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THE 
 
 H I S T O R Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 FOR 1796 ; 
 
 INCLUDING A VARIETY OF 
 \ 
 
 INTERESTING PARTICULARS 
 
 RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 
 
 PREVIOUS TO THAT PERIOD. $ 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 FROM THE PRESS OF SWOWDEN & M^CQRKLE % 
 
 NO. 47, NORTH FOURTH-STREET* 
 J797. 
 
fccutct) accortung to 
 
CON TENT S. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Firft Jeffion of the fourth Congrefs .Refolution pro- 
 pojed by Mr., S. Smith for t becking the Britifo 
 treaty. Hints refpetiing that paper. Attempts- 
 to involve America in a French "war. Sketch. of 
 the flat e of France, by Edmund Burke. Contra/I 
 between her and the United States. Scanty pay 
 of the Federal army. Fatal effects of a rupture 
 with France. 'Camillus. His miftakes as to the 
 flate of Europe. Mr. Pinckney. His opinion of 
 the advantage of delaying a Britifh treaty. At~ 
 tempts to irritate France. 'Extreme danger of 
 doing fo. Real authors of the mifunderftanding. - 
 Montgaillard's prediction. Notice to the patronr 
 of a certain gazette. Concluding remarks, 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Character of Mr. Gallatin. Connecticut poetry.* 
 Major Jack/on. John Watts. The B oft on 
 
 Federal Orrery . Cur tins . His exaggerated 
 
 ftatemcnt of Britifli refourccs * Remarks on paper 
 
money. Cnufes of the preference of Britain to 
 France in the federal party. Democratical con 
 * /piracy developed by Curtius. Defence ofjejfer- 
 Jbn, Madijon, Giles, Parker , Chriftie, &c. Fables 
 from Pittfburgh. Curious prejentment -by a grand 
 jury in Georgia.^ Purity of Bofton, 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Federal artifices to promote a French quarrel. 
 Howe's landing at the head of Elk. Jacobins not 
 worfe than other people. Burgoyne's picture of 
 the Britifli Baft-India Company. Recent ftoppage 
 of the bank of Enghind. Robefpierre eclipjed by 
 Pitt* Amount of the yearlv rental of Britain. 
 Not? OH the Jlate-houje of Hartford. Number of 
 the public creditors of England. The triumph of 
 Cttmillus .-*~ Moral certainty of American indemni- 
 fication, for Britifli piracy. ^-Mercantile apathv for 
 the jitfferings of American Jeamen. Impr cement 
 at Jercmie. Pinckney. jfoy. Neck or nothing 
 forgeries of Pitt. Dependence of the Britifli Weft- 
 Indies on the United States.- Fallacies of Camil- 
 Ins . -rl^hat Jay fkould have Jaid %o Grenville, 7 4 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 fnttfh piracies on Americ 'an flipping in 1796. Cafe 
 ofthe/chooner John . Of Capt * Samuel Green .-* 
 Britifli privateers built in the United States." 
 Skirmi/h in Port Jeremie between the Americans 
 and Capt. Reynolds. Impreffments by the Severn^ 
 the Hermoine, and the Regiilus. Tivelve Ameri- 
 cans iv hip t. Cafe of the brig Fanny. Of the /hip 
 Bacchus. The Siv allow. The Paragon. The 
 
Fol'upias . The Lydia . The Hannah .Fray at 
 Liverpool ; and rout of a profs-gang. The Friend- 
 fhip. The Ocean. Letter from Samue I Bayard. > 
 The brig Pojly. Vigilance of the .American to- 
 ries. The Hannah of Baltimore. The /hip Di- 
 na, of New-Tor k. The /hip Polly^ Captain 
 
 - 122 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Federal plan for a French War. Specimen of French 
 juflice. The Sea Plorfe. The Mufquitq. Re- 
 marks on the Bntijh treaty by Mr. Gallatin. 
 Reply by Mr. Tracy. Hints an the.iucfi^rn in- 
 fur region. Cafe of the brig Maria fr^il'/nan, cap- 
 tain Oaks . Thcrfchooner ' fFilliam^ captain Scoh. 
 Defpotic influence of the tories in American fe a- 
 ports. 'Elegant ftyle offome of their publications. 
 
 *' The Polfyj captain Wade. The Edward and 
 HSilliam, captain Jones. The Ariel.^-The bri% 
 Sifters . Capture of the brig Jay, by the French, 
 and barbarous treatment of the captain.-~*Mr* 
 JAY'S IN STRUCT IONS. ~Extrac~ls from them NE- 
 VER BEFORE publi/hed.~~ Proofs of his neglect of 
 ordei's. Anecdotes relative to the Britijh 
 treaty^ - 151 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Britifli depredations continued^ Mercantile felfi/h~ 
 nefs. The brig Fame. The Jchooner Andrew. 
 Jofhua Whiting. The brig Columbia. Thcjloop 
 Do-us. The May Flower. The Eliza. Murder 
 of captain Boffbn. Snuff* E ! xcife. Memoirs of 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON, late "Secretary of the 
 
Trea/tiry.His fmgular mode of correspondence 
 -with certain perjbns. Remarks on his connexion 
 -with Reynolds, - l8 9 
 
 CHAPTER VII. . % 
 
 Farther observations on the correfpondence between 
 Meffrs. Hamilton and Reynolds .Singular mode 
 offecrecv in framing the federal conftitution, and 
 of difcufjin? Jav's treaty. Defence of General 
 Mafon. Report to Preftdent Adams, by Mr. 
 Pickering on French captures .Singular Jtyle of 
 thatpaper. Defamatory charge by Judge Iredell 
 to a grand jury in Virginia. Their pitiful pre- 
 rentment. Defence of Mr. Cabell. Curious let- 
 ter to Mr. John Bcckley.Obferoations^ on the 
 PURITY of the federal government. Specimens of 
 the mode of travelling in America. A trip to 
 New-Fork^ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Proceeding of Congrefs.-Affair of Randall and 
 JPTutney.Pte* of appointing a JJior t- hand wri- 
 ter. Debates on the federal city. Aft of Appro- 
 priation. Debates on the call for Jay's injlruc- 
 tions. Strange anfwer of the Prcfident.- Appro- 
 priations fa the "Bntijh treaty. -Explanation of 
 the conduct of Mr. Muhlenberg. Singular multi- 
 plicity of petitions in favour of appropriating Jor 
 the Britijh treaty. -Rife of thtjeffion. -Summary 
 of events till the end of the year 17965 277 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN January lafl, I published The American Annua 
 for 1796. My colle&ion of materials required more room 
 than had been expe&ed, and it was found neceflary to clofe the 
 volume without completing the plan. 
 
 Some gentlemen, who wifhed to fee the publication proceed, 
 offered to aflift by fubfcriptions for a fecond volume. But 
 this was unfuitable, becaufe perfons who bad not feen the for- 
 mer one could not with propriety be afked to fubfcribe for a 
 continuation of it. I therefore began the fame tafk over again 
 under a different title page. The fubje was fertile, ami repe- 
 titions of what had been faid already have been avoided with fo 
 much care that they do not, in whole, extend to near half a page. 
 
 On the appearance of the former volume, certain critics 
 complained of my ftile. The roughnefs of their own, in the 
 jnftant of condemnation, afforded the beft apology for the faults 
 of mine. But moreover thefe refined literati were the patrons 
 and prompters of William Cobbet. He had fpoke of me, 
 with his wonted pclitenefs, in ten or twelve pamphlets. It 
 was proper, as h feems, that I fhould be filent, becaufe the 
 two chaplains of Cortgrefs, the fecretaries of ftate and of the 
 treafury were in the number of his auxiliaries or admirers. I 
 would not injure Mr. Cobbet by comparing him with his em- 
 ployers. The bench and jury who affafiinated lord Stafford 
 were ftill more execrable than Titus Gates. 
 
 In this catalogue of the patrons of genius we find Mr. Ro- 
 bert Lifton. The Britifh ambaffador, not contented with 
 paying Mr. Gobbet for his labours, receives a daily bundle of 
 his gazettes. No perfon poffefling the feelings of a gentle- 
 man would fuffer that commodity to come within his door. 
 Such intermeddling from a foreign envoy would not be endured 
 by any independent country in the world, unlefs in the United 
 States of America. A French envoy at London, or an Englifh 
 at Parif 3 ^jyer fet$ up a jw fpapsr to 
 
his meafures. Neither the old monarchy nor the prefent republic 
 of France, would, for a fmgle day, have endured fuch a connec- 
 tion. In London, where the fpirit of national independence is 
 underftood and felt, the iirft news of the Morning Chronicle 
 being fupported by a French penfion, would level the prin- 
 ter's office with the pavement. But Mr. Lifton goes farther. 
 He correfponds with internal traitors. He is detected, and the 
 moft defpicable, or rather the moft proftituted of all cabinets, 
 hath accepted of his refufal to reveal their names. To trace 
 the confpiracy, Congrcfs appoints a committee of five mem- 
 b. r:. Of thefe, three are tories, and one of them is Robert 
 Goouloe Harper, the intimate friend of I ifton, the advifcr of a 
 Spanifh war, and of the conqueft of Mexico. This is a new 
 way to difcover plots. 
 
 When the fifth number of this book was published, Mr. 
 Alexander Hamilton printed, in Mr. Fenno's gazette, a deni- 
 al of his- connexion with Reynolds. He has now come from 
 New- York to complete a fatisfa&ory ftatement< Like the 
 pot whitewafhing the kettle, he has already received from Mr. 
 Wolcot a certificate of his virtue. He is, -at prefent, alfofolici- 
 tinc- Mr. Monroe and Mr. Muhlenberg, on both of whom he 
 hadMieaped mountains of calumny, Mr. Hamilton entreats 
 them, to atteft his innocence, that is to fay, their belief of his 
 having debauched Mrs. Reynolds. 
 
 The variety of articles tranfmitted for revival and publication 
 was unexpected, and many have been delayed for want of 
 room. The denial of accefs to fubfcribers appeared an ungra- 
 cious talk. A compliance with their wifhes made it nece/Ta- 
 ry to fliorten the latter part of the narrative, and to leave out 
 fome entire chapters that were prepared for the prefs. This gives 
 to the volume a mifcellaneous texture, which the rigid remark- 
 er is entitled to condemn. At another time, I fhajl perhaps 
 do better. 
 
 A report has been circulated, that Mr. John Beckley is the 
 author of this volume. He did not frame a fmgle fentpnceof 
 it. He is unacquainted with my hand writing, and I could not 
 be fure to diitinguifh his. 
 
 Philadelphia, July 19^, 1797. 
 
Hiftory of the United States, &c 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 'Fir ft feffion of the fourth Congrefs .^-Refoluiion pro- 
 pojed by Mr. S. Smith for checking the Briti/Ji 
 treaty. Hints refpefting that paper. > Attempts 
 to involve America in a French ivar. Sketch of 
 the flat* of France, by Edmund Burke. Cor^rcifl 
 between k?r and the U:i;.':-d States. 5V.iv 
 . of the Federal army. Fat^l 
 'with France. -Carmllus . His //.' 
 ft ate of Europe. Mr. Pin ', ,. 'tis ':'. of 
 the advantage of delaying a Brit:- 
 tempts to irritate France. Extreme danger of 
 doing fo. Real authors of the mijunderftandinv. 
 Montgaittard's prediction. Notice to the patrons 
 of a certain gazette. Concluding remarks. 
 
 IT the beginning of the year 1796, the fourth 
 
 Congrefs of the United States were in t 
 firil fcflion. On the 4th of January, Mr. 'Samuel 
 Smith laid on the table of the Rcprefcntatives a 
 rcfolution in thefe words: "That from and after 
 " the clay of it (hall not be lawful 
 
 "for any foreign (hip or vcflel "to -'land in the 
 c territories of the United States any goods, wares, 
 "or merchandize other than the produce of that 
 " country to which the/flip or veffel belongs." This 
 propofal was profcflfedly pointed at the treaty of 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 commerce with Britain, which had beenfigned at 
 London on the I9th of November, 1794, by 
 Mr. John Jay, as envoy on the part of Ame- 
 rica. Mr. S. Smith oppoied that infrrument. He 
 fa id in Congrefs, that, within two years, it might 
 be expelled to deflroy thefhipping of this country. 
 The fifteenth article of the treaty has thefe words : 
 
 * Nor fhall any prohibition be impofed on the ex- 
 " portation or the importation of any articles to 
 
 c or from the territories of the two parties refpec- 
 :c tively, \vhich fhall not equally extend to all other 
 u nations." Thus the refolution was in ftrict har- 
 mony wi:h the conditions of the treaty; yet, if the 
 :d States fliall ever carry it into execution, the 
 treaty itfeif will, in fome meafure, be at an end. 
 Britain could find a thousand effective ways of ex- 
 preffing her difgufi: at this regulation, which would 
 incommode her much more than the other mari- 
 time flates of Europe. Still fbe would have lefs 
 r \-vJ.b n to complain than any nation in the world, 
 becaufe tlie refolution is grounded on the princi- 
 ple afTumedin the Englifh acl: of navigation*. 
 The treaty in quefrion has produced many vo- 
 5 of elaborate invefligation. Since the new 
 comlitution, no other fubjcft has excited fo gene- 
 ral an effort of the ingenuity, the eloquence, and 
 
 * On the id of September, 1793* the French Convention 
 jyjfl'ed a fionlar a&. Its operation is only fufpended on account of 
 the v.-a-. By the ruft article, no foreign commodities can be im- 
 ported into France, but in French veffels, or in thofe of the country 
 which produces them, or of the country from which they areufu- 
 ally rirfi exported. By the fecond, no foreign veflel can convey from 
 one port of France or her colonies to another, any of their produce. 
 Third, every French veiiel mud have her officers and three-fourths 
 of her crew Frenchmen. It is amazing that the court of Verfaillet 
 did not adopt this rule an hundred years ago. If will, in a fnort 
 double or quadruple the number of French feamen. Were 
 othei omens averted, this law is an epitaph on the naval fupremacjr 
 oi ; Britain. See an eloquent report by m 
 
UNITED STATES. 3 
 
 the paffions of America. It was this emergency 
 which marked out the prefent year as more emi- 
 nently deferring of historical notice. The mat- 
 ter itfelf daily grows in importance, as this tranfac- 
 tion has brought the United States to the verge 
 of a French war. Few have leifure to read, and 
 {till fewer have information or even capacity ade- 
 quate to comprehend a great part t>f the complica- 
 ted arguments employed for or againft it. To at- 
 tempt a detail of the topics on each fide would 
 be a voluminous, and by this time, almofc an ufe- 
 lefs undertaking. The public has already become 
 fatiated witheiTays, letters, memorials, replies, ob- 
 fervations, features, reports, addrefTes, views, vin- 
 dications, defences, paragraphs, refblutions, peti- 
 tions, explanations, proceedings of town meetings, 
 motions, and fpeeches. Within the fhort ipace of 
 eighteen months, the argument has entirely (bitted 
 its place. The ftrefs of the debate can be no longer 
 about whether the Britifh treaty is advantageous 
 or prejudicial to American commerce ; but whether 
 it is worth preferring at the rifle of a French war. 
 That the Directory of Paris have this object fome- 
 what in their eye is moft likely. The recall of 
 their ambafTador, citizen Adct, was a broad inti- 
 mation of their deflgn. In Europe, fuch a (rep is 
 the profefTedfignalforhofHlities. It is ascertain 
 that a party in this country are folicitous of driving 
 the United States into that contefl. If a croud of 
 other evidences could be forgotten, their abfencc 
 is fupplied by the letter from fecretary Pickering 
 to Mr. Pinckney our amb^ffador to the French re- 
 public. At the fame time, attempts are conftantly 
 made to decry the power of France. When a 
 French general chances to retreat, the newipapers 
 of the party teem with exultation. The republic at 
 Urge is invariably reprcfented as a rendezvous of 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ruffians, a nuiiunce to civilized fociaty. It is im* 
 
 politic that ths French fliouid fail or being offen- 
 
 ded at fuch unprovoked hiiolence. They hire no 
 
 in Paris to revile America. .They do not 
 
 ries in cenfuring our political characters. 
 
 "Vet our federal prints attack, on every occafion, 
 
 borli the republic and all her friends, in the moifc 
 
 vnl^ar uyle ofabufe. Even the inhiifcerial joints 
 
 ;n, the organs of llofe and Dundas, are, 
 
 by many degrees, leis infolent in their inveciive, 
 
 and ieis brutal in their reproach*. 
 
 ;bre going farther, we (liall glance at the cha- 
 racter and actual date of the French, whom Mr. 
 Pickering and his friends arefo anxious to degrade. 
 In preparing for a quarrel it is euential to be ac- 
 
 itecl with the talents and re&urces of your an- 
 . The iituation of our citizens, thinly dif- 
 
 :J over an immenie continent, affords a pecu- 
 Itaf avenue to deception. It has been employed 
 with diligence againii: the republic. On a topic 
 
 * For hfhnce, a late correfpondcnt in the Gazette of the United 
 
 us: "That contemptible mJ drunken vagabond 
 
 f( TOM FAINS, who 13 notorio uc of every honeft rinci- 
 
 
 .:, as cro career of impu- 
 
 . avaricious poverty 
 
 ';:, \vi?n!tl let the world o-i lire, if he could 
 -K % e by the %ht, and adrocate the climate and govern- 
 .t crhell to be popularthere, He was, at the commencement 
 " of our troubles, a decided friend to the mcafures of Great Bri- 
 '^'tain/' After the war, " his Srft attack was upon the traxtjniliij of 
 '"' Great Britain : but here he u-as difgracefully defearcd." [It Will 
 be time enough to fprak of hisaV/r/// when the bank of England be- 
 gins to nay its notes in yoU and diver. The prefrnt paper-money 
 plan is like trying to Cfofs :\ cork jacket.] " I regret 
 
 e was found any man in the United States fo bafe and holiiie 
 ' to the peace and honour of his country, as to publiiluhis le ttrr of 
 " iftfamy ;" the i--r;cr from Paine to general Wafliington, prinred 
 ce of the country runs nohai.ard, and as 
 
 little a'.vairs the honour of the general. On the j^.th of December, . 
 17 ;6, Dr. Aires obferved ';. Gongrels, *hat " the charaiiet is fixed 
 14 in hifivrj /" Paine> therefore, has come too late. 
 
UNITED STATES 5* 
 
 ef fnch nniverfal importance candid explanation 
 can hardly be tedious. No better authority will 
 be required than that of Edmund Burke. Two 
 letters from him on this head have been recently 
 printed. A few detached fentences, extracted from 
 whole (beets to the lame purpoie, will place the 
 refources of France in a jull light, and Ihew what 
 the United States have to expert in a cor.ted with 
 her. " Out of the tomb of the murdered monar- 
 cc chy in France, Ir.is ariien a vaft, tremendous, 
 41 un formed fpeclre, in afar moreterrijic guije than 
 tc any which ever yet overpowered the hrsagi- 
 " nation and fubdued the fortitude of man. The 
 u republic has actually conquered the fined parts of 
 cc Europe, has diltrefied,. diibnited, deranged, and 
 cc broke to pieces all the reft. We have not in the 
 cc (lighted degree, impaired thedrengthcf the com- 
 u mon enemy, (France), in any one of thofe points 
 " in which his particular force confids. The rc- 
 u gicide has received our advances with fcorn*'- 
 tc If things fliould give us ths comparative happi- 
 cc nefs of ajiriiggle, I fhall be found dying by the 
 cc fide of Mr. Pitt. Spain is a province of the ja- 
 a cobin empire. 'Her crown is a fief of regicide. 
 4C We have not conildered, as we ought, the dread- 
 a ful energy of a date in which the property has 
 cc nothing to do with the government. The difco- 
 a very is dreadful, the mine exhaujllejs . Arepub- 
 cc lie of a character the mod rcfilefs, the mod en- 
 <c terprifing, the mod impious, the mod fierce and 
 <c bloody, the mod hypocritical and perfidious, 
 <c the mod bold and daring that has ever been feen, 
 u or indeed that can be conceived to exid 1" 
 
 Mr. Burke is far from being fingular in his pa- 
 Bic. Major Cartwright, in his work, entitled, The 
 
 The letters were pablifhcd before Malmeftury went to 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Commonwealth in Danger^ {hews the folly of Eng. 
 land depending for fafety, fckly on hereet. The 
 French may give battle by fea, be defeated, and 
 lofe twenty (hips of the line, without material in- 
 jury. They know that the Englifh muft be crip- 
 pled and return to port. The road is then open, 
 and they difembark in Britain what troops they 
 pleafe. The major adds, that, previous to the vic- 
 tory of the ift of June, 1794, admiral Howe was 
 reviled for not beating the French fleet ; but even 
 then, he only did fo becauie the French came pur- 
 pofely in his way. They alfo, by facrificing a few 
 fliips of the line, gained their object. This was 
 to fecurc the arrival of an American convoy with 
 provilions. Arthur Young, a third writer of emi- 
 nence, has demonilrated the depth of his defpair 
 by the following propofal ; viz. that England 
 fhould railc an army of five hundred thoufand men ; 
 and that they, as well as their officers, muft ail be 
 men of property. He fays that nothing elfe canfave 
 the country from a French conqueft. This was 
 above two years ago*. Thefe authorities con- 
 firm the lamentations of Mr. Burke. As to his 
 picture of what France can perform, w*e may judge 
 by what (he hath fuffered. In March, 1795, u ~ 
 mourier printed at Hamburgh, a very incerefting 
 pamphlet on the ftate of the war. He therein fays, 
 that, in December, 1794, a report was laid before 
 the Convention of the number of foldiers whom 
 France had loft by her three campaigns. They 
 were ftated at fix hundredand fifty thoufand. Du- 
 mourier adds, that this computation was by one- 
 third part lefs than the truth; and that, including 
 emigration, famine, and the fcaifold, France had 
 
 ' See An Idea of the prefent State of France, printed fojuetiint 
 previous to March, 179^. 
 
UNITED STATES 7 
 
 then loft twelve hundred thonfand men, in the flow- 
 er of life, beildes aged perfons, women and chil- 
 dren. Compared with this havoc of the human 
 fpecies, the vvafte of any other modern war is but 
 trifling. The king of Pruflia cftimates that the war 
 of 1756, which kfled^even years, defiroyed, in the 
 whole, and in all parts of the world, only about a 
 million of foldiers. To the twelve hundred thcufand 
 Frenchmen we may fafely add eight hundred thou- 
 fand from the allied armies; fince the latter were 
 equally numerous with the republicans, and befldes 
 were beaten. We have thus about two millions of 
 deaths, in two years and four months, or above eight 
 hundred thoufand per annum ; fo that the prefent 
 war is at leaft five times more deflru&ive than that 
 of 1756. 
 
 No other nation or government that the world 
 ever faw, could have fupportedfuch enormous lofTes 
 as the French have endured ; yet their ftrength 
 appears undiminiflied, and every campaign adds to 
 the catalogue of their conquefls. It is not lefs 
 than madnefs for a party in America to be hiring 
 newfpapers to revile fuch a terrible people. They 
 are not only moll formidable from their phyfical 
 ftrength, but from the peculiar ftrufture of their 
 government. " It is fyflernatic ;" fays Mr. Burke, 
 c itisfimpleto its principle; it has unity and con- 
 " fiftcncy in perfection." [Congrefs have refufed 
 to impofe a land tax. Nay fome of them, with 
 furprifinghardinefs, declare fuch a meafure imprac- 
 ticable, though land taxes are at this moment paid 
 in perhaps every (late of the union. Pennfylvania 
 has three or four. Oppofed to this frivolity, this 
 puppet-fhew oflegiflation, obferve what Burke tells 
 of France :] " In that country, entirely to cut off a 
 c branch of commerce, to extinguifh a manufac- 
 4 ture, to deftroy the circulation of money, to 
 
8 > HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " violate credit, to fufpend the courfe of agricul- 
 <c tur--, even to burn a city or to : .;e a pro- 
 
 l< vir , d'jesnot c'v , a iiioment's 
 
 c anxiety. Going Rraight forward to its end, un- 
 c appalled by peril, un< '. by remorfe, defpi- 
 
 4 fingall common maxims and all common means, 
 
 * that liid^o-is phantom overpowered thoie i-jho 
 c c could n ot I --/ ?ve I ' I at all exifr !" 
 
 This is tht! fort of enemy \vhom we may chance 
 to encounter, as the price of the Britifh treaty, 
 and the epiftle of ickering;. When in parlia- 
 
 inent, Mr. Burke was coniidered as the belt in- 
 formed mennber or .!ife of Commons. He 
 has long been tiic oracle of EisplifU ariilocracy. 
 He is a ' er to Pitt, and v^ould be forry to 
 overcharge the pifture i . er. 
 
 It is iervhi^ America, to r >crt compari&n 
 
 between the relative force of the two nador.s. 
 The French, in only four years, have- overcome 
 the German empire, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and 
 the Netherlands, comprehending not lefs than fifty 
 millions of people. The United. States, white, black 
 andyellow, have not five millions. The French have 
 drubbed three Britifh kingdoms, with their popula- 
 tion of fourteen millions, and crulhed numerous con- 
 {piracies and rebellions in the heart of their country. 
 The revolt of La Vendee alone coir as much fight- 
 ing as pa{Ted in America during the revolution. 
 Pichegru, in one cajnpaign, did what Marlborough, 
 though constantly victorious, could not accomplish 
 in ten. . 
 
 In 1794, France maintained nearly eleven hun- 
 dred thouland fighting men, and was, in 1795, to 
 have fixty thoufand cannoneers*. In 1797, Ame- 
 rica, by the report of Oliver Wolcott, was to 
 
 * Carry's edition of Guthrie's Geography, vol. ; i. p. 699. IP. 18. 
 
UNITED STATES, 9 
 
 require an army of three thoufand five hundred 
 and twenty-four men, including officers, cadets, ar- 
 tificers, and twenty-feven furgeons. Even this 
 handful coil infinite haggling in Congrefs* ; and 
 the greateft anxiety how they were to be paid. 
 The French are the befl appointed troops, perhaps, 
 in the world. From an immenfe diftance, they 
 have been often transported in waggons to the field 
 of battle. The pay of American regulars is abfo- 
 lute beggary. The privates have a ration per day 
 worth twenty cents, or feventy two dollars and eigh- 
 ty cents a year. Their pay is four dollars per month,, 
 or forty-eight dollars a year. An annual fuit of 
 clothes are valued at twenty-five dollars, fo that 
 the accounts flands thhs ; 
 
 Dolls. Cts. 
 
 Rations, - 72 80 
 
 Pay, . - 48 
 
 Ciothes, 25 
 
 Total^ 145 80 
 
 Every man who can handle an axe may gain dou- 
 ble the fum, and have his victuals into the bargain.. 
 For fuch a pittance our foldiers, in war, penetrate 
 the wildernefs to fight an enemy who give no quar- 
 ter. In peace they are cooped up in garrifbns 
 from whence they dare not ilray above a gun fhot^ 
 and where they have been often in the utmoft di- 
 trefs for necefTaries. Thoufands of horfes, in at- 
 tempting to carry fupplies through the defart, have 
 confumed their loads, and died of hungert. Ge- 
 neral Wayne, it is faid, lofl his life at lake Erie, 
 for want of two ounces of caftor oil. 
 
 Such is the prefent balance by land between the 
 
 The particulars will appear in the next volume, 
 i Mr, S, Smith ftated this, laft winter, in Congrefs* 
 
jo HISTORY OF THE 
 
 i 
 
 regular forces of France and the United States, 
 They are as one man to three or four hundred. Our 
 expences equal or exceed our revenues. Congrefs 
 have refuied to attempt a land tax. All other 
 fources are about exhaufted; and a war with France, 
 by the ruin of our commerce, would certainly cut 
 off a great part of thofe arifmg from it. Nine parts 
 In ten of the public taxes proceed from the duties 
 on import and tonnage. In the land tax debates of 
 Congrefs, laft winter, Mr. Harper flrangely faid, 
 that, if at war with France, our trade would not, 
 In his opinion, fuffer more than it docs already. 
 He inferred that our revenues would not, by that 
 event, be materially reduced. 
 
 If we look at the fea there" is no profpeet of fuo 
 cefs in a conteft with France. We have on the 
 ilocks three frigates. Of their navy an exact ac- 
 count cannot here be given, but it has, for a centu- 
 ry, been the fecond in Europe. It lately was laid 
 to contain three hundred and thirty-feven velfels. 
 An hundred and twenty one were (hips of the line. 
 Of thefe the lead carry feventy four guns*. They 
 would, in a conteft with America, be feconded by 
 Spain, Portugal, and Holland. Againft this inimen- 
 41 ty of numbers, our Lilliput fquadron would be 
 like three pifmires in the gullet of a crocodile, or 
 three grains of chaff 'in the charge of a fix pounder. 
 But then our privateers can deftroy their com- 
 merce! Yes. And they (hall deftroy ours. Thus, as 
 Henry Fielding fays, we fell a blind horfe and receive 
 a bad note in payment. Our feaport towns, from 
 Portland to Savannah, will be iuccefllvely trans- 
 formed into a range of bonfires. The fhutting tip 
 of the Mediterranean and the weflern waters would 
 compofe but an atom in the Alps of our calamity. 
 
 * Carey's edition of Outline's Geography; vol. ii. p. 696. 
 
UNITED STATES. it 
 
 In a ibrnggle with France alone, unfupported by 
 her allies., we could not mufter a tenth part of her 
 force either by land or fea. Mr. Pitt computed, in 
 the Houfe of Commons, that the campaign of 1794, 
 coft the republic an hundred and fifty millions Her- 
 ling. Ours with the Wyandots were eftimated at a 
 million of dollars yearly. The burden produced infi- 
 nite difcontent, and an earned defire of peace. France, 
 at an annual charge three or fix hundred times grea- 
 ter, continues to fight and to conquer, to trample 
 every enemy, and to dictate the terms of every 
 peace. To contend, if we can help it, with this re- 
 publican Typhoeus would, in rafhnefs, referable the 
 laft druggies of jerufalem and Palmira. On the 
 altars of Titus and Aurelian we might read with 
 probability the profpei before us. 
 
 As a political writer, Alexander Hamilton holds 
 the fame rank in America that Burke enjoys in Eng- 
 land ; and it would be injuring the logic of his 
 party not to give his opinion. Camillus, No. vii. 
 was publifhed in the fummer of 1 795-, and contains a 
 furvey of Europe extremely different from that of 
 Mr. Burke. " It cannot be denied that flie (Britain) 
 , cc is triumphant on the ocean ; that the acqirifitions 
 cc which me has made upon France are hitherto 
 cc greater than thofe which France has made upon 
 " her." The reduction of two or three iflands in 
 the Weft Indies is not worth notice in this contefl, 
 where the independence of Britain is in imminent 
 clanger. When No. vii. was written, the French had 
 conquered Holland, and the Auftrian Netherlands. 
 
 c Holland," fays Mr. Burke, " is to England a 
 u matter of value ineftimable .*" By the conquer! 
 of the low countries, France forms a femicircle 
 
 nround the Britifh iflands. Hence, \vhilq the fleet 
 
 * Letter I. 
 
i2 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of England lies wind-bound at Spithead, or is in 
 any other given fituation, the French, by taking 
 an oppofite point of the compafs, can, at their 
 leifure, difembark an army on the coaft of Britain 
 or Ireland. For excluding them, an hundred fhips 
 of the line and an hundred canoes would be of 
 equal importance. This, by the way, points out 
 the folly of a favourite Britiih maxim, that he ivho 
 7s mafter by jea is mafter by land. While the Ne- 
 therlands, therefore, continue a part of the repub- 
 lic, it is frivolous to fpeak of Britifti conquefts in 
 the Eaft or Weft Indies, or indeed any where elfe. 
 They flgnify no more 
 
 " Than Caefar's arm, when Csefar's head is off." 
 
 c If, on the one hand, (he (Britain) owes an im- 
 c menfe debt, on the other fhe pofTefTes an immenfe 
 c credit, which there is no fymptom of being im- 
 c paired. Britifli credit has become, in a Britiili 
 c mind, an article offaM, and is no longer an ob- 
 " jedl of reafon." [Thus Camillus tells us that the 
 creditors of England are fools. The profpefts of 
 a merchant are not very hopeful, when no man of 
 prudence will truft him. Yet fuch is the condi- 
 tion of England as defcribed by its advocate.] " Her 
 c government poflefTes, internally, as much vigor, 
 c and has as much national fupport, as it perhaps 
 c ever had at any former period of her hiftory. 
 '' Alarmed by the unfortunate excefTes in France, 
 c moft men of property cling to the government, 
 " c and carry with them the great bulk of the nation, 
 c aimed the whole of the farming inter eft, and 
 ' much the great eft proportion of other induftri- 
 cc ous clafles." 
 Mr, Burke has the ad vantage of being on thcfpot; 
 
UNITED STATES. 13 
 
 and he diflents entirely from Mr. Hamilton. He 
 eflhnates the number of Britifh citizens who think 
 for themfeives, at four hundred thoufand. Of 
 thefe he computes that eighty thoufand are " pure 
 " jacobins, utterly incapable of amendment. 
 cc On thefe, no reafon, no argument, no example, 
 C no venerable authority, can have the flighted! in- 
 " fluence. They defire a change, and they will have 
 " it if they can. This minority is great and formi- 
 cc dable. I do not know whether, if I aimed at the to- 
 a tal overthrow of a kingdom, I (houldiuifli to be en- 
 ic cumbered 'with a larger body of parti/ans* ." The 
 London Courier, of the 26th of December, I79<S 
 affirms, that thefe two letters were publifhed by the 
 connivance of the minifter. Burke has penfions to 
 the effeftive amount of about four thoufand pounds 
 fterling, fo that this fuppofition be conies highly pro- 
 bable. Thus the authority of Pitt is fuperadded to 
 that of Burke, and they explode the opinion of Ca- 
 millus. Each fucceeding campaign is an additional 
 nail driven into the head of monarchy. Every new- 
 tax makes a number of new enemies. Here we per- 
 ceive three diftinft caufes for a Britifh revolution. 
 Thefe are, a fuperior and implacable enemy on 
 the continent, whofe local pofltion makes a Bri- 
 tifli navy ufelefs ; a national debt, which by this 
 time approaches to four hundred millions fterling., 
 and of which the very intereft can be paid only in 
 paper; and a party within the country whofe enmity 
 cannot be extinguifhed, and who, by the confeflion 
 of their enemies, ave abundantly numerous for the 
 deftruclion of any government in the world. 
 u Among her allies/' fays Camillus, : are the two 
 
 great eft powers of Europe, France excepted ; 
 
 namely, Ruflia and Auftria. Spain and Sardinia 
 
 * Letter I, 
 
 c 
 
M HISTORY OF THE 
 
 c make a common caufe with her." The two lat- 
 ter have been turned by France into mere fteppinn- 
 ftones in her path to the dominion of Europe. Ru 
 ila never gave any help, more or lefs, to the crown- 
 ed coalition. Catharine is now dead ; and her fon 
 has declined any concern with it. But even if he 
 did. fend an army to the Rhine, Britain would 
 be obliged to pay them. As for Auftria, Jafper 
 Wilfon, in his celebrated letter to Mr. Pitt, fays, 
 that, before the prefent war began, the Emperor was 
 offering nine per cent for money, fo that by this time 
 he muft be as much entangled in debt as England 
 herfelf. Nothing but arbitrary power could enable 
 him to p#y even a fmgle regiment. This will not hold 
 out long, " She (France) cannot, without great cli.f- 
 ' ficulty, from their geographical pofition, make 
 "* any farther acquititions upon the territories of 
 'Auftria." Carnot is a better geographer than Mr. 
 Hamilton. Since this prediction, Moreau and Jour- 
 dan have penetrated into the heart of Germany. 
 They have fubdaecl a multitude of its princes, and 
 within a 11 all matter of reaching Vienna. As 
 to Italy, Buonaparte has eclipfed every commander 
 ftnce Telefilms and Sylla engaged under the walls 
 of Home. Hear what Burke fays : cc The over- 
 ' running of Lombard;/, the fnbjugation of Pied- 
 mont, the poflefficn of its impregnable fortrefTes, 
 the feizing on all the neutral ftates of Italy, our 
 expulfion from Leghorn, inftances renewed for 
 pur expulfion from Genoa, Spain rendered fub- 
 jeft to them and hoftile to us, Portugal bent un- 
 :he yoke, half the empire over-run and rava- 
 ;d'*." This is the pidlure of 1796. Yet,' in 
 reliance on the political forefight of Camillus, a nu- 
 ineroiis party in the United States have filled, and 
 
 * Letter I. 
 
UNITED STATES. 13 
 
 continue to fill their newspapers with fcurrilous ca- 
 lumnies againft the French nation. Theyinfulted her 
 ambaffador, even after he had been recalled 5 and, 
 as if this had not been enough to enfure a rupture^ 
 Mr. Pickering lent a letter to Mr. Pinckney in France 
 which is more in the tone of a libel than a diploma- 
 tic paper. When the blind lead the blind, we know 
 thefequel. With regard to Europe, Mr. Hamilton 
 is, in all his views, miftaken. This lamp of politi- 
 cal wifdom, has conducted America to the edge 
 of a precipice from which General Wafhington 
 lav/ fit to retire. It is of confequence to expofe the 
 fbphiftry of Mr. Hamilton, that our enlightened 
 citizens may fee by what ignorance they have been 
 led into the prefent crifis. We fhall, on this account, 
 pick up two or three others of his miftakes. 
 
 u Britain and her poffeffions are efjentially Jafe" 
 fays Gamillus, '" while me maintains a decided 
 " maritime luperiority." Burke, in one of his 
 letters, {peaking of the war of 1689, fays, that u in 
 ic two years three thoufand vefTels v/ere taken from 
 * c the Engiifh trade." In every war, the com- 
 merce of Britain fuffers procligiqufly. The prefent 
 fcate of the Weft Indies ihews that a fuperior fleet 
 cannot always preferve her iilands. Witnefs the 
 recapture of Guadaloupe, the conflagration of St. 
 Vincents, Grenada, and St. Lucia ! But the expedi- 
 tion of Hoche, to Ireland, is the bed refutation of 
 Mr, Hamilton. Some people fpeak of the Britifh 
 navy as if it could be prefent every where at the 
 fame time. If twenty-five thoufand Frenchmen had 
 difembarked at Bantry bay, a march of two days 
 would have brought them to Corks, a city as large as 
 Philadelphia, *difaffected to government, and befides 
 entirely defencelefs. Another week would be fuf- 
 ficient for reaching Dublin. The temper, of its 
 citizens appears by a letter from the viceroy. 
 
i* HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Heboafh of having a militia of two thoufand bar- 
 riflers, attornies, merchants, andfuch people. But 
 thefe men would not mount guard, if they duril em- 
 ploy the poorer claffes to do fo for them. Dublin 
 has between two and three hundred thoufand inha- 
 bitants, and if the bulk of them had been well affec- 
 ted, the militia might have amounted to twenty 
 thoufand. His lord/hip fays that the whole mili- 
 tia of the ifland are about twenty-five thoufand. 
 This is a pitiful portion in a population of four mil- 
 lions*. It is hard to fay whether the catholics of 
 Connaught or the proteftants of Ulfter would feel 
 the greaterl impatience to join an invader. Thus 
 the left arm of England would be cut off without, 
 perhaps, even the honour of a battle. This is the 
 effentialjafety that Mr. Hamilton fpeaks about. 
 
 In defiance of geography and hiflory, Camil- 
 lus next endeavours to undervalue the conquest of 
 the Netherlands. " France muft be frill more fa- 
 ' tigued and exhaufted even than her adversaries. 
 c Her acquifitioris cannot materially vary this con- 
 c clulion ; the Low Countries muft have been pref- 
 c ty well emptied before they fell into her hands." 
 He has more to the fame effect They are inhabi- 
 ted by about fix millions of induftrious people, 
 among the richefl in the world. The acquifition 
 was of immenfe importance. If BrufFels and Am- 
 fterdam had been reduced to afhes, and if a famine 
 
 His lordfhip tells us, that when the foldiers went offtoBantry 
 Bay, in quell of the French, he granted their wives f^ur pence per 
 day. titt they returned. This was certainly a fplendid allowance, and 
 well worth fighting for. In a pamphlet printed in 1794, fir Henry 
 Clinton fays, that the army is now waiting to receive a very fmal! 
 * (hare of plunder taken at the fiege of 'Charleflown!" 
 ^ The great take care of themfelves at leaft. The hiftory of The 
 Crimes of the Kings of 'England* relates that the family of Mr. Pitt 
 enjoy places and peafiona to the amount of eighty-one thoufand 
 pounds ftcrling a year. 
 
UNITED STATES 17 
 
 like thofe produced by Britifti monopolies in Ben- 
 gal, had whitened the whole country with the bones 
 of its inhabitants, Gamillus might have fome reafbn 
 for this infinuation. The French did not think 
 that Holland was emptied, as appears from their firft 
 requisition. Among other articles, they demanded 
 two hundred thoufand quintals of wheat, feventy- 
 five millions of pounds weight of hay, fifty millions 
 ditto of oats, and hundred and fifty thoufand pairs 
 of fhoes, two hundred thoufand fhirts, with ftraw, 
 breeches, coats, waiftcoats, overalls, hats, and fo 
 forth, all in one month, befides twelve thoufand ox- 
 en to be furnifhed within two months. This enume- 
 ration fhews the inaccuracy of Camillus, and what 
 may be expe&ed if the French difembark at Mud 
 ifland. 
 
 u The British government maintains a proud and 
 * diftant referve, repels every idea of peace, and 
 " inflexibly purfues the path of war." Mr. Burke's 
 two letters are half filled with lamentations for the 
 debafement of England. They hold out a ludi- 
 crous refutation of Alexander Hamilton. u The 
 u regicides were the firft," faith St. Edmund, 
 u to declare war. We are the firft to Jue for peace. 
 u The fpeech from the throne in the opening of 
 c the feiiion of 1795, threw out oglings and glances 
 c of tender nefs. Left this coquetting (liould feem too 
 tc cold and ambiguous, the violent paffion for a re- 
 u lation to the regicides, produced," &c. This is the 
 proud and diftant referve defcribed by Camillus. 
 c I do not know a more mortifying fpectacle than 
 c to fee the afTembledmajefty of the crowned heads 
 u of Europe waiting as patient fuitors in the anti- 
 c chamber of Regicide. They wait, it feem s, un- 
 '' til the fanguinary tyrant, Carnot, fliall have fnor- 
 c ted away the indigefted fumes of the blood of 
 " his fovereign" The remainder of this fcene 
 
 D 
 
5 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 is admirably painted ; but our envoy, Mr. Pinck- 
 ney, is not, it appears, admitted even to the anti- 
 chamber. He has been defired to quit the coun- 
 try. cc At this fecond humiliation it might not have 
 fct been amifs to paufe and not to fquander away 
 " the fund ofourjubmiffions" A report from the 
 Committee of Agriculture at London affirms, that 
 the lands lying wade in Britain, could be encreal- 
 ed in value by twenty millions Jlerling a year ! They 
 deferred this acquisition to manufacture French 
 kings. " At Baile, it was thought proper that 
 cc Great Britain fhould appear at this market, and 
 " bid with the reft for the mercy of the people- 
 king." This is that republic which the Ameri- 
 can emifTaries of England are fo bufy in provoking. 
 Mr. Burke then relates two fruitlefs applications; 
 .made by England, the one at Berlin, by our friend. 
 Robert Hammond, and the other at Paris through 
 the Danrfh ambafTador. Both were rejected. cc It 
 " might be thought that here, at length, we had 
 ' touched the bottom of humiliation ; our lead 
 " was brought up covered with mud. But in the 
 " low eft deep, a lower deep was to open for us ftill 
 cc more profound abyfles of difgrace and mame. 
 <c However, in we leaped! Thequeftion is not now 
 cc how we are to be affecled with it in regard to 
 cc dignity. That is gone. I {hall fay no more about 
 u it. Light lie the earth on the allies of Englifli 
 " pride* I" 
 
 We can now anfwer the query of Camillus. 
 " t How happens it that France with all her victories 
 
 * Britain has good reafon to be tired of this war. A late London 
 newfpaper fays, that, from 177 5; to 1 782, inclufive, there were three 
 thoufand feven hundred and forty-two bankruptcies ; arid from 1 70,3 
 to 1796, inclufive, three thoufand fix hundred and eight. Thus 
 four years of the prefent quarrel have done as much harm to the 
 mercantile credit as right ysars of the laft, 
 
UNITED_STATES. *$ 
 
 c " has not yet been able to extort peace /" She never 
 afked for it. " It is probable/' fays he, " thenegoci- 
 " ation (Jay's treaty) received its firft impreflion and 
 " even its general outline anterior to the principal 
 " part of the difafters fuftained by the coalefced 
 cc powers in thecourfe of thelaft campaign (1794)." 
 If Jay had been warranted, as he was not, to make 
 a treaty fuch as he did, its firft impreflion would 
 have been fketched in America before he fet out. 
 But, as lately obferved*, the time chofen for ma- 
 king it was highly improper. Camillus, in ancient 
 or modern annals, will hardly find that, with views 
 merely commerical, any nation ever chofe fb hazar- 
 dous a time for entering into a treaty. Thjs con- 
 lideration alone fhould have laid the bargain on 
 its back, at lead till the conclufion of a peace. It 
 was juft like building a houfe clofe to another 
 which is on fire. During the refidence of Jay in 
 England, every poft brought him news of French 
 victories. Hence, even if the outline of his paper 
 had been fketched before the conqueft of Flanders, 
 that decifive event fhould have taught him to make 
 a paufe. A fufpenfion of figning the treaty for 
 only three months could not have ruined America. 
 Thefe things were as hugs as high Olympus. They 
 pierced the deafefl ear. They thrufl themfelves 
 on the dulled underflan cling. 
 
 The letter of Mr. Pinckney above referred to 
 
 clearly admits the advantages that might have been 
 
 gained by delay. " The bufinefs, upon the whole/ 7 
 
 fays he, a has been concluded more beneficially for 
 
 ' us than I had any hope we could obtain by nego- 
 
 c ciationyfor months ago, and, in my opinion, places 
 
 c us in a more advantageous fituationthan we fhould 
 
 " have been in by becoming parties to the 
 
 * American Annual Regifter, Chapter > 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 If fo much had been acquired by one delay of fix 
 months, reafon pointed out a fecondpoftppnement. 
 Britain has been ever fmce going down hill, and had 
 the affair been to begin at this time, we might have 
 had any terms that could be defired. The latter 
 part of the above citation obliquely implies that Ame- 
 rica had no choice between a treaty and a war. The 
 fuppofition gives a poor fpecimen of the writer's dif- 
 cernment. How gladly fome people would be at get- 
 ting into war appears from the Aurora of the 5th of 
 April 1797- U A correfpondent in the Centinel, 
 <c fays, that the people of this country are not YET ripe 
 <c for an alliance offenflve anddefenjiveivith GreatBri- 
 " tai&i but fuggefh that the event is probable." This 
 paffage points more clearly than ufual at the ultimate 
 ptirpofeof'a certain party. If the alliance above 
 recommended were to take place, the beft fortune 
 that we could look for would be that of UlylTes in 
 the den of the Cyclops ; we mould be refer ved as the 
 3aft morfel. If any motive can drive out of our 
 fancy a Britifh alliance, it is to read the recent fate of 
 the allies of England, as defcribed by Mr. Burke. 
 They (the French) have hitherto conftantly cle- 
 c clined any other than a treaty with a fingle pow- 
 c er. In that light the regicide power finding 
 ' each of them infulated and unprotected, with 
 c great facility gives the law to them all. By this 
 c fyitem, for the prefent, an incurable diftruft is 
 c fown amongft the confederates ; and in future all 
 :c alliance is rendered impracticable. It is thus they 
 " have treated with Pruffia, with Spain, with Sar- 
 c dinia, with Bavaria, with the eccleilaflical fl'ates, 
 c with Saxony ; and here we fee them refufe to 
 c treat with Great Britain in any other mode. *' 
 Suppofe that we (hall have entered into the alliance 
 recommended by the Centinel, and that Britain, 
 within fix months, patches up a feparate peace. 
 
UNITED STATES. 21 
 
 while Hoche's buffers are whetting their fabres in 
 the barracks of Dublin. America would then make 
 but a lorry figure in a folitary negociation. Befides, 
 we cannot truft our ally. This .appears by an ex- 
 tract from the journals of Congrefs, in the year 
 1779. "We are contending," fay they, againfi 
 " a kingdom crumbling to pieces* ', a nation with- 
 " out public virtue, and a people fold and be- 
 trayed by their own reprefentatives ; againfi a 
 c prince governed by his paffions, and a miniftry 
 " without confiilency or wifdom ; againft armies 
 ^ half paid, and generals half trufted [thefe were 
 " two flagrant falfehoods], againft a government 
 c equal only (obferve this only) to plans of plunder, 
 c conflagration, and murder, a government noted 
 c for its violations of the rights of religion^ juftice, 
 4 humanity, and mankind, and revolting from the 
 " protection of 'Providence !" - u Our armies inFlan- 
 4C ders fwore terribly, " faid uncle Toby, u but 
 " nothing like this !" As for Providence, the peo- 
 ple of England held frequent faft days for military 
 iuccefs. This delicate fpecimen of the mob-ftile 
 was part of a letter from Congrefs to their conftitu- 
 ents, and was draughted, at their defire, by Mr. 
 John Jay. They fhould have faid nothing about 
 half-paid armies, till they had been half able to pay 
 their own. Several continental officers, on cafting 
 up the difference between dirty pafteboard and 
 hard (liver, found, during the' war 7 that they were 
 fighting for about one cent per dayt. Yet they 
 continued to fupport the caufe, ankj to fink money 
 in it. But the object of the above quotation is to 
 point out the confiftency of our envoy, and how not- 
 
 * Kow does this agree with Camillus ? 
 
 t This is affirmed by ag cntleman, in Philadelphia who was one 
 of them, 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ably the ftile of 1779 agrees with that of 1794. 
 
 Only poor fifteen years have converted a horde of 
 
 demons, for that is the amount of his billingfgate 
 
 description, into the mofl upright people in the 
 
 world. 
 
 We have remarked on the hafte with which Mr, 
 Jay clofed his treaty, and how much might have 
 been won by deferring it. But the condud: of the 
 i>egociator is eclipfed by that of the great body of 
 the people. It does not appear that the poffibility 
 of a rupture with France ever once came into the 
 conception of mofl of our citizens. A majority in the 
 Ho Life of Reprefentatives of Congrefs did indeed 
 forefee or fear it. One of them was afked why 
 they did not fhite it in their fpeeches, inftead of ma- 
 ny trifles, which were advanced againfl the treaty. 
 He replied that "they did not think it prudent, 
 : The Hamiltonians would inflantly have accufed 
 c them of encouraging the French to begin a war 
 i with this country/' 
 
 This is the very defign of fome of that party 
 themfel ves . When a man calls hard names at his 
 neighbour he is underflood as defiling to quarrel. 
 Mr. Monroe, American ambaffador to France, con- 
 dueled himfelf with prudence and popularity. In 
 December 1796, he prefertted letters of recall, and 
 bade farewell to the Executive Directory, in the 
 mofl amicable terms. His addrefs was received 
 with relpe^l and cordiality. He congratulated the 
 nation on their victories, and their new conftitution, 
 In terms not as flrong, by twenty degrees, as thofe 
 of Mr. Wafhington o-n receiving the French flag. 
 The Gazette of the United States, for the 29th of 
 March, 1797, fcolds him for this ad: of civility fo 
 contrafted to the infolence of Mr. Pickering. 
 Though you could crouch, and/weel, and lick^ and 
 * faivn^ on ftich an occaflon, your fellow citizen- . 
 
UNITED STATES. 23 
 
 <c can feel nothing for you but contempt; and for 
 " the Direftory> who require of the United States 
 4 an aft that would proftrate them in the duft, the 
 cc utmoft indignation" There is much more in this 
 ftile. The alleged aft referred to, is, that the Direc- 
 tor}'- re fufed to admit an American minifter till the 
 United States hadredrefjed their grievances. 
 
 As for the contempt and indignation fo fiercely 
 ipoke about, a different tone may foon be found ne- 
 celfary. Mantua is at length given up. Five Au- 
 trian armies have been deftroyed, and an hundred 
 thoufand prifoners taken, during a (ingle campaign, 
 in Italy. Compared to this work, the American 
 revolution was mere fcratching. The Emperor 
 cannot pay his troops with Englifti bank notes. He 
 muft either make an immediate peace, or be de- 
 throned. It does not appear that the United States 
 could, in one fummer, raife five, or indeed two 
 iuch armies, in defence of the frontier of Canada; 
 and it is likely enough that the French may reclaim 
 that province from England, and require this coun- 
 try to reftore its ancient boundaries. They would 
 enter upon fuch a fcheme with every advantage. 
 They have already a numerous colony of their 
 own people in Canada, who are acquainted with it 
 as well as the New Englanders. They have always 
 exceeded the Britifh in the art of gaining the Indi- 
 ans. The war with the favages has been computed 
 to coft yearly a million of dollars ; but with a French 
 army to fupport them, a campaign might devour 
 fifty millions. The ceflion of Canada would be 
 one of the leaft wonderful events of the prefent war. 
 A great part of the people of New England have 
 been uncomonly folicitious to exafperate the repub- 
 lic, and, after the treatment which they have alfb 
 diligently beftowed on the fouthern ftates, and their 
 numerous menaces of disjunction, the latter might 
 
*4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 chufe to give themfelves but fmall concern in the 
 difputc. On the fouth-eaftern frontier^ the United 
 States are flill more vulnerable. Were Victor 
 Hughes, with three or four battalions of black troops, 
 to land on the-coaft of Virginia, the horrors of St. 
 Domingo would immediately be renewed. Geor- 
 gia flill continues to import negroes ; a praftice 
 deferving the levered reprobation. 
 
