence by viva voce testimony, because 
 Congress may order it to be committed to writing, and trans 
 mitted in that manner with the rest of the record. It is true they 
 may, but it is as true that they may not. But suppose they do ; 
 little conversant as I am in this subject, I know there is a great 
 difference between viva voce evidence given at the bar, and testi 
 mony given in writing. I leave it to gentlemen more conversant 
 in these matters to discuss it. They are also to have cognizance 
 in controversies to which the United States shall be a party. This 
 power is superadded, that there might be no doubt, and that all 
 cases arising under the government might be brought before the 
 federal court. Gentlemen will not, I presume, deny that all 
 revenue and excise controversies, and all proceedings relative 
 to the duties of the officers of government, from the highest to 
 
APPENDIX. 437 
 
 the lowest, may and must be brought by these means to the 
 federal courts ; in the first instance, to the inferior federal court, 
 and afterwards to the superior court. Every fact proved with 
 respect to these, in the court below, may be revived in the 
 superior court. But this appellate jurisdiction is to be under the 
 regulations of Congress. What these regulations may be, God 
 only knows. 
 
 Their jurisdiction further extends to controversies between 
 citizens of different States. Can we not trust our State courts 
 with the decision of these ? If I have a controversy with a man 
 in Maryland, if a man in Maryland has my bond for a hundred 
 pounds, are not the State courts competent to try it ? Is it 
 suspected that they would enforce the payment if unjust, or 
 refuse to enforce it if just ? The very idea is ridiculous. What ! 
 carry me a thousand miles from home from my family and 
 business to where, perhaps, it will be impossible for me to prove 
 that I paid it ? Perhaps I have a respectable witness who saw me 
 pay the money ; but I must carry him one thousand miles to 
 prove it, or be compelled to pay it again. Is there any necessity 
 for this power ? It ought to have no unnecessary or dangerous 
 power. Why should the federal courts have this cognizance ? Is 
 it because one lives on one side of the Potomac, and the other on 
 the other ? Suppose I have your bond for a thousand pounds : 
 if I have any wish to harass you, or if I be of a litigious disposi 
 tion, I have only to assign it to a gentleman in Maryland ? This 
 assignment will involve you in trouble and expense. What effect 
 will this power have between British creditors and the citizens of 
 this State ? This is a ground on which I shall speak with confi 
 dence. Every one who heard me speak on the subject, knows 
 that I always spoke for the payment of the British debts. I wish 
 every honest debt to be paid. Though I would wish to pay the 
 British creditor, yet I would not put it in his power to gratify 
 private malice to our injury. Let me be put right if I be mis 
 taken ; but there is not, in my opinion, a single British creditor 
 but can bring his debtors to the federal court. 
 
 There are a thousand instances where debts have been paid, and 
 yet must, by this appellate cognizance, be paid again. Are these 
 imaginary cases ? Are they only possible cases, or are they certain 
 and inevitable ? " To controversies between a State and the 
 
438 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 citizens of another State." How will their jurisdiction in this 
 case do ? Let gentlemen look at the westward. Claims respect 
 ing those lands, every liquidated account, or other claim against 
 this State, will be tried before the federal court. Is not this dis 
 graceful ? Is this State to be brought to the bar of justice like a 
 delinquent individual ? Is the sovereignty of the State to be 
 arraigned like a culprit, or private offender ? Will the States 
 undergo this mortification ? I think this power perfectly unneces 
 sary. But let us pursue this subject farther. What is to be done 
 if a judgment be obtained against a State ? Will you issue a 
 fieri facias ? It would be ludicrous to say that you could put the 
 State s body in jail. How is the judgment, then, to be enforced ? 
 A power which cannot be executed ought not to be granted. 
 
 Let us consider the operation of the last subject of its cognizance. 
 " Controversies between a State, or the citizens thereof, and 
 foreign States, citizens, or subjects." There is a confusion in 
 this case. This much, however, may be raised out of it that a 
 suit will be brought against Virginia. She may be sued by a 
 foreign State. W T hat reciprocity is there in it ? In a suit bet\veen 
 Virginia and a foreign State, is the foreign State to be bound by 
 the decision ? Is there a similar privilege given to us in foreign 
 States ? Where will you find a parallel regulation ? How will 
 the decision be enforced ? Only by the ultima ratio regum. A 
 dispute between a foreign citizen or subject and a Virginian can 
 not be tried in our own courts, but must be decided in the federal 
 court. Is this the case in any other country ? Are not men 
 obliged to stand by the laws of the country where the disputes 
 are ? This is an innovation which is utterly unprecedented and 
 unheard-of. Cannot we trust the State courts with disputes 
 between a Frenchman, or an Englishman, and a citizen ; or with 
 disputes between two Frenchmen ? This is disgraceful ; it will 
 annihilate your State judiciary ; it will prostrate your legislature. 
 
 Thus, sir, it appears to me that the greater part of these powers 
 are unnecessary, and dangerous, as tending to impair, and ulti 
 mately destroy, the State judiciaries, and, by the same principle, 
 the legislation of the State governments. To render it safe, there 
 must be an amendment, such as I have pointed out. After men 
 tioning the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which 
 extends to but three cases, it gives it appellate jurisdiction, in all 
 
APPENDIX. 439 
 
 other cases mentioned, both as to law and fact, indiscriminately 
 and without limitation. Why not remove the cause of fear and 
 danger ? But it is said that the regulations of Congress will 
 remove these. I say that, in my opinion, they will have a con 
 trary effect, and will utterly annihilate your State courts. Who 
 are the court ? The judges. It is a familiar distinction. We 
 frequently speak of a court in contradistinction from a jury. I 
 think the court are to be judges of this. The judges on the 
 bench are to be judges of fact and law, with such exceptions, &c., 
 as Congress shall make. Now give me leave to ask, Is not a jury 
 excluded absolutely ? By way of illustration, were Congress to 
 say that a jury, instead of a court, should judge the fact, will not 
 the court be still judges of the fact consistently with this Constitu 
 tion ? Congress may make such a regulation, or may not. But 
 suppose they do ; what sort of a jury would they have in the ten 
 miles square ? I would rather a thousand times, be tried by a 
 court than by such a jury. This great palladium of national 
 safety, which is secured to us by our own government, will be 
 taken from us in those courts ; or, if it be reserved, it will be but 
 in name, and not in substance. In the government of Virginia, 
 we have secured an impartial jury of the vicinage. We can 
 except to jurors, and peremptorily challenge them in criminal 
 trials. If I be tried in the federal court for a crime which may 
 affect my life, have I a right of challenging or excepting to the 
 jury ? Have not the best men suffered by weak and partial juries ? 
 This sacred right ought, therefore, to be secured. 
 
 I dread the ruin that will be brought on thirty thousand of our 
 people, with respect to disputed lands. I am personally endangered 
 as an inhabitant of the Northern Neck. The people of that part 
 will be obliged, by the operation of this power, to pay the quitrents 
 of their lands. Whatever other gentleman may think, I consider 
 this as a most serious alarm. It will little avail a man to make a 
 profession of his candor. It is to his character and reputation 
 they will appeal. Let gentlemen consider my public and private 
 character. To these I wish gentlemen to appeal for an interpre 
 tation of my motives and views. Lord Fairfax s title was clear 
 and undisputed. After the revolution, we taxed his lands as 
 private property. After his death, an act of Assembly was made, 
 in 1782, to sequester the quitrents due, at his death, in the hands 
 
440 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of his debtors. Next year an act was made restoring them to the 
 executor of the proprietor. Subsequent to this, the treaty of 
 peace was made, by which it was agreed that there should be no 
 further confiscations. But, after this, an act of Assembly passed, 
 confiscating his whole property. As Lord Fairfax s title was indis 
 putably good, and as treaties are to be the supreme law of the 
 land, will not his representatives be able to recover all in the 
 federal court ? How will gentlemen like to pay an additional tax 
 on lands in the Northern Neck ? This the operation of this 
 system will compel them to do. They now are subject to the 
 same tax that other citizens are ; and if the quitrents be recovered 
 in the federal court, they are doubly taxed. This may be called 
 an assertion ; but, were I going to my grave, I would appeal to 
 Heaven that I think it true. How will a poor man, who is injured 
 or dispossessed unjustly, get a remedy ? Is he to go to the federal 
 court, seven or eight hundred miles? He might as well give his 
 claim up. He may grumble, but, finding no relief, he will be con 
 tented. 
 
 Again, all that tract of country between the Blue ridge and the 
 Alleghany Mountains will be claimed, and probably recovered in 
 the federal court, from the present possessors, by those companies 
 who have a title to them. These lands have been sold to a great 
 number of people. Many settled on them, on terms which were 
 advertised. How will this be with respect to ex post facto laws ? 
 We have not only confirmed the title of those who made the con 
 tract, but those who did not, by a law, in 1779, on their paying the 
 original price. Much was paid in a depreciated value, and much 
 was not paid at all. Again, the great Indiana purchase, which 
 was made to the westward, will, by this judicial power, be rendered 
 a cause of dispute. The possessors may be ejected from those 
 lands. That company paid a consideration of ten thousand pounds 
 to the crown, before the lands were taken up. I have heard 
 gentlemen of the law say (and I believe it is right) that, after the 
 consideration was paid to the crown, the purchase was legally 
 made, and ought to be valid. That company may come in, and 
 show that they have paid the money, and have a full right to the 
 land. Of the Indiana company I need not say much. It is well 
 known that their claims will be brought before these courts. 
 Three or four counties are settled on the land to which that com- 
 
APPENDIX. 441 
 
 pany claims a title, and have long enjoyed it peaceably. All these 
 claims before those courts, if they succeed, will introduce a scene 
 of distress and confusion never heard of before. Our peasants 
 will be, like those mentioned by Virgil, reduced to ruin and 
 misery, driven from their farms, and obliged to leave their 
 country : " Nos patriam fugimus et dulcia linqiiimus arva" 
 
 Having mentioned these things, give me leave to submit an 
 amendment, which I think would be proper and safe, and would 
 render our citizens secure in their possessions justly held. I mean, 
 sir, " that the judicial power shall extend to no case where the 
 cause of action shall have originated before the ratification of this 
 Constitution, except in suits for debts due to the United States, 
 disputes between States about their territory, and disputes between 
 persons claiming lands under the grants of different States." In 
 these cases, there is an obvious necessity for giving it a retrospec 
 tive power. I have laid before you my idea on the subject, and 
 expressed my fears, which I most conscientiously believe to be well 
 founded. 
 
 Friday, June 20. [The ist and 2d sections of Article III. still 
 under consideration.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, the objection I made, 
 respecting the assignment of a bond from a citizen of this State to 
 a citizen of another State, remains still in force. The honorable 
 gentleman [E. Pendleton\ has said that there can be no danger, in 
 the first instance, because it is not within the original jurisdiction 
 of the Supreme Court ; but that the suit must be brought in the 
 inferior federal court of Virginia. He supposes there can never 
 be an appeal in this case, by the plaintiff, because he gets a judg 
 ment on his bond ; and that the defendant alone can appeal, who 
 therefore, instead of being injured, obtains a privilege. Permit 
 me to examine the force of this. By means of a suit, on a real or 
 fictitious claim, the citizens of the most distant States may be 
 brought to the supreme federal court. Suppose a man has my 
 bond for a hundred pounds, and a great part of it has been paid, 
 and, in order fraudulently to oppress me he assigns it to a gentle 
 man in Carolina or Maryland. He then carries me to the inferior 
 federal court. I produce my witness, and judgment is given in 
 favor of the defendant. The plaintiff appeals, and carries me to 
 the superior court, a thousand miles, and my expenses amount to 
 
442 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 more than the bond. The honorable gentleman recommends to 
 me to alter my proposed amendment. I would as soon take the 
 advice of that gentleman as any other ; but, though the regard 
 which I have for him be great, I cannot assent on this great 
 occasion. 
 
 There are not many instances of decisions by juries in the 
 admiralty or chancery ; because the facts are generally proved by 
 depositions. When that is done, the fact, being ascertained, goes 
 up to the superior court, as part of the record ; so that there will 
 be no occasion to revise that part. 
 
 Monday, June 23. [The ist and 2d sections of Article III. still 
 under consideration. The speeches of this day incompletely 
 reported.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, I should not have troubled 
 the committee again on this subject, were there not some arguments 
 in support of that plan, sir, that appear to me totally unsatisfactory. 
 With respect to concurrent jurisdiction, sir, the honorable gentleman 
 [Mr. Madisoji\ has observed, that county courts had exercised 
 this right without complaint. Have Hanover and Henrico the 
 same objects? Can an officer in either of those counties serve a 
 process in the other ? The federal judiciary has concurrent juris 
 diction throughout the States, and therefore must interfere with 
 the State judiciaries. Congress can pass a law constituting the 
 powers of the federal judiciary throughout the States : they may 
 also pass a law vesting the federal power in the State judiciaries, 
 These laws are, permanent, and cannot be controverted by any law 
 of the State. 
 
 If we were forming a general government, and not States, I 
 think we should perfectly comply with the genius of the paper 
 before you ; but if we mean to form one great national govern 
 ment for thirteen States, the arguments which I have heard 
 hitherto in support of this part of the plan do not apply at all. We 
 are willing to give up all powers which are necessary to preserve 
 the peace of the Union, so far as respects foreign nations, or our 
 own preservation ; but we will not agree to a federal judiciary, 
 which is not necessary for this purpose, because the powers there 
 granted will tend to oppress the middling and lower class of people. 
 A poor man seized by the federal officers, and carried to the fed 
 eral court, has he any chance under such a system as this? 
 
APPENDIX. 443 
 
 Justice itself may be bought too dear ; yet this may be the case. 
 It may cost a man five hundred pounds to recover one hundred 
 pounds. These circumstances are too sacred to leave undefined ; 
 and I wish to see things certain, positive, and clear. But, however, 
 sir, these matters have been so fully investigated, that I beg pardon 
 for having intruded so far, and I hope we shall go on in the 
 business. 
 
 [The ist section of Article IV. was then read.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman : the latter part of this 
 clause, sir, I confess I do not understand Full faith and credit 
 shall be given to all acts ; and how far it may be proper that Con 
 gress shall declare the effects, I cannot clearly see into. 
 
 [2d section, Article IV.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, on some former part of 
 the investigation of this subject, gentlemen were pleased to make 
 some observations on the security of property coming within this 
 section. It was then said, and I now say, that there is no security ; 
 nor have gentlemen convinced me of this. 
 
 [3d section, Article IV., was then read.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason took a retrospective view of several parts 
 which had been before objected to. He endeavored to demon 
 strate the dangers that must inevitably arise from the insecurity of 
 our rights and privileges, as they depended on vague, indefinite, 
 and ambiguous implications. The adoption of a system so replete 
 with defects, he appehended, could not but be productive of the 
 most alarming consequences. He dreaded popular resistance to 
 its operation. He expressed, in emphatic terms, the dreadful 
 effects which must ensue, should the people resist ; and concluded 
 by observing, that he trusted gentlemen would pause before they 
 would decide a question which involved such awful consequences. 
 
 Tuesday, June 24. [In answer to E. Randolph.] 
 
 Mr. George Mason. Mr. Chairman, with respect to commerce 
 and navigation, he has given it as his opinion that their regulation, 
 as it now stands, was a sine qua non of the Union, and that without 
 it the States in Convention would never concur. I differ from 
 him. It never was, nor in my opinion ever will be, a sine qua non 
 of the Union. 
 
 I will give you, to the best of my recollection, the history 
 of that affair. This business was discussed at Philadelphia for 
 
r 
 
 \\ 
 
 444 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 four months, during which time the subject of commerce and 
 navigation was often under consideration ; and I assert that 
 eight States out of twelve, for more than three months, 
 voted for requiring two thirds of the members present in each 
 house to pass commercial and navigation laws. True it is, that 
 afterwards it was carried by a majority as it stands. If I am 
 right, there was a great majority for requiring two thirds of the 
 States in this business, till a compromise took place between the 
 Northern and Southern States ; the Northern States agreeing to 
 the temporary importation of slaves, and the Southern States con 
 ceding, in return, that navigation and commercial laws should be 
 on the footing on which they now stand. If I am mistaken, let me 
 be put right. Those are my reasons for saying that this was not a 
 sine qua non of their concurrence. The Newfoundland fisheries 
 will require that kind of security which we are now in want of. 
 The Eastern States therefore agreed, at length, that treaties 
 should require the consent of two thirds of the members present 
 in the Senate. 
 
 IV. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 The bill of rights here given is from the original manuscript in 
 the handwriting of George Mason. The amendments, twelve in 
 number, seem to be also penned by him. The other set of amend 
 ments, numbering nineteen, would seem to be in a clerk s hand. 
 The latter is the completed draft, evidently used at a later stage 
 in the work of the committee of opposition, and the first article 
 or section has been altered in committee. 
 
 FORMS OF A RESOLVE TO ACCOMPANY THE DECLARATION OF 
 RIGHTS AND AMENDMENTS. 
 
 Resolved, that the following Declaration of Rights and Amend 
 ments be referred to the committee of the whole Convention upon 
 the new constitution of government recommended by the late 
 federal convention ; 
 
 or 
 
APPENDIX. 445 
 
 Resolved, that the following Declaration of Rights and Amend 
 ments to the new constitution of government recommended by the 
 late federal convention, ought to be communicated and referred 
 to the other States in the American Union for their consideration, 
 previous to its final ratification ; 
 
 or 
 
 Resolved, that the following Amendments ought to be made to 
 the new constitution of governmnt recommended by the late 
 federal Convention previous to the ratification thereof, and that 
 the said Amendments be by this Convention communicated and 
 referred to the other States in the American Union for their 
 consideration ; 
 
 or 
 
 Resolved, that the new constitution of government recom 
 mended by the late federal convention ought to be ratified when 
 the following Declaration of Rights and Amendments shall be 
 adopted ; and that the said Declaration of Rights and Amend 
 ments be by this Convention communicated and referred to the 
 other States in the Union. 
 
 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 
 
 That there be a Declaration or Bill of Rights, asserting and 
 securing from encroachment the essential and un alienable rights 
 of the people, in some such manner as the following. 
 
 1. That all freemen have certain essential inherent rights, of 
 which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their pos 
 terity ; among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with 
 the means of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and 
 pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. 
 
 2. That all power is naturally vested in, and consequently 
 derived from, the people ; that magistrates therefore are their 
 trustees and agents, and at all times amenable to them. 
 
 3. That government, is or ought to be, instituted for the common 
 benefit, protection, and security of the people ; and that whenever 
 any government shall be found inadequate, or contrary to these 
 purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, un- 
 alienable, and indefeasible right, to reform, alter, or abolish it, and 
 to establish another, in such manner as shall be judged most con- 
 
\\ 
 
 446 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 ducive to the public weal ; and that the doctrine of non-resistance 
 against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish, and 
 destructive of the good and happiness of mankind. 
 
 4. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or sep 
 arate public emoluments or privileges from the community, but in 
 consideration of public services ; which not being descendible, 
 neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge, or any 
 other public office, to be hereditary. 
 
 5. That legislative, executive, and judiciary powers of government 
 should be separate and distinct, and that the members of the two 
 first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participa 
 ting the public burthens, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced 
 to a private station, return into the mass of the people, and the va 
 cancies be supplied by certain and regular elections ; in which all 
 or any part of the former members to be eligible, or ineligible, as 
 the rules of the constitution of government, and the laws shall 
 direct. 
 
 6. That the right of the people to participate in the legislature is 
 the best security of liberty, and the foundation of all free govern 
 ment ; for this purpose, elections ought to be free and frequent ; 
 and all men having sufficient evidence of permanent common in 
 terest with, and attachment to the community, ought to have the 
 right of suffrage ; and that no aid charge, tax or fee can be set, 
 rated, or levied upon the people, without their own consent, or that 
 of their representatives, so elected, nor can they be bound by any 
 law to which they have not, in like manner, assented, for the public 
 good. 
 
 7. That all power of suspending laws or the execution of laws, 
 by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the 
 people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not 
 to be exercised. 
 
 8. That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a 
 right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be con 
 fronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence, and 
 be admitted counsel in his favor, and to a fair and speedy trial by 
 an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent 
 he cannot be found guilty (except in the government of the land 
 and naval forces in time of actual war, invasion, or rebellion) nor 
 can he be compelled to give evidence against himself. 
 
APPENDIX. 447 
 
 9. That no freeman ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized 
 of his freehold, liberties, privileges, or franchises, or outlawed or 
 exiled, or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty 
 or property, but by the law of the land. 
 
 10. That every freeman restrained of his liberty, is entitled to a 
 remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the 
 same if unlawful, and that such remedy ought not to be denied 
 or delayed. 
 
 13. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 14. That every freeman has a right to be secure from all un 
 reasonable searches and seizures of his person, his papers, and his 
 property, all warrants therefore to search suspected places, or to 
 seize any freeman, his papers or property, without information 
 upon oath (or affirmation of a person religiously scrupulous of 
 taking an oath) of legal and sufficient cause, are grievous and op 
 pressive ; and all general warrants to search suspected places, or 
 
 to apprehend any suspected person, without specially naming or / / 
 
 describing the place or person, are dangerous, and ought not to be 
 granted. 
 
 11. That in controversies respecting property, and in suits 
 between man and man, the ancient trial by jury of facts, where 
 they arise, is one of the greatest securities to the rights of a free 
 people, and ought to remain sacred and inviolable. 
 
 1 6. That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of 
 writing and publishing their sentiments ; that the freedom of the 
 press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and ought not to be 
 violated. 
 
 15. That the people have a right peaceably to assemble together 
 to consult for their common good, or to instruct their representa 
 tives, and that every freeman has a right to petition, or apply to 
 the legislature for redress of grievances. 
 
 12. That every freeman ought to find a certain remedy by re 
 course to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs he may receive in his 
 person, property, or character ; He ought to obtain right and 
 justice freely, without sale, completely and without denial, promptly 
 and without delay ; and that all establishments or regulations, con 
 travening these rights are oppressive and unjust. 
 
 17. That the people have a right to keep and to bear arms ; that 
 
448 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, 
 trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defence of a free 
 State ; that standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to 
 liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided, as far as the circum 
 stances and protection of the community will admit ; and that in 
 all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to and 
 governed by the civil power. 
 
 1 8. That no soldier in time of peace ought to be quartered in 
 any house without the consent of the owner ; and in time of war, 
 only by the civil magistrate in such manner as the laws direct. 
 
 19. That any person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms 
 ought to be exempted upon payment of an equivalent, to employ 
 another to bear arms in his stead. 
 
 20. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and 
 the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and 
 conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have 
 an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of 
 religion, according to the dictates of conscience ; and that no 
 particular religious sect, or society of Christians, ought to be 
 favored or established by law, in preference to others. 
 
 AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF GOV 
 ERNMENT IN ADDITION TO THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 
 
 1. That each State in the Union shall respectively retain every 
 power, jurisdiction and right which is not by this Constitution ex 
 pressly delegated to the Congress of the United States, or to the 
 departments of the federal government. 
 
 2. That there shall be one representative for every thirty thous 
 and, according to the enumeration or census mentioned in the Con 
 stitution, until the whole number of representatives amounts to 
 two hundred ; after which that number shall be continued or 
 increased, as the Congress shall direct, upon the principles fixed 
 in the Constitution, by apportioning the representatives of each 
 State to some greater number of people from time to time as 
 population increases. 
 
 3. That Congress, shall not exercise the powers respecting the 
 regulation of elections, vested in them by the fourth section of 
 the first article of the Constitution, but in cases when a State 
 
APPENDIX. 449 
 
 neglects or refuses to make the regulations therein mentioned, or 
 shall make regulations subversive of the rights of the people to a 
 free and equal representation in Congress, agreeably to the Consti 
 tution, or shall be prevented from making elections by invasion, 
 rebellion or insurrection ; and in any of these cases, such powers 
 shall be exercised by the Congress only, until the cause be removed. 
 
 4. That the Congress do not lay direct taxes, but when the 
 revenue arising from the duties on imports is insufficient for the 
 public exigencies, nor then until Congress shall have first made a 
 requisition upon the States, to assess, levy and pay their respective 
 proportions of such requisitions, according to the enumeration or 
 census fixed in the Constitution in such way and manner as the 
 legislature of the State shall judge best ; and if any State shall 
 neglect or refuse to pay its proportion pursuant to such requisi 
 tion, the Congress may assess and levy such State s proportion 
 together with interest thereon, at the rate of six per centum per 
 annum from the time of payment prescribed in such requisition. 
 
 5. That the members of the Senate and House of Representa 
 tives shall be ineligible to and incapable of holding any civil office 
 under the authority of the United States, during the time for which 
 they shall respectively be elected. 
 
 6. That the journals of the proceedings of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives shall be published at least once in every 
 year except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or 
 military operations as in their judgment require secrecy. 
 
 7. That a regular statement and account of the receipts and 
 expenditures of all public money shall be published at least once 
 in every year. 
 
 8. That no commercial treaty shall be ratified, without the con 
 currence of two thirds of the whole number of the members of the 
 Senate, and no treaty ceding, contracting, restraining or suspending 
 the territorial rights or claims of the United States, or any of them, 
 or their or any of their rights or claims to fishing in the American 
 seas, or navigating the American rivers, shall be ratified without 
 the concurrence of three fourths of the whole number of the mem 
 bers of both houses respectively. 
 
 9. That no navigation law or law regulating commerce shall be 
 passed without the consent of two thirds of the members present 
 in both houses. 
 
 VOL. II. 29 
 
.&S8T- 
 
 45O LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 10. That no standing army or regular troops shall be raised or 
 kept up in time of peace without the consent of two thirds of the 
 members present in both houses. 
 
 11. That no soldier shall be enlisted for a longer term than four 
 years ; except in time of war, and then for no longer term than 
 the continuance of the war. 
 
 12. That each State respectively shall have the power to provide 
 for organizing, arming and disciplining its own militia, whensoever 
 the Congress shall omit or neglect to provide for the same. 
 
 13. That the militia shall not be subject to martial law except 
 when in actual service, in time of war, invasion, or rebellion ; and 
 when not in the actual service of the United States shall be subject 
 only to such fines, penalties and punishments as shall be directed 
 or inflicted by the laws of its own State. 
 
 14. That the exclusive power of legislation given to the Con 
 gress over the federal town and its adjacent district, shall extend 
 only to such regulations as respect the police and good govern 
 ment thereof. 
 
 15. That no person shall be capable of being President of the 
 United States for more than eight years in any term of sixteen 
 years. 
 
 1 6. That the judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
 in one supreme court, and in such courts of admiralty as the 
 Congress may from time to time ordain and establish in any of the 
 different States. 
 
 17. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and 
 equity arising under treaties made or which shall be made under 
 the authority of the United States ; to all cases affecting ambassa 
 dors, other foreign ministers and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty 
 and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 
 States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more 
 States, and between persons claiming lands under the grants of 
 different States. 
 
 1 8. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other foreign ministers 
 and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the 
 Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction ; in all the other 
 cases before mentioned the Supreme Court shall have appellate 
 jurisdiction as to matters of law only, except in cases of equity, 
 and of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, in which the Supreme 
 
APPENDIX. 451 
 
 Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, 
 with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress 
 shall make. But the judicial power of the United States shall 
 extend to no case where the cause of action shall have originated 
 before the ratification of this Constitution, except in disputes 
 between States about their territory, disputes between persons 
 claiming lands under the grants of different States, and suits for 
 debts due to the United States. 
 
 19. That in criminal prosecutions no man shall be restrained in 
 the exercise of the usual and accustomed right of challenging or 
 excepting to the jury. 
 
 AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 That there be a Declaration of Rights, asserting and securing 
 from encroachment the essential and unalienable rights of the 
 people, in some such manner as the following. 
 
 Here the Declaration of Rights to be inserted. 
 
 And that there be also the following amendments to the Consti 
 tution : 
 
 1. That each State in the Union shall retain its sovereignty, 
 freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction and 
 right, which is not by this Constitution expressly delegated to the 
 Congress of the United States. 
 
 2. That there shall be one representative for every thirty 
 thousand persons, according to the enumeration or census men 
 tioned in the Constitution, until the whole number of the repre 
 sentatives amounts to two hundred. 
 
 3. That Congress shall not exercise the powers, respecting the 
 regulation of elections, vested in them by the fourth section of the 
 first article of the Constitution, but in cases when a State neglects 
 or refuses to make the regulations therein mentioned, or shall make 
 regulations subversive of the rights of the people to a free and 
 equal, representation in Congress agreeably to the Constitution, or 
 shall be prevented from making elections by invasion or rebellion ; 
 and in any of these cases, such powers shall be exercised by Con 
 gress only until the cause be removed. 
 
 4. That Congress do not lay direct taxes, nor excises upon any 
 articles of the growth or manufactured from the growth of any of 
 
45- LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 the American States, but when the monies arising from the duties 
 or imposts are insufficient for the public exigencies ; nor then 
 until Congress shall have first made a requisition upon the States, 
 to assess, levy and pay their respective proportions of such requisi 
 tions, according to the enumeration or census fixed in the Consti 
 tution, in such way and manner as the legislature of the State shall 
 judge best ; and if any State shall neglect or refuse to pay its pro 
 portion, pursuant to such requisition, then Congress may assess 
 and levy such State s proportion, together with interest thereon, at 
 the rate of six cents per annum, from the time of payment pre 
 scribed in such requisition. 
 
 5. That the members of the Senate and House of Representa 
 tives shall be ineligible to and incapable of holding any office 
 under the authority of the United States, during the time for which 
 they shall respectively be elected. 
 
 6. That there shall be a constitutional responsible council, to 
 assist in the administration of government, with the power of 
 choosing out of their own body a president, who in case of the 
 death, resignation or disability of the president of the United 
 States, shall act, pro tempore, as vice-president, instead of a vice- 
 president elected in the manner prescribed by the Constitution ; 
 and that the power of making treaties, appointing ambassadors, 
 other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Courts, 
 and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are 
 not otherwise provided for by the Constitution, and which shall be 
 established by law, be vested in the president of the United 
 States with the assistance of the council so to be appointed. But 
 all treaties so made or entered into, shall be subject to the revision 
 of the Senate and House of Representatives for their ratification. 
 And no commercial treaty shall be ratified without the consent of 
 two thirds of the members present in both houses ; nor shall any 
 treaty ceding, contracting, restraining or suspending the territorial 
 rights or claims of the United States, or any of them, or their, or 
 any of their rights or claims to fishing in the American seas, or 
 navigating the American rivers, be ratified, without the consent of 
 three fourths of the whole number of the members of both houses. 
 
 7. No navigation law or law for regulating commerce shall be 
 passed without the consent of two thirds of the members present 
 in both houses. 
 
APPENDIX. 453 
 
 8. Neither the president nor vice-president of the United 
 States, nor any member of the council shall command the army 
 or navy of the United States in person without the consent of 
 two thirds of the members of both houses. 
 
 9. No soldier shall be enlisted for a longer term than four 
 years, except in time of war, and then for no longer term than the 
 continuance of the war. 
 
 10. No mutiny act shall be passed for any longer term than 
 two years. 
 
 11. The president of the United States, or any other officer 
 acting under the authority of the United States, shall, upon im 
 peachment, be suspended from the exercise of his office, during 
 his trial. 
 
 1 2. The judges of the federal court shall be incapable of hold 
 ing any other office, or of receiving the profits of any other office, 
 or emolument under the United States or any of them. 
 
 V. 
 
 PAPER ON CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. 
 
 The essential difference between the citizens of a free country, 
 and the subjects of arbitrary or despotic governments, or in other 
 words, between freemen and slaves, consists principally in this. 
 That the citizens of a free country choose the men who are 
 to make laws for them, and are therefore governed by no laws, 
 but such as are made by men of their own choosing, in whom 
 they can confide, who are amenable to them ; and if they abuse 
 their trust can be turned out at the next election. But the 
 subjects of arbitrary governments having no such right of suf 
 frage, in electing their own law-makers, are governed by laws 
 made by men whom they do not choose, who therefore are not 
 amenable to them, over whom they have no control, in whom 
 they have no confidence, with whom they have no common 
 interest or fellowship ; and whose interest and views may be, and 
 frequently will be in direct contrast and opposition to the rights 
 and interest of the bulk of the people. Hence proceed partial 
 and unjust laws, oppression and every species of tyranny. From 
 these premises it is evident that this right of suffrage, in the choice 
 
454 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of their own lawmakers is the foundation and support of all the 
 other rights and privileges of freemen. And whenever they shall 
 be deprived of it, all their other rights and privileges must soon 
 moulder away and tumble to the ground. Whenever it shall be 
 impaired or weakened, all the other rights and privileges of a free 
 people will be impaired or weakened, in the same proportion. 
 And Whenever, under any pretence whatever, the substance of this 
 fundamental and precious right of suffrage shall be so far under 
 mined or invalidated, as to leave the name or shadow of it only to 
 the people, or to any particular part of the people, from thencefor 
 ward, such people will possess only the name and shadow of 
 liberty, which without the substance, is not worth preserving. 
 
 It is surely therefore the duty of freemen a duty which they 
 owe to themselves, to their country, to their children, and to gen 
 erations yet unborn to watch over and guard this sacred and 
 inestimable right of suffrage, and with manly firmness to resist the 
 smallest attempt of invasion, or encroachment on it, for every en 
 croachment will grow into a precedent for some other encroachment. 
 
 There is great cause to apprehend, that at the next session of the 
 Virginia Assembly, an attempt will be made, to deprive the people 
 of Fairfax County of their right of suffrage, in choosing members 
 of Congress ; or which amounts to nearly the same thing, to take 
 from them the substance, and leave them only the name and 
 shadow of choosing. When the new Constitution for the general 
 government of the United States of America was first formed, Vir 
 ginia was entitled to send only ten members to the House of 
 Representatives in Congress. The whole State of Virginia was 
 therefore laid off into only ten districts, each of which chose one 
 member. Kentucky being one of those ten districts, chose one of 
 the said ten members. The six counties of King George, Stafford, 
 Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Fauquier composed another 
 of those ten districts, for choosing one of the said ten members. 
 But by the census or enumeration of all the inhabitants of the 
 United States, taken last year, the number of members in the 
 House of Representatives, from almost every State in the Union, 
 will be greatly increased. From Virginia the number will be more 
 than doubled, and consequently the number of the former districts 
 must be more than doubled also, and the size and extent of them 
 lessened in the same proportion : for at the next election, some 
 time in the course of next winter, Virginia instead of sending nine 
 
APPENDIX. 455 
 
 members (exclusive of Kentucky) to the House of Representatives 
 in Congress, will be entitled to send twenty-one members, exclu 
 sive of Kentucky. And for this purpose, when our Assembly 
 meets next October, Virginia (exclusive of Kentucky) will be 
 arranged, or laid off into twenty-one districts, each of which to 
 choose one member. The five counties of Stafford, Prince Wil 
 liam, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Fauquier (leaving out the county of 
 King George, to be added to some of the lower counties) will now 
 form two complete districts, and it will be attempted to make 
 Fairfax and Loudoun compose one of these two districts ; and 
 Stafford, Prince William and Fauquier compose the other district ; 
 by which means the substance of the right of suffrage, in electing 
 members of Congress will be taken from the people of Fairfax, 
 and the name or shadow only left them. For the voters in Lou 
 doun County being near three times the number of the voters in 
 Fairfax ; while that local attachment and partiality continues to 
 influence the bulk of mankind, which ever has influenced them, 
 and ever will influence them, while human nature continues what 
 it now is and always has been ; a candidate in Fairfax (let him be 
 ever so good a man) will have no chance of succeeding against one 
 in Loudoun ; the comparative merits of the candidates will be 
 sacrificed to local attachment, and the people in Fairfax will, in 
 reality, have little more hand in electing their nominal represent 
 atives in Congress than they have in electing the representatives 
 of Maryland or Pennsylvania. And this act of injustice and op 
 pression will be further aggravated, in eight or nine years ; for 
 when the town of Alexandria and that part of the federal district 
 of ten miles square which lies on this side of Potomack River, are 
 taken out of the jurisdiction of Virginia, Loudoun County which 
 now has three votes to our one, will then have near six votes to 
 our one ; and the people of Fairfax will not find it worth their 
 while to give their votes, or attend the elections of members of 
 Congress. What the people of Fairfax County have done to de 
 serve this injurious treatment, and forfeiture of their dearest 
 rights and privileges, let the contrivers of this nefarious project 
 declare. 1 
 
 1 Whatever may be the pretence, the real motive (here at least) for endeavor 
 ing to join Fairfax County in the district with Loudoun, is to secure the election 
 of Mr. Richard Bland Lee, which his friends apprehend may be rendered pre 
 carious by placing Loudoun in the same district with Fauquier. This apprehen- 
 
456 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 It is said (perhaps untruly) that some of the people in Alex 
 andria, and within the federal district, are in favor of this scheme. 
 Such of them as are men of liberal minds, can hardly be presumed 
 to be so, but they stand on very different ground from the people 
 of the county, for they will sacrifice only a temporary interest of 
 short duration, as in eight or nine years (perhaps sooner) they will 
 be taken out of the jurisdiction of Virginia ; but to the people in 
 every other part of the county, the sacrifice will not be temporary 
 but permanent. If the three small counties of Stafford, Prince 
 William, and Fairfax compose one complete district, and the two 
 large counties of Loudoun and Fauquier compose another complete 
 district, as of right they ought to do, the counties in each respective 
 district will have nearly an equal number of voters, and will be a 
 fair match for each other. The people in each county will then 
 have, not in name only, but in substance and reality, an equal 
 right of suffrage in electing members of Congress : a candidate in 
 either county will have a fair trial with a candidate in another 
 county ; and the comparative merits of the candidates will gener 
 ally prevail against local attachment and prejudice. It is notorious, 
 that for these very reasons, when in the formation of the Virginia 
 Government in the year 1776, the four and twenty districts were 
 arranged for the election of senators, the counties of Prince Wil 
 liam and Fairfax were formed into one district, and the counties of 
 Loudoun and Fauquier into another district, and still continue so. 
 And surely the same reasons hold at least equally strong, in the 
 choice of members of Congress, whose powers, since the establish 
 ment of the new federal constitution, are much greater and more 
 important, than those which now remain to the State Legislatures. 
 And as there is just ground to believe that the arrangement of dis 
 tricts, which will be made next fall, will hardly ever be materially 
 altered, it is of the utmost consequence, that they should be 
 fairly and justly made, and not with a view of serving any tem 
 porary, local party -job whatever. 1 
 
 sion seems to be ill founded, but if it was ever so well founded, and if Mr. Lee 
 was the last man in the United States, nothing can be more absurd and wicked 
 than to sacrifice the rights of the people to the views or interest of an individual. 
 And a candidate for Fairfax County, by adopting this iniquitous scheme, will 
 give the most indisputable proof of his being unworthy of public trust. 
 
 1 An amendment to the Constitution of the federal government was, some 
 time ago, recommended by Congress, since agreed to by more than two thirds 
 
APPENDIX. 457 
 
 VI. 
 
 WILL OF GEORGE MASON OF " GUNSTON." 
 
 I, George Mason of Gunston Hall in the parish of Truro and 
 county of Fairfax, being of perfect and sound mind and memory 
 and in good health, but mindful of the uncertainty of human life 
 and the imprudence of a man s leaving his affairs to be settled 
 upon a death bed, do make and appoint this my last Will and Testa 
 ment. My soul I resign into the hands of my Almighty Creator 
 whose tender mercies are over all his works, who hateth nothing 
 that he hath made, and to the Justice and Wisdom of whose dis 
 pensation I willingly and cheerfully submit ; humbly hoping from 
 his unbounded mercy and benevolence thro the merits of my 
 blessed Saviour a remission of my sins. My body I desire may 
 be decently buried at the discretion of my Executors hereinafter 
 named, close by the side of my dear and ever lamented wife. And 
 as for all the worldly Estate with which it has pleased God to bless 
 me I dispose of it in manner and form following. Imprimis : It is 
 my will and desire and I hereby direct and order that all my lands, 
 slaves with their increase, stocks, rents, crops, tobacco and money 
 and debts due to me with the yearly interest arising thereon, with 
 all my other Estate of what nature soever, in Virginia, Maryland 
 or elsewhere, be kept together and considered as one common 
 stock for the payment of my debts and legacys and the main 
 tenance and education of my children and the payment of their 
 fortunes, until my said children respectively come of age or marry ? 
 when and not before, each of them is to receive his or her part of 
 the same, as hereinafter respectively devised or bequeathed to each 
 
 of the States in the Union, and thereby become an article of the said Constitu 
 tion ; by which (to the best of my recollection, for I have not a copy of the 
 amendment by me) the ratio of thirty thousand is to be applied to the census of 
 the inhabitants of the United States, to ascertain and apportion the representa 
 tion, until the number of the House of Representatives shall amount to one hun 
 dred : after which Congress is empowered to alter and increase the ratio in such 
 manner as they shall judge fit ; provided that the number of the House of 
 Representatives shall never be less than one hundred. The late census will 
 increase the House of Representatives to something more than one hundred 
 members : and there is therefore cause to believe, that the arrangement of the 
 districts to be made next fall, will never be materially increased or altered. 
 
 G. M. 
 
458 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of them, and when any one of my children shall come of age or 
 marry and receive his or her part of the same accordingly, the 
 residue still to continue and remain in the said common stock 
 until another of my children shall come of age or marry, and so on 
 in the same manner until the youngest of my children shall come 
 of age or marry and receive his or her part of the same as afore 
 said ; it being my intention that my Executors shall not have the 
 trouble and perplexity of keeping different accounts with all my 
 children, but only one general account for the whole. 
 
 Item : I give and bequeath unto each of my four daughters, 
 Ann Mason, Sarah Mason, Mary Mason and Elizabeth Mason 
 and each of their heirs forever when they respectively arrive at 
 the age of twenty-one years, or marry, whichever shall first happen, 
 the following slaves with their increase respectively from the date 
 of this my will : to my eldest daughter Ann the four following 
 slaves and their increase, to wit Bess (the daughter of Chloe) and 
 her child, Frank, mulatto Priss (the daughter of Jenny) and Nell 
 (the daughter of Occoquan Nell). To my daughter Sarah the 
 three following slaves with their increase, to wit Hannah and 
 Venus (the daughter of Becky) and mulatto Mima (the daughter 
 of Jenny). To my daughter Mary the three following slaves with 
 their increase to wit, Ann and Nell, the daughter of house Nell, 
 and little Jenny (the daughter of Jenny). To my daughter Eliz 
 abeth the three following slaves with their increase, to wit Vicky 
 (the daughter of Occoquan Nell), Sarah (the daughter of great 
 Sue), and Rachel (the daughter of Beck). And I confirm unto 
 my three eldest daughters Ann, Sarah, and Mary their right and 
 title respectively to one negro girl given to each of them by their 
 grandfather Mr. William Eilbeck deceased, to wit a negro girl 
 named Penny to my daughter Ann, a negro girl named Priss to my 
 daughter Sarah, and a negro girl named Nan to my daughter Mary. 
 But in the meantime that is until my daughters respectively come 
 of age or marry, the profits of all such of the above mentioned 
 slaves as shall not be employed in waiting upon any of my said 
 daughters, or for their use in the house, are to remain in and be 
 considered as part of the common stock for the purposes herein 
 before mentioned, and if any one or more of my said daughters 
 should happen to die under age or unmarried, then and in that case 
 it is my will and desire and I hereby direct and order that all the 
 
APPENDIX. 459 
 
 slaves with their increase hereinbefore bequeathed to such daugh 
 ter or daughters, shall go to and be equally divided between my 
 other daughters or to the survivor of them, to be delivered them or 
 her as hereinbefore directed. I also give to each of my said four 
 daughters one bed and furniture to be delivered them at the time 
 and in the manner aforesaid. 
 
 Item : I give and bequeath unto each of my said four 
 daughters Ann, Sarah, Mary and Elizabeth, except such of 
 them as may happen to marry and have actually received their 
 fortune in my lifetime, the sum of six hundred pounds sterling 
 out of my money debts due to me and the profits of the com 
 mon stock of my Estate, the said sum of six hundred pounds 
 sterling to be paid to each of them without defalcation or dimi 
 nution, when they respectively arrive at the age of twenty-one 
 years or marry, whichever shall first happen exclusive of any sum 
 or sums given or to be given to any of them by their grandmother 
 Mrs. Eilbeck, or for which I have taken or may take bonds for 
 their use or in any of their respective names ; and if any one of my 
 said daughters should die under age or unmarried, it is my will and 
 desire and I hereby direct and order, that the money herein be 
 queathed to such daughter shall go to be equally divided between 
 all my other surviving daughters, such of them as may happen to 
 be of age or married at the time to receive their part of the same, 
 and the residue to remain in the common stock until my other 
 surviving daughters respectively come of age or marry, but if two 
 or more of my daughters should happen to die under age or un 
 married, then and in that case it is my will and desire and I hereby 
 direct and order, that so much of their money only shall go to my 
 surviving daughter or daughters as will increase the fortune of 
 each or either of them to the sum of one thousand pounds ster 
 ling, exclusive of their slaves or of any money given them by their 
 grandmother Mrs. Eilbeck as aforesaid, to be paid them or her in 
 the manner above directed, and that the residue shall remain in the 
 common stock for the benefit of my four youngest sons in the 
 manner hereinafter directed. 
 
 Item : I give and devise unto my eldest son George Mason 
 and his heirs forever when he arrives at the age of twenty-one 
 years or marrys, whichever shall first happen, my mansion 
 house and seat of Gunston Hall with all my lands thereunto 
 
460 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 belonging or adjoining, being between five and six thousand 
 acres, also a small tract of land adjoining to the land of the 
 Revd. Mr. Lee Massey purchased by my father of Giles and 
 Benoni Tillett, and in general all my lands between Potomack 
 river, Occoquan river and Pohick creek in Fairfax County, ex 
 cepting and reserving unto my Executors the right and privilege 
 of keeping three Quarters, upon the said land to be considered as 
 part of the common stock of my Estate for the benefit of my 
 younger children, and of working the same number of hands as are 
 worked at the said three Quarters respectively at the time of my 
 death, with the right and privilege of getting timber for the proper 
 use of the said three Quarters or plantations on any part of the 
 said lands, that is to say one Quarter in the bottom of Dogues Neck 
 (commonly called the Occoquan Quarter), until all my sons come 
 of age, with all the land which I have usually tended and made 
 use of at the said Quarter, and such other convenient and adjoin 
 ing land as is necessary for the use of the same, and the benefit of 
 suffering all the stock properly belonging to the said Quarter to 
 range and run at large in the said Neck, and the two other Quar 
 ters at Hallowing s Point and upon the land I bought of William 
 Courts, until all my sons except the youngest come of age, with 
 all the land between [the] upper line of the said tract bought of 
 William Courts, the river and the great marsh, and the benefit of 
 all the stock properly belonging to the said two Quarters, ranging 
 and running at large within the new Neck fence, my Executors 
 keeping the said Quarters and plantations in good order and 
 repair and delivering up the same accordingly at the respective 
 expiration of the times aforesaid, or when the crops then growing 
 thereon are finished, unto my said son George Mason or his heirs. 
 But if my said son George Mason should die under age and un 
 married, it is my will and desire and I hereby direct and order that 
 all the lands herein devised unto him shall go and descend unto 
 his heirs at law and his heirs forever, in the same manner as if my 
 said son George had been in the actual possession of the same 
 before his death, and shall not be divided among my residuary 
 Legatees hereinafter named. 
 
 Item : I give and bequeath unto my said son George Mason 
 and his heirs forever when he arrives at the age of twenty-one 
 years or marrys, whichever shall first happen, the seven follow- 
 
APPENDIX. 461 
 
 ing slaves to wit Alec, Bob, Dunk, yellow Dick, Bob (the son 
 of Occoquan Nell), Peter (the son of great Sue), Judy and 
 Lucy together with all the slaves which shall properly belong to 
 and reside at my two upper Quarters in Dogues Neck adjoin 
 ing to the great marsh at the time of my death, (except such of 
 them as may happen to be any of the slaves by name specifically 
 bequeathed to some of my other children,) also all my stock 
 of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs which shall properly belong to 
 and be wintered at my said two upper Quarters in Dogues Neck, 
 at the time of my death, with all the plantation utensils and imple 
 ments of husbandry thereto belonging, also one fifth part of all 
 my Books and household furniture in and about my dwelling 
 house, but if my said son George Mason should die before he 
 comes of age and unmarried, then and in that case it is my will and 
 desire and I hereby direct and order, that all the slaves as well as 
 all the personal Estate hereinbefore bequeathed him, shall be 
 equally divided between my other surviving sons, and for that 
 purpose shall remain in the common stock until my other sons re 
 spectively come of age or marry. Item : I give and bequeath unto 
 my said son George and his heirs forever, all my stock in the Ohio 
 Company as a member thereof, together with my share and part 
 of all the said Company s lands, but whatever ballance (if any at 
 the time of my death) appears by my books of account to be due 
 from me to the said Ohio Company is to be paid out of the com 
 mon stock of my Estate in the same manner as any other debts. 
 I also give and bequeath unto my said son George Mason my Gold 
 watch which I commonly wear, also a large silver salver which 
 being an old piece of family plate I desire may remain unaltered. 
 And I confirm unto him his right and title to a negro man named 
 Dick given him by his grandfather Mr. Eilbeck, and likewise his 
 right and title to two negro men named Tom and Liberty ex 
 changed with him by me for two other negroes given him by his 
 grandmother Mrs. Eilbeck, also to a large silver Bowl given him 
 by my mother in which all my children have been christened, and 
 which I desire may remain in the family unaltered for that pur 
 pose. And whereas my son George will soon be of age, and if I 
 should happen to die during the minority of my other children 
 they will probably live with him, and he may not chuse to charge 
 his brothers and sisters with their board, altho it must put him 
 
462 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEOXGE MASON. 
 
 to considerable trouble and expence, then and in that case there 
 fore, I give unto my said son George whilst my children live with 
 him as aforesaid the right and privilege of taking in any year from 
 any of my Quarters whilst they remain in the common stock, such 
 Quantity of provisions for his family s use, and also of employing 
 such and so many of my house servants in his family as he and my 
 other Executor shall judge reasonable and necessary for the above 
 mentioned purpose and adequate to the expence and trouble 
 thereby occasioned, without being accountable for the same. 
 
 Item : I give and devise unto my son William Mason and his heirs 
 forever when he arrives at the age of twenty-one years or marrys, 
 whichever shall first happen, all my lands upon Chickamuxon and 
 Mattawoman Creeks in Charles County in the Province of Mary 
 land, that is to say all my lands in Christian Temple Manor and 
 my tract of land called Stump Neck (formerly called Dogues 
 Neck) with two hundred acres of land thereto adjoining and in 
 cluded in the same original patent, excepting and reserving to my 
 Executors the right and privilege of retaining and keeping in their 
 hands as part of the common stock of my Estate, for the benefit of 
 my younger children, until all my sons come of age the last men 
 tioned tract of land called Stump Neck with the said two hundred 
 acres of land thereto adjoining, and of keeping a Quarter thereon 
 and working the same number of hands for the purpose aforesaid 
 as worked on the same at the time of my death. I also give and 
 devise unto my said son William Mason and his heirs forever, in 
 like manner, a tract of one hundred and fifty acres of land (where 
 on George Adams now lives) near Port Tobacco in the said 
 county and province, the same being one moiety of a tract of land 
 called Partnership, and if my said son William should die before 
 he comes of age and unmarried, then and in that case I give and 
 devise all the above mentioned Lands upon Chickamuxon and 
 Mattawoman Creeks unto my youngest son Thomas Mason and 
 his heirs forever, and the above mentioned tract of land near Port 
 Tobacco (upon which George Adams lives) I give and devise unto 
 my son Thomson Mason and his heirs forever. Item : I give and 
 devise unto my said son William Mason and his heirs forever 
 when he arrives at the age of twenty-one years or marrys, which 
 ever shall first happen, the two following slaves to wit Milly (the 
 daughter of Kate) and Sampson (the son of Mr. Eilbeck s Bess), 
 
APPENDIX. 463 
 
 also one-fifth part of all my Books and household furniture in or 
 about my dwelling house. I also give and bequeath unto my said 
 son William Mason my silver Watch which I formerly used to 
 wear, and I confirm his right and title to a negro lad named Cato 
 given him by his grandfather, Mr. Eilbeck. 
 
 Item : I give and devise unto my son Thomson Mason and his 
 heirs forever when he arrives at the age of twerfty-one years or 
 marrys, whichever shall first happen, all my land in Thompson s 
 patent (repatented in my own name) between Dogues Run and the 
 south Branch of little Hunting Creek, excepting and reserving to my 
 Executors the right and privilege of settling two Quarters with eight 
 working hands on each upon such parts thereof as they shall think 
 fit unless the said Quarters shall be settled thereon by me in my 
 lifetime, and retaining and keeping in their hands one of the said 
 Quarters so settled by me or them, with land thereto adjoining 
 sufficient to work the hands belonging to the same as part of the 
 common stock until all my sons come of age. I also give and de 
 vise unto my said son Thomson Mason and his heirs forever, in 
 like manner, all my lands upon both sides the north branch of 
 Little Hunting Creek contained in Thomas Stafford s patent, 
 Thomas Sandiford s patent (repatented in my own name), George 
 Brent s sale to William Browne and part of Ball s patent which 
 I bought of Mr. Sampson Darrell, also all my land in Mason s and 
 Hereford s patent upon the branches of Dogues Run and Acco- 
 tink, being one moiety of the land devised by my Grandfather, 
 Col. George Mason deed, to his daughters Elizabeth and 
 Rosanna, also a small tract of land contiguous thereto origi 
 nally patented by one William Williams and purchased by my 
 father of Winifred Ball, daughter and heir at law to the said 
 Williams, it being the land whereon Edward Violet lived, also a 
 tract of about four hundred acres of land patented by my father 
 upon the upper side of Dogues Run adjoining to Matthew s patent, 
 and in general I give and devise unto my said son Thomson Mason 
 and his heirs forever when he arrives at the age of twenty-one 
 years or marrys, whichever shall first happen (except as before 
 excepted) all my lands upon the branches and waters of Dogues 
 Run and little Hunting Creek in Fairfax county, being in the whole 
 about three thousand, three hundred acres, and if my said son 
 Thomson Mason should die under age and unmarried, then and in 
 
464 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 that case I give and devise all the above mentioned lands in 
 Thompson s patent between Dogues Run and the south branch of 
 little Hunting Creek (being about thirteen hundred acres), and also 
 all the above mentioned lands in Stafford s and Sandiford s patents 
 in George Brent s sale to William Brown, and part of Ball s patent 
 which I bought of Mr. Sampson Darrell being about seven 
 hundred acres upon both sides the North Branch of little Hunting 
 Creek, unto my youngest son Thomas Mason and his heirs forever ; 
 but it is my will and desire and I hereby direct and order that all 
 the other land hereinbefore devised unto my son Thomson Mason 
 shall if he die under age and unmarried, as aforesaid go and 
 descend unto my eldest son and heir George Mason and his heirs 
 forever, in the same manner as if my said son Thomson had been 
 in the actual possession of the same before his death. Item : I 
 give and Devise unto my said son Thomson Mason and his heirs 
 forever, when he arrives at the age of twenty one years or marrys, 
 whichever shall first happen, the two following slaves to wit Sail 
 (the daughter of Lucy), and Joe (the son of Mr. Eilbeck s Bess), 
 also one fifth part of all my Books and household furniture in and 
 about my dwelling house, and I confirm unto my said son Thomson 
 Mason his right and title to a negroe lad named Cupid given him 
 by his grandfather Mr. Eilbeck. 
 
 Item : I give and devise unto my son John Mason and his heirs 
 forever when he arrives at the age of twenty-one or marrys, which 
 ever shall first happen, all my lands adjoining to and near Rock 
 Creek ferry upon Potowmack River, that is to say the lands con 
 tained in Thomas Ousley s, Thomas Gowing s and my father s 
 patents (all repatented in my own name), with the lands I purchased 
 of Ellis and Bradie and of Daniel Jennings, and a small tract of 
 land I took up as vacant land between my other tracts, and in gen 
 eral all my land between Four Mile Run and the Lower Falls of 
 Potowmack River in the parish and county of Fairfax being about 
 two thousand acres. I also give and devise unto my said son John 
 Mason and his heirs forever, in like manner my Island in Potomack 
 River opposite the mouth of Rock Creek which I hold under a 
 patent from the Lord Proprietor of Maryland by the name of Bar- 
 badoes. I also give and devise unto my said son John Mason and 
 his heirs forever, in like manner all my lands upon and between the 
 main south run of Accotink and the branches of Difficult Run in 
 
APPENDIX. 465 
 
 the upper part of Truro parish in Fairfax county, patented by my 
 father with a small tract of land thereto adjoining patented in my 
 own name being together about two thousand Acres, and if my said 
 son John Mason should die under age and unmarried then and in 
 that case I give and devise all the above mentioned lands between 
 Four Mile Run and the Lower Falls of the Potowmack river together 
 with my before-mentioned Island of Barbadoes unto my youngest 
 son Thomas Mason and his heirs forever. But it is my will and 
 desire and I hereby direct and order that all the other lands herein 
 before devised unto my said son John Mason upon and between 
 the main south run of Accotink and the branches of Difficult Run 
 shall if he die under age and unmarried, as aforesaid go and 
 descend unto my eldest son and heir George Mason and his heirs 
 forever, in the same manner as if my said son John Mason had 
 been in the actual possession of the same before his death. Item : 
 I give and bequeath unto my said son John Mason and his heirs 
 forever, when he arrives at the age of twenty-one years or marrys, 
 whichever shall first happen the two following slaves to wit Harry 
 (the son of house Poll) and Peg (the daughter of Chloe), also one 
 fifth part of all my Books and household furniture in and about 
 my dwelling house. 
 
 Item : I give and devise unto my youngest son Thomas Mason 
 and his heirs forever, when he arrives at the age of twenty-one 
 years or marrys, whichever shall first happen, all my land upon 
 the lower side of Occoquan River patented by my father and Col. 
 Robinson, together with the right and benefit of keeping the ferry 
 over Occoquan from both sides of the river, which has been vested 
 in me and my ancestors from the first settlement of this part of 
 the country and long before the land there was taken up or 
 patented. Also all my land upon the branches of Neabecco 
 [Neapsco ? ] purchased by my father of Ann West, also all my 
 land upon Potowmack river in Cockpit Point Neck, also all my 
 land upon the upper side of Chappawamsick Creek and in 
 general all my lands in the county of Prince William. I also give 
 and devise unto my said son Thomas Mason and his heirs forever, 
 when he arrives at the age of twenty one years or marrys, which 
 ever shall first happen, all my lands adjoining to each other upon 
 Goose Bay and Potowmack River in Charles County in the Prov 
 ince of Maryland, being four different tracts, the lowermost called 
 
466 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 Si: Benedict s originally granted to Bennett Marchgay, the next 
 called Mason s Fields patented by my mother Mrs. Ann Mason, 
 the next interfering with Mason s Fields, a tract of one hundred 
 and fifty acres without any particular name whereon Henry 
 Fletcher formerly lived who purchased the same of Henry Aspinall 
 to whom it was originally granted, and the upper [part] called 
 Fletcher s Addition originally granted to the said Henry Fletcher, 
 and in general all my lands between Chickamuxon Creek and 
 Goose Bay in the said county and province, and if my said son 
 Thomas Mason should die under age and unmarried, then and in 
 that case I give and devise all the above mentioned lands between 
 Chickamuxon Creek and Goose Bay in Charles County in the 
 province of Maryland, unto my son William Mason and his heirs 
 forever. But it is my will and desire and I hereby direct and 
 order, that all the other lands hereinbefore devised unto my said 
 son Thomas Mason in the County of Prince William and Colony 
 of Virginia, together with the right and benefit of keeping 
 Occoquan ferry, shall if he die under age and unmarried, 
 as aforesaid go and descend unto my eldest son and heir George 
 Mason and his heirs forever in the same manner as if my said 
 son Thomas had been in actual possession of the same before his 
 death. Item : I give and bequeath unto my said son Thomas 
 Mason and his heirs forever, when he arrives at the age of twenty- 
 one years or marrys, whichever shall first happen, the two follow 
 ing slaves to wit Jack (the son of house Nell) and Daphne (the 
 daughter of Dinah), also one fifth part of all my books and house 
 hold furniture in and about my dwelling house. Item : I give 
 and bequeath unto my said son Thomas Mason the sum of six 
 hundred pounds sterling to be paid him when he arrives at the 
 age of twenty-one years or marrys, whichever shall first happen, 
 out of my money and debts due to me and the profits of my Estate 
 if so much remain in the common stock after the payment of my 
 debts and legacys, the maintenance and education of my children 
 and the payment of my daughters fortunes, and if there is not so 
 much as the said sum of six hundred pounds sterling then what 
 ever lesser sum there is remaining in the said common stock. 
 And least the manner in which I have limited and directed the 
 descent of some of my land should occasion any dispute or induce 
 an opinion that I intended to intail them, I hereby declare that it 
 
APPENDIX. 467 
 
 is not my intention to intail any part of my Estate upon any of 
 my children, but to give all and each of my sons when they respec 
 tively come of age or marry, an absolute fee simple estate in all 
 the lands respectively devised them and in all such lands also as 
 any of them may happen to take by the death of any of their 
 Brothers, the common legal descent of some of my lands being 
 hereinbefore altered only in case any of my sons to whom such 
 lands are respectively devised should die under age and unmar 
 ried while their lands remained in the common stock of my Estate 
 and had not yet come into their actual possession. And whereas 
 I hold sundry tracts of land in the county of Hampshire in Vir 
 ginia, and in the county of Frederick in the province of Maryland 
 near Fort Cumberland, patented in my name in trust for the Ohio 
 Company, I authorize and direct my Executors to convey the same 
 by such deeds as council learned in the law shall advise (with 
 special warranty only against my heirs and all claiming under me) 
 unto the said Ohio Company upon their paying the ballance of my 
 bond with the Interest thereon due to Mrs. Bladen or Mrs. Tasker s 
 Executors, for the purchase of part of the said lands so that the 
 said bond may be taken up and cancelled and my Estate indem 
 nified therefrom excepting and reserving unto my eldest son George 
 Mason and his heirs forever my part and share of and in the said 
 lands as a member of the said Ohio Company. 
 
 Item : All the remaining part of my slaves with their increase, 
 stocks of all kinds, and money and debts due to me, crops, profits 
 and all other personal Estate whatsoever in the common stock not 
 herein otherwise disposed of I give and bequeath unto my four 
 youngest sons William, Thomson, John and Thomas (whom I 
 make my residuary legatees) and their heirs forever to be equally 
 divided between them when and as they respectively arrive at the 
 age of twenty-one years or marry, whichever shall first happen, 
 and if any one or more of my said youngest sons should die 
 under age and unmarried, then and in that case it is my will and 
 desire and I hereby direct and order, that all the slaves together 
 with all the stocks, money or other personal Estate whatsoever 
 bequeathed to such son or sons or which he or they would have 
 been entitled to upon coming of age or marrying, shall be equally 
 divided between the survivors of all my five sons George, William, 
 Thomson, John and Thomas, such of them as may happen to be 
 
468 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 of age or married at the time to receive their part of the same and 
 the residue to remain in the common stock until the others respec 
 tively come of age or marry or shall go to the survivor of my said 
 five sons if only one of them should live to come of age or marry, 
 and if any of my sons or daughters should happen to marry and 
 die during the minority of their Brothers or Sisters leaving a child 
 or children behind them, it is my Will and desire and I hereby 
 direct and order that such child or children shall receive the 
 same part or portion of the Estate which the parent or parents 
 would have been entitled to upon the death of any of my sons or 
 daughters respectively under age and unmarried as aforesaid. 
 
 And whereas there is in my hands as Executor of Mr. William 
 Eilbeck deed, a considerable sum (as will appear by my account 
 with his Estate) which by his Will is bequeathed to and divided 
 among his Grandchildren, my children, which I am answerable to 
 them for and have a power of laying out for their benefit, and as 
 I have hereinbefore not only given much more to each of my said 
 children than their respective shares of his Estate in my hands 
 amounts to but have disposed both of that and my own Estate 
 among them in order to make the best provision in my power for 
 them all, and if any of my children were notwithstanding to claim 
 after my death their parts of their said Grandfather s Estate in my 
 hands over and above what I have given them, it would occa 
 sion much confusion and alter the disposition which I have here 
 inbefore made to the prejudice and injury of some of my children, 
 I do therefore declare that what I have hereinbefore given unto 
 all and each of my said children is inclusive of and in satisfaction 
 for what was due to them from me as Mr. Eilbeck s Executor and 
 that the several devises, bequests and legacys herein devised be 
 queathed or given to each of my said children are upon express 
 condition of each of them respectively releasing and discharging 
 my Estate and Executors from any claim or demand on account 
 of the ballance due from me to the said Mr. Eilbeck s Estate per 
 account already settled or to be settled with the commissary in 
 Maryland, and if any one or more of my said children when they 
 respectively come of age should refuse to release and discharge my 
 Executors accordingly, then and in that case it is my Will and de 
 sire and I hereby direct and order that all the Estate herein by me 
 given to such child or children shall be forfeited and shall go to 
 
APPENDIX. 469 
 
 and be equally divided among my other children and their heirs 
 forever. And as there are debts due to me to a considerable 
 amount by bond the yearly interest of which will be a great advan 
 tage to the common stock of my Estate, I desire and direct my 
 Executors to continue the said debts upon interest either in such 
 hands as they shall be in at the time of my death, or in such other 
 hands and upon such other security as they in their discretion shall 
 judge best, until the money shall be wanting from time to time for 
 any of the purposes by me directed, and likewise to let out upon 
 interest such money as can at any time be spared out of the profits 
 of my Estate. I also authorize and direct my Executors to settle 
 a Quarter or Quarters upon my land between Dogues Run and the 
 South Branch of little Hunting Creek, as hereinbefore mentioned 
 (unless the same shall have been settled by me before my death) 
 when they shall think it most for the interest of my Estate so 
 to do, as also upon any of the other lands herein devised to 
 either of my three youngest sons Thomson, John or Thomas, 
 either with any slaves that can be spared from my other Quar 
 ters or plantations or with slaves to be purchased by them for 
 that purpose with any money that can be spared out of the com 
 mon stock of my Estate, without interfering with my daughters 
 Fortunes or with the money bequeathed unto my youngest son 
 Thomas, all which Quarters and slaves are to be considered as part 
 of the common stock for the purposes before expressed. 
 
 I likewise impower and direct my Executors to erect marble 
 Tomb stones over the graves of my honored father and mother and 
 my dear wife if the same is not done by me in my life time. And 
 that no dispute or difficulty may arise to my Executors or my 
 children about the manner in which that part of my estate given 
 to my residuary Legatees is to be divided among them, I hereby 
 declare it to be my Will and intention that when each or either of 
 them comes of age or marrys, he is to receive his part or portion 
 thereof as it stands at such time respectively (always having regard 
 to and reserving a sufficient sum of my money and debts still in 
 the common stock to pay the money that may hereafter be due to 
 any of my daughters for their fortunes, as well as the money 
 bequeathed to my youngest son Thomas Mason) so that any of 
 them after having received and withdrawn their parts from the 
 common stock are not to be entitled to any share of the subse- 
 
470 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 quent increase or profits thereof, and consequently not to any of 
 the slaves that may afterwards be born or purchased, nor liable 
 to any loss that may happen therein except such part of the com 
 mon stock as may happen afterwards to fall to them by the death 
 of some of their brothers or sisters, yet the fortunes herein given 
 to my daughters in money are to be secured to them notwith 
 standing at all events, and in case of any deficiency in their said 
 fortunes by failure of securitys or any other inevitable accident, 
 the same is to be made good in equal proportion by all my residu 
 ary Legatees as well those who had before as those who had not 
 received their parts out of the common stock. And I appoint 
 my good friends the Revd. Mr. James Scott, the Revd. Mr. Lee 
 Massey, Mr. John West jun., Colo. George Washington and Mr. 
 Alexander Henderson (whenever it shall be necessary) to make 
 such estimation, division and alotment to and among my several 
 residuary legatees, and it is my Will and desire and I hereby direct 
 and order that such estimation, division and alotment as they or 
 any three of them shall from time to time make and give under 
 their hands and seals, shall to all intents and purposes whatso 
 ever be conclusive and binding upon my said residuary Legatees 
 and their heirs. I hope they will be so charitable as not to 
 refuse undertaking this trouble for the sake of a friend who 
 when living would cheerfully have done them any good office in 
 his power. 
 
 I recommend it to my sons from my own experience in life, to 
 prefer the happiness of independance and a private station to the 
 troubles and vexation of publick business, but if either their own 
 inclinations or the necessity of the times should engage them in 
 public affairs, I charge them on a father s blessing never to let the 
 motives of private interest or ambition induce them to betray, nor 
 the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of danger or of death, 
 deter them from asserting the liberty of their country and endeav 
 oring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which 
 themselves were born. 
 
 I release and remit unto my brother Thomson Mason and 
 his heirs forever, a certain debt of three hundred and ten 
 pounds, four shillings and five pence f- sterling and nine pounds 
 twelve shillings and four pence currency, due to me on ac 
 count of money advanced for him many years ago while he 
 
APPENDIX. 471 
 
 was in England, for which it was never my intention to make 
 him answerable as will appear by an entry to that purpose in 
 my own handwriting annexed to the account in my book. And 
 whereas my said brother is indebted to me a further consid 
 erable sum on account of a protested bill of exchange drawn 
 by him and of a bond I paid for him to Mrs. Bronaugh s 
 Estate, I desire and direct my Executors not to bring any 
 suit against him for the recovery of the said debt but to wait 
 until he can conveniently pay the same. I give and bequeath 
 unto Mrs. Heath the wife of Thomas Heath of Stafford County, 
 the sum of forty shillings sterling in first cost of goods a year, to 
 be laid out in necessarys for her own particular use during her life, 
 and if ever her son Mr. Richard Hewit my old schoolfellow and 
 acquaintance from my childhood, should unfortunately be reduced 
 to necessitous circumstances I desire and direct my Executors to 
 supply him with necessarys for his support and maintenance out 
 of my Estate, and I particularly recommend this care to my chil 
 dren if it should be necessary after they come of age. 
 
 I give to Mr. John Moncure a mourning ring of three Guineas 
 value which I desire him to wear in memory of my esteem for my 
 much lamented friend his deceased father. I desire my old and long 
 tryed friends the Rev. Mr. James Scott and Mr. John West junr. 
 each of them to accept of a mourning ring of the same value. I 
 leave to my friend and relation the Rev. Mr. Lee Massey a mourn 
 ing ring of the same value, and I entreat the favour of him to 
 advise and assist my Executors in the direction and management 
 of my affairs. I am encouraged to request this of him from the 
 experience I have had myself of his good offices that way, and I 
 am satisfied that both he and my worthy friend Mr. Cockburn 
 will excuse the trouble I now give them, when they reflect upon 
 the necessity that dying men are under of thus employing the care 
 and kindness of the living which must also one day be their own 
 case, and as the most acceptable acknowledgement I can make 
 them, I desire them to receive out of the common stock of my 
 Estate, the sum of ten pounds a year to be laid out by them in 
 private charitys upon such as they shall judge worthy objects. I 
 also give to my cousin Mrs. Cockburn a mourning ring of the 
 same value, and desire her and my cousin Miss Bronaugh and 
 Mr. Cockburn to accept of a suit of mourning each. Lastly, I 
 
472 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 appoint my eldest son George Mason and my good friend Mr. 
 Martin Cockburn, Executors of this my last Will and Testament 
 and guardians to my children until they respectively come of age. 
 And it is my Will and desire and I hereby direct and order that 
 no securitys shall be required of them by the court but only their 
 own bonds taken for the performance. In Witness whereof I 
 have to this my said last Will and testament all in my own hand 
 writing and contained in fifteen pages set my hand and affixed my 
 seal this 2oth day of March in the year of our Lord one Thousand 
 seven hundred and seventy three. 
 
 GEORGE MASON. 
 
 [SEAL.] 
 
 Signed and sealed and published and declared to be the \ 
 last Will and Testament of Mr. George Mason in our > 
 presence and subscribed by us in his presence. 
 
 GUSTS. SCOTT, 
 ELIZABETH BRONAUGH^ 
 ANN COCKBURN, 
 JOHN WEST, junr., 
 ROBT. GRAHAM, 
 JOHN DAVIDSON. 
 
 At a court contd. and held for Fairfax County i6th October 
 1792 this will was presented in court by George Mason one of the 
 Executors therein named who made oath thereto and the same 
 being proved by the oath of Ann Cockburn and Robert Graham 
 is admitted to record and the said Executor having performed 
 what the law requires in such cases a certificate is granted him for 
 obtaining a probate thereof in due form. 
 
 Teste P. WAGENER, Cl. Cur. 
 
 LAND DESCRIBED IN GEORGE MASON S WILL, AND NOW OWNED 
 BY HIS DESCENDANTS. 
 
 It was incorrectly stated in one of the earlier chapters of these 
 volumes that " Lexington " was the only one of the Mason places 
 in Virginia now in the family. The writer had overlooked " Oke- 
 ley," in Fairfax County, about six miles from Alexandria. The 
 farms of " Okeley " and " Huntley " were both parts of the estate 
 bequeathed by George Mason to his son, Thomson Mason, of 
 
APPENDIX. 473 
 
 " Hollin Hall." A double ditch is still to be seen on the southern 
 border of these two places, extending several miles from east to 
 west, with a broad space about thirty feet wide separating the two 
 ditches. These mark the line between the lands of George Mason 
 and George Washington, as they were in the lives of those gentle 
 men. In General Washington s will, he refers " to the back line 
 or outer boundary of the tract between Thompson Mason and 
 myself . . . (now double ditching, with a post-and-rail 
 fence thereon)," etc. And he mentions, in another place, " the 
 new double ditch," in connection with the boundary line between 
 " Mount Vernon " and the Mason property. In adding to his 
 estate, he had purchased land at one time from George Mason. 
 And among the Washington papers preserved in the Lewis and 
 Washington families, and recently sold to autograph collectors, 
 are three letters of George Mason, on the subject of the bounds 
 between the Washington and Mason plantations, one written in 
 1768, the others in 1769. Washington adds a memorandum to 
 the former, saying that " the lines to which this letter has refer 
 ence were settled by and between Colonel Mason and myself the 
 1 9th of April, 1769 as will appear ... by a survey thereof 
 made on that day in his presence and with his approbation." 
 
 " Huntley," owned by Judge Thomson F. Mason, of " Colross," 
 son of Thomson Mason, of " Hollin Hall," passed out of the 
 family some years ago. " Okeley," which was the home of Dr. 
 Richard Chichester Mason, another son of Thomson Mason, is 
 still in possession of his descendants, and is the residence of Mr. 
 Beverley Randolph Mason. The commodious dwelling-house, 
 formerly to be seen there, however, was burned to the ground 
 during the late war, and many valuable family papers perished 
 in this wanton and unnecessary destruction of private property. 
 The estate, of about seven thousand acres, is a beautiful and 
 productive one. 
 
 A descendant of Thomas Mason, youngest son of George 
 Mason, owns a farm in Charles County, Maryland, which may 
 have been some of it, part of the Maryland land mentioned in 
 the will of the second Col. George Mason. In this connection, 
 the reader interested in the subject is referred to an article in The 
 Critic, Richmond, Va., Oct. 22, 1888, entitled "Curious Wills in 
 the Mason Family." 
 
474 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GEORGE MASON. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF LUND WASHINGTON TO GENERAL 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 The following extract from a letter of Lund Washington to 
 General Washington, dated " Mount Vernon," February 18, 1778, 
 kindly furnished the author by Dr. Joseph M. Toner, while these 
 volumes are going through the press, relates to " Conway s Cabal," 
 which was supposed to have found supporters among members 
 of Congress. The conversation here related gives interesting 
 testimony to the admiration which was felt both by George 
 Mason and Richard Henry Lee, for the genius and patriotism of 
 the Commander-in-chief. 
 
 " Colonel Mason (who I showed your letter of the i6th of Janu 
 ary) tells me he was informed of the cabal against you, before he 
 left Williamsburg, and some had hinted to him that R. H. Lee 
 was one suspected of having a hand in it, and as they knew the 
 intimacy existing between them, begged that he would talk to Lee 
 and discover whether anything of the sort was in agitation or not. 
 He did so. That Lee declares no such thing or even a hint has 
 ever been mentioned in Congress, and that he should look upon 
 it as one of the greatest misfortunes that could befall this conti 
 nent, should you by any means whatever give up the command 
 of the army, for fully convinced he was in his own opinion no 
 other man upon this continent was equal to the task ; that he had 
 often lamented the heavy burden you bare, and the difficulties 
 you had to surmount more than any man ever had before. For 
 his part he looked upon it as one among the many favors we had 
 received from above, that the Supreme Being had been pleased to 
 save and protect in the most miraculous degree the only man in 
 whom every one could confide in. Mr. Mason is of opinion it is a 
 Tory manoeuver for he thinks no friend to America can be an 
 
 enemy to you, for by , which was his expression, there is 
 
 not nor ever was in the world a man who acted from a more laud 
 able and disinterested motive than you do, and that he defied all 
 history to show a war, begun, and carried on, under more disad 
 vantages than the present ; nor, he would venture to affirm one 
 that had been better conducted so far as it depended on the 
 Commander-in-Chief, for that he had observed you had foreseen 
 and pointed out what would be the event of all the blunders com- 
 
APPENDIX. 475 
 
 mitted by the different legislatures, and that wherever you had 
 given your opinion the event had proved you were right, then 
 enumerated a number of instances to prove his assertion. Mr. 
 Mason concluded by saying that he was convinced from the whole 
 of his conversation with Lee, Harrison, and other members of 
 Congress, that a faction in Congress against you had never 
 existed. Our conversation passed in Alexandria before several 
 gentlemen, among whom was Major Jennifer of Maryland." 
 
 ARMS OF MASON, FOWKE, AND THOMSON (OR THOMPSON) 
 FAMILIES. 
 
 Masons of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire : Az. a point 
 with three embattlements arg. charged with fleur-de-lis gu., on 
 the middle battlement a dove with wings displayed standing 
 thereon, proper. Crest a talbot pass, regardant ar. eared sa. 
 holding in his mouth a hart s horn or. Motto Pro Patria 
 Semper. (This was altered by George Mason of Gunston, after 
 the Revolution to Pro Republica Semper.) 
 
 Fowkes of Gunston, Staffordshire : Vert., a fleur-de-lis ar., on 
 a chief indented of the second a lion pass. gu. with a crescent 
 difference sa. Crest an Indian goat s head erased ar. Motto 
 Optimum Est Aliena Frui Insania. 
 
 Thompsons of Yorkshire : Per fesse ar. and sa. a fess counter- 
 embattled betw. three falcons counterchanged, belled and jessed 
 or. Crest an arm embowed in armour, quarterly, or. and az. 
 the gauntlet ppr. holding the truncheon of a broken lance of the 
 first. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A 
 
 Aberdeen, Scotland, ii., 17 
 
 Accohick, Accokeek, Aquaceek, plan 
 tation of, i., 2, 16, 20, 22 
 
 Accotink Run. See Creeks. 
 
 Accotink turnpike, i., 112 
 
 Acoquane. See Occoquon. 
 
 Adam, Robert, i., 427 
 
 Adams, George, ii., 462 ; John, i., 
 180, 224, 257, 258, ii., 33, 39, 184, 
 2 37, 374, 377 J J nn Quincy, i., vi. ; 
 Samuel, i., 168, 171, 180, 258, 336, 
 ii., 217, 218, 283, 377 ; Thomas, i., 
 
 2Q5 
 
 Adams " Defence of the American 
 Constitutions," ii., 237 ; "Thoughts 
 on Government," i., 224, 257, 258 
 
 Adventurers for Virginia, i., 4, 156, 
 396-398, 401 
 
 Africa, i., 153 
 
 African, company, see Companies ; 
 merchants, ii., 419 ; slavery, slave- 
 trade, see Slaves. 
 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, peace of, i., 414 
 
 Alaska, ii., 289 
 
 Albany, N. Y., i., xiv., 36 
 
 Albemarle County, Va., i., 173, 176, 
 
 3M 
 
 Albemarle, George, Duke of, i., 408 
 
 Albemarle Resolutions, i., 173, 174 
 
 Aldborough, England, i., 3 
 
 Alexander family, i., 92, 93 ; MSS. of, 
 i., 38, 118. 
 
 Alexander, Charles, i., nS, 427 ; 
 Gustavus B., i., 92 ; John, i., 93, 
 125, 392, ii., 39; Mr., i., 63, 87, 
 90, ii., 301, 337 ; Philip, i., 77, 93, 
 427 ; Philip of Chotank, ii., 36-39, 
 
 57 
 
 Alexandria, Va., i., xi.-xiv. , 61, 63, 
 64, 75-77, 85, 87, 90, 93, 103, 112, 
 115, 120, 128, 154, 173, 177, 182, 
 
 185, 189, igr, 196, 198, 2OI, 217, 
 267, 269, 280, 28l, 305, 315, 418, 
 
 ii., 5, 9, 10, 12, 63, 64, 67, 79, 81, 
 82, 84, 92, 96, 97, 180-182, 209- 
 211, 302, 310, 324, 335, 336, 348- 
 35i, 357-300, 455, 456, 472, 475 
 
 Alexandria Museum, i., 169 
 
 Alexandrians, ii., 336 
 
 Algerines, ii., 63, 328 
 
 Alien and Sedition laws, i., viii., ii., 
 417 
 
 Allerton, Maj. Isaac, i., 12, 15, 17, 19 
 
 Allison, William, ii., 47 
 
 Ambler, Jacqueline, ii., 338, 340; 
 
 Richard, i., 55, ii., 340 
 j America, i., ix., xiii., I, 53, 59, 78, 
 87, 96, 97, 123, 125, 126, 129, 130, 
 142, 150, 152, 157, 175, 177, 195, 
 
 2IO, 2l6, 231, 237, 249, 263, 271, 
 
 293, 294, 299, 301, 317, 330, 333, 
 341, 343, 352, 360, 364, 366, 384- 
 388, 390, 3Q3-39 6 , 398, 399, 4". 
 419, 421, 423, 426, 427, 432, 443, 
 ii., 3, 4, 14, 16, 20, 24, 26, 28, 34, 
 40, 45-47, 49, 51, 59, 69, 114, 121, 
 130, 134, 135, 178, 211, 217, 230, 
 259, 277, 296, 301, 306, 317, 324, 
 327, 334, 368, 384, 386, 398, 404, 
 409, 414, 420, 425, 433, 454, 474 
 American, admirers, i., 153, 319 ; 
 affairs, i., 319; army, i., 363, ii., 
 34, 50; cause, i., 296, 297, ii., 4, 
 9, 1 6, 18 ; charters, i., 399 ; coast, 
 ii., 5 ; colonies, i., 175, 419, 421, 
 ii., 25, 344 ; commerce, i., 389, 390 ; 
 commissioners, ii., 48 ; Congress, 
 i., 298 ; consignments, ii., 335 ; 
 consul, i., 368 ; consul-general, ii., 
 305 ; council, ii., 29 ; discipline, i., 
 150 ; doctrines, i., 178 ; dominions, 
 i., 154, 421 ; executive, ii., in ; 
 forces, ii., 19 ; freedom, i., 138 ; 
 gallons, ii., 314 ; government, i.. 
 
 477 
 
4/8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 133, ii., 288, 397, 404; grievances, 
 i., 424, 425; imports, i., 142; in 
 dependence, i., 361, 362, 364; in 
 terest, i., 365 ; liberties, ii., 228 ; 
 liberty, ii., 29, 30, 42, 44, 50, 52 ; 
 manners, ii., 154 ; manufactures, ii., 
 173, 212; manufacturers, i., 149; 
 merchant, i., 385 ; mind, ii., 404 ; 
 minister, ii., 301 ; morals, ii., 154 ; 
 patriot, ii., 365 ; patriots, i., 152, 
 ii., 237 ; people, ii., 427 ; political 
 philosopher, ii., 288 ; political sys 
 tem, ii., 296 ; politics, ii., 302, 303 ; 
 principle, i., 262 ; produce, ii., 300 ; 
 prospects, i., 293, 300 ; revenue 
 acts, i., 142, 149 ; rivers, ii., 449, 
 452 ; seas, ii., 449, 452 ; soil, ii., 
 154 ; State, i., 265 ; States, i., 267, 
 363, ii., 2, 3, 47, 393, 452 ; states 
 men, ii., 220; subjects, i., 389; 
 system, ii., 236; theatre, i., 212; 
 trade, i., 194, ii., 299; union, i., 
 298, 364, ii., 282, 331, 387, 445; 
 vessels, ii., 63 
 
 "American Archives," i., 171, 175, 
 177, 179, 182, 183, 204, 214, 219, 268 
 
 American Historical Association, ii., 
 282 
 
 Americans, i., 147, 150, 194, 293, ii., 
 33, 223, 308 
 
 Amsterdam, ii., 13 
 
 Analostan Island, Anacostin, Barba- 
 does, " My Lord s Island." See 
 Mason s Island. 
 
 Annapolis Convention, ii., 93-95 
 
 Annapolis, Md., i., 126, 131, 242, ii., 
 65, 66, 68, 99, 214, 356 
 
 Anthony, Elizabeth, ne e Hill, ii., 302 ; 
 John, ii., 302 ; Joseph, ii., 354 
 
 Antifederalists, ii., 183, 184, 211, 223, 
 224, 227, 233, 242, 244, 248, 264, 
 271-273, 281, 284, 286, 287, 289, 
 296, 297, 308, 309, 362, 374 
 
 Apollo Room, Raleigh Tavern, i., 124 
 
 Appleton s " Cyclopedia of American 
 Biography," i., xv. 
 
 Appomattox River. See Rivers. 
 
 Aquia, i., 222, 375, ii., 348, 359 
 
 Aquia Church. See Overwharton 
 parish churches. 
 
 Aquia Creek. See Creeks. 
 
 Arnold, Benedict, i., 326, ii., 15, 16, 
 76, 343; John, i., 41 
 
 Ashton, John, i., 41 
 
 Assemblies of the States, i., 301, 439 
 
 Assumption Act, ii., 329-331 
 
 Atlantic, brethren, ii., 136; interests, 
 ii., 135 ; States, ii., 137 
 
 Atlantic Ocean, i., 364, 384, 396, 412, 
 
 ii., 47 
 
 Atterbury, Right Rev. Francis, i., 151 
 Augusta County, Va., i., 67, 326, 412, 
 
 413, ii., 24, 343 
 Augusta, Ga., i., xiv. 
 Augusta Springs, Va., i., 315, ii., 339 
 Augustine, Florida, i., 294 
 Austin, James, i., 9 
 Awbrey, Francis, i., 55 
 Aylett, Col. William, i., 304 
 
 B 
 
 Bacon, Gen. Nathaniel, i., 13-15 
 Bacon s Rebellion, i., 9, 10, 349, ii., 
 
 159 
 
 Baker, Jerman, i., 339 
 Ball, George, i., 392 ; Winifred, ne e 
 
 Williams, ii., 463 
 j Ball s patent, ii., 463, 464 
 I Ballendine, John, i., 329, 335 
 I Baltimore, Md., i., xii., xiii., 146, 188, 
 
 278, 280, 356, ii., 99, 103, 310, 
 
 329, 334, 352, 365 
 Baltimore libraries. See Md. Jiist., 
 
 Peabody. 
 