 When we confider the terror, which France has, 
 for three years pail, infpired in Europe, the con- 
 queft of Canada, and the extenflon of its limits, 
 will feem but as duft hrthe balance. The brutal 
 infolence with which the republicans are treated in 
 the Columbian Centinel, can arife only from anvui- 
 acquaintance with the poflible extent of danger to 
 New England. Count Montgaillard is a French 
 royalift. His enmit}^ to the revolution is as fmcere 
 as that of any printer or preacher in the eaflern 
 itates. In ^1794, he publifhed a pamphlet on The 
 Neceffity of 'continuing the war. " The generation./' 
 lays he, cc which is to invade and deftroy Europe 
 c has now reached the twelfth year of its age. It 
 c was born in the very mid ft of a revolution [that 
 c of America perhaps] ; it has feen all the epocha 
 4 of this [the French] revolution ; it has inhaled 
 c all its principles, and it has fucked in every poi- 
 4 ion by which it was infecled. Where is the trea- 
 ' ty of peace which can conftrain this riling genera- 
 c tion to renounce fo horrible a conqueft." He 
 infifts, like Burke, that thewarmuft be continued ; 
 he even affirms, that the republic mujl be fubdu- 
 ed. When this piece appeared, the French had 
 not conquered Lombardy. They had not plun- 
 dered one-half of Germany ; and the bank of 
 England had not ftopt payment. Arthur Young, 
 in the pamphlet already cited, fpeaks in the fame 
 tone. " Activity, vigour, and energy, fuch as the 
 
UNITED STATES. 1$ 
 
 " world has not feen, are exerted to fpreadVkflruc- 
 " tion. The late manifestation of the French pow- 
 cc er is too tremendous to be confidered but with 
 u alarm and terror* The independence of Europe 
 " is at flake/' He fays that the war had, at that 
 time, cofl France thirteen hundred thoujand men* 
 Every nation fears her, except America, or rather 
 the tories, and the monied intereft of our country. 
 William Gobbet has fet up a gazette in this city T 
 for the exprefs end of reviling France. He does 
 not conceal his defign of bringing the nation into 
 a French war. Sincerity is always refpeftable, and 
 he cannot, as an editor, be charged with a want of 
 that virtue. If we are plunged into fuch a fitua- 
 tion, his fubfcribers, and not Mr. Gobbet, muft be 
 held accountable for the mifchief that he has done. 
 It will be nothing wonderful, if, before three years 
 elapfe, a French fleet mall anchor in the Delaware, 
 and compel Philadelphia to deliver to the republic 
 both him and them. Myriads of precedents of 
 this kind are to be found in hiftory. 
 
 Dr. Ames once obferved, in Congrefs, that 
 " this country is rifing into a giant's ftrength." He 
 was right. Ten years more of peace will double the 
 population of the whole range of weftern ftates from 
 Vermont to TennalTee. Above an hundred and fifty 
 thoufand people are annually added to our num- 
 bers, and the ratio of increafe is conftantly aug- 
 menting. It will foon amount to two hundred thou- 
 fand yearly, or perhaps it has already reached that 
 proportion. This is an advantage enjoyed with 
 equal happinefs by no other nation. The addition- 
 al fwarms will, for centuries to come, have na~ 
 want of room. 
 
 " The world is all before them, where to choofe 
 Their place of reft, 1 ' 
 
 fc 
 
*6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 They will not, for the fake of fubiiftence, be 
 compelled to bury themfelves forever in mines, 
 or iinwholefome manufactories*, or to ruih into mer- 
 cenary regiments. Whatever profeffion they (li all 
 choofe, a moderate portion of induftry can hardly fail 
 tofupply a plentiful competence. But a foreign war, 
 and moll efpecially a French war, will aiTuredly re- 
 t ird, and may finally blaft this faireft harvefl of fe- 
 licity that the human race hath ever feen. Recur- 
 ring to the metaphor of Dr. Ames, it would be 
 madnefs to expofe the atlantean infant of America 
 to the arm of a giant, whole limbs are completely 
 formed, whofe joints are firmly knit in his tremen- 
 dous maturity of manhood. Let us forbear then to 
 Imitate, while we condemn the infolence of Genet, 
 or to propagate the exploded calumnies of Fauchet. 
 Let us no longer whet the edge and embitter the 
 venom of our faith by reviling a diflant nation for 
 having, like moft of ourfelves, granted an univerfal 
 right of confcience. To fpeak plainly, fome of the 
 holders of public flock, with Alexander Hamilton 
 In their van, have excited this clamour. Witnefs 
 the letters of PHOCIONt ! Thefe people tremble 
 
 * In England, exceflive labour kills perhaps as many people as hec 
 foreign wars. See Buchan's Domeftic Medicine. 
 
 i Alias, Dr. William Smith. The author of An Examination of tie 
 late Proceedings m Cwgrefs, as to Mr. Hamilton's conduft, fays that 
 the doftor ""holds between three and four hundred mares in the 
 bank of the United States, and has obtained difcounts ad libitum." 
 The bank was incorporated by an aft dated the zjth of February, 
 . A (hare contains four hundred dollars. Three hundred fhares 
 thus to an hundred and twenty thoufand dollars. In five years, 
 
 1 79 1 . A (hare contains four hundred dollars. Three hundred fhares 
 come thus to an hundred and twenty thoufand dollars. In five years, 
 from the jft of January, 1792, to the ift of January, 1797, Dr - 
 Smith would draw nine thoufand fix hundred dollars per annum, at 
 cHit per cent. ; in whole, forty-eight thoufand dollars of intcreft. 
 Add this to the principal fum, and, with the advantage of difcount*, 
 we may reckon fafely, that he has netted in whole at lead two hun- 
 dred thoufand dollars. 
 
 The world fays that thefe fhares in the bank were formed by an 
 accumulation of Congrefs certificates, which the dodor bought 
 
UNITED STATES. *7 
 
 for their paper, which no well informed citizen will 
 ever think of molefling ; and, quite overfhooting 
 the mark, they wi(h to preferve it by plunging the 
 continent into a Britifh alliance and a French war* 
 The latter is only another name for a fecond American 
 revolution. Were Pichegru at Elkton to-morrow, 
 many citizens would feel more than a ipirit of re- 
 fiftance. The public can trace the contrivers of fuch 
 a calamity ; and, before oppofing the houfe-breaker 
 from without, they would perhaps begin with punifh- 
 ingthofe who had turned the key. It has already been 
 proved in the Aurora, that the flambeau difpatch of 
 Mr. Pickering contains elaborate mifquotation and 
 direct untruth. Our fecretary takes the morteft 
 way to provoke the rage of a conqueror alike inflex- 
 ible in defeat and fuccefs, intoxicated with the ho- 
 mage, enriched with the fpoils of Europe, and yet 
 imexhaufted by his thoufand victories. 
 
 In this chapter the narrative of the year 1796 
 has made fmall progrefs, but fomething perhaps 
 has been gained in point of information. The 
 motion of general Smith, with which it fet out, 
 regarding the Britifh treaty, introduced fome re- 
 flections on the extreme hazard of a French war, 
 and on the temerity or perfidy of thofe who have 
 led the United States into fo critical a fituation. 
 The authority of Edmund Burke, and other Intel-* 
 ligent Englifli writers, was next appealed to with 
 regard to the power of that republic, as a coun- 
 terpoife to the fyftematic and voluminous fallacies 
 of Camillus. This induced naturally to a compa- 
 rative view of the respective force of the two na- 
 tions by land and fea ; and the immeafurable infe- 
 
 from the continental army at eighteen pence or two (hillings per 
 pound. They may have originally coft him ten thoufand dollars. As 
 Hamilton was the progenitor of this mafter-piece of finance, the doc 
 tor has been aftiye in difplaying his gratitude. 
 
s3 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 riority of America was the refult of examination* 
 The fhameful attempts made to widen the breach 
 between the two countries was illuflrated by addi- 
 tional remarks. We have clofed with pointing out 
 the peculiar advantages that America may hope for, 
 beyond any other nation, from the continuance of 
 peace ; and we have feen ibme of the motives of 
 that party, who, under pretended zeal for her con- 
 flitution, wifh to difturb her tranquility. To elu- 
 cidate the numberlels advantages of a pacific fy- 
 tern a great deal yet remains to be faid. So much 
 untruth and deception have been ftudioufly heaped 
 on the fubjecl, that much previous labour is requi- 
 red to remove the rubbifli, before even the founda- 
 tion of a narrative can be properly fketched out. 
 The moft painful portion of the tafk is to beftow 
 cenfure on perfons or parties, and fometimes to 
 hold up even a large majority, of the nation in a- 
 light not extremely reputable. Flattery to the 
 prejudices and vices of the public has hitherto 
 been the bane of altnoft every hiftorian. This fault 
 fhall, in the prefent work, be avoided as much 
 as poflible, though at the requifite expence of 
 difpleafing the violent of every party. When 
 we fometimes flop to criticife the paragraph or efTay 
 in a newfpaper, it fliould be remembered that to 
 thefe publications the people of the United States 
 do mod univerfally refort for political knowledge. 
 By feeing detected fome dozens of notorious fic- 
 tions in that fhape, perfons at a great diflance from 
 ' fources of accurate information may come to ac- 
 quire the habit of thinking more boldly for them- 
 felves, and of demanding evidence before they be- 
 lieve an afTertion. 
 
 The enfuing chapter will partly confifl of fpeci- 
 an ens of federal composition, as a key to the pro- 
 jects and talents of that party. The next three chap- 
 
UNITED STATES. s f 
 
 ters proceed to fome remarks on the mode of fup- 
 prefling the weftern infurreftion, of repelling the 
 favages on the fouth- weftern frontier, of compil- 
 ing the prefent national debt, and of negociating 
 Jay's treaty. The city of Washington, and the 
 treatment of the late continental army, will merit 
 and receive fome inveftigation. Thefe topics are 
 intimately connected with the bufinefs of the fe- 
 fion of Congrefs about to be defcribed. Without 
 fome prefatory explanations of this kind, a reader 
 might find himfelf in the fame ftate of embarrafP- 
 ment, as if he were to begin a perufal of Homer, 
 at the thirteenth book of the Iliad. 
 
 The firftfive introductory chapters having been 
 employed on political fubjects, we (hall be prepared 
 to go on with the journal of Congrefs. As variety is 
 the foul of enjoyment, and as this work is intended 
 for the entertainment of every clafs of people, an 
 intermediate andmifcellaneous chapter will be given 
 on the prefent internal ftate of America. A fwarm 
 of books of travels, in this country will, among 
 other articles of amufement, be brought on the ta- 
 pis, and fome of their injurious or abfurd obferva- 
 tions with refpect to America will be candidly ex- 
 plained. To ourfelves refutation may be unneceiTary, 
 but feveral copies of the prefent work will be fent 
 to Europe, where it may chance to be reprinted. 
 This part of the volume will there ferve as a vin- 
 dication of America againft the errors of thofe, who 
 cither did not perceive truth, or did not chufe to 
 tell it. 
 
 A work of the prefent kind has been much wan- 
 ted. We complain that newfpaper details are imper- 
 fect, prejudiced, and contradictory. Thefe charges 
 are true, but the printer cannot avoid affording foun- 
 dation for them. The narrative of to-morrow is 
 often at variance with that of to-day ; and neither 
 
S HISTORY OF THE 
 
 he nor his readers can, fometimes, be certain which 
 to prefer. Like Penelope, an editor mufl frequent- 
 ly unravel at night the labour of the morning ; while 
 the public, amidit the fhreds and fragments of infor- 
 mation, can hardly determine what to believe or 
 to re] eel. 
 
 The mere bulk of a daily newfpaper makes its 
 mode of information often intricate, and fometimes 
 inaccefiible. A folio volume of twelve hundred and 
 forty-eight pages may damp the curiofity of the 
 boldeft reader. No one newfpaper can relate eve- 
 ry thing. The proprietor generally wifbes, as far 
 as he conveniently can, to decline publishing what 
 his competitors have already given; to the world. 
 Aim oft every fheefois, likewife, half filled with ad- 
 vertifements which are entirely ufelefs to moil rea- 
 ders. Thefe clef eels in newfpapers cannot, by di- 
 ligence or candour, be entirely firanned. But they 
 point out the expediency of an annual compilation, 
 where {election, brevity, and arrangement can more 
 eafily find place. Many citi-zensof Philadelphia take 
 in fix daily newfpapers at any early expence of about 
 fifty dollars. Three different prints are a common 
 f apply. Not one-half or perhaps one-tenth part of 
 their contents are read ; and they are fometimes 
 caft into the fire without being opened. After fuch 
 a wade of money, a charge of one or two dollars 
 for a yearly publication cannot be held extravagant. 
 The compiler of fuch a book has the greateft ad- 
 vantage in coming at a diflance behind the events 
 which he is to relate. He can expatiate on the igno- 
 rance of ftatefmen who, at eafter, did not exactly 
 forefee what was to happen next chriflmas, and 
 which, a twelve month after it has pad, he fees ve- 
 ry diftinclly. He is amazed -at the clulnefs of news- 
 printers, who, with ten difcordant accounts of a bat- 
 tle before them, did not, for fome hours, diftingvrifU 
 
UNITED STATES.. 3* 
 
 the right one. With judgement and induflry, he 
 may write an ufeful performance ; and, by forne ad- 
 dreis, he can look extremely wife at the expence 
 ef his predeceflbrs. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Ch aracter of Mr . Gallatin . Gonneflicu t -poetry . 
 Major Jack/on. John P^atts. The. Bofton 
 
 Federal. Orrery. Cur tins. His exaggerated 
 
 ftatement of 'Briti/h rejources. Remarks an paper 
 money. Caiifes of the preference of Britain to 
 France in the federal party . Democratical con- 
 fpiracy developed by Cur tins. Defence ofjejfer- 
 Jon, Madijon, Giles, Parker, Chriftie, drr. Fables 
 from Pitt/burgh. Curious prejentment by a grand 
 jury in Georgia. Purity of Bofton. 
 
 " A S to Gallatin, the feditious Gallatin ! What 
 
 jLJL mall I fay ? How mall I defcribe that com- 
 
 <c pound of vice and depravity, that difciple of 
 
 cc meannefs, corruption, debauchery, and idlenefs. 
 
 " He is a foreigner by birth and education." [Of 
 
 courfe, he muft be a rafcal].. cc For fome time 
 
 cc after his arrival in this country, he wandered 
 
 " about the diftrift of Maine, like Cain, a fugitive 
 
 c and vagabond, deftitu.te of the means of honeil 
 
 cc fubfiflence. The writer of this felt the effefe 
 
 <c of his own liberality for months afterwards ! 
 
 c Unable to pay for a lodging, or to pur chafe the 
 
 c neceiTaries of life, it was his cuftom to fleep in 
 
 c barns, and under the foliage of hedges, and not 
 
 c unufually in the arms of fome mameful (trumpet, 
 
 tc The fragments of the kitchen fatisfied the era- 
 
 " vings of hunger. We find him next among the 
 
s * HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " infurgents of the weftern counties in Pennfyl- 
 c vania* The late whilky rebellion there is prin- 
 * c x cipally attributed to him."' There is ten times 
 more of this trumpery. It is copied from the Ken- 
 nebeck Intelligencer ; and was published about 
 the beginning of the year 1797 to defeat the re- 
 eleclion of Mr. Dearborne, a member of Congrefs 
 for Maffachufetts. This is one fample of the fe- 
 deral eloquence of New England. If Mr, Galla- 
 tin had wifhed for an opportunity of inflaming 
 the public, he could not have chofen a better topic 
 than American finance. Yet his treatife on it is 
 written in the mod harmlefs ftile, and feems to 
 evince an unuftial degree of good nature and for- 
 bearance. 
 
 About the fame time with this production, the 
 Connecticut Courant contained Guillotina, a feries. 
 of rhimes, written by one Trumbull. They were 
 rcpublifhed in a Providence newfpaper. A few 
 lines will fhew in what kind of kennel this Con- 
 necticut mule dabbles ; and how wretchedly a 
 certain party labour under a dearth of decent ad- 
 vocates. 
 
 " Once more my fond attentions turn,. 
 (t Where Pennfylvania's patriots burn. 
 * ( See Mifflin tlretching out the laws, 
 To aid the anti-federal caufe." 
 
 This refers to the fcandalous artifices employ- 
 ed in Pennfylvania to flop the arrival of the poft 
 at this city with votes for electors at the late elec- 
 tion of Prefident, and to the activity of governor 
 Mifflin in detecting a variety of frauds made ufe of 
 by the federal party. If Trumbull had felt any 
 fenfe of common honefly, or common fliame, he 
 would not have ftirred the afhes of a flory fb.difr 
 honorable to his friends,. 
 
UNITED STATES. 33 
 
 < c See him with Barclay, John, and Dallas^ 
 " (Poor Pennfylvania keeps no gallows) 
 " Play many a democratic prank, 
 " In fleecing Pennfylvania bank." 
 
 One may-fay, with parfon Adams, " I wouldra- 
 " ther be the fubjedt of fuch verfes, than the au- 
 " thor." Several months before this piece ap- 
 peared, Mr. Dallas had publifhed a certificate 
 that the bank of Pennfylvania was, at the time 
 referred to, in his debt. This fad could not 
 be unknown to the libeller of Hartford. But old 
 braj's 'will make a new pan, fays the proverb. A 
 fi&ion, though refuted in profe, may have a joyful 
 refurreftion in verfe. The polite introduction 6f 
 the gallows {hews how flrongly fqme of the federal 
 party third for blood. They have given more 
 than one intimation to that purpofe. The New- 
 York Gazette has an efTay by William Wil cocks, 
 dated the ijth of November, 1796. " Surely," 
 fays he, " the guillotine has not done all its du- 
 " ty !" He rails at the machine in France, yet re- 
 commends the fettingup of another in America, for 
 that is his plain inference. Some people fhoulcf 
 not, in common prudence, be fo forward to Ipeak 
 of banks, till they give a fatisfa&ory account of 
 their connection with Alexander Hamilton, and 
 his bank of the United States. " The books of 
 " transfer at the treafury, and the books at the 
 c bank, are held fecret under the obligation of art 
 c oath, on all perfons who ufe orinfpeft them, not 
 c to reveal the names or amount of ftock hoi- 
 " ders*." So much concealment can hardly be 
 
 fr See An Examination of the late Proceedings, in Congrefs, re* 
 fpefting the official conduct of the Secretary of the Treafury, 
 led 8th of March,, 1793, p. 25. 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 for an honourable purpofe. The righteous arc 
 bold as a lion. Trumbull proceeds thus : 
 
 S( When'Fauchet kept an open mint, 
 " They doubtlefs had a finger in't." 
 
 This is another exploded untruth. The rhymer 
 goes on at this rate through five columns of rib- 
 baldry. The lines now cited are fufficient to (hew 
 the claffical difcernment of his friends, and what 
 fort of aid they will ftoop to receive. Swanwick, 
 Giles, Gallatin, and a long lift of that party are 
 reviled fadly. Dr. Franklin, his grandfon, Mr,- 
 Bache, and Thomas Paine meet with the fame ufage. 
 General Wafhington, asufual, is thoroughly foaked 
 in the treacle of panegyric. But when the Prefi- 
 tlent notified his intention to reiign, the party foon 
 began to change their tune. Wilcocks has faid 
 <c that thzfuljome adulation of the Prefident on the 
 4 reception of the French flag was the moft deroga- 
 , <c tory part of his adminiftration*." 
 
 The charge of being a fulfome fycophant does not 
 entirely agree with the fuperb encomiums, which 
 Wilcocks has fo frequently plaiftered upon Gene- 
 ral Wafhington. This veering about lets us into 
 the real character of fome people, and how little 
 they care about the General, when his reputation 
 ceafesto promote their private ends. 
 
 But this revolt was overbalanced by Major 
 William Jackfon, furveyor of the port of Philadel- 
 phia. The fpeech of the Prefident, on the 8th of 
 December, 1796, was followed up, next day, by 
 the Major, with a puff in one of our newlpapers. 
 It begins thus. " To attempt an illuftration of a 
 " fubjeft in itfelf fb illumined as the fpeech of our 
 " moil excellent Prefident were an arrogance 
 
 * Aarora, 31 ft December, 1796. 
 
UNITED STATES. , 3$ 
 
 <c which we utterly difclaim." He goes on white- 
 wafliing for a considerable length. " The diftant 
 tc iettler on the MiffiflUppi beholds with exultation 
 cc that his happinefs forms a confideration in the 
 u mind of the government, co-equal with that of 
 cc his fellow citizen on the Atlantic." He is equally 
 entitled to protection ; for his welfare is eflential 
 to the union. Hence exultation would bemifplac- 
 cd. A Prefldent and other officers of government 
 are paid for doing their duty ; and, if they fail of 
 performing it to public fatisfadHon, there are, if we 
 could only believe fo, abundance of men as good 
 as the beft of them. Major Jackfon here points at 
 the Spanifh treaty ; but he might have reflected 
 that the fame adminiftration, by the weakeft and 
 meaneft fpecies of trimming, has induced the dan- 
 ger of a French war, and if that happens, thewe- 
 tern waters will be more completely blocked up 
 than ever. 
 
 " Is there a feaman belonging to the United 
 u States, or a connection of that valuable clafs of 
 <c citizens, whofe vows are not offered for the 
 " good of him, whofe head andheart havebeen*fo 
 " much occupied with their concerns ?" This was 
 an unfortunate topic. But the Major, as a military 
 man, knows that the weakeft part of a fortifica- 
 tion has moft need of defence. " Where is the 
 " veteran whofe bofom does not beat in refponfivc 
 u applaufe to the eulogium of Wafhington on 
 " military fkill ?" If, at the creation of the public 
 debt, he had taken a fingle ftep to fave them from 
 indigence, if he had refufed to flgn. the ftatute of 
 limitations,, and fome other laws not much better*, 
 their bofoms would have been more likely to ber.t. 
 No peculiar (hare of blame in this builnefs lies on 
 
 * American Annvul Regiftcr ; chap. v. and xi, 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the Prefident. The great body of the people have 
 betrayed entire indifference about the old foldiers, 
 other wife fuch acts never could have paft. At the 
 fame time money is unaccountably wafted on fa- 
 vages. John Watts, a Creek warrior, boafts of 
 having taken thirty-three fcalps. In the latter 
 part of 1796, this fellow, and a number of others, 
 came to Philadelphia, where they feafted at an ex- 
 pence of four thoufand dollars*. Thus much for 
 Major Jackfon. 
 
 Nothing is, in itfelf, more comtemptible, and 
 nothing tends more certainly to defeat its own 
 purpofe, than extravagant praife. Encomium ne- 
 ver appeared in a more farcical fhape, than it has 
 often afTumed in poetry. Of this fort of writing the 
 Bofton Federal Orrery afforded a miferable fpeci- 
 men, in the Gratulatory Addrefs on the birth-day of 
 the Prefident, in February, 1796. 
 
 If a fir anger knew nothing elfe of the hiftory of 
 the American war, than what he could glean from 
 this copy of verfes, he would infer, that General. 
 Wafhington had fingly, and exclufively, extermi- 
 nated the Britifh armies in a perfonal combat. In 
 the laft line of the firflflanza, this rhymer of Ma- 
 fachufetts calls him the cc Godlike Ifafliington.* 
 This is fomething worfe than mere nonfenfe* It 
 approaches to indecency and profanation. 
 
 In the third ftanza we meet with a parallel be- 
 tween General Wafliington and : let the rea- 
 der, if he can, conjecture the counter part of this 
 companion 1 Mofes, the Jew, is introduced as not 
 fuperior in legiflative or military merits, to the 
 leader in our revolution. As if that were not 
 
 * This is ftated on the authority of Mr. Chriftopher Greenup> a 
 reprefentative from Kentucky, The writer has not yet feen the ae- 
 compt. 
 
UNITED STATES. 37 
 
 enough, there follows a parallel between the Pre- 
 11 dent and the Creator of the Univerfe ; and though 
 this ftyle may feem ridiculous, incredible, and mad, 
 it has abfolutely been adopted by the bard of the 
 Bofton Federal Orrery. After alluding to the mi- 
 raculous paJTage of the Red fea, he adds, that 
 
 tf By night your pillar, and your cloud by day," 
 " He (the Prefident) fought yourbattles." 
 
 Here is an attempt to blend the fervices and exer- 
 tions of the American colonies with the omnifcient 
 ibperintendancy of the Supreme Being. Effrontery 
 or impiety cannot proceed -much farther. Of fuch 
 panegyrifts, Dr. Edward Young has obferved, that 
 
 ** Their praife degrades, as if a fool (hould mean, 
 cc By fpitting in your face, to make it clean !" 
 
 For the fake of completenefs, our author mould 
 have run a comparifon of Mount Vernon with 
 Mount Sinai, the Delaware at Trenton and the 
 Arabian Gulph. Between fuch impious jargon and 
 legitimate poetry, there is the fame diftin&ion 
 as between the trowel of a bricklayer, and the pen- 
 cil of Titian. 
 
 About the fame time, another piece of excel- 
 lence, too fingular to be forgotten, appeared in a 
 Philadelphia newfpaper. Here it is : 
 
 " ADVICE TO COUNTRY POLITICIANS. 
 
 (t Go weed your corn, and plow your land, 
 " And by Columbia's intereft (land, 
 
 " Caft prejudice a way; 
 " To able heads leave ftate affair*, 
 '* Give railing o'er and fay your prayers* 
 
 " For ftores of corn and hay." 
 
 This is the firft flanza of that brilliant production,, 
 American farmers are very obligingly advifed 
 to give over railing. The writer muft by this word 
 mean remonfirating againft the treaty of Mr. Jay. 
 As to able heads, fivc-fixths of the members of Co- 
 
S S HISTORY OF THE 
 
 grefs are farmers, anfl hence this admonition ap- 
 plies to them. They had better, as it feems, go 
 home and mind their ploughs. The next and con- 
 cluding flanza runs, or hobbles, in the following 
 words. 
 
 " With politics ne'er break your ileep, 
 " But ring your hogs, and (hear your lhcep> 
 
 " And rear your lambs and calves ; 
 " And Wafhington will take due care, 
 " That Britons never more fhall dare 
 
 " Attempt to make you Haves." 
 
 The felicity of the rhime in calves and flccues, 
 proves that the auricular accuracy of this laureate 
 keeps pace with his other qualifications. It is a ver)*" 
 handfome compliment to the farmers of the United 
 States to tell them that their underflandings are jufl 
 equal to putting a ring into the fnout of a hog. The 
 odes of Horace, and Martial's epigrams, were written 
 in the fink of Roman tyranny ;'yet, they contain no- 
 thing correfpondent with the abject vulgarity of this 
 advice. The piece is, from firll to laft, a ftupid in- 
 fult on the feelings of a free country. This Phila- 
 delphian bard feems a formidable rival to the vi- 
 laft fycophant that ever licked up the fpittle of de- 
 potifm. 
 
 The people of America boaft loudly of their free- 
 dom, and of their fuperiority, in this refpeft, to every 
 other nation ; yet the fpirit of fervility in writing 
 birth-day verfes, exceeds all bounds. 
 
 One of the gazettes of this city, after the birth- 
 day in February, 1795, nac ^ another piece of the 
 fame fhabby {train. It filled two entire columns ; 
 and, which (hews the wretchednefs, or rather non- 
 entity of literary tafte, it was printed, in at leajl one 
 other new/paper. 
 
 Alluding to the friends of democratic focieties, 
 this poet calls thsmforcerers in their cells. After 
 
UNITED STATES. 35 
 
 raving through this comparifon for a few impudent 
 lines, worthy of Webfler and his Minerva, we arc 
 told that 
 
 " Already Wamington, like Atlas ftands, 
 " Alone fupporting empire with his hands ; 
 " Alone, the prop of all this vaft machine, 
 < c The mortal hero of the immortal fcene." 
 
 The genius of Columbia (this is the new-fangled 
 rhyming name for America), then bounces into the 
 following exclamation : 
 
 " Chaos will come, when Wafhington expires, 
 
 f< Hide Freedom's fun, and quench her ftarry fires. 
 
 " A gift fo fatal, why (hould I retain ? 
 
 *' Realms fo accurft, why ihould my power fuftain ? 
 
 " No, let thefe regions to the deep be hurl'd. 
 
 u Take back, unfathom'd ocean, take your world." 
 
 A charming propofal undoubtedly ! that nature 
 {hall difTolve on the death of an American preli- 
 dent. There is reafon to think that neither George 
 the third, nor any of his predeceflbrs, was ever fa- 
 luted with fuch execrable buffoonery. If the de- 
 calogue had faid, Thouflialt not -write nonjenfe, this 
 author muft have been a difinal {inner. It is the 
 happy privilege of an American, that he may prat- 
 tle and print, in what way he pleafes, and 'without 
 any one to make him afraid. 
 
 Auguftus Caefar found it for his intereft to be 
 bountiful and grateful to Virgil and Horace. Their 
 verfes, like flepping ftones acrofs the mire, part- 
 ly favcd his name from that reproach, through 
 which it has waded down to poflerity. The 
 reputation of our Prefident requires not the help 
 of poetical crutches. To him we may apply what 
 the king of Pruilia, in his memoirs, hath faid of 
 his brother Henry : 'The higheft encomium 'which 'we 
 tan be/low , is an impartial narrative of his adions. 
 
 As a {ketch of the current ftile, we fhall notice 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 one other writer of the clay. Curtius publiflbcd 
 twelve letters in defence of Jay's treaty. The 
 points now to be invefligated, refer to what he fays 
 about the relative force of France and Britain, and 
 the violent manner in which he {peaks of thofe 
 who differ from his political opinions. 
 
 As an evidence of the greatnefs of Britain, Cur- 
 tius, No. vii. fays, that her Eafl-India territories 
 cc yield an annual revenue of more than eight mil- 
 " lions flerling." Camillus, alfo, No. vii. lays 
 much weight upon the mips from India to England 
 in 1795, having cargoes cc computed to be worth 
 " between four and five millions flerling." While 
 an alliance with that country is recommended, and 
 iuch accounts given of its wealth and power, only 
 a few words are needful to fet the matter right. 
 Three-fourths of this revenue t <ro to the expence 
 of fupporting the government of the country ; part 
 is abforbed by inveflments and commercial charges, 
 and' the remainder is confumed in paying the inte- 
 refl of the Indian debts of the company. By the 
 latefl advices received, on the i6th of June, 1795, 
 from India, they were owing, in that part of the 
 world, feven millions three hundred thoufand 
 pounds flerling. This was flated in the Houfe of 
 Commons, on the above date, by Mr. Dundas. The 
 company owe likewife another enormous debt in 
 England, a part of which, under the name of bon- 
 ded, amounted then to two millions flerling. Thus, 
 when the company have paid the charges of govern- 
 ment, the interell of their debts, and mercantile 
 expences, they arc, by feveral millions flerling, 
 ivorfe than nothing. They have been often on the 
 brink of bankruptcy, and would have flopt pay- 
 ment many years ago, if Parliament had not lent 
 , in advance, large fums of money*. If is. 
 
 * See Smith's Wealth of Nations, 
 
UNITED STATES 41 
 
 hard to think that fuch an eftablifhment can add to 
 the real flrength of a nation. Camillas and Curti- 
 us need not build much on that fource of oppofl- 
 tion to France*. 
 
 * As the world in general appear to be miftaken on this head* 
 the following ftatements, laid before Parliament by Dundas, are in- 
 ferred. They are for two different years ; and (hew how little 
 England has, in reality, gained by her catalogue of Oriental crimes. 
 
 General Jiate of revenues and charges in India. 
 Total of the revenues of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, 
 
 1793-4, as above ftated, - .8,294,399 
 
 Charges of ditto, (including 66,358!, fapplies to Ben- 
 
 coolen, &c.) . . . 6,181,5041 
 
 Revenues more than charges, - - 2,112,89^ 
 
 Jntereft on debts paid from this fum, - - 458,045 
 
 Surplus revenues, - 1,654,852 
 
 Add import, fales, and certificates, - 475,994 
 
 Sums applicable to inveftments, payment of commercial 
 charges, &c. (exclufive of 20,000!. gained by ifluing 
 notes, - 2,130,84$ 
 
 Eftimates for 1 7 94- 5 . 
 Total revenues of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, cfti- 
 
 mated 1794-5, " .- L'l>W&v*l 
 
 Total charges, ditto, (including 104,632!. fupplies to 
 
 Bencoolen, &c.) - 5)923,065 
 
 1*867,744, 
 Dedud intereft on debts, per No. XVI. - - 437*047 
 
 Eftimated furplus revenue, 1*430,697 
 
 Add No. XV. Eftimated fales of imports, and a- 
 
 mount of certificates, - 380,669 
 
 Amount eftimated to be applicable to inveftments, pay- 
 ment of commercial charges, &c. &c. 1,81 1,366 
 
 On the 24th of May, 1791, Charles Fox faid, in the Houfe of 
 Commons, that the company's debts amounted to fixteen millions 
 eight hundred thoufand pounds fterling. Thefe details agree in 
 fubftance with the fammary in the text, Much noife. was made botk 
 
 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 When Curtius fpeaks of Europe, he flumbles In 
 the fame way as Camillas. " Great Britain, though 
 " jier army was deftroyed in the Netherlands, re- 
 C tains all her activity and refources*. Govern- 
 " ment has not been compelled to diflrefs her trade 
 cc to man her navy." She never manned twenty 
 fail of the line, at one time, without diftrefting 
 trade. A general prefs is the fure confequence of 
 fuch an equipment. The fear city of feamen has 
 been very great. Again. cc Her debt has indeed 
 " been augmented ; but ftill immenfe fums of mo- 
 cc ney (of paper he fhould have faid) are offered, 
 c . c and the only queftion with government is, whofe 
 u money fnall be received on loan." That is on 
 account of the extravagant premiums. As for 
 money, all the gold and (liver coin in England 
 would not pay above one-nineteenth part of the 
 debts that (he has contracted. If the ifland could be 
 divided into three equal ihares, it would require one 
 of them to fatisfy the public creditors. <c Britain, 
 a at this moment, maintains as commanding an at- 
 " titude among the powers of the earth, as at any 
 i(> former period." Only two pages before, Curtius 
 had faid, " that her land forces were defeated and 
 " cut to pieces, the laft campaign (1794), * s unde- 
 
 for and againft Jay's conducl on account of the ftipulations refpec- 
 ting the Eaft India trade. When it is obferved how little even the 
 Eaft India company can make, who are mafters of India itfelf, a fuf- 
 picion may be excited, that this branch of commerce was not worth 
 much contention. American mips can fail to China, without leave 
 of England ; and that is the moil important branch of the Oriental 
 market. 
 
 * To fill up thefe armies, the country was, in fome places, half 
 depopulated. On the 24th of March, 1795? Mr. Sheridan inform- 
 ed the Houfe of Commons, that one magiftrate had attefted twen- 
 ty-one thoufand recruits. About the fame time it was Hated in 
 the houfe, that Manchefter, fince the war began, had lofc twelve 
 thoufand people. 
 
UNITED STATES. 43 
 
 <c niable ; and there is no queftion that any com- 
 " bat by land would be decided in favour of 
 " France." When England won the battles of 
 Blenheim, Quebec, and Minden, (he was equally 
 fuperior at Jea. Curtius has no -ground to compare 
 the prefent attitude to that of any former period. 
 With the fame judgment this writer rejects all- 
 danger of a Britifh revolution. If England cannot 
 be happy enough to make a peace, (lie will be ex- 
 cluded from every port in Europe, as fhe is at pre- 
 fent from two-thirds of them ; and then her com- 
 merce and her power muft decline together. It is 
 worth while to confider the effects of this turn in 
 her affairs on the fituation of America. One of the 
 confequences muft be the explofion of her paper 
 money. The quantity in circulation may be in 
 England about three t^mes, and in Scotland fixty 
 times greater than that of gold and filver. This 
 is a rough guefs. Every year of war augments 
 the quantity of paper. The firft effects of a na- 
 tional bankruptcy would be an utter definition of 
 credit. Currency would again be reftrifted to 
 the precious metals ; and they would increafe to 
 three, four, or five times the value that they now 
 bear. The filver fix-pence, which, in London, 
 would not, lafl winter, buy a pound of beef, will 
 then purchafe three, four, or five pounds, as was 
 the cafe fifty or an hundred years ago. Hence it 
 follows, that the manufactures of Britain will fall 
 furprifingly in their prices, becaufe the fame quan- 
 tity of labour that formerly was worth half a gui- 
 nea, will then probably be offered for three or four 
 Shillings, or lefs. Another caufe muft cheapen Bri- 
 tifh exports. The country being rid of public 
 debt, will, of courfe, cart off a great proportion of 
 her taxes ; for, at this time, including the expence 
 of the collection of revenue t,o pay its intereft, the 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 debt requires about fixteen millions derling per an- 
 num. Even now the manufactures of the United 
 States cannot, in many cafes, bear a competition in 
 point of cheapnefs with thofe of Britain. But a 
 fudden fall of one-half of the former rate, or perhaps 
 a ilill greater reduction mud put an end to them, 
 unlefs their cod can alfo be ledened- The price of 
 fo many commodities having funk fo fail, they will, 
 of courfe, drag all other kinds of property after 
 them, till matters (hall be reftored to their com- 
 mon level, becaufe the fituation would be too forced 
 and unnatural for any length of endurance. The 
 price of flour, for example, could not long conti- 
 nue at eight or ten dollars, in America, while En- 
 gland railed it for two or three. The value of 
 lands, houfes, and perional labour finking with fuch 
 rapidity would produce numerous failures, and the 
 quantity of money afloat being more than was wan- 
 ted, the precious metals, as on firnilar occafions, 
 would drive paper out of the market. This muft, 
 In fome degree, give a check to banking. Another 
 clafs of people would fufter eiTentially, and that is 
 the holders of public flock. From its nature the 
 fall would be more feverely felt in this than mod 
 other property. Land, when equally ploughed, will 
 yield as large a crop as now, whatever might be 
 the want of money. The fcarcity of houfes in 
 the fea port towns, would prevent them from flan- 
 ding empty. Good tradefmen are always need- 
 ful and mud be paid a fubfidence. But dock be- 
 ing entirely unproductive of itfelf, unlefs as to the 
 Intered paid by the public, its decline in price 
 v/ould operate as a real lofs, fince it is only worth 
 what it can bring in the market. 
 
 Thus the ruin of the Britifh fydem of funds, 
 and paper money, would run the hazard of fha- 
 Idng the fame lyderns in the United States, This 
 
UNITED STATES. 45- 
 
 appears to be the reafon why perfons conne&ed 
 with them have fuch a violent prepofTeffion for 
 Britifli fuccefs, and fo flrong an averfion to the 
 afcendancy of France. The definition of public 
 credit in that country, foon after the revolution 
 began, and the mixture of defpotifm and anarchy 
 which have iince prevailed, infpired every holder 
 of ilocks with horror. A confiderable number 
 of thefe public creditors were from the eaftern 
 ftates, and but few from the fouthern. The whole 
 influence of the fifcal corps, was directed againft 
 the French revolution. As a requifite cbunter- 
 poife, the party wifhed to cafl America into the 
 arms of Britain. The bankers and flock-holders 
 were joined by two other clafTes. The one of thefe 
 confiitedof Britifli tories, who had been permitted 
 to continue here in the war, or who had returned 
 fince the end of it. Another order of men, in whom 
 the motives of the former were often blended, 
 Lad frequent occafion for the difcounting of bills, 
 to fupport their credit. Within a few years, fince 
 banks became numerous, there has arifen an ex- 
 treme fpirit of mercantile fpeculation, which could 
 only expand its flight on the wings of paper-money. 
 All thefe forts of people, with a few exceptions, 
 and all on whom they had influence, joined in re- 
 probating the French revolution. Alexander Ha- 
 milton has always been confidered as the leader of 
 this party. His official powers gave him a very 
 conOderable fway in the management of the public 
 funds, and the bank of the United States. Under 
 him, the party have atfred, or are thought to have 
 afted with fyftem and fpirit. But while they 
 were thus loudly declaiming, andoften with juftice, 
 againft the fhocking barbarities perpetrated in 
 France, many of them have forfeited their preten- 
 iions to purity, by promoting, to the utmofl of their 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ikill, a civil war among the United States themfelves, 
 a:xl like wife a quarrel with the republic. Their 
 defigns have been gradually developed by the courfe 
 of events ; and it has at length been fairly confef- 
 fed, both by their words and actions, that they are 
 willing to go to war w r ith France. They dread 
 her example as contagious for the destruction of 
 their financial fabric, which they constantly mention 
 not by its proper name, but as the conjlitufion. 
 
 Having premifed thele particulars, we fhall now 
 
 quote fome of the exprellions that Curtius adopts 
 
 in his twelfth letter. cc There is a confederation 
 
 cc of characters, from New-Hampfhire to Geor- 
 
 4 gia, arrayed in oppofition, either to the confti- 
 
 c tution of the United States, to its administration, 
 
 4C or to particular men in office. The oppofition 
 
 LC of the principal men in this confederacy can be 
 
 c traced to fome known cauies, originally of a 
 
 c perfbn a 1 nature. Difappointment in application 
 
 1 for fome office, or the failure of fome favourite 
 
 c fcheme in their political fyftem, has converted 
 
 c many of the friends of the late revolution into 
 
 c determined oppofers of the general fyflem of the 
 
 cc prefent adminiftration." 
 
 ; This charge is daily repeated in an infinity of dif- 
 ferent Shapes. No facts are ipecified by Curtius, 
 except an indhtinct reference to Genet. " The con- 
 LC duct of this ambafTador is entirely unexampled 
 " in thehiftory of civilized nations*." He was re- 
 ceived with tumultuous hofpitality, and childifli ex- 
 ultation. But when it was difcovered that he wanted 
 to plunge the nation into a war with Britain, this 
 envoy inilantly funk into neglect. Curtius fays, 
 " that his views were counteracted by thePrefident, 
 tc feconded by the northern flates." One would 
 
 * Carey's edition of Gutbrie's Geography, vol. ii. p. 294. 
 
UNITED STATES. 47 
 
 imagine that the militia of New-England had .been 
 ordered to march, that the legiflatures had taken 
 fo me important ftep, or at leaf! that their members 
 in Congrefs had introduced fome motion to the 
 houfe, which led the way for recalling the French 
 minifter. Not one of thefe circumflances ever 
 happened. The impertinence and indifcretion of 
 Genet were, in a few months, vifible to all men of 
 fenfe. His importance fhrunk immediately to no- 
 thing. Astojffcoriding) it was manifefted in no way 
 by New-England, unlefs fcurrilous newlpaper para- 
 graphs deferve that name. Even this commodity was 
 as plentifully bellowed at New-York and Philadel- 
 phia, as at Bofton. The reign of Genet was very 
 fhort. He arrived in this city on the lyth of May, 
 1793, and his recall was folicited by the American 
 Secretary of State in a letter dated the i6th of Au- 
 guft following. This letter, though different in- 
 deed from the ftile of Timothy Pickering's epiftle 
 to Pinckney,was as (harp as decorum wolild permit. 
 The one haggles like a rufty knife. The other 
 cuts like a razor. The next news from France 
 was, that, if Genet had returned home, Robeipierre 
 would have made him lookout at the little national 
 window. Even the letter defiring his recall was 
 not fo much as wrote by a native of New-En gland, 
 though Henry Knox, as Secretary at War, was then 
 a member of the American cabinet. Neither did 
 Alexander Hamilton, though alfo in office, write 
 any part of it ; for the difpatch has none of his 
 entangled periods. It was drawn by Thomas Jef- 
 ferfon of Virginia. The ftory of the Prefident 
 be'mgjeconded by the northern ftates \s, therefore, 
 an entirefalfehood. 
 
 The hiftory of Genet has been thus examined, 
 becaufe it is the only fact to which Curtius refers. 
 We now go back to his quotation, and (hall begin 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 with what he calls a confederation of characters ar~ 
 rayedagainftthe conftitution, Crr. 
 
 The moil eminent perfonage of the party accu- 
 fed is Thomas Jefferfon, the fmgle man who aflifted 
 the Prefident in driving Genet out of office. But 
 if* the democrats, as, for the fake of diftinction, we 
 muft call them, were fo violently attached to Ge- 
 net, they muft have held his antagonift Jefferibn in 
 the utmofl abhorence. Yet this is fo far from be- 
 >ing the cafe, that, at the diftance of four years, their 
 reipect and friendfhip are unabated. Thus, as to 
 Genet, the charge againft the great body of the 
 democrats involves a grofs contradiction. Whe- 
 ther a few individuals do ftill admire what he 
 did, cannot be worth enquiring. If he was often 
 in the wrong, he was fometimes in the right. 
 The wretched attack made upon him by John Jay 
 and Rufus King was only fit for two old women in a 
 chimney corner. It difgraced the national charac- 
 ter of America, by (hewing what weak men had 
 been elected as a chief juftice and afenator. 
 
 Curtius {peaks of the principal men in this confede- 
 racy-) and their difappointment in application for fome 
 office. Neither can this apply to Jefferfon; He 
 had been ambaffador to France. He was then Se- 
 cretary of State. Little more was to be had. Some- 
 time after he refigned his office. The refignation 
 was voluntary. This appears from the choice of a 
 fuccefFor to him. Randolph was of the fame party 
 and principles ; which proves that the Prefident 
 only chofe him becaufe Jefferfon would no longer 
 keep the office. 
 
 As to the failure of fome favourite fcheme in their 
 political Jyftem, of this alfo Mr. Jefferfon ftands 
 clear. His retirement was heard of with general 
 regret. Nay, fo much does he poffefs the confi- 
 dence of every ftate in the union, that Mr. Adams 
 
UNITED STATES. 49 
 
 was perhaps the only man on the continent who 
 could have had a tolerable chance aguinft hi'm for 
 the prelidency. It is iingular that the principal per- 
 ibn of a confederacy againrt government fhould 
 pofTefs the efteem even of its friends. 
 
 We muft enquire among the reprefentatives in 
 Congrcfs for the fecond leader of the confederation 
 of characters. This is James Madifon, efq. of Vir- 
 ginia. Mr. Vans Murray faid, fome years ago, in 
 Congrefs, that he might be called the father of the 
 prefent constitution. It would be flrange if he was al- 
 ready impatient to ftrangle his own offspring. Of the 
 private character of the man it isneedlefs tofpeak, 
 for the flock-holding newfpapers confine them- 
 ielves to an incomprehendble jargon about conipi- 
 racies. , He certainly had no hand in promoting the 
 popularity of citizen Genet. He was in Virginia 
 during the period of the citizen's importance. It 
 is doubtful if they were ever in the fame room toge- 
 ther. The. clafiical elegance, and logical acute- 
 nefs of Madifon bear the fame refemblance to the 
 icampering fuftian of Genet which Madeira has to 
 ditch-water. It is impoffible that two perfons fo 
 contrafted in every thing intellectual could have 
 agreed, for a (ingle day, in any confederation. Be- 
 fides, Mr. Madifon is in clofe friendfliip with Mr. 
 JefFerfon, who put an end to the citizen. D if ap- 
 pointment in application for jbme office cannot 
 be imputed to this gentleman, unl'efs the office can 
 be named which he was clifappointed of obtain- 
 ing. Very few places in the gift of the Prefident 
 would have been a temptation. Mr. Jefferfon did 
 not, as Secretary of State, fave money. By abfence 
 from his eilate, he very likely loft as much as he 
 received for refiding in Philadelphia. If Mr. Madi- 
 fon had undertaken an ofEce in this city worth two 
 thoufand dollars a year, it would have becu of no> 
 
 H 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 pecuniary advantage to him, while his plantation 
 was lying half wafted for want of his prefence. 
 But none of the federal hacks has ever pretended 
 that Mr. Madifon met with a repulfe in felicita- 
 tion. They fay that he has been in the pay of France. 
 Yet he j uft now defpitefully gives up his feat in Con- 
 grefs, thus robbing the accufation of the laft rag 
 which covered its nakednefs. He never had a cent 
 from the government of this country, excepting 
 his fix dollars per day. As to favourite fehemes, 
 Mr. Madifon, at leaft for the laft four years, has 
 been as often in a majority as out of it. 
 
 Thus we have got over the firft and fecond heads 
 of the confederation. The third in order is Wil- 
 liam B. Giles, another Virginian. Almoft all 
 which has been faid of Mr. Madifon . fuits him. 
 He never applied for any office. Perhaps the execu- 
 tive has not one to beftow. that, in a pecuniary 
 light, would deferve his acceptance. He has an 
 independent fortune. He is a lawyer of eminence. 
 He could make a handfome income by his pro- 
 ieffion, if he chofe to flay at home, and mind that 
 only. He could live on his own farm in Virginia for 
 a tenth part of the money which he muft fpend in 
 attending Congrefs. To fuch a man fix dollars 
 a day, or any place that the executive- could give 
 him, is not an objeft ; and nothing but fheer igno- 
 rance can excufe a party writer for holding fuch 
 language about him. 
 
 If we look over the other members who have 
 often voted in oppofition to executive oracles, 
 the fame obfervations as to pcrfonal indepen- 
 dence apply to perhaps every one of them. For 
 inftance, Gabriel Chriftie is a merchant in Havre 
 de Grace, a village at the mouth of the Sufquchan- 
 nah. If he wants to recommence planter, he has 
 * large farm of his own a few miles up the river> 
 
UNITED STATES. 5>1 
 
 in one of the moft healthy and defirable fpots in 
 Maryland. Such a man could gain nothing by 
 confufion, nor could the executive offer him 
 almoft any poft poffefling a lucrative tempta- 
 tion. An office in Philadelphia, or any where out 
 of his own country, with a falary of fifteen hun- 
 dred dollars a year would be as a feather. The 
 cafe is fhnilar with MefTrs. Baldwin, Blount, 
 Heath, Page, Parker, New, Nicholas, Macon, 
 M c Dowell, Carnes, Venable, Prefton, and others 
 They have either independent property, or lucra- 
 tive profeffions, or both. They could gain nothing 
 by difturbing government. They never made the 
 fmailefl attempt of the kind ; nor has any of the 
 fcribblers, who abufed them in wholefale, ever 
 pretended to fpecify a fmgle fact, and much lefs 
 to bring evidence of a fmgle fact, that looked like 
 a confederacy againft government. Such malici- 
 ous nonfenfe may do very well for a Connecticut 
 tavern, a Kennebeck Journal, or a town meeting of 
 Stockbridge, when our patriotic citizens are toa- 
 ting John Jay and the papers I It may fuit Samuel 
 Dexter in a circle at the dancing fchool, or Daniel 
 Buck in an addrefs to fome mob, who are ring- 
 ing the town bells for joy at his return to Vermont. 
 After the words Jeconded by the northern Jlates^ 
 Curtius proceeds thus. " But the party which ori- 
 " ginally rallied under that man, (Genet) ftill ex- 
 c ifls, and forms a league co-extenfive with the 
 ' United States, connected in all its parts, and act- 
 c ing by a fmgle impulfe." Dr. Swift, fpeaking of 
 Gulliver's Travels, fays, that they contained a 
 lie at every jecond word. If a fmgle word could 
 convey an untruth, Curtius would be an unrival- 
 led mafter in that fort of brevity. The party, fuch 
 as it is, exifted in all its vigour, for feveral years 
 before Genet landed on this continent, * fact known 
 
5*2 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 to every perfon who has croffed even the threfhold 
 of American hifcory. As for the fingle impulfe, if 
 the confederates were always to behave to each other 
 with common civility, there might be fbme poill- 
 bility of the charge being true. But they are con- 
 llantly differing among theinfelves en ferious topics. 
 For example, Colonel Parker, on the loth of Fe- 
 bruary, 1797, made an able and earned fpeech in 
 defence of the three frigates. lie was fupported, 
 , by John Swanwick,who, if cart- 
 loads of flander can bellow diftinction, fhines like 
 a ftar of the iirfl magnitude in the democratical zo- 
 diac. They were oppoicd by three of their con- 
 federates, Melfrs. Chriftie, Nicholas, and Giles. 
 The poor frigates were kicked about, as if they 
 had been fo many warning tubs. Nicholas wifhed 
 them to rot on the flocks, as an inflrudtive monu- 
 ment of national folly. Chriflie did not care if 
 they were reduced to aflies. Giles declared that 
 he always had oppofed, and always mould oppofe 
 them, in every ilage, and every fhape. This is 
 only one in ft a nee out of fifty or an hundred, that 
 occur in every {effioii, where the gentlemen ftigma- 
 tized as acting by a {ingle impulfe, do mew very 
 plainly that they value not one farthing the opinions 
 of each other ; but fpeak immediately from their own 
 caprice or conviction. We go back to Curtius. 
 
 Ci Thus, in the infancy of our empire, the bane of 
 all republics, is already diffufed over our coun- 
 4C try, andpotfons .the whole body politic !" [It is natu- 
 ral that weak or ignorant people fhould find their 
 heads half cracked, while they hear of fuch terri- 
 ble phantoms.] cc Faction is a clifeafe, which haspro- 
 c ved fatal to all popular governments ; but in Ame- 
 rica it has alfumed an afpect more formidable tliar^ 
 many other country " [He aflignsfome foolifli rea- 
 sj and then adds :]' u But in America, faifticn 
 
 >c 
 
(C 
 
 cc 
 
 UNITED STATES. 5-3 
 
 c has alTurned confiftency andfyflem. It is a con- 
 j piracy perpetually exifting, an oppofition organi- 
 zed and disciplined, for the purpofes of defeat - 
 ing the regular exercife of the conftitutional po\v- 
 cc ers of our government, whenever a meafnre does 
 cc not pleafe ihcjecret leadens of the confederacy." 
 Curtius ought to name thofe fecret leaders, and 
 to give fome traits of the progrefs of this ccnfpiracy. 
 In his labyrinthian ftile, it is impoiuble ever to 
 take a fa ft hold. He is one of the mod decent wri- 
 ters of the federal party ; and this is the univerial 
 way in which they make an afTault on private cha- 
 racters. In thelaft four years of chiming, they have 
 hardly advanced four intelligible arTertions. Their 
 charges glide from the grafp of ftraight inquiry, 
 like the made of Anchifes from the embrace of his 
 Ion. The Torn Thumb tale about Fauchct bri- 
 bing Randolph, has been fafely conduced to its 
 grave in the American Annual Regifter. As for 
 the weftern infiirrec"tion, Findley, in his hiftory of 
 it, has mewed that Gailatin was fo far from being 
 an infurgent, that he had a principal fhare in pre- 
 venting mifchief. It is deplorable that a party fo 
 pregnant with charges mould be fo unfortunate 
 in their few attempts at fpecification. " Already," 
 fays Curtius, cc are the heads of our govern- 
 cc ment denounced as traitors ; already is our coun- 
 c try threatened -with civil war. If the oppofers 
 c of the treaty can poffibly embroil our country in 
 " civil war, it will be efFefted." 
 
 There is a confldcrable famenefs in the dialect 
 of the Hamiitonians. Their conftant cry is the dan- 
 ger of a civil war ; and the ufual menace a disjunc- 
 tion of the eaitern from the fouthern ftates. This 
 railing comes exclufively from the eaftern and fome 
 parts of the middle ftates. To the fouth of Penti- 
 iylvania rao newfpaper embattles itfelf againfl the 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Yankees. Of the three daily prints in Baltimore, 
 not one is attached clofely to either party. A ma- 
 jority of the inhabitants voted for Jay's bantling. 
 In the whole country, down to Georgia, you meet 
 with no gazette lying and raving in theftile of Cur- 
 tius and the Columbian Centinel. The Virginians 
 encourage no newfpr inter to balance accounts in 
 black bail with Webfter ; or to proclaim the peo- 
 ple of New-England bankrupts, fwindlers, confpi- 
 rators, and traitors. They are not, with the mono- 
 tony of a magpie, eternally croaking about the 
 danger of rebellion. Their fouls do not fit fo 
 much upon thorns as thole of their eaftern fellow 
 citizens. There. appears to be lefs vinegar in their 
 competition. At leaf}:, by judging from the ftate 
 of the prefs, in thefe oppofite quarters of the union, 
 a byfbmder would make that inference. Envy 
 may have ibme fiiare in this barking. The popu- 
 lation of MafTachufettsand Connecticut isftationary, 
 and their territory is but fmall. From New- York, 
 inclufive, all the ilates to the fouthward, excepting 
 three*, have an immenfe extent of new land, which 
 holds out the certain profpecl of augmented wealth, 
 population, and importance. 
 