 Baltimore, Lord. See Calvert. 
 Bancroft, George, i., 157, 235, 256, 
 
 263, 264, ii., 68, 96, 126, 127, 378 
 Bancroft s "History of the Constitu 
 tion," i., 319, ii., 54, 66, 91, 95, 
 
 96, 102, 126, 131, 188, 209, 210 ; 
 
 " History of the United States," i., 
 
 257, 263, ii., 378 
 Bannister, Col. John, i., 283, 284 
 Baptism of Indian child, i., 1 1 
 Barbadoes. See Mason s Island. 
 Barclay, Thomas, ii., 305 
 Barclay s Plot, i., 19 
 Barney, Capt. Joshua, ii., 4042 
 Barre, Isaac, i., 153 
 Barren, Capt. James, i., 230, 233 ; 
 
 Capt. Richard, i., 230 
 I Barton, Thomas, i., 25 
 i Bassett, Miss, see Washington ; 
 
 Richard, ii., 304 
 i Bath, England, i., 47, 54 
 Baxter, James, i., 49 
 Bayard, Hon. Thomas F., i., xii. 
 Bayley, Mr., ii., 349 
 Beckley, John, ii., 83, 85 
 Belhaven. See Alexandria. 
 Bellomont, Earl of, i., 43 
 Benjamin, Walter R., i., xiv. 
 Benton, Thomas H., ii., 285 ; speech 
 
 in U. S. Senate, ii., 285 
 Berlin, Md., i., xiv. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 Berkeley County, Va., i., 154, ii., 412 
 Berkeley, Frances, Lady, nc l e Cul- 
 pepper (m. 1st vSamuel Stephens, m. 
 3d Philip Ludwell), i., 193 ; John, 
 Lord, i., 408 ; Norborne, Baron de 
 Botetourt, i., 132-134, 136, 137, 
 153, ii., 24 ; Sir William, i., 6, 13- 
 
 15, 193 
 
 Berkeley Springs, i., 315 
 Bermondsey, England, i., 42 
 Bermuda Hundred, Va., ii., 337 
 Bermudas, Somers Islands, i., 402 
 Bethel, Slingsby, i., 41 
 Heverley family, Va., i., 90 
 Beverley, Robert, i., 30 
 Bibliography, George Mason, i., xv. 
 Birch s Sons, Thomas, i., xiv. 
 Blackburn, Edward, i., 200 ; Col. 
 
 Thomas, i., 93, 104, 206, 293, ii., 
 
 74 
 
 Blacket, Sir William, i., 47 
 Bladen, Mrs., ne e Loftus, ii., 467; 
 
 William, ii., 355, 356 
 Bladensburg, Md., i., 138, ii., 336, 340 
 Blair Educational Bill, ii., 288 
 Blair, Rev. James, i., 32 ; President 
 John, i., 69, 70, 122, 136 ; Judge 
 John, i., 228, 234, 289, 392, ii., 97, 
 160, 171, 172, 373 
 
 Bland, Richard, i., 124, 129, 137, 179, 
 199, 202, 204-206, 228, 234, 392, 
 ii-, 3731 Theodoric, i., 20 ; Col. 
 Theodoric, Jr., i., 284, 368, ii., 
 191,^242, 243, 309, 337, 339; The 
 odoric, of Maryland, i., xv., 246 
 Bland s "Inquiry into the Rights of 
 
 the British Colonies," i., 129 
 Bledsoe, Albert Taylor, ii., 293 
 Bledsoe s "Is Davis a Traitor?" ii., 
 
 293 
 
 Bogge s (Boggess, Henry?), i., 68, 70 
 Bond, Capt., ii., 318 
 Bordeaux, France, ii., 97, 21 1, 212, 
 
 299, 302, 304, 305, 307, 308, 316, 
 
 318, 327, 328, 331, 334, 33^, 350, 
 
 352, 357 
 Boston, Mass., i., xii., xiv., 131, 167, 
 
 168, 170, 171, 178, 180, 194, 216, 
 
 217, 422, 426, ii., 175, 183, 307, 
 
 327, 353, 400 
 Boston Port Bill, i., 168, 169, 173, 
 
 175, 178 
 
 Bostonians, i., 179 
 Botetourt County, Va., ii., 24, 25 
 Botetourt, Lord. See Berkeley. 
 Boundary lines, between Virginia and 
 
 Maryland, i., 261, 407 ; between 
 
 Virginia and North Carolina, i., 
 
 26i, 310, 407, 408, 414 ; between 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania, i., 261, 
 270, 271, 308, 407 (Mason and 
 Dixon s line), 360, 361, 363 
 
 Bourbon County, Ky. , ii., 309 
 
 Bowling Green, Va., ii., 181 
 
 Bowman, John, i., 35 
 
 Boyd Hole, i., 87, 90 
 
 Braddock, Gen. Edward, i., 60-63, 
 
 134 
 
 Braddock House (Gary House), i., 61 
 Braddock s Road, i., 60 
 Brandywine, battle of, i., 285 
 Braxton, Carter, i., 199, 205, 334, 
 
 336, 392 
 
 Brent, Anne, ne e Carroll, ii., 316; 
 Eleanor, nee Carroll, ii., 316 ; 
 Daniel of "Richland," ii., 316; 
 Daniel Carroll, i., 88, 89; Capt. 
 George of " Woodstock," i., 10-12, 
 17, 20, 349 ; George (4th) of " Wood 
 stock," i., 349 ; George (5th) of 
 " Woodstock," i., 350; George, ii., 
 463, 464 ; Capt. Giles, i., 5-7 ; 
 John, ii., 337, 357, 358 ; Madame, 
 i-, 373 ! Nicholas, i., 153 ; Richard, 
 ii., 316 ; Robert of " \Voodstock," 
 i., 222, 350; Sarah, Mrs. George 
 Mason, see Mason ; William, of 
 "Richland," i., 87, 125, 213, 222, 
 
 Brent family, i., 54; MS. Book of, 
 
 i-, 350 
 
 Brenttown, Brentsville, i., 21, 48 
 Brewood Church, Eng., i., 3 
 Brewood, England, parish of, i., 2 ; 
 
 town of, i., 2 
 British, the, i., 216, 278, 285, 311, 
 
 337, 351, ii-, 72_ 
 
 British, ancestors, i., 249 ; aristocracy, 
 i., 177 ; army, i., 296 ; channels, 
 ii., 3 ; citi/.ens, ii., 70 ; colonies, i., 
 
 181, 425, ii., 30, 40 ; commissioners, 
 i., 293; constitution, i., 150, 174, 
 
 182, 388, 405, ii., 70, 124, 170, 
 408 ; councils, i., 294, 301 ; credi 
 tor, ii., 58, 261, 352 ; creditors, ii., 
 46, 198, 437 ; crown, i., 407, 410, 
 413, 419, 421 ; debts, ii., 45, 46, 
 52, 53, 58, 62, 72, 194, 197, 205, 
 206, 244, 272, 352, 437 ; dominions, 
 i., 382, 412, ii., 28 ; empire, i., 420, 
 ii., 431 ; executive, ii., in ; fleet, i., 
 285 ; forces, i., 320, 362 ; freeman, 
 i., 428 ; garrison, i., 365 ; gentry, 
 i-, 36 ; goods, i., 149 ; govern 
 ment, i., 78, 150, 308, 413, ii., 24, 
 30, 46, in, 124, 160, 399, 408 : 
 
480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 House of Commons, i., 260, 421 ; 
 interest, i., 365 ; intrigue, ii., 63 ; 
 islands, ii., 155 ; isle, i., 388 ; 
 king, i., 342, ii., 2 ; legislature, i., 
 399 ; machinations, ii., 66 ; manu 
 facture, i., 138 ; manufactures, i., 
 142, 386, 390 ; medium, ii., 148 ; 
 merchants, i., 386, ii., 45, 46, 153, 
 160 ; ministry, i., 293, 294, 299, 
 301, 321, 410, 421 ; name, i., 299 ; 
 nation, i., 385 ; navy, ii., 4 ; no 
 bility, i., 366; Parliament, i., 174, 
 
 321, 384, 419, 420, ii., 125, 398, 
 409 ; politics, i., 383 ; polity, ii., 
 236; posts, i., 307, 365, ii., 202, 
 203; prisoners, i., 309; property, 
 i-, 347 35. ii-- 200; province, i., 
 
 322, 342, ii., 30 ; provinces, ii., 31 ; 
 ships, ii., 2 ; smugglers, ii., 212 ; 
 sovereign, ii., 58 ; squadron, i., 293 ; 
 sterling first cost (of an article), ii., 
 299; subject, ii., 58; subjects, i., 
 181, 334, 345, 350, 406, 411, 428, 
 ii-, 55, T 95, 198, 199-201, 206; 
 troops, i., 296, 306, ii., 3, 5, 15, 
 16, 198 
 
 British Museum, collections of, i., 3, 
 
 3ii 
 
 Broad Run, i., 84 
 
 Broadwater, Charles, i., 177, 178, 
 427, ii., 48, 79, 309, 330 
 
 Brock, R. A., i., vii., ii., 369 
 
 Brock s " Dinwiddie Papers," i., 63, 
 65, 91; " Spotswood Letters," i., 
 32, ii., 369 
 
 Bronaugh family, i., xii., 53, 54, 105, 
 in 
 
 Bronaugh Family Bible, i., 29 
 
 Bronaugh, Jeremiah, i., 29, 39 ; John, 
 i., 79 ; Simpha Rosa Enfield, ne e 
 Mason (m. ist John Dinwiddie), i., 
 29, So, 374, ii., 463, 471 ; William, 
 i., 61, 63, 125 
 
 Brooke, Ann Mercer, ne e Selden, i., 
 89 ; Francis Taliaferro, i., 30 ; John 
 Taliaferro, i., 89 ; Mrs., i., 89 ; 
 Robert, i., 30 
 
 Brooke family, i., 88 
 
 Brooke s " Narrative of My Life," i., 
 30 
 
 Brookes, Thomas, i., 374 
 
 Broughton, Sampson Shelton, Attor 
 ney-General of New York, i., 43 
 
 Brown, Alexander, i., 4 ; Capt., i., 
 193 ; Edward, i., 193 ; Frances, 
 ne e Fowke, i., 81 ; Mr., ii., 6, 7 ; 
 Dr. Gustavus, i., 81 ; Dr. Gustavus 
 Richard, i., 82, ii., 13 ; Tom, i., 
 
 151; William, i., 427; William, 
 ii., 463, 464 
 Brown s " Genesis of the United 
 
 States," i., 4 
 i Bryan, William, i., nS 
 
 Buchan, Rev. Robert, i., 88, 97 
 
 Buchanan, Andrew, ii., 210 
 
 Bullitt, Helen, n& Scott, i., 80 
 
 Bunker Hill, battle of, i., 198 
 
 Burgess ticket, i., 34, 35 
 
 Burgh, James, i., 247 
 
 Burgh s " Political Disquisitions," i., 
 247 
 
 Burgoyne, Gen. John, i., 285 ; "to 
 Burgoyne," i., 296 
 
 Burk s " History of Virginia," i., 17, 
 143, 264, 392 
 
 Burke, Edmund, i., 104, 153 
 
 Burke s " Conciliation with America," 
 i., 104 
 
 Burnet, Bishop, i., 384 
 
 Burton, John Hill, i., 151 
 
 Burton s " Reign of Queen Anne," i., 
 151 
 
 Butler, Mann, i., 290 ; Pierce, ii., 156 
 
 Butler s "History of Kentucky," i., 
 290 
 
 Byrd, Col. William (2d) of "West- 
 over," i., 32, 33, ii., 369 ; Col. Wil 
 liam (3d) of " Westover," i., 71, 
 90, ii., 76 
 
 Byrd family, ii., 339 
 
 " Byrd Manuscripts," i., 36 
 
 Cabbin Point, ii., 337 
 
 Cabell, William, i., 205, ii., 42, 43, 
 
 200, 274 
 
 Cabella, Capt., ii., 357 
 Cadiz, Spain, i., 320, 368 
 Calendar of State Papers (British), i., 
 
 3 
 
 Calvert, Benedict, i., 167 ; Cecelius, 
 2d Lord Baron of Baltimore, i., 7, 
 407 ; Charles, 5th Lord Baltimore, 
 i., 55 ; Elizabeth, i., 167 ; Fred 
 erick, 6th Lord Baltimore, ii., 346 
 
 Calvert Co. Committee of Vigilance, 
 
 i-, 377 
 
 Calvert County, Md., i., 93, 97, 377 
 Cambridge, Mass., i., xiv., 190, 217 
 Camden, Charles Pratt, Lord, i., 152, 
 
 153, ii., 344, 345 
 Cameron, Va., parish of, i., 128 
 Campbell, Mrs. St. George Tucker, 
 
 ne e Mason, i., xi., ii., 183 
 
INDEX. 
 
 48! 
 
 Campbell s "Bland Papers," i., 284, 
 359. 3^7, ii., 184 ; " History of 
 Virginia," i., 126 
 
 Canada, i., 34, 294, 311, 322, 342, 
 ii., 29, 30, 68-70 
 
 Canada Bill, i., 321 
 
 Canadian inhabitants, i., 364, 365 
 
 Capes, Breton, i., 294 ; Comfort, i., 
 363, 396 ; Henry, i., 395 
 
 Carlyle, Maj. John, i., 61, 63, 190, 
 427; Sarah, ne e Fairfax, i., 61 ; 
 Thomas, i., 62 
 
 Carne s "Colonial Alexandria," i., 
 78 
 
 Carpenter s Hall, Philadelphia, i., 179 
 
 Carrington, Paul, i., 205, 206, 289, 
 ii., IO2 
 
 Carroll, Daniel, ii., 174 ; Mr., ii., 213 
 
 Carroll family, i., 350 
 
 Carter, Betty, ne e Lewis, ii. , 66 ; 
 Charles, of " Ludlow," i., 222, 324, 
 392, ii., 56, 57 ; Frances, ne e Task- 
 er, ii., 340 ; George, of " Oatlands," 
 i., xii.; Hebe Smallwood, /f Gray- 
 son, ii., 220; Landon, i., 90 ; Rob 
 ert, of " Nomini," i., 90, 131, 132, 
 156, 214, 216, ii., 5, 21, 75, 88, 89, 
 211, 212, 340; Robert, of " Sabine 
 Hail," ii., 220 
 
 Carter family, i., 54 
 
 Carter Letter-Books, i., 156, ii., 6, 
 90, 340 
 
 Carteret, Sir George, i., 408 
 
 Carthagena, i., 377 
 
 Cary, Col. Archibald, i., 222, 228, 
 229, 319, 336, 392 ; Col. Wilson 
 Miles, of "Ceely s," i., 296 
 
 Caswell, Col. Richard, i., 217 
 
 Cathalan, Messrs., ii., 357 
 
 " Centinel," ii., 281 
 
 Centz s " Republic of Republics," ii., 
 183 
 
 Chamberlain, Judge Mellen, ii., 282, 
 283 
 
 Chapman, Constance, nee Pearson, ii., 
 ii ; Dr. Nathaniel, ii., ii ; Pear 
 son (ist), ii., ii ; Pearson, ii., ii 
 
 Chappawamsic Run. See Creeks. 
 
 Charles I., i., 4, 247, 407, ii., 286 
 
 Charles II., i., I, 21, 158, 393, 397, 
 407, 408, 411, 413, 416, 418, ii., 26, 
 32, 283, 286 _ 
 
 Charles III., King of Spain, i., 367 
 
 Charles V., Emperor of Germany, i., 
 
 247 
 
 Charles County, Md., i., 29, 38, 49, 
 5, 5, 79. IOI > T 53> J 6i, 164, ii., 
 10, ii, 462, 465, 466, 473 
 
 Charleston, Charles Town, S. C., i., 
 
 333, 368, ii., 15, 334 
 Charlestown, Mass., ii., 353 
 Charlestown, \V. Va., i., 377 
 Charter Importation Rights, i., 119, 
 
 168, 172, 308, 334, 336 
 Charters of the colonies, i., 321, 322, 
 
 419, 421 
 
 Chase, Samuel, ii., 81, 82, 382 
 Chastellux, Marquis de, ii., 19 
 Chatham, William Pitt, Lord, i., 152, 
 
 293, 294, 386 
 Chesapeake Bay, i., 188, 232, 285, 
 
 288, 310, 377, 395, ii., 32, 81, 84, 
 
 85, 93, 99, 174, 379 
 Chesterfield, Lord, ii., 230 
 Chew, Mr., i., 280 
 Chichester, Ann Thomson, ne e Mason, 
 
 ii., 76, 77 ; Arthur Mason, i., xii., 
 
 ii., 79; Richard, ii., 19, 76, 309, 
 
 330; Richard McCarty, ii., 76; 
 
 Sarah, Mrs. Thomson Mason, see 
 
 Mason 
 
 Chichester family, i., 93, 106 
 Chilton, Capt., ii., 336 
 Chotank, Chotanck, Chetauque, i., 
 
 87, 90-94, ii., 36, 39, 74 
 Chotank Church, i., 19 
 Chotank ("reek. See Creeks. 
 Christ Church, i., 128, 177 
 Christian, Col., i., 206 ; Mr., i., 121 
 Christian Temple Manor, ii., 462 
 Church of England, Established 
 
 Church, Establishment, i., 6, n, 
 
 116, 236, 241-243, 274, 344, ii., 90, 
 
 199 
 
 Church of the Holy Trinity, i., 2 
 Cincinnati, Society of the, ii., 101, 
 
 145 
 Clagett, Thomas, and Company, ii., 
 
 326 
 
 Claiborne, Thomas, i., 392 
 Clarendon, Edward, Earl of, i., 408 
 Clark, George Rogers, i., 290, 307, 
 
 310-314, 362, 365, 366, ii., 2, 34, 
 
 35, 375 I William, i., 290 
 Clark s " Campaign in the Illinois," 
 
 i-, 3H, 314 
 
 Clason, A. W., ii., 284 
 Clay, Charles, ii., 245 
 Clayton, John, Attorney-General of 
 
 Virginia, i., 46 
 
 Clerks of county courts, i., 8, 24, 49 
 Cleveland, Hon. Grover, ii., 287 
 Clinton, George, Gov., ii., 274-280, 
 
 303 
 
 Clinton Papers, i., xii., ii., 276 
 Clopton, Judge John B., i., 256 
 
482 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cockburn, Admiral, Sir George, i., 
 96 ; Ann, iu ( e Bronaugh, i., 95, 96, 
 105, no, in, ii., 472 ; Dr., i., 96 ; 
 Martin, i., 95, 96, 105, no, 113, 
 114, 116, 120, 159, 165, 166, 168, 
 200, 202, 205, 232, 296, 427, ii., 19, 
 70, Si, 309, 330, 373, 471, 472 
 
 Cocke, Catesby, i., 49 
 
 Cockpit Point Neck, i., 375, ii., 465 
 
 Codd, Col. St. Leger, i., 15 
 
 Cofer, Ensign, i., 233 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward, i., 247 
 
 Colburn, Jeremiah, i., xiv. 
 
 Colchester, Va., i., 103, 106, in, 
 112, 115, 121, 154, 200, ii., 19, 
 311, 342, 348, 349 
 
 Colleton, Sir John, i., 408 
 
 Colonial Records of Virginia, i., 19 
 
 Commissary-General, i., 74, ii., 6 
 
 Committee of Correspondence, i., 
 167, 168, 185 
 
 Committee of Safety, i., 201, 205- 
 209, 212-214, 216, 218-223, 264, 
 326, 339, ii., 343 ; MS. Journal of, 
 i., 220, 221 
 
 Committees of counties : Albemarle, 
 i., 173, 200, 209, 212 ; Augusta, i., 
 183, 200, 209, 212 ; Fairfax, i., 
 172, 173, 181-183, 185, 187, 195, 
 199, 200, 209, 212, 267, 268 ; 
 Hanover, i., 173, 200, 209, 212 ; 
 Loudon, i., 186, 200, 209, 212 
 
 Companies- African, i., 37; Chesa 
 peake and Ohio Canal, i., 189 ; East 
 India, i., 422, ii., 69, 70; Grand, 
 i., 155-157 ; Henderson s, i., 214, 
 289, 305-307, 3io, 327, 328, 343, 
 344, ii., 344 ; Indiana, i., 289, 308, 
 324, 325, 327, 333, 341-344, ii-, 21, 
 26, 239, 341-345, 406, 440 ; Ohio, 
 i., 58-61, 78, 79, 125, 131, 151, 
 155-158, 189, 214, 215, 291, 292, 
 301, 307, 334, 412, 414, ii., 5, 6, 
 23, 214, 356, 367, 461, 467 ; Poto 
 mac, i., 189, 190 ; Plymouth, i., 
 393, 394 I Somers Islands or Ber 
 mudas, i., 402; Vandalia, i., 215, 
 341-343 ; Virginia or London, i., 
 4, 393, 403, 405-407, 409, 415 
 
 Confederate States, ii., 296 
 
 Confederation, Articles of, i., 267, 
 321-323, 341-34^, 36i, ii., 28-30, 
 119, 178, 185, 224, 249, 284, 295, 
 384 ; Amendments to the, ii., 382, 
 
 .383 
 
 Confederation, Confederated States, 
 Confederacy, i., 343, ii., 65, 66, 
 105, 106, 108, 109, 116, 117, 166, 
 
 188, 246, 250, 256, 394, 396, 401, 
 
 407, 413, 418, 421, 430 
 Congress. See Continental. 
 Congress. See Federal. 
 Congressional, districts, ii., 346, 347 ; 
 
 receiver, ii., 60 
 
 , Congressional Library, i., xiii., 291 
 i Connecticut, i., viii., xiv., 264, 344, 
 
 ii., 104, 107, 109, 127, 160, 177, 
 
 303, 304, 352 ; "Compromise," ii., 
 
 127 ; system, ii., 128 
 Constable, David, i., 97, ii., 17, iS 
 Constantinople, i., 384, 410 
 Constitutions, of England or Great 
 
 Britain, see British ; of the United 
 
 States of America, see Federal ; of 
 
 Virginia, see Virginia. 
 Continental, account, i., 280 ; debt, 
 
 ii., 60 ; establishment, i., 366 ; 
 
 Loan Office, ii., 338 ; money, ii., 
 
 421 ; receiver, ii., 60; service, i., 
 
 287, 306, 370; treasury, i., 331, 
 352 ; troops, i., 352 
 
 Continental Congress, i., ix., 129, 172, 
 173, 179, 1 80, 184, 189, 192, 195, 
 
 196, I99-2O2, 2O4-2O6, 2IO, 212, 
 223-227, 235, 253, 254, 256, 257, 
 267-269, 271, 278-280, 282-285, 
 
 288, 293-296, 298, 3OO-3O2, 309, 
 
 318-323, 328, 330-332, 335, 339- 
 348, 350-356, 359, 36i, 366-370, 
 423, 425, 426, 449, 451, ii., 2, 5, 
 21-23, 25, 28-31, 40-42, 45, 49-51, 
 55, 59-62, 64, 65, 68, 93-95, 97, 
 105-107, 116-118, 120, 121, 124, 
 144, 185, 186, 189, 190, 193, 194, 
 
 197, 198, 200, 202, 203, 223, 339, 
 373, 374, 379, 380, 382, 383, 390, 
 
 ^ 422, 474, 475^ 
 
 Conventions: Church Convention, i., 
 32 ; Federal, State, see Federal 
 and Virginia, etc. 
 " Conway Cabal," ii., 474 
 Conway, Moncure Daniel, i., xii., 86, 
 ii., 179; Richard Moncure, i., xii., 
 81 ; Gen. Thomas, ii., 474 
 Conway s "George Washington and 
 Mount Vernon,"ii., 36; " Life of Ed 
 mund Randolph," i., 238, ii., 62, 
 179, 181, 189, 209, 277-279, 299, 374 
 I Conyers, Sir Christopher, i., 47 
 I Cooke, Elizabeth, ne e Travers, i., 88 ; 
 I John, ii., 75 ; Sir John, i., 88, ii., 
 75 ; John Esten, i., xv., 107, ii., 
 211, 369, 372, 373, 375, 376 ; Mary 
 I Thomson, ne e Mason, i., 26, ii., 
 75, 336, 351, 458. 459 I Travers, i., 
 
JNDEX. 
 
 483 
 
 Cooke s " History of Virginia," i., r ; 
 " Stories of the Old Dominion," i., 
 170 
 
 Cooper, Lord Anthony Ashley, Earl 
 of Shaftesbury, i., 408 ; Mrs. (Jen. 
 Samuel, nee Mason, i., xi. 
 
 Corbin, Francis, member of the Va. 
 Assembly, visits Philadelphia and 
 attends sessions of Federal Conven 
 tion, ii., 132 ; is recommended by 
 G. Mason to fill vacancy occasioned 
 by resignation of Wythe, 132; opens 
 debate in Va. Assembly on new 
 Federal Constitution, and approves 
 of it, 190 ; offers resolution calling 
 for a Convention in Virginia, 190 ; 
 defends his resolution against stric 
 tures of Patrick Henry, 190 ; is 
 opposed by fohn Marshall, 191 ; is 
 made chairman of committee to 
 draw up bill for payment of British 
 debts, 195 ; is placed on another 
 committee of like nature, 200 ; 
 mentioned in letter of G. Mason as 
 drawing up British debt bill inju 
 diciously, 195, 206; is delegate to 
 Va. Convention as Federalist, and 
 replies to speech of P. Henry, 230 ; 
 speaks on subject of Navigation of 
 Mississippi, 242 ;discussesprovisions 
 relating to the militia, 247 ; approves 
 of clause relating to publication of 
 accounts, 250, 421 ; speaks on the 
 treaty-making power, 257 ; is com 
 mended by Grigsby for his perspi 
 cacity, 257 ; on committee to prepare 
 form of ratification of the Constitu 
 tion, asserting doctrines of State 
 Sovereignty and Secession, 271 ; 
 deplores tendency of the govern 
 ment in letter to J. Randolph, 293, 
 294 ; fears for Sovereignty of the 
 States, and anticipates " consoli 
 dated despotism," 294 
 
 Corbin, Gawin, ii., 6 
 
 Cork fleet, i., 296 
 
 "Cornstalk," Indian chief, i., 180 
 
 Cormvallis, Lord Charles, ii., 10, 16, 
 18, 20 
 
 Country-Seats: "Arlington," i., 55; 
 "Aquasco," Md., ii., 351 ; "Bed 
 ford," i., 91; "Belle Air," home 
 of Maj. Henry Fitzhugh, i., 88 ; 
 " Belle Air," home of Rev. Spence 
 Grayson, ii., 220 ; " Belle Plaine," 
 i., 89 ; " Belleview," i., 88, 89, 
 291, 295, 296; " Belvidere," ii., 
 339; "Belvoir," i., 28, 61, 62, 76, 
 
 92, 105, 127 ; " Berkeley," i., 87 ; 
 "Berry Hill," i., 88, 89; "Bland- 
 field," i., 90 ; "Blenheim," i., 90; 
 " Boscobel," England, i., 2 ; " Bos- 
 cobel," Virginia," i., 88 ; " Brad 
 ley," i., 105, no; " Brandon," i.. 
 
 87 ; " Brewood Hall," England, i., 
 2, 3; " Bushfield," i., 89, 292; 
 " Caledon," i., 92 ; "Castle Hill," 
 i., 74 ; " Cedar Grove," Fairfax 
 Co., i., 106, in, 112, 302, ii., 351 ; 
 "Cedar Grove," King George Co., 
 i., 91 ; " Chantilly," i., 87, 89, 
 330, 333, ii., 105,214; "Chappa- 
 wamsic," i., 48, 67, 68, 73, 84, ii., 
 39, 76; " Chillington," England, 
 i., 2; " Chotank," i., 91, 125; 
 " Clermont," i., 443 ; " Clives," i., 
 54 ; "Clover Hill," i., 376 ; " Col- 
 ross," ii., 473 ; "Crow s Nest," i., 
 
 88 ;" Errol," ii., 75, 76 ; " Green- 
 spring," i., 193, 195; " Greemvay 
 Court," i., 76; "Gunston Hall," 
 England, i., 2; "Gunston Hall," 
 Maryland, i., 29 ; " Gunston Hall," 
 Virginia, i., xv., 39, 57, 58, 72, 81, 
 82, 87, 93, 94, 98-103, 107-110, 
 121, 127, 129, 131, 141, 143, 144, 
 148, 159-162, 165, 167, 184, 185, 
 188, 189, 192, 193, 198, 209, 210, 
 213, 214, 216, 279, 280, 283, 291, 
 293, 295, 297, 302-304, 310, 314, 
 315, 319, 320, 348, 349, 367, 370, 
 442, 444, ii., 2, 6, 10, 12, 15, 17, 
 19, 21, 23, 33, 36, 40, 42, 44, 63, 
 66, 67, 71, 74, 75, 79, 81-83, 88, 
 90-92, 98, 99, 102, 104, 208, 209, 
 211, 212, 217, 298, 299, 302, 311- 
 315, 318, 319, 324, 326-329, 331, 
 332, 334, 337, 342, 348-350, 352, 
 354, 357, 359, 361, 33, 365, 372, 
 375, 376, 457, 459: "Hilton," 
 i., 92; " Hollin Hall," England, 
 i., 39, 112; "Hollin Hall, Va.. 
 i., 106, 112, ii., 307, 351, 368, 473 ; 
 " Hope Park," i., 92 ; " House 
 Byres," Scotland, i., 81 ; " Hunt- 
 ley," ii., 472, 473 ; " Lee Hall," i., 
 
 89 ; " Leesylvania," i., 90, 222 ; 
 " Lexington," i., 112, 191, ii., 336, 
 351, 356, 472; " Marlboro," i., 53, 
 54, 59, 85, 88 ; " Marmion," i., 90, 
 92 ;" Mattawoman," Md., i., 56, 
 ii., n, 351 ; " Menokin," i., 90 ; 
 " Monticello," i., 192, 252, ii., 22, 
 324, 329, 363 ; " Montpelier," Md., 
 ii., 76; "Mount Airy," home of 
 Col. McCarty, i., in, 302 ; " Mount 
 
INDEX. 
 
 County-Seats Continued. 
 
 Airy," home of Col. Tayloe, i., go; 
 " Mt. Eilbeck," Md., i., 153 ; 
 " Mount Vernon," i., 23, 54, 62, 
 66-68, 87, 92, 106, no, 113, 120- 
 122, 127, 138, 167, 177, 179, 184, 
 189, 213, 221, 293, 337, 370, ii., 
 19, 63, 66, 67, 81, 82, 85, 89, 91, 
 93, 180, 196, 207, 220, 312, 329, 
 361, 363, 366, 376, 379, 381, 473, 
 474 ; " Mount Zephyr," i., 117 ; 
 " Newington," i., 93, 106. ii., 76 ; 
 "New Town," i., 39, 105, in ; 
 " Nomini Hall" or " Nomini," ii., 
 88, 89 ; " North End," i., 67 ; 
 " Okeley," ii., 472, 473 ; " Ossian 
 Hall," i., 92; "Osterly Park," 
 England, i., 47; " Pasbytanzy," i., 
 29, 54 ; " Peccatone," i., 90 ; 
 " Port Tobago," Md., i., 90 ; 
 " Raspberry Plain," i., xi., ii., 20, 
 71, 76, 79 ; " Ravensworth," i., 89 ; 
 "Rich Hill," Md., i., Si ; "Rich- 
 land," i., 54, 88, 89; " Rippon 
 Lodge," i., 93 ; " Rosegill," i., 90 ; 
 41 Rose Hill," Md.. i., 81 ; "Rose 
 Hill," Va., i., 23 ; " Rosewell," 
 i., 224 ; " Rousby Hall," Md., i., 
 93. 377 ; " Rumford," i., 119 ; 
 "Sabine Hall," i., 90, ii., 220; 
 " Salvington," i., 67, 88, 89; 
 "Shirley," i., 8"; "Springfield," 
 i., 95, 105, 120, 129, 168, 200, 204, 
 208, ii., 8 1 ; " Stone Middleton," 
 Scotland," i., 81 ; " Stratford," i., 
 87, 89, 90, 376; "Temple Hall," 
 i., 46 ; " The Cottage," King 
 George Co., ii., 351; "The Cot 
 tage," Stafford Co., i., 23, 54 ; 
 " Vue de 1 Eau," Md., ii., n ; 
 " Wainside," Scotland, i., Si ; 
 " Waterloo, "i., 91 ; " West Farm," 
 ii., 351 ; " Westover," ii., 16, 369 ; 
 "White House," i., 72; " \Vood- 
 bridge," i., 51, 81, 105, 112, ii., 
 351 ; " Woodlawn," i., 92 ; " Wood 
 stock, "i., 54, 349 ; "Wyrley Grove," 
 England, i., 3 
 
 County Courts: Fairfax, i., 120, 121, 
 167, ii., 79, 80, 309, 472 ; Princess 
 Anne, i., 45 ; Prince William, i., 49, 
 50 ; Stafford, i., 7-9, 20, 22, 79, 375 
 
 County Lieutenant, i., 8, 20, 24, 27, 
 
 33-35, 58 
 
 Court Houses: Fairfax, i., 182, 418; 
 Hanover, ii., 10, 16 ; Stafford, i., 
 16, 22-24, 27, 31, 131, 376, ii., 79 ; 
 Westmoreland, i., 4, 5, 7 
 
 Courts : of assize, i., 339 ; of admi 
 ralty, i., 295, 368 ; of appeals, i., 
 287, 308, 329, 334, 406, ii., 274, 
 386 ; corporation, ii., 200; county, 
 ii., 199, 310 ; district, ii., 199, 310 ; 
 of errors, ii., 386 ; of hustings, ii., 
 200; of justice, i., 273, ii., 49; 
 supreme, i., 405 ; supreme court of 
 appeals, i., 289 ; of vice-admiralty, 
 i-, 295 
 
 Courts, William, ii., 460 
 Craik, Dr. James, i., 161, ii., 348 
 Crane Island, i., 72 
 Craven, William, Lord, i., 407 
 Crawford, Thomas, ii., 375 ; William, 
 
 i., 155 
 
 Creasy s " Rise and Progress of the 
 English Constitution," i., 3 
 
 Creeks : Accokeek, i., 23 ; Accotink, 
 i., 21, 28, 72, ii., 463-465 ; Aquia, 
 i., 23, 97 ; 213 ; Buffalo, i., 412 ; 
 Chappawamsic, ii., 75, 465 ; Chick- 
 amuxon, Md., i., 38, ii., 311, 348, 
 349, 462, 466 ; Chotank, i., 91, 92 ; 
 Conogochieg, Md.,ii., 335 ; Dogue 
 Neck (Doag), i., 23, 24, 28, 37, ii., 
 463, 464, 469; George s, i., 60; 
 Great Hunting, i., 106, ii., 335, 
 358; Holt s, i., 100 ; Licking, i., 
 214 ; Little Hunting, i., 23, 72, ii., 
 348, 463, 464, 469 ; Little Kana- 
 wha, i., 325 ; Marchodock, i., 87 ; 
 Matta woman, Md., ii., ii, 462 ; 
 Neabecco (Neapsco?), ii., 465 ; 
 Nomini, Nominey, i., 87 ; Pasby 
 tanzy, i., 2, 54, 93 ; Pocorson, ii., 
 358; Pohick, Pohike, i., 20, 21, 
 101, 106, 112, 115, ii., 460 ; Pope s, 
 i., 87 ; Potomac, i., 23, 27, 88, 97, 
 374 ; Quantico, i., 39, 84, 87, 269, 
 339, ii., 311 ; Rock, Md., i., 55, 
 
 60, 117, ii., 336, 359, 360, 464; 
 Romanetto, i., 412 ; Will s, i., 59- 
 
 61, 190 ; Yellow, i., 412 
 Cresap, Col. Thomas, i., 59 
 
 j Cripplegate, i., 42 
 
 \ Cromwell, Oliver, ii., 160, 166, 
 
 264 
 
 : Crowford, Stephen, i., 35 
 Crown Point, i., 195 
 Culpeper, Alexander, i., 23 ; Mar 
 garet, Lady, i., 23 ; Thomas, Lord, 
 i., 21 
 
 Culpeper County, Va., ii., 347 
 j Cumberland County, Eng., i., 56 
 
 Cunningham, Capt., ii., 63 
 Currabuck Inlet, i., 295 
 j Curtis, George Ticknor, ii., 220 
 
INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 Curtis "Constitutional History of 
 the United States," ii., 220 
 
 Custis, Eleanor, nee Calvert, m. 2cl 
 Dr. David Stuart, sec Stuart; George 
 Washington Parke, i., 286, 338 ; 
 John, i., 76 ; John Parke, i., 121, 
 219, 220, 221, 286, 292, 337, 338 ; 
 Martha, i., 121, 167, 220 
 
 Custis " Recollections of Washing 
 ton," i., 286, 293, 338 
 
 D 
 
 Dade, Townshend, Jr., i., 427 
 Dalton, John, i., 214, 218, 221, 339, 
 
 427 
 
 Dandridge, Bartholomew, i., 225 
 Daniel, Frances, nee Moncure, i., 86 ; 
 
 Peter, i., 85, 88, 125 ; Judge Peter 
 
 V., i., 88 ; Travers, i., 86, 125 
 Darrall, Sampson, ii., 463, 464 ; 
 
 William, i., 375 
 Davenant, Charles, i., 151 
 Davidson, John, ii., 472 ; Mr. (John ?), 
 
 i-, 97 
 
 Davie, William Richardson, ii., 182 
 
 Davis, Horace, ii., 293 ; Hon. Jeffer 
 son, ii., 285, 288 ; John, i., 114, 
 115 ; Dr. Robert C., i., xiv. 
 
 Davis Speech in United States 
 Senate, ii., 285 
 
 Dawson, John, ii., 270, 276 
 
 Decision of Supreme Court on Civil 
 Rights Act, ii., 296 
 
 Declaration of Independence, i., viii., 
 196, 223, 248-250, 252, 254, 267, 
 ii., 28,_30, 59, 374 
 
 Declaration of Rights, Great Britain, 
 i., 247, 248 ; Massachusetts, i., 250, 
 264 ; New Hampshire, i., 264 ; 
 Virginia, see Virginia. 
 
 De Rochambeau, Count, ii., 19 
 
 D Estaing, Admiral, i., 296 
 
 Defoe, Daniel, i., 151 
 
 Delaps, Mr., ii. , 12 
 
 Delaware, Lord. See West. 
 
 Delaware, ii., 93, 104, 127, 177, 303, 
 
 304, 363, 364 
 
 Delaware Bay, islands in, i., 414 
 Denmark, ii., 69 
 Dent, Thomas, i., 50 
 Detroit, De Troit, i., 312, 362, 365 
 Dettingen, parish of, i., 84, 162, 349, 
 
 ii., 220 
 
 Dettingen parish churches, i., 84 
 Dick, John, i., 291, 292 
 Dickinson, John, i., 129, 174, ii., 
 
 117, 127, 145, 146, 158, 374 
 
 Dickinson s " Farmer s Letters," i., 
 129, ii., 374 ; letters of " Fabius," 
 
 ii., 374 
 
 Difficult Run, i., 72, ii., 464, 465 
 Digges, Dudley, i., 205, 228, 230 ; 
 
 Mr., i., 297 
 Dinwiddie, John, i., 29 ; Robert, 
 
 Governor of Va., i., 29, 59, 6265, 
 
 72, 78, 91, 414, ii., 23 ; Simpha 
 
 Rosa Enfield, nee Mason, see 
 
 Bronaugh. 
 
 " Dinwiddie Papers." See Brock. 
 District of Columbia, i. , 5,ii., 291,416 
 Dobbs, Arthur, Governor of North 
 
 Carolina, i., 62, 63 ; Edward Brice, 
 
 i., 62, 63 
 
 Dobree, Mr., ii., 12 
 Dobson, Mr., i., n 
 Dogue Neck, Dogues Neck, Dogue s 
 
 Island. See Mason s Neck. 
 Dogue Run, Dogues Run. See Creeks. 
 Donald, Andrew, ii., 272 
 Douglas, Archibald, Duke of, i., 350 ; 
 
 Catherine, ne e Brent, i., 350 ; 
 
 James, i., 350 
 Dover Plains, N. Y., i., xiv. 
 Doylestown, Pa., i., xiv. 
 Draper, Lyman C., i., xiii., 290 
 Dreer, F. J., i., xiv. 
 ; Drysdale, Hugh, Gov. of Virginia, i., 
 
 36, 37 
 
 : Dugdale, Stephen, i., 40 
 i Dulany, Mr. (Daniel?), ii., 352 
 Dumfries, Va., i., 48, 72, 84, 90, 93, 
 
 103, 121, 233, 281, 348, 350, ii., 19, 
 
 63, 220, 324, 348, 359 
 ; Dunmore, John Murray, Earl of, i., 
 
 168, 180, 184, 197, 213, 232, 233, 
 
 321, 342, 364, 366, ii., 24 ; Eliza 
 beth, Lady, i., 170 
 \ Dutch, the, i., 7, 407 
 I Duvall, Mr., ii., 213 
 
 E 
 
 I East and West Floridas. See Florida. 
 
 i Eastern States, ii., 101, 102, 166, 169, 
 
 170, 187, 241, 295, 301, 335, 388, 
 
 389, 405, 444 
 
 Eden, Sir Robert, Gov. of Maryland, 
 
 ii., 214 
 5 Edgar, Sarah, Mrs. William Eilbeck. 
 
 See Eilbeck. 
 
 Edward III., statute of, ii., 159 
 Egmont, John Perceval, 2d Earl of, 
 
 i., 152 
 
 Eilbeck, Anne, Mrs. George Mason, 
 sec Mason ; Sarah, nee Edgar, i.. 
 
486 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 56, 153, 185, ii., 12, 13, 459, 461 ; \ 
 
 Col. William, i., 56, 153, 161, 164, ; 
 
 ii., 458, 461-64, 468 
 Elizabeth City County, Va., i., 322, , 
 
 338, ii., 75 
 Elliot s Debates, ii., 109, 119, 123- 
 
 126, 390 
 
 Ellis and Bradie, ii., 464 
 Ellsworth, Oliver, ii., 127, 144, 149, . 
 