 The relative proportion of exports from the mid- 
 dle and fouthern ftates has augmented greatly, and 
 muft continue to do fo. Bofton, formerly as popu- 
 lous as Philadelphia, hath flill but about twenty 
 thoufand inhabitants, while thofe of its late rival 
 have augmented to fixty thoufand. New- York, 
 which formerly was much its inferior, hath fifty 
 thoufand. But Baltimore is the mofl provoking in- 
 flance of recent afcendency. This town arofe, but 
 as yeflerday, from a marfh ; and rivals or eclipfes 
 the wealth and population of the metropolis of New- 
 
 * Ne\v-Jsrfey, Delaware, and Man land. 
 
UNITED STATES. 57 
 
 England. Virginia is twelve times larger than 
 Maichufetts ; and has already double her popula- 
 tion. So great a difference of numbers did not ex- 
 ift in the cenius, of 1775, and it is hourly augmen- 
 ting. 
 
 " Like ancient ladies when refus'd a kifs," 
 
 Thefe two New-England dates are not perhaps 
 pleafed to forefee the decline of their oonfequence. 
 Whatever may be the caufe, the rancour of many 
 of their citizens againfb the fouthern dates appears 
 to be of the bittereft kind. Judging from the Co- 
 lumbian Centinel, a foreigner might be led to believe 
 that the latter have fubicribed a folemn league of 
 revolution ; that troops have been raifed, and ma- 
 gazines formed ; that half our citizens are prepa- 
 ring to butcher the reft ; that Madifon is a fecond 
 Cataline, and Giles a Csefar Borgia. A confidera- 
 ble minority in New-England agree with the poli- 
 tics of Virginia. In May, 1794, t ^ ie inhabitants 
 of Bofton held a very numerous town-meeting, at 
 which, by a great majority, they agreed to recom- 
 mend to Gongrefs to prolong the embargo. An 
 additional fixty days of famine would have put an 
 effectual end to Britifli piracies in the Weft Indies ; 
 and would likewife have been of more fervice to 
 France than an aid of ten thoufand land forces, and 
 ten (hips of the line. A copy oftheBoilon refolutions, 
 ligned by the town clerk, was tranfmitted not on- 
 ly to their reprefentative, Dr. Ames, but a fecond 
 alfo, fuperfcribed to Mr. Madifon, Colonel Parker, 
 and Mr. Giles. This told pretty plainly that they 
 trufted the three latter gentlemen farther, in that 
 inftance, than their own reprefentative. Perhaps, 
 however, this town-meeting confided likewife of 
 confpirators . Avesumus generis facile congregantur. 
 The foolifh word jacobin is rung in endleis changes; 
 
56 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 le Curtius ^gravely declares that ;u private 
 4 " allbciations are formed and extending their inftu- 
 
 cnce over our country/' All this is the vilefl 
 t r a f 1 1 i m a p;i n a bl e . 
 
 The calumny of the federal patriots is not confined 
 to the fouthern ftates. The whifky riots in the we- 
 tern counties of Pennsylvania have fupplied them 
 : a happy fund for declamation. Of their la- 
 bours in this line, accept the following fpecimen. 
 In a Philadelphia newipaper of the 8th of March, 
 1796, there is inferted an extract of a letter, dated 
 : jurgh, the 2510 of February preceding, which 
 contains unexpected intelligence. The extract 
 -.ids to one third of a column, and reprefents 
 the weitern counties, as having relapfcd into a 
 irate of anarchy. " It is generally believed/' fays 
 the writer, u that near half the men in tllis country 
 11 have crofjed the river to take poileffion of what- 
 L ever land they could get. his\ town is almoft 
 ! Some large parties are gone with an in- 
 t tent to clear all before them, where the land is 
 :>:!. Reports from the woods fay, that a flrong 
 c * party coming to' a houfc, they turn out the weak- 
 ' c cr, and a flronger coming on turn them out, fo 
 4t that ibinehoufes change their owners two or three 
 C times a day." This makes about a fourth part of 
 the extract, which is all exactly in the fame ftyle, 
 though (bine pafTages foar quite above comprehen- 
 ilon. 
 
 , farther intelligence about this tumult reach- 
 
 ; till the 2 8th of March brought forth a fe- 
 
 concl extract of an epiftle from Pittfburgh, dated 
 
 the 1 2th of Pvlarch. It corroborates the former 
 
 , affirming that " the poor people are pflj- 
 
 'Iswkany in legions ivith their families to 
 
 :Idc, and" eftablifh actual fettlements/' &c. 
 
 letters, but the fecond in particular, have a 
 
UNITED STATES. >jj 
 
 multiplicity of ranting bombaftical phrafes, which 
 would be apt to make their veracity fufpefted. 
 
 Both of them Ipeak much about a Mr. , who 
 
 is doing fome inexplicable wonders. Both contain a 
 profufionof fnch egregious nonfenfe, and malicious 
 falfehood, that they are in themfelves, an hundred- 
 and fifty degrees beneath animadverfion. 
 
 No farther notice was taken in any newfpaper 
 about this infurrecUon. Hence it is natural to in- 
 fer that both pieces came from the fame pen, and 
 that both were written with one rafcaily view, that 
 of ipreading a falfe alarm among the people in the 
 Atlantic regions of the union. If fuch revolution- 
 ary wonders were going forward, beyond the moun- 
 tains, it was flrange that nobody fhould hear about 
 them but one correfpondent. It is the bufincfs of 
 every good citizen, to pluck up by the roots fuch 
 incendiary ilander. There feems a double barba- 
 rity in ripping open the fear of a wound that is but 
 juft fkinned over. 
 
 The bad eifecl: of fuch reports was very well 
 defcribed in Congrefs by Mr, Baldwin. Oil the ift 
 of December, 1794, ^ s gentlemen obferved that 
 in a country fa* extenfive as America, and where 
 the people are fo widely fcattered, it was a work 
 of immenfe difficulty to have a regular and accu- 
 rate account of the meafures of government com- 
 municated through every part of the union. It can 
 fcarcely be conceived, faid he, by thofe who have 
 no call to vifit the interior and more retired parts 
 of the country, how much the peace of fbciety 
 is diflurbed by the malicious propagation of poli- 
 tical falfehood. The molt wicked lies are kept in 
 circulation, for months together, and before they 
 can be effectually contradicted, the people have be- 
 come almoft frantic. For example, Mr. Baldwin 
 mentioned, (and editors of newfpapers in every 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 part of the union, ought to quote this part of his 
 obfervations, as a caveat in future,) that it had been 
 afTerted that a poll tax of forty (hillings per head, 
 has been laid on all the inhabitants, that the excife 
 has been extended to wheat, to looms, and to in- 
 ftruments of hufbandry, and that the late draughts 
 of the eighty thoufand militia, are fold to France 
 to carry on the war ! It is probable, that riots and 
 infurrections are fomented by thefe rumours 
 more than by all other caufes. If a conftant and 
 regular publication of all that is done could 
 reach every part of the United States, it would be 
 an effectual, and, perhaps the only cure for thefe 
 mifchiefs. The people of this exteniive. country 
 have, for thefe ten years, enjoyed all the eflential 
 benefits of fociety, on very eafy terms. A man 
 with nve or fix hundred acres of land is fcarcely 
 called upon for a dollar of taxes in a year. Per- 
 haps no people on earth ever enjoyed ib fally the 
 advantages of fociety with fo few burdens. Is it not 
 a diftreffing confideration, that when we have fo 
 few real evils, we mould create to ourfelves ima- 
 ginary ones, that give us fo much ufelefs uneafmefs ? 
 Some wrong meafures have taken place, and here- 
 after will take place, and nobody can expect that 
 any kind of conduct will give z/;2/Y^r/#/fatisfaction*. 
 But a very fmall difference is perceivable in 
 the fcale of morality from one end to another 
 of America. Of this remark the Yazoo buflnefs 
 afforded a notable inftance. By an a& pad in 
 January, 1795, a junto in the aiTembly of Geor- 
 
 * In the courfe of the difcuffion of this day, Mr. Hillhoufe ha- 
 ving fpoke for forae time, Mr. Dayton rofe next. lie began by 
 remarking, that it could not be expected that he was to make any 
 obfervations on what had been faid by the member juft fitten down, 
 as hf did not hear ten words (which the gentleman /aid t This was ow 
 ingttfnoife made by members in the houfe, 
 
UNITED STATES 59 
 
 gia fold to four companies of land-jobbers fome 
 vacant lands of that ftate,. On the 2d of Mar.ch, 
 1795, Mr. Harper faid in Congrefs that the fale 
 covered thirty millions of acres of the fineft land 
 in the world, and moft admirably fltuated for 
 commerce and emigration* It might, every foot 
 of it, be made worth half a dollar per acre. Its 
 fettlement would tend to open the Miffiflippi navi- 
 gation. Thefe thirty millions of acres had been fold, 
 he faid, for five hundred thoujand dollars ! A more 
 villainous tranlaction cannot be conceived. Yet, 
 ftrange to tell ! many perfons in the religious town 
 of Bofton were deeply concerned in buying from 
 thefe purchafers. The newfpapers faid that the 
 ipeculators of that place had agreed to give fome 
 millions of dollars for a part of this booty. The 
 reader knows that the bargain hath fince been fet 
 afide, but that does not lefTen the infamy of thofe 
 connected with it. The following extract froru 
 the prefentment of the grand jury of Chatham coun- 
 ty in Georgia, at the October term of 1796, gives 
 an entertaining picture of the parties concerned. 
 " We further and abominably prefent thofe abo- 
 cc minable and iniquitous grants of pine barren 
 u land, which have been palmed upon foreigners 
 " and northern citizens, the plats of which have 
 u been decorated generally with timber not found 
 u on them ; and moft of the pretended tracts fold 
 cc are not in exiftence, to the injury of the cha- 
 " racterof the ftate, and the honeft citizens thereof ; 
 c nine-tenths of whom behold the fpeculation with 
 c the utmoft abhorrence, confidering the meafure 
 ' calculated to injure their reputation and to cheat 
 4C the unwary, to add to the pelf of a few men, who 
 ' are void of principle and honour, and who would 
 tc facrifice their country and its rights to increafe 
 c their own property. We are forry to fay, that 
 
$0 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 44 among thofe characters, are thofe high in office 
 " in the United States ; and two judges thereof, to 
 " wit, James Wiilbn of the Supreme Court of the 
 " United States, and Nathaniel Pcndletcn. of the 
 ic Diftrift.Court of this ftate, together with James 
 cc Gunn, Senator from this ft ate to Congrefs, have 
 * c been foremoft in influencing the legiflature which 
 
 * patted the pretended Yazoo law, bartering the 
 " rights of this flate, and the mofl fertile trad: in 
 
 c the United States, for a mere long ; and which, 
 <c if it were to be deemed legal, thofe concerned 
 tc have fold for ten times as much, which the ftate, 
 a by proper management, might have put into her 
 u treafury.. 
 
 ic We congratulate our fellow citizens, how- 
 a ever, on the virtue of the lad legiflature, which 
 " declared the faid pretended fale, conftitutionally 
 
 c null and void, as fraudulent and corrupt, and we 
 "hope our fellow .citizens at large, will now ex- 
 
 c hibit their virtue, by fending fuch men only to 
 :c the next legiflature, as are known to be free from 
 ** ipeculation, and will refpecl our rights by con- 
 ct tinuing and confirming the annulling law. It is 
 
 c only by a firmnefs of condudl in the citizens at 
 u large, on this important occaflon, that our rights 
 
 c can be refpecled in Congrefs, and at home ; that 
 
 c this fpecies of gambling can be difcountenanced, 
 
 ' and fpeculating (barpers be defeated, which is as 
 ^ much to be defired, on account of morality and 
 :c our rifing generation, as the future repofe of fo- 
 
 4 ciety, and the reputation of our growing com- 
 a munity. 
 
 ic We further prefent on this head the attempt 
 
 '" by Alexander Moultrie and others to drag this 
 
 ** Hate into the federal coprt, to anfwer a fuit in 
 
 ;< equity, tinder a former pretended Yazoo lde 
 
 ** We abhor both {peculations alilie ? and werecom- 
 
UNITED' STATES. 61 
 
 i mend to the officers of the ftate, who may have 
 " been ferved with copies of the bill filed in the 
 *' faid fuit, to make no anfwer thereto until the 
 44 next meeting of the legiflature, who we hope 
 cc will remonftrate toCongrefs on this fubjeft. We 
 " cannot fuppqfe the ftate liable to be fued, and in 
 " this cafe we hope (he will preferve her dignity, 
 " by refufing an anfwer, particularly in a court 
 " where the judges have been guiding the laft fpe- 
 c dilations, and where fh^can confequently expect 
 tc nojuftice- We hope that the amendment to the 
 '* c conftitution, founanimoufly entered into by Con- 
 " grefs, againft the fuability of a ftate, will not be 
 u leaped over to anfwer the vile purpofes of the 
 " moft infamous fpeculation." 
 
 The above prefentment gives no fublime notion 
 of American jurifprudence,<fven at its fountain head, 
 What follows will fhew the pollution of fome of its 
 inferior ftreams- In a work like this, the wrongs 
 of the poor ought not to be overlooked ; and the 
 ftory is inferted at this place left, in the fubfequent 
 prefs of matter, it might chance to be forgotten. 
 The particulars are taken from a letter addreP 
 fed to the printer of the Georgia and Augufta Chro- 
 nicle, dated Hancock county, 3oth of April, 1796, 
 and figned Henry Boyle. They ferve to fhew what 
 outrages may be perpetrated, in this country, 
 under the fanftion of public juftice. 
 
 Sometime in laft fall, Abner Pierce was commit- 
 ted to jail, and as it feems in Hancock county, on 
 fufpicion of ftealing a mare, the property* of Ward 
 DarneL He remained in irons till the fitting of 
 the fuperi or court, but could not have his ttial. The 
 only evidence againft him was the oath of Darnel, 
 while two other perfons fwore that they were 
 witneffes to his having received the mare from 
 Darnel, in virtue of a mutual agreement After 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 being confined for a conflderable time, public ju* 
 
 tice had not leifure to do its duty, by giving him a 
 
 trial. 
 
 This poor man was on the point of lying in jail 
 till the next fuperior court; " confeqnently," lays 
 the letter," as the imprifonment would haveamoun- 
 cc ted to nearly twelve months, lying fummer 
 
 c and winter in the dungeon, chained in iions^ 
 " without one bij: of fire to thaw the froit oifhis 
 4C frozen limbs, and only one oath againfthim,two 
 
 c in his favour, humanity flirinks at the idea*." 
 What makes the affair rtill worfe, the prifoner had 
 a wife and two fmall children. They had neither 
 cow nor horfe, nor any vifible means of fubfiftence, 
 
 * What ufe could there be for keeping the man in irons ? A good 
 ftone wall would have anfwered well enough. But perhaps the pri- 
 fon was made of boards. About fortv years ago, a wooden jail in 
 Virginia, with a prifoner for debt confined in it, took fire. The 
 alarm fpread. The jailor, in haftily turning the key, fpoiled the 
 lock. The prifoner, feeing all efforts for his releafe to he in vain, 
 ftript off nis clothes, thrtift them through the bars of the door, 
 which was of iron, and bade the keeper carry them as being all 
 which he had, to' his family. He then retired to a corner of the 
 prifon, lay down, and perimed in the flames, 
 
 If a man was to be kept a twelve-month in irons, and then t 
 be hanged, for ftealingw horfe, what (hall we make of the old Con- 
 grefs, and their agents, who forcibly pilfered fo many that are yet 
 unpaid for ? Nay, what is to be faid of the third and fourth Congrefs, 
 who have rejected many fcores or hundreds of fuch claims, after ad- 
 witting them to be juft ? At the fame time, we are giving John Adams, 
 FOURTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS to buy furniture for his houfe. 
 The latter motion went through the Reprefentatives bv fixty-three 
 votes againft twenty- feven. It was impoffible to withftand the pa- 
 thos of Mr. Samuel Sitgreaves, when describing the crazy bed- 
 fteads, the broken chairs, the ragged linen, the moth-eaten curtains, 
 the rufty faucepans, and the fractured waterpots, that General Wam- 
 ington was to leave behind him in Market-flreet. But, had it been 
 a foldier with a wooden leg, who, refiding at the diltance of three 
 hundred leagues, had only juft heard of the ftatute of limitations; 
 or had it been a widow, like Ami Dardcn, whofe only horfe had 
 been dragged from her plough, while her children we&e ftarving, 
 Mr. Sitgreaves might as well have addreffed the north-weit wind. 
 
UNITED STATES. 63 
 
 except his labour. Four perfons entered them- 
 felves as-iecurities to the amount of twelve hun- 
 dred dollars, that this Abner Pierce fhould attend 
 at the next fuperior court. Mr. Boyle, who fub- 
 fcribesthis letter, was one of the juftices of peace 
 who granted his liberation. For fuch an office of 
 benevolence and of equity, he has been abufed 
 in a newfpaper, and publifhed, in his own defence, 
 the letter above abridged. 
 
 The following is another anecdote of oppreffion, 
 and of ib fingular a kind, that it ought to be recor*- 
 ded for the honour of the eighteenth century. A 
 nejro man from the co aft of Guinea had been fold 
 to a farmer on the fouthern line of North-Carolli- 
 na. In the fall of 1793, n ^ applied to a black boy 
 and girl, the property of an adjacent planter, to 
 give him fome vi&uals. In return he affbred them 
 that he would perform a charm to foften the feve- 
 rity of their mafter. He gave them a callibafh 
 full of the feathers and claws of birds, mixed with 
 negro men's nails. This was buried under the 
 threuhoFd of the planter's door. He was, at that 
 timefick, or fell ill foon after; and having ordered 
 the boy to be puniflied for fome offence, the latter 
 faidthat, if he was pardoned, he would tell what had 
 made his mafter ill. The concealment was im- 
 mediately difcovered, along with fome of the fame 
 materials which had been ftuck about the flck man's 
 bed. The necromancer was confequently taken 
 up. This was on a Saturday. He was tried on 
 the next Monday, by a jury of three free-holders^ 
 convicted of witchcraft, and hanged on the Tue- 
 day. The boy and girl were whipt and branded' 
 in the forehead with a red hot iron. One of thefe 
 children was eleven, and the other thirteen years 
 of age. The ftory has made noife, and an indi 
 tind account of it, with fome remarks, appeared 
 
64 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 in the .new {papers, a conilderable time after the 
 perpetration of the murder. The narrative is 
 here given on the authority of a gentleman of 
 veracity in Pennfylvania, who was on thefpot foon 
 after. A neighbouring magiftrate obferved to him 
 that he had no doubt as to the guilt of "the prifoner. 
 He was forry for being from home at the time of 
 the execution, as he ihould have made his own 
 negroes attend it. He added, by way of confo- 
 lation, that the owner of the (lave would not be 
 any great lofer by the affair, becaufe the ftate was 
 to grant him fevenry pounds of damages*, 
 
 We fhall clofe this chapter with a few mifcel- 
 laneous remarks. In the profound debates of De- 
 cember, 1796, about 'whether Americans ivere 
 ihefreeft and mojl enlightened people in the luorld^ 
 Dr. Ames {aid that, by all which he could learn, the 
 people in Europe who could read were but as nume- 
 rous as thofe in America who could not read. In 
 plainer words, he meant to {late that the people in 
 the new world had twenty times more commonly 
 a decent education than thofe in the old ohe. Mr, 
 Giles agreed with him in thinking that Americans 
 were wifer than the reft of mankind, but he did 
 not believe it modeft or becoming to divulge the 
 fecret ; for a fecret it hitherto has been, and, flnce 
 the resolution was negatived, it is likely to remain 
 fb The very morning after the doctor made the 
 above remark, Mr. Bache printed a decifive fpeci- 
 jnen of the iuperiority of the American intellect. 
 A woman in New-Hampmire was accufed, and per- 
 fecuted for being a witch- A man who had beaten 
 her, was, juft before this debate, brought to trial. 
 The wicked bench laughed at the charge of witch- 
 
 * In Jamaica, fevcral black people have been executed for witch- 
 atafc. 
 
UNITED STATES. 65- 
 
 raft* In revenge, a mob of the wi felt men on 
 earth were on the point of pulling down the court 
 houfe. 
 
 Connecticut is ufually held up as the mirror of 
 true republicanifm, the centrical point, the very 
 focus of federal virtue. Take the following in- 
 flance. In fpring, 1796, during the debates on the 
 Britifh treaty, a newfpaper of that ftate, which has 
 been already cited*, had the following mod ex- 
 traordinary paragraph. 
 
 '' ff^JS are informed, by a gentleman from the up* 
 [C per part of the county 'of Hamp/hire , that a regi- 
 c menial revietv was held, if -we are not mijlaken, 
 ' at Conway* As the people were informed that 
 u fbme communications of a political nature, were to 
 c be made to them, upon the parade, a very general 
 c attendance was obferved, of all ages, from Jix teen 
 c years to fixty. fhe communications were read to 
 4 them while under arms, and they were then cal~ 
 '* led upon to exprefs their Jentiments, which was 
 c done without any he/it ation. The unanimous "voice 
 c of the people prejent was, that, before they would 
 " fubmit to a proftration of the conftitution, by the 
 prejent majority in the Houfe of Reprejentatives^ 
 they would MARCH TO PHILADELPHIA 5 up- 
 hold the conftitution and the President ; and caufc 
 the treaty with Great Britain to be carried into ef- 
 "fed." 
 
 It would have been curious to fee this army fet 
 out from Hartford with Trumbull, as a fecond 
 Alcsus at their head, chanting the paean of battle. 
 Before they had got within an hundred miles of 
 this city, Pennfylvania might perhaps have furnim- 
 ed them with materials for a Connecticut .^Eneid ; 
 and truly the caufe to be celebrated, and the bard 
 
 * American Annual Regifter, chap. ix 
 K 
 
66 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 who was to (ing, were two objects fo worthy of each 
 tDther, that the world has not feen a more fuitablc 
 conjunction. 
 
 All the Intemperate expreffions of democratic fo- 
 eieties, and Aqua~vit& reformers, do not come within 
 fight of the effrontery and infolence of this fingle 
 paragraph. A body of men affemble in arms at a 
 review. They declare that they will march to 
 Philadelphia., overbear the majority of the Houfe 
 of Reprefentatives, and uphold the conftitution, and 
 the Prefident. By the way, it was time that a public 
 iervant of fuch dangerous popularity mould be re- 
 moved from his office. The refignation of Gene- 
 ral Wafhington merits the inexpreflible gratitude 
 of his country. But what better was the Conway re- 
 view than the meeting at Braddock's field ? Indeed 
 it was much worfe ; for the whilky boys did not, 
 like this federal gang, make an explicit avowal of 
 rebellion. 
 
 If the defcription drawn by Morfe of New-Eng- 
 landers be faithful, nothing but fuch behaviour 
 is to be looked for. " They are indeed," fays he, 
 " often jealous to excefs ; a circumftance which/ is 
 " a fruitful fource of imaginary grievances, and of 
 * c innumerable Jujpicions, and unjuft complaints a^aln/l 
 <c government. A veryconiiderable part of thepeo- 
 <c pie have either too little or too much learning to 
 c make peaceable Jubjetis. They know enough, 
 c however, to make them think that they know a 
 * 4 great deal, when in fact they know but little. 
 * c Hence originates that refllefs, litigious complain- 
 <c ^ n g Spirit, which forms a dark fliade in the cha- 
 xc raster of New-England men*." This is the ac- 
 count given by one of their own parfons. 
 
 Morfe hath obligingly announced his own princi- 
 
 * The American Geography, London edition of 1792, p. 146. 
 
UNITED STATES. 67 
 
 pies. c< The clergy (of Connecticut:) who are nu- 
 ' c merous, and as a body very refpeftable, have hi- 
 " therto preferved a kind of ariftocratical balance 
 " in the very democratical government of this ftate j 
 u which has happily operated as a check upon the 
 <c overbearing {pint of republicani/m* ." What a 
 precious deliverance that muft be ! It is npt fur- 
 prifing that this (late vomited up, during the revo- 
 lution, fuch a multitude of the moft inveterate cut- 
 throat tories. 
 
 "In New-England," fays Morfe, " learning is 
 " more generally diffufed among all ranks of peo- 
 " pie than in any other part of the globed." His 
 univerfal geography fhews how 1 little Morfe him- 
 felf knows about many parts of the globe. He 
 farther adds that u another very valuable fource of 
 ic information to the people is the newspapers, of 
 " which not lefs than thirty thoufand are printed 
 <c every week in New-Englandt." Philadelphia 
 iTas now, befides other prints, eight daily newfpa- 
 pers. They work off about forty thoufand meets 
 of paper in a week|| ; fo that the people of this ci- 
 ty muft be ftill wifer if pofiible, than the New-Eng- 
 landers ; who have only one daily newfpaper in,- 
 the whole country, 
 
 But newfpapers, and efpecially fomeof thofe in? 
 New-England, do not always tend to illuminate j- 
 they often miflead. Thus, about the memorable 
 .month of April, 1796, a number of the Columbian 
 Centinel had an article that begins thus* 
 MR. RUSSEL, 
 
 " I fend you another extract from Philadelphia^ 
 * c too -important to be kept private* You may there- 
 u fore infert it," 
 
 The American Geography, Londora edition of 1702, p. 2io. 
 f Ibid. p. 14.5. J Ibid. 
 
 . [I In the firft feffion of the fourth Congrefs, the Houfe of Repre 
 fentatives coft the public for newfpapers, twelve hundred dollau / 
 
68 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 This important packet is by far too long, as well 
 as too itupid, for republication entire, but a few de- 
 tached parts may ierve as a fpecimen. 
 
 The writer lets out by alluding to the dij graced 
 {^nation- of Congrefs and our country. A majority 
 in the houfe are " lifted under Madifbn and Galla- 
 u tin ; or rather Gallatin and Madiibn, for the lat- 
 <c ter has become to changed as to be only a fecond 
 u to the former, a devoted tool to him in overturn- 
 
 cc ing the government. A majority of the houfc 
 
 " are arrayed, under Juch leaders, to oppofe and 
 *' pull doivn the Preftdent. Their aim is to defray 
 * the executive, to ufurptothe houfe all the power 
 a given by the conflitution to them exclufively." 
 
 The Houfe of Reprefentatives, or a majority of 
 them, have never been lifted under Mr. Madiibn 
 or any body elfe ; as little has Mr. Madifon been 
 lifted under Mr Gallatin, as a devoted toolto aid him 
 in overturning the government. No reafon is af- 
 figned, and no proof is offered, that a majority in 
 Congrefs had any fuch defign ; and therefult {hew- 
 ed that a majority of the reprefentatives would fub- 
 mit to ratify the treaty. What then becomes of 
 their pretended enlijlment f 
 
 As for pulling down of the Prefident, the ex- 
 prefTion is highly impertinent, and intended only 
 to inflame the feelings of the public. Did aBritifh 
 Houfe of Commons ever fcruple, or tlid they even 
 forbear, to difcufs the merits of a foreign treaty ? 
 No ! And yet it feems that to do fo in America is 
 to pull down the Prefident, and overturn the con- 
 ilitution. If the conduct of Congrefs in making 
 this enquiry was culpable, the conflitution is de fac- 
 to overturned already. It is laid in ruins at the feet 
 of the executive. The writer goes on to tell us 
 that, flnce 1781, Mr. Madifon has been a devoted 
 tool to the French inter eft and government ^ the (ih<* 
 
UNITED STATES. <5* 
 
 jcft tool or the active hireling of the tyrant of the 
 day. He is charged with unwearied endeavours to 
 plunge this country into the prefent war in aid of 
 France, 
 
 There is more ribbaldry to the fame purpofe, 
 and all equally impudent and nonfenfical. What 
 muft bethey?#A? of mind among the readers of this 
 honefl Centinel, if they digeft fiich a m oriel ? An 
 hundred legiflators never yet affembled, without 
 often differing in opinion from each other. The 
 people without doors are alfo much divided on al- 
 moft every great topic, and we may as well con- 
 ceit them to be bribed as their reprefentatives. 
 
 If the citizens of New-England are fo much wi- 
 fer than their neighbours, it mull certainly appear 
 in the choice of their reprefentatives in Congrefs. 
 The fuperiority is not always confpicuous. In the 
 debate on thefnuffexcife, in ipringi794, fome mem- 
 bers from that part of the union, and efpecially 
 Mr. Sedgwick, affirmed, that a land tax was injuft 
 and impro&tcabk,-and that Americans would never 
 Jiibmit to it* . It was impoflible for any member to 
 give a more consummate proof of ignorance or ftu- 
 pidity. The conlHtution of MafTachuletts itfelf, 
 the very ftate that fent Mr. Sedgwick to the houfe, 
 authorifes the aiTembly u to impofe and levy pro- 
 c portional and reafonable alTeffments, rates, and 
 c taxes, upon all the inhabitants of, and perfons re- 
 ' fident, and eftates lying within the faid common- 
 " wealtht." Such taxes are aftually paid, yet Mr. 
 Sedgwick has often declared that they never could be 
 railed, This conveyed a grofs reflection upon the 
 country. In point of argument, the gentleman 
 might as well have whittled yanky doodle to thelc- 
 
 * The words were taken down at the timc> by the author, 
 I Part zd. chap, i, fee, i. article 4. 
 
7 o HISTORY OF THE 
 
 giflators of America. This remark has no reference 
 to MefTrs. Henderfon, Harper, and a certain vene- 
 rable majority in the fecond feffion of the fourth 
 Congrefs. 
 
 While the people of MafTachufetts have been fo 
 anxious about the prefervation of the federal confti- 
 tution, they (hould revife their own. Morfe fays, 
 ct that the religion of MafTachufetts is eftablifhed, 
 cc by their excellent conftitution, on a mofl liberal^ 
 cc and tolerant plan" The prefent horrible op- 
 preffion of baptifls, and other feclaries, contra- 
 dicts this aflertion*. 
 
 \Vhen the Trojan fugitives, driven afhore on 
 the coaft of Africa, folicited aid from the queen of 
 Carthage, Dido, in her anfwer, tells them, that, 
 acquainted with misfortunes, flie had learned to Juc- 
 cour the mijerabk. A higher authority than that of 
 Virgil, has alfo declared, that, by thejadnejs of the 
 countenance the heart is made better. A fhoal of 
 metaphyflcians, moral philofophers, and divines, in 
 volumes of five hundred or a thoufand pages, have 
 likewife told us, that adverfity foftens and refines 
 the heart. 
 
 By far the greater part of the world is full of 
 miiery ; government, a few of the republics ex- 
 cepted, is nothing but robbery reduced to afyftem. 
 Life itfclf has emphatically, and juftly, been termed 
 a vale of tears. Thefe truths are not only trite, 
 but they have been ftale, and even mouldy, for 
 twenty centuries. 
 
 Now, as adverfity is fo common every where, 
 and fb fupreme an antidote for thawing the ice of 
 felfifhncfs, as poets have loaded avarice with ridicule 
 in this world, and as divines have menaced it with 
 perdition in the next, our natural conclufion, from. 
 
 * See American Annual R.egi{lcr, chap. ix 
 
UNITED STATES. 7i 
 
 thefe powerful and coalefcing caufes, m lift be, that 
 this blefTed planet is pregnant with fympathy, chari- 
 ty, liberality, and the entire bead-roll of benevo- 
 lent fenfibilities. Amen. 
 
 Thefe remarks have occurred on reading the ac- 
 count of a very melancholy affair which took place 
 in the latter end of February, 1796, at Hingham, 
 in the ftate of MafTachufetts. The following par- 
 ticulars of it are abridged from a letter written by 
 one of the profefFors in the univerfity at Cambridge, 
 dated the 2 gd of February, and printed in a late 
 Bofton newfpaper. 
 
 About two months before the date of the letter, 
 a young foreigner called on this profeflbr, and in- 
 troduced himfelf by faying, that he wanted to be- 
 come acquainted with fome fcientific man. The 
 fubjecl: which he brought on was pneumatics and 
 mechanics. He converfed with the profefTcr flu- 
 ently, in French, Dutch, and Latin. After a con- 
 ference, of which part is related, he took his leave, 
 and, by agreement, paid a fecond viilt to the profe- 
 for in three days. We mall now quote verbatim 
 a part of the account of him, as given by fche wri- 
 ter of the letter. 
 
 cc From his good figure, polite and eafy manners, 
 I concluded he was fome unfortunate emigrant 
 from the continent of Europe, probably in the 
 " fervice of the monarchy, who, deftitute of money 
 c and friends, chofe to apply fome of the princi- 
 " pies he had learnt at college, to the purpofe of 
 :c procuring fubfiftence by a novel exhibition. On 
 ' this account, I never afked him his name or na~ 
 " tion r" 
 
 On what account ? He was deftitute of money 
 and friends, and he wanted to procure fubfiftence 
 by the exhibition of a novel mechanical apparatus ; 
 
 tc 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and, therefore^ this American philofopher did not 
 venture to afk him his name or nation. 
 
 " 'Tvvas pitiful ! 'twas wond'rous pitiful !" 
 
 That the profeffor in a college fhould be capable 
 of mean ungentleinariy condud", we know by fre- 
 quent perfonal ; experience ; but, that any man 
 fhould wifh to bring hirnfelf forward to the public 
 in fb humiliating a point of view, is rather uncom- 
 mon. Is it a crime to be in want of money ? Is it 
 culpable to attempt earning fubfiftence by exhibit- 
 ing an apparatus of mechanifm ? Both thefe liberal 
 and manly doclrines are avowed by this Cambridge 
 profeffor. Such treatment of a foreigner, a man of 
 learning, and, above all, a fellow creature in di- 
 trefs, is difgraceful not only to the individual who 
 afted fo, but, from his alacrity in telling the ftory, 
 it reflects a farcaim on the country to which he be- 
 longs. A reader in Europe will be tempted to 
 think very meanly of the general caft of our ideas. 
 "Was the profefTor afraid that this foreigner would 
 eclipfe him in the eyes of his pupils, by his inten- 
 ded fhew ? How eafy would it have been for the 
 profefTor to have found employment of fome de- 
 cent kind for a well educated man, who underftood 
 four languages ! It is trufted that every reader will 
 heartily defpife fuch a froft-bitten pedagogue. 
 
 The chilling reception that he encountered, was 
 undoubtedly the reafon why this ill-fated wander- 
 er fell into defpair, and (hot himfelf. He left a 
 letter addrefTed to the profeffor, wherein heftates, 
 that his want of money, and the failure of his plans 
 for obtaining fubfiftence, had determined him to 
 put an end to his life. 
 
 The profefTbr fpeaks of him thus : 
 
 cc The writings and drawings which he left di- 
 ** reeled to me, are fo far from evincing a derang- 
 " ed mind, that they intimate a cool and vigor- 
 
UNITED STATES. ? 
 
 u ou$ intellect ; being executed not merely with 
 tc tafle, but mathematical exaftnefs. I have never 
 " heard any thing againfl his character, but have 
 u feen fome evidences of his humanity, in giving 
 u freedpm to his flave, after binding him to a trade 
 * c by which he could get his living/' How much 
 is it to be regretted that a man fo gifted^ mould 
 have met with fuch beaftly treatment ! 
 
 The profeflbr concludes by citing the exit of 
 this gentleman as a proof, that " nature, without 
 u the commanding voice of religion^ has left the 
 4C nobleft of her works imperfect." What part of 
 the chriftian religion taught this perfon to keep a 
 ftr anger at a diftance, becaufe he is in diftrefs ? To 
 repel fuch fordid ideas, and to extend the feelings 
 of humanity, is the only intelligible or rational 
 purpofe of religion. 
 
 The name of this victim to raQmefs was Iherkin* 
 He was probably a German, there is, at leaft, fuch 
 a name in Pruffia*. The letter-writer is Dr. Ben- 
 jamin Waterhbufej ProfefTor of Medicine at Cam- 
 bridge. Leyden gave him education ; Rhode-Ifland 
 had the diflionour of his birth * 
 
 The people of New-England boaft much of their 
 fuperior hofpitality to ftrangers ; of which this 
 anecdote holds up a (hocking fample. 
 
 Before this forry pedant fpeaks a fecond time of 
 religion,, let him read the parable of the good Sa- 
 maritan. In the Levite> who paffed by on the other 
 ide, he will trace the intellectual pedigree of -his 
 own mind. When fuch a character prefents itfelf to 
 mankind, as a paragon of piety ^ it is both our right, 
 and duty to wrench the vizor from the features of 
 deformity, and to adminifter that typographical 
 drubbing, which has been fo hardily courted, and 
 > richly deferved. 
 
 L 
 
74 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 Federal artifices to 'promote a French quarrel.- 
 Howe's landing at the head of Elk. Jacobins not 
 ivorje than other people. Burgoyne's pidure of 
 the Brit iff i Eaft-India Company. Recent fioppagc 
 of the bank of England.* Robefpierre eclipjed by 
 Pitt. Ammmt of the yearly rental of Britain. 
 Note on the fiat e-houje of Hartford. Number of 
 the public creditors of England. The triumph of 
 Camillus. Moral certainty of American indemni- 
 fication for Britifli piracy. Mercantile apathy for 
 the Juffe rings of American Jeamen. >lmprej]ment 
 at Jeremie. Pinckney. jfay* Neck or nothing 
 forgeries of Pitt. Dependence of the Brittfh IV eft- 
 Indies on the United States .Fallacies of Camil- 
 lus. What Jay/hould hew e J aid to Grenvillc. 
 
 AMONG other artifices employed by the federal 
 party to exafperate the people of this country 
 againft the French republic, one is, their afTertion 
 that the United States were indebted for the aid of 
 France to the perfbnal benevolence of Louis. This 
 is conftantly held up as a reafon for detefting the 
 revolution ; and mountains of ribbaldry have, from 
 that ground, been dilcharged on its authors. Some 
 notice has already been taken of this error*. Mr. 
 Burke, in the letters above quoted, goes fully 
 through it. He fays that even when Louis came 
 to the throne, " the revolution ftrongly operated 
 " in all its caufes." The politicians of France 
 had been compelled to defpife their kings. " From 
 c quarrelling with the court, they began to com- 
 
 * Britifh Honour and Humanity, p. 14. American Annual Re 
 giiler, chap, viii. 
 
UNITED STATES. 7j? 
 
 " plain of * monarchy itfelf ; as a fyftem of govern- 
 " merit too variable for any regular plan of nation- 
 u al aggrandizement. They obferved, that, in 
 cc that fort of regimen, top much depended on the 
 u perfonal character of the prince. They compa- 
 u red with mortification the fyftematic proceedings 
 " of a Roman Senate with the fluctuations of a 
 <c monarchy. 'What cure for the radical weak- 
 " nefs of the French monarchy , but in a republic ? 
 tc Out the word came; and it never went back. 
 u The different effects of a great military and am- 
 c bitious republic, and of a monarchy of the fame 
 " defcription were conflantly in their mouths." 
 After a long detail of circumftances, Edmund goes 
 on in thefe words : u Thefe fentiments were not pro- 
 " duced, as fome think, by their American alii-- 
 cc ance. The American alliance was produced by 
 " theitirepublican principles and republican policy/*" 
 Several pages are fpent on this fubjecl, and every 
 thing proves that the alliance of France with Ame- 
 rica was the work of the republican party, 
 not of the king. After this explanation, no man 
 who prefers truth to fiction will deafen the public 
 about their obligations to Louis, or the guilt of 
 putting him to death. It was at word not more 
 criminal than the unavenged murder fo lately com- 
 mitted in the jail of Philadelphia*. We print week- 
 ly whole columns of reproach againfl French ar- 
 mies ; yet, when five thoufand of thefe troops mar- 
 ched down Front-ftreet, in their way to the capture 
 of Cornwallis, it is ftill remembered with what 
 proftration of gratitude they were welcomed by 
 the furrounding citizens. The French ambaffador 
 was looked up to as a tutelar divinity. His landing 
 from Europe was announced by the difcharge of 
 cannon, by fire-works and illuminations. His pre- 
 
 * American Annual Regifter, chap. X 3 
 
7 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fence was eflential at every public entertainment. 
 He was the arbiter of politics, of fafhion, and of 
 tafte. But our turn has been ferved, and citizen 
 Adet can defcribethe reverfe of the medal. Daniel 
 Defoe, {peaking of his country, fays : 
 
 " Ingratitude, a devil of black renown, 
 " Poffefs'd her very early as his own I" 
 
 Yet there is nothing quite fo paltry as this con- 
 duit of ours, even in the fable hiftory of England. 
 In a comparifon with Britifh armies, the French 
 cannot lofe much. When Howe landed at the head 
 of Elk, many perfons in that neighbourhood had pre- 
 pared the belt entertainment which they could af- 
 ford for the reception of their deliverers. They 
 brought the Englifti foldiers to their tables. The 
 inftant that dinner was over, the guefls began to 
 plunder. It was affirmed, at the time, that in an 
 extent of a few miles, they took away fixteen hun- 
 dred horfes. It was a common practice, when one 
 of the regulars met an American, to aik him the 
 time of day. When he pulled out his watch, it was 
 wrefted from his fingers. The tories were fo much 
 afhamed of this treatment, that they were never 
 heard to complain, and at the diftance of twenty 
 years, many of them are yet as firm in loyalty as ever. 
 Alexander Hamilton and Co. are in the habit of 
 making comparifons between France and England 
 to the advantage of the latter. A celebrated wri- 
 ter of the federal phalanx obferves, that the French 
 ' have ranfacked the coffers of the rich, {"tripped 
 c poverty of its very rags, robbed the infant of 
 c its birth-right, wrenched the crutch from tot- 
 c tering old age, and, joining facrilege to burgla- 
 c ry, have plundered the altars of God*." All 
 this, and much more is true ; and declamations of 
 that fort have been a powerful means with the Bri- 
 
 * A New Year's Gift for the Democrats, p. u 
 
UNITED STATES. 77 
 
 tifh interefh for exafperating the people of America. 
 But, coming home for a comparifon, the citizens of 
 this flate would not think themfelves fairly painted 
 in a picture of the Paxton boys, butchering innocent 
 Indians in the prilbn of Lancafler. A few ienten* 
 ces will jfhew that, in general morality, the Bri- 
 tifti are as bad as other people, and often much woric 
 than many. 
 
 Mr. Howard fays, that the annual average of 
 executions in London only, for twenty-three years, 
 was between twenty-nine and thirty. u In all the 
 
 / v 
 
 c feven provinces," fays he, u there are feldom 
 u more executions than from four to fix." The 
 United Provinces are, by common calculation, three 
 times more populous than London. They fhonld, 
 in proportion, have ninety executions per annum, 
 inftead of which there are but five. Mr. Howard 
 gives an hundred other fafts of the fame nature. 
 This may help in afcer taining the balance of domej- 
 tic morality. 
 
 As n.>r politics, no jacobin can lefs difguife his 
 appetite for blood and plunder than the common 
 run of EritHh hiftorians. The late war againft 
 Tipoo Saib is fpoke of, as follows : " No period ap- 
 u peared more favourable to humble Tipoo. The 
 " Nizam and the Mahrattas both declared theni- 
 " felves ready TO CRUSH THE RISING POW- 
 u ER OF MYSOilE*/' The latter words are, as 
 printed by the author, in capitals. He proceeds 
 at confiderable length, in the moft fordid and info- 
 lent tone of exultation. No highwayman could 
 fpeak in plainer language. To humble Tipoo! 
 This creed vindicates every thing that the French 
 have clone, or can do. Thus, after the earthquake 
 at Lifoon, Spain, might have lent an army to hum- 
 
 Guthrie's Geographical Grammar, fourteenth London editioE 3 
 p. 686. 
 
7 S HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ble Portugal. France, in themidft of peace, might 
 as juftly difembark an hundred thoufand men at 
 Plymouth or Dover, to humble England, Thus> 
 in all ages, has the moft deteftable fophiftry, been 
 exerted to vindicate the commencement of unjnft 
 and deftrudlivc wars. Guthrie fays, that this war 
 coft Tipoo forty-nine thoufand men. A famine 
 deftroyed perhaps ten times that number. Nothing 
 but the wildeft ignorance of hiftory could make 
 our citizens believe that the French are worfe than 
 their neighbours. It is of the higheft importance 
 to remove this miftake, which has become fuch a 
 favourite handle of party. 
 
 Of all writers, Burke is the fitteft to be quoted 
 
 on this head. ct l never, " lays he, "fhall fo far in- 
 
 <c jure the janifarian republic of Algiers as to put 
 
 <c it in companion, for every fort of crime, turpi- 
 
 u tude, and oppreffion, with the jacobin republic 
 
 u of Paris." Yet, when fpeaking of England, this 
 
 author has afforded a iiill more complete idea of 
 
 depravity. 4t There has not been in this century 
 
 c any foreign peace or war, in its origin, the fruit 
 
 c of popular defire, except the war that was made 
 
 cc with Spain in 1739." [This is the grand aflertion 
 
 of Paine that government dragged England into 
 
 iiich quarrels for the fake of augmenting public 
 
 debt, and pillaging the public purfe. He adds.] 
 
 c I examined the original documents. They per- 
 
 c fedlly fatisfied me of the extreme injuftice of that 
 
 c war. [This (hews the rooted corruption of the 
 
 c people.] Some years after, it was my for- 
 
 ic tune to converfe with many of the principal ac- 
 
 cc tors againft that minifter (Walpole), and with 
 
 iv thofc who .principally excited that clamour. 
 
 <c None of them, no not one, did in the leaft defend 
 
 c the meafure, or attempt to juftify their condutf. 
 
 : They condemned it as freely as they would have 
 
UNITED STATES. 79 
 
 cs done in commenting upon any proceeding in hi 
 " tory*." Every man muft fee that thefe authors 
 of the war of 17 39, were as execrable as the French 
 Directory poilibly can be. 
 
 This is a fufftcient reply to the endlefs barking 
 of Webfter and Camilltis about jacobin principles* 
 Let us add one word more about this war of 1739. 
 Guthrie fays, that the Englifli took three thoufand 
 four hundred and thirty- four prizes. They loft 
 three thoufand two hundred and thirty-eight.. 
 Thus we learn that a navy cannot protect aii exten- 
 five commerce. Englifli trade has, in the prefent 
 ftruggle, fuiFered Hill more feverely. A Britifh 
 navy of fix hundred fail cannot fecure Britifh- (hip- 
 ping. Six frigates have an hundred times lefs ca- 
 pability to protect the commerce of America. 
 
 In 1772, an enquiry took place before theHoufe 
 of Commons, as to the conduct of the Eaft-India 
 company. Burgoyne was chairman of the com- 
 mittee. He fays, that " fuch a fcene of iniquity, 
 u rapine, and injustice, fuch unheard of cruelties, 
 " fuch open violations of every rule of morality, 
 a every tie of religion, and every principle of good 
 <c government was never before discovered; and 
 " that, through the whole of the investigation, 
 u he could not find a fingle fpot whereon to lay his, 
 " finger, it being all equally one mafs of mod un- 
 " heard of villainies, and the mod notorious cor- 
 " ruptiont." This pafTage occurs in the firfl of 
 more than three hundred pages, all in the fame fcyle. 
 By accounts tranfmitted from HafHngs, it was pro- 
 ved, that, in five or fix years, the fervants of the 
 company had deftroyed, flarved, or driven away, 
 a greater number of people, than were contained, 
 
 * Letter I. t Evidences of our tranfa&ions in the Eafr* 
 
 indies, &P, by Mr, Parker, Printed at London IR 1782, 
 
Bo HISTORY OF THE 
 
 collectively, in all theBritifh colonies. After fuch 
 a review we need not be feared at the cruelty of 
 jacobins. 
 
 One inceflant reproach to the French has been 
 
 the breach of public credit. Our ally is defcen- 
 
 ding, with hally leaps, to the fame level. On the 
 
 27th of February, 1/97, the privy council of George 
 
 the third, by an arbitrary order, forbade the bank 
 
 of England cc from iifuing any cafli in payment, 
 
 cc until the fenfe of parliament could be taken on 
 
 " that fuojech" The reafon given is, an apprehen- 
 
 fion of wt a want of fuflicient cafli to anfwer the 
 
 tl exigencies of the public fervicc." If government 
 
 had forbidden tiie bank to pay gold and filver as 
 
 the intereit: of the public debt, this would have 
 
 been no worie than a iimple confellion of bank- 
 
 'ruptCy. But they flep in between the bank and its 
 
 private creditors, and fay, ct You fhail not pay your 
 
 c private debts. We mufbhave the money to pay 
 
 c our own falaries, and to fupport our ftanding 
 
 " armies ; to defray the charge of barracks built 
 
 c in defiance of law ; and to clear off the bills of 
 
 c a prince who has defrauded his miflrefTes, inful- 
 
 c ted his two wives, ivho are both alive * / hired 
 
 c pewfpapers to calumniate his mother, and at- 
 
 c tempted to keep his father for life in a ftrait wailt- 
 
 tc coat." 
 
 Parliament have an equal right to interfere between 
 any debtor and creditor in the kingdom. Thus, 
 all the requiiitions of Robefpierre are rivalled at a 
 fingle ftroke. With equal juftice they may fay to 
 every farmer, cc you fhall pay no rent to your land- 
 <c lord/' 7 Pitt is in the highway to fubflantiate 
 Mr. Sedgwick's univerfal afTeiTmentt. No legiila- 
 ture on earth ever hazarded a more glaring act of 
 
 * Britifh Honour and Humanity, \\ 4^. i Sec Appendix, No. II* 
 
UNITED STATES. 8l 
 
 Iniquity. It is as extenfive in its operation, as de- 
 tellable in its objeft. Every individual in Britain 
 will feel the effects of this ftoppage. AlTociations 
 of bankers and manufacturers may, and will for a 
 time, keep np the price of paper ; but the firft loan 
 wanted for 1/98, will ring the knell to its inter- 
 ment. 
 
 The aft of parliament that has followed this or- 
 der of council, afFefts, in a tender point, the mer- 
 cantile interefl of the United States ; and, as (hall 
 be prefently explained, it ftrikes at one of the pil- 
 lars of the Britifh treaty. Much pains are employ- 
 ed to reprefent it as of a temporary nature, and to 
 convince the public that credit will quickly come 
 round to the former fituation*. On this account, 
 it cannot be regarded as defultory to ftate, in this 
 place, forne decifive fa<fts, of which a few are not 
 generally known in America. 
 
 The national bankruptcy of England is not a 
 matter which has come fuddenly to a crifis. Its 
 inevitable approach was diftinclly forefeen and 
 defcribed. Mr. William Morgan, an eminent 
 writer on Englifh finances, publifhed, in the begin- 
 ning of 1796, Fads addrejjed to the people of Great 
 Britain. From a long feries of arguments and cal- 
 culations, the following particulars have been a- 
 bridged. 
 
 Mr. Pitt eftimates the yearly rents of all the 
 landed eftates in Britain, at twenty-five millions 
 
 * The tories who fay fo do not believe it. The rate of exchange 
 on England was formerly above par, which is one hundred and fixty- 
 fixand two thirds percent. It has now (May loth, 1797?) funk 
 to an hundred and twenty-five, and an hundred and thirty. When 
 a bill returns under proteil from England, the indorfee is intitled to 
 twenty per cent, of damages. People now refufe to grant fuch bills, 
 unlefs with this provifo, that they mall not be liable to the ufual pe- 
 nalty of non-payment, 
 
 M 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ilerling. But the land tax, at four (hillings in the 
 pound, though comprehending houfes, places, and 
 penfions, gives only one million nine hundred thou- 
 land pounds. Mr. Morgan believes that the yearly 
 rents do not exceed eighteen millions. ''lie ac- 
 tual cxpenies wanted, in, 1796, even for a peace 
 eftablifliment, were twenty-two millions. Thus, 
 even a year ago, the public taxes were equal to 
 the whole landed rents of Britain. It was, howe- 
 ver, found difficult or impoflible to raife the twen- 
 ty* two millions eiTential for the national credit, 
 even fuppofing that the war had ended in January, 
 1796. In February, 1795, taxes were laid to the 
 expected amount of fixteen hundred and forty-five 
 thoufand pounds. In December following, others 
 were-alfo propojed to the amount of eleven hun- 
 dred and twenty-three thoufand pounds. Yet the 
 intereil of many millions of debt flill remained to 
 be provided for. From the firft eftablifliment of 
 the confoliclated fund, in 1786, till the commence- 
 ment of the prefent war, the expenditure invaria- 
 bly exceeded the revenue. The deficiencies in the 
 iix years preceding the war, amounted to nearly 
 ieven millions fterling. The blank was fupplied 
 by loans, and extraordinary but cafual receipts. 
 In the firft three years of the war, new taxes were 
 .laid to the amount of about four millions, and ftill 
 the annual deficiencies increafed. In 1795, tne 7 
 came nearly to two millions. " It is probable, there- 
 * c fore," fays Mr. Morgan, u that annual loans 
 " will become neceilary, in future, to provide for 
 <4 the'ordinary expences of a peace eflablifliment ; 
 ct and thefe .loans, by requiring new taxes, will 
 a produce further deficiencies ; fo that, by borrow- 
 tc ing each year, not only to pay the deficiencies of 
 " the preceding year, but a lib the intereft on the 
 * c deficiencies in former years, the national debt 
 
UNITED STATES, 83 
 
 " v/ill be inereafing, at compound interen% in the 
 " fame manner as it is reduced ; but with this 
 " alarming difference, that the operations in the 
 " one cafe, are ten times more powerful than in 
 u the other. If thefe are likely to be the effects 
 u of the public debt, with the expenditure only of 
 cc a peace eftablifhment, or on the fuppofition that 
 <c the war were immediately clofed, what muft be 
 " the confequences of obflinately perfifting in a 
 u fyftem of profufion, which, if long continued-,, 
 ' would ruin any country, however unimpaired 
 cc its flrength and refources ?" 
 
 Men who defire ufeful knowledge will not tire 
 of this quotation. It is certainly better entertain- 
 ment than to ring invidious changes on the purity* 
 of Conneel'icut #, and the wickednefs of Virginia* 
 Since thefe remarks were publilhed by Mr. Mor- 
 gan, a campaign has elapfed more difaftrous, if 
 poflible, to England, than any of the former. Her 
 fituation has, uniformly, funk from bad to worfe. 
 What, in the end of 1795, was but expectation^ 
 has, in 1797, been converted into hiftory* Many 
 people in America feem to be intoxicated with the 
 iuperior information and abilities of Mr. Hamilton. 
 The extravagant predictions and affertions. of him- 
 
 * The hiftory of the new ftate-houfe at Hartford, exhibits a de~ 
 leftable fpecimen of this commodity. The aflembly pofleffcd a 
 claim on the ftate of New- York for almoft fifteen hundred thoufand 
 acres of land, which are worth three or four millions of dollars. In 
 1795, t ^ le 7 f^ tn i s claim fc>r a few thoufand pounds, to a private 
 company. See American Annual Regilter, chap. x. If they be- 
 Heved their title to be groundlefs, they were no better than a g;mg 
 of coiners, who fell bad (hillings at half price. If the law-fuit of 
 this company fhall be fuccefsful, New-York will hardly fubrnit to 
 the deciiion, but on the point of the bayonet. Thus it follows, that 
 for the dirty confideration of a few thoufand pounds, the legiilature 
 ci Connecticut has put the union in danger oh a civil war. With 
 thefe fads before their eyes, and with an effrontery that tranfcends 
 aJl dcfcription, many writers extol the fuperlativc fcdcralifm 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 felf, and his auxiliaries, about Britifti pride, and 
 power, and opulence, have become too clefpicable 
 for refutation. If Camillus really believed what 
 he wrote refpefting them, he muft have been ve- 
 ry ignorant. If he knew more than he chofe to 
 tell, his conduft demands a harfher name. Ano- 
 ther citation from Mr. Morgan will, perhaps, re- 
 pay a perufal. 
 
 " The competition of rapacious loan-mongers to 
 <c fhare in the fpoils of the country, fupported by 
 
 c the fictitious credit of paper-money, may perhaps 
 
 c enable the minifter to triumph in the facility with 
 cc which the public debts are accumulated, and the 
 " temporiiing expedient of ineffectual taxation may 
 " ferve him as a proof of our inexhauftible re- 
 
 c iources to provide for thofe taxes ; but a fyftem 
 " founded upon deluflon, muft end in difappoint- 
 
 c ment and ruin. It was the boaft of a French 
 " minifter of finance, that the American war was 
 
 c carried on during his adminiftration, without 
 <c impofing a new tax upon the French people ; and 
 
 c it was this very circumftance which produced 
 
 neclicut ; and poor Samuel Dexter, as one of his reafons for fup- 
 poiting the fugar and fnuffexcife, fald in Congrefs, in 1794* that 
 all the members of that ftate voted for it. 
 
 If from the afiembly thcmfelves, we turn to their conftituentSj 
 the profpecl does not improve The fale of thefe fifteen hundred 
 thcufand acres, if the ftate had a real right to them, was an aft of 
 outrageous robbery on their fellow citizens ; it was a fecond Yazoo 
 imfmefs. When the people of Georgia found their property invaded, 
 they elected a new aflembly, erafed the fwindling law from the pub- 
 lic records, proclaimed its infamous authors, and ordered their at- 
 torney-general to profecute fenator James Gunn, as one of the con- 
 fpir-itors. This was acting like men ; but the citizens of Connecti- 
 cut, when in a fimilar iltuation, truckle under legiflative treachery; 
 while Pelham, and Trumbull, and Webfter, and a fwarm of other 
 fcribblers from that quarter, rack their ingenuity in reviling, as a 
 race of inferior and degraded beings, the people of the fouthem 
 Hates. 
 
UNITED STATES. 85 
 
 u the revolution. He borrowed immenfe fums an- 
 IC nually, and endeavoured to provide for them by 
 cc the ineffectual means of economy ; for, in that 
 cc country, taxation had then arrived at its limits. 
 cc A fyftem of economy, under a government which 
 " exifted by corruption, necefFary failed. New 
 " loans became necelTary to pay the intereft of for- 
 * c mer loans. The mafs of debt continued to ac- 
 " cumulate, till at length it overwhelmed public 
 u credit, and buried the government in its ruins. 7 ' 
 As the government and the bank of England can- 
 not at prefent command fpecie, the next queftion 
 is, at what time, or from what fource, have they 
 a profpeft of getting it ? The debts of the former 
 are about three hundred and eighty millions fter- 
 ling. Paine guelTes the paper of the bank of En- 
 gland at ilxty millions. Several other great banks ' 
 had ftopt before it, and the banks of Scotland and 
 that of Ireland, have flopt fince. In an affair of 
 uncertainty, but of enormous magnitude, we may 
 conjecture that eighty millions fterling, in bank notes 
 have been blocked up. This added to the debt will 
 make four hundred and fixty millions. Oppofed 
 to this world of paper, George Chalmers, an autho- 
 rity to be trailed in this cafe, fays, that the Britifli 
 dominions have a circulation of twenty millions in 
 gold and filver. Thus credit (lands like an inver- 
 ted pyramid, of which paper is the bafe. But 
 fince that calculation, the quantity of hard money 
 has been reduced. Befides, every guinea, and eve- 
 ry fixpence, will now hide itfelf. Suppofe that 
 the bank has at prefent in its coffers tw r o millions 
 fterling, and that this money is to be refer ved for 
 public exigencies. Two months only of the ap- 
 proaching campaign will exhauft it. The cafh 
 will dive into the pockets of thofe who furnifh the 
 fupplics, and they will hold it, with the gripe of 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ::,th, till the alarm has become to an ifTiie. It is 
 hard to fee from whence money can be expeftech 
 The emperor will not replace his wages. In the 
 mean while, confidence rnnd by degrees decline. 
 ^Traclefmen mud be thrown idle, from the want of 
 a proper medium to pay them ; and, after every ex- 
 pedient has been tried, an univerfal bankruptcy 
 will enfue, Unlefs France (hall grant England a 
 peace, the campaign of 1798 will require another 
 
 n. Paper cannot be lent to the Eaft and Weft- 
 Indies, even were its character found at home. The 
 precious metals cannot be had, and public credit 
 will of neceflity expire. We fee that fix years be- 
 fore the war, the minider after every exertion, 
 was annually borrowing great part of a million: 
 
 rling to pay the intereft of old debts. This 
 practice alone would, in time, have produced infol- 
 vency ; but, when there is funeradded the hidory 
 of the lad four years, probability rifes to demon- 
 frration. In 1791, Mr. Rayment publifhed a 
 flatement of the number of the public creditors of 
 England, taken from the books. It amounted to 
 an hundred and twenty-feven thoufand three hun- 
 dred and one perfons. About an hundred and twen- 
 ty or thirty millions ft.erlin.jg have been added ta 
 'the debt, fo that we may now compute the credi- 
 ts as being at lead an hundred and fixty thoufand. 
 The bankruptcies of 1793 came perhaps to twenty 
 millions fterling. Thofe made by the doppage of 
 paper money will be at lead twenty times greater. 
 F.vcry man in Britain, who is worth five guineas, 
 will be affected more or lefs. The fliock mull 
 com ul fe every nerve in the mafs of property . Thus 
 
 :ch for Britifli credit. We now come to apply 
 thefe remarks with refpect to Jay's treaty. The 
 
 Hiv.lclphian addrefs to the Preiident, thanking- 
 
 i for having figned it, fpeaks of" indemnity 
 
UNITED STATES 87 
 
 4< (the Subscribers meant to Say indemnification) 
 " therein llipulated for pajl lojjes" The New- 
 York chamber, in their reSolutions of the 2ifl of 
 July, 1795, congratulate themfelves on u a fair 
 ^ compenjation for the (poliations upon our com- 
 ic merce/' Curtins in his fourth letter, trufts that 
 " juft claims will be fupported, andjuft damages 
 *' paid !" The fifteenth number of Camillus is oc- 
 cupied on this Subject. He quotes the Seventh ar- 
 ticle of the treaty, by which, referring to the pira- 
 cies on American commerce, tc his Britannic ma- 
 " jefty undertakes to caufe the fame to be paid to 
 " Such-claimant in Jpecie, without any deduction," 
 after the amount has been aScertained. "The plan," 
 u Says Camillus, u affords a moral certainty of 'Sub- 
 u ftantial juftice. The indemnification which may 
 " be awarded, is to be paid fully, immediately, 
 ic "and without de tour by the Britifh government 
 ic itfelf. Say ye impartial and enlightened, if all 
 <c this be not as it ought to have been !" 
 
 In fhort, the hope of recovering payment for the 
 mips and cargoes was the greatell: caufe for the 
 treaty becoming popular among American mer- 
 chants. Its advocates inceflantly held out this ar- 
 ticle as an object of exultation. When handling 
 it Camillus riles above his wonted compofure, and 
 one apoflrophe may well enough anfwer another. 
 ic Say ye impartial and enlightened, after the pre- 
 u ceding explanation of Englifh finances, do ye ex~ 
 cc pect one farthing from the king of England ? Do 
 <c ye fancy that a monarch who is fifteen months 
 c in arrears to the wench who fcours his water 
 u clofet*, whofe government is three hundred 
 
 * On the 1 8th of April, 1796, Mr. Grey faid in parliament, that 
 the civil lift was FIVE QUARTERS in arrears. George the Third has 
 many millions ilerling at command. His refuting to pay thcfe ar* 
 rears, proves him to be one of the rneaneft beings that ever diAjraced 
 human nature, 
 
83 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 c and eighty millions fterling in debt, and who can 
 " pay its intereft in nothing but paper, do ye fancy 
 " tiiat fuch a perfon will lend over his money to 
 " indemnify American merchants." 
 
 Dr. Ames, in his renowned fpeech in Congrefs 
 on the treaty, delivered himfelf with more caution. 
 44 Five millions of dollars/' faid he, " and proba- 
 " bly more, on the fcore of fpoliations committed 
 '* on our commerce, depend upon the treaty. The 
 " treaty offers the only profpecl of indemnity*. Such 
 M redrefs is promifed as the merchants place Jomc 
 " confidence in. Will you interpofe and fruftrate 
 " that hope !" That hope, to borrow the ftyle of 
 Bunyan, hath fince arrived in doubting caflle, and 
 will foon be in the grafp of giant dejpair. 
 
 One feels lefs for the misfortunes of fbme of the 
 merchants on account of their ingratitude to their 
 feamen. The neglect of Jay to fecure an article 
 in favour of thefe people, even when it was offered 
 by Grenville, has already been ftatecl to thepublict. 
 It was difgraceful to have accepted of fuch a treaty 
 at all, without an ample compenfation to every one 
 of thefe men, who had been imprifoned, hand-cuf- 
 fed, (tarved and fiogged, while acting in American 
 lervice. The printed refolutions of the chamber 
 of commerce at New- York and Bofton approve the 
 treaty in general terms, without the fmalleft notice 
 of this infamous omiffion; The indemnity addre- 
 fers of Philadelphia drop not one word of alarm or 
 iympathy for the dangers or fufferings of fbme 
 thoufancis of mariners. On the i/jth of April, 
 1797, alfo, when the merchants of Philadelphia 
 
 * This \vord me'nns only pardon for a crime. Tl\us, when Charles 
 the Second figned the aft of oblivion and indemnity, the cavaliers 
 called it an ad of oblivion to his friends, and indemnity to his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 t Britifn honour and humanity, p. 41. 
 
* UNITED STATES. 89 
 
 preferred an addrcfs to Congrefs in favour of the 
 treaty, that paper contains not one glimmering of 
 compaflion or even of reference to the fuilerings of 
 their fearnen. Five millions of dollars, and "the 
 " principal part of their remaining fortunes " form 
 the excluuve burden of the fong. Never did the 
 fordid ipirit of mercantile adventure difplay itfclf 
 i:i more repulfive colours. Woe be to that coun- 
 try \vhofe counfels are governed by merchants, or 
 by priefts ! When the Senate faw an article about 
 t he Weft Indian trade which they did not like, they 
 refufed to accept it. But they overlooked this- 
 hideous chafin about feamen, though in every view 
 of juftice, honour, humanity, and even of commer- 
 cial intereft, it was by many degrees more impor- 
 tant than the other. This is precifely the way in 
 which Congrefs and the country have treated then- 
 old continental foldiers ; fo that no part of our en- 
 lightened citizens has a title to condemn the reft. 
 
 It may be anfwered, but what could you do / The 
 reply is ready. The immediate reftoration of every, 
 American feaman, or a ferious and vigorous effort to 
 that end, fhould have been demanded and obtained, 
 before making a (ingle claufeof any treaty. Farther, 
 every one of them mould have received a liberal 
 compenfation for the time during which they had 
 been confined in Britifli vefTels. We have not heard 
 of fuch compenfation being dither given, or fought. 
 If any fcruple was to be entertained on the part of 
 Britain about making fuch reparation, it contradic- 
 ted common reafbn to believe that negociation with 
 inch people could end in fatisfaclion. Figure the 
 cafe that a crimp kidnaps your fon on the ftreets of 
 London, and fends him to the Earl Indies as a re- 
 cruit. This offender owns the fal, and without 
 engaging to reftore the young man, he afks you to 
 entqr into an agreement for a freight of cotton or 
 
 N 
 
po HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tobacco. You would not liflen to fuch a propofal 
 till iecurity was given for the redemption of your 
 Con or, if you did liflen, the whole world would 
 pronounce you an unnatural barbarian. Of Britifh 
 imprelfinents, the following inftance is not, perhaps, 
 worfe nor better than an hundred others. It is in~ 
 ferted merely as a lam pie. 
 
 On the 29th of July, I795S Cyprian Cook, mafter 
 of the {loop Grills, of Norwich, in Connecticut, and 
 Elijah Clarke, a pafTenger in the vefTel, emitted cle- 
 poiitions at New-London, of which here follows an 
 -abridgement. On the 4th of July, preceding, the 
 Crifis, and, above twenty other American veiTels 
 were lying at anchor in the port of Jeremie, in 
 Hifpaniola. The Hermione, an Englifh frigate, 
 came into the port, anchored, and fent her boats 
 to board the Americans. Every man in the vefTels, 
 was taken away, excepting the captains and mates. 
 They were, to the number of fixty or feventy, kept 
 on board and fading, during forty-eight hours. 
 They were examined, one by one, and five only 
 were difmhTed, becaufe, as the Englifh captain ob- 
 ferved, they were unfit for fervice. Allthefe men 
 were Americans born, excepting two Danes, who 
 had been naturalized here. This outrage happen- 
 ed f even months and an half after flgning of the 
 treaty ; and it fhews how fmcerely England defpifed 
 our envoy and thofe who fent him. Tame fub- 
 mifTion to fuch treatment was the very excefs of 
 national difgrace. But, after Jay had declined to 
 write an article in favour of our failors, they were 
 fure of meeting with the worft ufage. It is ftrange 
 that Jay did not burn the copy of his card, making 
 a demand in their behalf, and of the conienting re- 
 ply of Grenville. The Prefident had very good rea- 
 ibn to be afhamed of laying fuch a correfpondence 
 before the Houfe of ReprefenUtives. it is fuppo- 
 
UNITED STATES. $1 
 
 fed that Tome thoufands of American feamen have 
 been treated like the above at port Jeremie*. 
 
 Camillas, in No. vi. points out many difficulties 
 in the way of a complete protection for our mari- 
 ners. It is Jikely enough that the article, if infer- 
 ted, would have been broken ; and real difficulties 
 might have occurred in the bufmefs. But even de- 
 corum required fuch a claufe. Camillus has ad- 
 vanced fome alTertions that are abfolutely untrue. 
 He fays that " Great Britain has accordingly per- 
 " feveringly declined any definitive arrangement o 
 " the fubje& ; notwithftanding earned and reitera- 
 " ted efforts of our government. Our minifter 
 " plenipotentiary, Mr. Pinckney, it is well known, 
 " has long had this matter in charge, and has fire- 
 " nuoufly exerted himfelf to have it placed upon 
 " fome acceptable footing ; but his endeavours have 
 
 * Some Englifh newfpapers of 1796, fay, that the prefs gangs em- 
 ployed in Britain, amount to nine thoufand men. A great part of thefe 
 fellows are therhfelves failors, and every one of them, from the na- 
 ture of the fervice, mud be robuil arid able-bodied. Their fituation 
 requires better vVages, and better living, than that of a foot foldier. 
 They can hardly^oft.the country lefs, in one fh ape or other, than 
 two (hillings fterling per day. On (hip board, or in ufeful manu- 
 factures, they would be worth at leaft an equal Turn. Thus each of 
 thefe kidnappers finks daily four millings iterling, which, between 
 pofitive and negative lofs, they might expend or earn for fociety. 
 Nine thoufand men, at a lofs of four millings per head, make a fink- 
 ing fund of eighteen hundred pounds fterling a day. This, multi- 
 plied by the number of days in a year, gives fix hundred and fifty- 
 feven thoufand pounds per annum, for the charge of prefs gangs. It 
 is an ordinary computation in Britain, that every imprefled maneofts, 
 upon a medium, an hundred pounds fterling, before he is got into 
 a&ual fervice. 
 
 Yet, in fpite of this ft range work, in order to man her navy, the 
 queen of ifles labours under the greateft difficulty for hands, that fhe 
 has perhaps ever known. To prefs American feamen is very con- 
 iiltent with her Algerine code of morality, but entirely repugnant to 
 her common maxims vi policy.' Theexclulion of foreign mariners 
 from iier ports and (hipping, is the great object of her act of naviga- 
 tion. Her breach of it ariies from neceffity more tjian choice. 
 
9 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " been unfucceisful." By Thorn as Pi = 
 his efforts, we need not fet much ilorc. While 
 France vva; in the very adt of driving the allies 
 to perdition, Jay, by the mod abllird, or pcT/I- 
 dions nnfcondiict, put his hand to the treaty, when, 
 if he had only waited ii.- till the approaching 
 
 conquer!: of Holland h.id been completed, lie might 
 have had almoR any U'nri3 worth afking. Pinckncy 
 was filly enough to . * of his management iu 
 
 making fo good a bargain. I Neither of thefe pre- 
 cious envoy, would buy largely in the funds, when 
 there was a cer&rhttyof their tumbling. Yet they 
 clapped up a treaty, when every moment of delay 
 was ineftimable to America. This' is the fcanda- 
 lous ' h cur bulincls hath been tranfacled. 
 
 The airair had hung over ten years, and then was 
 :ed at a mom en t of iniinite impropriety. Such 
 miferable be,: the world has probably never 
 
 feen before. 
 
 Camillas forefaw the objeclion as to the very nn- 
 feafonable period of figning the treaty. In No. vii. 
 he defends it thus. u It will be nfeful to go back to 
 " the periods when the negocistion began and en- 
 " cled. Our envoy arrived in England, and enter- 
 " ed upon the bufinefs of his miHion, at the mo- 
 <{ ment when there was a general elation or. 
 " account of the naval victory gained by Lord 
 [t Howe, and previous tothofe important fucceffcs, 
 <: \vhich have terminated in the conqueft of Holland ; 
 i the treaty was concluded by the ipth of No- 
 " vember laft, prior to the laft mentioned event, 
 " and the defeaion of the king o f Pruflla. The 
 " poflureof things at the time oi the negociatiou, 
 " and not at 'this tin:?, is the frandard to try its 
 " merits/' 
 
 It will indeed be ufefultopo back; for every line of 
 this argument is contradicted by undifputed fadts. 
 
UNITED STATES. 93. 
 
 The Prefulent's meffage to Congrefs about his having 
 appointed Jay, wsis dated the i6th of April, 1794- 
 The king of Pruilia, in the beginning of that month, 
 had published a curious manifefto Mating his rea- 
 ibns for quitting his allies. Pitt 'afterwards gave 
 him twelve hundred thousand pounds to make him 
 return to the combat. He took the money, but 
 never performed his promife. Inftead of that, he 
 went into Poland to beliege Wariaw. He left in- 
 deed his quota as a prince of the German empire ; 
 but they alib were annihilated, along with an Au- 
 trian army, at Kaifcrllautern, in a battle which lafted 
 incluiively night and day, from the I2th to the I5th 
 of July, 1794; * n the enc ^ trie republicans plunged 
 through the loaded Pruflian batteries at the point of 
 the bayonet. Surely, Mr. Hamilton imagines that 
 nobody reads newfpapers except himfelf. In No- 
 vember, 1794, v - r ^' en J a y figned this paper, Frede- 
 ric William had, for many months, been abufed 
 in the daily prints of London, as a deferter fr'om 
 the caufe of morality, and regular government. 
 Thus Carnillus fta'nds detected of an intentional 
 and notorious falfehoocl. 
 
 As to the general elation about lord Howe's 
 victory, the French were equally fatisfiecl, and with 
 better reafon. An American am balFacior ought to 
 have been poffefled of more penetration than the 
 porters and chairmen whom Pitt or his runners hi- 
 red, upon that joyful occafion, to break the win- 
 dows of John Wilkes and lord Stanhope. 
 
 Again, Camillus fays that jay entered upon the 
 bufmefs of his million previous to thoje important 
 Jucce/Jes ivhich terminated in the conqnefi of Holland* 
 This is another flupendovis untruth, like that about 
 the king of PruHia. A few facts and dates will 
 prove it to be fo. On the 26th of April, 1794., 
 Pichegru totally beat Clairfait at Moucron, and 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 killed fix thonfand of his troops. In the conrfe of a 
 few weeks, a number of other delperate battles en- 
 fued. The allies did whatever brave men, and 
 able officers could do ; but the French/ by their 
 numbers, their enthudafm, and their talents, fair- 
 ly drove them out of "The field. So early as the 
 ipth of May, 1794, t ^ ie emperor printed an addrefs 
 to the inhabitants of Bruffels, in a tone almoil as 
 dejected as the king of Pruilia's farewell m an ifefto. 
 The armies continued almoft conftantly fighting till 
 the 26th of June, when the French gained the battle 
 of Fleurus. This completely turned the fc ale. The 
 grand Auilrian army immediately fent off their 
 baggage, and, in the courfe of a few days, thirty 
 thoufand people fled from BrmTels. From that day 
 forward every man in England, excepting Jay, 
 multhaveforefeen the conqueft of Holland. Though 
 Jay had entered upon the bufinefs of his miffion be- 
 fore the fate of Flanders was decided, it was his 
 duty to have {pun out the bufmefs and to have ta- 
 ken the utmoit advantage of that invaluable con- 
 tingency. Cainilius, by advancing, in Jay's de- 
 fence, the above palpable fictions, has expoied with- 
 out reinforcing the weaknefs bf the cauie. 
 
 But Camillas mould alfo have defended the .Se- 
 nate of Congrefs. They certainly did not approve 
 of the treaty till after the defection of the king of 
 Prtiffia, and the furrender of Amfterdam. They 
 did not ratify till the 24th of June, 1795. * n tne 
 ribove quotation, Camillus plainly implies, that, af- 
 ter the defection and reduttion y &c. better terms 
 might have been had. The queflion then comes 
 to be iv hy the Senate did not ftand out to get them f 
 They fent back an article. They fliould have amen- 
 ded and fent back others. The true reafon was, 
 ifirft, that fome of the Senators were ferionfly and 
 fubftantially ignorant about the real flate of politics 
 
UNITED STATES. 95 
 
 in Europe ; for, after the reduction of the feven 
 United Provinces, a fear of England attacking Ame- 
 rica was " but the eye of childhood ; that fears a 
 cc painted devil/' Secondly, the ratification was 
 an objecfc of party. Jay had been fent over in de 
 plte of a majority in the Houfe of Reprefentatives ; 
 and to have refufed the ratification of a treaty plan- 
 ned under the aufpic.es of Mr. Hamilton,would have 
 calt irrecoverable ridicule on their whole connec- 
 tions. For this reafon twenty fenators, lefs par- 
 donable, if fiich a thing can be, than Jay himtelf, 
 agreed to what he had done ; and, as Junius ob- 
 ferves, cc though royal favour cannot remove moun- 
 <f tains of infamy, it undoubtedly lejjens^ for it di-* 
 <c vides the bur den ." 
 
 But, independent of French vi&ories, Jay muft 
 have known that Pitt, from his dreadful want of 
 money, could not hold out for any confiderable 
 time. Much has been faid as to the danger of Eng- 
 land (forfooth !) declaring war againfh the United 
 States. To (hew the dreadful plight that flie was 
 in, the following particulars are taken from a fe- 
 ries of refblutions read in the houfe of commons by 
 Mr. Smith, on the 22d of February, 1796. 
 
 In September, 1795, Walter Boycl, junior, waff 
 requefted by Pitt to advance him a million fterling. 
 - He' did fo, and by agreement, he was to draw bills 
 on the lords commiilioners of the treafury, which 
 they were to accept. Now comes the aftonifhing 
 part of the tranfaclion. Bills for feven hundred 
 thoufand pounds were drawn in London, bearing 
 a falfe date at Hamburgh, fever al weeks pre- 
 ceding the real time of framing them. Walter 
 Boyd is not engaged in any houfe of bufinefs at 
 Hamburgh, fo that he might as well have preten- 
 ded to draw bills from the moon. Thefe forge* 
 ;, profefling to be foreign bills, were written 
 
96 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 upon undamped paper. cc They were," fays Mr, 
 Smith, " of fuch a nature and defcription, as the 
 cc bank of England would have refilled to difcoun't 
 " for any commercial hcufe whatever, and fuch 
 cc as it would have been injurious to the credit of 
 tc any private lioufe, to have negociated." Thefe 
 are civil words, but, in plain Englifb, any other 
 parties of fuch a plot, but the minifter and his 
 friends, would infallibly have been hanged. 
 
 It was plain that a government adopting fuch in- 
 famous expedients to raile money, mud have been 
 upon its lad legs. With fuch facls in view, it is 
 amazing how completely ibme of the ableil men in 
 America were deceived about it. Of all the argu- 
 ments in favour of the BritHh treaty, none was 
 more loudly repeated than the clanger of a war with 
 Britain. " War/' faici Dr. Ames, might be delay- 
 cc ed, but could not be prevented. The caufes of 
 C4 it would remain, would be aggravated, would 
 f - c be multiplied, and loon become iritollerable. 
 re captures, more imprelrhients, would fwell 
 the lift of our wrongs, and the current of our 
 rage." [If England 'had declared war agaimT. 
 the United States, in confequcnce of the repre- 
 ieiitatives rejecting the treaty, me would have 
 become bankrupt before the next Chriftmas.] "The 
 tc progrefs of 'wealth and improvement is wonder- 
 u ful, and foaie will think too rapid."* [Witnefs 
 the enormous bankruptcies in Oclober, 1796, and 
 the intolerable fcarcity of money ever fmce. The 
 country is thriving undoubtedly but not the more 
 from the extravagant fpirit of over-trading] cc The 
 i: crop of , our neutrality is "ail feed-wheat, and 
 cc is ?' iln to fwell, almofb beyond calculation, 
 
 tc :;- . e harvelt of proiperity. And in this 
 
 itcsj vo*. ii. p. 332. 
 
 tc 
 
 1C 4-1 
 CC 
 
UNITED STATES. 97 
 
 4i progrefs what feems to be ficlion is found to 
 " fall ihort of experience." And, in this progrcjs, 
 the bank of the United States, unlels its dii counts 
 are extremely tircumfpecl:, will go to the family- 
 vault of thoie in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. 
 The reign of paper is pail in Europe, and, as a 
 matter of courfe, its expiration in America will 
 happen fooner or latter. In cafe of any ferious 
 rupture with France, and after the nnparalelled ruin 
 that is overfpreading England, every man here will 
 directly infill on metal for his* bank notes. As to 
 the vaft crop of our neutrality, the privateers of France 
 and- England have reaped a very great part of it. 
 
 We mall now go back to Mr. Smith's refolutions, 
 and cite another proof of the utter incapacity of 
 .England, in June 1796, to have attacked America. 
 " The profits of the contractors," fays he, u at the 
 : " expence of the nation, have been fo exorbitantly 
 u fwelled, as to have rifen even before the depo* 
 <c (it was made thereon, to an amount greatly ex- 
 u ceeding the depofit itfelf, viz. on a loan of eigh- 
 " teen millions, to the enormous and incredible fum 
 " of, two* millions, one hundred and fixty thoujand 
 " pounds ft er ling." 
 
 No man could imagine that fuch a fyrtem w r as to 
 holdout, any more than the gambling, intereil of 
 five per cent, per month, fo frequently paid of lat^ 
 in the fea port towns of America. Both thefe ways 
 of railing money refembled the refource of the 
 culprit, w r ho faid that he could efcape the gal- 
 lows by cutting his throat in prifbn. 
 
 Another inftance mail be given of the hurry in 
 which Pitt was to fecurd the loan for 1796, and 
 of the extreme impatience with which the people 
 of England fawthe war prolonged. 
 
 When the bankers of London agreed to lend a 
 fum of money to the minifter, the cufloni was t 
 
 O 
 
9 $ HISTORY OF THE 
 
 give thenf credit in the public funds to a certain 
 amount. The current price of ftock, at the time 
 of making the bargain, determined the quantity of it 
 to be given for the new advances of the creditors. 
 Thus, ifvthe three per cents were at eighty, the 
 fame proportion of them would buy ten thoufand 
 pounds, that would only buy feven thoufand five 
 hundred, if the flocks were at fixty per cent. It 
 was hence the great aim of every premier to raife 
 them as high as poflible, before his loan, and it was 
 ufual to caft profpecls of peace, into fome royal 
 fpeech or meiTage, by which they were fure of 
 being railed. But, on the 27th of November, 1795, 
 Mr, Pitt, with a precipitancy that wears the fouleft 
 afpecl^ clofed a loan for eighteen millions with Mr. 
 Boyd. A mefTage that he muft have forefeen, carne 
 on the 8th of December, thereafter, from George 
 the Third to parliament, telling his earneft deiire of 
 peace. The funds inftantly got up fo high that the 
 quantity given for the loan, rofe in its value, nine 
 hundred thoufand pounds Jlerlzng. This was juft fo 
 much money loft to the public, and gained to the 
 ^rankers, who probably run halves with Pitt himfelf. 
 So rapid a rife in the funds, on the flender profpect 
 of peace, fhewed how very little the Britifh were 
 by this time difpofed or indeed enabled for a war 
 with America. " I confider all thofe war arguments 
 * that have been made ufe of," faid Mr. Chriftie, 
 1 as nothing more than the old ftory of raw-head- 
 u and-bloody-bones, much fitter to be ufed by an 
 * c old woman to quiet a crofs child, than to convince 
 c any of the enlightened members of this houfe of 
 * the propriety of this meafure*." 
 
 Events have fince proved that the dread of war 
 was a mere chimera, as the public credit of England 
 
 * Bached Debates, vo?,ii. p. 351* 
 
UNITED STATES, 99 
 
 had become too feeble to fupport fuch a fhock. 
 But, independent of that, and admitting our legi- 
 iators to have been, as many of them were, very 
 fhamefully ignorant of the ftate of Englifh finance, 
 ftill America had another firing to her bow that 
 would have reduced Britain to any reafonablc 
 terms. The Weft-India Royal Gazette, of the jth 
 of October, 1794, con tains a memorial to Henry 
 Dundas from the Weft-Indian planters and mer- 
 chants. They ftate, at much length, how impoflible 
 it is for them to fublift unlefs by iupplies of pro- 
 vifions from this country. Hence an embargo on 
 exportation wpuld have reduced them directly to 
 famine. There is not room here to infert the 
 whole memorial, though every line of it well de- 
 ferves attention ; but the following paffages will 
 fliew how filly it w r as in members of Congrefs to 
 ftand up and make fpeeches about the danger of 
 an attack from England in the fhape of open w r ar, 
 " The Britifh Weft-India iflands," fays the me- 
 morial, " containing about five hundred thoufand 
 " black, and about fifty thoufand white inhabi- 
 " tants, have been for many years, greatly depen- 
 4C dant for food upon a fupply of flour, rice, Indi- 
 " an corn, oatmeal, bread, and other articles of 
 46 dry provifions, received by a fpeedy channel, 
 a and in quantities proportionate to their want, 
 44 from the countries now under the fbvereignty of 
 " the United States of America ; by no internal re- 
 <c fource can they render themfelves independent of 
 u fuch ajttppfy) excepting by a total change of their 
 c agricultural fyftem, at the expence of their com-r 
 c merce and revenue of the mother country; and 
 c experience dearly bought, on fuch occafions, has- 
 44 now fufficiently evinced, that, by no other external 
 c channel^ can fuch a fupply, adequate to their 
 4C wants, and fuited to the emergency of circuta- 
 " fiances, be obtained," 
 
loo HISTORY OF THE 
 
 With fuch a document flarhig in his face, ho%V 
 eould a reprefentive pretend to lay that he was 
 afraid of Britain declaring hoftilities ? Or how 
 could two-thirds of the people in this country fall 
 into fo foolifh a tremor on that head ? It argues very 
 little either for the found information, or the good 
 fenfe of our citizens. The American alarm did 
 not begin till eighteen months after the elate of this 
 memorial, till the Britifh minifter had begun to 
 forge bills, and till the bank of England was with- 
 in a year of its diflblution. 
 
 4t Beficles the important articles of food, timber 
 <c for the purpofe of building their houfes and 
 < manufactories, and fiaves and heading, of which 
 <c to form packages for their produce : horfes and 
 cc other cattle for agricultural ufes (the indilpenfi- 
 * c hie vehicles of thofe benefits which Great Britain 
 * c derives from theie iilands) cannot, in many cafes, 
 cc be obtained at all ; and in no cafe, on .reafona- 
 " ble and advantageous terms, excepting by an 
 <c intercourfe with the United States of America" 
 The whole paper goes on the fame principles, 
 that the Britiih Weil-Indies are abfolutely at the- 
 mercy of the United States. 
 
 cc The Britifh colonies of Canada, Nova-Scotia, 
 <c and St. John, inftead of fupplying the Weft-In- 
 c dia iflands with timber and provifions, have, upon 
 :c a fair experience, been found, nearly at all times, 
 :c to confume their own productions of thefe arti- 
 cc cles ; and, upon fbme occafions, even to need a 
 cc . fupply from their neighbours of the United 
 " States." 
 
 The contents of this memorial are fo pleafing as 
 well as important, that one could wifh to have it 
 framed in glafs, and hung up in every farmer's kitch- 
 en in the country, as an invincible antidote againfl the 
 return of the federal mania of April and May, 1796, 
 
UNITED 
 
 Every ftep of investigation difcovers more clearly 
 the utter ignorance*, negligence, or corruption oi 
 his excellency John Jay. This envoy might have dic- 
 tated his own terms about the Welt-India trade, 
 yet it was in this very quarter that he contented to 
 a itipulation which even the capacious gulp oi our 
 Senate could not, or durfl not, f\v allow. By the 
 twelfth article, we were not to keep the Eritiih 
 iflands from flarving by freighting any vefiels larger 
 than Jeve?ify tons I 
 
 " Many obstacles ftand in the way of the Weft- 
 ft India colonies, obtaining lumber and provifions 
 " from Great-Britain, or any other country in Eu- 
 14 rope ; more particularly the precarious circum- 
 " fiances of fuch a fupply ; its diftance in. time of 
 " emergency, and the perifhable nature of the ar- 
 *' tides of food, which forbids a provifion of large 
 " {lores Jfrom a reiburce To remote ; and even were 
 " it practicable for the colonies to exift under a de~ 
 " pendanceof the necefTaries of life and cultivation., 
 " upon means fo uncertain, yet the enormous ex- 
 " pence of thofe means, particularly in refpect to 
 " lumber, muft prevent their cultivating their lands 
 " to any beneficial purpoie either to themfelves, in 
 ** the firft inftance, or finally to Great Britain. 
 
 " The Britifh colonies have found, in an inter- 
 ** courfe with the United States, a market for their 
 " Superfluous produce beyond the European con- 
 " fumption, and particularly for the article of rum j 
 " for which, at different times, the European market 
 " vvould not afford the coft of package and tran- 
 M port/' 
 
 Thus far we have about one-fourth part of the 
 memorial. We now plainly fee that the more iflands 
 which England conquered in the Weft-Indies, the 
 inore me was dependant on this country, for their 
 means of fubfiftence ? for timber to build lioufes, 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 for {laves and heading, as likewife for taking off & 
 
 great part of the Well-Indian productions that 
 
 would not bear the expence of being conveyed to 
 
 Europe. The planters and merchants proceed to 
 
 complain heavily of the mode of interconrle then 
 
 permitted between the continent and the iflands. 
 
 It is difficult to do juftice to their ideas but in their 
 
 own words. Here follows part of what they fay. 
 
 cc Since the reparation of the United States from 
 
 c Great Britain, their intercourle with our iilands 
 
 having been reftri&ed to Britifh veffels only, the 
 
 c price of lumber and provifions at the Weft-India 
 
 :t markets, under the moft favourable circumftan- 
 
 c ces of peace and regular fupply, has aiifen from 
 
 cc fifty to an hundred per cent." 
 
 This, by the way, (hews the tyrannical fpirit of 
 the Britiih government, and how every other part 
 of the empire is facrificed to the plan of aggrandi- 
 zing the mother country. The memorial goes on 
 in thefe words. 
 
 *' The intercourfe, while confined to Britifh ve- 
 " fels, has, for various reafons, been principally 
 " carried on by a direcl trade between the iflanda 
 " and the United States, in veffels constructed and 
 " fitted for the purpofe, which muft evidently have 
 " the advantage over veifels employed in the circu- 
 " itous trade from Great-Britain ; as the 1 aft could 
 " not be at once proper for the tranfport of lumber 
 44 from America to the iilands, and for that of pro- 
 * B dace from the iflancls of Great Britain ; nor afford 
 * f means of barter in rum and molaffes, nor be navi- 
 " gated on equally advantageous terms with thofe 
 ** finaller veffels, nor equally fuit their expedition 
 *' to the wants of the iflands and to the ft ate of 
 *' markets, 
 
 " Upon the breaking out of a war with France^ 
 " thefe fmall and defeiicelefs veffels have either 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 ** fallen a prey to the enemy, or been employed in 
 "other trades; and this cannot be accounted a 
 " circumftance accidental, or that admits of future 
 " remedy ; fince the nature of the intercourfe iu 
 " queibion forbids an eftablifhment of regular con- 
 " voys to and from all the iflands at fuch times as 
 " may be faited to their wants ; and the imnienfc 
 " expenceof outfit, Teamen's wages, and infurance, 
 " difcourage adventure in a trade attended with 
 " fuch imminent rifk, and which, if a fupply by 
 " fuch means were even poffible, muftfwelltheex- 
 " pence beyond thofe bounds which the cultivators 
 " in thofe iflands can poflibly fupport," 
 
 There is next flated the frequent and invincible 
 necejjity which the governors of the Weft-India 
 iflands find of opening their ports to American vefiels 
 to prevent inftant ftarvation ; and yet provifions 
 and other articles of immmcdiate necejjity are fome- 
 times fold at three hundred per cent, beyond the 
 average price. For this, and other reafons above 
 dated, they folicit a more extended intercourfe 
 with America. They reprefent the impoffibility 
 of providing food from their lands, and the pecu- 
 liar diflrefs under which they labour during the 
 prefent war. cc Under fuch difadvantages aperfeve- 
 xc ranee in the prefent fyflem of their intercourie 
 * w with America muftform an accumulation of bur- 
 c den, which will entirely preclude a fair competi- 
 <c tion with their rivals in cultivation, will flimu- 
 ' late and alTift the progrefs of cultivation in the 
 c Dutch and Spani/li fettlements, and immediate- 
 c ly tend to the diftrefs and .ruin of the inhabitants 
 c of the Britifh Weft-India colonies, and of the 
 ' numerous claffes of their fellow fubjecls in Great 
 c Britain and Ireland connected with and depen- 
 " dant upon them." 
 
 The memorial alfo reprefents the good policy 
 
I0 4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of encouraging America to peifevere in her agri- 
 cultural fyitem, and expreffes fears that the de- 
 preffion of her intercourfe with the iflands may have 
 a tendency of driving her to manufactures. They 
 add, cc our fyftem of exclufive poffeinonof thofc be- 
 * c neats has been found, in times of emergency, 
 cc impracticable, and the participation which, at 
 cc fuch times, we have granted to America, has 
 :c had neither the merit of a conceffion with that 
 tc country, nor the advantage of effectual relief to 
 <fi ourfelves." 
 
 It is neectlefs to feek farther evidence of the Rri- 
 tifh Weil-Indies exiiling wholely at our good will ; 
 and how highly England values that part of her ac* 
 qnifltions appears from her folicitude to extend them , 
 
 In the debate, in parliament, about the beginning 
 of 1796, on the bill for abolishing the flave-trade, 
 in the Houfe of Commons, Mr. Dim das ftated the 
 imports from the Rritifh Weft-Indies, in 1795, to ^ c 
 as fallows: eight millions eight hundred tiioufand 
 pounds fterling ; revenue arifing on this amount, 
 one million fix hundred and twenty-four thoufand ; 
 fhipping employed in that trade, fix hundred and 
 fixty-four vefTels ; tonnage, one hundred and fifty- 
 three thoufand ; feamen eight thoufand ; exports 
 from Great-Britain, .to the Weft-Indies, in 1794, 
 three millions feven hundred and forty thoufand 
 pounds, employing feven hundred ve/Iels ; tonnage,, 
 one hundred and ieventy-feven thoufand; feamen > 
 twelve thoufand ; produce of the iilands imported 
 to Britain and re-exported, three millions feven hun- 
 dred thoufand pounds. 
 
 On the loth, of February, 1797, Mr, Parker, 
 when defending the plan of building American fri- 
 gates, obferved that, flncethe beginning of the war, 
 not a (ingle Britiih Well-India fleet had been home- 
 ward bound which theie fix frigates were not flrong 
 
UNITED STATES. 105* 
 
 enough to have taken. Such was the known track 
 of the trade-winds that they were obliged to corqe 
 'within Jeven days Jailing of this coaft. The French 
 were in the fame condition, fo that we might have 
 been as formidable to either of thefe powers as Al- 
 giers is. 
 
 The flopping of this enormous trade muft have 
 ruined the credit of Britain. She would not, there- 
 fore, have been hafty in declaring war againfl the 
 country, after the dreadful campaign of 1794. ^ n 
 the lothof February of that year, Dorcheftei had, in- 
 deed, made an addrefs to the Indians, wherein he fta- 
 tedthepoflibility of a war, in the courieof the year, 
 between England and the United States. But this 
 was, mod likely, a mere decoy for our executive. 
 On the 26th of May following, Grenville and Dun- 
 das denied, in Parliament, any knowledge of tl,is 
 performance. They certainly lied, for they refu- 
 fed to produce a copy of Dorchefter's iniiruclious ; 
 and, as Fox obferved in reply, his lordfl ip was not 
 a perlbn who would hazard iuch aconducl without 
 proper authority. This difavowal by Dundas and 
 Grenviile (hews that they were afraid to acknow- 
 ledge thefpeech; and that a rupture with the Uni- 
 ted States would have been regarded in the old 
 country with univerfal reprobation. Grenvi'fleeven 
 pretended to deny the pofiibility of fiich a harangue 
 having ever been delivered. What an impoitor ! 
 But this agrees very well with the forgery of Boyci's 
 Hamburg bills*. 
 
 Camillus, No. v. overlooks every circumftance 
 f this kind that fhews how much Pitt would have 
 
 * The fatellites of the minifter have about as much honour and 
 honefty as himfelf. The Telegraph of the 3oth of March, 179?, re- 
 lates, that, on a late trial at Thetford, it came out that a membef of 
 Parliament pocke.ed three hundred pounds ilerling a > ear for frank* 
 ing letters to a banking-houfe, 
 
 P 
 
I0 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 been afraid of an American war. He trie$ to play 
 upon our prudence and oar fears. When {peaking 
 of the claim for negroes carried away by UK Bri~ 
 tifh from New-York, at the end of the late war, 
 he lays tfc no coiiiideration of honour forbid (/0r- 
 44 bade} the renunciation; e.very calculation of in- 
 44 tereit invited to it. The evils of war for one 
 <l month would outweigh the advantage, if, at the 
 * 4 end of it, there was a certainty of attainment. 
 * 4 But was war the alternative I Yes, war or di- 
 ic grace. If nothing had reiulted [from Jay's 
 *' voyogr, he means,] was there any clioice but re- 
 *' prifals? Should we not have rendered ourfelves 
 * 4 ridiculous and contemptible in the eyes of the 
 *' whole world by forbearing them ?"' 
 
 The neceiiity thatCamillus defcribes did not ex- 
 Ift; though we have loft leis by a fhabby flate of 
 peace, than we muft- have done by a fuccefsful war 
 But wifdom would h?ve chofen a middle courfe. 
 Jay iijight have addreifed Grenville In terms like 
 theie. " You have wronged the United States in a 
 4C variety of fliapes- Your offers of redreis are eva- 
 * 4 five or infolent. We (hall not declare war againft 
 C you. There is a (horter and a cheaper way* 
 C America has no treaty of commerce with Eng- 
 ** land. She cannot be accufed of breaking any, 
 * 4 by flopping the exportation of proviiionsto your 
 44 Weft-India iflands. We know that your fifty 
 64 thoufand whites, and five hundred thoufand blacksi 
 gc cannot find bread, or pork for their dinners, or 
 4C timber to build their houles, or Haves for their 
 44 cafks, or even hories or cattle, but by fending 
 44 for them to .our continent. Eefides large quan- 
 <4 tities of their rum, we alfo take feveral produc- 
 * 4 tions that. will not bear the expence of a con- 
 *' veyance to Europe, This market they will for- 
 ^ feit, .and ninety days of an embargo in our ports 
 
-UNITED STATES, 
 
 44 will make them die of hunger as faft as your 
 14 vi'fHips' eta the glacis of Tanjore*. We (hall 
 44 farther give notice to France that, for ready mo- 
 cc ney, (he may get whatever fupplies Pne can want? 
 4C on exporting them in h?r own bottoms. If you 
 44 waptonlv proclaim hoftilities agsinft us, we fhall 
 44 followthe maxim of the Celtic chief, neither tojeek 
 * 4 the battle, nor fliuu it when it comes j". Twenty 
 44 thoufand of our militia, would, in a few weeks, 
 44 drive your handful of regulars out of Canada, and 
 4C you could not, at prefent, ipare a fleet or an army 
 "to recover it. We fhould thus put an end to 
 4C Indian wars, by tearing up the root from whence 
 " they fpring. After driving Vtftor Hughes out 
 44 -of Gnadaloupe, you might burn fome of our 
 ic towns on, the fea coaft, as you did in the laft war* 
 4C But then we fhall infallibly deilroy your nine 
 * c millions fterling per annum of imports from the 
 4C Weft-Indies, and the iixteen hundred thoufand 
 <c pounds of revenue derived from them. This 
 14 would be a mortal ftroke to your finances, and 
 " fo take your choice." 
 
 In No xv. Camillus treats of the compenfstion 
 afforded by the feventh article of .Jay's treaty for 
 Britifh piracies on American commerce. Since the 
 apoplexy of Britith paper the word compenfation 
 founds like mockery. But Camillus would have 
 it believed that Pitt neverintended the cbnnTcation 
 of our vefTels. u Thefe terms, legal adjudication^ 
 46 were certainly not equivalent, upon any rational 
 u conftrucl:ion, to condemnation. Yet the Britifk 
 44 Weft-India courts of admiralty appear tohave ge- 
 4 nerally acled upon thetermas fynonimous to con- 
 44 demnation. TheBritifli cabinet have difavowed 
 l4 this conftruction of th(? Well-India courts j and 
 
 * See Barke oa the creditors of the nabob f -Aro** 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 lc have, as we have feen, by a fpecial aft of 
 a ference, opened a door,"&c. 
 
 Tue flile of Mr. Hamilton is fo prolhc, he has 
 fuch (kill at beating out his guinea into an acre of 
 gold leaf *, that it is inconvenient to quote him at 
 full length. But he means to have it underftood, 
 that the Weft-India judges acted againft the under- 
 ftanding and wifhes of Pitt. The letter muft have 
 been a very great blockhead, if he could not write 
 a dozen intelligible lines, efpecially on a fubject of 
 fuch inimenfe importance,. But every man, Camil- 
 lus and the tories excepted, can fee at once the bot- 
 tom of the ftory. The object was to feize Ame- 
 rican (hipping for the treble purpofe of enriching 
 the Engli.'h, of humbling America, and diilreiling 
 France. Yet the orders were to be drawn in a (huf- 
 iling form, that Pitt, if he (hould afterwards find it 
 advifeable to difown them, as he did Dorchefter's 
 inftructions, might have a chink to creep through. 
 We may be fure that judges, .and officers of the na- 
 vy, afted from a perfect acquaintance with Pitt's re- 
 al intention ; and, when colonel Hamilton tries to 
 perfnade us of the contrary, it is only adding infult 
 to robbery. When the object had been attained, 
 It was very eafy for Pitt to deny his orders. In a fu- 
 ture chapter (hall be inferted a regular hiftory of 
 the whole of thefe inftructions. A fecond fet was 
 publifhed by the cabinet of London on the 8th of 
 January, 1794. They were very little better than 
 the firit. A former edition, jufl about as bad, had 
 been iilued on the 8th of June, 1793, under which 
 alfo fome bucaneering was committed. Thus the 
 court of London acted upon a fyftem, and it was 
 very wrong in Camillus to caft the blame on the 
 judges in the Weft-Indies. As for the above deer 
 
 * This can really be done. 
 
UNITED STATES. to? 
 
 that has been opened, it cofts two hundred and fifty 
 pounds fterling to get in. Divine juftice never dif~ 
 played itfelf more iplendidly than bythechafHfement 
 of Britifh pride. Since the florming of the Baf- 
 tile, the mofl aufpicious event in the annals of Eu- 
 rope is the fall of the bank of England. 
 
 Among the inflammatory topics of the federal 
 party, no one has had a more powerful effect than 
 the attempt of Genet to involve this country in 
 hoflilities with England. The force of the objec- 
 tion (hall be admitted ; but any other envoy, fitua- 
 ted like Genet, would have rejoiced in fecuringthe 
 alliance of America. This was the very part which 
 Dr. Franklin afted at the court of France ; and 
 the ultimate confequences of his million overturn- 
 ed the French monarchy. Nothing, therefore, can 
 be more impenetrably ftupid than to advance, as 
 Mr. Hamilton and his hacks conftantly do, this de~ 
 fign of involving us in an Englifli war, as a charge 
 of peculiar atrocity againft Genet and the republic* 
 This was the very path formerly purfued by the 
 United States; and it would, under fimilar circum- 
 fiances, have been attempted by any nation or any 
 ambaiTador under heaven. This identical trap had 
 been laid by the old Congrefs arid Franklin for the 
 French cabinet, fo that it was perfectly natural for 
 France to endeavour at obtaining a retaliation. 
 While Genet mud be condemned, Mr. Hammond 
 was equally culpable. His perfidious and infolent 
 propofal to Mr. Randolph, previous to the ratifi- 
 tion of Jay's treaty*, was more affronting to the 
 executive feelings, if any fuch feelings exiftecl, 
 than the moft frantic menaces uttered by Ge- 
 net. A compliance by General Wafhington would 
 have cafl him completely into the lee-way of the 
 
 * American Annual Regifter, chap, viii. 
 
its HtSTdRY OF THE 
 
 Briti Hi ambafTsdor* The poffeffion of fnch a fecret 
 have been of inmerie value to the Britifh 
 ".et. It wo fid have been a nidder by which 
 oar executive muft have fleered wherever Ham- 
 mond chofe to lead him ; for its difcovery was 
 fare to have interred even the popularity of Wafh- 
 ington. If tills difgraceful project had tome from 
 Genet, the Gazette of the United States would have 
 played a weekly tune upon that fiddle to the end 
 :is century. But, originating with Pitt, not a 
 fingle word will be heard about it from the fede- 
 ral preffes. 
 
 Mr. Washington has made an uncommon parade 
 about the impartiality of his conduft- between 
 France and England* As the former faved him from 
 the chance of afcending a gibbet, to which he had 
 been defined by the Parliament of Britain, he ran-* 
 iiot derive much honour from an utter oblivion df 
 his political obligations. But the fad- is, that he 
 lias preferred Britain to France. This will appear 
 from what follows. 
 
 In 1793, when Genet came here, he was dire$> 
 cd, by his i nil rucl ions, to open negotiations for a 
 commercial treaty. They direct him to tell the 
 American government that the executive council 
 <c are inclined to extend the latitude of the propo- 
 cc fed commercial treaty." Another idea was to 
 break op the colonial and monopolizing iyllems of 
 all nations, and emancipate the new world. Camil- 
 lus. No. xxiv. calls the latter a madjcheme and apo- 
 litical ckh'i.tr a Thefe expreifions betray Mr. Ha- 
 milton's general call of thinking. His feelings are 
 fo perfeftly Britiih, and monarchical, that it leems 
 inconceivable how he ever came to fight, as he did, 
 for the American revolution. Mexico and Braiil 
 u.fl as well entitled to freedom as New- York 
 andPennfylvania. Their emancipation would bs 
 
UNITED STATES. ill 
 
 an immenfe benefit both to the inhabitants of thofc 
 countries themielves, and to mankind at large. So 
 far from being chimerical, the event is provable* ; 
 and it would thrill with joy the heart of every man 
 who is not completely petrified againll the pleaiure 
 of feeing his fellow creatures happy, In the laft 
 age, Camillas would have defended the divine 
 right of kings. In England, he would vindicate the 
 Guinea trade, as in America he fighs over the me- 
 mory of the Baitile ; while John Jay, and Kufus 
 King, and Jedidiah Morfe, and the whole priefthood 
 of Connecticut, heave refponfive notes of forrowt. 
 Were thefe regions of the new world independent, 
 a rapid influx of the precious metals would pour 
 into this country ; and Mr. Hamilton's bank of the 
 United States might then be able, upon a month's 
 warning, to give hard dollars for one-fortieth part 
 of the notes which it hath in circulation. So far 
 from fuch an emancipation being chimerical, it is 
 next to certain of taking place. If the French do 
 not atchieve this great event, the tide of federal 
 population, rolling well ward, will begin it in lels 
 than a century. 
 
 Returning to Prcfldent Wadiingtoja and Genet, 
 we obferye that the former refufed to enter into 
 any treaty, becaufe the Senate were not fitting at 
 the time when the French envoy made the propo- 
 
 * The French had actually prepared a reanifefto intituled, Let Fraiz~ 
 faife Libra le leurs fr?res de U LouisiANE. In one place they fay, 
 " Le defpotifme Efpagnol a furpafle en atrocite, en ilupidite tous 
 *' les defpotifms connus." [Spaniih defpotifra exceeds all others in 
 atrocity and ftupidity.] * Ce government qui a rendu le nom Ef- 
 " pagnol execrable fur tout le continent de I'Ameriquc.". [This go- 
 vernment, which has rendered the Spaniih name execrable over the 
 u hole continent of America, &c, j Such orators would foon have 
 found an audience. 
 
 f The reverend doclor has a pulpit at Charleftown, in Maflachu- 
 fetts. A mob in that place burnt the Britifli treaty. Their paftor, 
 hearing what was going on, bxfted into the ftreet to prevent them, 
 He prefently returned to hi* houfs with a black eve. 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fal. Yet, in the following fpring, wl#le the Senate 
 were in feilion, and without ever once consulting 
 them, did this identical George Wafhington take 
 John Jay from the bench of the Supreme Court of 
 this country, and fend him to England, whfre, as 
 we all know, he made a treaty. It was impoffible 
 for the French to avoid being affronted at fuch du- 
 plicity. They could no longer put trufl in a man 
 capable of fuch naked inconilitency. Here is infer- 
 ted evidence of the fact. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the 
 
 " Senate. 1 HAVE 
 
 U TKOrGHT PROPER TO 
 
 u NOMINATE JOHN JAY, 
 u as envoy extraorclina^ 
 " ry from the United 
 " States to his Britannic 
 " majdtyt." 
 
 ct The Senate being 
 " then in recefs, and not 
 <c to meet again till the 
 " fall, I apprifed Mr. 
 u Genet, that the parti- 
 cc cipation, in matters of 
 ic treaty, given by the 
 " conftitution to that 
 cc branch of our govern- 
 <c ment, would, of 
 
 c courfe, delay any de- 
 cc finitive anfwer to his 
 
 4 friendly proportion. 
 cc As he was fenfible of 
 
 c this circumftance, the 
 <l matter has been utider- 
 cc flood to lie over, till 
 
 c the meeting of theSe- 
 " nate. The Prefident 
 
 c will meet them (the 
 c< executive of France), 
 a as foon as he can do it 
 cc in the forms of the con- 
 " ftitution*." 
 