 158, 183, 304, 319 
 Ellzey, Dr. Mason Graham, i., xv. ; 
 
 Thomazin, i., 167 
 Embargo Act, i., viii. ; embargo, i., 
 
 309 
 Emmet, Dr. Thomas Addis, i., xiv., 
 
 237 
 
 Emperor, of Austria, ii., 357 ; of 
 Morocco, ii., 63 
 
 England, i., viii., xiii., 5, 6, 39, 40, 
 46, 54, 56, 59, 65, 78, 96, 107, 112, ! 
 123, 126, 129, 133, 136, 144, 151, | 
 152, 157, 158, 177, 180, 247, 277, ! 
 297, 344, 395, 397, 398, 400, 402, | 
 406-408, 414, 419, 420, 451, ii., 51, I 
 70, 148, 149, 154, 237, 257, 308, | 
 346, 359 376, 397, 398, 4o6, 431, ! 
 432, 47i 
 
 English, authors, ii., 77 ; bride, i., i 
 297 ; colonies, i., 414 ; common- 
 wealth, i., 276 ; constitution, ii., ! 
 332 ; gentleman, i., 46, 95; govern 
 ment, i., 387, ii., 357, 431 ; histori- i 
 ans, ii., 369 ; inhabitants, i., 411, ; 
 ii., 27 ; lawyers, ii., 344, 346 ; 
 magna charta, i., 247 ; maps, i., 
 412, ii., 28 ; measure, ii., 299 ; ; 
 miles, i., 394 ; ships, i., 296 ; sub- : 
 jects, ii., 26 ; yard, ii., 299 
 
 Englishman, Englishmen, i., 10, 304, 
 387, 388, ii., 438 
 
 Eppes, Major, i., 206 
 
 Essex, county of, i., 256 
 
 Europe, i., 72, 149, 217, 314, 315, 317, 
 367, 387, 391, 392, 398, ii., 3, 33, 
 41, 45, 47, 63, 70, 71, 114, 124, 156, 
 192, 193, 211, 212, 332, 336, 339, 
 
 357, 399, 403, 425 
 
 European, countries, ii,, 69; imports, 
 i., 149 ; influence, ii., 254 ; nations, 
 ii., 52 ; politics, ii., 34, 47 ; poten 
 tates, ii., 425 ; power, i., 227 ; 
 powers, ii., 39, 425 
 
 Eyre, Severn, i., 392 
 
 Fairfax, Bryan, i., 121, 154, 177, 
 190 ; Catherine, Lady, nee Cul- 
 
 peper, i., 23 ; George William, i., 
 76, 85, 87, 104, 105, 113, 114, 116, 
 126, 127, 157 ; Thomas, 5th Lord, of 
 Cameron, i., 23 ; Thomas, 6th Lord, 
 of Cameron, i., 61, 64, 76, 77, 91, 
 120, 153, 290, 408, 411, ii., 26, 261, 
 439, 440 ; William, i., 61 
 Fairfax family, i., 61, 62, 70, 92, 93 
 Fairfax County, Va., i., xi., 16, 21, 
 23, 56, 58, 64, 72-75, 77, 80, 84, 
 89, 92, 106, 112, 117, 119, 126, 128, 
 154, 165, 167, 169, 171-173, 176- 
 178, 181, 183, 184, 186, 196, 198, 
 
 210, 222, 267, 268, 28l, 293, 295, 
 
 302, 337, 415; 419, 429, 441, 443, 
 444, ii., 10, n, 17, 42, 44, 48, 70, 
 210, 298, 303, 309, 310, 330, 342, 
 346, 347, 35i, 365, 373, 454-457, 
 460, 463-465, 472 
 
 Fairfax Co. Resolves, i., 172, 173- 
 
 176, 418-427 
 Fairfax Co. Committee, Resolutions 
 
 of, i., 427-430. 
 Fairfax Independent Company, i., 
 
 181, 182, 195, 196, 238, 297, 430- 
 
 433 
 
 Fairfax, parish of, i., 85, 128, ii., 464 
 Fairfax Point, i., 105 
 Farrall, Hugh, i., 375 
 Farrar s Island, i., 23 
 Fauquier, county of, i., 76, ii., 208, 
 
 303, 346, 347, 454-456 
 Fauquier, Francis, Governor of Vir 
 ginia, i., 125, 136 
 
 Fayette County, ii., 25 
 
 Fee Bill, i., 417 
 
 Federal Constitution, i., vi.-viii., 32, 
 244, ii., 72, 100, 117, 118, 135-137, 
 143, 146, 148, 150, 151, 161, 162, 
 164, 166-168, 170-182, 184-191, 
 196, 197, 204, 209-211, 215-217, 
 219-221, 223-226, 228-230, 232, 
 233, 236, 237, 239-244, 247-249, 
 251, 252, 255-258, 260, 262, 265, 
 267-269, 271-275, 279-289, 291- 
 293, 296, 301, 302, 313, 319-323. 
 329-331, 362-364, 372, 374, 378, 
 
 387, 39 1 - 39 2 , 395-399, 401-403, 
 405, 407, 410, 412, 413, 416-419, 
 422-424, 427, 431-433, 435, 439, 
 441 444, 445, 448, 449, 451, 452, 
 454, 456, 457 ; amendments to, i., 
 244, 250, ii., 176, 178, 179, 181 
 184-190, 197, 215-217, 228, 230, 
 233-235, 243, 245, 249, 261-265, 
 268-273, 278, 280-286, 288, 290, 
 292, 301-304, 319-324, 329, 364, 
 374, 384, 396, 397, 406, 407, 436, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 444, 448-453, 456, 457 ; Bill of 
 Rights for, ii., 171, 172, 233-236, 
 264, 271, 272, 287, 419, 444-448, 
 451 ; Objections to, i., 251, ii., 176, 
 182, 184, 187, 188, 387-390 
 Federal Convention, ii., 100, 101, 103- 
 no, 112, 115, 116, 118-120, 122, 
 127-134, 136, 137, 143, 144, 147, 
 J55, T 5. !59> 162-165, 172-174, 
 176-182, 184, 185-188, 190, 210, 
 
 211, 215, 2l6, 221, 223-227, 229, 
 
 2 3, 237, 253, 259, 260, 262, 269, 
 275-277, 282, 283, 285, 304, 307, 
 313, 316, 317, 363, 364, 372, 378, 
 391, 403, 406, 425, 433, 443-445 
 Federal, Executive (President, Vice- 
 President), i., vi., vii., ii., 101, 
 102, 108, 110-116, 119, 124, 126, 
 129, 139-142, 144-146, 156, 157. 
 167-170, 175, 228, 235, 241, 253- 
 257, 282, 284, 289, 290, 313, 363, 
 383, 384, 387-389, 424-432, 446, 
 450-453 ; Legislature, Congress, 
 two houses, i., vi., ii., 101, IO2, 
 108-111, 119-121, 124, 126-129, 
 134, 135, I39-I4I, 145, 146, 148, 
 152-154, 156-159, 162, 163, 165- 
 167, 173-176, 178, 179, 218, 226- 
 229, 236, 237, 240, 245-248, 251- 
 253, 257, 259, 269, 271, 272, 283- 
 285, 287-289, 291, 294, 296, 302- 
 304, 308, 317-325, 330, 331, 335, 
 341, 346, 353, 362-364, 384-386, 
 389, 390, 395, 396, 399, 400, 408, 
 410-418, 421-426, 428, 429, 432, I 
 434, 436, 437, 439, 442, 443, 448- 
 452, 454-457 ; Congress, House of 
 Representatives, ii. , 109, no, 116, 
 123-125, 127-129, 132-135, 149, 
 150, 152-155, 168, 173, 175, 179, ; 
 228, 236, 237, 240, 241, 245, , 
 246, 254, 256, 281, 284, 288, 289, | 
 303, 304, 308, 317, 318, 329, 333, I 
 387-389, 393-395, 398, 402, 411, 
 413, 414, 427, 449, 452, 454, 455, 
 457 ; Congress, Senate, ii., 109, 
 117, 118, 126-129, 132, 133, 138, 
 140, 142-144, 147, 149-151, 153- 
 155, 167-170, 173, 175, 179, 229, i 
 235, 245, 246, 255, 256, 267, 
 284, 288, 289, 303, 304, 308, 317, 
 319, 324-327, 329, 363, 383, 384, ! 
 387-389, 398, 411, 413, 414, 426- 
 432, 449, 452 ; Judiciary (Supreme 
 Court, etc.), i., vii., ii. , 102, 108, 
 113, 119, 129, 140-143, 164, 179, 
 235, 258-264, 266, 283, 284, 290- 
 293. 296, 321, 333, 334, 345, 352, 
 
 382, 385, 386, 388, 396, 411, 416, 
 423, 432-442, 446, 450, 453 
 Federal Republican Society, ii., 233, 
 
 234 
 
 Federalist, The, ii., 127, 189, 260, 281, 
 285, 295 
 
 Federalists, ii., 183, 184, 210, 214, 
 217, 221, 224, 227, 231, 233, 236, 
 259, 270, 271, 274, 281, 286, 288, 
 291, 293, 297, 305, 308, 309, 324, 
 347, 362, 374 
 
 Fenwick, James, ii., 211, 298-300, 
 302, 306, 307, 311, 312, 326; 
 Joseph, ii., 211, 304, 305, 312, 313, 
 316, 317, 327, 328 
 
 Fenwick, Joseph, and Company, ii., 
 211 
 
 Fenwick, Mason, and Company, ii., 
 308, 312, 315, 326, 331 
 
 Feoffee, i., 20, 28 
 
 Ferries, ii., 382 ; Evan s, ii., 336 ; 
 on the Occoquon, i., 50, 51, 81, ii., 
 465, 466 ; on the Potomac, i., 39, 
 55 ; Rock Creek, i., 55, 60, ii., 464 
 
 Filmer, Sir Robert, i., 247 
 
 Fincastle County, Va., i., 172, 418 
 
 Fincastle, Va., i., 202, ii., 24, 25 
 
 Fitzgerald, Col. John, ii., 10, 97, 300, 
 303 
 
 Fitzhugh, Ann, nee Frisby, in. 1st 
 John Rousby, i., 377 ; Ann, nee 
 Mason, i., 29 ; Ann, nee Randolph, 
 i., 89 ; George, i., 29, 31, 93, 375, 
 377 ; George, i., 16, 91, 92, 94 ; 
 George Lee Mason, i., 93, 377 ; 
 Henry, of " Bedford," i. 91 ; Maj. 
 Henry, i., 88 ; Henry Maynadier, 
 i., xii.; James, i., 88 ; John, i., 85, 
 88; John, of Maryland, i., 377; 
 Martha, nee Lee, in. 1st John Tur- 
 berville, i., 93, 377 ; Mary, ne e 
 Mason, i., 29, 93, 377 ; Mr., i., 87, 
 185 ; Peregrine, i., 377 ; Thomas, 
 i., 29, 85, 375 ; Thomas, of " Bos- 
 cobel," i., 88, 125 ; Col. William 
 (ist), i., 15, 17-20, 27, 29, 91 ; 
 William (2d), i., 19, 28 ; William, 
 of "Chatham," i., 89, ii., 304; 
 William (2d), of Maryland, i., 377 
 
 Fitzhugh, Col. William, of "Rousby 
 Hall," son of George and Mary 
 Mason Fitzhugh, i., 93, 377 ; lived 
 in George Mason s neighborhood, 
 93 ; officer in British army, 377 ; 
 with Admiral Vernon at Cartha- 
 gena, 377 ; intimate with Lawrence 
 Washington, 377 ; served in French 
 and Indian war, 93 ; friend and 
 
488 
 
 correspondent of George Washing 
 ton, 377 ; married Martha (Lee) 
 Turberville, 93, 377 ; removed to 
 Calvert Co., Md., 93 ; married 2d 
 Ann (Frisby) Rousby, 377 ; lived 
 at " Rousby Hall," 93, 377 ; names 
 of sons, 93, 377 ; in civil service of 
 Maryland, 377 ; member of Com 
 mittee of Vigilance, 377 ; property 
 destroyed by the enemy, 377 ; slaves 
 carried off, 377 ; builds manufac 
 tory for ship bread at " Millmount," 
 377 ; recommends German indented 
 servant of his to George Mason, ii., 
 
 314 
 
 Fitzhugh family, i., xii., 53, 54, 93 
 
 Fitzhugh Letters, i., 15-19 
 
 Flanders, Henry, ii., 100, 219 
 
 Flanders "Lives and Times of the 
 Chief-Justices of the Supreme Court 
 of the United States," ii., 100, 220 
 
 Fleming, George, ii., 235, 280 ; Wil 
 liam, i., 236 
 
 Fletcher, Henry, ii., 466 
 
 Florida, i., 252, 294 ; ii., 30, 31 
 
 Fogg, Dr. John S. H., i., xii., xiv. 
 
 Foley, Bryant, i., 374 
 
 Fontaine, John, i., 31 
 
 Force MSS., i., 291 
 
 Force s Tracts, i., 4, 10, ii, 14 
 
 Ford, Paul Leicester, i., xii., ii., 184, | 
 390; Worthington C., i., xii., 136 
 
 Ford s "Pamphlets on the Constitu 
 tion," ii., 183, 184, 390 
 
 Ford s " Letters of Joseph Jones," ii., 
 I, 55, 66, 83 ; "Writings of Wash- | 
 ington," i., 118, 136 
 
 Forrest, Rev. Douglas French, i., xii. 
 
 Forrest and Stoddert, firm of, ii., 300, 
 312, 317 
 
 Forts, i., 7, 12; Cumberland, Md., i 
 i., 60, 154, ii., 214, 467 ; Duquesne i 
 (Pitt), i., 61, 72, 288 ; Jefferson, ii., j 
 203 ; Loudoun, i., 68 ; Nelson, ii., ! 
 203 ; Stanwix, N. Y., i., 155, iSS, 
 308, 325, 327, ii., 25-27, 342, 343 ; 
 Washington, i., 315 
 
 Foss "Lives of the Judges of Eng- | 
 land," i., 47 
 
 Foster s " London Marriage Licen 
 ses," i., 42 
 
 Four Mile Run, ii., 464, 465 
 
 Fowke, Captain Chandler, i., 54 ; 
 Elizabeth, ne e Dimviddie, i., 376, 
 377; Frank Rede, i., xii., 3; 
 Gerard, of England, i., 3 ; Col. 
 Gerard (ist), of Virginia, i., 2, 3, 
 5-7 ; Gerard (2d), i., 29 ; Gerard, 
 
 son of Chandler, i., 376 ; Gerard, 
 of Mason Co., Ky., i , xii.; John, 
 i., 3 ; Mary, Mrs. George Mason, 
 see Mason ; Roger, i., 3 ; William,, 
 i-, 3 
 
 Fowke Arms, description of, ii., 475 
 
 Fowke family, i., xii., 2, 3, 57, 376 
 
 Fowke Family MS., i., 29 
 
 Fox, Charles James, ii., 39 
 
 France, i., 36, 59, 261, 293, 294, 298, 
 
 302, 303, 315, 320, 333, 344, 453 ; 
 ii., ii, 14, 16, 17, 33, 42, 70, 105, 
 
 211, 257, 298-301, 304, 305, 308, 
 311, 315, 326-328, 331, 332, 334, 
 337, 339, 35i, 352, 357, 403, 425, 
 43i 
 
 Francis, Doctor, i., 296 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, i., 61, 155, 192, 
 280, 315, 316, 328 ; ii., 15, 17, 42, 
 100, in, 128, 129, 133, 150, 170, 
 !73, 3 QI , William, Gov. of New 
 Jersey, i., 155 
 
 Frederick County, Maryland, i., 117, 
 189, 268 ; ii., 467 
 
 Frederick County, Virginia, i., 77, 
 135. 154 ; ii., 213, 412 
 
 Fredericksburg, Va., i., 54, 65, 67, 
 85, 89, 97, 196, 203, 217, 219, 274, 
 276, 291, 292 ; ii., 10, 16, 19, 66, 
 92, 222, 304, 307 
 
 French, alliance, ii., 16 ; allies, i., 
 
 293, ii., 5, 16 ; brig, ii., 357 ; colo 
 nies, i., 414 ; commandant, i., 60 ; 
 court, ii., 17, 34 ; dominions, ii., 
 28; fleet, i., 293, 295, ii., n, 16, 
 17 ; forces, ii., 19 ; government, i., 
 59; inhabitants, i., 364, 365; in 
 terest, i., 413 ; king, i., 294, ii., 
 42 ; land forces, i., 296 ; language, 
 i., 368, ii., 14, 306 ; market, ii., 
 
 212, 348 ; measure, ii., 299 ; min 
 istry, ii., 299 ; mode of treating 
 with Indians, i., 312 ; nation, i., 
 
 294, ii., 34, 326 ; officer, i., 313, 
 314 ; oracle on government, ii., 
 367 , prisoners, i., 63 ; ship, i., 
 
 303, ii-, 57, 338 5 ships, ii., 338, 
 339, 349 I squadron, i., 296 ; towns, 
 i., 312 ; village, i., 313 ; war, i., 
 280 ; West Indiaman, i., 233 ; 
 woollens, ii., 299 
 
 French, Daniel, i., 113 ; Mr., ii., 214 
 Frenchman, Frenchmen, ii., 438 
 French Revolution, ii., 335 
 French, the, i., 60, 304, 386 ; ii.. 300, 
 
 333 
 
 Frith s " Recorders of London," i., 47 
 Fry, Col. Joshua, i., 59, 63 
 
Fry and Jefferson s Map of Virginia, 
 i., 23, 117 
 
 Gardoqui, Don r Spanish envoy, ii., 
 
 341 
 
 Garland, Hugh A., ii., 293 
 Garland s " Life of John Randolph," 
 
 i., xv., 274 ; ii., 291, 293, 295, 372 
 Garnett, James Mercer, i., xii., xiv., 
 
 375 
 
 Garrard, Colonel, ii., 56, 57 
 Gates, Gen. Horatio, i., 368, 369 ; 
 
 Sir Thomas, i., 394 
 General Court, of Virginia, i., 7, 8, 
 
 18, 44, 45, 125, 141, 220, 289, 290, 
 
 326, 352 ; ii., 343 
 George I., i., 33, 34, 47 
 George II., i., 37, 47, 78, 148, 327, 
 
 412, ii., 25, 26 
 George III., i., 96, 129, 137, 144, 
 
 150, 153, 154, 157, 174, 182, 184, 
 
 208, 300, 327, 447, ii., 2, 3, 26, 41 
 George, Prince, of Denmark, i., 44 
 Georgetown, D. C., i., 5, 55, 117, 190, 
 
 ii., 19, 300, 302, 311, 312, 329, 
 
 335, 336, 35i, 359, 36o 
 Georgia, i., xiv., 337, 408, ii., 104, 
 
 109, 115, 155, 161, 163, 174, 175, 
 
 177, 191, 285, 303, 407, 414, 430 
 Germaine, Sir John, i., 42 
 Germanna, Va., i., 31 
 Germans, i., 59, ii., 415 ; German 
 
 coachman, ii., 314, 315 
 Gerry, Elbridge, ii., 109, 134, 145, 
 
 166, 170, 172, 173, 176, 177, 180, 
 
 283, 353 
 
 Gibson, John, ii., 79 
 Giffard family, of England, i., 2 
 Gilbert, Raleigh, i., 394 
 Giles, John, i., 41 
 Gilman, Daniel C., i., xii. 
 Gilpen, George, i., 427, ii., 79 
 Gist, Christopher, i., 58, 59, 155 
 Glasgow, Scotland, i., 34-36 
 Glebes, i., 97, 127, 128, 344, ii., 198, 
 
 199 
 
 Goddard, William, i., 280 
 Gooch, Sir William, Gov. of Virginia, 
 
 i., 78, 377, 412, ii., 23, 25 
 Goode, G. Brown, i., 119 
 Goode s " Virginia Cousins," i., 2, 119 
 Goodrichs, the, i., 232, 233, 295 
 Goose Bay, i., 79 ; ii., 465, 466 
 Gorham, Nathaniel, ii., 144, 171, 353 
 Goths, i., 104, 399 
 Gouverneur, Mrs. S. L., i., xiii. 
 
 Gouverneur collection, i., xiii., ii., 70 
 Gowing, Thomas, i., 118, ii., 464 
 Graham, Elizabeth Barnes, nee Hooe, 
 m. 1st George Mason of " Lexing 
 ton," i., 103, 350; George, i., 103, 
 350; George Mason, i., 103 ; Jane, 
 nee Brent, i., 350 ; Richard, i., 103, 
 350 ; Robert, ii., 472 
 Granville, John, Lord Carteret, Earl 
 
 of, i., 408 
 
 Gratz, Simon, i., xiv. 
 Grayson, Rev. Spence, ii., 220 
 Grayson, William, supported Mason 
 and Henry in Va. Convention of 
 1788, i., vii. ; receives visit from 
 General Greene, ii., 63 ; a leader 
 of the Antifederalists in Congress, 
 184 ; spoken of disparagingly in 
 letter of Cyrus Griffen, 210 ; de 
 scribed in admiring terms by Wil 
 liam Wirt, 219 ; classed among 
 leaders of the opposition in Va. 
 Convention, 219 ; eulogized by 
 Flanders, 220 ; home at Dumfries, 
 220 ; related to James Monroe, 
 220 ; note respecting him by his 
 great-grandson, William Grayson 
 Mann, 220 ; studied law at the 
 Inner Temple, 220 ; his chambers 
 there identified by his descendant, 
 220 ; his papers and speeches lost, 
 220 ; family mansion destroyed by 
 fire, 220 ; writes to Genl. John 
 Lamb from Va. Convention, 233 ; 
 extract from his letter given, 234 ; 
 speaks in the Convention, 241 ; 
 objects to great powers given execu 
 tive, inequality of representation, 
 and taxing power of Congress, 241 ; 
 foretells oppression of one section 
 of the Union by the other, 241 ; 
 speaks on question of Mississippi 
 navigation, 242 ; urges objections 
 to certain sections of Art. L, 245 ; 
 discusses subject of the militia, 247 ; 
 speaks after Mason and Henry, 
 249 ; speaks after Monroe, 254 ; 
 speech on the treaty-making power, 
 256 ; makes an able speech on the 
 2ist June, 264 ; speaks again on 
 the 23d, 266 ; discusses clause re 
 lating to new States and foretells 
 difficulty there would be in admit 
 ting new Southern States, 267 ; his 
 last speech in Convention, 270 ; on 
 committee to prepare amendments, 
 271 ; appointed to U. S. Senate, 
 303, 308 ; pledged to work for 
 
490 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 amendments to Constitution, 308 ; 
 writes Patrick Henry of the result 
 of "playing the after-game," 318 ; 
 "construction" to give further 
 energy to the Constitution, 319 ; 
 his counsels bear fruit in Va. 
 Senate, 324 ; dies at Dumfries, 
 1790, 324 ; is buried at " Belle 
 Air," seat of his brother, Rev. 
 Spence Grayson, 220 
 Great Britain, i., v., 41, 52, 129, 138, 
 140, 142, 147, 149, 150, 154, 157, 
 172, 174, 190, 192, 194, 207, 223, 
 227, 245, 261, 264, 294, 296, 299, 
 300-302, 320-322, 324, 365, 382- 
 385, 387-391, 396, 399. 4H, 4i8- 
 426, 453, ii., 3-5, 16-18, 27, 29, 
 39, 43, 45, 46, 51, 53, 57, 58, 68- 
 
 7O, I2O, I3O, 149, 152, 158, 194, 
 195, 2O5, 236, 237, 247, 282, 296, 
 
 298, 300, 364, 370, 397, 402, 409, 
 
 416, 419, 425 
 
 Grecian Republics, ii., 114 
 Greece, i., 386, ii., 160 
 Greeks, i., 398 
 Green, Rev. Charles, i., 57, 82, 84 ; 
 
 William, ii., 317 ; overseer, 348 
 Greene, George Washington, ii., 64 ; 
 
 Gen. Nathaniel, i., 369, 370, ii., 
 
 15, 63 
 Greene s " Life of Gen. Nathaniel 
 
 Greene," ii., 64 
 Greenough, Charles P., i., xiv. 
 Greenwich, East, manor of, i., 395, 
 
 396, 401, 409, 416 
 Gregg, John, i., 49 
 Gregory, Capt., ii., 299, 300, 303 
 Grenville, George, i., 386 
 Griff en, Cyrus, i., 368, ii., 209 
 Grigsby, Hugh Blair, i., xv., 157, 
 
 227, 247, 248, 262, 265, ii., 221, 
 
 223, 224, 226, 236, 240, 257, 258, 
 
 262, 263, 273, 286, 370 
 Grigsby s " History of the Virginia 
 
 Federal Convention," i., 248, ii., 
 
 79, 221-224, 226, 232, 236, 242, 
 
 258, 262, 263, 267, 273, 286, 287, 
 
 371 ; " Virginia Convention of 
 
 1776," i., xv., 157, 227, 248, 249, 
 
 262, 265 
 
 Grymes, Ann Eilbeck, nee Mason, i. , 92 
 Grymes family, i., 92 
 Guadaloupe, W. I., i., 399 
 Guildhall, London, i., 47 
 Gunnell, Henry, i., 427 
 Gunston Bible, entry in, ii., 365 
 Gunston Cove. See Pohick Bay. 
 Gwynn s Island, i., 232, 233 
 
 II 
 
 Haldimand collection, i., 311 
 
 Hale, John M., i., xiv, 
 
 Halifax County, Va., i., 67 
 
 Halifax, N. S., i., 217, 219, 279, 294 
 
 Hallowing s Point, ii., 460 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander, ii., 119, 170, 
 171, 180, 230, 233, 260, 264, 273, 
 295,, 330, 36i, 364, 374; Henry, 
 British Gov. of Detroit, i., 311- 
 313 ; John C., ii., 233, 265 
 
 Hamilton s " Works of Alexander 
 Hamilton," ii., 233, 265 
 
 Hampshire County, Va. , i., 60, 135, 
 154, ii., 467 
 
 Hampton Roads, i., 232 
 
 Hampton, Va., i., 59, 125, 212, 221 
 
 Hancock, John, ii., 377 
 
 Hanham, Sir Thomas, i., 394 
 
 Hanover County, Va., ii., 266, 442 
 
 Hardy, Samuel, ii. , 57 
 
 Harney, John, ii., 24 
 
 Harper, Captain, i., 186, 295 ; John, 
 i-, 23, 373 , Mr., i., 185, 186 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin, of "Berkeley" 
 (5th), supported Mason and Henry 
 in the Virginia Convention, 1788, 
 i. , vii.; delegate to the Continental 
 Congress, 179 ; representative of 
 the planter class in Va., 179 ; 
 reason assigned for his appoint 
 ment as given by Edmund Ran 
 dolph, 179 ; visits " Mount Ver- 
 non," and promises to spend a day 
 or two at "Gunston Hall," 184; 
 in the Va. Convention, 1775, 199 ; 
 leaves Congress to attend the July 
 Convention, 204 ; appointed for 
 the following year, 204 ; elected 
 to Congress the third time, 282 ; 
 conversation with George Mason on 
 subject of faction against Washing 
 ton, ii., 475 ; Washington writes to 
 him in 1778, lamenting his retire 
 ment from Congress, i., 319 ; signs a 
 commission as Governor of Virginia 
 against which justices of Fairfax 
 protest, ii., 79; in Va. Assembly 
 1787 and speaks in debate on sub 
 ject of calling a Convention, 191 ; 
 appointed tiustee of Randolph 
 Academy, 201 ; one of the opposi 
 tion leaders in the Va. Convention, 
 219 ; chairman of Committee on 
 Privileges and Elections, 221, 390 ; 
 objects to Lee s motion to begin 
 the debate on the 3d, before arrival 
 
INDEX. 
 
 491 
 
 of all the members, 225 ; makes a i 
 speech on the loth June, urging ! 
 previous amendments to the Con 
 stitution, 232 ; [speaks again on t 
 the 25thJ ; sketch of him by E. 
 Randolph, as one of the leading 
 men in Va. in 1774, 373 
 Harrison, Benjamin, of "Berkeley" 
 (3d), i., 43 ; Burr, i., 17, 27 ; Col. 
 Burr, ii., 75 ; Richard, i., 303-305, 
 368, ii., i ; Robert, i., 418, 427 ; 
 Robert Hanson, i., 427 ; Thomas, 
 
 i-, 39 2 
 
 Harrison County, Va., ii., 201 
 Hartford Convention, i., viii. 
 Hartshorn, William, i., 189, 427 
 Harvard University, i., xiv., 15, 66, 
 
 301 
 Harvie, John, i., 119, 282, ii., 338 
 
 339 
 
 Hastings, Warren, ii., 170 
 Haswell and Hunt, ii, 55 
 Havre-de-Grace, France, ii., 326 
 Hawkins, George Frazer, ii., 354, 
 
 355 
 
 Haxall family, ii., 340 
 
 Hay, Anthony, i., 136 
 
 Harden, Rev. Horace E., i., xii. 
 
 Haydn s " Book of Dignities," i., 40 
 
 Heath, Mrs., ii., 471 ; Thomas, ii., 
 471 
 
 Heedman, John, i., 375 
 
 Hedgman, Hannah, i., 80 ; John, i., j 
 88 ; Nathaniel, i., 23 ; Peter, i., 54 
 
 Hedges, Robert, i., 37 
 
 Hen, Robert, i., 10 
 
 Henderson, Alexander, i., 114, 147, 
 154, 165, 208 ; ii., 48, 72, 79, 81- 
 85, 330, 359, 38o, 382, 470; Rich 
 ard, i., 230, 231, 307, ii., 92 
 
 Hening s Statutes, i., 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, , 
 20, 39, 55, 72, 154, 256, 275, 338, I 
 343, 346, 356, ii., 200, 201, 345, | 
 347 
 
 Henkels, Stan. V., i., xiv. 
 
 Henrico County, Va., ii., 266, 442 
 
 Henry VII., reign of, ii., 154 
 
 Henry, James, i., 288, ii., 84 
 
 Henry, Patrick, leader of opposition 
 in Va. Convention, 1788, i., vii. ; 
 speech against Stamp Act, 123 ; 
 orator of the House, 124 ; leader in 
 Revolution, 138 ; signs non-impor- j 
 tation resolutions, 392 ; George I 
 Mason s high opinion of, 169, 170 ; 
 on Hanover Committee, 173 ; in 
 Continental Congress, 179 ; reso 
 lutions on arming militia, 183, 191 ; 
 
 command of 1st Va. Regiment, 203, 
 206 ; resigns seat in Congress, 204 ; 
 in Va. Convention, 1776, and advo 
 cates independence, 222; "pillar 
 of tire " before the Convention, 
 223 ; one of " bolder spirits," 226 ; 
 on committee to prepare Dec. of 
 Rights and Constitution, 228 ; 
 Governor of Va., 231 ; prominent 
 in Convention, 234 ; consulted by 
 E. Randolph, 235 ; eloquence, 235 ; 
 discussion of claim made for him 
 by E. R. and others, 236, 238, 241 ; 
 defeats article on bills of attainder, 
 241 ; his course in religious assess 
 ment controversy, 243, 244, ii., 73, 
 87, 90 ; story of dictatorship, i, 272 ; 
 Jefferson s comment on, 273 ; letter 
 from George Mason to, 280-282 ; 
 plans Illinois expedition, 290 ; lays 
 letter of Washington before the 
 House, 306 ; letter of G. k. Clark 
 to, 311 ; in Va. Assembly, 323 ; 
 on important committees, 323, 324 ; 
 opposes land companies, 328, 329 ; 
 elected to Congress, 335 ; in Assem 
 bly, on committees with G. Mason, 
 338, 339, 34 1 , 35 I opposes plan of 
 Congress, 353-355 ; " antifederal " 
 jealousy of, 355 ; letter from G. 
 Mason to, ii., 44-47 ; one of " com 
 manders in the House, 55 ; allusions 
 to, in letters of Madison, 71 ; de 
 clines appointment to Fed. Con 
 vention, 97 ; States-rights views, 
 98 ; debate on calling Convention 
 in Va., 190, 191 ; on committees in 
 Assembly, 193, 194, 196, 199, 200 ; 
 opposes payment British debts, 194, 
 198, 205 ; trustee of Academy, 201 ; 
 carries liquor bill, 193, 208 ; op 
 posed to Federal Constitution, 209, 
 210 ; abilities and influence, 210 ; 
 in Va. Convention, 219 ; eulogies 
 of Wirt, Flanders, Curtis, 219, 220 ; 
 one of four prominent figures, 221 ; 
 at same tavern with G. Mason, 221 ; 
 walk together to Convention, 221, 
 222, 232 ; opposes motion to report 
 speeches, 222 ; position as Anti- 
 federalist, 224 ; objects to phrase 
 in preamble, 225, 392 ; extract from 
 speech of, 228, 229 ; speaks again 
 and declares his ultimatum, 231 ; 
 concludes argument, 232 ; corre 
 sponds with New York Anti- 
 federalists, 233 ; interviews with 
 Col. Oswald, 233, 244 ; taxing 
 
492 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Henry, Patrick Continued. 
 
 power and Mississippi question, 
 242 ; tilt with E. Randolph and 
 danger of duel, 231, 232, 243 ; | 
 advocates discussing Constitution at j 
 large, 397 ; speaks on militia, 245- 
 247 ; Bill of Rights read to Con- I 
 vention, 249 ; speaks after G. 
 Mason, 249 ; after Tyler, 250 ; no 
 substitute in Constitution for Bill 
 of Rights, 251 ; speaks twice again, 
 251 ; speech on treaty-making 
 power, 256 ; replies to Madison, 
 262 ; to Marshall, 265 ; argument 
 with G. Nicholas, 266 ; speaks after 
 Grayson, 266 ; his sentiments re 
 ported in letter of Madison, 268 ; 
 brings forward amendments, 269 ; 
 last speech, 270 ; votes for previous 
 amendments, 270 ; on committee 
 to prepare subsequent amendments, 
 271 ; quotes Jefferson s views, 272, 
 273 ; what Madison says of, 273 ; 
 anecdote, 274; "ill-forebodings" 
 of "inspired orator" become 
 realities, 293 ; resolutions of As 
 sembly his work, 308 ; Grayson 
 writes to, 318, 341 ; member of 
 historic group, 369 ; Grigsby s esti 
 mate of, 370 ; oratory, 371, 376 ; 
 friendship for and tribute to George 
 Mason, 373 ; Edmund Randolph s 
 sketches of, 373, 374 ; statue de 
 creed to, 375 
 
 Henry, William Wirt, i., xii., xiv., 
 282 
 
 Hereford, James, i., 28, 374, 375 
 
 Hesselius, John, artist, i., 57 
 
 Heston, i., 47 
 
 Heth, Col. William, ii., 337 
 
 Hewit, Richard, i., 52, ii., 471 
 
 Hill, John, ii., 312 ; Luke, i., 45 ; 
 Col. Whitmel, ii., 302 
 
 Hillsborough, Wills Hill, Earl of 
 (Marquess of Downshire), i., 132- 
 136, 155 
 
 Hinsdale, B. A., i., 344, ii., 65 
 
 Hinsdale s " Old Northwest," i., 344, 
 ii., 65 
 
 Hixson, W. D., i., xiv. 
 
 Hodgson, Mr., ii., 350 
 
 Holland. See United Netherlands. 
 
 Holt, Sir John, i., 42, 43 
 
 Hooe, Abram Barnes, i., 92 ; Capt., 
 i., 27 ; John, ii., 344-346 ; Robert 
 Townsend, ii., 330 
 
 Hope, James Barren, ii., 161 
 
 Hopkins, John, ii., 338 
 
 Homer, Joseph, i., xiv., ii., n 
 
 House of Commons. See Parliament. 
 
 House of Lords. See Parliament. 
 
 Houseley, Capt., i. 21 
 
 Houseley s patent, i., 118 
 
 Howard, Lord Francis, of Effingham, 
 Gov. of Va., i., 17, 18 
 
 Howe, Fisher, Jr., i., xiv. ; Richard, 
 viscount, i., 285, 296 ; Gen. Sir 
 William, i., 216, 219, 279 
 
 Howe s " Historic Collections of Vir 
 ginia," i., 115, 263 
 
 Hughes, Messrs., i., 268 
 
 Huguenot, i., 31, 92 
 
 Hull, England, i., 281 
 
 Hunter, Col. John, i., 59, 62, 63 ; 
 Mr., i., 97; Hon. R. M. T., ii., 
 
 375 
 
 Hunter, Allison, and Company, ii., 63 
 Hunting Creek. See Creeks. 
 Hussey family, England, i., 3 
 Hyrne, Major, ii., 63 
 
 Illinois, accounts, ii., 202, 203 ; cam 
 paign, i., 290; country, i., 155. 
 311, 314, 345 ; county, i., 307, 308 
 
 Importation-rights, i., 4, 119, 393, 
 396, 397, 409, 415-418 
 
 Independent Companies, i., 181, 195, 
 196 
 
 India goods, i., 391 
 
 Indian, affairs, i., 15 ; deeds, i., 230, 
 231, 325, ii., 343; corn, ii., 300; 
 incursions, ii., 68, 201 ; servants, 
 i., 31 ; towns, i., 365 ; traders, ii., 
 343 ; treaties, ii., 343 ; tribes or 
 nations, i., 230, 231, 314, 321, 365, 
 413 ; war, i., 12 
 
 Indiana, i., 327, 328, ii., 341 
 
 Indiana claim, ii., 244, 342 ; purchase, 
 262, 440 
 
 Indiana Company. See Companies. 
 
 Indians, the, i., 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 21, 294; 
 305, 312, 324, 366, 412, ii., 375, 
 376 ; in the French war, i., 58, 59 ; 
 in the Revolution, i., 202, 313, 351, 
 on the Ohio, i., 58, 59 ; purchases 
 from, i., 261, 305, 308, 321, 326, 
 327, 342, 366, 411, 454, "., 26, 27, 
 51 
 
 Indians : Catawbas, i., 65; Cherokees, 
 i., 65-67, 188, 306 ; Chickasaws, 
 ii., 35 ; Delawares, i., 326, ii., 343 ; 
 Doegs, i. , ro, 1 1 , 100 ; Iriquois, Five 
 Nations, i., 36 ; Iriquois, Six Na 
 tions, i., 155, 188, 195, 324, 326, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 ii., 26, 27, 342, 343 ; Necostins, i., 
 5, 117 ; " Northern Confederacy 
 of," i., 1 80 ; Piscataway, i., 24-26 ; 
 Potomac, i., 6, 7, 9 ; Shawnese, 
 i., 73, 180, 326, ii., 27, 34, 343 ; 
 Susquehannocks, i., iu; Wabache 
 i., 362 
 
 Indies, or India, East, ii., 70 
 
 indies, West, i., 96, no, 192, 303, 
 425, ii., 17, 18, 67, 155 
 
 Innes, James, ii., 219, 270, 371 
 
 Instrument of Government, i., 263 
 
 Ipswich, England, i., 47 
 
 Iredell, James, ii., 183 
 
 Ireland, i., 172, 391, 396, 418, 424, i 
 
 ii., 154 
 
 Irish, hose, i., 391; smugglers, ii., 212 j 
 Irishmen, ii., 305 
 Irish Parliament, ii., 154 
 Islington, Eng., i., 42 
 Italy, i., 298, 315, 383, ii., 14 
 
 J 
 
 Jackson, William, ii., 103, 104, 118 
 
 Jacobite, i., 92 ; Jacobitism, i., 388 
 
 Jamaica, W. I., i., 95 
 
 fames I., i., 393, 396, 406, 415, 453 
 
 James II., i., 17, 407 
 
 James City County, Va., i., 23 
 
 James, Thomas, i., 373 
 
 Jamestown (James City), i., 13, 18, ! 
 22, 23, 27, 395 
 
 Jarratt, Rev. Devereux, i., 104 
 
 fay, John, ii., 229, 289 
 
 Jefferson County, Va., ii., 25 
 
 Jefferson MSS., i., xii., 171, ii., 365 
 
 Jefferson s " Notes on Virginia," i., 
 262, 277 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, author Declara 
 tion of Independence, i. , v. ; drafted 
 Kentucky Resolutions, vii. ; his 
 States-rights views endorsed by the 
 people, viii. ; ancestors of, i; guest j 
 at Gunston, 108 ; opinion of Patrick | 
 Henry, 123 ; law student, 124 ; in i 
 the Assembly, 137 ; his comment 
 on the Burgesses, 138 ; signs Non- 
 Importation Resolutions, 392; Albe- 
 marle Resolutions his work, 173 ; 
 their doctrine, 174 ; Potomac River 
 navigation, 190 ; note in his garden 
 book, 192 ; advocates arming the 
 colony, 199 ; takes his seat in Va. 
 Convention, 204 ; reappointed to 
 Congress, 204 ; urges George Mason 
 to fill Eland s place, 204, 206 ; refer 
 ence to Mason in his memoirs, 226 ; 
 
 again elected to Congress, 230 ; 
 opposed to permanent Constitution 
 for Virginia, 235 ; mistake as to 
 Resolves of 1765, 236 ; on com 
 mittee to revise the laws, 242 ; allu 
 sion to Mason in letter to Assembly, 
 242 ; Grigsby and Henry Lee on 
 Jefferson, 248, 249 ; contrast drawn 
 between Jefferson and Mason, 249 ; 
 Jefferson s indebtedness to Mason s 
 Dec. of Rights, 250 ; his letter to 
 Judge Woodward, 252 ; draft of a 
 constitution, 253 ; his preamble 
 adopted by Va. Convention, 253 ; 
 original draft extant, 253 ; writes of 
 Mason s constitution, 253 ; Wythe s 
 account of the matter, 257 ; his 
 strictures on Va. Constitution in 
 the " Notes on Virga.," 262 ; 
 Girardin s " Hist, of Va." prepared 
 under his supervision, 264 ; in the 
 Assembly, 269 ; what he says of a 
 dictatorship, 272 ; too much credit 
 given him over his colleagues, 272 ; 
 his tribute to G. Mason, 272, 273 ; 
 bills attributed to him, 273, 274 ; 
 work on revision of the laws, 275, 
 277 ; friendship for R. H. Lee, 285; 
 Randall s claim for him exceeds 
 the fact, 285 ; on committees with 
 G. Mason, 287-289 ; letter signed 
 by him in regard to G. R. Clark, 
 290 ; in Assembly again, 308 ; bills 
 in which he was interested, 308, 
 309 ; reference to letter from G. R. 
 Clark to, 311 ; Washington wishes 
 to see him again in Congress, 319 ; 
 on Assembly committees, 323 ; 
 elected Governor, 323 ; bill pre 
 pared by, 324 ; letter to, as Gov. of 
 Va. , from G. Mason, ii., 6-9 ; writ 
 ten to by Col. H. Lee, 9 ; written 
 to by Madison, 21 ; on committee 
 to " state Virginia s title " to western 
 lands, 22 ; his wife s illness, 22 ; 
 writes Madison in regard to meas 
 ures of Assembly, 54 ; elected to 
 Congress, 57 ; writes Madison to 
 know sentiments of G. Mason, 66 ; 
 written to by Madison on this sub 
 ject, 65, 66 ; written to by Joseph 
 Jones, 66 ; urges changes in Va. 
 Constitution, 71 ; written to by 
 John Page in relation to religious 
 assessment, 90 ; written to by 
 Madison in regard to paper money, 
 96 ; allusion to his remark on ele 
 ment of Mason s speeches, 124 ; 
 
494 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas Continued. 
 
 his account of defeat by Mason of 
 device of G. Morris, 178 ; written j 
 to by Madison, 198, 208, 209 ; not ; 
 in Convention, 1788, 219 ; written 
 to by Madison in regard to Conven 
 tion, 272 ; he had desired bill of 
 rights and amendments, 272 ; his 
 suggestion to secure them, 272 ; its 
 impracticability pointed out, 272, 
 273 ; is considered an Antifederalist, 
 272 ; alludes to Mason s wisdom in 
 connection with commercial laws, 
 285 ; despairs of the country s 
 future, 294 ; anticipates civil war, 
 
 294 ; in last extremity would advo 
 cate secession of Southern States, 
 
 295 ; community independence 
 promulgated in his " Declaration," 
 295 ; solicited by Mason to encour 
 age French trade, 299, 300 ; re 
 turns from France, 324 ; offered 
 passage home on one of John 
 Mason s ships, 324 ; public recep 
 tion in Alexandria, 324 ; letter to 
 George Mason from, 328, 329 ; 
 visits " Mount Vernon," and prob 
 ably " Gunston Hall," 329; as 
 sumption of State debts, reference 
 to, 329, 330 ; letter to Mason, 332, 
 333 objections to Fed. administra 
 tion given in letter to Washington, 
 361, 362 ; views of George Mason 
 carried out by, 362 ; founder of 
 Democratic party, 362 ; last visit to 
 Mason, 363, 364 ; friendship and 
 admiration for the latter, 369, 370 ; 
 disciple of G. Mason in States- 
 rights doctrine, 370 ; depicted by 
 E. Randolph, 373, 374 ; statue at 
 Richmond, 375 
 
 Jeffries, Sir George, ii., 373 
 
 Jenifer, Daniel, of St. Thomas, i., 
 167, ii., 81, 82, 382, 475 
 
 Jennings, Daniel, ii., 464 
 
 Jett, Col. Thomas, i., 304 
 
 Johns, Captain, i., 303 
 
 Johns Hopkins University, i., xiii. 
 