 * Sec a letter from Mr. Jefferfon, then Secretary f Sttte> to Mr, 
 Morris, dated Auguft 23, 1793* in The Prejident's M^Jfage % &c. C* 
 rey's edition, p. 88. 
 
 t Journals of Congrefs, April 16, 1794, 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 The Preficlent's metfage is of considerable length, 
 but the few words above quoted contain its eiTence. 
 In the left hand column he fays, that he cannot en- 
 ter into any negociation for a treaty till the meet- 
 ing of the Senate. No words can be plainer or 
 flronger than thofe vtfhich he employs. The oppofite 
 column fpeaks an oppofite language. It is ungene- 
 rous to triumph over the ruins of declining fame, 
 Upon this account, not a word more (hall be laid 
 about the matter. The bare circumftances fuper- 
 cede any attempt either to exaggerate or demon- 
 flrate. Nothing but the neceffity of explanation 
 could have, at ail, brought the fubjecl forward. 
 
 While this meet was going to prefs, (i6th May, 
 179/0 Prefident Adams has delivered a fpeech at the 
 opening of the firft feflion of the fifth Congreis. 
 He fays Niat ct the conduct of the government has 
 * c been juft and IMPARTIAL to foreign nations." 
 With refpecl: to France, what has been above cited 
 refutes the afTertion. The fpeech confifts entirely 
 of a complaint againft the republic. It forms a kind 
 of poftfcript to Pickering's letter to Pinckney. Not 
 a word efcapes the Prefident about Britilh piracy, 
 which continues to expand in full bloflbm. The ve-* 
 ry day before this fpeech was pronounced, the Phi- 
 ladelphia Gazette contained a curious example of 
 the relative amity of France and England. The 
 French had carried about fixteen American veffels 
 into Jean Rabel. The Britifli cut out thefe yeflels, 
 and it was expected that they would be fent to Ja- 
 maica for trial. There can be no doubt of their 
 being tried fomewhere ; and the chance is, that 
 moft, if not the whole, of them will be confifcated. 
 
 When Mr. Munroe, had his farewell audience of 
 the executive directory, Barras glanced with con- 
 tempt at the Britifli treaty, and the Britifli intereft 
 fey which it had been brought about. Mr 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 has muttered up this into an alarming infnlt againft 
 our country, and an attempt to fow domeftic dif- 
 fenfion. He reprobates fuch a flyle in the bittereft 
 terms, as " ftudioufly marked with indignities to-. 
 " wards the government of the United States. It 
 " evinces a difpofition to fepsrate the people of the 
 6S United States from the government ; to petluade 
 ct them that they have different affections, princi- 
 *' pies, and interefts, from thole of their fellow- 
 " citizens, and thus to produce diviflons fatal to 
 " our peace.' 7 
 
 This ipeech does not come within the period af- 
 (igned to theprefent volume ; but it forms a branch 
 of the plan already explained for provoking a 
 French war. A cafe exactly fimilar to this of Bar- 
 ras and Munroe happened, fome years ago, be- 
 tween lord Grenville and Thomas Pinckney. The 
 former mentioned to the latter, in the moft overbea- 
 ring manner, the influence of a jacobin faclion in 
 America. Choifeul or Neckar would not have up- 
 braided an Englifh envoy with the riots excited by 
 John Wilkes or George Gordon. If the American 
 executive of 1793, ^ ac ^ ^ e ^ even the moft glim- 
 mering fpark of national dignity, the infult would 
 liave been refented. If Pinckney himfelf had been 
 penetrable by reproach, he would have cut Gren- 
 ville fliort. " My lord," he might have faid, cc Eng- 
 "land has many jacobins, Scotland has perhaps a 
 " fHll larger proportion^ and the number is hourly 
 *' augmenting. The Irifh are a jacobin nation. They 
 " are as ripe for a revolution, as a peach ever was 
 ft for dropping. Confine your folicitude to them, 
 M and leave us to get rid, .as quietly as we can, of 
 -*' your corr.efpondent^ Alexander Hamilton, and 
 ( * his funding cancer of fix per cent." 
 
 Mr- Pinckney pocketed the ftigma. He fent 
 laome the precious notice of a jacobin faction in 
 
UNITED STATESv 
 America. The executive, proud of fuch a corro^ 
 boration to his own doctrine, fent it to Congrefs ; 
 and the letter was read to the Houfe of Pveprefen- 
 tatives without one' murmur of difdain. That 
 Pinckney mould have endured fuch mockery was 
 bad. That General Wafhington mould have tran 
 ferred the indignity to his own moulders, without 
 any muttering, was a great dealworfe. The abject 
 filence of the reprefentatives, when the paper was 
 read, betrayed an equal extinction of any formida- 
 ble fpirit. 
 
 Barras could not have wiflied for a better prece- 
 dent in his ipeech to Munroe. The etiquette of 
 federal degradation had beeneflablifhed at London, 
 It had been approved by tiie Prefident andCongrefs, 
 Barras, with a thoufand reaibns for reientrnent, 
 while Grenville had not one, was highly exeufable 
 for giving us a repetition of the dofe. 
 
 The Prefident affects to brittle up at the mention 
 of American parties. He knows that there are fuch y 
 and an allufion to them was not Separating the peo- 
 ple from the government. The Britifh treaty was 
 iqueezed through the Senate by a party of twenty 
 againfl a party of ten ; and two of the former, oa 
 account of their perfonal characters, would hardly 
 be admitted as evidences in a court of juftice*. In 
 the Houfe of Reprefentatives the treaty efcaped by 
 a flngle vote. Every fecond number of Camillus 
 reprefents America as full of defperate incendiaries, 
 
 * Extraft from the journals of the Kentucky legiflature, Novem- 
 ber 21, 179 j. On motion, refolved, that a committee ought to 
 " be appointed to draught a memorial to Congrefs, fetting fortlj 
 " that HUMPHREY MARSHALL, one of our Senators from thii 
 " (late, has been publicly charged with bemg guilty of perjury > and 
 " requefting that an inveftigation may be made on the fubjeft, and 
 * that, if the fad be fufficiently proved, he ought to be expellcdt 
 " from the Senate. And a committee was appointed," &c, 
 
 Of Mr. Gunn, fom aotice hath already been taken* 
 
ii<5 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The Gazette of the United States is an egg hatched 
 tinder the very wing of the Senate. It pi educes a 
 conln-i dr^am of FnVeftive againft the republic, 
 and againil every man in this country who has ap- 
 proved of the French revolution. On the part of 
 Barras the farcafm was perfectly fair. We had no 
 right or pretence to complain about it. 
 
 The Honfe of Reprefentatives have fet out with 
 a direct breach of one of their {landing rules. 
 This is that "'in ALL cafes where others than mem- 
 cc bers of the houfe are eligible, there fhall be a 
 u previous nomination.'* 
 
 The propriety of adopting this rule will be 
 happily illtiftrated by a recent circumflance, which 
 occurred within the walls of that houfe. In the 
 d feTion of the third Congrefs, Mr. Sedgwick 
 prefented a petition from a perlbn who warded to be 
 appointed as their fliort hand writer. It was after- 
 wards known that this man* had, fornetime before^ 
 been publicly tried at Baltimore, and baniflied, as 
 a receiver of ftolen goods. Had a ftenographer 
 been, at that time, chofen by ballot, Mr. Sedgwick 
 might have probably brought himfelf into the dilem- 
 ma of voting for this hone/7 candidate. Such an 
 inftance has, to be ftire, nothing to do with the 
 fuccefsful candidate in the election here referred to ; 
 but it (hews what may fall within the chapter of po 
 Abilities. 
 
 Mr. Giles urged the juftice of naming the candi- 
 dates beforehand, that gentleman might have an 
 opportunity of balancing, in their own minds, the; 
 merit of each. This looked like fairnels. The 
 propofal was refitted by Dr. William Smith of 
 South-Carolina. That ftate hath, in the fifth Con- 
 grefs, lent two members of the fame name and 
 
 * David Hogan, editor of the State-Trials of Pennfyhania* 
 
UNITED STATES. 117 
 
 furname. The one here meant is the writer of 
 PHOCION'S letters. This is the man who tlifpatch- 
 ed pilot boats, while Congreis met at ISfew-York, to 
 Charlefton. The object of this maritime embafTy 
 was to buy up continental certificates. They were 
 obtained at eighteen pence or half a crown per pound. 
 They were then funded by the doctor at twenty 
 (hillings. By a ipecial act of Congrefs, to which he 
 gave his vote, an hundred and twenty or an hundred 
 and fifty thoufand dollars of his precious commo- 
 dity were transferred from the public flocks into 
 the (lock of the bank of the United States. There 
 the Doctor draws eight per cent* of intereflfor the 
 nominal amount of a fum of which the principal 
 originally coft him but ten per cent. In plainer 
 words, he advanced as it were ten dollars to i'erve 
 his country, and, by various fteps, he now draws 
 an yearly intereft for them, at the moderate rate of 
 eight dollars. A nation cannot help flourifhing, 
 when under the atifpices of fuch a difinterefted le- 
 giilator. 
 
 The point in view, by the breach of the above Han- 
 ding rule, was, to remove Mr. John Beckley from 
 his office as Clerk of Congrefs, an office which he has 
 held ever fince theoperation of the new government- 
 There was not a member in the houfe, who could, 
 even in the fmalleft degree, impeach his of- 
 ficial conduct. This made it neceffary to exclude 
 him by a filent vote. The motion was, carried by 
 forty-one voices again ft forty. Mr. Beckley may 
 now, like Sully, find leifure to write an hiftory of 
 the abominations to which he has been a witnefs* 
 His talents are equal to the tafk, and he cannot rei> 
 der America a more important fervice. 
 
 From what has been faid about the fale of cer- 
 tificates, it is not inferred that every purchafer of 
 at an inferior price, acted clifhoneftly. No 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 '. 
 
 certainty exifted of their being funded by the new 
 government., and much lefs of their being funded 
 at the full nominal value. It was a lottery where- 
 of no one could tell the proportion/of prizes. The 
 blame in fpeculating refted entirely with thole mem- 
 bers of Congrefs who bought up the certificates at 
 a cheap rate, with the view of thereafter voting 
 for their being funded at the full price ; or who 
 gave fuch a vote with an eye to fubfequent pur- 
 chafes. Amongother defects of the new government^ 
 one was that the Houfe of Reprefentatives confilled 
 pnly of fixty-five members. This number was too 
 Imall, and twenty, joined together, by the facred 
 bond of paper-jobbing, were next to certain of car- 
 rying any point about which they were anxious. 
 
 On the id of January, 1790, this domeftie debt 
 amounted, in principal and intereft, to forty milli- 
 ons, two hundred and fifty-fix thoufand dollars*- 
 A majority of each houie voted for funding the 
 whole mafs at its nominal value. How many mil- 
 lions belonged to themfelves cannot be afcertained 
 until the arrival of that day, which is to difclofe 
 all human fecrets. Thus did the nation fuffer a do* 
 zen or perhaps thirty {peculators to fit as judges 
 upon their own job. 
 
 A member of Congrefs might, on this occafion, 
 be very fitly compared to an attorney whom you 
 lend into court to make the beft compofition that 
 be can with your jufl creditors. They had heard 
 of your being partly infolvent, and offer to tran- 
 Fer their claims for an eighth part of their nominal 
 amount. It is the bufinefs of your agent to take 
 advantage of this junclure ; inftead of which he 
 clandeftinely buys up all thofe debts againffc you-> 
 at the reduced price, for which his funds afford 
 
 * Gallatin, p. 96. 
 
UNITED STATES. 119 
 
 him ability. To 0-elter himfelf in a croud, he en- 
 courages other adventurers to buy up all the re- 
 maing debts againfl you in the fame way. He theia 
 comes forward, in name of himfelf and his a 
 fociates, and compels you to give a mortgage for 
 forty millions of dollars, when he could, in reali- 
 ty, have rid you of the whole fum for five milli- 
 ons. You would not think that fuch an attorney 
 had difcharged his truft with fidelity. You never 
 would employ him again. It is even poflible that he 
 might be turned out of his profeffion. Within the 
 lafl twenty years, Mr. Alexander M'Kenzie, an at- 
 torney at Edinburgh, was employed to fell an e- 
 tate. At the time and place publicly appointed, 
 no purchafer appeared, and Mr. M'Kenzie bought 
 it up in his own name. Several of his brethren, 
 men above being fufpefted of collnfion, attended 
 the whole tranfaction, and gave evidence that they 
 had no jealoufy of unfair dealing. Thq price it- 
 felf, though alledged to be fbmewhatlow, was not 
 much under the mark. Yet the Court of Seffion 
 declared that no factor could buy and fell at the 
 fame time. They reverfed the bargain, and the 
 houfe of peers confirmed their decree. But, if 
 Mr. M'Kenzie had been directed to buy an eftate 
 at its market price of two thoufand five hundred 
 pounds, and if he had firft procured it for himfelf, 
 and thereafter forced his client to pay twenty thou^ 
 fand pounds for it*, his gown would have been 
 torn from his fhoulders. The firft glance from 
 the bench would have announced the annihilation 
 of his fcheme. 
 
 Of the above forty millions of dollars, a fmall 
 part was funded at only three per cent, though witk 
 
 ' This proportion of one to eight is laid down by Mr. Gallatin 
 as the medium difference between the market price> and the fu$ 
 at which the certificates were funded. 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the profpeet of certain advantages, necdlefs here to 
 be explained, which were fuppofed to place it 
 on a level in value with the remainder of the debt. 
 Another part, though but a {mall one, was funded 
 In name of original creditors, the men with pal- 
 lies and rheum atifms caug'at on board of the Old 
 Jerfey, with wooden legs and weather-beaten faces, 
 whofe very looks are dilguftingto 2 friend of order, 
 Thefe heroes promoted an American revolution, 
 when we were fifty times lefs heavily taxed than 
 any other fubjects of the Britifh crown. They 
 began a rebellion when its expence, for a finglc 
 week, exceeded the value of all the taxes that Eng- 
 land had either got or allied for the preceding 
 twenty years. HUNG tu Romane caveto. After 
 fuch doings, they are unfit to be trui'led under any 
 government. 
 
 For the fake of round numbers, and to be con- 
 fiderably under the fact, ftippofe that only twenty 
 four millions of dollars, out of the above forty, had 
 been funded in the name of purchafers at half a 
 crown per pound. The intereft, at fix per cent, 
 comes to fourteen hundred and forty thoufand dol- 
 lars per annum. If this fum had remained in the 
 pockets of thofe who pay it, we (hould have been 
 faved from many of the burdenfoine taxes which 
 are fo heavy on the inhabitants of the lea-port 
 towns ; and more or lefs fo upon every part of the 
 country. Again, thole traders or manufacturers, 
 who pay fuch taxes, muft always acid more than the 
 net addition, to indemnify thenifelves for the trou- 
 ble which attends it, as well as for the advance of 
 money '*. The enormous dearth of labour mufh 
 partly be deduced from this caufe, and it produces, 
 in an hundred different ways, inconvenience and 
 
 * This circumfiance has been fully explained, and proved in Th 
 Political Pwgrefs of Britain* 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 fcackvv'ardnefe to all forts of bnfmefs. The ex- 
 pence of collecting or borrowing the money forms 
 alfo a ferious item ; and all thefe together, make 
 a real lofs to the public, by thefe twenty- four mil- 
 lions of dollars, not merely of fourteen hundred 
 and forty thoufand dollars, but of at leaft three 
 millions. This equals the whole principal fum 
 that the buyers of the twenty-four millions advan- 
 ced. Thus nominally we pay about fifty per cent, 
 but in reality, at the lowed, an hundred per cent* 
 of intereft for the fum truly given before hand. 
 
 The common body of creditors muft have been 
 very glad to fee fix millions of dollars This would 
 have doubled their principal and made a very fnug 
 adventure. Judging by the ftatute of limitations, 
 and other defperate leaps of congreiTional economy, 
 we may be perfectly fure that other creditors would 
 not have got one flxpeneemore than they really ad- 
 vanced, if it had not been to ferve as a fcreen for 
 the full gratification of Camillus and his myrmi- 
 dons. They have ever fince been conftantly ha- 
 ranguing the public about confpiracies. The great eft 
 rogue always turns king's ivitncjs, fays the proverb. 
 Nothing, fince the new conftitution, has, within an 
 hundred degrees, as much the appearance of a con- 
 fpiracy as this certificate bufmefs, unlefs, perhaps, 
 the uproar which forced Congrefs to ratify the Bri- 
 tifli treaty. 
 
 This was the dawning fcene of that government 
 whofe wifdom and virtue have refounded through 
 the four quarters of the globe. The annals of an- 
 cient or modern finance record not a more deform- 
 ed tranfaftion. In the black luxuriance of Roman 
 rapine, a more pregnant field never exercifed the 
 ferocious contempt of Claudian, or the majefUcfe- 
 verity of Juvenal. If imperial Rome could boaft 
 f her Sejanus, and Byzantium of her Rufinus, the 
 
 R 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the future hiflorian of federal glory, may brighten 
 the tints of his canvas, and refrefh the verdure of 
 his laurel, by the congenial names of Hamilton * 
 and of Smith. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Briti/h piracies en ^American /hipping in 1796. Cafe 
 ofthefchooner John . Of Capt. Samuel Green , 
 Briti/h privateers built in the United States. 
 Skirntifh in Port Jeremie bet-ween the Americans 
 and Capt. Reynolds. Impreffments by the Severn , 
 the Hermoine, and the Regulus. Twelve j4meri- 
 cans -whipt. Cafe of the brig Fanny. Of the fliip 
 f Bacchus. 'The Swallow. The Paragon . The 
 Voluptas. The Lydia.The Hannah. Fray at 
 Liverpool ; androut of aprejs-gang. The Friend- 
 fnip. The Ocean* Letter from Samuel Bayard. 
 The brig Polly. Vigilance of the American fo- 
 rtes. The Hannah of Baltimore. The f hip Dt- 
 ana, of New-York. The fhipP oily, Capt am Mayo. 
 
 MR. BACHE has compiled two volumes of 
 fpeeches on Jay's treaty, which were made 
 in the Houfe of Keprefentatives of Congrefs, in 
 fpring, 1796. It would have been a fervice of ftill 
 more confequence to this country, if he had re- 
 printed a collection of the various narratives of 
 Britlfh piracy on American veflels in the Weft-In- 
 dies. This monument of bucanneering might have 
 ferved as an ufeful curb to national vanity, and 
 have taught us, if not quite incurable on that fide, 
 
 * Excife kas gone down in other countries > and it SHALL go donvn in 
 this. Thefe were the words of Cannllus, then Secretary of the 
 Treafury, to Mr, Ifaac Jones, of Philadelphia, when confulted about 
 thefnuffaa. 
 
UNITED STATES. 123 
 
 to apprehend the meannefs of our prefent maritime 
 condition. The devaluation has been going on, with 
 different degrees of violence, flnce the fummer of 
 1793. A. complete account of thefe piracies would 
 very far exceed our prefent limits. A few exam- 
 ples are here felecled from the mafs ; and begin- 
 ning with the early part of the year 1796 ; feveral 
 mifcellaneous anecdotes and obfervations being oc- 
 cafionally interfperied. 
 
 A Salem newipaper, of March 8th, mentions the 
 arrival of the fchooner John, captain Philip Saun- 
 ders, from Jamaica. While he lay there, an Eng- 
 lifh officer and five men, from a (loop of war, came 
 on board to imprefs his crew. Only one of them 
 happened to be on board, befides the mate and a 
 boy. The reft were on (bore on bufinefs. The gang 
 took the failor. On being told that he was an Ame- 
 rican, they replied that they knew this, but wanted 
 men, and would have them, whatever might be die 
 confequence. Captain Saunclers went on board of 
 the floop of war, to reclaim hisfeaman. The com- 
 mander told him to go back to his own veffel, make 
 out his account of the wages due to the hand, and 
 fend them and his clothes to the floop. In afe of 
 non-compliance, he was threatened with a flogging* 
 Whether he obeyed this order, we are not told. 
 The reft of the crew were fecreted on (bore by the 
 captain, for ten days, till the {loop of war failed, as 
 her declared defign was to imprefs the whole. Du- 
 ring this time, the fchooner lay expofed to the 
 weather, as well as the infults of the floop of war, 
 without any perfon to take care of her, except the 
 captain, his mate, and the boy. The (loop's crew 
 confifted of eighty-fevenmen. Of thefe, thirty-five 
 were faid to be Americans, who had been impreffed 
 in the Weft-Indies. Such, at the diftance of twenty 
 months, was the fu.cc.efs of Jay's 'appeal to themag-- 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 nammity of George Guelph, and of his kitting the 
 hand of u the meat, drink, fnuff, and diamond- 
 <c loving dame." Captain Satinders further inform- 
 ed, that veral veffels belonging to the fouthern 
 ffcates, were lying at Jamaica, when he left it, with- 
 out feamen to navigate them home. The crews had 
 been imprefTed. 
 
 The fame pofl brought an article from the Mi- 
 nerva, which is in admirable unifon with the pre- 
 ceding narrative. An entertainment had been given, 
 a few months before, at Amfterdam, where, a the 
 c portrait of our beloved WaChington, was exhi- 
 <c ted -as the chief decoration of the room." Wcb- 
 fber then gives a long rhapfocly, pronounced by 
 fome Dutchman, on the Pref'dent, " As a Cato in 
 c council 5 a Caefar in the field ; a Hercules in the 
 c political tempeft 5 the fcourge and admiration of 
 <c proud Aloion ; Columbia's bulwark," Sec. Sec. 
 Mynheer fhould rather have faid the jotting-block of 
 proud Albion, from which (lie vaulted into the fad- 
 die of lea-robbery ; for now, fince the mountain 
 of compenfation hath been happily brought to bed 
 of its moufe, all parties muft, in their hearts, agree, 
 that, from the day when Jefferfon left his office*, 
 our BritiOi concerns could not have been more 
 wretchedly managed than they adhially have been. 
 If Hercules had permitted Cacus to keep his fiolen 
 oxen, the infertion of his name would have been 
 
 more intelligible. As for Cxfar and Cato but ife 
 
 is needlefs to tread upon imbecility. 
 
 Early, as it feems, in the year 1796, captain Sa- 
 muel Green made a voyage from Norfolk, in Virgi- 
 nia, to Martini co. He had the command of a fafi> 
 failing fchooner, of three hundred barrels burden, 
 and carried a cargo for the Britifh at that iflandK. 
 
 i ft of January, 1 794.0. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 On his arrival, the confignee (hewed him a bill of 
 fale of the velfel, and told him, that he was no 
 longer m after, becaufe the fchooner was bough]: for 
 the Britifh government, and to be fitted out as a 
 privateer. If captain Green choie to remain on 
 board, he was told that he might have employment. 
 This offer he refufed. Several of the failors were 
 imprefjed by the Britiffi. Others were enticed to en- 
 ter as volunteers in the different (hips. This was 
 the treament which other American crews, in the 
 fame trade, met with as well as his. Thefe priva- 
 teers, when thus fitted out, were to intercept our 
 Shipping in their way to the Weft-Indies. Thus the 
 United States furnifhed privateers and feamen for 
 the deftru&ion of their own commerce. This is 
 one proof, among many, of the indifference of 
 fome American owners to the perfonal iafety of 
 their failors. Captain Green arrived from Marti- 
 nico at Baltimore, about the i^th of March, 1796. 
 Ke related the above particulars to Colonel Low- 
 ry of that town, who gave them for publication 
 to the author. Put the cafe, that a merchant of 
 Liverpool were to freight a vefTel for Calais or Pe- 
 terfburg, with the previous but concealed certain- 
 ty before him, that the fhip was to be fold, the 
 captain turned adrift without warning, and the 
 crew to be feduced or prefTed into the Ruffian or 
 the French fervice. The attefted recital of fuch 
 a fad would make the owner completely odious to 
 the public. But, in this country, a feries of fuch 
 tranfaftions does not excite the fmalleft emotion, 
 or even attention. About twenty-five years ago, 
 an Engliih failor at Dantzic, was entrapped by a 
 recruiting party, belonging to the late king of Pru- 
 iia. The man got a letter conveyed to England, 
 and though Frederic pofTefFed, in all its vigour, 
 faculty of retention, yet he found it jjgcdfary 
 
| 2 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 to give Jack his freedom. The ftory was printed 
 In the Englifh newfpapers, and became, for a fhort 
 time, a topic of converfation. Compare this fen- 
 fibility to national rights, with the felfifh American 
 apathy, and fay which of the two countries has the 
 greateft appearance of being enlightened. 
 
 A newfpaper of this city, of the i5th of March, 
 1796, contained a narrative fubfcribed by Jacob 
 Peterfon, mailer of the (loop Polly, of Philadelphia. 
 He fays that, on the 29th of January, a?p6, he ar- 
 rived at cape Nicola Mole, where he had fcarcely 
 caft anchor, when the Syren, a Britifh fixty-four, 
 prefFed one of his beft feamen. On the 31(1, he 
 failed for Jercmie. While he remained in that 
 port, about nine o'clock in the evening, of the 9th 
 of February, captain Reynolds, of the Harriot, a 
 Britifh armed (hip in government fervice, manned 
 his boat and prefTed fever al American feamen from 
 different (hips in the harbour. He began with the 
 ihip Carolina, of Baltimore, captain Lufher. 
 
 Next day, Reynolds, when on fhore, fwore that 
 he would that night make a fweep among the Ame- 
 ricans. The latter, hearing of this threat, afiem- 
 bled them! elves into two veffels that lay in the har- 
 bour, one of them the brig Richard and James of 
 Philadelphia, and the other the fchooner Eliza of 
 Baltimore. About nine o'clock in the evening, a 
 boat full of armed men was obferved coming from 
 the Harriot towards the Eliza. She was hailed and 
 enjoined to keep her -diftance. Reynolds caufed 
 his men to fire. This was returned ; and, after 
 fometime, the boat went off. She came back with 
 a frefh fupply of men, and again found it prudent 
 to retire. The people in the Eliza then went on 
 board of the Richard and James. Reynolds went 
 on fhore, obtained a reinforcemt, and came back 
 to a third aflault. Finding the Eliza deferted he 
 
UNITED STATES. 127 
 
 gave up the, attempt. In this conteft, the Britifh 
 faid that they had Seventeen men killed or woun- 
 ded. The Americans had one killed, and one 
 wounded. 
 
 The above account, as to what happened at port 
 Jeremie, was almofl immediately confirmed by the 
 arrival of captain Webb, of the brig Nymph. Cap- 
 tain Webb added, that the Americans had prefented 
 a petition to the commandant at Jeremie, admiral 
 Murray, for the recovery of their impreffed men, 
 and fatisfaftion for the behaviour of Reynolds* 
 Murray anfwered, that he had given no orders for 
 the imprefs, and that he would ufe his influence to 
 get the men reftored ; but, when captain Webb left 
 Jeremie, there was no appearance of that taking 
 place. The anfwer of Murray was mere mockery. 
 Reynolds durfl not have fired a piftol againft the 
 real inclination of the admiral. A Britifh officer, 
 in the river Thames, durft no more imprefs a fear- 
 man without orders, than he durft fet fire to the 
 city. For the bare lofs of fo many men, indepen- 
 dent of other circumftances, he would have been 
 called to a moft fevere account, even at Jeremie, 
 unlefs he had a&ed by exprefs orders, or conniv- 
 ance. 
 
 On this affair, Webfter has a curious para- 
 graph*. In fpite of his Britim penfion, it was ne- 
 cefTary to fave appearances, by faying fomething 
 about it. Accordingly he obferves, that, " hereto- 
 " fore, this villainous bufinefs has been juftified 
 c under the pretence, that the men were Britifti 
 ;c fubjefts, and indeed this has often been the f aft; 
 ' but thefe lawleis fellows now openly, #nd avow- 
 " edly take Americans/' The heretofore infinuates 
 an untruth ; becaufe, from the beginning^ multi- 
 
 * Minerva, March 17, 1796. 
 
I 2 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tudes of Americans were taken withput any fuck 
 pretence. C As the admiral/' fays Webfter, " did 
 " not juftify him (Reynolds) it is poffible the inful- 
 a ted Americans may obtain redreis, and we pre- 
 " fume [and what is your reafon for that pre/i&top* 
 " tion?~\, all imprelTments are made without- orders 
 " from the Brit if h government." [1 he beft and 
 only rcdrejs will be, when the French mall burn 
 Plymouth and Dover.] cc Their ccnduft is now> 
 " if po Tible, aggravated, as it is a direft violation 
 ct of the treaty ;" which, to England, is of equal 
 concern with the violation of a pancake. As for 
 acting without orders, that is the conftant fham. 
 Dorchefter was faidto act 'without orders , when, on 
 the loth of February, 1794, he made his famous 
 or infamous fpeech to the favages. Simcoe, un~ 
 doubtedly, afted alfo 'without arders, when he fent 
 a body of BritiQi regulars and Detroit militia, to 
 aflifc the Indians in affaulting fort Recovery. The 
 *ank and file, with their faces blacked, and fhc 
 three Britifh officers drcfled in fcarlet, who kept at 
 a dillance, in the rear, arid directed the motions of 
 the Putawatimes, were certainly acling likewifc 
 'without orders. Nay farther, Henry Knox, late Se- 
 cretary at War, did infallibly act 'without order r, 
 when he refufed to give the newfprinters a copy 
 of the long and important letter from Wayne, gi- 
 ving evidence of thefe facts*. 
 
 * This is not a hearfay. Not more than a fixth part of the let- 
 ter could be obtained. The late Mr. Andrew Brown, was in the 
 "War-Office, trying to get a full tranfcript for the Philadelphia Ga- 
 zette, and both he and others met with a refufal. They received, 
 befides a lif; of the killed and uounded, or.ly fome fcraps which 
 make up a paragraph of about thirty lines. Nothing was fuffered 
 to tranfpire in the public prints that could place the behaviour of 
 Simcoe in a proper light. 
 
 But, on the 2ift of November, 1794, it was thought proper to 
 lead this difpatch to Congrefs, with fomc depofuions that had like- 
 
UNITED STATES. 129 
 
 On the i jth of March, 1796, Mr. Samuel Smith, 
 prcfented to the Houie. of Representatives a pro- 
 teft taken by captain John Green, of a Baltimore 
 brig, trading to the Weft-Indies. He depofed that, 
 when he was at capeNichola Mole, he was on boa? d 
 a fc ho oner from Virginia, where he law two of the 
 crew, native Americans, imprefTed by 'the officers 
 of the Britifh ihip Severn. O,e of the m~n was af- 
 terwards returned as unfit for duty. The comman- 
 der of the Severn faid, that he aorized, by 
 the late treaty, to tc."- #mcn wl igt pi p- 
 tections from the Uiuttfd States.. In faying thi 
 paid a compliment to Jay's treaty which it t 
 merit. All feamen, whether \vltli protect I-;-: s cr 
 without them, are alike unnoticed by tha 
 On -prefenting this prat-eft, s.;i Jnfijgaificant 
 cnfued in the home. The question wan, wit. 
 it fhould be referred to the felect committee on 
 American feamen, or to the Secretary at "War, thst 
 the President -might make fuitable reprefentations 
 to the Britifli government. It was remitted to 
 the committee. Congrels might as well have deli- 
 berated, whetheir the protefl fnou.ld be call under 
 the table, or into the fire. 
 
 wife been kept fecret. The latter flic wed. in the ftron^eft light, t'-.e 
 extreme averfion of the Indians to fight Wayne, and the artifices of 
 the Britifli to make them do fo. A perfor. who overheard the p.i- 
 'pers read, obtained, a considerable time after, perrniilion to copy 
 them from the repofitories of Congrefs. ' So late as May, 1 796, they 
 were fuccefilvely printed in the Maryland Journal, the Aurora, and 
 the Argus. Mr. M'HPenry, now Secretary at War beinpj greatly 
 furprifed at their appearance, wrote a letter to one of thefe prin.'c-rs, 
 intreating toknow which of his clerks in the war-office had betrayed 
 oHicial confidence ; and afiuring the printer, that if he would ^ive 
 up the nam? of this correfpondeat* //'v mads ofdifcwery fionld be can- 
 cccJsd. Such is the minute vigilance of the American cabinet ! sod 
 'fo culpable it is to let the people become acquainted with their own, 
 T)ufine$! In'reply, the Secretary was aiTured of the entire inr.p- 
 xrcnce of all his clerks, and sdvi'iVd to proceed with his i 
 
j 3 o HISTORY OF THE 
 
 The Philadelphia newfpaners of the i8th of 
 ch, related that captain IVPKeever, of the orig 
 ?oie, failed from Port-au-Friiice, on the 
 25TU uary, preceding The captain faid that 
 
 while he lay there, the Hermione frigate preyed, 
 fi>> ,) tiiiie to time, a vafl number of American fea- 
 uv:. a ii oat of different veflels. On a moderate cal- 
 culation, tiu-i-t/r.rds cf his crew lucre Americans. 
 
 The "'.!? ul us, another frigate, preiled all hands 
 of fill nations indifcriminatcly, who could not pro- 
 duce protections. Thole who rtvV,'Vd to do duty 
 werewhipt. Four dsys before cspt. M'Keever left 
 Fori-aa-Prince, twelve American feamen were re- 
 .1 on fhore from 'the Ilegulus, nfter receiving 
 {ever::! la-^es for having utterly ref:icd to do duty 
 or be her. The reft of the irnprei^edmen, in 
 
 thcie two frigates, had found it prudert to comply 
 \1?ith ,s was the treatment of 
 
 o"r ie^mi^n :hs after ^be Hgning- of Jay's 
 
 onrrrefs began to debate, on the 
 ty of^cceprtrangitj 
 
 -REMARKS from t-.<s bri* Fmmy's kv-bcok, William S-ivtx- 
 :;, mqfter, f^oTn the Wt/r- Indies^ arrived at N^ui-York^ 
 
 21,'t cf March, 1796. 
 
 .';i "L iiurviay, janu:ijv 28, 1796, at five P. M. was 
 ^boarded off St. "George's" bay, Grenada, by the Zebra's 
 ^ bcmt (a Britilh lleop t>f war), vvlio irriprtiicd oneofthepeo- 
 4f - oK\ Jc'hn Burt, being born in the United Siate-s, and having 
 u a r ^ti'ar prc-tcclion. I accordingly made application to the 
 ct coii.uKindiriii; ofHcer, in ij.xp.-xLition of getting him clear, but 
 u to none effect ; their ai^V/cr vVdS, ilgy wanted men and mitfl 
 u I/true them. 
 
 u On Monday, February oth, ?ttwop. M. was boarded by 
 u the Mermaid's bo;it, a -,\ \vho imprefTLd one of 
 
 4t the IT; en (he not being: a ISritilh fubjedt), and over'iauled us 
 " very ilriclly on fufpicion of rry having iailors ftovvc-d away. 
 is Tirat fair it- night I went on board to folicit for my rnajri. 
 " After cbtiimiuiiqating to th.c captain my errand, he told nic 
 i( i^e v/as ccitaia 1 !ud men ftov/ed away, and he would kud 
 
* UNITED STATES. 131 
 
 " his boat on board, and overhaul us from krel to pjunv,:! : 
 " after giving me much abufive langur.jre, f.iid 'fciwul 
 " w, <W *// / ,7// o ^rk Accordingly, the Mermaid's 
 " boat came on board with a great many hands, hove the lor,^; 
 " boat out of the chocks, hoifted up twenty-two barrels of Ix-cf, 
 " rru,ved p?.rt of the ballaft, and, as the faying is, turned r'verjr 
 " thing- upfide down. They went on board, fir ft bejflgcon^ 
 " vinced I had no people flowed away. I fhortly after v, vat 
 " on board the Mermaid to fee if they would (end the boat arid 
 " crew on board to flow the cargo in its proper place, as 
 " no people 10 doit, and put the boat in the chocks, & 
 after diftrefling me all they could, with ; < . '. -.-, 
 
 " I w..is told they ted uo t ;e with me, and hi - :ny 
 
 " buiiaeis, and gt: people . 1r re I c;)uid. 
 
 u Shortly afi> r I nuv got or. ': >ard my vclTjl. I >tte, 
 
 "captain 'Viiliams, aBrititli iloop of t;- k gun' , feni 
 " on board, who overhauled ur, &c. O;i i' 1 9th, at meri- 
 " dian, with much difnc-iky weighed anchor, and made Hi, 
 " as I could get no redrefs, and no probability o; getti g h idlS. 
 
 " Shortly after was brought too by a *hot ho ri th$ al ove 
 "flbop, and afrer we hove the fails to the ma; r- tight 
 
 u too, fhe fired no lefs than half a dozen nutlet i'h r. a.< v.J 
 "right at us; but providentially we recciv o no hunnjm 
 " them, though I heard the whiule of feveral of t'-se bill;?. 
 
 u After we had laid fome time, they f rtt b >at on hoard, 
 " who rummaged and overhauled ; but fed tig they could find 
 " nothing, they returned onboard. 
 
 " On Thurfday, the nth, at nine A. M. faw 3 floop to the 
 C 5 leeward, v/hich fliortly knew to be the fame floop, that had 
 " boarded us tv/o days before, in St. George's bay. 
 
 " When file came within a league of us Ihe fired, and con- 
 <e tinued to do fo, as long as the guns would bear, {lie reaching 
 " one way and we the other. When (he got into our wake (he 
 " tacked but did not come up with us untk two P. M. when we 
 " tacked, and file fetched and brought us too with anoth.r mot. 
 " I received a great deal of abufive language from the captain 
 u without giving any reafons. 
 
 He curfed and damned the Americans and faid they were 
 " their greateft enemies. He faid he had fired twel ve fhot ?.t us, 
 " that I fhould pay two dollars for the firft, and double for 
 " every one after : however, I not being willing to comply 
 with this unreafonable requeft, and feeing he had no -bufinefs 
 to have fired at us, as be had bgarded us the day before, and 
 
jo 2 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 41 ;s hedi:!not think fit to fend his boat on board, he differed 
 u us to'i'jt fail. 
 
 "This is a flier t fpccimcn of the ufage we meet with from 
 * c the Britifii cyuizef s in the Weft-Indies, All which I can 
 u attcil to; and much more if required. 
 
 WILLIAM SWINBURN." 
 
 28th of March, 1796,1116 (hip Bacchus, 
 rgc, arrived at Philadelphia. On the 
 sola he was boarded by the Thetis, a Britiih fri- 
 he j-.rciled his mate and cabin boy, en a 
 
 . ion of iheir being Britiih fuhjects. The boy 
 was an indented apprentice. 
 
 As it iy proper to do judiceto all parties, it may 
 here be noticed that, at this time, captain Burnet, 
 oi the Brig George, arrived at Philadelphia from 
 Kingit'on, and brought a ccmpiairjt of the French 
 privateers. Ke faicl that feveral of them were 
 cruiftng off Jamaica, v;ben he left 'it. They were 
 very tronl lefonie to American vefTels, fcmetimes 
 plundering thera of their fca ilores, and otherwife 
 behaving ( with the greateft Snfolence. No farther 
 
 iculars are fpecified ; and this is the firft com- 
 ; France, or at moil the iecond, which 
 
 as yet occurred in collecting materials for the 
 
 nt llimmary of piracies. At the fame time 
 icvenil articles of Britifh rapine have been omitted 
 for want of room. So contrafted at that period 
 \vas the conduct ofthefetwo nations to this country. 
 A ; ian at Kingflon in Jamaica, in a letter 
 
 to the printers of the Maryland ^Journal, dated the 
 syth cf February 1796, gave the following par- 
 ticulars. The Argonaut man of war of fixty-four 
 guns, had, a few days before, Cent into Kingflon, 
 tvv'o American veffels. The one was the fchooner 
 -v allow, captain Stubbs, from Cape Francois to 
 Ik-icon. Her cargo conllfted of cotton and coffee, 
 with fix thoufand dollars in fpecie. The whole 
 
UNITED STATES. 133 
 
 property belonged to Mr. Trifdale of Bofton. "1 be 
 other vefTel was the ichooner Paragon of Norfolk, 
 laden with coiFee, and owned by Mr. Moles Myers 
 of that town. In June, 1794, coffee coft in re- 
 tail, at Philadelphia, about a /hilling per pound. 
 
 In June, 1795, ^ na< ^ S ot U P to oiie Billing and 
 four-'pence. By November, 1/96, if wot iooner, 
 it rofe to two (hillings and four pence. The pira- 
 cies juft now ftated, which are only part of hun- 
 dreds of the fame kind, explain, very fully, the 
 caiUe of this alteration. The writer of the above 
 letter added that both vefTels were libelled, and 
 that indeed none need expect to cjcapc that- fate , 
 whatever might be the final verdicY about them. 
 The very delay, difappointment, and rife of infu> 
 ranee, in confequence of fuch alarms, impofe a 
 ruinous tax on the owners, while, in the mean time, 
 the lailors were frequently preffed. Sometimes 
 they were fweptoff by the yellow lever ; and car- 
 goes of a perifhable nature were often deftroy- 
 ed while the fhip waited for a decifion. 
 
 The fame letter adds that the fchooner Volnp- 
 tas, Jonathan Hall, mailer, of Baltimore, had been 
 fent into Kingfton, by the Severn of forty-four 
 guns. She had on board a valuable cargo of cof- 
 fee and cotton, and part of an outward bound 
 freight of provifions, with a large fum of money. 
 The fhpercargo^ Kir. Duncan, was going from 
 Gonaives to the Matform, to purchafe coffee to 
 load the floop for Baltimore. The pretence for 
 fending in the Voluptas was, that fhe carried pro- 
 vifions for an enemy's port. At this time, the 
 captain of the Severn had kept Mr. Duncan a pri- 
 foner for fifty-two days, and threatened to try 
 him, as a Britifh fubjecl, for high treafon ; al- 
 though he had with him a certificate of his being 
 an American citizen. 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Captain Hall, and Mr. Duncan had been f: t 
 prifbners from cape Nichola Mole to : art 1 
 on board the Lark man of war. On tl 
 fage, they -were put upon two-thirds of ti.r 
 feamen's allowance of fait beef and bread. 
 
 . ;n j the letter doss not fay which, ;.; 
 to Hrsp in the next birth to the lieutenant, ,1 w -us 
 watch and money llolen out of his pocket. It v, as 
 their opinion that the Severn had defigned to _(.,.a 
 the ichooner to the bottom, for me run io near as 
 to carry away their bowfprit. 
 
 - A few days before the writing of this letter, the 
 fhip Lydia, Robert Blount, wifter, ft on- l'ort- 
 mouth in New-Hampihire, had arrived at Kirgf-.on. 
 About four leagues to windward of Port-Royal, he 
 had been boar-Jed by the Fvegul-is. She took away 
 his mate, and four men. They were all natives 
 of Portfinouth, married, and had regular protec- 
 tions. Before taking them on board, the Bi itifh 
 captain fent his furgeon into the Lyclia, to examine 
 the men, and fee if they were in good > .ealth. 1 he 
 Regulus had prefTed above fifty feamen, went to 
 Port-au-Prince, and from thence to England ; fo 
 that when the Portfinouth fciilors were to fee their 
 families, or whether they v ere ever to iee them 
 at all, was extremely doubtful. 
 
 The fame cor refpon dent gives an account of the 
 conduct of a French privateer to an An: . ru an b< "g 
 which, on the I4th ofFebruary, had con, e in'coKiiigf- 
 ton. This privateer had taken the Bntifh Cuip Barzil- 
 lai, captainBlackburn, which left Kingfton on the 3d 
 ofFebruary, and was taken on the yth, in light of 
 Port Royal*. The French put Blackburn, with 
 
 * " But the misfortune is, that men will oppofe imagination to 
 c< faft. Though we fee Great Britain predominant on the/ocean, 
 ** though we obferve her pertinaxfaxjfy nfifling the idea o 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 his whole private property, on board of the brig. 
 In his trunk were two bags of. money ; the plate 
 of die ihip's cabin ; and two bills of exchange to the 
 amount in v/liole of eight hunched pounds. The 
 Frenchman rud tnat he difaaintdto t:,ke any thing 
 from a .prifoner, and willed him a good voyage to 
 Ki iofton. From the brig: this jacobin took a bar- 
 rel oi ? beef, and paid fifteen dollars for it. Thus 
 far the letter to the printers of the Maryland Jour- 
 nal. 
 
 A Philadelphia print of the 26th of March, 1796, 
 contained JAH extract of a letter dated March 2d, 
 from Bermuda. The writer mentions that the 
 fhip Hannah, captain Hoare, from Philadelphia 
 to France, was, on the 241!! of February, taken by 
 the Lynx iloop of war. She ftript the Hannah of 
 her whole crew, excepting- the mate, the cook, 
 and the cabin boy, and fent her into Bermuda. 
 Moil of the hands impreiFed had prcteclions. The 
 captain of the Lynx had ipoke, on the day before, 
 with the Roebuck of Philadelphia, andfaid that he 
 was prevented from taking her by a violent gale of 
 wind. 
 
 An article dated Salem, the 22d of March, gives 
 what is called verbal information by captain Blacker. 
 Part of it is in fubftance as follows : 
 
 On the night of the 22d of January, 1796, the 
 preis gang at Liverpool crimped an American fea- 
 irjan, having previouily ferved feveral others in the 
 fame way. Two hundred and fifty American Tailors 
 afTembled, went to the houfe of rendezvous of the 
 gang, and refcued their companion. -They placed 
 the officersjof the imprefsinthc centre of the room, 
 obliged the?ti to uncover, arid give three cheers to 
 
 " with France, &<*." Camillus, No. v. A valuable predominancy, 
 when her veffels were captured in fight of her own ports, and almoft 
 in fight of her {hips of war! 
 
13 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the United States. On the 27th, another American 
 was imprefTed. His countrymen again affembled, 
 refcued the man, killed one of the gang, threw ano- 
 ther into the dock, where he was drowned, and fe- 
 verely beat the remainder, who lied. 
 
 On the -2-d of February, the American captains 
 were called before the mayor and magistrates of 
 Liverpool. They were admonifhed to keep their 
 crews in order. They made an anfwer which mufl 
 have occurred to any body excepting a member of 
 Congrefs vindicating appropriations for the Britifh, 
 treaty. The account adds that, from thence for- 
 ward, the Americans were unmolePced. 
 
 About the 291!! of March, 1796, the (hip Friend- 
 jfhip, captain Atkins, arrived at Norfolk. The cap- 
 tain faidthat, within the capes of Chefapeake, he was 
 boarded by a boat from the Thetis, captain Coch- 
 ran, which preOed a man who had been naturalized 
 for ten years paft. As the Chefapeake is within 
 the territory of the United States, the Britifh might 
 as decently have taken him from the ftreets of Phi- 
 ladelphia. A letter from New- York to a merchant in 
 Philadelphia, dated the 2d of April, informed that 
 his fliip, the Ocean, captain Vredenburgh, had been 
 taken on the gift ult. and lent into Halifax by La- 
 Prevoyance, a Britim frigate. The whole crew, 
 at the time of writing the letter, were detained on 
 board of the frigate, except the matter, the firft mate 
 and a boy. The Ocean was from Havre-de-Grace, 
 and the frigate took her, noi far from the Highlands, 
 with a pilot on board. The Argus, of April 4th, fays, 
 that before (he was difmhTed for Halifax, " feveral 
 u paffengers were mod gracioudy permitted to jump 
 <c into the long boat, and come up to 'Slew-York. " 
 When captain Vredenburgh remonflrated, the Bri- 
 tim captain told him that this conduct was juflified 
 by Jay's treaty. Th e Minerva fays that the Ocean 
 
UNITED STATES. 137 
 
 was taken three days before (he made land. But the 
 Conecticut goddefs of wifdom is ^diftinguifhed for 
 want of veracity*. It is at lead very uncommon 
 to take in a pilot, at fuch a diftance from fhore ; 
 and it is agreed that the Ocean had one. While 
 the Britifh were thus plundering American fhip- 
 ping, Mr. Pickering received a letter from Mr. 
 Samuel Bayard, dated London, 29th of December, 
 1795. T' ne following extract appeared, on the 
 3 1 it of March, 1796, in the Philadelphia Gazette. 
 
 " In the courfe of this next month, the Judge 
 <e of the Admiralty has authorized us to expedb an 
 " order for the reftitntion of the vefTels and car- 
 " goes feized and fold by fir J. Jar vis and fir 
 ''Charles Grey, at Martinico, St. Lucia, and Gua- 
 ic daloupe. 
 
 ct In the court of appeals, alfo, two illegal fen- 
 " tences of the Vice- Admiralty Courts, in the Weft- 
 " Indies, have lately been annulled, and the con- 
 ct duel of the judges feverely ceniured by the lords 
 " commi'fioners of appeals. 7 ' 
 
 This intelligence, as if worth a perufal, was 
 communicated by Mr. Pickering to the committee 
 of merchants in this city, appointed to fuperintend 
 the bufmefs of indemnification. Nothing but the 
 blindnefs of ioterefted hope, could have drawn any 
 comfort from fuch an account. The attainment 
 of an objeft is at a very indefinite diftance when 
 the parties are only authorized to expett. The an- 
 nulling of two piracies, out of five or fix hundred, 
 was merely cafting a tub to the whale. As for the 
 cenfure beftowed on the Weft-Indian judges, how 
 much it was in earneft, and how much it was re- 
 fpefted, appears from their perfifting, at that very 
 moment, to proceed in the fame track. There 
 
 * Webfter is a native of that (late, 
 T 
 
ig8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 could not be a more palpable delufion, though in- 
 deed the thinnefs of the difguife almofl precludes 
 it from that name. The Britiih had been plunder- 
 American merchantmen for aim oft three years. 
 A treaty, which was to Hop ev r ery proceeding of 
 the-kind, had been ratified eight months before. 
 Yet ftill piracy and inipreiTmcnt went on at full 
 Vigour. But when we confider the uncommonly 
 petrified ideas of many merchants in the fea- ports 
 of America, nothing but. the mod fnivellingtimiclity 
 could be looked for. In fummer, 1793, Britifh 
 effrontery declared the French republic in a Jlate 
 cf/iege; and, under that pretence, confifcated Ame- 
 rican veflTels freighted for any French port with 
 provflons, as if France and her colonies had only 
 been fome fortified town with an area of a fquare 
 mile. At that crifis, merchants of eminence in this 
 city were to be found who vindicated that enormous 
 robbery. If, in a fimilar fltuation, any citizen cf 
 London had harboured fuch feelings, the certainty 
 of public abhorrence would at leaft have forced him 
 to hold his tongue. When captain Barney, about 
 time, made a voyage to the Weft-Indies, and 
 declared his determination, if attacked, of giving 
 battle to the fucceifors of Blackbeard, the tory par- 
 ty in Philadelphia were violent in his condemnation, 
 A report having reached the continent, that the 
 Engiifh at Jamaica had refolved to hang him it was} 
 fpiemnly pronounced, in this city, to be perfectly 
 right ; and that he was an incendiary who wanted 
 to embroil the two countries. It was to be expec- 
 ted that fuch people would abominate the American 
 Annual Regifler as the veriefl catch-penny that ever 
 'was publifbed, the mere tittle tattle of jacobhiijm* . 
 They are welcome to feel no excitement except that 
 
 * See Gazette of the United States. 
 
UNITED STATES. 139 
 
 of difguft at any thing it contains ; for, if it had 
 met with their approbation, it would have com- 
 pletely difgufted its author, and that clais of people 
 whom he is chiefly defirous of pleating. It cannot 
 efcape obfervation that the abo</e notice from Bay- 
 3rd contains not one lyllable about the impreflinent 
 of failors. This blank in Jay's treaty, and Bayard's 
 commiflion, may be compared to the capitulation of 
 a general, who, without a (ingle ftipulation about 
 protecting the lick and wounded men of his army, 
 thinks of nothing but the fecurity and free depar- 
 ture of his baggage. 
 
 Captain Paulding, of the brig Polly, in a letter 
 to his owners, at New-York, from Curracoa, dafed 
 March gd, fays, that he had been fent into Grenada, 
 by the Favourite (loop of war, after (he had taken 
 from him all his hands, with failing orders, letters, 
 invoices, and bills of lading. He was detained for 
 fome weeks. At lenth he had orders to depart, 
 but could not recover his papers. His cargo was, 
 he fays, confiderably damaged by his detention. He 
 does not tell whether he got back any of his men, 
 which is very unlikely, or by what means he work- 
 ed the vefTel to Curracoa. 
 
 The Marylandjournal, ofthe 1 3th of April, 1797, 
 has an extraft of a letter from an American feaniaii 
 dated Spithead, December 26th, I795S on board 
 the (hip Afliftance, in which he had been detained 
 from the 2oth of October preceding. The man 
 belonged to the Hannah of Baltimore, Captain 
 Wefcott. This vefTel, with four other Americans 
 had been carried into St. John's, Newfoundland. 
 He exprefTed a hope that the Hannah would be li- 
 berated. The printers added, that the fticklers for 
 Britifli amity, might, upon calling at their office, 
 fee the original letter. This intimation was 
 needful in the cafe where fuch an article had not 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 been copied from fome other print ; for, in Baltimore, 
 Philadelphia, and perhaps in every fea-port-tou n 
 in the union, a number of people are conilantly 
 ready to browbeat and even rain any printer who 
 publishes articles unfavourable to Britain. Thus, 
 at the death of Dr. Franklin, a newfpaper of this 
 city obferved, that the flags of the (hips in the Dela- 
 ware were lowered, 'i he printer unthinkingly 
 fubjoined that even the Britifii* did ib. Next day 
 feveralof his fubfcribers came into his office, and, 
 with many reproaches, threw up his paper. The 
 author had the itory from himielf. Indeed no bet- 
 ter Itate of ibciety can be expected in our fea-ports, 
 where the whole mafs of Britifh tories, who had 
 been ioing the utmoffc mifchief in their power to 
 this country, during the revolution, were permitted, 
 alnoft univerfally, without diflinttion, to return and 
 mix upon a level with the republican citizens. In 
 private morals, they were juft as good as other 
 people. But, in a political light, they were at bed 
 concealed, and often profefied enemies. In pri- 
 vate life, no man would lodge under his roof an in- 
 cendiary who, for eight years, had been attempting 
 to burn his houfe. At the lad election for Congrefs, 
 in the county of Philadelphia, one of the moft offici- 
 ous of the federal managers had formerly acled as a 
 Britifli guide. He was, for this offence, tried by the 
 flate, and very nearly hanged. A fhoal of flmiiar 
 examples might be traced. 
 
 The next article, in the fame Mary land Journal, 
 (hews in what fubjugal ion the tories hold theprefs. 
 
 * A lady, who is very nearly related to Dr. Franklin, had oc- 
 cafion, fince his death, to make a voyage to England. In feveral 
 fafhionable companies fhe met with the coldeft treatment, as being 
 connected with the family of a rebel ! If George the Third (-{capes 
 the dagger or the fcaffbld, his moft faithful fubjefts in Philadelphia, 
 and they are not few in number, will have a norable opportunity 
 for bowing and fcraping, on his alighting at OeUer'a hotel. 
 
UNITED STATES. 141 
 
 Captain Herring, from Jamaica, had informed the 
 printers that, when the Brit;:"h captured ana lent into 
 that illand American veffels, tLe failors were either 
 ti/irned afhore to ftarve, or prefied into the Britifli 
 fervice. He added, that all of them received " the 
 " moft indignant treatment from theie tyrannical 
 u Jea monjlers " For inferring ibch harih langu y e, 
 the printers made a long and humble -ipoJo^rv . '*. . s 
 timidity betrays a feature of degradation unknown 
 in France or England. Was it ever heard of tart a 
 Britifh mariner, on returning home from a French 
 jail, durit not publifh. his complaints in a Britii'h 
 newipaper; or that tiie editor would be forced to 
 apologize for giving him a corner* ? 
 
 Captain Herring, aLovementoned, furnifhed the 
 printer of the journal with the following lift of 
 vefTels left at Kingfton, on the'Sth of March laft, 
 which were all prizes to the Argon ant. Schooners 
 Voluptas, Hall, Baltimore; Active, Compton, do.; 
 Adelaine, Stanley, do. ; Fortitude, Rofs, do. ; Swrd- 
 
 low, Stubbs, Bofton ; Paragon, , Norfolk ; 
 
 and a number of other velFels, belonging to feve- 
 ral ports in the United States; in all FIFTY-FIVE. 
 
 The infatuation and flupidity of a certain fet of 
 people in this country furpafles all description. 
 They embrace every opportunity to revile and ex- 
 afperate the French, to whom we were at firft in- 
 depted for independence, and who, at this mo- 
 
 * Juft below, in the fame column, there follows a firing of re- 
 folutions from Cumberland countv, in the ftare of Maryland, in 
 favour of Jay's treaty. They fay that " the efteem of his fellow. 
 " citizens is the only reiaard^ which he (the Prefident) is willing to 
 " recieve for his unexampled fervices." It fignifies nothing to chime 
 over this impertinent fable of the Prefident ferving his country for 
 nothing. Yet, though he has afked and received the laft cent of his 
 two hundred thoufand dollars, befides thirteen thoufand fix hundred 
 to affift him in fettitig up a houfe, the friends of order will never 
 ceafe to prate that he would accept of no falary. 
 
I 4 i HISTORY OF THE 
 
 rnent, nrc the fliield which faves us from the im- 
 placable fti ry of Britain . 
 
 On the other hand, though they cannot deny the 
 fcandalous conduct: of our bieHcd mother country, 
 they do not wifh, if they can help it, to hear a 
 ilrigle word upon the fubjeet. Language of this 
 kind, can, they fay, be productive of no good; 
 rr.id it may irritate Britain, with whom, you know, 
 we are in amity. 
 
 A letter from Norfolk, dated 4th, and publi (li- 
 ed in the Philadelphia Gazette on the nth of April, 
 1796, has thefe words. 
 
 " A vcfTel, yefterday, returned from the Mole, 
 <c which carried out ibme of the horfes, and loft 
 ct about one-half of them. Alfo a {loop from here, 
 cc arrived there with only four horfes alive; and a 
 {C brig from here loft about one half of the cargo 
 tc of horfes which me carried out, the reft were 
 " all iichly." 
 
 The next paragraph fhews the difference of be- 
 haviour at this time, between the French and Eng- 
 liih privateers. A French cruizer fell in with the 
 fchooner Little John, fent her into the Havannah, 
 and detained lier five days. The French took half 
 a puncheon of rum, a barrel of bread, and a fpy- 
 l:i<3. The captain gave an order for the amount 
 upon his agent in Philadelphia. 
 
 NORFOLK, APRIL 4. 
 
 c We flop the prefs to mention the arrival of 
 "captain "Wanton Steer, of the brig Charlotte, in 
 cc twenty-four days from Port Royal, Martinique ; 
 fcc from him we have obtained the following: 
 
 " That th-e (liip Diana, of New- York, David 
 cc Chadeayne, m after, on his paffage from the Eaft- 
 ci Indies to New- York, was boarded by his Britan- 
 Ci nic majeily's brig Pelican, captain J. C. Searle, 
 cc who fent an officer and crew on board and took 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 " out the mate, fix people, and carried her into 
 u Port Royal ; where, on the 6th of March, while 
 " in their pofTefiion, fhe caught fire and ivas burnt 
 <c to the 'water's edge, ivith all her cargo, of im- 
 " men/e value !" 
 
 The following article is here copied from a Bo- 
 ton ncwfpaper, of the yth of April, 1796. 
 
 MORE BRITISH AMITY. 
 
 " Captain Elkanah Mayo, who arrived in town this week 
 u from New-York, has favoured us with the following ac- 
 " count of the cruel treatment he and his men received from 
 " the officers and men of the Britifli frigate La Pique, at Bar- 
 " badoes, in December laft, viz. Captain Mayo, in the fhip 
 " Polly, of Cape Ann, homeward bound, from a whaling voy- 
 <c age, was drove in, by ftrefs of weather, to Barbadoes, where 
 u he lay near three weeks for the arrival of fome Americans 
 tc tq freight his oil home ; during which time, the Britifh fri- 
 u gate La Pique arrived there from a cruife, and in two days 
 <c after, prefTed two of his hands. Captain Mayo applied to 
 " the governor for protection, who caufed the men to be re- 
 " leafed; three days after, captain Mayo's boat, being afhore, 
 ** with three men -waiting for him, the frigate's barge hauled 
 " in clofe to his boat, and boarded him with cutlafles to prefs 
 c< the men by force. The men called on captain Mayo, from 
 <c the fhore, who run to the boat for their relief, where he found 
 " the crew of the Britifh frigate with the tillar of their barge 
 " beating his men over their heads, with faid tillar, till the blood 
 " guflied from their mouths andnoies, and other wife mangling 
 " them in a barbarous and fhocking manner. Captain Mayo 
 " fprung into the boat and cleared it of the Britifh crew. The 
 " commanding officer, who was then on the wharf, faid he 
 " would have every man aboard the fhip. Mr. Woodruff, 
 <c with whom captain Mayo did bufmefs, being on the wharf, 
 " offered his bonds to the captain of ihe frigate that he would 
 " bring his protections on fhore. Captain Mayo then went 
 <; on board his fhip to bring his protections. While !:e was 
 cc on board, the commanding officer of the frigate, and all the 
 <c reft of the officers, got into their barge, waiting for captain 
 cc Mayo, who was returning with all his protections ; they 
 <c boarded him; the commanding officer jumped into captain 
 st Mayo's boat with his drawn cuttsfs', and dragged by force all 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 u bismenimtotrieir barg-e, and thenlpf efented hir, cutlafs to capt. 
 
 ft, e.ud OKVTCU him if to the barge, which herefu- 
 feel ; ~fc.tr which he pricked hiro fev-ral times in the bread, and 
 n towed him on tc^ri the frigate ; he put capt. Mayo's men 
 t( i'-,ro the hole rn^ng his men who were fick with the y-JI'-w 
 c; fever ; Ix tl^,;; ordered a pair of irons to be fixed on caj in 
 yo, wHeh w-'^e not, however, fixed; be kept him on the 
 " quarter-declc "ii f :il evening, then ordered captain Mayo's boat 
 u tie he huukci u> -., <. :J ordered him onboard alone. Capt. Mayo 
 u qudfi d him to let him have a man to go with bin.., which 
 ct the ci'pi.rii'1 cf the frigate refufed ; then faid he would caft 
 " him off, and let him go adrift, he told him he might perifh 
 " at fea, to which he replied he hoped he would. Captain 
 " Mayo told him he would not go, unlefs he caft him off, he 
 "then look his barpe, and towed captain Mayo on board his 
 u own (hip ; the next morning captain Mayo went to the go- 
 <c vernor, and complained of the officers conduct; the gover- 
 " nor oroered his men to he immediately releafed, who were 
 u accordingly fent on fhore. Four days after, three of bis men 
 u wre taken with the yellow fever, which they took while on 
 " brard the frigate, and which fpread through captain Mayo's 
 " ihip's comp-my : four of bis men died of the fever, the reft 
 " were obliged to leave the fliip, and he hired negroes to pump 
 <<p her. Captain Mayo then chartered vefTels as he could find 
 u th.-^rr. to take his men and cargo to the United Stares. This 
 " bafe conduct of our new-treaty-allies occafioned the lofs of 
 " ei ;.,;.: thoufand dollars to bis owners. 
 " I, the fubicriber do teftify to the above account. 
 
 ELKANAH MAYO." 
 
 \Vhi!e the Britifb were going on at this rate, a 
 letter, dated January i?th, was received in Phila- 
 delphia, from Samuel Bayard agept of the United 
 States, at London, on the buiinefs of reftitution. 
 Mr. B-jyard writes thus : 
 
 u As foon as minlftry learn the line of conducl^ 
 <c which the Houfe of Reprefentatives mean to pur- 
 cc fue y I am perfuaded their condnft, as it regards 
 u us, will be lefs fluctuating. Should thehouie co- 
 u incidcwith the Prefident and Senate, every thing 
 " here v/ill go well: fliouldobflacles, on the other 
 
UNITED STATES. 145- 
 
 " hand, be thrown in the way by the popular branch 
 ' of the government, I doubt whether the weflern 
 a polls will be furrendered, or reflitution made of 
 u our captured property. However, I truft tliat 
 " every man who lias any regard to the honour , 
 " the/0/M, or inter eft of his country, will lee the 
 u neceffity of carrying the treaty fully into effeft, 
 u Ib far as regards the United States." 
 
 The fcope of the letter is, that, if Congrefs ap- 
 propriated for Mr. Jay's treaty, compenfation would 
 be made for the piracies in the "Weil-Indies. If 
 they did not, the prizes would be kept. This 
 plainly infers, that the Britifh were acting as con- 
 fummate bucanneers. For, whether the treaty paft 
 or not, they had no title to have taken thefe ve- 
 fels. But thefuperior talents of Mr. Jay had happily 
 interwoven two matters totally diftinft. If you 
 iign this treaty of commerce, you (hall get compen- 
 fation for the vefTels. If not, we fhall have them 
 to ourfelves. Before entering upon the old ftory 
 of debts due to Britain ; of the weftern pofts, and 
 of matters relative to the laft war ; before plunging 
 into treaties of amity, the recent feizure of the 
 veiTels Ihould have been fully and feparately fettled. 
 If that could be done, it was time enough to get 
 into a treaty. If it could not be done, the way 
 for z\merica was t6 have flood by in wait for con- 
 tingencies, while an embargo on provifions would 
 have laid the Britifti Weft-Indies proftrate at her 
 feet. Inftead of this obvious policy, matters the 
 moll diftincl were all jumbled together ; and the 
 bait of compenfation made America fnap at the 
 gilded hook.* Suppofe that one of her neighbours 
 
 * In juftice to Mr. Jay, it muft be believed that his conduct was af- 
 feftcd by (bme re&foas not yet communicated to the public. The 
 
 V 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 hath broke into a widow's wheatfield, nightly, for 
 months together, and carried off or deflroyed her 
 crops. An envoy is lent to demand fatisf action. 
 The robber anfwers that he has old accounts to 
 fettle with the landlady, that he wants a wife, and 
 that, if fh<2 will agree to a fettlement, and at the 
 fame time let him have her hand, he will enter 
 into one fweeping treaty for the whole. Any fer- 
 vant girl would fee the abfurdity of this jumbling 
 
 application of the following anecdote cannot be miftaken. It (hews 
 the frequent appeals that Pitt makes to Macedonian logic. 
 
 On the gth of February, 1794, colonel Whitlock wrote a letter 
 to general Lavaux, who commanded at Port-au-Paix, in St. Do- 
 mingo. He required Lavaux to deliver up the town, the forts, and 
 /hipping. He then, iia the name of the Britifh government, adds 
 thus: l< The fum of FIVE THOUSAND CROWNS TOURNOIS mall 
 " be paid to you in perfon, or depoiited in the bank of England, 
 <( payable to your order.'* 
 
 In his anfwer, Lavaux fays, t( permit me now to complain to 
 " yourfelf, of the indignity you have offered me, in thinking me fo 
 " vile, fo flagitious, fo bafe, as not to refent," c. He concludes 
 with fending Whitlock a challenge immediately to meet and fight 
 him. See New Annual Regifterfor 1794, Hiftory, p. 338. 
 
 Bgt if Port-au-Paix was worth five thoufand crowns to England, 
 Jay's treaty was worth fifty millions. The Reprefentatives were in 
 the direct way to the deftruftion of the Britifh Weft-Indies. A fuf- 
 penfion of commercial intercourfe, and an embargo, would have re- 
 duced both England and thofe colonies to the utmoft difficulty. 
 Thefe two raeafures would have broke no treaty, nor afforded any 
 pretence for a quarrel, and they would have humbled England too 
 much to leave her any appetite for the wanton declaration of hoftili- 
 ties. Ati this was fo evident, the track purfued by the Reprefenta- 
 iives was marked with fuch luminous circumftances of invitation^, 
 that nothing but ignorance,, corruption, or the moft abject imbeci- 
 lity of undcrftanding, could miftake it. 
 
 Like Sennacherib's angel, Camillus interfered to fuggeft an ex 
 prefs libel on Congrefs, to tatnim the -character, to undermine the 
 intereft, and to hamftring the vengeance of America. With a mek 
 fage fo welcome, fo necefrary, to the very being of the court of Lon- 
 <don> Jay rauft have been a favourite gueil. And, after the facjifi- 
 .cep which he made, if he did not pay due attention to the future in- 
 -Bepencience of his family, he is a greater fimpleton than the worM 
 can foffibly think him to be* 
 
UNITED STATES, 147 
 
 Jaropofal. She would reply, that intermarriage 
 might come time enough, when former complaints 
 were cleared up. But the objedt of Mr. Hamilton 
 and his friends was, right or wrong, to have a 
 Britifh treaty ; and the prefent one could not have 
 been got through, but for entwifting it with the 
 
 of compenfation. 
 
 On the 8th of April, 1796, a Philadelphia print 
 contained the following extraft of a letter from. 
 London, dated February 2d> 
 
 " I this moment came from the court of admi- 
 
 c ralty, where the firft cafe of the captures at Mar- 
 
 c tinique, by Grey and Jervis, was tried this mor- 
 
 " ning: it was reverfed, which will be a precedent 
 
 " for all the others, and a point gained for all of 
 
 " us that have cafes in the courts here. And now 
 
 " they fay, on Saturday next, the lords will fit, 
 
 te and will go on to try the legality of the condem-r 
 
 u nations in the Weft-Indies. ?r 
 
 As to the point gained for all of us, there Is yet 
 very little? progrefs made*, nor is it of much concern 
 to the claimants whether there is. or not. The 
 above, .and Mr. Bayard's letter, are quoted chiefly 
 i>ecaufe they contain, not even one (ingle, folitary, 
 word, about the relief of the failors,. who had been, 
 torn from their families, and their country, ftar- 
 vecl, hand-cuffed,, and flogged, to make them en- 
 rol in the Britifh ferviee of afTaflination. If this 
 book falls into the hands of any of that clafs of peo- 
 ple, they are entreated to refieft for what fort of 
 owners, and what fort of a country, they are bra- 
 ving the hardfhips of a mariner's life. We have 
 feen how tranquilly Camillus gets over their enor- 
 mous wrongs. Yet, when a Britifh creditor in the 
 American funds was concerned, he could {peak 
 about them like a man who was in earned. " No 
 u powers of language/' fays he> ^ at my 
 
! 4 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " can exprefs the abhorrence I feel at the idea of 
 cc violating the property of individuals, which, in 
 u an authorized intercourfe, in time of peace, has 
 " been confided to the faith of our government. 
 ct I;.i my view, every moral, and every political 
 (;< ftritirifent, unite to confign it to execration."* 
 Compare this glowing ftyle with the frigid accents 
 in which he obferves, that it was irnpoflible to help 
 the imprefFment of American feamen. They fhpuld 
 be at lead as near our hearts, as the mere pecuni- 
 ary intereft of an Englifii creditor in the American 
 funds. This will be granted by every friend to 
 the country ; and, on this principle, every moral and 
 political Jtntiment will ccnfign to execration, Jay 
 and his treaty, wherein the iafety of our mariners 
 has been totally neglected. As for the twenty 
 treaty-making fenators, they are neither worfe nor 
 better than the numerous bodies of our citizens, 
 who thanked the Preftdent for figning this monu- 
 ment of American apathy an initrument by which 
 thoufands and ten thouiands of fearn.cn were con-'. 
 fjgned to Britifh mercy. There is no defertion of 
 fellow-countrymen fo thoroughly difgraceful in the 
 annals of any independent people under heaven + 
 A century of heroifm could hardly wipe out the 
 flain. Fifty-five American fliips are captured by a 
 fingle Britifh corfair,t more than a twelvemonth 
 after a treaty of amity had been flgned, and above 
 fix months after it had been fully ratified. With 1 
 fuch intelligence flaring in their faces, while every 
 newfpaper, for eighteen months preceding, had 
 been fuffocated with fimilar information, " the 
 ' FREEST and moft enlightened nation in the 
 cc world, " compelled their reprefentatives, jut- 
 fear of a Briti/k ivar ! to appropriate for the treaty, 
 
 * Camiliiis, No. 28'. *f. 7^he Argonaut. See above. 
 
cc 
 
 UNITED STATES. 149 
 
 As Mr. Hamilton has betrayed fo much concern 
 for Britifh creditors, it may be afked why he does 
 not feel equal intereit in the ftate of Maryland ? 
 Before the war that province had veiled confidei-a- 
 ble fums of money in the bank of England. On 
 the lyth of December, 1795, a ^ e( ^ committee re- 
 ported to the legiflature of that ftate, that "they 
 havenoinformatidfcas to the probability of their 
 recovering the flocks in the bank of England, to 
 which they claim a title." When Jay took fo 
 much care for the fafety of Britifh creditors in 
 American funds, he might likewife have paid fome 
 attention to the intereit of Maryland in the Britifli 
 funds. 
 
 The tenth article of the treaty contains a plain 
 commentary on this ftoppage of Maryland property. 
 It f.ys that " neither the debts due from individu- 
 cc ais of the one nation to individuals of the other, 
 tc nor (hares nor monies which they may have in the 
 <fc public funds, or in the public or private banks, 
 u ihall ever, in any event of war or national differ- 
 cc cnce, befequeftered or conilfcated, it beiwg unjujl 
 " and impolitic " &c. Why then didEngland fequei- 
 trate, or with what pretence of decency does (lie 
 continue to keep the funds of Maryland ? When 
 the Senate and Executive figned the treaty, they 
 might flirely have thought of this important 
 omiflion. But this article has even a worfe fault 
 The words unjufl and impolitic contain a direcl libel 
 on Mr. Dayton, and that party in thelioufe of Re- 
 prefentatives, who, in March, 1794, had propofed 
 to fequeilrate Britifh debts, as a fccurity for Ame- 
 rican compenfation. The Senate and President ra- 
 tified this infult on the Reprefentatives, though, as 
 being a foletnn act of government, it contained an 
 attack on the American legillature, a million of 
 times more flagrant than the tranfltory fouib of 
 
ifo HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Barras. Yet the latter is to be made the handle 
 fora French war, while the former, becaujeit came 
 from Britain, was pocketed in filence. If an Englifh 
 minifter had fubfcribed a treaty conveying fuch a di^ 
 reel: reference to, and fuch an abrupt cenfure of any 
 previous motion in parliament, the parties aggriev- 
 ed would have taken the matter up* But indeed 
 no Englifh minifter dared to ^jpve made fuch a cli- 
 grellion. In difcuffing the treaty, none of the Re- 
 prefentatives adverted to this tacit reproach. The 
 pulfe of national dignity feems to beat higher in 
 England than in the United States. 
 
 Camillas clamours loudly about the iniquity of 
 America in neglecting the payment of debts due 
 to Britain, before the lafl war. What here follows, 
 on that head, v/as related to the author, in January 
 1796, by Mr. James Madifon. 
 
 Much noife has been made about the juftice of 
 America, in neglectingthe payment of debts due to 
 Britain before the lad war. In Virginia, it was 
 formerly ufual for the planters, in that country, to 
 confign their cargoes of tobacco to a correfpondent 
 in Britain, who v/as veiled with a difcretionary 
 power of felling them as high as poilible. It was 
 often obferved, that when two planters had each of 
 them, at the fame time, fent cargoes of tobacco of 
 equally good quality to England, the one received 
 perhaps twenty pounds the hogfhead, and his neigh- 
 bour not more than four pounds. There was no 
 regularity or equality in the prices, and this gave 
 rife to complaints and fufpicions. 
 
 Sometime ago, a gentleman, in Virginia, brought 
 a counter-action againft his Britim creditor, in one 
 of the courts of that ilate. His plea was, that the 
 creditor and confignee had actually fold his tobac- 
 co in Europe at a much higher price than he had/la- 
 ted in balancing their accounts. The facts alledgecf 
 
UNITED STATES. 15* 
 
 were clqarly proved, and the jury gave a verdict 
 for damages to the amount of 'thirty thoiifand dollars. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Federal plan for a French Ifar. Specimen of French 
 juftice. The Sea Horfe. The Mujquito. Re- 
 marks on the Britijh treaty by Mr. Gall at in. Re- 
 ply by Mr. Tracy. Hints on the ffeftern infur- 
 redion. Caje of the brig Maria, captain HSil- 
 mans . The fchooner William, captain Scott. 
 Defpotic influence of the tones in American Jea- 
 ports . Elegant ftyle injbme of their publications. 
 The Polly, captain H^ade. 'The Edward and 
 William, captain Jones. The Ariel. The brig 
 Sifters. Capture of the brig Jay, by the French, 
 andbarbarous treatment of the captain.-^- Mr. JAY'S 
 INSTRUCTIONS. 'Extracts from them NEVER BE- 
 FORE PUBLISHED. Proofs of his NEGLECT OF OR- 
 DERS. Anecdotes relative to the Britijh treaty. 
 
 THIS chapter begins with a few inftances of the 
 maritime conduct of France and England, that 
 occurred about, or previous to, the commencement 
 of the year 1796. They had been omitted for the 
 fake of brevity. But while this work is printing 
 off, Prefident Adams, and a formidable phalanx in 
 the fifth Congrefs, are driving the federal chariot, 
 at full fpeed, to the brink of a French war. One 
 great pretence for this meafure is the republican 
 robberies on our (hipping in the Weft-Indies. But 
 if it can be proved that our commerce endured 
 greater injury, in 1796, from England, than it hath 
 fince done from France, and that the government 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE- 
 
 of laft year took very fmall concern about the out- 
 rages of the former, while it has conflantly exag- 
 gerated thofe of the latter, the reader will gradu- 
 > ally be convinced of" a confpiracy perpetually ex- 
 i4 ifling*" to embroil this country w r ith France, and 
 to entangle her in an alliance with the guinea-note 
 monarchy of Britaint. 
 
 A letter from Port-an-Paix, dated the i8th of 
 December, 1795, to a merchant in Philadelphia, 
 Has the following particulars, Anthoine Chaplin, 
 captain of the Guillotine, a French privateer, had 
 maltreated captain JVl'Keeyer of the American fhip 
 fames. For that and a ilmilar offence againft the 
 iliip Molleville, of St. Thomas, Chaplin was fined 
 :n two hundred dollars, and all damages that might 
 accrue from the illegal capture of thele veflels. 
 His privateer was confifcated ; and the pirate him- 
 felf was condemned to fifteen months of imprifon- 
 ment in irons. u I this day fa.w him," fays the let- 
 ter-writer, " chained with a negro working in the 
 cc ftreet, in the fame kind of drefs in which he fbr- 
 ct ced captain M'Keever to leave the privateer and 
 cc go on board an American veiFel. So much for 
 " ourLaveaux's juftice." 
 
 Anthoine Chaplin was lefs culpablethan Reynolds, 
 and other Englifh kidnappers. His punifhment 
 was immediate and complete ; but we have never 
 
 * Supra Chap. IT. 
 
 f Private letters from north Britain give curious details about the 
 decline of paper money. Take a guinea-note to the butcher, and 
 you mud either la} f out the whole with him, or go without your 
 change. He parts with no filver. The only place where hard mo- 
 ney has a chance t,o be had is at the ale houfe, where, after you fpend 
 half a crown, the landlord fomctimes gives twenty ffiillings in caih 
 for your guinea-note. Thefe traits come exactly to the point. They 
 portend the future peace of Europe. A gentleman who left Dublin 
 cti the 2d of March, fays, that Corke guinea-bank-notes were then 
 a i eighteen {hillings hard money. Other bank paper had alfo fallen. 
 
UNITED STATES. 153 
 
 heard a Tingle inftance of a Bririi 1 offender mete- 
 ing with fuch a check. At the time here fpokx of, 
 the American executive had figned Jay's tree ty, to 
 the extreme joy of England, and the utmoft provo- 
 cation of France. Yet the former coii-Jnued to rob 
 America, and the latter did not*. For what region 
 was Laveaux able to execute juflice, while adrr.., I 
 Murray could only prom lie to ufe his influence? 
 Thus Pichegru might have protniied to ufe his in- 
 fluence with one of his own corporals. The fa<5t 
 feems to have been this. The Directory ftill vala- 
 ed federal fricndfhip as fomething ; while Pitt held 
 it as nothing. 
 
 On the 4th of January v the fchooner Hiram, cap- 
 tain Brooks, arrived at Hartford in Connecticut. 
 He related, that the Sea Horfe, captain Smith, f>cm 
 Guadaloupe for Bofton, had all her crew, exceptir.g 
 the matter and firft mate, taken out by an Engliih 
 mip. She was fent to Antigua, and releafed, but her 
 crew were detained on board of the (hip that took 
 them. 
 
 A more complete account of the {offerings of 
 captain Smith and his people, was given by hhn- 
 felf, dated Baltimore, January ^th, 1796- On. the 
 
 * The moft folid argument then urged againft the French .in the 
 Weft-Indies was, that they had takeu many American cargoes upon, 
 credit, and either paid an inferior price, or exacted a delay that be- 
 came equivalent to no payment at art. But we Have never been told 
 of their flogging American feamen, to make them enter into the 
 republican fervice. The convulfive ftate of the French Weil-Indies 
 was well known. Anarchy conflagration, and maflacre. ftrode fuc- 
 ceffively from one iiland to another. If a merchant in Philadelphia^ 
 chofe to fend his cargo to fuch a market, he could expeft no better 
 reception, nor did he, in all cafes, merit much fyrnpathy. Thefe 
 fpeculators raifed the price of flour from feven dollars per barrel, to 
 fifteen, to the utter oppreflion of the labouring poor in this and other 
 feaport towns. In Britain, neither the laws, nor even the people 
 would have endured fwch foreftalling, 
 
 a 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 1 3th of November, preceding, he was taken by the 
 frigate Refource, captain Watkins. Five of his 
 men, two of whom had the fever, were impreffed. 
 A prize-m after and four men were put on board of 
 the Sea-Horfe. They confined captain Smith for 
 three days below, under the guard of two men 
 with drawn cutlaffes, and loaded piftols. While 
 captain Smith was oh board of the Refource, he 
 was ill treated by a midfhipmari ; and told him that 
 he would not be infulted by a boy. Captain Wat- 
 kins faid, that, if he had heard the expreflion, he 
 would have tied up and flogged Smith for daring 
 to infult his majefty's officer. To the feelings of 
 an enlightened federaUJl, this language may be 
 acceptable. Watkins offered him two hundred 
 pounds, and a fliare of the prize-money, to fay that 
 the fhip was French property. At Antigua, the firfl 
 mate of the Sea Horie died, and the prefident cau- 
 fed his body to be thrown into the fea. He alfo fent 
 a pilot and negroes on board to carry the vefTel out 
 to fea. Captain Smith offered to knock them down. 
 The prefident fent for him, and threatened to caufe 
 the fort to fire into the vefTel, if me did not go 
 out to fea, either with men or without them. On 
 Smith's refufal, the prefident faid that he would 
 have him confined. What a fplendid blaze of Bri- 
 tifti honour and hofpitality ! And how fondly would 
 Noah Webfter have chuckled over it, if the fcene 
 had only paft in a French port inftead of an Eng- 
 lifh one ! Watkins had brought three other Ameri- 
 can prizes into Antigua. He cut them out of a port 
 inGuadaloupe ; and, their regiflers being in the of- 
 fice on fhore, heboaftedof them as afureprey.They 
 were, notwithflanding, difcharged. How captain 
 Smith got hands to work his vefTel to Baltimore 
 does not appear. Two leagues from Cape Henry, 
 he was boarded by admiral Murray, who, as if the 
 
UNITED STATES. , 
 poor man had not already fuffered enough, took 
 from him Wilkinfon Gilt, a mate whom he' had 
 fhipped at Antigua. Somebody called citizen 
 Hughes, Is fmcerely thanked for fupplying him with 
 part of a crew. But whether this was Viclor Hughes, 
 or where the help was given, we are left in the 
 dark. 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1796, the brig Experi- 
 ence, captain Houfton, arrive'd from Port-au-Prince 
 at Philadelphia. He informed, that three Britifli 
 (hips of war, at the former place, prefled every 
 American who 'could not produce a protection. 
 They were chiefly manned with American fearnen. 
 A number of our veiTels, lying at Port-au-Prince r 
 were in a mod diftrefTed fituation for want of hands. 
 
 A letter from St. Kitts, dated 4th January, 1796, 
 and received by a merchant of Philadelphia, fays, 
 that the brig Fame, captain Medlin, of this port ? 
 was about to fail for it. The letter adds, that ilie 
 had been plundered by a French privateer, but 
 gives no particulars. 
 
 On the 7 1 7th of January, the Mufquito, captain 
 Harfha^, arrived at Baltimore from Bourdeaux. 
 On the 7 - voyage, he was met by the HuiTar, a Britifti 
 frigate. His keys were taken, his chefls broke upj 
 and every thing flolen that the Britifli could lay 
 their hands on. They alfo drank a cafe of his wine, 
 and prefTed the Mufquito's mate, and one of the 
 hands, who was an American. 
 
 Thus far we have inftances of Britifh piracy, for- 
 merly overlooked or omitted, as obferved in the 
 beginning of this chapter. The reader muft have 
 become tired with this uniform and difgufting taJe 
 of our commercial degradation. As a relief to the 
 melancholy picture } let us turn, for a moment, to 
 the debates on the Britifli treaty. The enthufiafm 
 of attachment which it infpired, forms one of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 moil {jrigub.r phenomena in the hiftory of the hn- 
 man'miTid. Many cf its fanguine advocates were 
 men unfufpecled of a finifter defign. 
 
 On the 26th of April, 1796, Mr. Gallatin, in 
 fpeaking of the Britifli treaty, had thefe words : 
 
 *' i he fact was uncontroverted, that the Britifh 
 <c ftill continued to imprefs our feamen and to cap- 
 " tare our veffels. If they pretended to jufHfy 
 ct that conduct by the treaty, it became necefTary 
 c to obtain an explanation of the doubtful articles ; 
 ct if there was nothing in the treaty to juftify it, 
 their a< r rs were acls of hoftility ; were an infrac- 
 ct tion of that treaty ; and even, according to the 
 u doctrine of thofe gentlemen who thought that, 
 cc in common cafes, the houfe had no discretion, 
 < the treaty once broken by one party, was no lon- 
 c ger binding on the other ; and it was the right 
 " as well as the duty of this houfe, not to proceed 
 c to pafs the laws necefTary to carry it into effect, 
 c until fatisfactory affurances were obtained, that 
 ' thefe afe fhould ceafe, and until Great Britain 
 <c had evinced a friendly clifpofition towards us*." 
 It was impoflible to conceive a plainer, or a 
 more fubftantial argument. Thefe few lines con- 
 tain jail enough to have convinced an audience of 
 acceffible underflandings, of the propriety of fu- 
 pending proceedings toward fulfilling the Britifh 
 treaty, till an efFeel-ual check had been given to 
 Britifh piracy. On the 2/th of April, Mr. Tracy 
 rofe in anfwer to Mr. Gallatin.. Two paffages fhall 
 be here given from his fpeech. The firft is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 u It had been acknowledged, by Mr. Gallatin, 
 :c that a new negociation, at prefent, cannot be ex- 
 u peled. Great Britain pofTefTes the pofts, the 
 
 * Bsche's Debates, vol.ii. p. 266. 
 
UNITED STATES. 157 
 
 " confidence of the Indians, the many millions of 
 4C dollars defpoiled from our commerce, the bene- 
 " fits of our trade, and proceeds to make more in- 
 " vafions on our property and our rights, and yet 
 <c the gentleman Jays ive will not go to ivar ! What 
 tc would be the American conduct under fuchaftate 
 <c of things ? Would they tamely fee their govern- 
 cc ment ftrut, attempt to look big, call hard names; 
 " and the moment they were faced, like an over- 
 " grown lubberly boy, (brink into a corner ? Isthis 7 
 ic heafked,the American character ?He thought him- 
 " felf acquainted with a part of the United States, 
 tc too well, to believe they merited fuch a cha- 
 ic racier; the people where he was mod acquain- 
 " ted, whatever might be the character in other 
 u parts of the union, were not of the ft amp to 
 cc cry Hofannah to day, and crucify to-morrow; 
 " they will not dance round a whilky pole one day, 
 <c and curfe their government, and, upon hearing 
 cc of a military force, fneak into a fwamp. : No, faid 
 u Mr. Tracy, my immediate conftituents, whom I 
 " very well know, un-deriland their rights, and will 
 " defend them, and if they find that the govern- 
 " ment either cannot, or will not protect them, 
 " they will at leaft attempt to protect themfelves. 
 a And he could not feel thankful to Mr. Gal-latin 
 cc for coming all the way from Geneva, to give Ame- 
 cc ricans a character of pufillanimity*."' 
 
 This rhapfody makes up with ill-nature what it 
 wants in. meaning. From the firft part of it, where 
 the gentleman .{peaks' of the injuries committed on 
 this country by England, one would fnppofe, that 
 he was going to recommend an immediate exertion 
 of American vengeance. But, fq far from that, he 
 only recommended that we fliould kifs the Britifh 
 
 * Bache's Debates, vol. ii. p. 295.. 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 rod by inftantly appropriating for Jay's treaty. 
 The bluftering found of his words : arid the abjeft 
 prodration of his ideas form a flriking contraft. 
 His comparifon between Connecticut and the wefl- 
 crn counties of Pennfylvania is a mailer-piece of 
 vulgar calumny r That the people of the former 
 flate are as brave as any in tV -as never been 
 
 denied ; and the convention 01" oaratoga will, for 
 ages to come, be remembered and cited as a m 
 mcnt of their courage. But this ou^lit , be 
 
 converted into a handle for reproach, ina H ael : efs 
 for flander, againft other dates. As to he \\t ; .c r>. 
 Infurreclion, it is time that we fhould begr. to 
 .{peak truth about it. The way in which that af- 
 fair was fupprelTed did, ip itfelf, ciifcredit trte go- 
 vernment of the country. The late king of Pru- 
 fia would not have thought all the military con duel: 
 diiplayed about k, worth an enfign's comniiflion. 
 Here are a few fpecimens of the federal army. 
 " OnThurfdaythe igthof November, there were 
 
 4 about forty perfbns brought to Parkifon ? s houfe, 
 f c by order of general "White ; he directed to put the 
 
 4 damned rafcals m the cellar, to tie them back to 
 C bacjc, to make a fire for the guard, bat to put the 
 
 prisoners back to the father end of the cellar, 
 " and to give them neither victuals nor drink. 
 
 1 The cellar was wet and muddy, and the night 
 ic cold; the cellar extended the whole length, un- 
 u der a log-houfe, which was neither floored, nor 
 
 c the openings between the logs daubed. They 
 
 c were kept there until Saturday morning, and then 
 &c marched to the town of Wafhington. On the 
 tc march, one of the priforicrs, who was fubjectto 
 tc convulfions, fell into a fit : but when fbme of 
 <c the troop told general White of his fituation, he 
 4C ordered them to tie the damned rafcal to a horfe's 
 u tail r and drag him alorrg with them, for he had only 
 
UNITED STATES. 159 
 
 c< feigned having the fits. Some of his fellow pri- 
 u foners, however, who had a horfe, difmounted,, 
 u and let the poor man ride: he had another fit 
 ic before he reached Wafliington.. This march was 
 <c about twelve miles. The poor man, who had the 
 u fits, had been in the American fervice, during 
 * c almoft the whole of the war with Great Britain." 
 
 General White has not denied this accufation, 
 nor profecuted the hiftorian who records it. Hence 
 we mull admit the ftatement to be true ; and New 
 Jerfeymay congratulate herfelf on the acquisition 
 or production of a fecond DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 
 Mr. Findley gives fome farther traits of this fede- 
 ral hero. tc Stockdale was forbid, on the peril of 
 " of his life, to adminifter any comfort to his neigh- 
 " bours, though they were perifhing with cold, and 
 " famifhing with hunger. The general treated the 
 4 * prifoners, as they arrived, with the moft infulting 
 " and abufive language, caufing them all to be tied 
 " back to back, except one man, who held a re- 
 <f fpeclable rank, and who, however, was laid to be 
 " one of the mofl: guilty in his cuilody. One of the 
 
 nearefl neighbours, who had a child at the point 
 " of dying, and obferving that they were bringing 
 " in the whole neighbourhood prifoners, without 
 " regard to guilt or innocence, went and gave him- 
 " felf up to general White, expect ing that, as he was 
 " confcious there was no charge againft him, he 
 " would be permittetlto return to his family on gi- 
 " ving bail, but he alfo was inhumanly thrown 
 41 into the cellar, tied with the reft, and re- 
 " fufed the privilege of feeing his dying child ; nor 
 !t was he permitted to attend its funeral, until after 
 " many entreaties he obtained that liberty, accom- 
 " panied with the moft horrid oaths and impre- 
 " cations." Of the fmajl honour acquired in 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 this expedition, a great part falls to the iliare of 
 captain John Dunlap, of this city. u Captain 
 *' Dunlap and his party, while they behaved with 
 " the greateft dexterity in taking the prifoners, trea- 
 " ted them with as much politenefs and attention as 
 " their fituation would admit of, and engaged their 
 " gratitude by accompanying unavoidable fe verity 
 '* with humanity*." At Carlifle, apart of our ar- 
 my, after a hearty dinner, were on the point of fet- 
 ting fire to the town, and of charging each other 
 with the bayonet. Mr. Tracy is left to judge 
 whether fuch con duel: was not as bad as that of 
 dancing round a whifky pole. But when the member 
 attempts to fligmatizethe whole conflituents of Mr. 
 Gallatin, as rebels and poltroons, it is hard co find, 
 wkhin the compafs of decency, a term fuitable to 
 his behaviour. 
 
 My. Tracy farther complained of Mr. Gallatin 
 
 for having faid that " the negociation with Great 
 
 ' Britain was begun infear^ carried on through 
 
 "* fear^ and the treaty made by the fame motive; 
 
 cc when it arrived in this country the Senate fane- 
 
 " tioned it, and the Prefident placed his fignature 
 
 cc to it from fear ; and now there was an attempt 
 
 u to obtain the fanclion of the Houfe of Reprefen- 
 
 <c tatives from fear. All theie expreflions, in an un- 
 
 c qualified manner, the gentleman had applied to 
 
 c this country, in its moft important tranfaclions, 
 
 c by its moft important characters, and to crown 
 
 c all, we were to defeat the treaty, 2nd fit down 
 
 " quietly under injuries the moft irritating, and 
 
 " not attempt a redrefs, or to do any thing like 
 
 <c going to war. Under impreffions made by fuch 
 
 c declarations, he had faid what he had, and he 
 
 tc now faid, he wimed to look in the face of Mr. 
 
 * Findley's Hiftory of the Infurre&ion, p. 202. 
 
UNITED STATES. 161 
 
 " Gallatin, or Mr. Heifter, or any other, who da- 
 <c red lay, the American character was th?t of cow- 
 a ardice. He would fay again and again, 't was 
 " raadnefs, or \vorfe, to,fuppofe we could "deieat 
 " this treaty and avoid a war." 
 
 "What Mr. Gallatin fays about fear is perfectly 
 true. Mr. Tracy always takes it for granted, that 
 America had no medium between the acceptance of 
 Mr. Jay's treaty and a Btitifh war. An embargo for 
 four months would have reduced the mother coun- 
 try to our terms, without occafion for the firing of 
 a pillol., 
 
 Mr. Tracy -next denies the reality of Britifh im- 
 preflrnents. " He took this opportunity to afk for 
 " the proofs of juch transactions, as imprefling our 
 "feamen, by the Britifh government. He decla- 
 f! red he knew of none ; and had never heard one 
 " imtance of the Britifh government either avowing 
 4 ' the right, or praclifing upon it, of impreffment of 
 " an American into their fea fervice ; many inftan- 
 " ces had occurred of complaints to the govern- 
 " ment, and all were immediately redrefFed ; and, 
 ** although it was become very fafhionable to 
 " calumniate the Britifh government, he was 
 " impelled, from his own belief and conviction 
 " on the fubje^, to fay, that no fuch inftance 
 " had ever taken place or would ever, of the Bri- 
 " tifh government, juftifying the imprefTment of 
 " natives of the United States, or one who was an 
 " acknowledged citizen. Is it not unfair, faid Mr. 
 " Tracy, to attribute to the government unautho- 
 " rized mifconducl: of individuals, far removed 
 " from the feat and controul of the government \ 
 " It was equally unreafonable to fay, that we were 
 " not protecled by the treaty, and fhould not 'be, 
 " Vv/hen theBritiih government had promifed to pay 
 " for all former depredations made in that way tip- 
 
 Y 
 
76 2 HI S TO R Y OF THE 
 
 " on our commerce, was it not reafonable to flip- 1 
 " pofe, they would prevent or pay for any fuch depre- 
 " dation now made ? And they certainly would pre- 
 *' vent all fuch, which were not from the confufion 
 " of war rendered inevitable/' 
 
 As for the proofs of imprefTment, the gentleman 
 is referred to the depofition of Cyprian Cook, emit- 
 ted at Norwich in, Connecticut. As for his never 
 hearing of one inftance, where the Britifli govern- 
 ment avowed the right of impreiiing, or practifed 
 upon it, the inference muft be, that Mr. Tracy has 
 ears of a particular conftruction. Whether Mr. 
 Pitt himfelfafTerted the right is of no confequence. 
 TheRritifh, in the Weft-Indies, univerfally avowed 
 and practifed upon it . Mr . Tracy fays that all com- 
 plaints to government were immediately redrafted. 
 He fhould have told us what redrefs was obtained 
 in the cafe related by captain Cook. He then mounts 
 upon that favourite topic of the Britim officers 
 acting without orders. Compenfation clofes the cho- 
 rus. We now proceed with the lift of Britifli pira- 
 cies, leaving Mr. Tracy to deny their exiftence, 
 as long as he (hall think proper. 
 
 A Philadelphia newfpaper, of the 8th of April, 
 1796, informs, that the brig Maria Wilman, of Bal- 
 timore, captain Oaks, was taken in. Tortola by the 
 Bull Dog floopj and there fold at auction. She was 
 from Demarara, bound to Baltimore, with a cargo 
 of fugar and coffee. It farther fays, that, on Monday, 
 the nth of April, 1796, the brig Charlotte, of Pro- 
 vidence, arrived at Baltimore, in thirteen days from 
 Martinique. Captain Watts, of the fchooner Alex- 
 andria, -of Alexandria, came pafTenger, along with a 
 number of other Americans. Their veflels had 
 been contracted for, and they were obliged to leave 
 them. This corroborates the account already given 
 by captain Samuel Green. In fummer, 1793, 
 
UNITED STATES. 163 
 
 on Hen del d and John Singletary had been arrefted 
 on board of the Citizen Genet, a French privateer, 
 lying in the Delaware, and Henfield was tried in 
 this city, foon after, for having enlifted in the French 
 fervice. In fpite of a buftle made by govern- 
 ment, he was acquitted. In the eye of reafon> 
 it feems equally culpable to have fold privateers to 
 Britain . yet no notice has been taken of that practice. 
 
 A paragraph from Fredericfburg, dated April ift, 
 1796, fays, that,4afl week, arrived in the river, the 
 fchooner William, captain John Scott, from Baila- 
 terre, St. Kitts. He laid that on the 23d of Febru- 
 ary, between nine and ten o'clock in the evening, ia 
 Baffaterre road, he was boarded by a boat with five 
 men with cutlaffes. They belonged to a Britifh 
 armed (loop lying there. They ordered William 
 M c Coy x a native of Fredericfburg, into the boat j, 
 but, being prevented from taking him, they went 
 back to the iloop. Immediately sfter, they returned 
 with their commander, one Williams, and an addi- 
 tional number of men, armed with piftols and cut- 
 lafTes. They took away from the fchooner, John 
 Mansfield, William M'Coy, and two blacks* Next 
 morning, captain Scott went on fhore, and proved 
 thefe people to be citizens of the United States. He 
 could recover only the two blacks. Every Ameri- 
 can at the port fharecl a fimilar fate. A Baltimore 
 fchooner was flript of all her hands, excepting the 
 mate and a boy. 
 
 A practice had for fometime prevailed at Norfolk, 
 in Virginia, of fending horfes to the Britifh Weft- 
 Indies to mount their cavalry. This, if not a breach 
 of neutrality,was atbeftaplain enough indication to 
 France that we preferred the mod petty felf-intereft 
 to any fuccefs on her fide. A Kingflon newfpa- 
 paper, of the 2^d of February, 1796, has the fol- 
 io wing article, " Captain Huntington reports, that..,. 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 *' when he left America, admiral Murray, with 
 " his fquadron, was lying in Hampton road, waiting 
 " to convoy the horfes that were purchafed for the 
 " dragoons in St. Domingo." Two articles, dated 
 Philadelphia, April 1 2th, fay, that three of thefe vef- 
 fels, with their freights of horfes, were taken by the 
 French, and fent into Cape Francois. This is the 
 only capture by the French of American flapping 
 that has yet occurred in compiling the laft or the 
 prefent chapter* 
 
 The Federal Gazette of Baltimore, of the i^th 
 of April, 1796, contains a letter from Tortola. 
 The writer mentions the irregular proceedings of 
 the Britifh court of admiralty in that ifland, refpec- 
 ting American captures. The captains of the fhips 
 of war were permitted to detain the i^afters andfu- 
 percargoes of the prizes as priibners on board of their 
 veifels, till they were deprived of opportunities for 
 employing proper counfel. Enormous cofls -were 
 granted, of which the bench received afliare. Some 
 particular circumflances of injufticre are mentioned 
 in the cafe of the Maria Wilm^n, captain Oaks, who, 
 in the fame newfpaper, is noticed as having, at this 
 time, arrived fafe with his veflel at Baltimore. It is 
 likely that he wrote this very letter ; but perhaps nei- 
 ther he nor his owners dtirfl avow it, for fear of of- 
 fending the Britifh party. In an independent coun- 
 try, this dread mayfeem flrange, yet nothing is more 
 notorioufly true, than that fuch influence jp extreme- 
 ly active and formidable. Every mercantile man, 
 and every newfprinter, who dares to {peak, with 
 energy, of the infolence and rapine of the Queen of 
 Ifles, runs imminent hazard of perfecution. The 
 Britifh tories, in our Icaport towns, feconded by 
 the American intereft, will (pare no toil or ex- 
 pence to make him infolvent and infamous. Ge- 
 Reral defcription cannot convey a complete picture 
 
UNITED STATES. 165- 
 
 of their proceedings. Their own pencil furnifhes 
 the befh portrait. Here follows an extract from a 
 federal electioneering hand-bill. An hundred years 
 hence, it may be hoped, that Americans will turn 
 over fiich outcafts of typography, with the fame 
 contemptuous pity as an Englishman of the preient 
 age looks back on the fallies of Settle and Tom 
 Browne*. 
 
 " To the Citizens of New-Tor k. 
 
 " Jacobin men and jacobin meafures are all hol- 
 " low and rotten. An instructive inftance has juft 
 " occurred. The bank of Pennsylvania was eftab- 
 " lifhed in oppofition to the bank of the United 
 " States. A jacobin prefident, fecretary, and a ma- 
 " jority of jacobin directors were appointed. The 
 " iifTue has difclofed a fcene of jacobin villainy. It 
 " turns out, that the prefident, fecretary, and the 
 " notable John Swanwick, have fraudently, aad by 
 " colludon, drawn out of the bank one hundred and 
 '* feventy thoufand dollars more than they had a 
 "right to. John Swanwick, the famous French 
 " American democrat,, whom the good democrats 
 " in Philadelphia have litely made a member of 
 " Congrefs, in oppofition t > the prudent and honefl 
 " part of the city, now appears in his true colour, 
 " an unprincipled fwindler. Such is the authentic 
 " intelligence juft received from Philadelphia. And 
 " yet a large body of citizens, many good but delu- 
 " ded ones, are draining every nerve to place once 
 " more in Congrefs the ariflocratic, democratical, 
 " Jacobinical, Edward Livingfton. Paufe., fellow- 
 " citizens ; be affured time will prove to his moft in- 
 " fatuated followers, that he is as rotten and hollow 
 " as his compeers." 
 
 tf 
 * See Johnfon's Life of Drydcnw 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Pofterity, if this, page chances to reach them, 
 will naturally aik where lies the propriety of re- 
 printing fuch rubbifh ? The -jr.fwer is, that fuch 
 writings were, in December, 1796, propagated at 
 New- York, with the approbation -of a very nume- 
 rous party. The deiign was, to defeat there-elec- 
 tion of Mr. Livingfton as reprefentative in Cdn- 
 grefs for that city ; and while any remembrance of 
 this handbill (hall remain, its authors and its abet- 
 tors rnuft be abhorred by every honeft man. 
 
 The bank of Pennfylvaria was not eflablifhed in 
 oppoiltion to the bank of the United States. Theiield 
 of competition was alike open to every perlbn . It has 
 never been faid that the Pennsylvania bank tiled an 
 unfair means to rival or injure the bank of the Uni- 
 ted States. The latter is here referred to, as if it 
 were fomething facred $ and yet the holders of its 
 ffcock are afhamedo>~ afraid of telling their names*. 
 Mr. Swanwick did not, in tlu clofe ct 1796, nor 
 for a long time before it, owe the Pennfylvania bank 
 a dollar. Here he is charged as an unprincipled 
 Jivindlsr, for having made fraudulent draughts out 
 of it. Thofe who voted for his f election oppofed 
 the honeftip&rt of this city. But even if it had been 
 all as true as it was falfe, this had nothing to do with 
 the election of Livingfton, anymore than the idle 
 ilory of Mr.Gallatin, ileeping under hedges, afford- 
 ed a reafon for rejecting general Dearbournet. The 
 fame tidue of defamation, falfehood, and vulgarity, 
 runs through a very large proportion of the wri- 
 tings of the federal party. So many different fam- 
 ples are here given to convince people, at a diftance 
 from the fcene, that theft are not partial fpecimens. 
 One would think that the friends of order have im- 
 ported a cargo of Coflacks or Hottentots to act as 
 
 * Supra, chap. ir. f Ibid. 
 
UNITED STATES. ,67 
 
 their penmen. Their encomiums are, if poffible, 
 more loathfome than their inve&ive. To cenfure 
 Prefident Wafhington is ranked^ by the Colurnbiau 
 Gentinel, with " ridiculing ***f *^^ or biack- 
 " guarding the Bible*." 
 
 Recurring again to the cafe of the Baltimore brig, 
 it may well be fuppofed, that captain Oaks was 
 afraid of proyoking fuch a {warm of fcorpions* 
 For the fame obvious and weighty reafon many nar- 
 ratives of Britifh piracy have been fecreted, by the 
 fufferers, from the public prints. Of the fifty-five 
 mips taken by the Argonaut, perhaps no regular 
 account of the capture of fix has appeared in any 
 newfpaper. 
 
 ^ The Maryland Journal, of the 2d of May, 1796, 
 gives the following account as from captaiii Wade 
 of the fchooner Polly, from Jamacia. He fays, that 
 from the soth of February to the ift of April, thir- 
 teen American prizes had been fent into Kingfton. 
 Threeof thefe were fchooners, belonging to Oliver 
 and Thomfbn, of Baltimore. Another was a new 
 copper-bottomed fhip from Baltimore to Calcutta. 
 
 On the 3d of May, the fchooner Edward and 
 William, captain Levin Jones, arrived at Baltimore, 
 in nineteen days from Port~au-Paix. In the paiTage, 
 {he met with a brig from Port-au-Prince bound for 
 New-London. The people told captain Jones, that 
 five of them had been imprefled by a Britidt frigate. 
 On the 28th of April, they were chafed by another, 
 but night cprning on they got out of her way. 
 
 On the fame day, the Ariel, captain Fifher, ar- 
 rived at Baltimore from Jacquemel. He had fpoke 
 to the fchoonerElizabeth, of Philadelphia, from Ja- 
 maica. The captain gave him an account of twen- 
 ty-Jeven American vefTels carried into that ifland 
 
 * Aurora, January 4th, 
 
l6 8 HISTORY OF. THE 
 
 for trial, und of two carried into the Mole, which 
 were to be lent to Jamaica. He adds, that all yef- 
 iels to or from French iilands were feized. 
 
 On the 1 7th of April, the brig Sifters, captain 
 Brent, arrived in Hampton roads from Guernfey. 
 She had, on the i2th of March, been boarded by 
 the Thetis, a Bermudian corfair. Thefe pirates 
 took out the matter and crew, rummaged the vef- 
 iel, broke up all the letters and papers, and, after 
 three hours, permitted her to proceed. 
 
 BOSTON, APRIL 16. 
 