 "Johns Hopkins University Studies," 
 i., 262, 263, ii., 293 
 
 Johnson, Ann Eilbeck, ne e Mason, i., 
 81, 297, ii., 351, 458, 459; Ann 
 Eliza, nee Washington, i., 117 ; 
 Mr., ii., 42, 354 ; Thomas, i., 74, 
 75 ; Thomas, Governor of Mary 
 land, i., 188-190, 321, ii., 81 ; Rev. 
 William P. C., i., 117 ; William 
 Samuel, ii., 127, 170, 304 
 
 Johnston, Alexander, ii., 127, 128 ; 
 General, i., 62; George, i., 236; 
 Peter, i., 392; Sir William (John 
 son or Johnston), i., 155, 325, ii., 
 26, 342 
 
 Johnston s "Memorials of Old Vir 
 ginia Clerks," i., 8 
 
 Jones, Charles C., i., xiv. ; Gabriel, 
 i., 335 ; Rev. Hugh, i., 30 ; Joseph, 
 i., 199, 282, 289, 359, 367, 368, ii., 
 i, 22, 54, 65, 66, 83 ; Walter, ii., 
 93 
 
 Jones "Present State of Virginia," 
 i., 30 
 
 Joyner, Mrs. John R., ne e Lee, i., xiv. 
 
 Junius Americamts, i., 152 
 
 Junius, Letters of, i., 148, 152 
 
 Justices of the Peace, i., 8, 20, 24, 30, 
 49, 74, 75, i2i, 124, 125, ii., 79, 80, 
 200, 309, 310, 330 
 
 Kask askias, i., 311-313, 362, 365, ii., 
 
 25 
 
 Keith, Sir William, ii., 409 
 Kennedy s " Life of William V7:rt," 
 
 "-, 371 
 
 Kent County, England, i., 395, 416 
 Kentucky, i., viii., xiv., 103, 119, 
 
 290, 310, 314, 327, 339, ii., 25, 34, 
 
 65, 227, 242, 309, 344, 368, 454, 
 
 455 
 
 Kentucky Historical Society, i., 311 
 Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 
 
 1799, i., vii. 
 
 Kentucky River, i., 214 
 King George County, Va., i., 38, ii., 
 
 57, 303, 346, 35i, 454, 455 
 King, Rufus, ii., 100, 107, 169, 170, 
 
 178, 364; William, i., 151. 
 King s Bridge, i., 295 
 Kirchwey, George W., i., xii. 
 Kirk, James, i., 427 
 " Knights of the Golden Horse 
 
 Shoe," i., 30, 31, 36 
 Knox, Henry, ii., 188 
 
 Lafayette, Gilbert Metier, Marquis 
 de, i., 315, 316, ii., 6, 10, 16, 19 
 
 Lake Ontario, ii., 27 
 
 Lamb, Gen. John, ii., 233-235, 278- 
 280 ; Mrs. Mary J., i., xv. 
 
 Lamb s " Homes of America," i., xv. 
 
 Lamb Papers, i., xiv., ii., 235 
 
 Lambeth, William, i., 373 
 
INDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 Land Companies, i., 328, 329, ii., 
 261, 262, 264, see Companies 
 
 Land Laws. See Laws 
 
 Land Office, i., 119, 289, 291, 307, 
 323, 334, 358 
 
 Langdon, John, ii. , 304 
 
 Langhorne, Richard, i., 40 
 
 Lansing, John, ii., 119, 120, 133 
 
 La Prairie du Rocher, i., 312 
 
 Law, common i., 276, 277 ; criminal, 
 i., 275-277; of descents, i., 274, 
 275, 277, 278 
 
 Lawrence, Col. (Henry Laurens?), ii., 
 15 ; Mr., i., 14 
 
 Laws, land, i., 274, 275-278, 289, 
 29 1 > 37 I revision of the, i., 242, 
 268, 274-277, 292 
 
 Lawson, Gen., ii., 205 ; Mr., i., 87 
 
 Layota, Col., i., 333 
 
 Leake, Isaac Q., ii., 234, 279, 280 
 
 Leake s " Life and Times of General 
 Lamb," ii., 234, 279, 280 
 
 Leare, John, i., 5 
 
 Lee, Anna Maria, nee Mason, ii., 374 ; 
 Arthur, i., 129, 136, 152, 264, 332, 
 ii., 22, 23, 39, 54, 57, 100, 103, 208, 
 242, 383 ; Cassius F., Jr., i., xii., 
 xiv.; Charles, i., 76; General 
 Charles, i., 191, 212 ; Elizabeth (?) 
 /< Aylett, i., 295, 296; Genl. 
 Fitzhugh, i., ix., ii., 374 ; Francis 
 Lightfoot, i., 72, 76, go, 174, 205, 
 206, 230, 278-280, 282, 295 ; Capt. 
 Hancock, i., 214, ii., 6 ; Hannah 
 Phillipa, nee Ludwell, i., 193, 195 ; 
 Henry, i., 253, ii., 374 ; Col. 
 Henry, of " Leesylvania," i., go, 
 222, 392, ii., 9 
 
 Lee, Genl. Henry, " Light Horse 
 Harry," "persuasive grace" of 
 oratory, i., vii.; homes of father 
 and uncle on the Potomac, 89, 
 90 ; visits at " Mount Vernon," 
 191 ; young cavalry officer, 222 ; 
 ordered with his company to Caro 
 lina, 233 ; capture of Paulus Hook j 
 by, 337 ; offers position in his com- ! 
 mand to William Mason, 370 ; let- ; 
 ter of George Mason in reply to, 
 37. 37 1 ! i n Congress, ii., 95 ; al 
 ludes to G. Mason s influence in j 
 letter to Washington, 95 ; in Va. 
 Convention of 1788, as Federalist, 
 391 ; speech of his answered by 
 Henry, 228 ; replies to the latter, 
 232 ; objects to " satirical allu 
 sions " in G. Mason s speeches, 
 240 ; discusses Miss, navigation, 
 
 242 ; gives opinions on organization 
 of militia, 247, 414 ; a second en 
 counter in debate with G. Mason, 
 250, 421 ; speaks on subject of ex 
 ecutive, 255 ; his position ques 
 tioned by Mason, 429 ; answers 
 George Mason, 268 ; influence in 
 House of Delegates, 324 ; father 
 of Henry, Genl. Robert Edward, 
 and Sidney Smith Lee, 374 
 
 Lee, John, i., 85 ; Capt. John, i., 159 ; 
 Lucinda (Mrs. John Dalrymple 
 Orr), i., 89 ; Ludwell, ii., 184, 187, 
 303 ; Mary Randolph, ne e Custis, 
 i., 89 ; Mildred, ne e Washington, 
 i., 89 ; Mr., i., 87 ; Col. Philip, i., 
 87 ; Philip Ludwell, i., 72, 76, 78 ; 
 Col. Richard (2d), i., 17, 19 ; Rich 
 ard (3d), i., 377 ; Richard, of " Lee 
 Hall," i., 89, 215, 233, 333 ; Rich 
 ard Bland, ii., 347, 455, 456 
 
 Lee, Richard Henry, mentioned in 
 letter of Lord Fairfax, i., 76 ; home 
 at "Chantilly," on the Potomac, 
 87 ; gay household there, 89 ; 
 daughters and son of, 89 ; famed for 
 his eloquence, 124 ; draws up West 
 moreland Resolutions, 124 ; writes 
 against Stamp Act, 129 ; in House 
 of Burgesses, 137 ; signs Non-Im 
 portation Resolutions, 392 ; letter 
 from G. Mason to, 144 ; extract of 
 letter from William Lee to, 152 ; 
 orders Lord Camden s portrait, 153 ; 
 prepares resolutions calling for a 
 Congress, 171 ; in Continental Con 
 gress, 171, 180 ; letter from G. 
 Mason to, 192 ; advocates arming 
 colony, 199 ; fakes his seat in Con 
 vention, 204 ; reappointed to Con 
 gress, 204 ; visits " Gunston Hall," 
 108, 210; extract of letter from Ro 
 bert Brent to, 222 ; from John Page 
 to, 224 ; from John A. Washington 
 to, 224; on committee to prepare pre 
 amble to resolution of John Adams, 
 224 ; urged by letters from Mason 
 and others to repair to Williams- 
 burg, 225 ; letter of G. Mason to, 
 226, 227 ; reappointed to Congress, 
 230 ; on committee to devise seal 
 for Va., 231, 264 ; letter from T. 
 L. Lee to, 240 ; had made draft of a 
 constitution, 256 ; in entire accord 
 with G. Mason, 257 ; induced J. 
 Adams to sketch draft of a constitu 
 tion, 257 ; loses his seat in Congress, 
 282 ; defends himself ably in Assem- 
 
49 6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lee, Richard Henry Continued. 
 bly, 283, 284 ; his cause espoused by 
 G. Mason, 284, 285 ; writes to Jef 
 ferson, 285 ; extract of letter from 
 Mann Page to, 286 ; on Committee 
 with G. Mason, 289 ; extract of 
 letter from J. A. Washington to, 
 292 ; letters of George Mason to, 
 293-296 ; resigns from Congress, 
 319 ; his disgust with that body, 
 319 ; letter from G. Mason to, 320- 
 322 ; letter to G. Mason from, 330- 
 333 ; in the Assembly, 350 ; sup 
 ports resolves of Congress with G. 
 Mason against Henry, 350, 353, 
 355 ; on important committees, 350, 
 358. 359 ! supposed author of ad 
 dress to Gov. Fauquier, in 1765, 
 381 ; paper of George Mason pre 
 served by, 414 ; one of the " great 
 commanders" of the House, ii., 
 55 ; opposes debtors bill, 55 ; visits 
 General Greene in Alexandria, 63 ; 
 reference to, in letter of Madison, 
 71 ; favors religious assessment, 90 ; 
 concurs with Mason and Henry on 
 States-rights, 98 ; declines seat in 
 Federal Convention, 104 ; letter to 
 G. Mason from, 105-107 ; a leader 
 of Anti federalists in Congress, 184 ; 
 letter to G. Mason from, 185, 1 86 ; 
 his amendments enclosed, 187 ; 
 reference to, by Washington, 187 ; 
 resemblance in sentiments of Lee 
 and Mason, 1 88 ; desired by Mason 
 as ally in Va. Convention, 208, 
 209 ; referred to by Cyrus Griffin, 
 209 ; letter to G. Mason from, 214- 
 217 ; reference to letter from S. 
 Adams, 217 ; a Virginia leader, 
 219 ; corresponds with New York 
 Antifederalists, 278, 279 ; appointed 
 to U. S. Senate, 303, 308 ; Theo- 
 doric Bland writes to, 309 ; brings 
 forward Va. amendments in Senate, 
 318, 319 ; tenth amendment as 
 moved by, 319 ; influence in Va. 
 Assembly, 324 ; intimate friendship 
 with George Mason, 369 ; sympathy 
 on public questions, 370 ; his ora 
 tory, 371, 376 ; sketch of him by 
 E. Randolph, 373, 374 ; his admira 
 tion for Washington expressed to 
 Mason, 474, 475 
 
 Lee, Richard Henry (2d), i., 320, ii., 
 244 ; Gen. Robert Edward, i., 87, 
 ii., 374; Capt. Sidney Smith, ii., 
 374; Col. Thomas, i., 37, 59, 377 ; 
 
 Thomas, i., 89 ; Thomas Ludwell, 
 
 i., 78, 88, 125, 174, 199, 205, 225, 
 
 226, 228, 234, 239, 240, 242, 255, 
 
 274, 275, 277, 288, 289, 291, 292, 
 
 436, 438, ii., 84, 373 ; William, I., 
 
 152, 153, 191-193, ii., 13 
 Lee family, i., 70, 72, 87 
 Lee Papers, i., xiv., 193, 222, 224, 
 
 225, 240, 280, 292, 295, 296, 301, 
 
 335, 414, ii., 22, 209, 309 
 Lee s "Campaign of 1781," i., 
 
 153 ; " Remarks on Jefferson," i., 
 
 249 
 Lee s " Letter of A Virginia Planter," 
 
 i. , 129 
 Lee s " Life of Arthur Lee," ii., 103, 
 
 244 ; " Life of Richard Henry Lee," 
 
 i., 286, 320, ii., 107, 217 
 Lee s "Memoirs of the War in the 
 
 Southern Department," i., 370 
 Lee s " Monitor s Letters," i., 129 
 Leesburg, Va. , i., 72 
 L Enfant, Pierre Charles, ii., 360 
 Leet, Mr., i., 214 
 Leffingwell, Prof. E. H., i., xiv. 
 Lemozin, Mr., i., 304 
 Le Neve s " Pedigree of Knights of 
 
 Queen Anne," i., 42 
 Leopold II., Emperor of Germany, 
 
 ii-, 357 
 
 Leslie, Charles, i., 151 
 
 Letter of Secretary Manning to Presi 
 dent Cleveland, ii., 287 
 
 Letters relating to the compact with 
 Maryland, ii., 379-382 
 
 Lewis, General Andrew, i., 65, 67, 
 180, ii., 375; Betty, ne e Washing 
 ton, ii., 67; Betty, see Carter; 
 Colonel, i., 135 ; Dangerfield, i., 
 92 ; Col. Fielding, ii., 67 ; Law 
 rence, of "Woodlawn," i., 92, ii., 
 81 ; Mary, i., 375 ; Thomas, i., 
 427 ; Col. Thomas, ii., 24 
 ! Lewis family, i., 92, ii., 473 
 1 Lexington, battle of, i., 191 
 
 " Life of Rev. Devereux Jarratt," i., 
 104 
 
 Limebourg, Capt., ii., 302 
 
 Lincoln County, Ky. , ii., 25 
 
 Lindsay, William, ii., 348 
 
 Little, James, ii., 212, 213 
 
 Livingston, Major, i., 135 
 
 Lloyd, Thomas, ii., 298 
 
 Locke, John, i., 239, 247, 249 
 
 Locke s " Essay on Government," i., 
 247 
 
 Logstown, i., 59 
 
 Log-Town, i., 100 
 
INDEX. 
 
 49; 
 
 Lomax, Elizabeth, nee "Wormeley, i., 
 90 ; John, i., 90 ; Mr., i., 215 
 
 Lomax family, i., 90 
 
 London, England, i., xii., xiii., 4, 32, 
 46, 47, 53, 55, 53, 62, 78, in, 115, 
 126, 129, 130, 132, 136, 151, 152, 
 156, 191, 237, 296, 297, 384, 395, 
 396, 402, 407, 410, ii., 63, 69, 70, 
 213, 230, 306, 324,^326, 357 
 
 Long Island, N. Y. , i., 296 
 
 Lord, John, i., 6, 7 
 
 Lords of Trade (Board of Trade), i., 
 32, 43-45, 156 
 
 Lossing, Benson J., i., xiv., 85, ii., 9 
 
 Lossing s " Mary and Martha Wash 
 ington," i., 213, ii., 67 ; " Mount 
 Vernon and its Associations," i., 
 213 
 
 Lottery, lotteries, i., 294, 295, 402, 
 ii., 76 
 
 Loudon County, Va., i., xii., 21, 46, 
 51, 72, 76, 80, 128, 153, 154, 186, 
 315, ii., 19, 20, 56, 60, 75-79, 211, 
 303, 346, 347, 368, 454-456 
 
 Louis XV., i., 413 
 
 Louis XVI., i., 294, ii., 42 
 
 Louisiana, ii., 289 
 
 Louisville, Ky., i., 290, 311 
 
 Low Countries. See United Nether 
 lands. 
 
 Lowndes, Elizabeth, nee Tasker, ii., 
 340 
 
 Loycante, Monsieur, i., 289 
 
 Luard s " Graduati Cantabrigenses," 
 i., 40 
 
 Ludwell, Col. Philip (ist), i., 193 ; 
 Col. Philip (2cl), i., 32 
 
 Luke, George, i., 18, 19 
 
 Lunsford, Catherine (Mrs. Worme 
 ley), i., 90 ; Sir Thomas, i., 5, 90 
 
 Lyles, Colonel, ii., 355 
 
 Madison, James, called "father of 
 the [Federal] Constitution," i., vi. ; 
 his logic, vii. ; drafts Virginia Reso 
 lutions, vii. ; his opinions endorsed 
 by people who elect him President, 
 viii. ; ancestors of, i ; in the Va. 
 Convention of 1776, 228 ; on com 
 mittee to prepare Dec. of Rights 
 and Constitution, 228 ; referred to 
 by E. Randolph, 234 ; amendment 
 to article in Declaration, on re 
 ligion, 241 ; writes of authorship of 
 Constitution to Judge Woodward, 
 252, 253 ; letter to G. Mason s 
 Vol II- 3 2 
 
 grandson, 234, 254, 255 ; his mem 
 ory at fault, 255 ; explanation of 
 his error, 256 J draft of Constitution 
 among his papers, 258 ; in Va. 
 Assembly, 269 ; on committee con 
 cerning religion, 269 ; associated 
 with G. Mason, Wythe, Jefferson, 
 272 ; references to letters of Joseph 
 Jones to, ii., I ; indignation at 
 course of Congress concerning land 
 companies, 21 ; writes for docu 
 ments in support of Virginia s title, 
 22 ; interested in Federal iinpost, 
 54 J writes Jefferson of visit to 
 " Gunston Hall," 65, 66; urges 
 changes in Va. Constitution, 71 ; 
 one of commission to settle com 
 pact with Maryland, 72 ; interested 
 in payment of British debts, 72 ; 
 letter from G. Mason to, 83-86 ; 
 defeats Assessment Bill, 73, 87 ; 
 author of "Remonstrance," i., 
 243, ii., 87 ; visits " Mount Ver 
 non," 91 ; letter from G. Mason 
 to, 92 ; delegate to Annapolis 
 Convention, 93 ; allusions to the 
 latter, 94 ; delegate to Federal 
 Convention, 97 ; writes Jefferson 
 on this subject, 98 ; in the Fed. 
 Convention, 100 ; tribute of Flan 
 ders to, 100 ; advocates election of 
 lower house of Congress by the 
 people, 109, 1 1 6 ; motion as to 
 payment of members by general 
 government, 118 | motion as to 
 ineligibility of Senators to office, 
 125 ; change of views as to equality 
 of votes in Senate, 127 ; on grand 
 committee to fix ratio of represen 
 tation, 134 ; motion of his lost, 
 135 ; moves appointment of judi 
 ciary by executive, 142, 143 ; op 
 poses mutual negative, 148 ; op 
 poses originating of money bills in 
 House, 150 ; makes motion approved 
 of by Mason and Randolph, 151, 
 152 ; views as to citizenship of 
 foreigners, 152 ; motion to add to 
 powers of general government, 157 ; 
 votes to give power to tax exports, 
 1 60 ; on grand committee to settle 
 this question, navigation laws, and 
 slave trade, 162 ; amends, with 
 Mason, oath to be taken by execu 
 tive, 164 ; would make restrictions 
 on power of States, 164, 165 ; joins 
 Mason in defending rights of new 
 States, 166 ; approves Mason s 
 
498 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Madison, James Confirmed. 
 
 motion for executive council, 170 ; 
 on committee to revise the style of 
 Constitution, 170 ; amends im 
 peachment clause, 170 ; opposes 
 Mason and Randolph on veto 
 question, 171 ; votes against Bill 
 of Rights, 172 ; seconds motion of 
 Mason advantageous to staple 
 States, 172 ; proposes an additional 
 power to give Congress, 173 ; joins 
 Mason in favor of clause objecting 
 to standing armies, 174 ; would 
 give Senate share in the pardoning 
 power, 175 ; extract from letter of 
 E. Randolph to, 181 ; replies to 
 Mason s " Objections to the Con 
 stitution," in letter to Washington, 
 183 ; extract from letter of Wash 
 ington to, 187 | writes Washington 
 as to views of Mason and Henry, 
 189; fears Mason s influence against 
 Constitution, 189 ; writes papers of 
 Federalist, 189, 260 ; extract from 
 letter to Jefferson, 208 ; urged by 
 Washington to attend Va. Conven 
 tion, 208 ; writes Jefferson on sen 
 timent of the people, 209 ; allusion 
 to Mason, 210 ; in the Convention, 
 219 ; one of the younger leaders, 
 219 ; ranged among the Federalists, 
 219 ; conspicuous in Convention 
 forty years later, 221 ; agrees with 
 Mason on plan of discussion, 224, 
 391 J speaks briefly in answer to 
 Mason, 226 ; writes Washington 
 account of proceedings, 227 ; his 
 mistaken view of the future work 
 ings of the Constitution, 230 ; makes 
 opening speech, 235, 236, 397 ; 
 writes Hamilton of Col. Oswald s 
 mission, 233 ; speaks after Pendle- 
 ton, 242 ; writes Washington of 
 progress of affairs, 244 ; replies to 
 objections of Antifederalists, 245 ; 
 discusses question of militia, 245 ; 
 answers Patrick Henry, 246 ; an 
 swers Mason, 247 ; justifies the 
 "sweeping clause," 248 ; discusses 
 clause relating to importation of 
 slaves, 250 ; approves of clause on 
 publication of treasury accounts, 
 250, 421 ; speaks after Henry, 251 ; 
 is answered by Mason, 251, 422 ; 
 makes a rejoinder, 252 ; Mason 
 replies to, 252, 424, 428, 429 ; dif 
 fers with Mason about pardoning 
 power, 256 ; speaks on treaty-mak 
 
 ing power, 257 ; calls on Mason 
 for an explanation, 260, 433 ; 
 displays sensitiveness to Mason s 
 reflections, 262 ; speaks on the 
 judiciary, 262 ; writes to Hamilton, 
 264, 265 ; speaks again on judiciary, 
 266 ; answered by Mason, 266, 442 ; 
 writes Washington of Mason and 
 Henry, 268 ; replies to Grayson, 
 270 ; on committee to prepare form 
 of ratification, 271 ; on committee 
 to prepare amendments, 271 ; 
 writes Jefferson of political situa 
 tion, 272 ; his amendments dra\\n 
 up in Congress based on George 
 Mason s " Objections," 281 ; his 
 fear that young men would shun 
 Congress, 288 ; his unwisdom con 
 trasted with Mason s sagacity, 293 ; 
 lives to see his error, 294 ; opposes 
 Monroe in Congressional district, 
 304 ; visits " Mount Vernon " and 
 probably " Gunston Hall," 329 ; 
 expresses his esteem for Mason to 
 Jefferson, 333 ; acknowledges later, 
 superiority of Mason s political sys 
 tem, 334, 371 ; his opinimi of 
 Mason s talents, 369, 371, 372 
 Madison MSS., i., xii., 368, ii., 5, 
 
 85, 92, 93 
 
 " Madison Papers," ii., 22, 66, 108 
 112, 116-118, 122-125, I2 7> I2 > 
 133-176 
 
 "Madison," Williams "Oration on 
 death of," ii., 87 
 
 Madison, "Writings" of, i., 254, ii., 
 71, 94, 96, 193, 198, 208-210, 244, 
 268, 272 
 
 Madrid, Spain, i., 368 
 
 Magazines : American Historical 
 Record, ii., 9 ; American Museum , 
 ii., 183 ; American Turf Register, 
 i, loo, 104, 105 ; Appletoris 
 Journal, i., xv., 107 ; Atlantic 
 Monthly, ii., 292; De Bows Re 
 view, i., 16, 91 ; Gentleman s 
 Magazine, ii., 365, 366 ; Historical 
 Magazine, i., 12 ; Magazine of 
 American History, i., xv., 45, 76, 
 ii., 211, 284, 372; New England 
 Historical and Genealogical Regis 
 ter, \., 266 ; New Princeton Review, 
 ii., 128 ; North American Review, 
 ii-, 377 5 Notes and Queries (Eng 
 land), i., 3 ; Pennsylvania Maga 
 zine of History and Biography, i. , 
 xv. ; Potter s American Monthly, i., 
 85 ; Southern Bivouac, i., xv., ii., 
 
INDEX. 
 
 499 
 
 288 ; Southern Literary Messenger, 
 i., 94, 222, 224, 225, 240, 280, 292, 
 295, 335, 381, ii., 22, 274, 309 ; 
 The Home-Maker, i. , xv. 
 Magna Charta, i., 125, 246-249 
 Mainwaring, Rev. Edward (?), i., 151 
 Manchester, Va , i., xii., ii., 76 
 Mann, William Grayson, ii., 220 
 Mansfield, William Murray, Earl of, 
 
 i., 152, 321 
 
 MS. Letters, i., 126, 132, 135, 147, 
 153, 156, 192, 195, 216, 227, 243, 
 256, 279, 282, 283, 292, 303, 305, 
 ii., 9, n, 15, 18, 21, 38, 42, 47, 
 63, 64, 87, 89, 97, 98, 103, 212, 
 214, 312, 327, 354, 356, 373 
 Marchgay, Bennett, ii., 466 
 Marchmont, Hugh Home, 3d Earl 
 
 of, i., 152 
 
 Markinfield family, England, i., 39 
 Marlboro Neck. See Potomac Neck. 
 Marlborough, Va., i., 20, 28, 38 
 Marriage articles, i., 348 
 Marseilles, France, i., 320, ii., 328, 
 
 350 
 
 Marshall, John, "wisdom" of, i., 
 vii. ; in Virginia Assembly, ii., 
 191 ; speaks in debate on subject 
 of a Convention, 191 ; on commit 
 tee to prepare bill for payment of 
 British debts, 195 ; one of younger 
 leaders in Convention of 1788, 219 ; 
 sides with the Federalists, 219 ; 
 conspicuous in Convention of 1829- 
 30, 221 ; speaks after Monroe, 232 ; 
 discusses subject of militia, 247 ; 
 makes speech on the judiciary, 263, 
 
 264 ; his reply to an objection o l 
 Mason, 264 ; statement of his con 
 cerning trial by jury questioned by 
 Henry, 265 ; maintains his point, 
 
 265 ; is answered by Henry, 265 ; 
 votes for the Constitution, 270 ; on 
 committee to prepare form of 
 ratification, 271 ; on committee to 
 prepare amendments, 271 ; men 
 tioned in letter of Mason as an 
 intimate friend, 338 ; married 
 daughter of Jacqueline Ambler, 338 ; 
 Mason s able antagonist in Conven 
 tion, 339 ; his course as Chief Jus 
 tice had effects to be deplored, 339 
 
 Marshall, Mary Willis, ne e Ambler, 
 
 ii., 338 
 
 , Martin, Col. Denny, i., 87 ; Luther, 
 ii., 142, 176, 177, 355, 356 ; Major 
 Josiah, Governor of North Caro 
 lina, i., 136, 194 
 
 Martinico, Martinique, \V. I., i., 303, 
 304, 368, 399, ii., i 
 
 Maryland, i., xi., xiv., 3, 5, 10, 12, 
 17, 21, 24, 26, 29, 37-39, 49, 50, 
 53, 55, 56, 67, 79, 81, 90, 92-94, 97, 
 101, 104, 117, 126, 132, 145, i4(\ 
 151, 153, 161, 164, 183-185, 187 
 190, 192, 214, 217, 219, 261, 268, 
 271, 281, 287, 288, 307, 321-323, 
 332, 350, 364, 368, 373, 374, 377, 
 401, 407, 412, 428, 453, ii., 2, 10, 
 n, 13, 32, 68, 72-74, 76, 8r, 83-86, 
 91-93, 98, 99, 107, 161, 174, 175, 
 186, 211, 214, 215, 237-239, 261, 
 281, 303, 314, 344, 351, 356, 360, 
 379-382, 402, 405, 437, 441, 455, 
 457, 462, 464-468, 473, 475 
 
 Maryland Assembly, i., 12, 188, 190, 
 321-323, 367, 377, ii., 345; archives, 
 i.,17; charter, i., 407 ; committees, 
 i., 219 ; constitution, i., 377 ; Con 
 vention, i., 182, 207, 377 ; Council, 
 i-, 17, 377, ii., 345, 346 ; Council of 
 Safety, i., 214 ; Declaration (upon 
 the subject of Confederation), i., 
 321, 322 ; militia, i., 12, 183 ; Pro 
 vincial Committee, i., 183 
 
 Marylanders, i., 12, 183, 187, 189, ii., 
 86 
 
 Maryland Historical Society, i., 17, 
 126 
 
 Maryland Historical Society Library, 
 i., xiii. 
 
 Mason, Abraham Barnes Thomson, 
 ii., 76 
 
 Mason, Anne, ne e Eilbeck, marriage 
 at sixteen, i., 56 ; beauty and amia 
 bility, 57 ; her portrait painted, 57 ; 
 children, 58, 159 ; her home life, 
 160 ; room described, 160 ; last ill 
 ness, 160, 161 ; parting words to 
 her son, 161 ; funeral, 162 ; her 
 character and appearance described 
 by her husband, 162, 163 ; her 
 tomb and epitaph_, 164 ; verses in 
 her memory, 164 ; funeral sermon 
 preached, 162, 166 ; diamond ring 
 bequeathed her in Mrs. Chapman s 
 will, ii., ii 
 
 Mason, Ann, ne e Thomson, daughter 
 of Attorney-General Thomson, i., 
 36, 44 ; born in England, probably 
 at " Hollin Hall," Yorkshire, 44; 
 marries, in 1721, Col. George 
 Mason, 36 ; account of children, 
 39 ; is made a widow, 39 ; said to be 
 great niece of Sir William Temple ; 
 favorite with her mother s uncle, 
 
500 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 46 ; preserves a gift from him, 
 46 ; guardian of her three children, 
 48; moves to " Chappawamsic," 
 48 ; administers on the estate of 
 her husband, 49 ; her accounts as 
 guardian, 50 ; leases Occoquan 
 plantation during her son s minori 
 ty 5> 5 1 character and abilities, 
 
 51 ; invests in land for her younger 
 children, 51, probable influence in 
 forming her son s character, 52 ; 
 prudence and business talents, 51, 
 
 52 ; death of her uncle, 47, 55 ; his 
 sole heir, 47, 55 ; letters to her 
 cousin and to merchants in London, 
 55 ; death in 1762, 79 ; Rev. Mr. 
 Moncure s tribute to her, 79 ; will 
 of, 79-81; personal estate appraised, 
 8 1 ; friend and correspondent of 
 Richard Ambler, 55, ii., 340 
 
 Mason, Ann, Mrs. Thos. Fitzhugh, 
 see Fitzhugh ; Ann Eilbeck, Mrs. 
 Rinaldo Johnson, sec Johnson ; Ann 
 French, i., 376 ; Ann Thomson, 
 Mrs. Richard McCarty Chichester, 
 see Chichester ; Anna Maria, Mrs. 
 Sidney Smith Lee, see Lee ; Bever- 
 ley Randolph, ii., 473 ; Catherine, 
 Mrs. John Mercer, see Mercer ; 
 Captain, of the London Company 
 (George or John?), i., 4 ; Daniel, 
 i., 2 ; Eleanor Ann Clifton, ne e 
 Patton, i., 117 ; Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 William Roy, see Roy ; Elizabeth, 
 ne e Waugh, i., 29 ; Elizabeth, nee 
 Westwood, m. ist Dr. James West- 
 wood Wallace, ii., 75, 76 ; Eliza 
 beth Mary Ann Barnes, ne e Hooe, 
 ii., 74, 104, 130 ; Col. Enoch, i., 
 376, 377 J Francis, i., 29, 373~375 ; 
 French (ist), i., 29, 31, 67, 373 ; 
 French (2d), i., 67, 63, 70-72 
 
 Mason, Col. George (ist), born in 
 Staffordshire, i., 2 ; of the Warwick 
 shire Masons, 2 ; commands troop 
 of horse under Charles II., I ; 
 escapes from Worcester, i ; lands 
 at Norfolk, 2 ; patents land on the 
 Potomac, 4 ; has trouble with the 
 Indians, 6 ; fined by the Assembly, 
 7 ; buys " Accokeek" on Potomac 
 Neck, 7 ; is made justice of the 
 peace and sheriff ot Stafford County, 
 7 ; county named by him, 8 ; clerk 
 of the court of Stafford, 8 ; appoint 
 ed County Lieutenant, 9 ; negoti 
 ates with friendly Indians, 9 ; ex 
 pedition against hostile ones, 10-12 ; 
 
 member of the House of Burgesses, 
 12-15 ; in sympathy with Bacon, 
 14 ; account of, in tract of " T. M." 
 10-14 ; provides stores for garrison 
 house on the Potomac, 15; lawsuits 
 with Col. William Fitzhugh, 15 ; 
 provides boat for transporting sol 
 diers over Occoquan River, 16 ; his 
 death, 16 ; will destroyed, 16 ; tomb 
 in graveyard at "Accokeek" no 
 longer standing, 16, 22 ; his wife 
 Mary, probably Miss French, 5, 
 376 
 
 Mason, Col. George (2d), succeeds to 
 his father s offices and titles, i., 17 ; 
 opposed to the government of Lord 
 Howard, 17 ; befriends Captain 
 Brent, 17 ; associated with Rev. 
 John Waugh in Stafford Co. dis 
 turbances, 18, 19 ; a government 
 favorite on the accession of William 
 and Mary, 19 ; referred to in letters 
 of Col. Fitzhugh, 16, 18, 19 ; justice 
 of the peace, 20 ; ranger, 20 ; men 
 tioned in journal of Lieut. Strahan, 
 21 ; sells "Accokeek," 22; sheriff 
 of Stafford, 22 ; buys " Doeg s 
 Island," 23 ; appointed County 
 Lieutenant, 24 ; letters to Gov. 
 Nicholson concerning Indian out 
 rages, 24-27 ; device on seal of one 
 of his letters, 26 ; patents more 
 land, 28 ; his "home seat" on 
 Dogue or Mason s Neck, 28 ; a 
 feoffee of Marlborough, 28 , marries 
 three times, 29 ; account of his 
 family, 29, 30 ; his death, 29, 31 ; 
 bought land in Marlborough which 
 descended to his son, 38 ; his will, 
 29, 373-375 ; Mary Fowke his first 
 wife, grandmother of G. M. of 
 Gtmston, 376 ; is mentioned in will 
 of his grandson, ii., 463 
 
 Mason, Col. George (3d), patents land. 
 i.,28; is recommended in letter of his 
 father to Gov. Spotswood for office 
 of sheriff, 28 ; nominated by Stafford 
 justices, 28 ; crosses the mountains 
 with "Knights of the Golden Horse- 
 Shoe," 30, 31 ; executes his father s 
 will, 31 ; patents land with Col. 
 Robinson, 31 ; represents Stafford 
 Co. in House of Burgesses, 31, 37 ; 
 commissioned County Lieutenant, 
 33 ; commission preserved by his 
 descendants, 33, 34 ; compliment 
 paid him by Scotch merchants, 34 ; 
 given freedom of city of Glasgow, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 501 
 
 34) 35 ! burgess ticket and letter 
 from Provost, Bailies, and Council, 
 35 ; marriage to Ann Thomson, 36 ; 
 mentioned in treaty with the Five 
 Nations, 36 ; moves to plantation 
 in Maryland, 37 ; patents and buys 
 land, 37 ; leases Occoquan and lots 
 in Marlborough to John Mercer, 38; 
 ferry established across the Potomac 
 to his place in Maryland, 39 ; is. 
 drowned in the Potomac, 39 ; buried 
 at New Town," 39; finally in 
 terred at " Gunston." 39, ii., 469 ; 
 deeds and leases to and from, on 
 record in Prince William Co., i., 
 48 ; bequests made him in his 
 father s will, 374 ; mention of, in 
 his son s will, ii., 464, 465, 469 
 Mason, George, of Gunston, grasped 
 great problem of his time, i., v. ; 
 course in regard to Federal Consti 
 tution, vi., vii., ix. ; ancestry, 
 i, 2, 39 ; birthplace, 48 ; boyhood, 
 48-50 ; his guardians, 48, 52 ; edu 
 cation and early friends, 52-54 ; 
 marriage, 56 ; portrait painted, 57 ; 
 in Ohio Company, 58 ; patents 
 land, 60, 117, 154 ; letters to Wash 
 ington, 62, 64-71 ; in the Assembly, 
 73 ; trustee of Alexandria, 77 ; 
 death of his mother, 79 ; letter to 
 Mrs. Moncure on death of her 
 husband, 82, 83 ; early church asso 
 ciations, 84 ; vestryman, 84 ; god 
 father, 86 ; neighbors and relatives, 
 87-93, 105, 106 ; his home and 
 plantation life at " Gunston Hall," 
 94-102 ; hunting in Dogue s Neck, 
 104, 105, 121 ; on church-build 
 ing committee, 113 ; buys pews in 
 Pohick Church, 113 ; purchases 
 estates, 118 ; obtains land in 
 Kentucky, 119; visits to " Mount 
 Vernon," 120, 121 ; arbitrator in 
 law case, 121 ; sends grafts of fruit 
 trees to Washington, 122 ; draws 
 up paper for Assembly, 126, 127 ; 
 encloses it in letter to Washington 
 and Col. Fairfax, 127 ; writes 
 against Stamp Act, 130 ; writes 
 Robert Carter about Ohio Company, 
 131, 132 ; draws up Non-Importa 
 tion Resolutions, 136 ; corresponds 
 with Washington on the subject, 
 138-143 ; letter to R. II. Lee on 
 Non-Importation Association, 144 
 147 ; letter to relative in England, 
 148-151 ; visits in Maryland, 153 ; 
 
 arranges for survey of Ohio Com 
 pany land, 155 ; writes paper on 
 Virginia charters, 157, 158 ; death 
 of his wife, 158 ; grief at her loss, 
 
 162 ; tribute to her memory, 162, 
 
 163 ; epitaph, verses, 164 ; makes 
 his will, 165 ; extracts from it, 165, 
 166 ; churchwarden, 167 ; visits 
 Williamsburg, 168 ; letter to Martin 
 Cockburn, i68, 169 ; meets Patrick 
 Henry, 169 ; fine tribute to his 
 talents, 169; Memorial to Governor 
 and Council, 171 ; discusses in it 
 importation rights, 172 ; drafts 
 Fairfax Co. Resolves, 172 ; on Fair 
 fax Co. Committee, 173, 427 ; views 
 on American grievances, 173-175 ; 
 efforts of Washington to bring him 
 back into House of Burgesses, 
 177, 178 ; subscribes to sufferers in 
 Boston from Port Bill, 178, 422 ; 
 spends night at " Mount Vernon," 
 with Pendleton and Henry, 179 ; 
 draws up plan for Independent 
 Company, 181, 182 ; at " Mount 
 Vernon," 182 ; drafts plan for arm 
 ing militia of the county, 182, 183 ; 
 encloses it in letter to Washington, 
 184, 185 ; writes Washington about 
 committee affairs and Potomac 
 River Bill, 185-187 ; sends the lat 
 ter in letter to Washington, 188, 
 189 ; member of Potomac Company, 
 189, 190 ; names a plantation 
 " Lexington," 191 ; goes to com 
 mittee meeting with Washington 
 in Alexandria, 191 ; ships tobacco 
 to Wm. Lee in London, 191, 192; 
 letter to R. H. Lee in Congress, 
 192, 193 ; letter to Wm. Lee^ 193, 
 195 ; writes address to the Inde 
 pendent Company, foreshadowing 
 Bill of Rights, 196, 197 ; in Con 
 vention, 197, 199 ; letter to Wm. 
 Ramsay, 198 ; on committee to 
 raise troops, 199 ; offers non-expor 
 tation resolution, 200 ; on Commit 
 tee of Safety, 201, 205 ; pressed to 
 serve in Congress, 201, 202, 205, 
 206 ; letters to Martin Cockburn, 
 giving an account of the Conven 
 tion, 200-203, 206-208 ; receives 
 visit from R. H. Lee, 209 ; writes 
 Washington of the work in the 
 Convention, 210-212 ; moves his 
 family out of reach of Dunmore s 
 raids, 213 ; writes to Maryland 
 Council of Safety, 214 ; writes 
 
502 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mason, George Continued. 
 
 Robert Carter of the survey of 
 Ohio Company lands, 214, 215 ; 
 letter of congratulation to Washing 
 ton on his success at Boston, 216- 
 219 ; tells of his work on Potomac 
 River defences, 218, 219 ; asked by 
 Washington to attend to affairs of 
 young Custis, 22O, 221 ; references 
 to, in letter-book and journal of 
 Committee of Safety, 220, 221 ; 
 elected to Convention of 1776, 222; 
 writes R. H. Lee urging him to 
 attend the Convention, 226, 227 ; 
 placed on committee to prepare 
 Declaration of Rights and Consti 
 tution, 228 ; on four other commit 
 tees, 228 ; Declaration of Rights 
 drafted by him, reported to Con 
 vention, 229 ; placed on committee 
 to raise funds for defence of the 
 colony, 229 ; drafts the Constitu 
 tion, 231 ; on committee to devise 
 a seal, 231 ; notifies Patrick Henry 
 of his election as governor, 231 ; 
 prescribes oaths of office, 231 ; let 
 ter to Martin Cockburn, 232, 233 ; 
 author of three of the four impor 
 tant measures of the Convention, 
 234 ; notices of him in Edmund 
 Randolph s MS., 234, 235 ; discus 
 sion of his claim to entire author 
 ship of Bill of Rights and Constitu 
 tion, 234-239 ; draft of the Decla 
 ration preserved by his son, 237 ; 
 draft enclosed in letter to Col. 
 George Mercer, 237 ; both papers 
 extant, 237 ; his course in regard to 
 religious freedom, 241-244 ; four 
 teen great principles enunciated in 
 Declaration of Rights, 244-246 ; 
 superior to any paper of its kind 
 that had appeared hitherto, 246 ; 
 eulogies on Mason in this connec 
 tion, 246-250 ; George Mason and 
 the Virginia Constitution, 250-258 ; 
 provisions of Mason s draft, 258 
 260 ; great American principle due 
 to him, 262 ; merits and wisdom of 
 this paper, 263 ; the first written 
 Constitution, 263, 264 ; designs 
 seal of Virginia, 264 ; excellence of 
 his description of the same, 265 ; 
 his crowning work in the Conven 
 tion, 266, in the Assembly, 267 ; 
 on committee to revise laws, 268 ; 
 committee to settle boundary line 
 with Pennsylvania, 269 ; to estab 
 
 lish courts of justice, 269, 273 ; 
 furthers petition of Alexandrians 
 for cannon, 269 ; committee on re 
 ligion, 269 ; on measures for public 
 defence, 269 ; draws bill to encour 
 age manufactures, 270 ; recording 
 of deeds, 270 ; trial of offences, 
 270 ; executions for debt, 270 ; en 
 grossing of salt, 270 ; conference 
 defining treason, 270 ; drafts report 
 on disputed Pennsylvania boundary, 
 270 ; resolutions encouraging re 
 cruiting, 271 ; increasing powers of 
 government, 271 ; temporary meas 
 ure, and not a dictatorship, 272 ; 
 respects in which justice not given 
 him, 272 ; Jefferson s opinion of, 
 and tribute to, 272, 273 ; leader in 
 reforms relating to landed property 
 and religion, 274 ; views in regard 
 to statute descents, 274 ; his share 
 in revision of laws, 276, 277 ; plan 
 in his handwriting extant, 276, 277; 
 extract from his will, 278 ; letter to 
 R. H. Lee, 279, 280 ; to Patrick 
 Henry, 280-282 ; to Speaker of the 
 House, declining appointment to 
 Congress, 283 ; takes part of R. H. 
 Lee in reference to cabal against 
 the latter, 283-285 ; allusions to, in 
 letters of Washington and Mann 
 Page, 286 ; in fall Assembly, 286 ; 
 placed on important committees, 
 286-289 ; papers of land companies 
 put in his hands, 289 ; friend and 
 adviser of Col. G. R. Clark, 290, 
 314 ; confers with Gov. Henry on 
 Clark s plans, 290 ; writes joint 
 letter to Clark, pledging bounties 
 of land, 290 ; letter to James 
 Mercer on Ohio Company affairs, 
 291-292 ; comments of Custis and 
 J. A. Washington on, 292, 293 ; 
 letters to R. H. Lee, 293-296 ; 
 letter to Col. George Mercer, 
 297-301 ; family circle, 297 ; mar 
 riage of a daughter, 297, 302 ; ac 
 count of his part in civil service of 
 Va. during Revolution, 298-300 ; 
 letters to Richard Harrison, mer 
 chant of Martinique, 303-305 ; in 
 Assembly, 306 ; on committee to 
 establish county of Illinois, 307 ; 
 on five other committees, 307 ; on 
 two additional committees con 
 nected with defence of colony, 307 ; 
 petitions for confirmation of claim 
 to western lands, 308 ; on commit- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 M ason , C \ eorge Con tin lied. 
 
 mittee to establish court of appeals, 
 308, 329 ; presents report on Penna. 
 boundary dispute, 308 ; bill to pro 
 hibit distillation of spirits from 
 grain, 308 ; educational work, 308, 
 309 ; chairman of committee to 
 carry out embargo, 309 ; brings in 
 bill relating to Virginia line in Con 
 tinental service, 309 ; carries to the 
 Senate resolutions for fortifications 
 on Chesapeake Bay, 310 ; resolu 
 tion for reserving western land for 
 soldiers, 310 ; letter from G. R. 
 Clark to, 311-314 ; correspondence 
 with Washington, 315-319 ; letter 
 to R. H. Lee, 320-322 ; in spring 
 Assembly, 322 ; on committee to 
 establish land office, 323 ; to regu 
 late militia, 323 ; brings in bill for 
 settling rate of exchange, 323 ; on 
 other important committees, 323, 
 324 ; manages case of Common 
 wealth against Indiana Company, 
 324, 325 ; extract from letter of, 
 325-327 ; Trent s report of pro 
 ceedings in the case of Incl. Com., 
 327, 328 ; brings in reports from 
 several committees, 329 ; corre 
 spondence with R. II. Lee, 330- 
 335 > device to keep the members 
 in their seats, 335, 336; charter 
 importation rights, 334, 336 ; meas 
 ures of Mason in Assembly, 334, 
 335) 337 I opinion of Custis as to 
 his importance there, 338 ; commit 
 tee on religion, 338 ; number of bills 
 brought in by, 338 ; on number of 
 minor committees, 339 ; courts of 
 assi/e, 339 ; encouraging importa 
 tion of salt, 339, 340 ; drafts " Re 
 monstrance to Congress" against 
 claims of land companies, 341-344 ; 
 tribute to this paper by Hinsdale, | 
 344; course in regard to the Church, 
 
 344 ; opposes confiscation of church 
 property, 344 ; makes reports from 
 Committee of Ways and Means, 
 
 345 ; on committee to augment 
 establishments of the Illinois, 345 ; 
 on committees relating to army and 
 navy, 345 ; presents bill for raising \ 
 supplies, 346 ; duties to be laid, ; 
 
 346 ; other bills in regard to 
 finances, 346, 347 ; instruction to 
 Va. delegates in Congress, 347 ; 
 second Marriage, 348 ; notice in 
 family Bible, 349 ; account of his 
 
 wife s family, 349, 350 ; in May 
 Assembly, 350 ; on Committee of 
 Ways and Means, 350 ; British 
 debts, 350 ; address to Congress on 
 alarming state of military affairs, 
 351 ; reports from Com in. of Ways 
 and Means, 352 ; supports plan of 
 Congress for reviving public credit, 
 350, 353-356 ; is seconded by R. 
 H. Lee and opposed by Henry, 
 353. 355 ! presents bill for the pur 
 pose, 356 ; drafts resolutions look 
 ing to an agreement with North 
 Carolina concerning disputed land 
 titles, 357, 358 ; on committee to 
 receive petitions of merchants, 
 358 ; presents bill for giving fur 
 ther powers to the executive, 
 358 ; chairman of committee for 
 emitting sum of money for exigen 
 cies of Commonwealth, 358 ; lead 
 ing spirit of the Assembly, 359 ; 
 letter to Joseph Jones on cession of 
 western territory, 359-367 ; letter 
 to Madison, 367, 368 ; letter from 
 Washington introducing General 
 Greene, 369,370; letter to Gen. 
 Henry Lee, thanking him for kind 
 ness to his son, 370, 371 ; seeks 
 Spanish consulship for Richard 
 Harrison, ii. , I ; retires from pub 
 lic life, I ; letter to Va. delegates 
 in Congress, 2-5 ; Ohio Company 
 affairs, 6 ; letter to Gov. Jefferson 
 remonstrating against action of 
 commissaries supplying the army, 
 6-9 ; letter to Pearson Chapman 
 about moving his effects out of 
 reach of the enemy, 10, u ; letters 
 to his son in France, 12-17 J noble 
 sentiments expressed, 17 ; probably 
 influenced the French court to send 
 aid to America, 17 ; letter to Gov. 
 Nelson about passage for his chil 
 dren s tutor to West Indies, 17, 18 ; 
 meets Washington and French 
 officers at " Mount Vernon," 19 ; 
 letter to Robert Carter, 21 ; on 
 committee appointed by Assembly 
 to state " title of Virginia to west 
 ern territory," 22 ; supplies Madi 
 son with papers, 22 ; writes state 
 ment of the case to Edmund Ran 
 dolph for benefit of committee, 
 22-33 ; letter to his son, 33-35 ; 
 writes Washington in behalf of 
 young Lawrence Washington of 
 Chotank, 36-38 ; writes Arthur Lee 
 
504 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mason, George Continued. 
 
 on public matters, 40, 41 ; letters 
 to William Cabell and Patrick 
 Henry, 42-47 ; discusses treaty of 
 peace, British debts, Assembly 
 affairs, 42, 45, 46 ; wishes duty on 
 imported snuff, 43, 47 ; writes ad 
 dress to Fairfax delegates in Assem 
 bly from their constituents, 48-52 ; 
 gives instructions concerning pay 
 ment of British debts, emission of 
 paper money and other important 
 matters, 48-51 ; objects to expense 
 of ambassadors from United States 
 to Europe, 51, 52 ; gives extract 
 from letter of his son, 63 ; calls on 
 General Greene in Alexandria, 63 ; 
 receives visit from officer of Gen 
 eral Greene s staff, at " Gunston 
 Hall, 63, 64 ; reads and approves 
 of defence prepared by Committee 
 on Virginia s title, 64 ; his influence 
 in bringing about cession of west 
 ern territory, 65 ; receives visit from 
 Madison, 65 ; report of his views 
 on public affairs, 66 ; Jefferson and 
 Joseph Jones express desire to 
 have him back in Assembly, 66 ; 
 calls at "Mount Vernon," Christ 
 mas-day, 67 ; account of his ap 
 pearance and manners in a young 
 lady s letter, 67 ; his high place in 
 public estimation, 67 ; letter of his 
 acknowledged by Monroe, 68 ; his 
 Fairfax County friends anxious to 
 have him their representative in 
 Assembly, 70 ; letter to Martin 
 Cockburn, protesting against a poll 
 being taken for him, 71 ; allusions 
 to his sentiments on revising State 
 constitution, 71 ; appointed on 
 commission to settle compact with 
 Maryland, 72 ; letter to a daughter 
 on death of her child, 74-75 ; 
 death of his brother, 75 ; men 
 tioned in his brother s will, 79 ; 
 draws up protest of Fairfax justices 
 against infraction of their rights, 
 79, 80 ; meets Maryland commis 
 sioners in Alexandria, 81 ; adjourns 
 to " Mount Vernon," 81, 82 ; sends 
 Washington, shoots of roses, water 
 melon seed, and sweet cider, 82 ; 
 writes Madison account of the 
 Commission, 8386 ; interested in 
 the assessment controversy, 87 ; 
 urges Madison to write the " Re 
 monstrance," 87 ; has copies 
 
 printed and distributes them to 
 friends, 88 ; correspondence with 
 Washington and Robert Carter on 
 the subject, 88-qo ; letter to Wash 
 ington sending him side of venison, 
 90-91 ; receives visit from Wash 
 ington, 91 ; also from Madison, 91 ; 
 letter to Madison, 92 ; writes letter 
 to the Speaker transmitting com 
 pact with Maryland, 92 ; appointed 
 delegate to Annapolis Convention, 
 94 ; prevented by gout from attend 
 ing, 94 ; allusions to, in connection 
 with question of Mississippi navi 
 gation, 95 ; general desire to see 
 him back in public life, 95 ; his 
 influence sought against emission 
 of paper money, 96 ; is elected to the 
 Assembly, but not able to attend, 
 96 ; elected deputy to Federal Con 
 vention, 97 ; allusion to, in letter 
 of Madison, 97 ; letters to Edmund 
 Randolph on business connected 
 with Convention, 98-99 ; in Con 
 vention, 100 ; tribute of Flanders 
 to, 100 ; letter from Philadelphia, 
 to his son, 100-102 ; to Arthur 
 Lee, 102-103 ; to his son, 103-104 ; 
 letter from R. H. Lee to, 105-107 ; 
 seconds King s motion on yeas and 
 nays, 107 ; argues against coercion 
 of States, 109, 121, 122 ; contends 
 for election of lower house of Con 
 gress by the people, no, 116, 123 ; 
 would elect executive for seven 
 years, and prohibit re-eligibility, 
 no, 146 ; considers election by the 
 people impracticable, in ; opposes 
 single executive, in ; is afraid of 
 giving executive too much power, 
 in, 112 ; speaks on subject of ex 
 ecutive, 112-115 ; disapproves of 
 Cabinet idea, 113 ; would substi 
 tute members of judiciary as a 
 council, 113 ; urges plural execu 
 tive, 114 ; would have this office 
 vested in three persons, representing 
 three sections of the Union, 115 ; 
 executive should be secured against 
 legislative usurpations, 117 ; argues 
 for election of the Senate by the 
 States, 117, 126, 127; would pro 
 vide for amendments, 117, 118, 
 176 ; thinks legislators should be 
 paid by Federal government, 118 ; 
 offers resolution concerning second 
 branch of Congress, showing his 
 agency as to constitution of Senate, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 505 
 
 Mason, George Continued. 
 
 118 ; his consistency as to State 
 sovereignty, and rights of the 
 people, 120 ; discusses New Jersey 
 plan of government and that of 
 Virginia, 120-122 ; speaks on elec 
 tions, 123 ; pay of representatives, 
 123, 124; examples of the "cyni 
 cism " in his arguments noted by 
 Jefferson, 124, 125, 154 ; motion 
 to make 25 years qualification for 
 members of House, 124 ; debates 
 and supports exclusive clause, 124- 
 126, 154, 155 ; Mason real auihor 
 of the "compromise," of which 
 credit has been given Connecticut, 
 118, 127, 128; admission of Dr. 
 Johnson, 127 ; suggests property 
 qualification for Senators, 128, 
 
 146 ; on grand committee to settle 
 question of equal vote in Senate, 
 129 ; letter to his son, 129-131 ; 
 letter to Beverley ^Randolph on 
 subject of a substitute for Wythe 
 who had resigned from delegation, 
 131-132 ; replies to animadversions 
 on report of committee, 132, 133 ; 
 opposes restrictions on Western 
 States, 133, 135-137, 166 ; objects 
 to too limited representation, 
 I 34> J 35 ! demands fixed periodical 
 revision, 135 ; fears for liberties of 
 Southern States, 135, 156, 166 ; 
 advocates three-fifths basis, 136 ; 
 answers proposition of Morris as to 
 taxation, 137 ; discusses mode of 
 electing executive, 139, 144 ; term 
 of office, 139, 140 ; appointment of 
 judiciary, 140, 142 ; impeachment, 
 141, 170 ; revisionary power, 141 ; 
 mode of ratifying Constitution, 
 
 143 ; approves of conventions for 
 this purpose, 143, 176 ; prefers 
 election of executive by Congress, 
 
 144 ; reviews various propositions 
 on this subject, 144, 145 ; motion 
 of, opposed by G. Morris, 146 ; 
 proposes location of seat of govern 
 ment apart from State capital, 146, 
 
 147 ; would restrict mutual negative, 
 147 ; opposes restrictions on the 
 suffrage, 148, 149 ; citizenship 
 qualification for foreigners, 149, 
 151, 152; for native-born-members 
 of legislature, 149, 151 ; insists on 
 maintaining compromise relating 
 to money-bills originating in House, 
 149-151, 153-155. 159; views as 
 
 to constitution of quorum, 151 ; 
 treaty-making power, 155 ; opposes 
 giving Congress power to tax ex 
 ports, 156, 159, 160 ; would not 
 restrict Congress as to emitting bills 
 of credit, 156 ; would give certain 
 powers over militia to general gov 
 ernment, 157, 158 ; moves sump 
 tuary laws, 159, 172, 173 ; defini 
 tion of treason, 159 ; objects to 
 clause relating to slave trade, 160 ; 
 his attitude on slavery question 
 should not be misunderstood, 161 ; 
 the compromise or " bargain " 
 which radically altered the Consti 
 tution, 162 ; on grand committee 
 to consider propositions concerning 
 regulation of trade, 164 ; opposes 
 certain limitations on powers of the 
 States, 164, 165 ; Mason s clause 
 requiring a two-thirds vote on 
 Navigation acts, 162, 165, 166, 
 T 75> T 79 I his determination not to 
 sign the Constitution without this 
 guaranty, 166 ; discusses report of 
 committee on executive, 167 ; his 
 motion on subject defeated, 168 ; 
 thinks mode of appointment most 
 objectionable, 168 ; amendments- 
 made later of which he approves, 
 168 ; desires an executive council, 
 169, 170 ; desires two-thirds to 
 overrule President s veto, 171 ; 
 wishes bill of rights, 171, 172 ; 
 wishes power to remain with States 
 in regard to incidental duties for 
 inspection of their produce, 172 
 174 ; opposed to increasing powers 
 of Congress, 173 ; to restricting 
 power of States on certain points, 
 174, 175 ; seconds motion of Ran 
 dolph s for another general con 
 vention and amendments, 176 ; his 
 last speech in Convention expres 
 sing disapproval of Constitution, 
 176 ; told Jefferson of the altera 
 tions which made it objectionable, 
 176 ; attended meetings in private 
 of discontented members to concert 
 amendments, 176, 177 ; points of 
 Constitution to which he took ex 
 ception, 177-179; anecdote related 
 of G. Morris, 178 ; MSS. of the 
 Convention preserved by, 179, 383- 
 387 ; mention of, in Washington s 
 journal, 180 ; returns to " Gunston 
 Hall," 180 ; fictitious account of 
 his reception in Alexandria, 181 ; 
 
506 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mason, George Continued. 
 
 reference to, in letter of E. Ran 
 dolph, 181 ; his " Objections to 
 the Constitution " enclosed to 
 Washington, 182 ; notices of this 
 paper and replies to it, 183 ; con 
 temporary allusion to Mason with 
 James Wilson as leaders of two 
 parties, 184 ; letter enclosing 
 amendments from R. H. Lee to, 
 185-187 ; Washington writes of 
 Mason and his politics, 187, 188 ; 
 in the Assembly, 188 ; Mason 
 opposed to Madison, allusions to 
 coolness between them, 189 ; debate 
 on calling a Convention, 190 ; 
 Mason seconds motion of Henry, 
 190 ; expression of his views on 
 Constitution, 191 ; defeats advo 
 cates of paper money, 192, 204 ; 
 course on proposition to relieve 
 debtors, 193, 105, 205, 207 ; on 
 committees to prepare instructions 
 for delegates to Congress, concern 
 ing western territory and navigation 
 of Mississippi, 193, 194 ; opposed 
 to Henry on British debts question, 
 and seeks to secure their immediate 
 payment, 194, 195, 197, 198, 205, 
 206 ; measures to increase the 
 revenue, 195, 196, 206, 207 ; de 
 bate on Constitution, 196 ; reference 
 to, in letter of Bushrod Washing 
 ton, 196, 197 ; opposes selling glebe 
 lands, 199 ; on various committees, 
 199-201 ; chairman of committee 
 to settle Illinois accounts, 200, 
 202 ; act for regulating rights 
 of cities, etc., 200 ; trustee of 
 Randolph Academy, 201 ; gives 
 in report of committee appointed 
 to confer with commissioners on 
 Illinois accounts, 202, 203 ; this 
 effort to secure Virginia s rights 
 his last act in Assembly, 203, 204 ; 
 letters to Washington, 204-207 ; 
 allusions to, in letter of Madison, 
 208 ; of Washington, 208 ; extract 
 from letter of Arthur Lee referring 
 to, 209 ; wishes R. H. Lee to join 
 him in Convention, 209 ; his influ 
 ence feared by Federalists, 209, 
 210 ; elected to Convention, 210 ; 
 speaks in Alexandria against Con 
 stitution, 211 ; letter to Robert 
 Carter, 21 1, 212 ; letter to John 
 Francis Mercer, 212-214 I letter 
 from R. H. Lee to, 214-217 ; allu 
 
 sion to, by Samuel Adams, 217; 
 similarity of views, 218 ; in Virginia 
 Convention, 219 ; tributes to his 
 abilities and influence, 219, 220 ; 
 on committee of privileges and 
 elections, 221, 390 ; described by 
 Grigsby as one of the four most 
 prominent figures, 221 ; intimacy 
 with Henry, 221, 222 ; dress and 
 appearance, 222, 223 ; argues 
 against motion to have speeches 
 reported, 222 ; proposes plan of 
 debate, 224, 391, 392 ; account of 
 speech, 223, 224 ; his policy, 224 ; 
 Mason and Madison the leaders of 
 contending parties, 224 ; speaks 
 after Randolph, 225, 392-397 ; 
 argues against taxing power of 
 Congress, 226, 252, 253, 392-394, 
 399, 400, 403, 420, 421-424; in 
 adequate representation, 226, 245, 
 394-398, 402, 410, 411 ; allu 
 sions to Mason by E. Randolph, 
 229-231 ; is absent from his seat, 
 231 ; probably with Col. Oswald, 
 233 ; chairman of Committee of 
 Opposition, 233 ; prepares bill of 
 rights and amendments, 233, 235 ; 
 mention of, by Patrick Henry, 234 ; 
 letter to General Lamb, 233, 235 ; 
 speaks after Madison, 236-239, 
 397-407 ; answers Nicholas, 237 ; 
 relates anecdote, 238 ; remarks on 
 Randolph s change of views 239 ; 
 is answered by Henry Lee, 240 ; 
 his satire appreciated, 241 ; his in 
 terviews with Oswald referred to 
 by Madison, 244 ; speaks on power 
 of Congress over militia, 245, 247, 
 407-410, 414, 415 ; power of im 
 peachment, 245, 411 ; control over 
 elections, 246, 411,412; publication 
 of journals, 246, 250, 412, 413, 420, 
 421 ; jurisdiction over Federal dis 
 trict, 247, 248, 416, 417 ; dangers of 
 the "sweeping clause," 248, 249, 
 417-419 ; desires second article of 
 confederation retained in Constitu 
 tion, 249 418 ; corrects mistake of 
 Nicholas, 249, 419 ; speaks against 
 "fatal section," relating to slave 
 trade and navigation laws, 249, 
 
 250, 419, 420 ; Continental money, 
 
 251, 421, 422 ; re-eligibility of 
 executive, 253, 424-426 ; mode of 
 election, 254, 427 ; great powers 
 of, 255, 256, 428, 429 ; treaty-mak 
 ing power, 256, 430-432 ; dangers 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Mason, George Contimied. 
 
 of the judiciary, 250-264, 266, 396, 
 432-443 ; no security for slave 
 property, 267 ; last speech in Con 
 vention, 267-268 ; dwells on evil 
 effects to be apprehended, 267, 268 ; 
 references to, in letters of Madison, 
 
 268, 272 ; corrects E. Randolph, 
 
 269, 270 ; on committee to prepare 
 amendments, 271 ; resolutions cen 
 suring Randolph prepared for As 
 sembly, 275 ; correspondence with 
 New York Antifederalists, 280 ; j 
 letter of Clinton to Mason lost, i 
 280 ; States-rights record of, 282, j 
 2 93> 295 ! his work in Commit 
 tee of Opposition, 283, 284, 288, 
 289 ; tributes to his wisdom, 285, 
 293 ; proofs of his sagacity, 284- 
 286, 288-291 ; his prophecies ful 
 filled, 293; letters to John Mason, 
 298-307 ; approves of Henry s reso- j 
 lutions calling for a second Federal i 
 Convention, 308 ; bill laying off I 
 Congressional districts endorsed by, | 
 309 ; presides at Fairfax Co. Court, j 
 309 ; opposes levying taxes by jus 
 tices, 309, 310; speaks in Alexandria 
 on subject, 310 ; letters to James 
 Fenwick, 311, 312 ; dines on Sun 
 day with Washington, 312 ; friend 
 ship for the latter undiminished, 
 312, 313 ; letter to his son, 313- 
 314 ; writes to Washington on sub- j 
 ject of a coachman, 314 ; letter to 
 John Mason, 315-318 ; lives in re 
 tirement at " Gunston Hall," 319; 
 his place in public life taken by his 
 nephew, 319 ; his counsels bear 
 fruit, 324 ; letter of Jefferson to, 
 324, 325 ; appointed to fill Gray- 
 son s place in Federal Senate, 325 ; 
 declines to serve, 325, 327 ; letters I 
 to his son, 326-328 ; letter of Jeffer 
 son to, 328, 329 ; resigns office of 
 justice, 330 ; letter to John Mason, 
 331, 332 ; letter of Jefferson in 
 reply to, 332, 333 ; expression of 
 opinion on federal affairs, 333, 334 ; ] 
 friendship for Madison, 333, 334 ; i 
 letters to John Mason, 334-339 ; | 
 extract from letter of Robert Carter 
 to, 340 ; is consulted on claim of 
 the Indiana Company, 342 ; letter 
 to Roger West on this subject, 342- 
 345 ; opinion of Attorney-General 
 Pratt alluded to by, 344-346 ; peti 
 tion against new ferry by, 345, 346 ; 
 
 writes paper on new division of 
 Congressional districts in Va., 346, 
 347 ; opposes alteration in his own 
 district on constitutional principles, 
 346, 347 ; writes notes to his son 
 John, 348-350 ; his family, and last 
 Christmas with them, 350, 351 ; 
 suffering from gout, 352 ; letter to 
 John Mason, 352-354 ; letter of 
 business to John Francis Mercer, 
 354-356 J last letters, 357~3o ; his 
 sentiments on public matters, re 
 ported by Jefferson and Washing 
 ton, 360-362 ; Jefferson s last visit 
 to , 33 ; account of Mason s con 
 versation, 363-365 ; his opinion of 
 Hamilton, 364 ; death at " Gunston 
 Hall," 365 ; obituary notices, 365, 
 366 ; projected monument for, and 
 inscription, 366, 367 ; tribute to his 
 business talents, 367, 368 ; estate, 
 slaves, library, 368, 369 ; estimate 
 of, by his contemporaries, 369-374 ; 
 conversational abilities, 372 ; wit 
 and humor, 372, 373 ; statesman 
 ship, 370, 371, 374 ; talents for 
 debate, 371 ; statue erected to, 375 ; 
 eulogy of Hunter, 375 ; tributes to, 
 by Virginia writers, 374-378 ; by 
 Northern historians, 377, 378 
 Mason, George, of Alexandria, i., xi., 
 444 ; George, of Aquia, i., 376 ; 
 George, son of the last named, i., 
 376; George (6th), of "Gunston, "i., 
 105, 117 ; George, of " Lexington," 
 i., i, 57, Si, 103,121,165,186,189, 
 192, 195, 201, 221, 233, 250, 297, 
 314-316, 320, 350, ii., n, 12, 15, 
 33, 42, 47, 63, 74, 100, 103, 104, 
 129, 130, 315, 339, 349, 350, 353, 
 356,459-401,464-467,472; George, 
 of the London Company, i., 4; 
 George, of " Spring Bank," i., xi., 
 ii., 366-369, 371 ; George, of Staf 
 ford Co.. i., 376 ; George, Jr., of 
 Pohick, ii., 360 ; George, son of 
 Thomson, ii., 76, 79 ; Gerard, i., 
 29; Gerard Fowke, i., 377 ; Hon. 
 James Murray, i., xi., 2, 34, ii., 17, 
 366, 368 ; Capt. John, founder of 
 New Hampshire, i., 4 ; Gen. John, 
 i., xi., 55, 60, 87, 94, 97, 105, 109, 
 129, 159, 237, 302, 414, 441-443, 
 
 ii., 12, IO3, 211, 212, 298, 299, 3O2, 
 307, 311, 313, 315, 313, 324, 326- 
 
 32S, 331, 332, 334, 336, 337, 339. 
 347-352, 354, 356, 357, 359, 360, 
 374, 464, 465, 467, 469 ; John 
 
SoS 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Thomson, ii., 56, 76-78 ; Judge 
 John Thomson, i., xi., 46, 51 ; Hon. 
 John Young, i., 2 ; Lucy, ne e Roy, 
 i., 376 ; Lyman, i., 376 ; Margaret 
 Bennett, i ., 376; Mary, i., 376; 
 Mary, Mrs. George Fitzhugh, see 
 Fitzhugh ; Mary, ne e Armistead, ii., 
 63 ; Mary, nee Barnes, i., 80, ii., 
 79 ; Mary, /<? Fowke, i., 29, 376 ; 
 Mary, nee French (1), i., 5, n, 376 ; 
 Mary Ann, i., 376 ; Mary Thomson, 
 Mrs. John Cooke, see Cooke ; Mary 
 Thomson, Mrs. Samuel Selden, see 
 Selden ; Mr., of Colchester, ii., 91 ; 
 Nicholson, i., 29, 31, 373-375 ; 
 Richard Chichester, ii., 473 ; Robert 
 M. P., i., 3, 4 ; Robert, i., 41 ; 
 Sarah (ist), i., 29, 31, 374, 375 ; 
 Sarah (2d), i., 29, 374 ; Sarah, ne e 
 Brent, i., 348-350, ii., 15, 75, 88, 
 9 1 , 3 1 S, 332, 337 ; Sarah, ne e Chi 
 chester, ii., 19, 76 ; Sarah Eilbeck, 
 Mrs. McCarty, see McCarty ; Sarah 
 Maria, Mrs. Samuel Cooper, see 
 Cooper ; Simpha Rosa Enfield, Mrs. 
 John Dinwiddie, Mrs. Jeremiah 
 Bronaugh, see Bronaugh 
 Mason, Stevens Thomson (ist), birth 
 place, i., 73 ; practises law in Dum 
 fries, 103 ; volunteer on Washing 
 ton s staff, ii., 20 ; at siege of York- 
 town, 39 ; delegate from Loudon Co. 
 in the Assembly, 56 ; proposes J. F. 
 Mercer in Assembly as delegate to 
 Congress, 57 ; marriage, 62 ;" Rasp 
 berry Plain" left him by his father s 
 will, 76 ; also houses and lots in 
 Richmond, 76 ; sketch of his life 
 by Grigsby, 79 ; represents Loudon 
 Co. in Virginia Convention, 21 1 ; 
 votes with the Antifederalists, but 
 does not enter into debate, 21 1 ; in 
 the Virginia Senate, 319 ; represents 
 family name in public life at this 
 time, 319 ; had made his father s 
 and uncle s principles his own, 319 ; 
 opposes certain amendments to the 
 Constitution proposed by Congress, 
 as inadequate, 320 ; signs strong 
 States-rights resolutions condemn 
 ing them, 323 ; acquaints the House 
 with the determination of the Sen 
 ate, 324 ; protests against Assump 
 tion Act in Memorial of the Assem 
 bly, 331 ; published Jay s Treaty 
 while in U. S. Senate, 229 ; grand 
 father of Stevens Thomson Mason, 
 first Governor of Michigan, 323 ; 
 
 Mason County, West Virginia, 
 named after him, i., 181 
 
 Mason, Stevens Thomson (3d), Gov. of 
 Michigan, ii., 323 ; Thomas, of 
 England, i., 2 ; Thomas (ist), i., 
 2 9, 374. 375 ! Thomas, of " Wood- 
 bridge," i., 97, 159, ii., 307, 350, 
 351, 357, 462, 464-467, 469, 473 ; 
 Thomson, of " Hollin Hall," i., 
 xi., 57, 81, 106, ii., 12, 13, 15, 19, 
 42, 43, 47, 103, 130, 307, 317, 351, 
 357-359, 462-464, 467, 469, 472, 
 473 
 
 Mason, Thomson, of "Raspberry 
 Plain," i., xi., xii. ; two years old 
 when his father dies, 48 ; Mrs. 
 Mason and John Mercer his guar 
 dians, 48, 49 ; charge for his board, 
 etc. , one thousand pounds of tobacco 
 yearly, 50 ; his mother buys land for 
 him in Loudon County, 51 ; studies 
 law at the Middle Temple, 53 ; 
 record of his admission, 53 ; his 
 elder brother advances money for 
 his use at this time, 53 ; godfather 
 for his nephew, William Mason, 58 ; 
 one of the trustees of Leesburg, 72 ; 
 in House of Burgesses from Stafford 
 Co., 72 ; lives at " Chappawamsic," 
 73 ; marriage, 73 ; birth of his eldest 
 son, 73 ; mention of his name in 
 journal of Burgesses, 73 ; silver plate 
 left him in his mother s will, 79 ; 
 practises his profession in Dumfries, 
 103 ; in a case there with James 
 Mercer, 121 ; signs the Westmore 
 land Resolutions against the Stamp 
 Act, 124 ; in House of Burgesses, 
 137 ; on committee to draw up ad 
 dress to the governor, 137 ; on com 
 mittee of six to draw up address to 
 the king, 137 ; signs Non-Importa 
 tion Resolutions, 392 ; in House of 
 Burgesses, 153 ; placed on important 
 committees, 153 ; on committee with 
 Washington to extend navigation of 
 the Potomac, 154 ; one of trustees 
 appointed to receive taxes as pro 
 vision to repair roads, 154 ; writes 
 " Letters of a British American," 
 I 75~ I 77 ! denies right of Parliament 
 to tax the colonies, 175 ; denounces 
 Navigation Acts, 176 ; counsels 
 armed resistance unless grievances 
 are redressed, 176 ; avows author 
 ship of the letters, 177 ; member 
 of Potomac Company, 190 ; in the 
 Virginia Assembly, 282 ; again in 
 
INDEX. 
 
 509 
 
 Mason, Thomson Continued. 
 
 the Assembly, 285 ; brought in by 
 sergeant-at-arms, 287 ; discharged 
 without paying fees as having been 
 employed in public service, 287 ; 
 on committee to report on public 
 salt works, 287 ; on committee to 
 establish court of appeals, 287, 308 ; 
 elected one of five judges of General 
 Court, 289 ; in Assembly, 305 ; not 
 present at roll-call, 305 ; obliged to 
 pay fees, 305 ; chairman of commit 
 tee to examine papers on Henderson 
 Land Company, 305 ; chairman of 
 committee to decide on compensa 
 tion for Henderson, 305 ; probably 
 corresponds with George Mason on 
 the subject, 305 ; chairman of com 
 mittee to confer with Col. Wood on 
 state of Va. troops, 306 ; his brother 
 arrives in Assembly and is placed 
 after him on committee to whom 
 Col. Clark s papers are referred, 
 307 ; brings in bill for establishing 
 Illinois County, 308 ; on select com 
 mittee to consider letters from the 
 Governor and Congress, 309 ; elect 
 ed to Assembly from Elizabeth City 
 Co., 322 ; sends in his resignation, 
 which is not accepted, 322 ; this 
 circumstance referred to by W. C. 
 Rives as "emphatic homage" to 
 value of his services, 322 ; accepts 
 nominally coroner s commission, by 
 which his seat is vacated, 323, 338 ; 
 letter of, to Washington, ii., 20; 
 offers services of his two eldest sons 
 for the campaign in Virginia, 20 ; 
 employed to defend young Lawrence 
 Washington, 39; writes Genl. Wash 
 ington an account of the Washington- 
 Alexander quarrel, 39 ; thanks him 
 for kindness to his son Stevens 
 Thomson, 39 ; in the Assembly 
 from Stafford Co., 52 ; letter to the 
 freeholders detailing measures in 
 which he is interested, 52-54 ; allu 
 sion to, in letter of Jefferson, 54 ; 
 his bill for the benefit of debtors, 55, 
 58 ; letter to John Francis Mercer, 
 55-63 ; account of his election, 56 ; 
 mentions having secured discharge 
 of young Washington, 57 ; tells 
 Mercer of latter s election to Con 
 gress, 57 ; gives an account of bills 
 brought up in Assembly, 58, 59 ; 
 plan of Congress to pay Federal 
 debt defeated, 59 ; expresses fear of 
 
 encroachments of Congress as dan 
 gerous to liberty, 59 ; gives a state 
 ment of Virginia s financial situa 
 tion, 6062 ; notice of Simon 
 Nathan s claim, 62 ; his death, 75 ; 
 is buried at " Raspberry Plain," 75 ; 
 abstract of his will, 75-79 ; names 
 and estates of his sons, 76 ; bequest 
 to his daughter, 76 ; direction as to 
 education of his youngest children, 
 77 ; fears for them the temptations 
 to pride of living found on James 
 River, 77 ; farm left to his servant 
 Jack, 78 ; his thoroughbred horses, 
 78, 79 ; mention of his brother, 79 ; 
 sketch of his life by H. B. Grigsby, 
 79 ; esteemed by his contemporaries, 
 "the first lawyer at the bar" of 
 Virginia, 371 ; is mentioned in will 
 of his brother George Mason, of 
 Gunston, 470, 471 
 
 Mason, Thomson Francis, ii., 473 ; 
 Virginia, i., xi. ; Westwood Thom 
 son, ii., 77 ; William, i., 2 ; William, 
 son of George, of Aquia, i., 376 ; 
 William, M. P., i., 3; William, of 
 " Mattawoman," i., 58, 81, 105, 370, 
 ii., 12, 15, 63, 64, 103, 317, 318, 339, 
 350, 462, 463, 466, 467 ; William 
 Temple Thomson, i., 46, ii., 77 
 
 Mason and Dixon s line. See Bound 
 ary lines. 
 
 Mason and Slidell, ii., 368 
 
 Mason Arms, description of, ii., 475 
 
 Mason County, Kentucky, ii., 309 
 
 Mason County (Ky.) Historical Society, 
 i., 119 
 
 Mason County, West Virginia, i., 181 
 
 Mason family, i., 2, 70, 301 
 
 Mason Manuscript Sketches : by 
 George Mason, of " Lexington," i., 
 i ; by George Mason, of " Spring 
 Bank," ii., 367, 368 ; by General 
 John Mason, of " Mason s Island," 
 i., 87, 94-96, 97-102, 159-162, ii., 
 351 ; by Judge John Thomson 
 Mason, of Annapolis, i., 46, 51 
 
 Mason Papers, i., xii., 42, 44, 47, 151, 
 182, 198, 233, 277, 301, 322, 327, 
 333, 349, ii., 33, 71, 104, 115, 118, 
 131, 187/275, 307, 314, 318, 325, 
 328, 332, 336, 339, 345, 350, 360, 
 368 ^ 
 
 Mason s Camp, i., 31 
 j Mason s " Extracts from the Virginia 
 Charters," i., 157, 255, 256, 393- 
 414 ; " Letter to the London Mer 
 chants," i., 130, 381-389; "Me- 
 
5io 
 
 morial and Petition," i., 171, 307, 
 415-418; "Scheme for replevying 
 goods," i., 127, 378-381 ; Speeches 
 in Virginia Convention, ii., 390-444 
 
 Mason s Fields, ii., 466 ; Mason s and 
 Hereford s patent, i., 28, ii., 463 
 
 Mason s Island, i., 55, 117, ii., 351, 
 360, 464, 465 
 
 Mason s " Journal of a Young Lady 
 of Virginia," i., 89 
 
 Mason s " Letters of a British Ameri 
 can," i., 175, 177 
 
 Mason s Neck, i., 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 
 48, 55-57, 60, 62, 64-67, 70, 72, 
 93, 100, 104, 105, 112, 121, 349, ii., 
 460-462 
 
 Massachusetts, i., viii., xiv. , 167, 263, 
 264, ii., 104, 107-109, 172, 177, 180, 
 217, 256, 281, 303, 304, 353, 377, 
 422, 429 ; constitution of, i., 264 ; j 
 Convention, ii., 235, 281, 319 ; Pro- i 
 vincial Congress of, i., 336, 428 
 
 Massey, Elizabeth, nee Bronaugh, i., i 
 54, 84, in, ii., 471, 472 ; Rev. Lee, i 
 i., 84, 96, no, in, 114-116, 159, j 
 165, 169, 198, 208, 232, 233, 427, j 
 ii., 460, 470, 471 ; Mary, nee John 
 ston (?), i., 159 
 
 Massey family, i., 92, 105, no 
 
 Matthews County, Va., i., 232 
 
 Matthews, Jonathan, i., 21 ; Mr., i., 
 281 ; Thomas, i., 14 
 
 Matthews patent, ii., 463 
 
 Maury s " Memoirs of a Huguenot 
 Family," i., 31 
 
 May, Mr., ii., 23 
 
 Maynard, Sir John, ii., 373 
 
 Maysville, Ky., i., xiv. 
 
 Mazzei, Philip, i., 189, ii., 47 
 
 McCarty, Daniel (ist), i., 85, 106, in, 
 113, 114, 116, 122, 190, 208, 297, 
 302, ii., 330 ; Daniel (2d), i., 106, 
 in, 297, 302, ii., 104 ; Dennis, 
 i., in, 112; Mr., i., 87; Captain 
 Richard, i., 313; Sarah Eilbeck, 
 ne e Mason, i., 106, in, 164, 297, 
 302, ii., 74, 104, 351, 458, 459 
 
 McCarty family, i., 90, in. 
 
 McClurg, James, ii., 97, 109, 316 
 
 McCrea and Maire, i., 186 
 
 McDowell, James, Gov. of Va., i., 442 
 
 McGilchrist, John, i., 35 
 
 McGlashan, Adam, i., 281 
 
 McHenry, James, ii., 174 
 
 McLean, Laughlan, i., 281 
 
 McMaster and Stone s " Pennsylvania 
 and the Federal Convention," ii. , 281 
 
 McMaster, J. B., ii., 281 
 
 McPherson, Mr., :., 97, 151 
 
 McRae, Col. Sherwin, i., 265, 266, 328 
 
 McRae s " Report on the State Seal," 
 i., 266 
 
 Meade, Richard Kidder, ii., i, 274 ; 
 Right Rev. William, i., 23, 32. 73, 
 85, 112, 116 
 
 Meade s OldChurchesand Familiesof 
 Virginia, "i., 23, 32,73, 83-86,89,113 
 
 Mediterranean Sea, i., 320, ii., 63, 328 
 
 " Memorial and Remonstrance." See 
 Religion. 
 
 Mercer, Catherine, ne e Mason, i., 29, 
 48, 374 ; Eleanor, ne e Dick, i., 292 ; 
 Col. George, i., 59, 61, 63, 66, 78, 
 125, 126, 132, 136, 151, 155-157, 
 189, 237, 250, 296, 297, 302, 307 ; 
 General Hugh, i., 196, 203, 219; 
 James, i., 121, 199, 205, 225, 228, 
 234, 291, 292, ii., 356 ; Mary, ne e 
 Neville, i., 297 
 
 Mercer family, i., xii., 53, 54 
 
 Mercer Family Bible, i., 29 
 
 Mercer, John, of "Marlboro ," mar 
 ries Catherine Mason, i., 29; comes 
 into possession of " town" of Marl 
 boro on Potomac Neck, 29 ; pre 
 serves will of his father-in-law, 30 ; 
 leases lots in Marlborough from his 
 brother-in-law, 38 ; leases plantation 
 of Occoquan from Col. George 
 Mason, 38 ; appointed guardian of 
 the latter s children, 48, 49 ; leases 
 Occoquan from Mrs. Mason, 50 ; 
 his scholarship, library, patriotism, 
 52 ; high rank in legal profession, 
 52 ; probably directed studies of his 
 eldest ward, 52 ; situation of his 
 country-seat, 53, 54 ; neighbors men 
 tioned in his diary, 53, 54 ; friendly 
 offices for Mrs. Mason, 55; secretary 
 of Ohio Company, 59 ; signs letter 
 from the Company to Gov. Dinwid- 
 die, 78 ; vestryman of Aquia Church, 
 85 ; notice of some of his neighbors, 
 88 ; writes address of Stafford justi 
 ces to Gov. Fauquier, against Stamp 
 Act, 1 25, 1 29 ; his " Book of Landed 
 Possessions," 375 ; notice of his 
 library by editor of Spotswood 
 Letters," ii., 369 
 
 Mercer, John Fenton, i., 63, 64 ; John 
 Francis, Governor of Maryland, i., 
 87, 88, 119, ii., 55, 155, 211, 214, 
 354 35 I William Robert, i., xii., 
 xiv., 135 
 
 Mercer Land Book, i., 20, 22, 23, 30, 
 38, 50, 54, 375 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Michigan, i., 252, ii., 323 
 
 Middlebrook, i., 316 
 
 Middlesex County, England, i., 42, 
 
 47 
 Middle States, ii., 102, 115, 123, 169, 
 
 170, 327, 338 
 Mier, Mr., i., 280 
 Miles, Mr., i., 150 
 Militia, i., 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 27, 33, 
 
 34, 64, 119, 182-184, 201, 207, 279, 
 
 286-288, 295, 323, 340, 351, 352, 
 
 ii., 15, 20, 70, 121, 122, 157, 158, 
 174, 228, 235, 245-247, 383, 407- 
 410, 414-416, 448, 450 
 
 Minute Regiments, i., 195, 207, 233, 
 298 
 
 Missouri, ii., 294 
 
 Mitchell, overseer, ii., 348 
 
 M Kean, Thomas, ii., 281 
 
 Mohun, Charles, Lord, i., 42 
 
 Monckton family, England, i., 3 
 
 Moncure family, i., 54 
 
 Moncure, Frances, ne e Brown, i., 80, 
 Si ; John, i., 83, 86, ii., 471 ; Rev. 
 John, i., 56, 58, 79-83, 85, 86, ii., 
 75, 338 
 
 Monmouth, battle of, i., 293, 319 
 
 Monongahela, battle of, i., 61 
 
 Monongalia County, Va. , i., 340, ii., 
 25, 201 
 
 Monroe, James, supported States- 
 rights views of Mason and Henry 
 in Virginia Convention, i., vii.; 
 ancestors of, i; appealed to in re 
 gard to authorship of Virginia Con 
 stitution, 252 ; elected to Congress, 
 ii., 57; letter to George Mason, 68- 
 70 ; acknowledges letter from 
 Mason, 68 ; discusses prospects of 
 Great Britain in the Indies, 69 ; 
 policy in regard to Canada, 70 ; 
 writes to Madison concerning Anna 
 polis Convention, 94 ; wishes him to 
 urge Mason s attendance, 94 ; writes 
 Mason, Henry, Madison, about 
 Jay and Mississippi treaty, 95 ; in 
 Virginia Assembly, 193 ; on com 
 mittees with G. Mason, 193, 195, 
 200 ; in Convention of 1788, 219 ; 
 an Antifederalist, 219 ; related to 
 William Grayson, 220 ; conspicuous 
 in Convention of 1829-30, 221 ; 
 speech in reply to Edmund Ran 
 dolph, 232 ; votes for previous 
 amendments, 270 
 
 Monroe, Spence, ii., 220 
 
 Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, 
 Baron de, i., 239, ii., 369 
 
 Montgomery County, Md., ii., 76, 213 
 Montpelier, France, i., 315 
 Monumental Church, ii., 221 
 Moore, Capt. Cleon, ii., 21 ; J. ]>., i., 
 
 xiv. 
 Moore s Diary of the Revolution, i., 
 
 223 
 
 Moreton, Sir William, i., 408 
 Morgan, George, i., 230, 325, ii., 
 
 341, 344 
 
 Morgantown, W. Va., ii., 201 
 
 Morris and Nicholson, i., 103 
 
 Morris, Gouverneur, ii., 100, 108, 109, 
 133, 137, 146-148, 151, 162, 163, 
 167, 168, 170, 171, 178, 179, 364 ; 
 Robert, ii., 99, 236, 240, 304, 399, 
 400 
 
 Morse, John T., Jr., i., 272 
 
 Morse s " Life of John Adams," i., 
 180, ii., 39 ; " Life of Jefferson," 
 i., 272 
 
 Moss, William, i., 374 
 
 Mountains : Alleghany, i., 58, 60, 
 J 57, 158, 188, 261, 3 25, 352, 411- 
 413, 454, ii., 24, 32, 239, 261, 405, 
 440 ; Appalachian, see Alleghany ; 
 Blue Ridge, i., 30, 31, 411, ii., 26, 
 27, 239, 261, 405, 440 ; Cumberland, 
 
 i,, 3io, 339 t 
 
 Mountford, William, i., 42 
 Mountjoy, Col., ii., 57 ; John, i., 88 ; 
 
 Thomas, i., 88 ; William, i., 85, 88 
 Mountjoy family, i., 54 
 Mount Vernon Church. See Pohick 
 
 Church. 
 