 By an arrival, on Saturday, of a veffil from Curracca, we 
 " received the following -jrotefl of Hugh Wiljon, mafter cf 
 American brig called the Jay, belonging to Baltimore ; who 
 u being (kdyfuuorn before the notary royal and public of St. 
 ^ Bartholomew^ dxlareth : 
 
 tc That, having got his veilel captured and condemned, 
 "as hereafter will appear, and having had his log -book and 
 u all the papers belonging to the- veficl and to himfelf 
 " taken from him, all to the (hipping articles and a fmall 
 u memorandum book of his private difburfements, he is obli- 
 " ged to give his declaration from memory, and to the beft of 
 " his recollection, viz. that, on the lOth of April laft, 1795, 
 "he failed in faidbrig from St. Pierre, in the ifland of Mar - 
 " tir.ique, bound to Antigua : that, on the 1 2th of faid month, 
 " in the morning, he was boarded by the French armed fchoo- 
 " ner called, (as near as he could recollect) the Alhenienne, 
 " commanded by one Pafcal from Guadaulope, under the lee 
 " of which ifland the brig then was, and in the evening was 
 " carried into BafTaterre road, in faid laft ifland. That the 
 u fame deponent and all his crew were immediately put onboard 
 " a French floop of war, where they were detained about eight 
 <c or ten days*, without knowing what was the intention of the 
 " French to do with the faid brig, and without ever having been 
 *' h -ardor examined. That the deponentand the fupercargo, Mr. 
 <c John Starck,wcre fent qn fhore and conduced to the interpreter 
 tc or linc-uifter, who told them the brig Jay and her remaining 
 a cargo, confiftirig in corn and (caves, had already been con- 
 a dunned, and who furnifhed Mr 1 . Starck with a copy of the 
 
UNITED STATES; 
 
 "condemnation. That Mr. Starck was put at liberty; but 
 " the deponent was, the next day, thrown into BafTaterre goal, 
 cc where he remained about ten days, 1 after which he was drove 
 " out of the faid gaol and put in chains, onboard a fmall French 
 "fchooner bound to Point-a-Petre, the deponent lying all the 
 " pafiage (about fixty hours), witheight prifoners more, chained 
 <c to the fame bar, in the hold of faid fchooner, upon the ftone bai- 
 " laft, with a very fcanty and indifFerent food. That, having 
 " arrived in fuch a fituation at Point -,i-Petre, the deponent was 
 " was immediately put on board one of theprifonfliips in the harbor 
 " where he was detained for near eight months, that is to fay$ 
 " until the I ft inftant, (January, 1796,) when captain Whee- 
 w ler, of the brig Peggy, of New- York, having obtained per- 
 " mifHon to pick out American fiilors, that might be found on 
 " board of the different prifonfhips, came along fide the fhip 
 " where the deponent was detained. That having made his 
 c< cafe known to him, he, the faid captain Wheeler, took the de- 
 ponent along with him, and put him onboard the faid brig 
 " P e ggy* That, on the nth inft. or thereabout, the depon- 
 " ent went in faid brig from Point-a-Petre, and arrived in this 
 " harbour of Guftavia yefterday, the lyh inft. without yet 
 <c knowing what has become of his veflel, the brig Jay, her 
 " cargo, or any thing belonging to her, and without ever hav- 
 " ing been heard, either in behalf of faid property or of himfelf, 
 "during all the time of near nine months, he was detained in 
 "Gaudaloupe plundered of every thing belonging to him, and 
 c * not left a fecond fhirt to put on ; that, during his detention in 
 " Point-a-Petre, captain Lyle, of Baltimore, as he paf&d by 
 u the faid prifonfhip, having feen and recollected the deponent, 
 <c had applied to the commiflaire de guerre in his behalf, but in 
 " vain, as faid captain Lyle afterwards told the deponent. 
 
 ce [Here follows the proteft of the judge and notary public 
 " declaring the capture and condemnation to be contrary to the 
 " law of nations, and of humanity ; the whole isolated at Guf- 
 "tavia, (St. Bartholemew,) the I4th January, 1796.]" 
 
 The infertion of the preceding article, ought to 
 vindicate this work from the fufpicion x of a defire 
 to conceal or palliate the injuries committed" againfl 
 American commerce by the French republic. No- 
 thing of that nature has been intentionally over- 
 looked ; for the only object of the author is th$ 
 
 Z 
 
176 HISTORY OF TH? 
 
 difcovery and publication of truth, without the 
 fmalleli: concern what nation, or what individual 
 may chance to appear in an unfavourable light. 
 From this inftance of French piracy, we return to 
 Britlih depredations. 
 
 A paragraph, dated Norfolk, April 2.6th, 1796, 
 mentions the arrival of the fchoontr Eleanor, cap- 
 tain Jackfon. He gave an account of the HurTar, 
 a Britilh frigate, having captured the (hip Alexan- 
 der of Yorktown, captain Orr, from Lifbon to Nor- 
 folk. The crew were taken on board of the Hu 
 far, and the fliip heiielf was lent to Halifax. The 
 Maryland Journal, of the 2d of May, gives an ac- 
 count of the fchooner Betfey of Bofton, captain 
 Philips. She was taken by the Britiih, but re- cap- 
 tured by the crew, who delivered up the Britifh as 
 pnibners to the French, at Jacquernel. The fame 
 newfpaper tells of the feizure of the fliip Alexander, 
 of Baltimore, by the Britifh. She was bound from 
 Dcrnarara for Baltimore. The captors lent her in- 
 to Grenada, where the cargo was libelled. There 
 is alfo a (latement from captain Wade of the fchoo- 
 15 er Polly, of thirteen fail of Americans which 
 had been fent into Kingdon, Jamaica, between the 
 2oth of February, and the ift of April, 1796. 
 One of thefe v'eflels was bound from Baltimore to 
 Calcutta. 
 
 It feem's amazing that, in the face of fuch injuries, 
 any member of Congrefs could recommend appro- 
 priations for the Britifh treaty. Public cnriofity 
 has been excited by the concealment of Mr. Jay's 
 in ;lr unions. Accefs has been obtained to this paper, 
 and leave lias been given to make an abftraci of 
 every material part of it. This, though not in form, 
 yet in iiibflance, will anfwer the end in view. 
 
 Some notice has already been taken of the lingu- 
 !ar conduct of the executive in refufmg to treat 
 
UNITED STATES. ' 171 
 
 with Genet, becaufe the Senate were not then fit- 
 ting, and thereafter, while they actually were in 
 felfion, of his refolving to enter into a Britifh nego- 
 ciation, and nominating Mr. Jay as envoy, with- 
 out giving the Senate previous intimation of fuch 
 a delign. The mefTage does not alk either advice 
 or content,, but abruptly declares that he has thought 
 p roper. This is not the conflitutional flyle of alk- 
 ing advice or content. The departure from the 
 ipirit of the conltitutian is obvious. 
 
 The meffage was received by the Senate on the 
 i6th of April, 1794. n ^ ie X 7 tn ? a motion vvr.s 
 made in the following words: ct that, previous to 
 " going i'nto the con ft deration f the nomination of 
 <c a fpecial envoy to the court oi Great Britain, the 
 " Preu'dent of the United States be requefted to in- 
 " form the Senate of the whole buftncjs with which 
 <c the propofed envoy is to he charged." This mo- 
 tion was negatived. Thus the advice and conjent of 
 the Senate, as required by the conititution, were 
 overlooked. Witiiout consulting them, the PreQdent 
 refolvedto enter into a negotiation, and named an en- 
 voy. When he fent down the mefTage to the Senate, 
 as to his having done fo, he did not let them know 
 what the negociation was to be about. If the words 
 advice and conjent mean anything, it muft furely be, 
 that the Senate are to be previoully acquainted with, 
 and confulted upon*, the bufmefs that an ambafTador 
 is going to undertake. There can be no other ra- 
 tional explanation of the phrafe. The Senate could 
 not pretend to give their advice about the expe- 
 diency of commencing a treaty, when they did not 
 know the terms on which it was to begin > Yet, 
 fuch is the fpirit in a majority of that body, that 
 they refufed, as appears above, to requeft a com- 
 munication from the Prefident upon this point. 
 They had a title to have demanded fuch an ecclair- 
 ciiement. In private life ? it would be mockery to 
 
j- 7 2 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 afk a man to confent to any bufmeis, without firft 
 telling him the fcope cf it. Without fuch know- 
 ledge it is impoflible that he can give any thing de- 
 iervingthe name either of advice or conjent* 
 
 On the 1 9th of April, a motion was made in the 
 Senate of which the following is part. ct That to 
 <c permit judges of the Supreme Court to hold, at 
 u the fame time, any other office or employment, 
 a emanating from, and holden at the pleaiure of 
 *' the Executive, is contrary tothefpirit of the con- 
 u flitution, and, as tending to expofe them to the 
 /c influence of the Executive, \smifchieruous and im- 
 ** politic. 9 ' This motion parted in the negative, 
 ten to feventeen. On the 27th of November, 1794, 
 Dr. William Smith objected in Congrefs to the de- 
 mocratic focicty of this city, for the holding of fuch 
 a doctrine. But its being lupported by io large a 
 part of the Senate ought at leail to havefoftened the 
 fe verity of his cenfure. 
 
 We now come to the inftructions of our envoy. 
 Of thefe an entire copy cannot, as above ftated, be 
 obtained ; but permifiion has been procured to make 
 a copious abftract. They fet out with directing 
 Mr. Jay to obtain redrefs for the piracies committed 
 on our commerce by authority of inftructions from 
 the king and council. He is next enjoined to draw 
 to a conclufion all points of difference concerning 
 the peace of 1783. The Executive then exprefles 
 a wiih, that " the debts, the interefl claimed upon 
 " them, and all things relating to them, be put out- 
 i right in a diplomatic dijcuflion, as being certainly of 
 tc a judicial nature to be decided by OUK, courts " If 
 this point could not be obtained, he was to fup- 
 port the doctrines of government, " with argu- 
 <c ments proper for the occafion, and with that at- 
 a tention to his former public opinions, which felf- 
 u reipect will juftify.^ This phrafe, as to former 
 
UNITED STATES. f;g 
 
 public opinions, does not feem very happy. Mr. 
 Jay, as a judge, had declared, from the bench, that 
 the Englifh were juftified in detaining the weftern 
 pofts, on account of the debts due to Britain. 
 Hence attention to his former opinions, would 
 lead him to vindicate the latter, at the cxpcnce of 
 America. 
 
 The inftru&ions proceed to fay, that, " the Bri- 
 " tifh government, having denied their abetting the 
 u Indians, we mull, of courfe, acquit them. But we 
 " have fatisfaftory proofs, fome of which, howe- 
 u ver, cannot, as you will difcover, be well ufed 
 " in public, that Britifh agents are guilty of ftir- 
 <c ring up, and aflifting, with arms, ammunition, 
 " and warlike implements, the different tribes of 
 " Indians againft us. 
 
 "It is incumbent upon that government tb rc- 
 " drain thefe agents, as a forbearance to retrain 
 " them, cannot be interpreted otherwife than as a 
 44 determination to countenance them." Mr. Jay 
 was farther direfted to in (1ft, " that the Indians 
 " dwelling in the territories of one, (hall not be in* 
 " tcrfered with by the other." He was likewife en- 
 joined, " to explain the pacific wifhes of America, 
 tc in cafe that he fhould find the court of London 
 " equally difpofed for amity." Mr. Jay was, be- 
 fides, inftrufted to mention the dangerous effect that 
 might be produced upon the minds of the citizens 
 of America, by the continuation of outrages in the 
 Weft-Indies, while, at the fame time, our courts 
 gave entire authority to claims for Britifti debts. 
 Mr. Jay was, in particular, enjoined to confider," the 
 ic inexecution and infraction of the treaty, as /landing 
 c on diftintt grounds from the vexations and Jpelia- 
 c tions ; Jb that no acljuftment of the former, is to be 
 " influenced by the latter." Mr. Jay was, in the next 
 place, inftruftedj if he fhould be able, to obtain fa- 
 
174 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tis faction, as to the treipaffes on the treaty of 1783, 
 and as to the Well-Indian piracies, to found the 
 Bri'dih mirsiftry on the fubjeci' of a commercial, 
 treaty. If he found this fubjetc eligible, he was ef- 
 pecially direeledto infill upon the following points/ 
 
 il i. Reciprocity in navigation, and particularly 
 cc to the Weft-Indies, aad even to the Eaft-Indies. 
 
 cc 2. The admifiion of wheat, fifn, fait meat, and 
 c other great ilaples, upon the fame footing with 
 " the admi'Iion of the great Britifh Ilaples in Amc- 
 u can ports. 
 
 CC ?. FREE SHIPS TO MAKE FREE GOODS. 
 
 ct 4. Proper fecurity for the fafety of neutral 
 <c commerce in other refpecls ; and particularly by 
 ct declaring provisions never to be contraband, ex- 
 " cept in the flrongefl pofiible cafe ; as the block- 
 " ade of a port ; or, if attainable, by abolifhing 
 cc contraband, altogether. By defining a blockade, 
 <c if contraband, mufl continue, in fome degree, as 
 " it is defined in the armed neutrality. By reftric- 
 u ting the opportunities of vexation, in v ill ting veC- 
 " fels, and bringing under llricler management 
 " privateers, and expediting recoveries againffc 
 cc them for mifconduci. ' 
 
 : 5. Exemption of emigrants, particularly ma- 
 c c nufadurers, from rcf train t* . 
 
 cc 6. Free export of arms and military (lores. 
 
 tc 7. The exclufionofthe term u the moil favour- 
 " ed nation," as being productive of embarraffment. 
 
 u 8. The convoy of merchant (hips, by the pnlv 
 *' lie fhips of war, where it {hall be necerTary, and 
 <c they be holding the fame courfe. 
 
 u 9. It is anxioufly to be defired, that the fiftiing 
 cc grounds now engroffed by the Britifli mould be 
 " opened to the citizens of the United States. 
 
 * Every body knows how admirably thi$ point has been attended t. 
 
UNITED STATES. 175 
 
 <{ ic The intercourfe with England makes it ne- 
 <c cefTary that the disability ariiing from alienage, 
 <c in cafes of inheritance, fiiould be put on a liberal 
 u looting; or rather abolimed. 
 
 u n. You may difcufs the fale of prizes in our 
 * c ports, while we are neutral; and this, perhaps, 
 <c may be added to the considerations which we 
 u have t6 give, befides thole of reciprocity. 
 
 cc 1 2. Proper fhelter, defence, and fuccour, againft 
 <c pirates, fh'ipwreck'. Sec. 
 
 '" 13. Full iecnrity for the retiring of the citizens 
 <c -of the United States from the Britim dominions 
 a in cafe a -war fiiould break out. 
 
 u 14. No privateering c-ommifllons to be taken 
 <c out by the fubjeds of the one, or the citizens of 
 cc the other party, againft each other*. 
 
 cc 15. Confuls to be admitted in Europe, the Wefl 
 " and Ea(tJndit J s. 
 
 <c 16. In c'afe of an Indian war, none but the ufu- 
 cc al fupplies in peac'e mail be furnifhed. 
 
 cc 17. In peace, no troops to be kept within a li- 
 <c mited diflance from the lakes. 
 
 cc 18. No ftipulation whatever is to interfbre with 
 u our obligations to France. 
 
 cc 19. A treaty is not to be continued beyond fif- 
 teen years." 
 
 The above enumeration prefented, in a general 
 point of view, the objects which our Executive con- 
 Udered as deflrable to be comprehended in a com- 
 mercial treaty. But Mr. Jay was efpecially caution- 
 ed not to cxpeft that a treaty could be pofitively ef- 
 fected with fo great a variety of advantages in fa- 
 
 * It is hard to gucfswhat our Executive could mean by this ir, 
 jundion. In cafe of a rnpture between this country and England, 
 the chief way in which we can affed her intereft, muft be by attack- 
 ing feer commerce. Hence a ftipulation for reftriclin^ our own eif- 
 forts in that quarter, has not an extreme appearance of perfpicuin% 
 
lj6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 vour of America. Here it is difficult to fupprefs 
 the feelings of fnrprife, at fo very injudicious a 
 choice of the time for making a commercial treaty 
 with Britain. Something has been laid upon that 
 fubjeft already, and to which the reader is referred. 
 
 The (ixth chapter of an acl of parliament, paft 
 in the 2 8th year of the reign of George the third, 
 nientious certain articles which may be carried 
 from the United States to the Britifli Weft-Indies, 
 in Britifli bottoms ; <md certain others which may 
 be conveyed from the Britiflf Weft-Indies to the 
 United States in Britifli bottoms. Mr. Jay was en- 
 joined, if practicable, to obtain the fame privilege, 
 in both cafes, for American bottoms, but luch trea- 
 ty, inflead of the ufual claufe of ratification, was 
 to contain the following. " This treaty mall be ob- 
 44 ligatory and conclusive, when the fame mall be 
 cc ratified by his Britannic majefty of the one part, 
 " and by the Prefident of the United States, by 
 cc and with the advice and confent of the Senate, of 
 " the other." 
 
 But if a treaty of commerce could not be form- 
 ed upon a bafis as advantageous as that above fta- 
 ted, Mr. Jay was prohibited from concluding or 
 ftgning anyjuch; u it being conceived that it would 
 *' not be expedient to do any thing more than to 
 " digeft with the Britiih miniftry, the articles of 
 cc fuch a treaty, as they appeared willing to accede 
 tc to, referring them here for consideration and fur- 
 cc ther inflrudion, previous to a formal conclufion." 
 
 From this part of Mr. Jay's inftructions, the plain 
 inference feems to be, that he was not at liberty to 
 flgn any treaty at all, till it had been previously re- 
 mitted to this country for examination. Indeed it 
 was plainly enough admitted, in the Houfe of Re- 
 prefentatives, that our envoy had exceeded his 
 powers. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 After this injunction, the inftriKftians to Mr. 
 Jay proceed LnrLrliately in the following words. 
 14 So.ae of the other points which it would be in- 
 " tcreiiing to comprehend in a treaty, may not be 
 "' attended with difficulty. Among; theie, is th6 
 '* admiilion of oar commodities and maimfac'Uires, 
 "generally, in the Bi'ituh European . dominions, 
 " upon :i footing equally good with thofe of other 
 " foreign countries. At present, certain enumera- 
 " reel articles only are admitted, and though the 
 " enumeration embraces all the articles which it 
 ( '' is of prelent confequence to us to be able to export 
 " to thofe dominions, yet, in prccefs of time, an ex- 
 "' tenlion ofthe objects rnay become of moment. The 
 " lixiTig of the privileges which we now enjoy, in the 
 '* British Eaft Indies, by toleration of the company's 
 *' government, if any arrangement can be made with 
 " the confenc of the company for that purpofe, 
 " would alfo be a valuable ingredient/' 
 
 As Denmark and Sweden were upon very indif- 
 ferent terms with the Britiih rniniftry, and asRuilia* 
 the nominal ally of England, had, in the American 
 war, appeared at the head of the famous armed neu*- 
 trality, it was to be expected, that fome co-operation 
 from that quarter would greatly tend to enforce the 
 fucceisofMr. Jay's errand. Accordingly, fome ideas 
 on thisfubjeclfeem to have occurred to our<American 
 cabinet. But the timid and indeceffive llyle in which 
 the inflrucHons, as to that point, are couched, mews 
 how little could be refted upon them. Our envoy was 
 cautioned as to entering into fuch a negotiation, if 
 there was a danger of its being difcovered by the 
 Britifh court. Now this notion of our Executive 
 runs exprefsly counter to the common experience 
 of mankind, For, the very dread of Jay maturing 
 fuch a treaty, would have been the mod likely way 
 to bring Grenville to favourable terms* Nothing 
 
 A a 
 
j;8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 was to be depended upon from that quarter, bu 
 through the operation of interefl or fear ; and the 
 ffiorteft way to make this improdfion, was, by affec- 
 ting a corre fpon den ce with the Danifh and Swedifh 
 mhiifters, even though America had previously de- 
 termined to decline fuch a conjunction. The for- 
 mer armed neutrality had ftruck England with un- 
 ufual alarm, and the very dread of a fecond com- 
 bination of that fort would have chilled the warmed 
 drop of blood in the veins of the Englifh nation. In 
 private life, when you want to cheapen a piece of 
 goods, the firft argument is, that you can go to the 
 next itore. But jay was exprefsly directed to con- 
 ceal any defign of fuch a nature. To give our Exe- 
 cutive full juftice, the whole paffage, as it imme- 
 diately follows the laft quotation, is here inferted 
 verbatim. ' 
 
 " You will have no difficulty in gaining accefs to 
 <c the tninifters of Ruffia, Denmark, and Sweden, 
 " at the court of London. The principles of the 
 " armed neutrality would abundantly cover our 
 " neutral rights. If, therefore, the fituation of 
 " things with refpecl to Great Britain fliould dictate 
 " thenecellity of taking the precaution of foreign co- 
 " operation on this head ; if no profped of accomoda- 
 " tionfkould be thwarted by the danger of fuch a mea- 
 " Jure being kntnvn to the Britijh court ; and if an en- 
 " tire view of all our political relations, mall, in your 
 " judgment, permit the ftep ; you will found thofc 
 * c minifters upon the probability of an alliance with 
 tc their nations to fupport thofe principles. Howe- 
 " ever, there can be no rifk in examining what can 
 " be concerted with Denmark and Sweden, or any 
 " other power, againft the Algerincs. It may be re- 
 " prefented to the Britidi miniftry, how productive 
 " of perfect conciliation it might be to the people of 
 st the United States, if Great Britain would ufe her 
 
UNITED STATES. 1 79 
 
 '" influence with the Dcy of Algiers for the libera- 
 41 tion of the American citizens in captivity, and for 
 " a peace upon reasonable terms. It has been com- 
 44 municatcd from abroad, to be the fixed policy of 
 " Great Britain, to check our trade in grain to the 
 " Mediterranean. This is too doubtful to be alfu- 
 " med, but fit for enquiry." 
 
 As to the reirriction in correfponding with the 
 miniilers of Sweden and Denmark, with regard to 
 an armed neutrality, the reader can compare the 
 text with the commentary, and decide whether a 
 minuter like Jay, who had j unified the Britifh in 
 detaining the weitern pods, was likely to negociatc 
 with the northern powers, under fuch equivocal and 
 tremulous injunctions. 
 
 Another part of the above paragraph, refers to 
 getting the Britifh miniftry to obtain the liberation, 
 of American prifbners in Algiers. Our minuter 
 was to tell how productive this ilep would be of 
 perfect conciliation. If the Britifli had defired the 
 latter, American failors would never have been 
 carried as (laves into Barbary. It was publicly un- 
 derflood in both countries, that the court of Lon- 
 don, by patching up the Portuguefe truce, were the 
 real authors of the Algerine piracies. Noftro quo- 
 que Jeculo monftrum. To fuch atrocious, fuch aban- 
 doned political bloodhounds, whofe guilt rivals the 
 darkeft precedent in the records of perdition, the 
 application of this trimming, fawning ftyle, was 
 perfectly ufelefs. It was like telling a highwayman 
 how greatly you would thank him for returning 
 your purfe. Jay, if in earned., ought to have a (Turned 
 a different tone, u You arc not only," he might have 
 faid, " corfairs in perfon, but corfairs by proxy. You 
 " have not only accumulated upon our commerce 
 " every wrong that Britifh bucanneers were capably 
 a of infliding, but with * meanne& and bafene& 
 
i So H/STORY OF THE 
 
 i4 which po language can defcribe, you have fum- 
 :; )oncd to your aid the dregs of the human race- 
 i: ".rill you make reparation, common fenfe loudly 
 '"* exclaims that no treaty between us can repay the 
 " trouble of iubfcription." 
 
 The Iviil fhitence of the above extract from Jay's 
 itiftruclions, fpeaks of fomething as a fecret, which 
 was .in reality known to the whole world. England 
 adhered to the policy of checking, npt merely slme- 
 
 trade in grain to tJic Mediterranean, but Ame- 
 rican trade in every commodity to every quarter of 
 
 vorhU Lord Sheffield had even wrote a b 
 
 -ncly popular in England, whcicin lie rcccm- 
 mended that p.oteelion from 4C the povvtu; of Bar- 
 " bary" fhovild not be granted by England to Ame- 
 rican commerce. This ws.3, hi other words, recom- 
 rnendls^: 1 ; that thefe robbers Co aid be turned loofe 
 upon us, at ti:c fir it opportunity* V\ r hen jay went 
 to England, lord Sheffield, the apofrle of this pro- 
 jeci, was high in the confidence of Mr. 1'itt. i'b that 
 the conduct of the latter was merely an iliuih c.r?on 
 of the principles of the former. Yet our KxccutAe 
 fpeaks, in the inftruclions, as if thir rev. s iiad i;c;eri 
 c -/vrevecl by fome fecret channel, ' the doc, 
 
 trine and practice of the Biitiiii rnirJil.ry wcie 
 dike notorious. Nay, Mr, Tench Co;.c bad wrote 
 sn an Twer to Sheffield, and in particular to this Al- 
 gerine plan, fevcral years before Mr. Jay went to 
 England. Thus our Executive might have f 
 full evidence as to t/i? fixed policy of Britain^ in 
 the ftoi*e of every bookfeller in Philadeiphis. 
 
 icxt part of the inflruclions is in thele words. 
 
 ct -Such are the outlines of the conduc't which the 
 
 4 Preddej:it..wi(hes3' r cu to purfue. He is aware that 
 
 -his diilance, and during the prefent inflabi- 
 c llty of public events, he cannot undertake to pre- 
 ' fcribc rules whicb (hall be irrevocable j you 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 ** therefore, confider the ideas herein expreifed, as 
 *' amounting to recommendations only, which, in your 
 " discretion you may modify, as feems mofc bene- 
 " ciai to the United States, except in the following 
 " cafes, which arc immutable. 
 
 " i . That, as the Britifli miniflry will cloubtlefs 
 " be fblicitous to detach us from France, and may, 
 " probably, make forne overtures of this kind ; you 
 " will inform them that the government of the Uni- 
 " ted States will not derogate from our treaties and 
 " engagements with France, and that experience has 
 " fhewn that we can be honed in our duties to the 
 *' Britifh nation, without laying otirfelves under any 
 " particular reflraints.as to other nations ; and, 
 
 " 2. That no treaty of commerce be concluded, 
 *' contrary t<? jke fore^oinp'' prohibition." 
 
 This extracl concludes the inftrudions. A fliort 
 analyfis will evince that they, are not remarkable 
 for perfpicuity. We (hall begin at their outfet, and 
 attempt a fhort etch of their merits. 
 
 The firil object Hated in the inflruclions is, to ob- 
 tain redrefs for the piracies, or, as the paper 
 terms it, " for the -vexations and fpoliations com- 
 ic mitted on our commerce." The moil atrocious 
 of thele vexations* was the irnpreilment of Ameri-- 
 can icamen ; yet, in the v/hole text of the inftruo 
 tions, of which about five-fixths have been exactly 
 cited, nothing dhlincl or decifive is faid pn that 
 point. We have inferted above, an entire copy 
 of the whole nineteen articles upon which Mri 
 Jay was authorifed to found a commercial treaty. 
 In thefe, nothing levels at the practice of imprefl^ 
 ment, unlefs it can be implicated under the general 
 phrafe, u as to the fafety of neutral coipjnerce,'* 
 and 6 ' reftritiing the opportunities of vexations in 
 " vifiting vcflels." Rcftridion is one thing, and 
 prohibition is Another ;. fo that even if impreilraent 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 had been really implied, the language was too vague 
 and equivocal for the objecl. The treaty, as it now 
 ilands, contains not one iingle word about the pro- 
 te-ftion- of American feamen. After Grenville and 
 Jay had almoft finiflied the articles of this paper, 
 jay fent a note to the Britifh minifter, containing 
 eighteen correclions, or additions, that had occur- 
 red to him. Only one of them, viz, the fixteenth, 
 deferves publication here. It is in thefe words. 
 
 u An article ought to be added, to prevent the 
 4 impreffmenfrof each other's people." 
 
 To this claufe, the aniwer was thus. 
 
 cc Lord Grenville can fee no reafon whatever > 
 c{ why fuch an article ihould not be added." No 
 farther notice was taken by Mr. Jay of the bufinefs. 
 As to the authenticity of this flngnlarcorrefpondencej 
 it has been firft had from a member of the Houfe 
 of lleprefentatives of laft Congrefs, who read it 
 when lying on the table of the Senate, and the 
 fubftance of it was publifhed, laft fall, in Britifh Ho- 
 nour and Humanity. It was fmce repeated to the 
 author by a member of the Senate. As for the merit 
 of our envoy, in this cafe, a thouland volumes of 
 diplomatic hiftory would not furnifh fuch another 
 inftance of negligence in the duty of office. 
 
 The intensions next obferve, that the debts due 
 to England arc to be u put outright % in a diploma- 
 cc tic diiculTion, as being certainly of a judicial na- 
 ct ture to be decided by our courts." Inflead of this, 
 Mr. Jay erecled an arbitrary board of five commit 
 fioners. Thus American debtors were, with one 
 clam of his pen, deprived of the right of a trial by 
 jury. The Prefident and Senate ratified this breach 
 of jufHce and of Jaw. 
 
 * Irt pafling, one cannot fail to admire the clafficul ftyle of our 
 cabinet, 
 
UNITED STATES. 183 
 
 The infbrudions likewiie fay, that " the Britifh 
 " government, having denied the abetting of the 
 " Indians, -we mujl, of courje, acquit them." On the 
 fame principle, an American debtor, denying his 
 debt before the five commiflioncrs, they muft^ of 
 courfe, acquit him. 
 
 Mr. Jay was alfo to confider, c < the inexcution 
 u and infraction of the treaty, as Handing on dii- 
 " tind grounds from the vexations and fpolia- 
 u tions; fo that no adjustment of the former, ig 
 *' to be influenced by the latter ." The general 
 face of the treaty plainly fets off the debts 
 due to Britain, againft the detention of the wci- 
 tern pods, and the piracies in the W eft-Indies , 
 The public have been fufficiently tired with harp- 
 ing upon Jay's treaty ; but the bufinefs of com- 
 penfation ftands at prefent as follows. Providing 
 that American merchants recover their damages 
 in a Britifh court of admiralty, they are not to 
 receive immediate payment. The Britifh claims 
 on American debtors are to be held up as a counter- 
 jioife ; and, when the balance fhall be ftruck be- 
 tween the two clafTcs of claims, the Britifh expecl: 
 and fay, that feveral millions of dollars will be 
 found in their favour. This extraordinary mode 
 of compenfation for piracy, was related by a perfon 
 high in office in the Britifh fervice, to a Senator of 
 the prefent Congrefs, from whom the account is 
 here given. 
 
 We now come to thequeftion, -whether Mr. Jay 
 
 broke his inftrudions, f A few literal citations from 
 
 them will decide this point. On p. 176, there has 
 
 already been quoted a paragraph beginning thus : 
 
 c but if a treaty of commerce cannot be formed up- 
 
 c on a bafis as advantageous as this, YOU ARE NOT 
 
 :c TO CONCLUDE OR SIGN ANY SUCH, it being con- 
 
 ' ceivedj" Sec. The whole paragraph is 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 confufed, but it clearly enjoins a prohibition upon. 
 Mr. Jayof (igniiivv any treaty, unlefs he could ob- 
 tain an agreement to tae whole of his own terms, 
 which the Executive, as above, fays, could not be 
 expefad. Thus we have one Hep. 
 
 A fubfequent paflage already quoted, has thefo 
 words: "you will therefore conflder the ideas 
 ;c herein exprelfcd, as amounting to rscommen* 
 c dations only, which in your difcretion you 
 u may modify, as feenis molt beneficial to the Uni-^ 
 c ted States, except in the two following cafes, 
 " which are IMMUTABLE/' 
 
 The two caics are above inferted. One of them 
 is, ci that no tre ity of commerce be concluded or 
 " figned, contrary to the foregoing prohibition." 
 Thcie are the doling words of the inllructions ; 
 and hence they muft be regarded as explanatory 
 of what goes before them. The preceding prohi- 
 bition can only allude to that paiTage where Mr. 
 Jay is forbidden from ilgning a treaty, unlefs he ob- 
 tained every thing on his own conditions. The 
 intermediate, reference to his difcrstlon is inftant- 
 ly checked by the prohibition offigning. The cafe 
 may then be reduced to three points. 
 
 1. Mr. Jay was prohibited from figning a treaty 
 ttnlefs-0 certain terms , that were not within the 
 compafs of expectation. 
 
 2. Mr. Jay figned a treaty* 
 
 3. So far from obtaining the terms required, he 
 agreed to a treaty almoft entirely the reverie of 
 them. For inftance, Free firips to make free goods 
 is inverted. The fecnrity of emigrant manufac- 
 
 ti is unnoticed. No adntimdTi is obtained to 
 
 h fifhing grounds. In the cafe of an Indian 
 
 wir, we have no reitriftion of military fupplies 
 
 from Britain to the fa v ages. The free export of 
 
 amis and military ftores is forbidden, in time of 
 
UNITED STATES. i-j- 
 
 v\nr, for the eighteenth article of the treaty declares 
 the'ii contraband. Thus, out of the eighteen in- 
 junctions above quoted, the third, fifth, fixth, ninth, 
 and iixteenth, are either negiecled or con tra dialed $ 
 a ' other infractions, of an inferior nature, may 
 readily be found. Bat, palling by uich trite mate- 
 rials, we proceed at once to the two capital points 
 ftffecurity to American commerce and df avoidirig all 
 cznf's ofoifjn ce to Franc?. As to the firft, the Bri- 
 ti:li continue at this day (June ipth, 1797) td plun- 
 der, though two years ai;d Icvea months have pad 
 over fmce Mr. Jay iigned his treaty. With regard 
 to the fccond, the French were, from the firit, 
 highly andreifonably ex.uperated at the conditions 
 of the treaty, and a war with that republic is like- 
 ly to be the confequence. 
 
 Thus, in all their material parts, Mr t Jay vio- 
 lated his powers. We afked for a fiQi, and he gave 
 us a ferpent. It has been v/hifpered that a fecond 
 let of inflruAions were tranfniitted to our envoy. 
 Tney were never laid before the Senate, and it fol- 
 lows, that, if they really exifced, which is extreme- 
 ly doubtf -il, the Senate knew nothing about them. 
 They can form no part of our envoy's vindication, 
 unleis he ihall chtife to produce them. 
 
 The tenth article, as to the injullice and impolicy 
 of fequcftrating Britifh debts, was written, as it now 
 flanas, by Mr. Jay. This evinces, if evidence 
 were wanting, that the whole affair was an inflru- 
 ment of party. 
 
 We have now afcertained that Mr. Jay trefpa- 
 fed his orders. The next qucftion is, by what mo- 
 tives he could be induced to do fo ? In this coun- 
 try it has-been the cuftoni to hold up Americans as 
 a race of fuperior beings, and from that theory the 
 re fait is, that, forGrenville to purchafe our federal 
 envoy., was impracticable. But the tenth article of 
 
 B b 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the treaty, by an exprefs implication, arraigns Mr. 
 Dayton and a confiderable party in Congrefs, as me- 
 ditating an aft of injuftice. Camillas alfo*, in all 
 the plenitude of his eloquence, can find no powers of 
 language equal to the bafenels of the Batonian pro* 
 jea. 
 
 From thefe eftimates of American purity, every 
 man will make what inference he thinks fit, as to 
 the probable fale of our treaty. Speaking of this 
 country, Thomas Paine has indeed told us that 
 tc the innocence of he?' charat'ier, that won the 
 cc hearts of all nations in her favour, may, a thou- 
 c< fand years hence, found like a romance ; her 
 
 '.'ble virtue, as if it hjd never been!." At 
 
 the date of only ten years, from writing of the 
 
 nee, the talc founds not like a romance, 
 
 ire, out very like an untruth. It forms a 
 part of tiiat empty blabbing of national vanity, 
 which has been remarked among every race of 
 mankind, from Greenland to Cape Horn. With- 
 out launching into the ocean of the revolutionary 
 virtue of the United States, let us hear what the 
 Aflembly of Georgia have to fay about its Ctustion, 
 in 1796. The picture makes an intereilingpart of 
 the hiflory of that year. 
 
 GEORGIA, 
 
 cc BURKE COUNTY, i6th of January, 1796. 
 " Clement La'ii--:r, efq. o;ie of the R^pref-ntatives in the le- 
 sc Tifl^ture of this ilate, who, bt-inor duly fworn, on trie holy 
 " j v a nge 1 i ' of t'< ie Al r- i g ! .t y G od, depofeth and fays, that, d u- 
 " ring the lad filler, o; tS '> legiflatureof Augufta, in the win- 
 a tt-r of the yr. r 1705, he being a m-mber of the Houfe of 
 " Reprefentatjyes, and fitting on the fame feat with Henry 
 c; Grinoat, another of the memb?rs of that houfe, before the 
 " fpeaker took, the chair, the faivl Grindat recommended to him 
 " to be in favour of the fale of the wsftern lands ; for that he, 
 
 * Supra, chap. IV. t Paine to Waihington, p. 8. 
 
UNITED STATES. 187 
 
 " the faid Grindat, uriderftood it was worthy our notice ; for 
 "Mr. Thomas Wylly, a fcnator from EiHi irity, 
 
 :< had told the faid Grindat, that he, the- faid WylTy, ccul'J have 
 " eight cr ten negroes for his part : and the deponent ftjrtfo 
 < faith, that, on the fame day, in the afternoon, ti e fai 
 u Wylly, came into the lobby of the houf , 
 " the deponent, who followed him out, when r f tipn 
 
 <c commenced about the Tazoo aft ; tfe :, at tfc farr.e time, a 
 u Mr^Denifon came by, and afked wl it we were iurn Tfe 
 " ilia Wylly anfwered, the land bua^is ; the laid D?:\-r* 
 u then came up, and Wylly withdrew ; that D.-.iifon then told 
 " the deponent, that he did not pretend toadvife any member 
 " to be in favour of felling the land, but that thofe who were 
 " in favour of felling it, Were hanuj-m;ly provided for^ and that 
 " if the deponent thought proper to be in favour of felling, that 
 " hejhould have part ; and that the faid Denifon faid, that he 
 ;t was a purchafer of fuch of the member's parts, as had a mind 
 " to fell, but underftood that fome of the members pretended 
 " to afk eight and ten negroes for a fhare, or their (hares ; he faid 
 :t he could not give fo much, but the deponent might depend he 
 " would purchafe : the deponent further faith, that, previous to 
 " any of the before recited ci re urn fiances, Mr. William Long- 
 u ftreer, one of the members of the faid legiflature, frequently 
 " called on the deponent, and afked why he was not in favour 
 " of felling the weftern lands, who anfwered, he did not think it 
 " right to fell to companies of fpeculators. The deponent at 
 11 this time, wifhed to make further dilcovery of the conduft of 
 * c the members on that fale, and therefore arTlcled to be ijiclined 
 f l to come into the meafure, and, by that means kept up a conver- 
 ct fation about it occafionally ; that on the day the bill recoi ved its 
 1 firft reading, before the houfc? convened, faid Lonstfreet fpoke 
 | c to the deponent to get his approbation to ihe fale. The deponent 
 " afked him to ihew him what fecurity the members had of 
 the purchafe, when the faid Longftreet prefented a certificate, 
 entitling the bearer to two fliares, of twenty-five thoufand 
 " acres each, figned by Nathaniel Pendleton, chairman. The 
 " deponent then told ihe faid Lo:igftreet, that that was not 
 ; what he bad formerly told him was a member's' fhare ; for 
 the faid Longftreet had before faid, a member's /hare was 
 Jevcnty-five thrufand acres. That the- faid Longftreet, then 
 told the deponent, if he would wait a fcw minutes, or an 
 hour, he would bring him another certificate from 
 for the fame number of acres, That the 
 
183 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " in order (jo difengr- Iflrom the converfation, then fa i; I 
 
 <l the f- v in i i. v WHS not n fEck ut to enti . land. That 
 
 fai-i Lond* v . at if he was not 
 
 1 i lied wnh thi ( :, he would give bin one tboufand 
 
 <|L dollars for ir, or for them. The (Lpojicut men pn 
 " cu-fcficatcn to the laid Longftreet, and went into the houfe 
 " which was the hit interview h had o\ the fubjv6t. The de- 
 " ponent further fiiih, thnt the {hares ofixp-u hiiii as aforefaid, 
 4< were exprefsly deigned to induce him, the deponent, to vote 
 (c far the bill for difpoling ol'the v/ciL'rn t.:rritory. 
 "(Signed,) 
 
 "CLEM. LANIFR. 
 
 (i ,v. \v-ni in the prefence of the committee of the Houfe of 
 a Reprefentatives, bcibr:.: m>-, 
 
 THOMAS LEWIS, J. P." 
 
 The above dcpoiition is one of thofe publi/lied 
 
 by the legiilature of Georgia, rcfpCL c ring the Ya- 
 
 zoo buiineis. It was happy for America, that, in 
 
 June, i?9?S the.terrelh'ial ipeculations of general 
 
 Gunn did not prevent his attendance at Fhilaclel- 
 
 as a fenator. An abfence fo fatal would have 
 
 deprived this continent of the Britifh treaty, for 
 
 which he voted; of that maritime iecurity which 
 
 conftitittes the pride of the feaman, and of 
 
 compenfation, injpeae^ which now cracks the 
 
 ;rs ol the merchant* ! 
 
 * Even if the Hritiih government could preferve its exigence, this 
 
 npenfdtioh woul-j be a very remote ohjedt. It is amtifing 
 
 :i i'?M'j that, after a peace with the emperor, Brifain 
 
 will Itill maintain her fupremacy at fra. France, in the firit placet 
 
 her manufactures from every country in Europe, Ruf- 
 
 r-, cxceptcd. This cuts ofF three-fourths,, at leafi, of 
 
 ', . i.i nne-hali-' of her revenue. Second, other 
 
 obje!;ls U.ei!> cut ot the ^.-ay, Prance will turn her chief attention 
 
 to her navy, which, in a fliort ti r>e, may rival th:ir of England, as 
 
 it nearly did in the laii war. Third, the expldion of paper me- 
 
 iiey, find the icdudion of revenue, w fil foou ilifiible England from 
 
 inaintaihing ;i navy, cqu.i- : (upporrs at preient. Fourth, 
 
 France* h;v-., i-i r.vp.^s, ten or twelve hundred .r'opufand men. A 
 
 ^ :.:il d(Kiiains. IVIa- 
 
 upcn canals ?nd other public works. Butj for 
 
UNITED STATES. 189 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Britiffi depredations continued. 'Mcrrcw/U 
 uefs. "The trig Fame. Thejchooncr jlti 
 Jofnua fy'hitinv. The brig Columbia. Thefioop 
 Dove. The May /' lower. The Eliza. Iv.-arder 
 of captain Boflon. S/////T Excije. Memoirs cf 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON, late Secretary of the 
 Trcajnry. his firnniiur mode of correjpondence 
 with certain pcrjons. Remarks en his conncciion 
 TV it/i Reynolds. 
 
 r | ^O commence this chapter, a few additions! 
 JL fpecimens of Britith amity are inferted. A 
 letter from captain Thorndike Belaud, dated King* 
 lion, lit of April, 1796, to a merchant in Phila- 
 delphia, contains, for publication, a lilt of twelve 
 American vef'f.ls taken and carried into that port* 
 Captain Deland farther fays, that he had heard of 
 
 the internal tranquility of the republic, myriads muft he difcharged 
 upon fome toreign enterprife. England will moil likely be the 
 fcene ef adion, and a lefler effort than that which conquered Flan- 
 ders, would convert her into a French province. Though the fe- 
 deral party in Congrcfs cannot fee 'the danger of this event, yet Ar- 
 thur Young, and Edmund Burke, perceive it very diftinclly. 
 
 As the friends of 'order arc conilantiy talking of French ambition, 
 and its effects, let them refcd the following account of the emperor. 
 It is here copied f;om a London newfpaper, of March 23, 1796. 
 
 '* The Aullrian (hare of the new partition of Poland includes four 
 *' thoufand four hundred and fifteen fqu a re miles of territory, tuo 
 <* hundred andfeven towns, four thoufand fix hundred and five vil- 
 ' lages, and one million one hundred and fix thoufand one hundred 
 " aRd'feventy-eight fouls." The miles muft he of fome German, 
 ftandard, othenvife this part of Poland would be twice as populous* 
 to its extent, as Yorklhire. What mail \vc think of this imperial 
 ufurper enflaving, at one ilrrUt?, eleven hundred thoufand dcfence- 
 lefspeoph? With fuch fads beforcr us, it is foolery to fpcak of ja- 
 cobin ckvredadons. r i'his is one ofthofo crowned robber?, into 
 <> alliance th? r^dcrsl politicians with tc precipitate Amcrici.' 
 
19$ HISTORY OF THE 
 
 twenty-fevcn other (hips at Tortola, which were 
 in jeopardy. He informs, that all Americans, 
 w.ien carried into Kingfion, were, after examina- 
 tion, turned afhore, without provifion for their 
 fupport. Any one having concern in a houfe, or 
 having even a factor at St. Domingo, or any French 
 port, was deemed a Frenchman, and his property 
 was, on that account, condemned. On the 2ift 
 of April, 1796, rhe fchconer William and Mary, 
 captain Shaw, arrived at Portfmourh, New Kamp- 
 ihire, in thirty-eight days from Kingfton. \\ hen 
 he left that place, the i prefTment of American 
 ieamen had not iabfldec On the jth of May, the 
 fchoancr Mermaid, captain Tahei:, arrived from 
 the Mole, at New- York. His mate, a native Ame- 
 rican, was pre{f*d by the -iegulus. Several other 
 Americans were, at the fame time, prefTcd from 
 different veilels. The Merm&id had failed from 
 New- York, with a load of timber, on account of 
 the Britifh government. 
 
 The Minerva, of the igth of April, cxprefTcs 
 furprife, that, if #11 the accounts of imprclFments 
 were true, they had little or no efFet a in deterring 
 American feamen from entering into the fer r . ?.ce. 
 a In a full, public meeting of merchants, in this 
 u city, lafl week," fays Webfter, ct the quefdon 
 f< was aflied, whether the Britifh inipreJTments had 
 ic operated to difcourage feamen from entering m- 
 u to fervicc? The reply was, ti.at no ilch effecl: 
 u had been perceived. If feamen do not com- 
 " plain, how happens it {that} printers take up 
 <c their caufc with Jo much z?al f" Seamen do 
 complain, of which the numerous details in this 
 volume, and which are iiol, perhaps, ;; twentieth 
 part of the whole, compofe an ample atteftation. 
 But a common feamen has more difficulty in chang- 
 ing his profeifion, than ahnolt any other perfon* 
 
UNITED STATES, 
 
 This explains the general adherence to it, even in 
 fpite of ErlciOi crimping. Webfler is angry at 
 printers for taking up the caufe of icamen with Jo 
 much zeal. But, if they are not to be defended 
 with ardour, upon what poirt fhoulci zeal be ex- 
 cited? If circumtlapces require it, the prcflcs of 
 America will continue to remonftratc againit inch 
 wrongs, when the bones of Vv ebileril. all be as rotten 
 as his heart. As to the query^afted intheinercantile 
 meeting, the members would have gained rr ore cre- 
 dit by fubfcribing to form a fund for the relief offuch 
 feamen, or the families of fuch feamen, as might be 
 imprefied while in their fervice. This would have 
 been afting like men . It would have been acting like 
 ENGLISHMEN ; for, at London or Liverpool, a pro- 
 pofalof that kind would, under a {Imilar fituation, 
 have been adopted. But, in the United States, it feems 
 that, if a merchant can only favc himfelf, he is per- 
 feclly indifferent, what becomes of the people in 
 his iervice. 
 
 A Charlei'lon newfpaper, of the 8th of April, 
 1796, contains the copy of a fentencepa(Ted by judge 
 Green, of Bermuda. It is dated the 6th of Janu- 
 ary preceding, and refpecled the brig Fame. In 
 fammcr, 1795, tnc Fame failed from Charleston, 
 for Bonrdcaux. On her return (lie was captured 
 and taken into Bermuda. The VefTel and cargo 
 were both American property. But one of the 
 owners, who went along with her, had (laid be- 
 hind in France, to difpofe of fome remaining 
 part of her cargo. . This accident, in the eyes of 
 Green, transformed him into a French citizen, 
 and, on that pretence, both (hip and loading were 
 confifcated. Thus theBritifh went OB in the Weft- 
 Indies, while Mr. Bayard was tranfmittingto Phila- 
 delphia his important afTurances about indemnifica- 
 tion, and the refentment of the London court of Ad-- 
 Tniral<y at the decrees of Green, 
 
1 9 2 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Header ! unleis you are aBritifh tory, or theBritiih 
 editor of the Columbian Centinel, or Harriion Gray 
 Otis, or Robert Goodloe Harper, or fonie other cu- 
 riofity of their caft, who is fitter for a work-houfe 
 than a ftate-houic*, you muft revere the magnani- 
 mity of Preudent VVafliington, who, in his lafl 
 ipeccii to Congrefs, diidaincd all i^otice of thefe 
 Briiifli pecadiloes. 
 
 About the 23d of April, Captain Mercer, of the 
 fio;>p A-nnuicade, arrived in this port from Bermu- 
 da. He brought a lift of eight American vefTels 
 with their cargoes which were condemned s.t that 
 place ; and of fevcn others which were libelled. 
 One of the latter was a brig from Bofton. Captain 
 Mercer had heard that her captain had died of 
 
 * During the prefcnt feffion the foeaker has (ignified in the houfe, 
 that Harper fpokc like a MADMAN. ThisjulUfies tbc text, 'i : ;e 
 following traits will help to conjecture in what way ccn^reffional bu- 
 fmefs hath fometimes been conducted. 
 
 Previous to the election of a clerk for the Rcprefentatives, in the 
 prefcnt Congrcfs, (Supra, chap. 3d,) Dr. Smith convened his party 
 without doors, and they agreed in -the nomination of a candidate to 
 !r. Becklcy. Next morning the votes were tak^n by ballot. 
 The republican me nb^rs hal each to write the name of their 
 candidate; but the friends of r.rder pulled theirs ready written out 
 of their pockets. As great part of them could know nothing of Mr. 
 Beckle) bur by name, this promptitude (he-vs the exaclnefs of their 
 difcipJiiK 1 , and what praife is due to the diligence of our legiflativc 
 Martinet. 
 
 In t!u* Senate, matters proceed ftill more ftraightly. For inftance, 
 a fe^' v\ cei:s -igo, five re(l>lutions were moved in that bod , and it 
 \x r ,.s agreed to ballot, next day, for committees upon each of them. 
 The federal majority confided of feventeen ; and 4o nicely had mat- 
 ters h?en afcertained without doors, that the five commitrees, h:-viMg 
 rat-h three members, were clecled e*clufively out of the fevenfeen. 
 The r.iiiiority have no (hare of influence whatever. They arc 
 I even from the appearance of it* 
 
 Compare this plain account with the plaifter which Mr. Adnms 
 laid upon the Senate in his late farewell addrrfs. It might be con- 
 deafed into a few words. Qeutlemert)yiu are the greatejl Irgijlaiors 
 in tk? ivyrlJ. l\o fir* YOU art ik j ort-atcft) and e we a v f confident the* 
 jsx will make us all judgfi or embffffadorS) at early as foffible* 
 
UNITED STATES. 193 
 
 abufe which he received from the prize-in after. A 
 paragraph of the fame date fays, that, at Nevis, the 
 fchooner Andrew, captain Montayne, of Philadel- 
 phia, had her mate and feamen preffed by a Britifh 
 fcbooncr. They were all Americans ; and had pro*< 
 teclions. The particulars are related in the cap- 
 tain's proteft, astranfmitted to his owner. 
 
 Thefe maritime anecdotes are valuable, as fhe^ - 
 ing the character of that people, who, in the midfl 
 of iuch injuries, could wifli to appropriate for Jay's 
 treaty. It would be vain to look in the hiftory 
 of England, for any meal u res fo deplorably defpica- 
 ble. To proceed in a regular fucceflion, to the 
 end of the year 1796, would occupy a large vo- 
 lume. At prefent, only three or four incidents of 
 this kind fhall be added, as they come to hand in 
 the order of time. 
 
 Jolhua Whiting was a feamen on board of the 
 American brig Samuel. At Port-au-Prince, he, 
 and four others of the crew, were prefTed by a Bri- 
 tifh frigate. Three of them, after eleven clays, 
 efcaped by fvvirnming, in the courfe of which, one 
 man had the calf of his leg bitten off by a (hark, 
 Another of them was retaken, received four dozen 
 of lafhes, and was put in irons. Whiting and 
 the cripple, efcaped, after lofing their whole ad- 
 venture, befides being cruelly treated. In the 
 Boflon Chronicle, of the i8th of April, Whiting 
 published a narrative, of which the above is the 
 fubftance. Inftead of voting money for the treaty, 
 Congrcfs might as well have voted fome relief to 
 the poor man who loft the calf of his leg, under 
 that emblem of abafement, that contempt of na- 
 tions, that nautical DETERSORIUM, the American 
 flag! 
 
 The brig Columbia, and the fchooner Unity, 
 both of Newburyport ? failed from Port Lewis, on 
 
 Cc 
 
j 5 4' HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the 7th of March, 1796. Next day, they were 
 brought to by the Ganges, a Britiih feventy-four, 
 and a fchooner attendant to the fliip. " This 
 ct Fchaoner," fays the account, " is one of the f if- 
 
 c teen pilot boats built in Virginia, not long fince, 
 cc \vhich are all employed as attendants totheEri- 
 u ti-h men of war/' They were fent into Mont- 
 ferrajt, examined, and on the I4tli, diirnifTed, upon 
 paying forty-four pounds, four {hillings, and ten 
 pe'i: :e, as the expence of their examination. 
 
 - ;p Dove, of Newhaven, in Conne cli- 
 me on a voyape to the -Weft-Indies, 
 ;c lying at A Jtigiia, ihe was boarded by a 
 Boat's crew from the NarcifTas, who took away 
 Bciij .:.! in Kaltman. He was a native American, 
 and asi'hch, hada proteftion. On the 3d of April, 
 1796, the in after and mate of the Dove made oath 
 to this faft, at Newhaven. fames Smith, mailer 
 of the Pvlay Flower, of Norfolk, publifhed a de- 
 claration, dated the 3d of March, 1796. One of 
 his men, an American, was impreffed at Port Je- 
 yerni", by the Rcgulus. Captain Smith, himfelf, 
 was kept, for three cUys, a prifoner, on board of 
 the fno.ate, and half ftarved. He left about thirty 
 or forty American failors in her. Almoft the whole 
 of them had protections, and he faw fomc of them 
 fe\ rely punifhed for attempting to efcape. The 
 ne-vfpapers containing thele mifcrable details, are 
 , :ied with exulting encomiums on the number 
 of petitioners to Congrefs, in favour of the feritifli 
 treaty. 
 