 Munford, Robert, i., 341 
 Murdoch, Peter, i., 35 
 Murray s "Hand-Book of Stafford," 
 
 i-, 3 
 
 Nantes, France, i., 320, ii., 12, 14, 
 42, 63, 337 
 
 Nathan, Simon, ii., 62, 64 
 
 Navigation Acts, i., 174, 176, ii., 162, 
 165, 166, 175, 179, 183, 187, 269, 
 270, 282-286, 385, 389, 443, 444, 
 
 449, 452 
 Neill s "Fairfaxes of England and 
 
 America," i., 76, 157; "Virginia 
 
 Carolorum," i., 7, 246 
 Nelson, General Thomas, i., 202, 203, 
 
 222, 226, 230, 234, 282, 286-288, 
 
 319, 324, 339, 345, 350, 392, ii-,.17, 
 64, 375 ; Thomas, i., 55 : William 
 (President Nelson), i., 55 
 New Academy, ii., 221, 222, 232 
 
512 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Newce, Capt. William, i., 396 
 New England, ii., 13, 273, 295, 363 
 Newfoundland, i., 333, fisheries, ii., 
 
 444 
 
 Newgate, ii., 333 
 
 New Hampshire, i., viii., 264, ii., 
 104, 115, 191, 215, 272, 273, 281, 
 303, 304, 327, 407 ; Constitution of, 
 i., 264 
 
 New Haven, i., xiv. 
 
 New Jersey (the Jerseys), i., 267, 279, 
 319, 323, 327, ii., 94, 104, 119, 177, 
 363, 364; plan of government, ii., 
 119-121, 303 
 
 New Madrid, ii., 341 
 
 Newman, Agnes. See Fowke, i., 3 ; 
 John, i., 3 ; Mrs., i., 97 
 
 New Orleans, La., i., 345, ii., 341 
 
 Newport, Capt. Christopher, i., 395 
 
 Newspapers : Alexandria Gazette, i., 
 93, 103 ; Columbian Mirror and 
 Alexandrian Gazette, ii., 366 ; Con- 
 necticut Courant, ii., 183 ; Indepen- 
 dant Gazatteer, ii., 281 ; Jackson- 
 Clarion, Miss., ii., 297 ; London 
 Gazette, i., 19 ; London Public Led 
 ger, i., 130, 389 ; Maryland Journal 
 and Baltimore Advertiser, ii., 177, 
 222, 365 ; Massachusetts Centinel, 
 ii., 183; New York Century, i., xv. , 
 ii., 376; Pennsylvania Packet, ii., 
 191 ; The Nation, ii., 184, 288, 291, 
 296 ; The Pennsylvania Journal, 
 ii., 181; The Virginia Independent 
 Chronicle, ii., 323, 325, Virginia 
 Gazette, i., 131, 167, 184, 190, ii., 
 52, 54, 192, 365 ; Virginia Herald, 
 ii., 222 
 
 New York, i., xiv., 19, 194, 265, 344, 
 ii., 25, 27, 94, 100, 104, 171, 180, 
 215, 233, 234, 272-275, 278, 303, 
 363; Convention, ii., 275-278,280, 
 
 301, 303 ; Legislature, ii., 276- 
 278 ; Seal of, i., 265 
 
 New York City, i. xiv., 129, 195, 217, 
 219, 220, 237, 267, 293, 295, 296, 
 ii., 2, 68, 94, 103, 175, 185, 209, 
 235, 244, 271, 272, 276, 280, 281, 
 
 302, 318, 324, 328, 352, 353, 372, 
 412 
 
 New York Historical Society, i., xiv., 
 ii., 235, 276 
 
 New Yorkers, i., 194 
 
 Nicholas, George, alluded to in con 
 nection with religious assessment 
 controversy, i., 243 ; with Mason, 
 urges Madison to write the remons 
 trance, ii., 87 ; libefal views on 
 
 subject of religious liberty, 90 ; 
 votes in Assembly against paper 
 money, 96 ; debates on resolution 
 to call a Convention, 190, 191 ; in 
 favor of paying British debts, 194, 
 205 ; on committee to prepare the 
 bill, 195 ; on committee for estab 
 lishing district courts, 199 ; on com 
 mittee to amend acts in relation to 
 British property, 200 ; trustee of 
 Randolph Academy, 201 ; alluded 
 to by Mason as useful member of the 
 House, 205 ; in Virginia Conven 
 tion as a Federalist, 222 ; makes 
 motion to have speeches reported, 
 222, 305 ; is opposed by Mason 
 and Henry, 222, 305 ; makes 
 the opening speech in debate on 
 the Constitution, 225, 392 ; advo 
 cates mode of representation, 227 ; 
 speaks after Madison in reply to 
 Henry, 230 ; replies to Benjamin 
 Harrison and Henry, 232 ; illustra 
 tion of his examined by Mason, 236, 
 397 ; his argument as to representa 
 tion and taxation refuted by Mason, 
 237, 402 ; speaks on the free navi 
 gation of the Mississippi, 242 ; calls 
 Mason to order for departing from 
 rule of debate, 411 ; speaks on sub 
 ject of militia, 245, 247, 415 ; speaks 
 after Henry and is answered by 
 Mason, 249 ; is corrected by Mason 
 as to section of Bill of Rights, 249, 
 419 ; discusses clause allowing im 
 portation of slaves, 250 ; justifies 
 publication of accounts " from time 
 to time," 250, 421 ; speaks after 
 Henry, 251; defends clause restrict 
 ing States in making inspection 
 laws, 253 ; is answered by Mason, 
 253, 424 ; debate with Mason on 
 power of the executive, 256, 429 ; 
 speech on the treaty-making power, 
 256, 430 ; is answered by Mason, 
 256, 430 ; interrupts Mason s speech 
 on the judiciary with a question of 
 interpretation, 435 ; wishes to take 
 up next clause, 265 ; speaks in reply 
 to Henry, 265 ; heated discussion 
 with the latter, 266 ; votes against 
 previous amendments, 270 ; on com 
 mittee to prepare form of ratifica 
 tion, and committee to prepare 
 amendments, 271 
 
 Nicholas, Robert Carter, i., 137, 174, 
 199, 211, 224, 228, 229, 231, 234, 
 240, 274, 288, 319, 392, ii., 373 
 
INDEX. 
 
 513 
 
 Nicholson, Sir Francis, Governor of 
 Virginia, i., 24, 26, 43 ; Mr., i., 133 
 
 Niles, Hezekiah, i., 246 
 
 Niles "Principles and Acts of the 
 Revolution," i., xv., 246, 301, ii., 
 
 17, 35, I3i 
 Noailles Cent Ans de Republique 
 
 aux Etats-Unis," ii., 288 
 Noailles, Due de, ii., 288 
 Non-Exportation Associations, i., 180, 
 
 194, 425 
 
 Non-Exportation Resolutions, i., 143, 
 200, 201, 207 
 
 Non-Importation Associations, i., 137, 
 138, 144-148, 152, 173, 180 
 
 Non-Importation Resolutions, i., viii., 
 120, 136, 141, 143, 172, 389-393 
 
 Norfolk, Henry, Duke of, i., 42 
 
 Norfolk, Va., i., 2, 212, 213, 288, 449, 
 ii., 302, 315, 324, 337, 339- 357, 358, 
 412 
 
 North Carolina, i., 100, 136, 180, 188, 
 194, 217, 233. 261, 271, 295, 351, 
 357, 364, 366, 407, 408, 412, 414, 
 453, ii., 13, 16, 100, 104, 130, 161, 
 163, 165, 175, 182, 183, 215, 280- j 
 282, 285, 302, 303, 319 ; Assembly, \ 
 i-, 195, 357, 358 ; Charter of, i., 
 414; Convention, ii., 280, 302, 319 
 
 North, Frederick, Lord, Earl of Guild- , 
 ford, ii., 39 
 
 Northern Neck, of Virginia, i., 5, 21- j 
 2 3, 3, 3 r > 56, 60, 75, 90, 117, 290, I 
 408, 411, ii., 26, 86, 90, 261, 439, j 
 440 
 
 Northern States, ii., 12, 115, 135, 142, i 
 143, 156, 160, 162, 166, 187, 238, 
 244, 270, 293, 327, 335, 389, 402, 
 405, 444 
 
 Northey, Sir Edward, i., 43 
 
 Northumberland County, Va. , i., 4, 5, 
 7. 10, ii., 41 
 
 Notes on the Constitution, ii., 383-385 
 
 Notifies Parliamentaria^ i., 3 
 
 Nova Scotia, ii., 30, 31, 68 
 
 Nullification, i., viii., ii., 166 
 
 o 
 
 Occoquan, Bay, i., no ; Falls, i., 213 ; 
 plantation of, i., 28, 38, 50, 51, 81, 
 105; quarter, ii., 460; River, sec 
 Rivers; village of, i., 28, 115 
 
 Ohio, i., 103 ; Company, see Com 
 panies ; county of, i., 340, ii., 25, 
 201 ; River, see Rivers. 
 
 Old Janus, race horse, i., 100 
 
 Orange County, Va. , i. , vii. , ii. , 65 , 304 i 
 VOL. n. 33 
 
 Orr, John, i., 35 
 
 Oswald, Col. Eleazer, ii., 233, 234, 
 
 244, 280, 281 
 Ottawa, Canada, i., 311 
 Ousley, Thomas, ii., 464 
 Overwharton Parish, Va., i., 24, 56, 
 
 83, 84, 86 ; churches of, i., 19, 28, 
 
 54, 82, 84, 85, 88, 89, 97 ; register 
 
 of, i., 86 
 
 Pacific Ocean, or South Sea, i., 396, 
 412 
 
 Padilla, Juan Lopez de, i., 247 
 
 Page family, i., 67 
 
 Page, John, of " North End," i., 226 ; 
 John, of " Rosewell," i., 199, 205, 
 224, 226, 228, 231, 264, 306, 335, 
 339, ii., 90, 209 ; Mann, of "North 
 End," i., 67 ; Mann, of " Mans 
 field," i., 286 ; Mann, of " Rose- 
 well," i., 280 ; Mary Mason, ne e 
 Selden, i., 67, 80 
 
 Paine, Thomas, ii., 29, 31 
 
 Palmer, Charles, i., 78 
 
 Paper money, i., 353, 354, ii., 90, 91, 
 96, 107, 116, 151, 156, 192, 204, 361 
 
 " Papers of the American Historical 
 Association," ii., 283 
 
 Paris, France, i., 264, 315, ii., 14, 33, 
 41, 47, 315, 324; Parliament of, ii., 
 154 
 
 Parker, Josiah, i., 306, 335 
 
 Parliament, Acts of, i., 249, 398 ; De 
 claratory Act, i., 123, 383 ; Fishery 
 Bill, i., 194; Restraining Bill, i., 
 192, 194 ; Revenue Acts, i., 131, 
 142, 149, 390-392, 422 ; Act of 
 Settlement, i., 388 ; Stamp Act, i., 
 123-126, 128-130, 383 
 
 Parliament of Great Britain, i., 3, 4, 
 46, 123, 129-131, 134, 139, 142, 144, 
 147-149, 152, 153, 173-175, 184, 
 194, 223, 248, 249, 260, 294, 321, 
 384, 389, 412, 426, ii., 30, 45, 51, 
 70, 125, 154, 222, 223, 236, 257, 282, 
 346, 397, 398, 408-410, 431, 432 
 
 Parry, Henry, i., 375 
 
 Partnership, tract of land, ii., 462 
 
 Patent fee, i., 414 
 
 Paterson, William, ii., 119-121, 304 
 
 Paulus Hook (Jersey City), i., 337 
 
 Payne, Edward, i., 113, 427 ; William, 
 i., 116, 427 ii., 79 
 
 Peabody Library, of Baltimore, i., xiii. 
 
 Peadie, James, i., 35 
 
 Peale, Charles Wilson, iT, 57, 152 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Peck, Mary, ne e Thomson, i., 44 
 Pendleton, Edmund, ancestors of, i., 
 i ; prominent as lawyer and states- j 
 man, 124 ; in the House of Bur- ; 
 gesses, 137 ; on committee to draw 
 up address to the Governor, 137 ; , 
 described by Jefferson as one of the 
 moderate party, 174 ; delegate to ] 
 Continental Congress, 179 ; stops 
 overnight at "Mount Vernon " on 
 his way to Philadelphia, 179 ; in 
 Virginia Convention, 199 ; shrinks 
 from bold measures of Patrick J 
 Henry, 199 ; leaves Congress to 
 attend Convention in August, 204 ; i 
 resigns his seat in Congress on ac 
 count of ill-health, 204 ; receives 
 first place on Committee of Safety, 
 205 ; elected President of the Con- 
 vention of 1776, 222 ; author of 
 resolution proposing independence, ; 
 222, 223, 225 ; merits of this paper, 
 223 ; notices of him in letters of j 
 Thos. L. Lee and John A. Wash 
 ington, 225 ; not behind the " bolder 
 spirits " on this occasion, 226 ; de 
 scribed by E. Randolph as one of 
 the leaders in the Convention, 234, 
 235 ; one of those who approved of 
 a permanent Constitution instead of 
 temporary one advocated by Jeffer 
 son, 235 ; Jefferson sends him his out 
 line of a Constitution, 253 ; opposed 
 disestablishment of the Church, 269, 
 274 ; on committee to revise the . 
 laws, 242, 275 ; wished to preserve i 
 right of primogeniture, 275 ; work 
 at first divided into five parts, of j 
 which second is assigned to Pendle 
 ton, 277 ; completes the work with i 
 Wythe and Jefferson, 275 ; in the | 
 Assembly, 287 ; on committees of 
 importance, 287 ; engaged on bills 
 for increasing the army, settling 
 taxes, etc., 287-289 ; Washington 
 wishes him to return to Congress, 
 319 ; sends Madison some material 
 for defence of Virginia s title to 
 western lands, ii., 22 ; referred to in 
 letter of R. H. Lee in connection 
 with Federal Constitution, 186 ; in 
 Virginia Convention, 219 ; leader 
 among the Federalists, 219 ; one 
 of four most prominent members, 
 221 ; elected President of the Con 
 vention, 221, 391 ; speeches of his 
 answered by Patrick Henry, 228, 
 242 ; speech of his on the sweep 
 
 ing clause," answered by George 
 Mason, 248 ; speech on the judi 
 ciary, answered by Mason, 258 ; his 
 reply to arguments of Mason and 
 Henry, 263 ; is wrong in his criti 
 cism of one of Mason s statements, 
 as pointed out by Grigsby, 263 ; is 
 answered by Mason, 263, 441 ; char 
 acter sketched by E. Randolph, 373 ; 
 spoken of by J. E. Cooke as one of the 
 " greatest orators" of his time, 376 
 Pendleton, Henry, ii., 186 ; William 
 
 F., i., 256 
 
 Penet, Da Costa, and Company, ii., 13 
 Penet, Wendell, and Company, i., 
 
 323, 329 . 
 
 Penn, Admiral William, i., 407 ; Wil 
 liam, i., 407 
 
 Pennsylvania, i., xii., xiv., 60, 129, 
 186, 194, 221, 261, 269, 270, 298, 
 308, 323, 326, 327, 356, 359-3^1, 
 363, 364, 407, 412, 453, ii., 73, 74, 
 84, 85, 93, 94, 97, 100, 104, 108, 
 109, 121, 126, 146, 184, 215, 229, 
 273, 281, 303, 319, 343, 363, 364, 
 381, 382, 409, 455 ; Assembly, i., 
 308 ; Charter, i., 270; Convention, 
 i., 270, ii., 281, 298, 319 ; Execu 
 tive Council of, ii., 382 ; Legisla 
 ture, ii., 281 ; line, ii., 16 
 
 Pennsylvania, Address of the Sixteen 
 Seceding Members of the Legisla 
 ture," ii., 183, 187, 281 
 
 Petersburg, Va., ii., 15, 189, 337, 338 
 
 Petition of Rights, i., 3, 4, 247-249 
 
 Peyton, Francis, i., 154 ; Col. Valen 
 tine, i., 7 
 
 Philadelphia, i., xiv., 65, 103, 138, 
 179, 186, 192-196, 226, 227, 249, 
 250, 252, 253, 270, 278, 285, 286, 
 319, 332, ii., 2, 21, 41, 62, 95, 97- 
 99, 100-103, 107, 129, 131, 175, 
 181, 183, 185, 188-190, 233, 244, 
 3i5, 329. 332, 334, 352, 354, 363. 
 366, 400, 443 
 
 Phillips, Dr. Dinwiddie Brazier, i., 
 xii. ; General William, ii., 15 
 
 Phillipsburg, Pa., i., xiv. 
 
 Picket, Martin, ii., 304 
 
 Pimet, Mr., i., ii 
 
 Pinckney, Charles, ii., 108, 165, 177 ; 
 Charles Cotesworth, ii., 100, 158 
 
 Piper, Mr., i., 64 
 
 Pitt, William. See Lord Chatham. 
 
 Pittsburg, Pa., i., 58, 2O2 
 
 "Plan Settled by the Committee of 
 Revisers," for the revision of the 
 laws, i., 276 
 
INDEX. 
 
 "Plain Facts," etc., i., 78, 328 
 
 " Pleasant Valley," tract of land, ; ii., 
 
 356 
 
 Pohick, ii., 360 ; Bay, i., 105, no 
 Pohick Church, i., xii., 70, 84, 112- 
 
 117, 119, 121, 122, 129, 162, 166, | 
 
 167, 177, 182 
 
 Point Comfort. Sec Capes. 
 Point Pleasant, W. Va., i., 181, 202, 
 
 ii., 375 ; battle of, i., 180 
 Poland, ii., 425 
 Poles, i., 104 
 Pollard, Thomas, i., 427 
 Pollexfen, Henry, i., 40 
 Pope s "Epistle to Mr. Jervas," i., 
 
 164 
 
 Popish Plot, i., 40, 41 
 Port Tobacco, Port Tobago, Md. , i., 
 
 3, 81, 146, ii., 462 
 Portsmouth, England, ii., 257, 431 
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ii., 327 j 
 Portsmouth, Virginia, ii., 2 
 Posey, Capt. John, i., 118, 121 ; Mil 
 dred, i., 121 ; Genl. Thomas, i., 119 | 
 Posey family, i., 119 
 Potomac Church. Sec Overwharton i 
 
 Parish Churches. 
 Potomac, Navy, i., 339; Neck, Marl- i 
 
 boro Neck, i., 20, 23, 29, 54 ; 
 
 River, see Rivers. 
 
 Potomack River Bill, i., 154, 187-190 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., ii., 277 
 Powell, Levin, ii., 304 
 Poyning, Sir Edward, ii., 154 
 Poyning s Law, ii., 154 
 Prentis, Joseph, ii., 191 
 Price, Anne, i., 40, 41 
 Prince George County, Md., ii., 351, j 
 
 355 
 
 Prince William County, Va., i., 16, j 
 38, 48, 49, 64, 75, 76, 84, 90, 93, i 
 106, 112, 128, 163, 196, 206, 213, 
 222, 349, ii., 10, 21, 62, 75, 76, 78, 
 208, 303. 346, 347, 351, 454-456, 
 465, 466 
 
 Princess Anne County, Va., i., 44 
 
 Princeton, battle of, i., 278 
 
 Prussia, ii., 168, 357 
 
 Prussians, ii., 415, 425 
 
 Purdie, Alexander, i., 233 
 
 Q 
 
 Quakers, i., 194 
 Quantico Run. Sec Creeks. 
 Quebec, i., 217 
 
 Queen Anne, i., 36, 43, 46, 148, 151, 
 411, 412, ii., 26, 146 
 
 Queen Charlotte, i., 184 
 Quit-rents, i., 290, 300, 409, 413, ii., 
 86, 261, 439, 440 
 
 Race-ground, i., 68, 70 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, i., 88 
 Raleigh Tavern. See Taverns. 
 Rallo, Captain, i., 287 
 Ramsay, William, i., 198, 427 
 Randall, Henry S., i., 173, 174, 199, 
 
 250, 284, 285 
 
 Randall s " Life of Thomas Jefferson," 
 i., 174, 192, 199, 250, 285, ii., 330 
 Randolph Academy, ii., 201 
 Randolph, Beverley, ii., 129, 131, 
 304, 324, 325 ; David Meade, ii., 
 274 
 
 Randolph County, Va., ii., 201 
 Randolph, Edmund, oratory of, i., 
 vii. ; his account of House of Bur 
 gesses, time of Stamp Act, 123, 
 124 ; sketch of George Mason, 178, 
 ii-> 373, 374 ! notice of Va. dele 
 gates in Continental Congress, i., 
 179 ; in the Virginia Convention of 
 1776, 222 ; account of debate on 
 Resolution of Independence, 222 ; 
 tribute to Henry, 223 ; on committee 
 to prepare Declaration of Rights 
 and Constitution, 228 ; details action 
 of Convention as to Indian titles, 
 231 ; account of the Goodrich trai 
 tors, 232 ; describes leaders in the 
 Convention, 234 ; tells of Jefferson s 
 proposition, 235 ; declares George 
 Mason to have been author of plan 
 of Bill of Rights and Constitution, 
 235, 236, 251 ; inconsistent state 
 ment as to two sections of Bill of 
 Rights, 236, 241 ; not always relia 
 ble, 238 ; his mistake as to Henry s 
 Resolves of 1765, 236 ; admission of 
 his biographer, 238 ; his memory at 
 fault, 238 ; describes discussion on 
 first article of Declaration, 240 ; 
 tells of article defeated by Henry, 
 241 ; suffrage qualifications in Con 
 stitution, 260 ; claims that the dis 
 establishment of the Church was the 
 work of its friends, 269 ; on com 
 mittee to state Virginia s title to 
 western territory, ii., 22 ; writes 
 Arthur Lee on this subject, 22 ; 
 letter from George Mason to, 23-33 > 
 writes to Speaker of the House in 
 regard to defence prepared by com- 
 
5 i6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 mittee, 64 ; on commission to settle 
 compact with Maryland, 72 ; men- 
 tioned in letter of G. Mason as 
 absent from meeting of commis- \ 
 sioners, 83 ; writes to Mason with- | 
 out referring to it, 84 ; his absence \ 
 owing to a mistake in not receiving 
 proper notification, 84 ; is in favor I 
 of religious assessment, 90 ; delegate j 
 to Annapolis Convention, 93 ; at 
 tends the Convention, 94 ; delegate j 
 to Federal Convention, 97 ; Gov- i 
 ernor of Virginia, 98 ; concurs with I 
 Mason on States-rights, 98 ; letters I 
 of George Mason to, in reference to j 
 expenses of delegates, 98, 99 ; in j 
 the Convention, 108 ; brings for- \ 
 ward plan of government, 108 ; first i 
 resolution of his debated, 108 ; sixth i 
 resolution gave power to coerce a j 
 State, 109 ; failed to see the danger 
 apparent to Mason, 109 ; sustains 
 Mason s idea of a triple executive, j 
 116 ; his plan considered in speech j 
 of Mason, 120 ; concurs with Mason 
 as to treatment of new States, \ 
 133 ; moved that periodical census j 
 be taken to regulate representation, j 
 135 ; his observations on the sub- ; 
 ject referred to by Sherman, 136 ; 
 sustains Madison s motion for the 
 appointment of the judiciary by the \ 
 Executive, 142 ; one of the five > 
 members constituting Committee of 
 Detail, 144 ; approved of section ; 
 giving the House power to originate j 
 money bills, 150 ; concurs with j 
 Madison and Mason in holding a 
 bare majority of a quorum insuffi- , 
 cient to expel, 152 ; amends clause \ 
 relating to money bills, 153 ; states j 
 his objections to the Constitution, j 
 170 ; moves to submit it to Con 
 gress, State Legislatures, and Con 
 ventions, and finally to second 
 General Convention, 171 ; supports 
 Mason on veto question, 171 ; votes 
 for bill of rights, 172 ; supports mo 
 tion of Mason relating to standing 
 armies in time of peace, 1 74 ; moves 
 to except cases of treason from par 
 doning power of Executive, 175 ; 
 considers powers given by the Con 
 stitution dangerous and indefinite, 
 and moves for amendments to be 
 offered by State Conventions to a 
 Second Federal Convention, 176 ; 
 refuses to sign the Constitution, 
 
 176 ; draft of a constitution in his 
 handwriting among papers of 
 Mason, 179 ; writes from Alexan 
 dria to Madison, as to sentiments 
 of its inhabitants, i Si ; wrote to 
 Mason, but his letter not extant, 
 181, 182 ; publishes his objections 
 to the Constitution, 184 ; in the 
 Assembly, 189 ; writes Madison in 
 reference to Mason, 189 ; an acad 
 emy called after him, 201 ; named 
 one of the trustees, 201 ; personal 
 characteristics as given by Cyrus 
 Griffin, 210 ; his position on sub 
 ject of Constitution considered 
 wavering, 210 ; Washington appar 
 ently aware of his change of party, 
 210; in the Virginia Convention, 
 219 ; eulogy of his talents by Wirt, 
 219 ; comes out as a Federalist 
 leader, 219, 225 ; speaks in reply 
 to Henry, 225, 226, 392 ; Federalists 
 elated by his accession to their 
 ranks, 227 ; expediency his only 
 plea for change of views, 228, 392 ; 
 replies to Mason s argument as to 
 impracticability of republican gov 
 ernment in extensive territory, 229 ; 
 his inconsistency of opinion, 230 ; 
 reflects on Mason and Henry as 
 law-makers, 230 ; Henry draws him 
 out and then retorts upon him, 231; 
 Randolph s angry reply, 232 ; ex 
 citing scene on the occasion, 232 ; 
 insults Henry and refuses to explain 
 his insinuations, 232 ; his pleas for 
 accepting the Constitution answered 
 by Mason, 239, 404-406 ; his illogi 
 cal, indefensible position pointed 
 out, 239, 406 ; dangers of rejection 
 as given by Randolph ridiculed by 
 Grayson, 241 ; speaks on subject of 
 navigation of the Mississippi, 242 ; 
 allusion to Randolph s course in let 
 ter of Col. Bland, 243, 244 ; danger 
 of a duel between Randolph and 
 Henry, 243 ; speaks on subject of the 
 militia, 245 ; on the power of Con 
 gress over federal district, 248 ; his 
 reference to the Hague answered by 
 Mason, 248, 417 ; speaks in reply 
 to Henry, 251 ; his definition of ex 
 post facto law disputed by Mason, 
 
 252, 422 ; Mason proposes to 
 make use of Randolph s former 
 arguments against Constitution, 
 
 253, 254 ; Randolph speaks in re 
 ply, 254 ; declares that he still sees 
 
INDEX. 
 
 517 
 
 faults of the Constitution, 264 ; 
 makes a speech after Grayson, 264 ; 
 a misleading statement of his cor 
 rected by Mason, 265, 269, 443 ; 
 approves of Wythe s form of ratifi 
 cation, 269 ; reviews amendments 
 of the Antifederalists, 269 ; declares 
 his agreement with Mason on sub 
 ject of navigation laws, 269 ; his 
 last speech in convention, 270 ; de 
 fends himself against charges made 
 against his course, 270 ; on commit 
 tee to prepare form of ratification, 
 270 ; on committee to prepare 
 amendments, 271 ; influence of his 
 argument of expediency on weak 
 and wavering, 271 ; his action in 
 withholding letter of Gov. Clinton 
 to the Convention, 274 ; charged 
 with delaying official letter to Clin 
 ton, 274 ; Mason s resolutions of 
 censure, calling on him to explain, 
 275 ; Randolph s letter to Clinton, 
 and latter s reply, 276-279 ; a mys 
 tery unexplained, 278, 279 ; irre 
 parable injury to the cause of Anti- 
 federalists, 278 ; Randolph s re 
 sponsibility for the grievous wrong, 
 278, 279; Mason s allusion to, 304 ; 
 severity of Mason s judgment and 
 its justification, 308 ; Randolph s 
 MS. history, its value, 373 ; his 
 parallels between various historical 
 characters, 373, 374 
 
 Randolph, John, i., 74; John of 
 Roanoke, i., 262, 274, 311, ii., 372 ; 
 Sir John, ii., 369 ; Peyton, i., 137, 
 179, 205, 206, 269, 392, ii., 373 ; 
 Richard of "Curies," i., 392; 
 Thomas Jefferson, i., 275 
 
 Randolph s "Life of Jefferson," i., 
 
 275, "., 365 
 
 Randolph s MS. " History of Vir 
 ginia," i., 124, 178, 179, 223, 231, 
 232, 234-236, 240, 251, 260, 261, 
 336, 355 
 
 Rangers, i., 20, 26, 27, 31, ii., 201 ; [ 
 Journal of, i., 21 
 
 Rawlins, Colonel, i., 315 
 
 Read, George, ii., 156, 304 
 
 Reed, Jacob, ii., 235 ; James, ii., 
 359 ; Joseph, i., 179 
 
 Reed s " Life and Correspondence of 
 President Reed,"i., 179 
 
 Religion, i., 241, 243, assessment for ; 
 support of, i., 243, 244, ii., 72, 73, \ 
 87-91 ; Memorial and Remonstrance 
 against assessment, ii., 87-90 
 
 Religious freedom, i., 236, 238, 239, 
 241-244, 246; Act establishing, i., 
 242, 243, ii., 87 
 
 Restoration, the, i , 6, 14 
 
 Revolution of 1688, i., 17, 247, 249 
 
 Rhode Island, i., viii., 264, 296, ii., 
 101, 104, 215, 303, 363 
 
 Richmond, Va., i., xiv., 31, 44, 103, 
 185, iSS, 191, 198, 200, 203, 206, 
 209, 210, 213, 237, 297, 298, 326, 
 340, 350, 370, 427, ii-, 5, 24, 52, 
 54, 55, 76, 85, 91, 92, 96, 183, 189, 
 
 204, 2O5, 215, 22O, 222, 233, 234, 
 242, 243, 266, 274, 277-280,316, 323- 
 
 325, 337-340, 343, 345, 375, 39 
 
 Rippon, Yorkshire, i., 59 
 
 Rivers : Acoquane, sec Occoquan ; 
 Alleghany, see Ohio ; Appomattox, 
 i., 93; Cherokee, see Tennessee; 
 Cumberland, i., 366; Delaware, i., 
 278, 360, 363 ; Great Kanawha, i., 
 188, ii., 375 ; Green, i., 310, 366 ; 
 Holston, ii., 375 ; Hudson, i., 337 ; 
 Illinois, i., 321 ; James, i., 12, 15, 
 23, 87, 93, 233, 304, 329, 335, 395, 
 413, ii., 2, 12, 15, 16, 77, 206, 233, 
 3 T 6, 337-34O, 354 ; Mattawoman, 
 ii., 10 ; Mississippi, i., 294, 307, 
 312, 321, 333, 342, 344, 363-365, 
 412, 413, ii., 23, 25, 28, 30, 
 35, 95, 193, 232, 242, 244, 341 ; 
 Monongahela, i., 61 ; Obache, see 
 Wabash ; Occoquan, i., 16, 21, 23, 
 25, 27, 28, 50, 51, 81, 87, 91, 98, 
 100, in, 115, ii., 346, 349, 460, 
 465 ; Ohio, i., 58, 61, 78, 154, 157, 
 158, 214, 307, 310, 321, 325, 326, 
 341-343, 360-366, 411, 412, 414, 
 ii., 14, 23-27, 30, 34, 64, 65, 73, 
 74, 341, 343, 375, 381 ; Pocomoke, 
 i., 261, 288, 453, ii., Si, 84,85, 92, 
 379 ; Potomac, i., 2, 5-7, 10, 12, 15, 
 21, 23, 24, 31, 34, 35, 37-39, 55, 60, 
 72, 85, 87, 89-93, 98, 100, 101, 105, 
 117, 119, 130, 154, 187, 189-191,213, 
 
 214, 2l8, 219, 221, 26l, 288, 304, 
 
 361, 381, 401, 408, 411, 413, 453, 
 ii., II, 26, 27, 32, 41, 72-74, 81- 
 86, 92, 212, 220, 238, 307, 314, 335, 
 336, 338, 358, 360, 368, 376, 379, 
 381, 382, 405, 437, 455, 460, 464, 
 465 ; Powhatan, sec James ; Rappa- 
 hannock, i., 5, 15, 21, 30, 31, 85, 90, 
 93, 119, 193, 213, 304, 408, ii., 
 307; Roanoke, i., 413; Scioto, i., 
 214; Shenandoah, ii., 336; Ten 
 nessee, i., 188, 310, 366 ; Wabash, 
 i., 311, 321, ii., 25 
 
5 i8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rives, William Cabell, i., 176, 241, 
 
 249, 255, 263, 322, ii., 64 
 Rives " Life of Madison," i., 176, 
 
 241, 243, 250, 254, 255, 263, ii., 
 
 87, 94, 372 
 
 Roberts, Charles, i., xiv. 
 Robertson, Alexander H., i., xii. ; 
 
 David, ii., 222, 227, 231, 236, 267, 
 
 269, 272, 308 
 
 Robertson s Debates of the Virginia 
 Convention," ii., 225, 229-231, 
 241, 242, 244, 249, 254, 264, 268, 
 
 270, 284 
 
 Robinson, Conway, i., xiv.; Thomas, 
 
 i., 49 ; Col. William, i., 31, 36, 37 
 Rockingham, Charles Watson Went- 
 
 worth, Marquis of, ii., 39 
 Rockwood, Edward, i., 373 
 Rocky Run. See Rock Creek. 
 Roman, commonwealth, i., 432 ; 
 
 dictator, ii., 241 ; historians, i., 
 
 378 ; jurisprudence, i., 239 
 Romans, the, i., 127, 169, 399 
 Rome, i., 169, ii., 428 
 Ronald, William, ii., 94, 205 
 Roots, George, ii., 24 
 Rose, Capt., ii., 318 
 Ross, David, ii., 94, 337-339, 355 
 
 356 ; Dr., i., 138 ; George, i., 332, 
 
 333 ^ Mr., ii., 214 
 Roy, Elizabeth, nee Mason, i., 29, 30, 
 
 374, ii., 463 ; Sarah, ne e Fowke, i., 
 
 376; Wiley, i., 376; William, i., 
 
 30 
 
 Rumney, W T illiam, i., 427 
 Russia, i., 281, 318, ii., 69, 403, 425 
 Rutland, Ann, ne e Hall, ii., 213; 
 
 Thomas, ii., 212, 213, 354 
 Rutledge, Edward, i., 224 ; John, ii., 
 
 137, 144, 157, 179 
 
 Sacheverell, Rev. Dr. Henry, i., 46, 
 
 151 
 
 Sainsbury MSS., i., 44 
 St. Albans, Henry, Earl of, i., 408 
 St. Alphage, church of, i., 42 
 St. Benedict s tract of land, ii., 466 
 St. Christopher, W. I., ii., 18 
 St. Eustatia, W. I., i., 303 
 St. Giles, church of, i., 42 
 St. James, court of, i., 412 
 St. Marino, republic of, ii., 124 
 St. Martin-in-the-fields, church of, i., 
 
 42 
 
 St. Mary, church of, i., 42 
 St. Mary Magdalene, parish of, i., 42 
 
 Sandiford, Thomas, ii., 463, 464 
 Sandy Hook, N. J., i., 296 
 
 I Sanford, Capt. John, i., 303 
 
 I Saratoga, battle of, i., 285 
 
 j Savage, Dr. William, i., 269, 339 
 
 i Savannah, Ga. , i., 337 
 
 j Savoy, London, i., 42 
 
 I Scarlet, Martin, i., 373 
 
 j Scharf s "History of Maryland," ii., 
 346 
 
 Schweighauser, Mr., ii., 12 
 
 ! Scotch, gentlemen, i., 281 ; Highland 
 regulars, i., 230, 233 ; merchant, 
 ii., 316 ; merchants, i., 34, 103 ; 
 nation, ii., 406 ; stores, ii., 316 
 
 I Scotchman, i., 35, 97, ii., 337, 338 
 
 ! Scotland, i., 81, 92, 97, 350, ii., 17, 
 359. 406 
 
 I Scott, Rev. Alexander, i., 81, 84; 
 Col. Charles, i., 207 ; Gustavus, ii., 
 472 ; Helen, m. Cuthbert Bullitt, 
 see Bullitt; James, i., 121; Rev. 
 James, i., 78, 80, 82-84, 93, Io2 , 
 165, 349, ii., 470, 47i 
 Selden, Ann Mason, ne e Mercer, i., 
 89 ; Mary Mason, m. Mann Page, 
 see Page. 
 
 1 Selden, Mary Thomson, nee Mason, 
 only sister of George and Thomson 
 Mason, i., 48 ; four years old at 
 time of her father s death, 48 ; Ann 
 Mason and John Mercer her guard 
 ians, 49 ; charged with wooden- 
 heeled shoes, hoop petticoat, 50 ; 
 land in Loudon Co. bought for her 
 by her mother, 51 ; her marriage, 
 
 67 ; two children, 67 ; ancestress of 
 prominent families in Va. and Md., 
 67; dies at " Chappawamsic," 67, 
 
 68 ; her illness mentioned in letter 
 of G. Mason, 68 ; her portrait pre 
 served, 67, 80 ; this left in her 
 mother s will to Mary Mason Selden, 
 80 ; inherited her mother s beauty, 
 67 ; was godmother to Ann Moncure, 
 86 
 
 Selden, Samuel, i., 67, 80 ; Col. 
 Samuel of " Salvington," i., 67, 88, 
 124, 125 
 
 Selima, racehorse, i., 90 
 
 Sharpe, Horatio, Governor of Mary 
 land, i., 104, 126 
 
 Shay s Rebellion, ii., 256, 430 
 
 Shelburne faction in Va., ii., 39, 56, 
 58, 59 
 
 Shelburne, William Petty, Earl of, ii., 
 
 39 
 Shenandoah land, i., 135 
 
INDEX. 
 
 519 
 
 Sheriffs, i., 339, 352 
 
 Sherman, Roger, ii., 109, 127, 136, 
 
 152, 158, 160, 172, 183, 373 _ 
 Sherwood, Grace, i., 44, 45 ; William, 
 
 i., 23 
 
 Ships: Adventure, i., 191, 193 ; Al 
 lison, i., 281, 282 ; American Con 
 gress, i., 218 ; Auguste, ii., 357 ; 
 Becky, ii., 311, 312, 317, 318 ; 
 Betsv, brig, ii., 315 ; Commerce, ii., 
 299 ; Confidence, ii., 326 ; Dolphin, 
 i., 303 ; Flying-Fish, sloop, i., 303 ; 
 Foivey, i., 197 ; General Washing 
 ton, ii., 13 ; Hannibal, ii., 63 ; 
 Isabella, ii., 13 ; Marvland, ii., 311, 
 317, 318 ; Nancy, brig, ii., 315 ; 
 Rainbow, i., 126; Success, brigan- 
 tine, i., 269 ; Washington, ii., 302, 
 307, 316, 318, 326, 331, 334-33 
 Shirley, William, Governor of Massa 
 chusetts, i., 61 
 Sicily, ii., 160 
 
 Sidney, Algernon, i., 239, 247 
 Sidney s " Discourses on Govern 
 ment," i., 247 
 Simpson, John, i., 373 
 Skipwith, Fulwar (?), ii., 272 
 Slaughter, Rev. Philip, i., xii., 36 
 Slave trade, slavery, slaves, i., viii., 
 36, 37, 100-102, 104, 153, 154, 
 276, 346, 348, 349, 378, 39!-393, 
 425, ii., 12, 58, 60, 61, 136, 137, 
 
 160-163, 2OI, 241, 250, 267, 27O, 
 
 293, 294, 298, 299, 363, 419, 444 
 Slaves, names of , Alec, ii., 461 ; Ann, 
 Becky, Bess, ii., 458 ; Bess, i. 
 374 ; Billy, i., 373 ; Bob, ii., 461 
 Catina, ii., 77 ; Cato, ii., 463 
 Charles, i., 373 ; Charles, ii., 348 
 Chloe, ii., 458 ; Cupid, ii., 464 
 Daphne, ii., 466 ; Dick, yellow 
 Dick, ii., 461 ; Digg, i., 373 
 Dinah, ii., 466; Dunk, ii., 461 
 Frank, Hannah, ii., 458 ; Harry 
 i., 374 ; Harry, ii., 465; Jack, ii. 
 78 ; Jack, ii., 466 ; Jacob, i., 374 
 James, i., 100 ; Jenny, i., 373 
 Jenny, little Jenny, ii., 458 ; Joe 
 
 ii-. 35 I J e , ii-> 44 ; Judy, " 
 
 461 ; Kate, ii., 462 ; Lewis, ii. 
 357 ; Liberty, ii., 461 ; Lucy, i. 
 373 ; Lucy, ii., 461 ; Milly, ii. 
 
 462 ; mulatto Mima, ii., 458 
 Moal, i., 373 ; Mudaley, i., 374 
 Nan, ii., 458 ; Nan Old Gate, i. 
 81 ; Nanny, i., 373 ; Nell, house 
 Nell, Occoquan Nell, ii., 458 
 Nelly, i., 373; Nicholas, i., 373 
 
 Peg, ii., 465; Penny, ii., 458; 
 Peter, i., 373 ; house Poll, ii., 465 ; 
 Primo, i., 373 ; Priss, mulatto Priss, 
 Rachel, ii., 458 ; Sail, ii., 464 ; 
 Sampson, ii., 462; Sarah, i., 373; 
 Sarah, i., 374 ; Sarah, ii., 458 ; 
 Scanderback, i., 373 ; Silvia, ii., 
 77 ; great Sue, ii., 458 ; Tom, i., 
 374 ; Tom, ii., 461 ; Valentine, i., 
 374 ; Venus, Vicky, ii., 458 ; 
 Walker, i., 374 
 
 Smith, E. Burritt, ii., 296; John, i., 
 73 ; Capt. John, i., 105; John 
 Adams, i., 256 ; Meriwether, i., 
 223, 225, 228, 254-256, ii., 93, 94, 
 96, 205; Mr., i., 315 ; Messrs., ii., 
 352 
 
 i Smith s " History of Virginia," i., 4 
 i Smyth s " Tour in the United States," 
 
 i., 87, 88, 90, 213 
 \ Somers, Lord John, i., 248, ii., 258 ; 
 
 Sir George, i., 394, 402 
 i Southampton County, Eng. , i., 3 
 i South Carolina, i., viii., 261, 264, 
 333, 337, 35i, 407, 408, 453, ii-, 
 3, 15, 100, 104, 108, 123, 161, 163, 
 166, 175, 177, 186, 281, 282, 285, 
 
 ^ 303, 327, 33i, 334 
 
 Southern Confederacy, ii., 209, 295, 
 
 307, 377 
 
 Southern States, i., 351, ii., 3, 102, 
 106, 115, 135, 136, 142, 156, 160, 
 162, 165, 166, 169, 170, 172, 175, 
 187, 232, 241, 267, 270, 273, 282, 
 284, 292, 293, 300, 301, 333, 335, 
 363, 388, 389, 419, 420, 444 
 
 South Sea. See Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Spain, i., 247, 315, 318, 344, 365, 367, 
 ii., i, 14, 70,95, 105, 114, 136, 155, 
 238, 341, 404 
 
 Spaniards, i., 365, 386 
 
 Spanish Junta, i., 247 
 
 Spanish mode of treating with In 
 dians, i., 312 ; revolution, ii., 404 ; 
 side of Ohio River, ii., 341 ; silver 
 dollar, i., 353; territory, ii., 344; 
 yoke, ii., 404 
 
 Sparks, Jared, i., 172 
 
 Sparks " Correspondence of the 
 American Revolution," i., 2IO, 212, 
 219, 306, ii., 95, 189, 205 ; " Lifeand 
 Writings of Gouverneur Morris," 
 ii., 179; "Life and Writings of 
 Washington," i., 77, 84, 113, 141, 
 142, 173, 178, 190, 196, 221, 252, 
 319, ii., 89, 95, 180, 183, 188, 197, 
 208, 210, 227, 361, 362; "Works 
 of Franklin," i., 155 
 
520 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sparks MSS., i., 66 
 
 Spencer, Col. Nicholas, i., 17 
 
 Spotswood, Alexander, Governor of 
 Virginia, i., 28, 30-34, 36, ii., 26 ; 
 Major Alexander, i., 207 
 
 " Spotswood Letters." Sec Brock. 
 
 Spottsylvania County, Va., ii., 304 
 
 " Squire Tom," convict, i., 24 
 
 Stafford County, Va., i., 7-11, 16, 17, 
 19, 20, 22-26, 28, 30, 31, 33-38, 
 50, 56, 67, 72, 77, 79, 81, 88, 89, 
 97, 103, 119, 124, 125, 129, 137, 
 153, 222, 291, 349, 350, 373-376, 
 ii., 10, 52, 75, 76, 78, 208, 210, 303, 
 316, 346, 347, 351, 373, 454-456, 
 47i 
 
 Stafford, Court House of, see Court 
 House ; sheriff of, i., 7, 22, 28, 30 
 
 Stafford Parish, church of, i., 19 
 
 Stafford, Thomas, ii., 463, 464 
 
 Staffordshire, Eng., i., 2, 3; Murray s 
 Hand-Book for, i., 3 ; Shaw s His 
 tory of, i., 3 
 
 Stanard, William G., i., xii. 
 
 Staten Island, N. Y., i., 296 
 
 States-rights, i., 347, 348, ii., 126, 
 139, 177, 282, 293, 371 
 
 Stauffer, D. McN., i.,xiv. 
 
 Staunton, Va., ii., 373 
 
 Stephen, Adam, ii., 265 
 
 Stephens, Mary, m. Sir William 
 Thomson. See Thomson. 
 
 Steptoe, Mr., i., 233 
 
 Steuben, Frederick William, Baron, 
 ii., 6 
 
 Stewart s Report, i., 60, 190 
 
 Stinson, Mr., i., 315 
 
 Stith, Rev. William, i., 397, 417 
 
 Stith s " History of Virginia," i., 397, 
 
 417 
 
 Stoddart, Benjamin, ii., 312, 353 
 
 Stone, F. D., ii., 281 ; Thomas, ii., 
 81, 82, 186, 211-214, 356, 382 
 
 Stony Point, i., 337 
 
 Strahan, David, i., 21 
 
 Stratford-upon-Avon, i., 2 
 
 Streetfield, i., 118 
 
 Streets, Broad, Richmond, ii., 221 ; 
 Queen, New York, ii., 235 ; Fair 
 fax, Alexandria, i., 61, 77 ; King, 
 Alex., i., 77 ; Royal, Alex., i., 77 ; 
 Virginia, Glasgow, i., 35 
 
 Strong, Caleb, ii., 304 
 
 Stuart, Dr. David, i., 92, ii., 79, 88, 
 96, 207, 303, 310 ; Eleanor, ne e 
 Calvert, m. ist John Parke Custis, 
 i., 92, 219 ; Richard, i., 91 
 
 Stuart family, i., 92 
 
 Stump Neck, i., 101, ii., 462 
 
 Suffolk County, Eng., i., 3 
 
 Sullivan, General John, i., 296 
 
 Surrey County, England, i., 42 
 
 Swann family, i., 67 
 
 Swann, Mrs., ne e Alexander, i., xiii. 
 
 Sweden, ii., 69 
 
 Swedish settlements, i., 407 
 
 Swift, Jonathan, i., 151 
 
 Swiss Cantons, ii., 69, 114 
 
 Tabb, John, i., 205 
 
 Taliaferro family, i., 54 
 
 Tasborough, John, i., 40, 41 
 
 Tasker, Anne, ne e Bladen, ii., 467 ; 
 Hon. Benjamin, i., 90, ii., 340; 
 Benjamin, i., 90, ii., 355 
 
 Taverns, Hubbard s Inn, i., 291 ; 
 Indian Queen, ii., 102 ; Leeds, i., 
 304 ; Raleigh, i., 124, 168, 247 ; 
 Swann, ii., 221, 232 
 
 Tayloe, Benjamin Ogle, i., 90, 116 ; 
 Col. John, i., 76, 90, 215 
 
 Tayloe family, i., 90 
 
 Taylor, John, i., 339, 340; Gen. 
 Richard, i., xv.,ii., 376, 378 
 
 Tazewell, Henry, i., 350 
 
 Tebbs, Foushee, i., 269 
 
 Temple Church, i., 42 
 
 Temple, Inner, ii., 220; Middle, i., 
 39, 40, 42, 43, 53 
 
 Temple, Sir William, i., 46 
 
 Terry, Nathaniel, i., 392 
 
 Thacher, John Boyd, i., xiv. 
 
 The Cove, tract of land, i., 117 
 
 The Hague, ii., 248, 417 
 
 The Welshman s Conquest, tract of 
 land, i., 117 
 
 Thompson, Matthew, i., 38 
 
 Thompson s patent, ii., 463, 464 
 
 Thomson family, i., 39, 112 
 
 Thomson or Thompson, Ann, in. Col. 
 George Mason (3d), see Mason ; 
 Dorothea, ne e Temple (?), i., 44 ; 
 Elizabeth, i., 44 ; Henry of " Hollin 
 Hall,"i., 39 ; John, i., 47, 55 ; Lady 
 Julia, ne e Conyers, m. 1st Sir Wm. 
 
 Blacket, i., 47 ; Mary, m. ist 
 
 Booth, 2d Capt. Graves Peck, see 
 Peck ; Lady or " Dame " Mary, nee 
 Stephens, i., 42 ; Sarah, i., 47 
 
 Thomson, or Thompson Arms, de 
 scription of, ii., 475 
 
 Thomson, Sir William, of " Hollin 
 Hall," a student at Cambridge, i., 
 39 ; admitted to the Middle Tern- 
 
IXDEX. 
 
 521 
 
 pie, 39 ; his marriage, 42 ; license 
 given, 42 ; made serjeant-at-law, 
 40 ; king s Serjeant, 41 ; knighted 
 at Whitehall, 40 ; account of some 
 of the cases in which he was em 
 ployed, 40-42 ; his urbanity, 40 ; 
 prudence and fairness, 41 ; his 
 death, 42 ; is buried in the Temple 
 Church, 42 ; will of his widow ex 
 tant, 42 ; eminent in his profession, 
 
 ,, 39 53 
 
 Thomson, Sir William, of " Osterly 
 
 Park," M. P. admitted to the Mid 
 dle Temple, i., 46 ; called to the 
 bar, 46 ; enters Parliament, 46 ; 
 prominent in the impeachment of 
 Dr. Sacheverell, 46 ; Recorder of 
 Ipswich, Recorder of London, 
 Solicitor-General, Baron of the 
 Exchequer, 46 ; knighted, 46 ; his 
 marriage, 47 ; his country seat in 
 Middlesex, 47 ; death at Bath, 47, 
 
 54 ; his will, 47 ; gives his portrait 
 to the Court of Aldermen of Lon 
 don, 47 ; his estate in chancery, 47, 
 
 55 ; Ann Mason his heir, 47, 55 
 Thomson, Stevens, eldest son of Sir 
 
 William of " Hollin Hall," i., 42 ; 
 at University of Cambridge, 42, 
 43 ; barrister of the Middle Tem 
 ple, 42, 43 ; appointed Attorney- 
 General of Virginia, 43 ; recom 
 mended by Sir Edward Northey, 
 43 ; his certificate signed by Sir 
 John Holt and others, 43 ; writes 
 letter of thanks to the Lords of 
 Trade, 44 ; embarks on a mer 
 chant ship with his family, 44 ; 
 makes his home in Williamsburg, 
 43 ; most of his decisions lost in the 
 destruction of the records of the 
 General Court, 44 ; his opinion in 
 the witchcraft case extant, 44, 45 ; 
 a tribute to its sagacity 45 ; his 
 wife and children, 44, 46 ; his 
 death, 45 ; notice of it in letter of 
 Gov. Spotswood, 45, 46 ; marriage 
 of his daughter, 36 ; his intellectual 
 qualities inherited by her, 52 ; dis 
 tinguished record at the bar, 42, 
 53 
 
 Thomson, Stevens, i., 44 ; Taunton, 
 i., 44 ; William, i., 44 
 
 Thornton, Elizabeth, nee Mason, i., 
 119, 159, ii., 314, 317, 318, 351, 
 458, 459 ; Col. Frank, i., 87 ; Maj. 
 George, i., 119 ; William, i., 119 
 
 Thornton family, i., 119 
 
 Thruston, Rev. Charles Mynn, ii., 
 
 55, 191 
 
 Ticonderoga, i., 195, 285 
 
 Tillet, John, i., 233 
 
 Tillett, Benoni, ii., 460; Giles, ii., 
 460 
 
 " T. M.," i., 9, 10, 12-15 
 
 Tobacco, i., 5, 7, 36, 37, 50, 101, 103, 
 142, 149, 150, 191, 193, 194, 217, 
 295, 296, 346, 352, 375, 392, 410, 
 425, ii., 12, 16, 33, 46, 62, 98, 160, 
 195, 196, 206, 212-214, 253, 286, 
 295, 296, 299-301, 307, 424, 457 ; 
 colonies, i., 139, 141; debts, i., 
 392, 393 ; fee, i., 417 ; houses, i., 
 22 ; money, i., 375 ; planters, i., 34, 
 152, ii., 285 ; plants, i., 192 ; rents, 
 ii., 33 ; shipments of, ii., 97, 311, 
 315, 317, 326, 334, 335, 338, 348, 
 349, 357 J tenders, i., 24 ; trade, i., 
 147 ; warehouses, i., 351, ii., 2, 16, 
 360 
 
 Toner, Dr. Joseph M., i., xii., 122, 
 ii., 91, 96, 312, 474 
 
 Toulon, France, i., 320 
 
 Townshend, Charles, ii., 231 
 
 Travers family, i., 54 
 
 Travers, Hannah, ntfe Ball, i., 88 ; 
 Raleigh, i., 88, 373, ii., 75 
 
 Travis, Champion, i., 392 
 
 Treasury-rights, i., 417 
 
 Treaties, Indian, i., 36, 65, ii., 26; 
 of Lancaster (Pa.), 1744, i., 326- 
 328, ii., 25, 27, 342, 343 ; of Loggs- 
 town (Ohio), 1752, i., 59, 327 ; at 
 Fort Stanwix (N. Y.), 1768, i., 188, 
 325, 327, ii., 26, 342, 343 
 
 Treaties, treaty-making power, ii., 49, 
 105, 106, 147, 148, 155, 169, 229, 
 245, 261, 289, 385, 388, 389, 401, 
 411, 413, 430-432, 434, 440, 449, 
 450, 452 
 
 Treaty, between Great Britain and 
 France, 1748, i., 59 ; of Paris, be 
 tween G. B., France, and Spain, 
 1756, ii., 28 ; between G. B. and 
 France, 1763, i., 261, 412 ; between 
 G. B. and U. S. of America, 1783, 
 i., 365, ii., 40, 43, 48, 52, 56, 58, 
 59, 63, 120, 194, 197, 198, 205, 206, 
 261, 296 ; between G. B. and U. S. 
 of A., 1795 (Jay s), ii., 229, 289 
 
 Trent, Captain, i., 67; William, i., 
 325, 327, ii., 26 
 
 Trenton, battle of, i., 278 
 
 Tretheway, John, i., 408 
 
 Triplett, Ann, ne e Massey, i., no; 
 Thomas, i., 427 
 
522 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Truro, parish of, i., 84, 112, 114, 116, 
 128, 165, 167, ii., 457, 465 
 
 Tryon, William, Governor of North 
 Carolina, and of New York, i., 
 136, 321 
 
 Tucker, George, i., 273, 308 ; St. 
 George, ii., 93, 94, 371 
 
 Tucker s " Life of Jefferson," i., 271, 
 274 
 
 Tugate, overseer, ii., 348 
 
 Turberville family, i., 90 
 
 Turberville, John, i., 185 
 
 Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques, ii., 237 
 
 Turkish divan, i., 383, 410 
 
 Tyler, John, i., 256 ; Judge John, i., 
 256, 308, 323, 355, ii., 94, 219, 224, 
 244, 245, 250, 270, 391 ; Lyon Gar 
 diner, i., xii., 256, 355 ; Moses Coit, 
 i., 183, 236, 243, 272 
 
 Tyler s "Letters and Times of the 
 Tylers," i., 355, ii., 286, 319 
 
 Tyler s " Life of Patrick Henry," i., 
 183, 243, 272, ii., 309 
 
 Tythable, tythables, i., 185, 186 
 
 United States of America, i., 267, 287, 
 294, 321, 322, 341-343, 345-347, 
 353, 355, 356, 359, 361, 363, 3&5, 
 367, 368, ii., 2, 25, 28, 30-32, 39, 
 40, 51, 59, 63, 64, 93, 95, 97, 100, 
 117, 118, 120, 130, 140, 146, 149, 
 151, 152, 156, 158, 159, 162, 164- 
 166, 170, 172, 177, 194, 197, 198, 
 202, 203, 217, 228, 229, 236, 249, 
 252, 253, 259, 260, 262, 267, 271, 
 284, 285, 287, 289, 290, 291, 296, 
 313, 320, 322, 325, 327, 328, 332- 
 335, 372, 379, 382, 383, 385, 387, 
 390, 39i, 394, 398, 400, 401, 409, 
 418, 423, 425, 431, 432-436, 441, 
 448-454, 456, 457 
 
 United States, or Provinces of Hol 
 land and the Netherlands, Holland, 
 i., 287, 320, ii., 114, 238, 248, 403, 
 404, 417 ; Low Countries, 357, 386 ; 
 States-General, ii., 63 
 
 University of Virginia, i., xiv., 193, 
 280, 295, 335, 414, ii., 209 
 
 Utrecht, peace of, i., 414 
 
 Vanbibber, Abraham, i., 287 
 Vandalia, province of, i., 155, 157, 
 
 ii-, 32 
 Vandicasteall, Giles, i., 27 
 
 Valandingham, Michael, i., 374 
 
 Venice, i., 93 
 
 Vergennes, Count de, ii., 17 
 
 Vermont, i., viii. 
 
 Vernon, Admiral Edward, i., 377 
 
 Vestries, i., 32, 73, 84, 85, 114, 127, 
 
 128, 142, 167 
 Vestry House, i., 167 
 
 Vestry Meeting, i., 112, 119, 121, 
 122, 142 
 
 Vincennes, Ind. (St. Vincents), i., 313, 
 362, 365, ii., 25 
 
 Violet, Edward, ii., 463 
 
 Virginia, i., vi.-ix., xi.-xiv., 2-6, 8, 
 17, 19, 21, 24, 30, 33, 35, 36, 
 38, 39, 42-45, 47, 50-53, 55, 56, 
 60, 73, 79, 87, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96, 
 97, 101, 103, 104, 119, 126, 127, 
 
 129, 132, 133, 135, 143, 146-148, 
 151, 155, 157, 158, 170, 171, 175, 
 177-181, 189, 190, 192, 193, 195- 
 
 197, 210, 213, 214, 2l6, 217, 224, 
 220, 23O-232, 234, 237, 25O, 26O- 
 265, 268, 270, 272, 278, 284, 287, 
 289, 296, 297, 303, 304, 307-310, 
 
 315, 323, 324, 326, 327, 343, 344, 
 348, 349, 351, 352, 360, 362-368, 
 373, 376, 377, 38i, 389, 393, 395~ 
 397, 400, 401, 407-409, 411-418, 
 442, 444, 447, 453, ii., 4, 6, 9, n, 
 12, 15-18, 21, 23, 25-28, 31, 32, 
 36, 40, 64, 65, 67, 75, 79, 81, 85-87, 
 90, 92, 94-96, 98, 100, 104, 108- 
 110, 128, 129, 132, 134, 136, 137, 
 143, 151, 158-162, 164, 165, 167, 
 171, 172, 174-176, 180, 186, 193, 
 202-204, 209, 215, 217, 219, 220, 
 229, 232, 233, 237-240, 242, 251, 
 252, 271, 273-275, 277-282, 285, 
 286, 294, 298, 299, 301-304, 307, 
 308, 313, 320-322, 325-327, 329, 
 334, 337, 339, 34*, 345~347, 356, 
 365, 370, 373-379, 38i, 382, 402, 
 404, 412, 438, 454-457, 466, 467, 
 472 ; almanacs, i., 103 ; amend 
 ment, amendments, ii., 281, 284- 
 286, 318, 319, 322 ; Antifederalists, 
 ii., 184 ; antiquary, i., 124 ; Attor 
 ney-General of, i., 36, 43-46, ii., 
 81, 83, 84, 310 ; boundaries, or 
 bounds of, i., 261, 269, 270, 305, 
 356, 359, 36i, 407,408, 411-414; 
 charters, i., 155, 157, 158, 261, 262, 
 325, 363, 393, 395-402, 406-411, 
 413-416, ii., 31, 32 ; charter-rights, 
 ii., 21 ; church in, churches, i., 115, 
 243; church-yard, i., 115 ; citizens 
 of, i. , 362, 443, ii. , 183, 382 ; coast of, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 523 
 
 i., 394 ; code, ii., 86, 378 ; colonial 
 history of, i., g ; commerce of, ii., 
 286 ; commissioner for, ii., 26 ; com 
 missioners, ii., 25, Si, 83, 93, 379 ; 
 Committee, ii., 280 ; Company, sec 
 Companies ; Constitution (colonial), 
 i., 402-404, 409 ; country of, i., 
 410; county in, i., 314, 449 ; cur 
 rency, i., 65, ii., 338 ; delegates, 
 delegation in Congress, i., 204, 228, 
 256, 323, 347, 348, 35i, 359, 45i, 
 ii., 2, 5, 21, 51, 193, 203 ; delega 
 tion, deputies in Convention, ii., 
 101, 109, 126, 131 ; estates in, 
 i., 97, 112 ; executive, i., 59, 
 156, ii., 382 ; families, family, 
 i., 4, 23, 29, 6l, 67, 93 ; federal 
 court of, ii., 263, 441 ; Federalists, 
 ii., 286 ; flag of, ii., 287 ; govern 
 ment in, or of, i., 131, 133, 155, 231, 
 402, 406, 414, 440, 449, ii., 25, 32, 
 418, 439, 456 ; history, i., 193 ; in 
 habitants of, i., 409 ; juries, ii., 46 ; 
 jurisdiction of, ii., 455, 456 ; land 
 tax, ii., 130 ; lands in, or of, i., 327, 
 444 ; law, laws of, i., 119, 128, 276, 
 277, 326, 362, ii., 24, 343 ; leaders 
 i., 124, ii., 373 ; legislation of, ii., 
 230 ; Light Horse, ii., 10 ; limits 
 of, i., 407 ; line, i., 309, 310 ; map 
 of, i., 117; military establishment 
 of, i., 195, 196, 199, 201-204, 206, 
 
 2O7, 209, 211, 212, 217-219, 221, 
 
 229, 280, 286-289, 36, 307, 309, 
 310, 334, 338 ; militia, i., 10-12, 16, 
 20, 33, 34, 64, 119, 182-184, 201, 
 207, 209, 213, 287, 307, ii., 25, 41 ; 
 money, ii., 25 ; parishes, i., 23 ; par 
 liament, i., 406; patriots, i., 143, 
 ii., 217 ; people of, i., 406, 407, 
 411, 413, 433, 438, 449, ii., 9, 186, 
 216, 228, 233, 249, 320, 322, 323, 
 401 ; plan of government (Federal), 
 ii., 108-110, 119, 120, 129 ; planter, 
 i., 302 ; planters of, i., 130, 152, ii., 
 78 ; poet, ii., 161 ; politics, ii., 55 ; 
 price, i., 135 ; provincials, i., 64 ; 
 regiments, i., 306, ii., 24 ; religious 
 freedom in, i., 241, 243 ; resolves, 
 ii., 278 ; schools in, i., 308 ; settlers, 
 ii., 24, 26 ; shores, i., 453 ; society, 
 i., 274; sovereignty of, ii., 98; 
 statesman, ii., 127 ; statute of de 
 scents, i., 274 ; subjects of, i., 410, 
 416 ; subscriptions, i., 187 ; suffrage 
 law, i., 246 ; Surveyor-General of, 
 i., 414; territory of, i., 202, 325, 
 411; titles, ii., 343; tobacco, ii., 
 
 357 ; tradition, i., 3 ; troops, i., 74, 
 314,363, 366; vessels, ii., 13; wilder 
 ness, i., II 
 
 Virginia, Assembly, Acts of, Bills, i., 
 5-7, 9, 15, 16, 20, 38, 45, 73, 77, 127, 
 
 128, 188, 242, 273, 274, 276, 277, 
 286-291, 293, 306-309, 323, 324, 
 329, 333-335, 337-340, 344-347, 
 350, 352, 354-356, 358, 359, 379, 
 
 380, 397, 412, 413, 416, 417, ii., 7, 
 55, 58-60, 65, 72, 87, 93, 195-201, 
 204, 206-208, 261, 276, 277, 310, 
 342, 344, 346, 347, 382, 414, 439, 
 440; House of Burgesses, i., 6-10, 
 14-17, 20, 21, 24, 28, 31, 32, 34, 
 36-38, 72-76, 120, 123, 124, 126, 
 
 129, 134, 136-138, 141, 153, 154, 
 167-171, 175, 177, 197, 208, 378, 
 
 381, 401, 403-406, 408, 413, 414, 
 421, ii., 376; House of Delegates, 
 i., 237, 241-243, 259-261, 267, 
 268, 270-274, 280, 282-285, 288, 
 290-293, 298, 302, 310, 441-447, 
 449, 451-454, ii., 39, 42-46, 48, 50- 
 52, 54, 55, 57, 59, 64-66, 70-73, 79, 
 83-87, 125, 120, 131, 132, 180, 181, 
 186, 188-190, 192, 194-197, 200- 
 208, 223, 230, 239, 261, 265, 266, 
 274-276, 278-280, 303, 307-310, 
 319, 323-325, 330, 33i, 341-347, 
 360, 379, 38i, 382, 39, 39i, 402, 
 406, 414, 454, 455 ; Journal of, i., 
 73, 75, 137, 269, 271, 282, 288-290, 
 305, 307-310, 323, 325, 329, 338, 
 340, 341, 345, 346, 348, 351, 354- 
 
 356, 359, "-, 65, 72-74, 93, 9 6 , 97, 
 192-196, 198-200, 203, 280, 311, 
 331, 342 ; Senate, i., 259-261, 270, 
 271, 309, 3io, 334, 336, 351, 352, 
 359, 443-447, 449-452, 454, ii., 94, 
 203, 279, 319-324, 331 ; Journal of 
 Senate, ii., 319, 323 
 "Virginia Calendar Papers," i., 24, 
 26-28, 45, 202, 204, 328, 329, ii., 
 10, 17,19, 81, 99, 132, 310, 330, 
 
 34i, .345 
 
 Virginia Constitution of 1776, i., ix., 
 228, 230-232, 234-236, 242, 243, 
 248, 250-258, 260-263, 266, 441, 
 443, ii. , 28, 42-44, 48, 49, 54, 66, 71, 
 87, 128, 143, 223, 367, 378, 401, 421 
 
 Virginia Conventions : 1774, August, 
 171, 179 ; 1775, March, i., 177, 183, 
 185, 188, 191, 199, 328 ; 1775, July, 
 i., 197, 198-212, 263, 264, 298, 300 ; 
 1775, December, i., 213 ; 1776, 
 May, i., 222-226, 228-235, 237, 
 239-241, 248, 251-258, 260, 262, 
 
524 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 264-267, 271, 273, 298, 436 ; 1788, 
 June, i., vii., ii., 181-184, 186, 
 189-191, 196, 197, 208-210, 214, 
 215, 219-225, 227-229, 231-235, 
 239, 241-245, 254, 258, 259, 261- 
 263, 265-267, 269-280, 283, 284, 
 286, 288, 290, 291, 294, 298, 301, 
 303-305, 308, 313, 319, 320, 323, 
 339, 374, 378, 390, 391, 40i, 414, 
 433, 436, 444, 445 I 1829-30, i., 
 262, 263, ii., 221 ; Journals of, i., 
 199, 200, 202, 205, 208, 209, 223, 
 229, 231 
 
 Virginia Council, i., 8, 15, 17, 19, 22, 
 24, 27, 32, 33, 36, 45, 59, 66, 70, 
 76, 77, 125, 131, 135, 158, 171, 259, 
 267, 268, 271, 298, 302, 308, 403- 
 406, 412, 414, 415, 445-447, 450- 
 452, 454, ii., 32, 132, 279, 310, 316, 
 325, 337 ; board, i., 281,418; books, 
 i-, 3 2 5, 326; entries, ii., 23 
 
 Virginia Declaration of Rights, i., ix., 
 196, 223, 228, 229, 231, 234-241, 
 243, 244, 246-255, 260, 264, 266, 
 433-444, ii., 80, 90, 223, 228, 249, 
 265, 367, 375, 378, 401, 418, 419 
 
 Virginia Executive : Governors of the 
 Colony, i., 6, 8, 14, 15, 17, 18, 24, 
 26-28, 30-34, 36, 37, 43-45, 59-65, 
 70, 72, 78, 129, 131-133, 136, 137, 
 153, 154, J 56, 158, 168, 170-172, 
 184, 197, 264, 381, 402-405, 408- 
 410, 412, 414, 415, 418, ii., 23-26 ; i 
 Governors of the State, i., 231, 259, I 
 271, 272, 280, 282, 290, 311, 323, 
 335, 441, 443, 445-447, 450-452, 
 454, ii., 6, 9, 17, 98, 108, 180, 188, 
 198, 209, 210, 243, 275, 276, 278- 
 280, 304, 308, 324, 325, 338, 340, 
 390, 392, 404 
 
 "Virginia Historical Collections," ii., 
 
 79 
 
 " Virginia Historical Register," i., 32, 
 37, 153, 169, 202, 204, 208, 319, ii., 
 
 17, 43 
 
 Virginia Land Registry Office, records 
 of, i., 4, 28, 31, 37, 61, 72, 118, 
 
 153, 154 
 
 Virginia Remonstrance to Congress," 
 i., 340, 341-344, 345, 36i, ii., 29 
 
 Virginia RESOLUTION OF INDEPEN 
 DENCE, i., 222-226, 234, 235, 255, 
 256, 264 
 
 Virginia Resolutions of 1798, i., vii. 
 
 Virginia Seal, i., 231, 264-266, 338 
 
 Virginia State Library, i., xiii. ; ar 
 chives of , i., 220, 221, 283, ii., 64, 
 93, 325 
 
 Virginia s Western Territory, i., 58, 
 59, 155, 157, 158, 188, 189, 190, 307, 
 310, 314, 321, 324-328, 359-368, 
 411-414, ii., 21-33, 51, 64-66, 202- 
 204, 323 
 
 Virginian, Virginians, i., 12, 32, 35, 
 37, 85, 93, 106, 115, 152, 153, 179, 
 187, 246, 248, 252, 287, 314, 407, 
 ii., 263, 369, 370, 374, 377, 438 
 
 W 
 
 Wagener, Col. Peter, ii., 80, 98, 99 ; 
 
 Peter, ii., 472 
 " Wahanganoche, King of Potow- 
 
 mack," i., 6, 7 
 Walker, James, i., 392 ; John, ii., 325; 
 
 Dr. Thomas, i., 74, ii., 22, 24, 26 
 Wallace, Dr. James Westvvood, ii., 75 
 Wallis, Rev. Samuel A., i., xii. 
 Walpole, Sir Robert, i., 148 ; Thomas, 
 
 i., 155, 158, 413, 414 
 Walthoe, Mr., i., 134 
 War between the States, i., 94, 108, 
 
 116, ii., 161, 166, 282, 293, 313, 
 
 367, 375 
 
 War, English Civil, i., I, 407 
 
 War, French and Indian, i., 61, 73, 
 79, 93, 203, 399, 411 
 
 War of 1812, i., viii., 96 
 
 W T ar of the Revolution, i., 32, 79, 95, 
 97, 102, 104, 105, 119, 123, 180, 
 273, 278, 285, 290, 293, 377, ii., 24, 
 25, 29, 42, 45, 112, 151, 220, 240, 
 261, 286, 308, 313, 370, 373, 375, 
 376, 419 
 
 Warren, Joseph, ii., 377 
 
 \Varrenton, Va. , i., xiv. , ii., ii 
 
 Warwickshire, i., 2 
 
 Washington, Anne, ne e Aylett, i., 167 ; 
 Augustine, i., 91, ii., 6; Bailie, 
 i., 92; Bailie, Jr., i., 92, ii., 75; 
 Bushrod, i., 93, ii., 196; Corbin, 
 i., 89; Frances, n</e Bassett, ii., 88 
 
 Washington County, Md., ii., 213 
 
 "Washington-Crawford Letters," i., 
 
 155 
 
 Washington, D. C., i., xii., xiii., 55 
 Washington family, i., 61, 70, 92, ii., 
 
 473 
 
 Washington, George Augustine, 11., 
 91, 330; Col. John, i., 9, 12, ii., 
 36 ; John Augustine, i., 89, 224, 
 225, 292 ; Lawrence, the immigrant, 
 ii., 36 ; Lawrence of " Mount Ver- 
 non," i., 54, 59, 93, 377 ; Lawrence 
 of Chotank, " i. , 91 , ii. , 36, 38, 39 I 
 Lawrence, Jr., ii., 36-39, 57 ; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 525 
 
 Lund, i., 114, 219-221, ii., 36, 474 ; 
 Martha, nde Dandridge, m. ist John 
 Custis, i., 72, 92, 121, 166, 184, 
 189, 213, 219, ii., 67 ; Mary, n& 
 Ball, i., 54, 88 ; Needham L., i., 
 91 ; Robert of "Chotank," i., 91, 
 125, ii., 36; Samuel, i., 91, 92; 
 Thacker, i., 87; William, i., 90; 
 William Augustine, i., 167 ; Col. 
 William Augustine, of South Caro 
 lina, i., 92, ii., 331 
 Washington, George, success of the 
 Revolution due to him, i., v. ; influ 
 ence over Virginia Convention rat 
 ifying Constitution, vii. ; ancestors 
 of, i ; early friendship with George 
 Mason, 54 ; early love, 56 ; mem 
 ber of Ohio Company, 59 ; com 
 missioner to confer with French 
 commandant, Co ; stationed in 
 Alexandria, 61 ; in command of 
 Virginia regiment, 63 ; in Winches 
 ter, 64 ; enlists Indians, 65 ; ill- 
 health, 67 ; letters from George 
 Mason to, 6271 ; marriage, 72 ; 
 in Williamsburg on military affairs, 
 73 ; in the Assembly, 75, 77 ; vestry 
 man of Truro parish, 84, 85 ; his 
 birth-place, 87 ; home at " Mount 
 Vernon," 87 ; his brothers, 89, 91 ; 
 hunts in Mason s Neck, 104 ; on 
 building committee of Pohick 
 Church, 113 ; buys pews, 113, 114 ; 
 fate of his pew door, 116 ; extracts 
 from journals of, 119-122 ; in the 
 Assembly, 126, 127 ; letter from G. 
 Mason to, 127 ; in the Assembly, 
 138 ; correspondence with G. Mason 
 on subject of Non-Importation, 
 138-143 ; Non-Importation Resolu 
 tions written by Mason at request 
 of Washington, viii., 138 ; signed 
 by Washington, 392 ; in the As 
 sembly, 154 ; his lands on Ohio 
 surveyed, 155 ; appointed executor 
 of George Mason s will, 165 ; visits 
 Col. Mason, 167 ; chairman of Fair 
 fax Committee, 172 ; extract from 
 letter of, referring to G. Mason, 
 177, 178 ; in Continental Congress, 
 179 ; Captain of Fairfax Indepen 
 dent Company, 182 ; at meeting of 
 county committee, 182 ; letters from 
 G. Mason to, 184-189 ; advocates 
 Potomac River navigation, 189, 190 ; 
 President of Potomac Company, 
 190 ; attends committee meeting in 
 Alexandria, 191 ; appointed com- 
 
 mander-in-chief, 196 ; connection 
 with various Independent Com 
 panies of Virginia, 196 ; tribute in 
 Company paper to, 197 ; succeeded 
 in Va. Convention by G. Mason, 
 198 ; his seat in Congress filled by 
 Wythe, 201, 204 ; extract from letter 
 of R. H. Lee to, 210; letters from 
 George Mason to, 210-213, 216-219; 
 his success at Boston, 216 ; letter to 
 G. Mason, 220-221 ; writes Lund 
 Washington, 221 ; extract from let 
 ter of Madison to, 251, 252 ; retreat 
 through the Jerseys, 267 ; victories 
 at Trenton and Princeton, 278 ; 
 compliment to, in letter of F. L. 
 Lee, 279 ; defeated at Brandywine, 
 
 285 ; extract from letter to J. P. 
 Custis in reference to G. Mason, 
 
 286 ; Conway Cabal, ii., 474 ; letter 
 from Col. Wood to, i., 306; letter 
 from G. Mason to, 314-316 ; in 
 camp at Middlebrook, 316 ; letter 
 to George Mason, 316-319 ; his 
 anxiety to see better men in Con 
 gress, 318, 319 ; extract from letter 
 of J. P. Custis to, 337, 338 ; letter 
 to George Mason introducing Gen. 
 Greene, 369, 370 ; intention of the 
 enemy to burn his mansion, ii., 10 ; 
 on his way to Virginia, 18 ; arranges 
 for the conveyance of the French 
 officers and others through the 
 State, 19 ; at " Mount Vernon," 
 19 ; letter from Thomson Mason to, 
 offering services of his sons, 20 ; 
 victory at Yorktown, 20, 21 ; allu 
 sion to bounty allowed his regiment 
 in 1754, 23, 24 ; letter from G. 
 Mason to, 36-38 ; extract from let 
 ter of Thomson Mason to, 39 ; 
 resigns his commission at Annapolis, 
 66 ; receives his friends at " Mount 
 Vernon," 67 ; extracts from his 
 journal, 81, 82 ; invites commis 
 sioners to settle compact with Mary 
 land, to " Mount Vernon," 81, 82, 
 85 ; references to, in letter of G. 
 Mason, 84, 85 ; corresponds with G. 
 Mason on subject of Religion Assess 
 ment, and " Remonstrance" against 
 the bill, 88, 89 ; letter from G. 
 Mason to, 90, 91 ; dines at " Guns- 
 ton Hall," 91 ; extracts from corre 
 spondence with Gen. H. Lee, 95 ; 
 urges Mason s return to the As 
 sembly, 95, 96 ; appointed delegate 
 to Federal Convention, 97 ; ap- 
 
5 26 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 pointed president of the Convention, 
 104 ; approved of coercion resolu 
 tion in Virginia plan, 109 ; votes 
 against Mason on veto question, 
 
 171 ; votes against bill of rights, 
 
 172 ; signs the Constitution, 176 ; 
 extract from his journal, 180 ; ex 
 tract from letter of Mason to, 182 ; 
 allusions to G. Mason in letters to 
 and from, 183, 187-189 ; extract 
 from letter of G. Mason to, on sub 
 ject of paper currency, 192, 193 ; on 
 subject of revenue and British debts, 
 195 ; extract from letter of B. 
 Washington to, 196 ; letters from 
 G. Mason to, 204-207 ; Washington 
 anxious about approaching Conven 
 tion in Va., 196, 208; writes La 
 fayette on this subject, 210 ; his 
 influence in Fairfax Co. insures 
 election of Federalists there, 210 ; 
 not a member of the Virginia Con 
 vention, 219 ; his influence used on 
 the side of the Federalists, 220 ; 
 written to, by Madison from the 
 Convention, 227, 244, 268 ; cabinet 
 system inaugurated by him, 289 ; 
 visited by Mason, 312 ; blind to the 
 dangers of the Constitution, 313 ; 
 elected President under the new 
 system, 313 ; allusion to, in letter 
 of G. Mason, 313 ; written to by 
 Mason on subject of a coachman, 
 314, 315 ; resigns office of justice of 
 the peace in Fairfax Co., 330 ; Jef 
 ferson writes to, on subject of fed 
 eral government, 361 ; Washington 
 writes Hamilton of the criticisms of 
 Antifederalists, 361, 362; his rela 
 tions with G. Mason considered, 
 269, 270 ; his character sketched by 
 E. Randolph, 373, 374 ; equestrian 
 statue at Richmond, 375 ; tributes 
 to his character by G. Mason, i., 
 197, "-, 255, 429, 474, 475 ; his 
 friendship for, and estimate of 
 Mason s abilities, i., 178, 286, 316- 
 318, ii., 96 
 
 Washington MS. Journals, i., 122, ii., 
 81, 91, 96, 312 
 
 Washington MSS., i., xii., 62, 64, 68, 
 69, 71, 127, 143, 155, 185, 187, 189, 
 212, 219, 316, 381, ii., 20, 39, 82, 
 88, 91, 182, 208, 314 
 
 Washington s "Works of Jefferson," 
 i-, 253, 273, 324, ii., 179, 285, 291, 
 294, 295, 324, 329, 333, 334, 365 
 
 Watson, Alexander, ii., 359 
 
 Watson s " In Memoriam Benjamin 
 Ogle Tayloe," i., 90, 116, ii., 294 
 
 Waugh, Alexander, i., 374 ; Elizabeth, 
 Mrs., George Mason, see Mason; 
 Gaury, i., 89, 125, George Lee, i., 
 89 ; James, ii., 330 ; Rev. John, i., 
 17-19, 28, 29; Joseph, i., 374; 
 Robert, i., 89 
 
 Wayne, Gen. Anthony, i., 337, ii., 6, 
 10, 16 
 
 Wedderburn, Alexander, Lord Lough- 
 borough, i., 321 
 
 Weems, Rev. Mason L., i., 115 
 
 Welles " Life of Samuel Adams," 
 i-, 336 
 
 West, Ann, ii., 465 ; Benjamin, i., 
 153 ; Hugh, i., 93 ; John, i., 93, 
 427 ; John, Jr., i., 165, 177, ii., 96, 
 470, 472; Col. John, of " W T est 
 Grove," i., 120, 177 ; Mrs., i., 28, 
 Roger, ii., 342, 345 ; Stephen, ii., 
 214 ; Thomas, 3d Lord de la Warr, 
 i-, 93 
 
 West family, i., 93 
 
 Westcot, Captain, i., 232 
 
 Western States, ii., 133, 135 
 
 Westham, i., 326, 343 
 
 West Indiaman, i., 233 
 
 Westmoreland County, Va., i., 4, 5, 
 7-9, 89, 124, 131, 152, 216, 256, 
 292, ii., 209, 214, 225, 240, 421 
 
 Westmoreland Resolutions, i., 124 
 
 Weston, J. A., i., xiii. 
 
 West Virginia, i., 181, 377, ii., 65 
 
 Wetmore, Theodore B., i., 116 
 
 Wharton, Samuel, i., 155 ; Thomas, 
 ii., 29 
 
 White, William, ii., 222 
 
 Whitehall, i., 40, 44 
 
 \Vhitehaven, i., 56 
 
 Whiting, Thomas, i., 392 
 
 Whitesides, Mr., ii., 306, 315, 316 
 
 Will of Col. George Mason, (2d) i., 
 
 373-375 
 
 Will of George Mason of Gunston, ii., 
 457-472 
 
 William and Mary, i., 16, 19, 43, 247, 
 414 
 
 William and Mary College, Va., i., 
 xii., 32, 155, 309, 414, ii., 201 
 
 Williams, Philip, ii., 87 ; William, i., 
 332, ii., 463 
 
 Williamsburg, Va., i., xii., 27, 32, 34, 
 43, 45, 69, 73, 77, 124-126, 136, 
 141, 143, 152, 153, 167, 168, 170, 
 171, 175, 180, 184, 195, 197, 212, 
 213, 221-223, 226, 228, 232, 248, 
 252, 258, 267, 270, 284-286, 290- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 527 
 
 292, 304, 306, 328, 333, 340, 427, 
 449, ii., 15, 19, 77, 92, 344, 369, 
 
 474 
 
 Williamson, Hugh, ii., 145, 182 
 
 Wilkesbarre, Pa., i., xii. 
 
 Wilkes, John, i., 150, 152 
 
 Wilson, James, ii., 109, in, 125, 
 126, 144, 146, 169, 173, 184, 281 ; 
 Mr., ii., 349 ; Woodrow, ii., 291, 
 292 
 
 Wilson s "Congressional Govern 
 ment," ii., 291 
 
 Winchester, England, i., 3 
 
 Winchester, Va., i., 64-69 
 
 Winsor, Justin, i., xiv. 
 
 \Virt s "Life of Patrick Henry," ii., 
 219 
 
 Wirt, William, i., 124, 164, 180, ii., 
 219, 270 
 
 Wisconsin, i., xiii., 290 
 
 " Witch Duck," i., 45 
 
 Withers family, i., 91 
 
 Withers, John, i., 38, 91 ; William, i., 
 
 9i 
 
 Wood family, England, i., 39 
 Woodford, Col. William, i., 202, 203, 
 
 207 
 Wood, Mrs. Grace, i., 39 ; Col. James, 
 
 Gov. of Virginia, i., 306, 310, ii., 
 
 338, 340; Jean, nfa Moncure, i., 
 
 85, 86, ii., 338, 340 
 Woodward, Judge Augustus B., i., 
 
 252, 253 
 
 Woolrych, Humphrey William, i., 40, 
 
 4i 
 
 Woolrych s "Lives of Eminent Ser- 
 jeants-at-Law," i., 40, 42 
 
 Worcester, battle of, i., 1-3 
 
 Wormely family, i., 90 
 
 Worthington, Rev. George Fitzhugh, 
 i., xii. 
 
 Wright, Robert, i., 22 
 
 Wyatt, Sir Francis, Governor of Vir 
 ginia, i., 402, 403 
 
 Wythe, George, i., 124, 174, 199, 
 201, 204, 230, 231, 234, 242, 257, 
 261, 264, 272, 274, 275, 277, 283, 
 290, 319, 320, ii.,97, 132,219,221, 
 225, 259, 269, 271, 373 
 
 Yates "Minutes," Elliott s " De 
 bates, "ii., 109, 119, 123, 126 
 
 Yates, Robert, ii., 109, 122, 125, 133, 
 262 
 
 Yeardley, Sir George, Governor of 
 Virginia, i., 396, 402, 403 
 
 Yohoghania County, Va. , i. , 340, ii. , 25 
 
 Yorick, race horse, i., 90 
 
 York, Duke of. See James II. 
 
 York River, i., 12, 15, 193, 304, ii., 16 
 
 Yorkshire, England (York), i., 39 
 
 Yorktown, Pa., i., 285 
 
 Yorktown, Va., i., 55, 212, 347, ii., 
 19, 340, 375 
 
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