 On Tuelclay, the gift of May, I79 6 ^ the Spea- 
 ker of the Ho-jfe of Repreientatives, laid before 
 the:;!, a letter 'from ten American captains, whofe 
 vedels we re then lying at Jamaica. Their feamen 
 were on board of Britifh fliips of war, where they 
 were treated like flavcs. They faid that their 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 brethern at Algiers were not greater objects of fy-ii- 
 pathy. Thefe ten captains miy/lit aa well have ad- 
 dreifed a memorial, on the fame iubjeel, to any 
 old woman, in any chimney corner, on the conti- 
 nent. Congrefs have no Beet, and they can ; a u- 
 ly raife money to pay the nation;*! debt. I : 
 unparalleled ft ate of pro f verity ^ what would you 
 have us to do ? 
 
 The Aurora, of Jane 2cl, 1796. contained a long 
 account of the capture of the Eiiz;*, a vefFel, Ame- 
 rican property, by the Briii'h. She failed from 
 New-York, for St. Thomas's, and had orders to 
 touch at St. Bartholomew's. She was taken by 
 captain Cochran, of the Thetis frigate. The iuper- 
 cargo, a Darifh iubjeft, was dripped to the fkin. I he 
 fhip was libelled before the Vice-Ad* ,,iralty Court 
 at Bermuda, under pretence of being French proper- 
 ty. The trunks of the fupercargo were fealec up, 
 and he was himfelf thrown pennylefs out of the 
 fliip, without a fecond fhirt to his back. The cap- 
 tain and crew were put on more, ddditute otfub-- 
 fiftence. Six or (even days after the Pup arid car- 
 go had been libelled, the cattle were fold at half 
 their prime coft, bought in by the agents who Ibid 
 them, and fold a fecond time, next day, at a con- 
 fiderable profit. 
 
 A Boiton newfpaper, of the 26' h of May, con- 
 tains a depofition, elated at St. George's, the 27th 
 of April, preceding-. It was emitted by the fecond 
 mate of the brigantine Polly, John EoiTon, late 
 niafter. The vefJH was on her way from Dema- 
 rara, to Bo;l:on, when the Cleopatra, a Britifh pri- 
 vateer, took her. Soon after, the prize-in after 
 quarrelled with captain Boffon, and wantonly beat 
 him in a mod fhocking manner. This is the fub- . 
 fiance of the depofition. Within fix days after, 
 captain Boffon died of his bruifes. He was only 
 in the twenty-fifth year of his age. 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Such was the picture of national independence 
 dignity that America, during 1796, exhibited 
 by fea. At fome future opportunity the narrative 
 w'll, perhaps, be relumed and com pleted. In 
 the mean time, thefe inflances may be compared, 
 by an impartial citizen, with the cenfure bellowed 
 by Barras, on the government of the United States, 
 Me can then attempt to decide, wether Mr. Wafh- 
 ington had, laflr year, greater caufe to complain 
 of England, or Mr. Adams, in the piefent year, of 
 France. We fhall now proceed to examine Ibme 
 federal tranfactions by land. In a work embracing 
 fuch various objects, many points of importance 
 are fare of being omitted. Still, however, even 
 an imperfect hiitory, if candid and accurate, is 
 better than none. The facility acquired by expe- 
 rience, and the refources derived from public pa- 
 tronage, may, hereafter, furnifh means for produ- 
 cing a more regular, and lefs defective, perform- 
 ance. 
 
 Among the memorials prefented to Congrefs, in 
 fpring, 1796, perhaps none deferved more atten- 
 tion, than that 01 the fnufF-makers of this city, re~ 
 fpewHng the cxcife on their manufacture. On the 
 5th of Jane, 1794, an atCt k a ^ P a ^ in Congrefs, for 
 levying a duty of fix cents per pound, upon all 
 fnuff, maufactured in the United States. As this 
 law did not anfwer the end propofed, it was re- 
 pealed, and, on the gd of March, 1795, another 
 was enacted in its room. By the latter, two thou- 
 fancl two hundred and forty dollars were to be 
 paid for every fnuff-mill, with (tampers and grind- 
 ers, and ihms proportinably lefs, for thofe of in- 
 ferior effect. As a relief to the fnufF-maker, he 
 received a drawback of fix cents upon every pound 
 of fnuff, exported out of the country. The firft 
 'of thefe two laws originated with Mr. Alexander 
 
UNITED STATES. I 97 
 
 Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treafury. Both 
 of them met with warm oppoiition in Congrefs, 
 Both were, in an eminent degree, abfurd, oppref- 
 live, andimpradicable. Both deferve to be held 
 in remembrance, as proofs of what mocking de- 
 potlfra the legiilature, even of a free country, may 
 poflibly commit. "I 'hey were faid to be laws of 
 experiment, by thofe who were ieaft eager in their 
 defence. But a government has no right, of ma- 
 king experiments, in oppofition to probability, on 
 the property of the public. The memorial was 
 prefentedon the pth of February, 1796, and is in 
 thefe words. 
 
 " To the Senate and Houfe of Representatives of tie United 
 <c States in Congrefs ajjembled : 
 
 " The memorial of the fubfcribers, manufacturers of (huff in 
 " the city of Philadelphia, 
 
 cc Refpeftfully reprefents, 
 
 <c THAT whilft the United States exhibit an univerfal ap~ 
 "pearance of public profperity, and of private happinefs, the 
 " memorialifts feel deep regret and mortification upon their <-e- 
 " ing once more compelled to addrefs you in the folitary Ian- 
 guage of diffatisfaaion. They have fometime ago entered 
 " into aftruggle tofupport a fecond excife law upon their ma- 
 " nufadture. Your predecefTors, the late Congrefs, gave a 
 " fair trial to the firft aft, which attempted to levy a duty on 
 i fnuffin proportion to the pound weight. This law, as th<? 
 c honourable Congrefs well knows, operated at once like a 
 " ftroke of annihilation. No excife could be paid, at leaft in 
 " theftate of Pennfylvania; for, out of fevenfnuff-mills, fix 
 ' were mftantly fhut up, to the infinite injury of the manufac- 
 turers. Their flock lay dead on their hands. Their cuf. 
 tomers difperfed, and in many cafes declined to pay the out- 
 " ftanding debts, becaufe the fubfcribers, having no power to 
 c manufacture fnuff, were unable to give them further credit* 
 The buildings for carrying on their manufaaories, ereaed 
 " at an expence of many thoufand dollars, were at once conver- 
 Ci ted intofepulchres of American induitry : and, in the vain at- 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 cx tempt to extract a revenue, wh.Te every moral and phyfic^J 
 " circumfrance rendered it impofiibie, fix months of birfinej* 
 "and of human life were loft. Even the feventh fnuff-milJ, 
 ct which actually was entered, never paid any duty. 
 
 u E very feature in the hiirory of this firft excife upon fnufF 
 "jufttfied the energetic prefuge of a gentleman, who was a 
 <c member of the laft, md is one in the prdVut Moufe of Repre- 
 cc fcntatives of Cong'refs. H, declared in bi< place that the -..& 
 Id terminate not in revenue, but deftru6tiOfl. The ac- 
 " cur:-cy of his prediction hath been verifi-d by experience, aiid 
 * ( fully acknowledged and a- tj(>ecl on the floor of Gongrefs. The 
 
 * effects of that mcrnorabl .- fbtut,- were p. r'^psumi vailed, 
 c < even in tht tragical and externiinatirig annai ofcxcif.. L-ke 
 Ci a p- ;.ftilcnce, or a tc-mptft, this lav/ biafled and fvvept before- 
 c< it every bloflbm of induflry, ano had your men:ot iaiifts re- 
 ^ r.aineci ev,.r fince entirely unr-.'.-.l-ftcd by exciL law^, yet 
 " f me y-ars of good fortune would nave been rcquit:te for en- 
 " abling them to recover thi: r , had loft. 
 
 " That, with the deepcft au; memorialiffs have, 
 
 a during the prefent feilien, heard t" feveraj petitions prefvinted 
 <c to Congrefs, chiefly as they believe from fnufF-makers in 
 c " e the eaftern ftates, requefting the repeal of the prefent excife, 
 
 * in order to replace it by the former law for levying the duty 
 " by the pound weight. Thefc petitioners have indeed honeft- 
 < ly represented many infurmountable objections to thepreft-nt 
 <c law, and which your memonalifts admit, as well as tkcy do. 
 tt But it does not follov/, that the prefent extremely opprcilive 
 ^ excifs on fnufF ought to be fuperccd-jd for the fake of adop- 
 *' ting another ftatute which is infinitely worfe, and which has 
 ic already been tried andcaft afide as impracticable. The ruin- 
 <<c ous effects of both thefe laws, have been fully frated in a 
 u (hort hiftory of excife lawsj drawn up at th^ deiire and un- 
 * e der the infpe6lion of a number of manufacturers in Philadel- 
 t phia, and of which a printed copy has lately be.-n tranfnitted 
 ec to each of the members of the two houfes of Congreis, and 
 M to the principal officers of thef . d :: i\ government. 
 
 " In the laft a& for an excif^ upon fnufF, a drawback of fix 
 " cents per pound has been allo ,vcd upon the exportation. This 
 cc drawback was liable to various abufes. If not granted at all, 
 w fnufF could not be exported after paying an excife, and this 
 ct would tend to deprefs the American manuTa<Slurer. But, in 
 <s order to be entitled to the drawbacl^ it -vvas requifitc toob- 
 <f uin a certificate of the jfauff having been duly landed at the 
 
UNITED STATES. j^ 
 
 ^ dcftined port : the chief exportation was to the Britifh Weft* 
 >< Indies, were American fnuff is contraband, and confequently 
 " it was quite impoiTible to get the requifite certificates. But 
 * c farther, nothing could be more eafy than to make a preten- 
 "ded exportation of fnuff to fome ifland in the Weft-Indies, 
 " where it was not prohibited, obtain a regular certificate of 
 " its being landed, and then fmuggle it back to this country, 
 " Thus one barrel of (huff, might receive twenty drawbacks, 
 " Such frauds art prvcrifed every day in Britain. Many mer- 
 " chants on th- riv-.r Thames fupport their families in fplendor 
 <c by drawback^, procured from their government for irraiU 
 " nary exportation. Your memorial ifts have been ^ffured, 
 " that OIK.' bak* of niuflin, fuppofeii to be worth five hundred 
 u guineas, received in this way a drawback of twelve and an 
 half per ce,.t forty times over, fo that this bale earned two 
 " thoufand five hundred guineas. 
 
 6 Trafli of any kind, or even find, might be exported from 
 " the United States, under the name of fnuff and obtain the fix 
 Ci cents per pound of drawback. Frauds of this kind could 
 " not be prevented without a multiplicity of infpectors, whofe 
 <c falaries would fwallow up the revenue. 
 
 " That the eighty-fourth and ninety-third feclions of the 
 
 1 Britifh tobacco excife acT: of 1789, fully (hew, to what length 
 
 " impoftures of this fort have been carried in that country. 
 
 The former of thefe two claufes, inflias a penalty of two 
 
 * hundred pounds, for the mixture of cut walnut leaves, of 
 
 " hops, of fycamore, or any other leaves or herbs, with the 
 
 "leaves of tobacco. The injurious in the ninety-third 
 
 : fecl:ion, againft mixing fnuff with other materials, are ftili 
 
 " more pointed. The penalty of two hundred pounds is Jevi- 
 
 " ed for mixing with fnuff, any fuftic, yellow honey, touch- 
 
 ^ c wood, log- wood, red or guinea wood, braziletto or JamaU 
 
 " ca wood, Nicaragua-wood, Saunders-wood or any other 
 
 " fort of woc>d, or any walnut tree leaves, hops, fycamore, or 
 
 " any other leaves or herbs. This fingular enumeration afcer- 
 
 u tains how far fuch practices have gone. 
 
 < That there is another material objection to the prefent mode 
 
 of granting a drawback. The price of different kinds of 
 
 <c fnuff differs- very confiderably, and yet the fame drawback 
 
 " of fix cents is granted, without dirHnaion, upon all kinds. 
 
 J Richard Gernon & Co. in their petition, irate, that the fnuff 
 
 which they have been exporting is worth ten cents per pound, 
 
 befiacs the fix cents of drawback. Thus its value, after pay-^ 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " ing the duty, would be about one (hilling and three pence pe$ 
 " pound. The memorialifts are now felling fnuff at two (hil 
 <c lings and fix pence and three fhillings per pound, and were 
 <c they to export it, a drawback of at leaft twelve cents per 
 w pound would be necefTary to put them on a level with Ger- 
 " non & Co. who receive fix cents per pound drawback on an 
 " ariicle not half fo valuable. 
 
 " The memorialifts, in their publication already referred to, 
 K ftated the poflibility that the drawbacks for a fingle manufac- 
 rniqht amount to fixty thoufand dollars per annum, and 
 ; : oz M fuch Manufacturers were to be found in the United 
 cc S Ses, that they would drain the public treafury of feven hun- 
 ind twenty thoufand dollars a year, a fum which all the ex- 
 " ci&sin the COUP, try could not cover. To the great aftonifhment 
 " of the memorial ifts, this prediction received a partial fulfilment 
 * c almoit a: .he inftant when it was made. The revenue deri* 
 the mills, entered in the ftate of Pennfylvania comes 
 <c only to eight thoufand three hundred and eighty dollars. 
 " On the 26rh January laft, the drawbacks at the port of Phi- 
 <c 1 artel phi a, fince the new act began to operate, amounted to 
 " eig'rit thoufand five hundred and twenty-three dollars and 
 u thirty-nine cents, which is already one' hundred and forty- 
 <c three dollars, and thirty-nine cents, more than the total re- 
 <s venue for this ftate. Almoft the whole of this drawback 
 " has been paid to MefTrs. Richard Gernon and Co. who have 
 <c been only about four months in bufinefs, and within that 
 <c period, have got back above five thoufand dollars additional, 
 ' c befides the two thoufand two hundred and forty dollars, 
 c< which they paid, according to law, for entering their mill. 
 *' It is not thedefign of your memorialifts to baft the flighted 
 < reflection on the conduct of this manufacturing company. 
 ** On the contrary, if government has laid itfelf open by a 
 1 law which defeats its own purpofes, and fmks a revenue 
 tc where it expected to raife one, the manufacturers are in com- 
 <c mon juftice, entitled, to takeevery legal advantage of fuch an 
 tc overfight. Nay, they beg leave to ftate it as a matter of abfolutc 
 <c certainty, that if this law is not repealed, a number of fnufF- 
 <c makers will immediately enter into the buftncfs of exportation. 
 cc They only forbear altering their mills, and adapting them for 
 tc thebufinefs, till they fee whether Congrefs will adhere to the 
 ic law or not ; for the example of Richard Gernon and Co/proves 
 cc how eafily a fnufF-maker, with the requifite degree of capital 
 ^ and enterprife, nuay take from the public treafury in the fhapp 
 
UNITED STATES. 201 
 
 " of drawbacks ten times as much as he pays into it. Your 
 4i memorial! (Is cannot believe that Cbngneft., or i it reed any le- 
 "giflative afTembly on earth, would fufrer the longer existence 
 ** of a law fo pregnant with the moil prepofterous and ruinous; 
 c< confequenqes. A few weeks ago, Me firs. Gcrnon & Co. 
 " prefented to Congrefs a memorial ,'repreient ing the imm^hfe 
 <c cxpence which they have been at in preparing their mill to 
 " grind muff for exportation. Among other details, they ftate 
 " their having, in the fir it four months of their copartnery, pur- 
 " chafed four hundred and thirty hog (heads of tobacco, and 
 " that they are continuing to make large purchafes of this kind. 
 " At that rate, they will, in the courfe of twelve months, pur- 
 " chafe, altogether, twelve hundred and ninety hog(head>, 
 <c Your memorialifts eftimate, that, when grinded into fnufF, 
 " the drawback on this quantity will amount to about ninety 
 " thoufand dollars. The company will thus gain, by the pub- 
 u lie revenue, eighty-eight thousand dollars, the drawback; 
 <c exceeding the revenue in the proportion of forty-five to one, 
 cc This is a circumstance perfectly novel in the hiftory of tax- 
 < c ation. 
 
 " But further, if this affair is fuflered to <TO on in its prcv 
 " fen t way, Gongrefs may foon expect to ies twenty other 
 u fnuiT-mills working on the fame plan, and to an equal ex- 
 " tent, with that of Gernon & Co. 
 
 < c If the government of this country intend, ferioufly, and 
 u ileadiiy, to give a drawback of fix cents per pound on th,? 
 u exportation of American fhufr*, it is the moit acceptable and 
 <c joyful intelligence that your memorlaliits could ever hear of. 
 " They will immediately repair their mills, extend their pur- 
 ic chafes, and they have not a doubt of clearing, from the drav/~ 
 * c back, before the end of a year, twenty or thirty times the 
 " fum which they are to pay into the treafury. Twenty ma~ 
 "" nufacturers, like Gernon & Co. would each of them thus 
 <c coft government ninety thoufand dollars, or, coHecH vel v, 
 " one million eight hundred thoufand dollars per annum. The 
 " original object of the lav/ was faid to be a revenue of forty 
 " thoufand dollars ; there is an equal chance, that, in fcarch 
 cc of it, forty-five times that fum will be funk. It has been 
 <c aboverrrentioned, that the drawbacks, within this (hire, al~ 
 <c ready exceed the revenue. The firft year of this law qx- 
 <c pires onthelaftday of March next, and, before that time, 
 " there will moft likely be a balance of fbveral thoufdnddollarfi 
 (< 2gaiml the rever.'.r, -\t the port of Philadelphia. B.ut if ths 
 
 D d 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " law ftands unrepealed, it i probable that two hundred thou- 
 U fand dollars will not make up the deficiencies in this ftate 
 " alone, for the next fucceeding year. 
 
 " In their hiftory of excife, the manufacturers ftated the prin- 
 4C ciple, that all taxes ought to be levied in proportion to the 
 " quantum of perfonal property. Since their publication took 
 "place, they have feen this do^rine juftified by an authority 
 " of the higheft nature. The new conftitution of France, in 
 " the fixteenth article of the firft fe6tion, lays it down as a fun- 
 " damental maxim, that, "as all taxes are eftablifhed for the 
 cc general good, they ought to be apportioned among the taxed 
 " in the ratio of their means." Under the head of finances, al- 
 " fo, in the fame work, it is declared, cc that taxes of all kinds 
 " are aflefled among all thofe liable to contribution according 
 <c to their means." Your memorialifts cannot deny that the 
 " word excife is to be found in the letter of the federal con- 
 4C ftiturioi*; but they ftrongly contend, that it is entirely hof- 
 " tile to the fpirit of that inftrument. One of the principle fa- 
 < bricators of that prodihStion, was the prefent judge Wilfon 
 " "When the fubjee} was debated in the convention of Penn- 
 < fylvania, he argued that it was neceftary to give all power 
 ^ to government, but he was certain that an excife never would 
 " be impofed, unlcfs in the laft extremity. From the opinion 
 ce which the convention of Pennfylvania exprefled of excife, at 
 <c that time, and which the aiTembly of this ftate have exprefled 
 " fince, it is evident that they never would have confented to 
 " ratify fuch a ftipulation, if they had conceived that it was to 
 <c become one of the firft, and favourite refources of government. 
 
 " That your memorialifts cannot help confidering this excife 
 < on fnuffas corning, exactly, under the defcription of an ex 
 <( ' Pftf, a ^ a ^ aw ' They had no contemplation of fuch a bur^ 
 ^ c den, when they built their mills, and gave credit, tofo great 
 <c an extent, to their cuftomers. Their mills would not, at 
 " prefent, fell for one half of the money which they originally 
 " coft, and one half of them are, at this hour, ftanding idle, 
 ** This, of itfelf, would be fufHcient to deftroy any fet of 
 " manufacturers. Your memorialifts likewife beg leave to 
 a ftate, as their opinion, that if the merchants and manufaclu- 
 C rers of Britain had a liberty of petitioning Congrefs, they 
 C could not folicit a mpre favourable mode of conduit for their 
 " own intereft, th?.n perfuading you to trammel, and diftrefs^ 
 ct the manufacturers of America with excifes, which do not 
 " pay the expencepf their collection, which in one ftate pro- 
 
UNITED STATES. 2 oj 
 
 " duce bankruptcy, and in a fecond, rebellion. They humbly 
 <c regard it as chimerical to term America independent of Bri- 
 " tain, while we art forced to fend to England for a coat, and 
 " to Ireland for a fhirt. It is this commercial chain of de- 
 " pendence in which Britain has entangled fo many nations, 
 tc that conftitutes the eflence and foul of her ftrength, and that 
 " enables her to bully, to combat, and to rob her neighbours. 
 " It is her fuperiority in manufactures, which has enabled this 
 c< kingdom to fubfidize and embattle pirates and cut-throats^ 
 " in every corner of the world, while fhe herfelf may be termed 
 " a bucanneer of Atlantean magnitnde, whofe grafp embraces 
 " the terraqueous globe$ and whofe ftatufe reaches from earth 
 " to heaven: 
 
 L To conclude, your memorialifts ardently flatter them- 
 " felves with a hope, that Congrefs will fee the expediency* 
 " and everi the pofitive and inevitable neceffity, for an imme- 
 " diate and complete abolition of the excife upon fnuff made 
 "" in America; Though fome ill-advifed manufacturers to the 
 4< eaftward have called for the restoration of the act of 1794, 
 " the principal muff-makers, in that part of the union, regard it 
 IC with as much abhorrence^ as the memorialifts themfelves do. 
 u To continue the prefent excife, and withhold the drawback,. 
 " would be to prohibit^ in a great meafure, the manufacture of 
 4< tobacco^ the fecond ftaple of the continent ; and it has alrea- 
 * c dy beendemonftrated, that, to continue the law, and the draw- 
 u back, in their prefent fhape,is only to fquander forty-five dol- 
 4< lars in a fruitlefs fearch after one. 
 
 " Your memorialifts, therefore, earneftly folicit an entire re- 
 a peal of the excife upon fnuff, and they, as in duty bound, will 
 " ever pray, &c* 
 
 THOMAS LEIPER, & Co. 
 HAMILTON & SON, 
 "ISAAC JONES, 
 JACOB BENNINGHOVE, 
 "JACOB BENNINGHOVE,jun. 
 "PHILIP STIMBLE, 
 tt Philadelphia, February Sth, 1796." 
 
 The ftatute hath beett fince repeatedly fufpen- 
 ded, and, it is fuppofed, will never more be put 
 into execution. 
 
 Some people may wonder what the Houfe of R- 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 prefentatives were thinking of, when they iuc- 
 ceilively enacted fuch felt-condemned laws. It is 
 likely that, during the difcuffion, ten or fifteen 
 were employed in reading newfpapers, or in wri-- 
 ting letters. About as many more might be in pri- 
 vate converfation, at the back of the Speaker's 
 chair, or at the windows. General Samuel Smith, 
 who hath laved the houfe from many woeful mif- 
 takes, is the gentleman alluded to, in the fecond 
 paragraph of the memorial. 
 
 We now come to a part of the work, more de- 
 licate, perhaps, than any other. The freedoms 
 which the federal party have taken with thofe who 
 differ from their opinions, are univcrfally known. 
 The moil impartial fcrutiny would determine, that, 
 in the arts of calumny and detra&ion, their publi- 
 cations exceed, beyond all proportion, thofe of their 
 adverfaries. In the firft felfion of the fifth Con- 
 grefs, 'Mr. Harper has publicly declared to the 
 rieprefentatives, that Mr. James Munroe, our late 
 envoy to France, was guilty of corruption by for- 
 eign influence. On being quefHoned by Mr. Giles, he 
 has promifed, ill due time and place, to bring evi- 
 dence of. liis accufaticn. This example is only one 
 out of hundreds which might be adduced to mew 
 that the friends of order, for ftich they call them- 
 felves, are refolved to fet no limits to their rage 
 ;-iid their vengeance. Of courfe, they cannot ex- 
 pect to meet with that tendernefs which they re- 
 . fufe to grant. 
 
 Attacks on Mr. Munroe have been frequently 
 repeated from the flock-holding preffes. They are 
 cowardly, becaufe he is abfent. They are uujuft, 
 bcicauie his con duel will bear the ftriftcft enquirv 
 Thcv are ungrateful, becaule he difplayed, on an 
 occaiion .that will be mentioned immediately], tire 
 
 gi-c 
 
 catefl lenity to Mr. Alexander Hamilton; tlie pri 
 
UNITED STATES. 2 6f 
 
 mover of the federal party. When fome of thg? 
 papers which are now to be laid before the world, 
 were fubmitted to the fecretary ; when he was in- 
 formed that they were to be communicated to Pre~ 
 ildent Wamington, he entreated, in the moft anx- 
 ious tone of deprecation, that this ineafure might 
 be fufpended. Mr. Munroe was one of the three 
 gentlemen who agreed to a delay. They gave their 
 confent to it, on his exprefs promife of a guarded 
 behaviour in future, and becaufe he attached to the 
 fuppreffion of thefe papers, a niyfterious degree of 
 iblicitude, w r hich they, feeling no perfonal refent- 
 ment againft the individual, were unwilling to a'ug- 
 ment. 
 
 The unfounded reproaches heaped on Mr. Mun- 
 roe, form the immediate motive to the publication 
 of thefe papers. They are here printed from an at- 
 tefted copy, exactly conformable to that, which, 
 at his own defire, was delivered to Mr. Hamilton 
 himfelf. Not a word has been added or altered, 
 and the period of four years may, furely, have 
 been enough to furnim the ex-fecretary with mate- 
 rials for his defence. In the letters of Camillus, 
 the moffc fublime principles of action arc every 
 where inculcated. But we (hall prefently fee this 
 great matter of morality, though himfelf the father 
 of a family, confeffing that he had an illicit cor- 
 refpondence w T ith another man's wife. If any thing 
 can be yet lefs reputable, it is, that the gentlemen 
 to whom he made that acknowledgement held it as 
 an impofition, and found various reafons for be- 
 lieving that Mrs. Reynolds was, in reality, guilt- 
 lefs. An attentive critic will be led to enquire 
 what has become of her hufband, and why the in- 
 dignant innocence of Mr. Hamilton, did wot pro- 
 mote the completion of public judice againft a per- 
 fon, who had treated his name with fuch grofs'diF- 
 
2 o6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 refpecl: ? What a fcandalous imputation was it 
 for this culprit to caft upon our fecretary, that he 
 had gained thirty thoufand dollars by the purchafe 
 of army certificates, that this fellow could bring 
 him to capital punifhment, &c. &c. ? It is to be 
 wifhed that Reynolds may ftill be found, and that, 
 to borrow the words of his friend, Dr. William 
 Smith, the Secretary may come out of this matier, 
 <c as fair as the pureft angel in heaven /" 
 
 Before committing the following papers to the 
 xvorld, their editor mufl agaiti beg leave to re-- 
 mark, that they are nothing more nor lefsthan ex* 
 aft copies, from attefled originals, of which Mr. 
 Hamilton, as hereafter fpecified, has been, at his 
 own deflre, fupplied with an accurate tranfcript. 
 Some expreflions ufed by the culprit^ Reynolds, 
 are harfh, and convey difgufl, without adding to 
 conviction. The editor, from averfion to invec- 
 tive, had, on this account, refolved to leave them 
 out, as well as feveral other paffages, which are 
 of little importance to the main point. But on 
 due reflection, it has been found fafer, and more 
 advifeable, to publifti the whole, even at the ha- 
 zard of being tedious. This precludes all pre- 
 tence of mutilation for unfair purpofes. 
 
 As to the aiperity of flyle in fome parts of the 
 precious confeffions of Reynolds, the painful reluc- 
 tance of the editor, to the printing of them, has 
 been fomewhat leffened, from the volunteer ac- 
 knowledgment of feduciion, emitted by the ex^ 
 fecretary himfelf. This appears to be about as 
 bad, as any thing which his wretched underftrap- 
 per either faid againft him, or could imaginably 
 have to fay. A procurer has*always been regarded 
 as in the lowed fcale of human character. Mutatis 
 mutandis, the patron of fuch an agent can havewo 
 fcruple to become one* 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 Again, the intemperate ftyle of the convivial, 
 and confidential communications of our ex-fecre- 
 tary, prohibits him from being regarded as any 
 peculiar object of indulgence. For inflance, he 
 has often boafted of receiving letters from Prefident 
 Wafhington, with the word private wrote on the 
 back of them, and a crofs drawn over the feaL 
 u After opening fuch a parcel," faid Mr. Hamilton, 
 u what do you think were the contents ? DEAR 
 " HAMILTON, put this into Jlyle for me. Some 
 " fpeech or letter has been inclofed, which I wrote 
 * c over again, fent it back, and then the OLD DAMNED 
 " FOOL, gave it away as his own." Mr. Hamilton 
 is not fingular in uiing this ftyle to general Wafli- 
 ington . After the fquabble between citizen Genet, 
 John Jay, and Rufus King, the two latter fent a 
 mofl infulting letter to the Prefident, Randolph 
 advifed him to refent it, He had once refolved 
 to do fo ; but altered his intention, from a jealoufy 
 that the writers were in concert with Hamilton, 
 from whom he could not determine to disjoin him- 
 felf. Jay and King wanted to obtain a certificate, 
 which Mr, Jefferfon had drawn up, relating to the 
 behaviour of citizen Genet, The Prefident actual- 
 ly gave them the certificate, but it is thought that 
 they found it not to their purpofe; for it was 
 fupprefTed. Jay and King alfo got back from 
 the Prefident their impertinent letter ; of which, 
 after cooling, they began tp be afliamed. But a 
 copy of it is in exigence, and fome hopes remain 
 of its being obtained for publication. Thefe par- 
 ticulars are derived from undoubted authority. 
 They prove what was fo fully dated in the Ameri- 
 can Annual Regifter, that the federal party def- 
 pifed the late Prefident ; that they took frequent, 
 opportunities of infulting him ; and that they a> 
 fumed the popularity of his name with no view 
 but to ferve their own ends, 
 
2cB HISTORY OF THE 
 
 To be the prompter and primitm mobile of the 
 great eft man in the world, might have flattered the 
 vanity of a more difcreet favourite than Mr. Ha- 
 milton. To hear the Reprefentatives, as in No- 
 vember, 1794, difpute for 'three weeks upon the 
 wording of an anfvver to a fpeech of his own corn- 
 pofition, mufb have been highly Toothing to the felf- 
 importance of the ex-fecretary. But, as genera! 
 Wafhington had been, in the higheft fenfe of the 
 word, his benefactor, he ought to have concealed 
 the imperfections of his friend. He has often com- 
 parcel his influence over the Prefident to that of the 
 wind upon a weather cock, or of tliat over an au- 
 tomaton, moved only by the hand which directs it. 
 Tliis ftyle was both imprudent and ungrateful. His 
 -power was very great, but not entirely unbounded. 
 He wanted to be lent to England as envoy to ne- 
 gociate the treaty. The arguments of Randolph 
 hindered the Preiiident from giving his conient. 
 That the pen of Mr. Hamilton has long a Hided the 
 Prefident is a ftory current in 'Europe as well as in. 
 America ; and that the fpeeches and letters -of gene- 
 ml Wafhington are extremely different from his 
 more early productions is very well known. 
 
 We (hall conclude theie prefatory obfervations 
 with an anecdote. During the late canvafs for the 
 election of a Prefident, Webfter, in his Minerva, 
 gave a hint, that Mr. Hamilton would be an advif- 
 abfe candidate. A perfon in this city, who chanced 
 to fee this newfpaper, wi*ote immediately to a cor- 
 refpondent in New- York. The letter defirecl him 
 to put himfelfin Mr. Hamilton's way, and inform 
 him that if Webfter fhould, in future, print a (ingle 
 paragraph on that head, the following papers were 
 inftantly to be laid before the world. It is believed 
 the mellage was delivered to Mr. Hamilton, for 
 th^e Minerva bee : ame.fi lent. 
 
UNITED STATES. 20$ 
 
 (No. I.) 
 
 JACOB CLINGMAN, being a clerk in my employ- 
 ment, (F. A. Muhlenberg) and becoming involved in a pro- 
 fecution commenced againft JAMES REYNOLDS, by ths 
 Comptroller of the Treafury, on a charge or information exhi- 
 bited before Hilary Baker, efq. one of the aldermen of this ci- 
 ty, for fubornation of perjury, whereby they had obtained mo- 
 ney from the treafury of the United States, he (Clingman} 
 applied to me, for my aid and friendfhip, on behalf of himfelf 
 and Reynolds, to get them releafed or difcharged from the pro- 
 fecution. I promifed, fo far as refpecTied Clingman; but, not 
 being particularly acquainted with Reynolds, in a great mea- 
 fure, declined fo far as refpedted him. In company with colo- 
 nel Burr, I waited on colonel Hamilton for the purpofe, and 
 particularly recommended Clingman, who had hitherto fuf- 
 tained a good character. Colonel Hamilton fignified a wifh to 
 do all that was confident. Shortly after, I waited on the Comp- 
 troller for the fame purpofe, whofeemed to have difficulties or* 
 the fubjecT: ; and, from fome information I had, in the mean 
 time, received, I could not undertake to recommend Reynolds, 
 as I verily believed him to be a rafcal, which words I made, 
 ufe of to the Comptroller. On a fecond interview with the 
 Comptroller, on the fame fubje&, the latter urged the propriety 
 of Clingman's delivering up a certain lift of money due toin- 
 dividuals, which Reynolds and Clingman were faid to have in 
 their pofleffion, and of his informing him, of whom, and through 
 whom, the fame was obtained from the public offices ; on 
 doing which,' Clingman's requeft might, perhaps, be granted 
 with greater propriety. This, Clingman, I am informed, com- 
 plied with, and alfo refunded the money or certificates, which 
 they had improperly obtained from the treafury. After which, 
 I underftand the action againfl both was withdrawn, and Rey- 
 nolds difcharged from tmprifonment, without any farther inter- 
 ference cf mine whatever; 
 
 During the time this bufmefs was thus depending, and which 
 laded upwards of three weeks, Clingman, unafkcd, frequently 
 dropped hints to me, that Reynolds had it in his power, very 
 materially to injure the Secretary of the Treafury ; and that 
 Reynolds knew feveral very improper tranfa&ions of his. 1 
 paid little or no attention to thofe hints ; but, when they were 
 frequently repeated, and it was even added, that Reynolds faid ? 
 
 E e 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 he bad it in Ins power to bang the Secretary of the Treafury ; 
 that he was deeply concerned in ^peculation ; that he had fre- 
 quently advanced money to him, (Reynolds) ; and other infi- 
 nuations of an improper nature, -it created considerable uneafi- 
 nefs in my mind, and I conceived it my duty to confult with 
 fome friends on the fubjecl:. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Venable 
 were informed of it yeiterday morning. 
 (Signed,) F. A. 
 
 (No. II.)- 
 
 BEING informed yefterday, in the morning, that a perfon 
 of the name of Reynolds, from Virginia, Richmond, was con- 
 fined in the jail, upon fome criminal profecution relative to cer- 
 tificates, and that he had intimated, he would give fame intel- 
 ligence of fpeculations by Mr. Hamilton, which fhould be 
 known, WE immediately called on him, as well to be informed 
 of the Situation of the man, as of thofe other matters, in which 
 the public might be interefted.' We found it was not the per- 
 fon, we had been taught to believe, but a man of that nam^ 
 from New- York, and who had, for fome time pad, refided in 
 this city. Being there, however, we queftioncd him refpe&ing 
 the other particular; he informed us, that he could ^give infor- 
 mation of the mifconducl:, in that refpecl, of a perfon high in 
 office, but muft decline it, for the prefent, and until relieved, 
 which was promifed him that evening : that at ten to-day, he 
 would give us a detail of whatever he knew on the fubjec"h 
 He affirmed, he had a perfon, high in office, in his power, and 
 had had, a long time paft. That he had written to him, in 
 terms fo abufive, that no perfon fhould have fubmitted to it, 
 but that he dared not to refent it. That Mr. Wolcot was 
 in the fame department, and, he fuppofed, under his influence 
 or controul ; and, in fact, exprefTed himfelf in fuch a manner, 
 as to leave no doubt, he meant Mr. Hamilton. That he ex- 
 pected to be releafed by Mr. Wolcot, at the inftance of that 
 perfon, although he believed, that Mr. Wolcot, in inftituting 
 the profecution, had no improper defign ; that he was fatisfied, 
 the profecution was fet on foot, only to keep him low, and 
 opprefs him, and ultimately drive him away ; that he had harj ? 
 fince his refidence here, for eighteen months, many privnir 
 meetings with that perfon, who had often promifed to put him 
 into employment, but had difappointed him ; that on hearing 
 
UNITED STATES. 211 
 
 the profecutlon was commenced againft him, he applied to this 
 perfon Lr counfel, who advifed him to keep out of the way, 
 for a few days ; that a merchant came to him, and offered, as 
 a volunteer, to he his bail,who, he fufpe&ed, had been inftigated 
 by this perfon ; and, after being decoyed to the place, the mer- 
 chant wiihed to carry him [to], he refufed being his bail, unlefs 
 he would depofit a fujn of money, to fome confiderable amount* 
 which he could not do, and was, in confequence, committed 
 to prifon. As well as we remember, he gave, as a reafon, 
 why he could not communicate to us, what he knew of the 
 fa&s alluded to, that he was apprehenfi ve, it might prevent 
 his difcharge ; but that he would certainly communicate the 
 whole to us, at ten this morning : at which time, we were 
 informed, he had abfconded, or concealed himfelf. 
 
 (Signed,) JAMES MONROE, 
 
 ABRAHAM VENABLE, 
 
 (No. III.} 
 
 BEING deftrous, on account of their equivocal complexion,, 
 to examine into the fuggeftions which had been made us, ref- 
 peting the motive for rKe confinement and propofed enlarge- 
 ment of James Reynolds, from the jail of this city, and incli- 
 ned to fuipecr, for the fame reafon, that, unlefs' it were immedi- 
 ately done, the opportunity would be loft, as v/e were taught 
 to fufpect he would leave the place, immediately alter his dif- 
 charge, v/e called at his houie, hft night, for that purpofe; we 
 found Mrs. Reynolds alone. It was, with difficulty, we }b- 
 tainedfrom her, any information on the fupjecr ; but at length 
 fhe communicated to us the following particulars. 
 
 That fmce colonel Hamilton was Secretary of the Treafu-. 
 ry, and at his requeft, Jhe bad burned a confiderable number of 
 letters from him to her bit/band^ and in the abfence of the latter,, 
 touching bufmefs between them, to prevent their being made 
 public. She alfo mentioned, that Mr. Ciingman had feveral 
 anonymous notes addrefled to her hufband, which, fhe believed,, 
 were from Mr. Hamilton (which we have) with an endorfe-. 
 ment" from fecretary Hamilton, .efq." in Mr. Reynolds's hand 
 writing ; that Mr. Hamilton offered her his affiftance to gOv 
 to her friends, which he advifed; that he alfo advjfed, that her 
 hulband fhould leave the parts, not to be feen here again j and 
 in which cafe, he would give fomttbing clever* That fhe was. 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fatisfied, this wifli for his departure did not proceed from friend- 
 fiiip-to him, but on account of his threat, that he could tell 
 fomething that would make fome of the heads of departments 
 tremble. That Mr. Wadfworth had been active in her be- 
 half; firft at her requeft, but, in her opinion, with the know- 
 ledge and communication of Mr. Hamilton, whofe friend he 
 profefled to be ; that he had been at her houfe yefterday, and 
 mentioned to her, that two gentlemen of Congrefs had been at 
 the jail, to confer with her hufband; enquired, if fhe knew 
 what they went for ; obferved, he knew Mr. Hamilton had 
 enernies,who would try to prove fome fpeculations on him, but 
 when enquired into, he would be found immaculate ; to which 
 {he replied, fhe rather doubted it. 
 
 We faw, in her pofleffion, two notes ; one in the name of 
 Alexander Hamilton, of the 6th of December, and the other, 
 figned " J. W." purporting to have been written yefterday j, 
 both expreiling a defire to relieve her. 
 
 She denied any recent communication with Mr. Hamilton, 
 or that {he had received any money from him to-day. 
 
 (Signed,) F. A. MUHLENBERG. 
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 ABRAHAM VENABLE* 
 
 (No. IV.) 
 Philadelphia^ i^th December, 
 
 JACOB CLINGMAN has been engaged in fome nego-, 
 ciations with Mr. James Reynolds, the perfon, who has late- 
 ly been difcharged from aprofecution inftituted againfl him, by 
 the Comptroller of the Treafury. 
 
 That his acquaintance commenced in September, 1791 ; 
 that a mutual confidence and intimacy exifted between them; 
 that in January or February Jail, he faw colonel Hamilton 
 at the houfe of Reynolds. Immediately on his going into the 
 houfe, colonel Hamilton retired. That in a few days after, 
 he (Clingman) was at Mr. Reynolds's houfe, with Mrs. Rey- 
 nolds, her hufband being then out ; fome perfon knocked at the 
 cioor ; he arofe and opened it, and faw that it was colonel Ha- 
 milton. Mrs. Reynolds went to the door; he delivered a pa- 
 per to her, and faid, he was ordered to give Mr. Reynolds 
 that, He afked Mrs. Reynolds who could order the Secretary 
 of the Treafury of the United States to give that ? She replied, 
 that fhe fuppofed, he did not want to be known. This happened 
 
UNITED STATES. 213 
 
 in the night. He afked her, how long Mr. Reynolds had been 
 acquainted with colonel Hamilton? She replied, fome months ; 
 thatcelonel Hamilton had aflifted her hu (band; that fometime 
 before that, he had received upwards of eleven hundred dollars, 
 of colonel Hamilton. Sometime after this, Clingman was 
 at the houfe of Reynolds, and faw colonel Hamilton; he retired 
 and left him there. 
 
 A little after D tier's failure, Reynolds told Clingman, in 
 confidence, that if Duer had held up, three days longer, he 
 {hould have made fifteen hundred pounds, by the afliftance of 
 colonel Hamilton; that colonel Hamilton had informed 
 him, that he was connected with Duer. Mr. Reynolds alfb 
 faid, that colonel Hamilton had made thirty thoufand dollars 
 by fpeculation ; that colonel Hamilton had fupplied him with 
 money to fpeculate. That, about June lari, Reynolds told 
 Clingman, that he had applied to colonel Hamilton for money 
 to fubfcribe to the turnpike-road at Lancafter, and had received 
 a note from him, in thefe words, " It is utterly out of my pow- 
 4< er, I ^fTure you, upon my honour, to comply with your re- 
 " queft. Your note is returned ;" which original note, ac- 
 companying this, has been in Clingman's poileffion ever 
 iince. Mr. Reynolds has once or twice mentioned to Cling- 
 rnan, that he had it in his power to hang colonel Hamilton ; 
 that if he wanted money, he was obliged to let him have it, 
 That he (Clingman) has occafionally lent money to Reynolds 
 who always told him, that he could always get it from colo- 
 nel Hamilton, to repay it ; that, on one occafion, Clingman 
 lent him two hundred dollars ; that Reynolds promifed to pay 
 him, through the means of colonel Hamilton; that he went 
 with him, faw him go into colonel Hamilton's ; that, after he 
 came out, he paid him one hundred dollars, which, he faid, was 
 part of the fum, he had got; and paid the balance, in a few 
 days ; the latter fum paid was faid to have been received from 
 colonel Hamilton, after his return from Jerfey, having made a 
 vifit to the manufa6hiring fociety there. 
 
 After a warrant was ifTued againft Reynolds, upon a late 
 profecution, which was inftituted againft him, Clingman, fee- 
 ing Reynolds, afked him, why he did not apply to his friend 
 colonel Hamilton ? He faid, he would go immediately, and 
 went accordingly. He faid afterwards, that colonel Hamilton 
 advifed him to keep out of the way, a few days, and the mat- 
 ter would be fettled. That after this time, Henry SeckeJ* 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 vt\*nt to R?y:~olcb, and offered to be his bail, if he would go 
 i*iifi fern* to Mr. Baker's office, where he had left the officer, 
 \vho had the warrant in writing ; that he prevailed on Rey- 
 nolds to go with him. That after Reynolds was taken into 
 cuitoily'; Seckel refufed to become his bail, unlefs he would 
 
 .;, in his pofieilion, property to the value of four hundred 
 pounds j upon which, Reynolds wrote to colonel Hamilton, 
 and Mr. Scckel carried the note. After two or three times 
 going, he law colonel Hamilton, Colonel Hamilton faid, he 
 
 Reynolds rnu his father j that his father was a good 
 
 in the itc war ; that was all he could fay ; that it was 
 i hi:; puv/er to aiftft him ; in confequence of which, Secktl 
 
 d to be his bail, and Reynolds was imprifoned. Mr. 
 Reynolds alfo applied to Mr. Francis, who is one of the clerks 
 i:i thj ;reafury department-, he faid, he could not do any 
 
 , without the confent of colonel Hamilton; that he 
 
 JY to him. lie applied to Mr. Hamilton, who told 
 
 hinij that it \vould not be prudent ; if he did, he muft leave 
 
 After Reynolds was confined, Ciingman afked Mrs. Rey- 
 
 , why ihe did not apply to colonel Hamilton to difmifs 
 
 rum, as the money was ready to be refunded, that was recuv- 
 
 ci*. .She replied., that fliy had applied to him, and he had fent 
 
 h-r to IvU, "W'olcot ; but directed her not to let Mr. Wolcot 
 
 Lnovv, that he had lent her there. Not with Handing this in- 
 
 .im, ihe did let Mr. Wolcot know, by whom ihe had 
 
 Jjnt, who appeared to be furprifed at the information, but 
 
 Jute!, he would do what h? could for her, and would confult 
 
 .-.:! Hamilton on the occafion. Colonel Kamil ton ad vifed 
 
 jj get fome peribns of n. (pea Ability, to intercede tor her 
 
 .:!(), and nieiitionv'd Mr. Muhlenberg. 
 
 iiojds continued to be kept in cuitody, for fome time, 
 
 r'^ht;.; \vhich tirne, Clin^ir.an had converfiUion with Mr. 
 
 > s . r hofi'.id, if h" v/otld give up a lift of foldier's claims, 
 
 rcieafed. After this, Mrs. Rey- 
 
 nolds informed Cliiigmpp., that colonel Hamilton had told her, 
 -.1 fhouid write a. letter to Mr. V/olcot, and a; 
 iluplk-ateof the fame to prorviifmp: to give up the lift, 
 
 r t v;'j : f money which had been obtained on a certificate, 
 
 Vv'Iiicli h:;u bsc n laid to have 'Dft'n iipproperly obtained. Cling- 
 
 for the letters that her hufband 
 . from time to time, as ba 
 
UNITED STATES. uy 
 
 might probably ufe them to obtain her hu (band's liberty. 
 She replied, that colonel Hamilton had requeued her to burn 
 all the letters, that were in his hand-writing, or that had his 
 name to them\ which fhe had done. He preited her to exa- 
 mine again, as fhe might not have destroyed the- whole, and 
 they would be ufeful. She .examined, and found two or three 
 notes, without any name, which are herewith fubmittgdy and 
 which, (he faid, were notes from colonel Hamilton. 
 
 Mrs. Reynolds told Clingman, that having heard, that her 
 hu (band's father was, in the late war, a commHiary under the 
 direction of colonel Wndfworth, fhe waited on him, to get him 
 to intercede for her hufband's difcharge. Fie told her, lie would 
 give her his amftance, and faid, " now you have mads me your 
 " friend, you muft apply to no perfoh eld-." That on Sunday 
 evening, Clingman went to the boufe of Reynolds, and found 
 colonel Wadfworth there. He was introduced to colonel Wadf- 
 worth, by Mrs. Reynolds. Colonel Wadfworth told him, 
 he had feen Mr. Wolcot ; that Mr. Wolcot would do any 
 thing for him, (Clingman), and Reynolds*s family, that he 
 could ; that he had called on colonel Hamilton, but had not 
 feen him ; that he might tell him, Mr. Muhlenberg, that a 
 friend of his (Clingmaa's) had told him, that, colonel Wadf- 
 worth was a countryman and fchoolmate of Mr. Ingeribli, and 
 that colonel Wadfworth was alfo intimate with the governor, 
 and. that the governor would do almoft any thing, to oblige* 
 him ; that his name muft not be mentioned to Mr. Muhlenberg, 
 as telling him this; but that, if Mr. Muhlenberg could be 
 brought to fpeak to him firfr, on the fi:bject, 'he would then do 
 any thing in his power, for them ; and told him not to /peak 
 to him, if he fhould meet him in the frreet ; and laid, if his 
 name was mentioned, that he would do nothing. That on 
 Wednefday, Clingman faw colonel Wadfworth, at Reynolds's 
 houfc ; he did not find her at home, but left a note ; but, ou 
 going out, he met her, and faid, he had feen every body, and 
 done every thing. 
 
 Mrs. Reynolds told Clingman, that me had received money 
 from colonel Hamilton, fmce her hufband's confinement, cr.clo- 
 fed in a note, which note fhe had burned. 
 
 After Reynolds was diicharged, (which was eight c: 1 nine 
 o'clock on Wednefday evening); about twelve' o'clock at 
 night, Mr. Reynolds lent a letter to colonel Hamilton by a 
 girl ; which letter, Clingman iUw dejiverd to the girl. 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Reynolds followed the girl, and Clingman followed him. He 
 faw the girl go into colonel Hamilton's houfe. Clingman then 
 joined Reynolds, and they walked back and forward in the 
 flreet, until the girl returned, and informed Reynolds, that he 
 need not go out of town that night, but call on him early in the 
 morning. In the morning, between feven and eight o'clock, 
 he faw Reynolds go to colonel Hamilton's houfe, and go in. 
 He has not feen him fince, and fuppofes, he is gone out of 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Clingman further adds, that fometime ago he was in- 
 formed by Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, that be had books contain- 
 ing the amount of the cajh due to the Virginia line at his own 
 houfe at New-York, with liberty to copy, and were obtain- 
 ed through Mr. Duer. 
 
 The above contains the truth, to the beftof my knowledge 
 and recollection, and to which I am ready to make oath. 
 
 Given under my hand this I3th December, 1792. 
 
 (Signed,) JACOB CLINGMAN. 
 
 (No. V.) 
 Philadelphia, i$tb December, 1792. 
 
 Mr. Clingman informs us, that Mr. Reynolds returned to 
 town, on Thurfdny night, and told him, he had written him a let- 
 ter which he then had ; not having had an opportunity to fend 
 it to him, and which he then tore; part of which was thrown in- 
 to the fire. Other parts he prefented to us, and which we now 
 have. 
 
 That Reynolds, at the fame time, told him, he had been re- 
 ceived by Mr. Hamilton, the morning of that day, when they 
 parted, about funrife. That he was extremely agitated, walk- 
 ing backward and forward the room, andftriking, alternately, 
 his forehead and his thigh ; obferving to him, that he had ene- 
 mies at zvork, but -was willing to meet them, on fair ground, 
 and requejted him not tojlay long, lejl it might be noticed. 
 
 Mr. Clingman alfo informs us, that he received a note from 
 Mr. Wolcot, to meet him, on Friday morning, at half paft nine 
 (which note we have). That he attended, and had an inter- 
 view with him, in prefence of Mr. Hamilton ; when he \ras 
 ftri&ly examined by both, refpe&ing the perfons, who were en- 
 quiring into the matter, and their obje& ; that he told Mr. 
 Hamilton, he had been poflefled of his notes to Reynolds, and 
 
UNITED STATES. 217 
 
 had given them up to thefe gentlemen: and to which, he re- 
 plied, he had done very wrong. That he alfo told Mr. Ha- 
 milton of the letter he had received from Reynolds, fmce his 
 enlargement, mentioning that he (Mr. Hamilton) would make 
 Francis fwear back what he had faid ; and to which Mr. Ha- 
 milton replied, he would make him unfay any falfity he had 
 declared. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton faid, Reynolds was a villain, arafcal, and he 
 fuppofed, would fwear to any thing. 
 
 Mr. Wolcot faid, that unlefs Clingman ufed the fame can- 
 dour to him, that he had .done to Clingman, he fhould not con- 
 fider himfelf bound. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton wanted to know, what members of Congrefs 
 were concerned in the enquiry, and defired him to go into the 
 gallery, where he would fee them, and enquire their names of 
 the byftanders. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton obferved, he had had fome tranfa&ion with 
 Reynolds, which he had before mentioned, as well as Clingmaa 
 remembers, to Mr. Wolcot, and need not go into detail. 
 
 Clingman alfo informs us, that Reynolds told him, fmce his 
 enlargement, that when he was about tofet out to Virginia, on 
 his laft trrp to buy up cam-claims of the Virginia line, he told 
 Mr. Hamilton, that Hopkins would not pay upon thofe pow- 
 ers of attorney ; and to which he, (Mr. Hamilton) replied* he 
 would write to Hopkins, on the fubjet. 
 
 1 6th. Laft night we waited on colonel Hamilton, when he 
 informed us of a particular connexion with Mrs. Reynolds : 
 the period of its commencement, and circumftances attending 
 it ; his vifiting her at Infkeep's ; the frequent fupplies of mo- 
 ney to her and her hu {band, on that accountj his durefs by them 
 from the feai w p 
 
 ;/ /W th*m I T m a good manv ne wspapers that " recent F 
 
 * g ' historical delvers have discovered that Hamilton ^ 
 letters trpm I had an affair with a woman which troubled him a [ 
 He acknow] 'good deal and injured him politically." It was ' 
 poffejjton^ to] hardly necessary to delve very deep to find out this. V 
 fufpicions w| Hamilton himself printed a pamphlet on the sub- ,- 
 ward him h ject ' wMch has now become scarce, but which most f 
 persons interested in such curious matters have L 
 seen. There is a copy in Boston, in the possession of 
 Mr. Charles Sprague, and one in the library of Mr. 
 Wallace, Reporter of the U. S. Supreme Court, and !> 
 
 it. We br 
 
 did he afk 
 He faid, 
 
 Reynolds a 
 derofa lift 
 
 we think that the New- York Historical Society has 
 one. In this pamphlet Hamilton makes that full and 
 free confession which is eood for the soul. It's a 
 curious story, but hardly worth repeating here. The 
 gist of it is, that while Hamilton admits the sin 
 frankly, he vehemently asserts that it had not, as his 
 defamers char#ed, influenced his bestowal of the 
 patronage of his office. The passage iu which 
 Hamilton owns- and laments liis fault is admirably 
 written. 
 
2i6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Reynolds followed the girl, and Clingman followed him, He 
 faw the girl go into colonel Hamilton's houfe. Clingman then 
 joined Reynolds, and they v/alked back and forward in the 
 ftreet, until the girl returned, and informed Reynolds, that he 
 need not go out of town that night, but call on him early in the 
 morning. In the morning, between feven and eight o'clock, 
 he faw Reynolds go to colonel Hamilton's houfe, and go in. 
 He has not feen him fince, and fuppofes, he is gone out of 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Clingman further adds, that fometimeago he was in- 
 formed by Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, that he had books contain- 
 ing the amount of the cafh due to the Virginia line at his own 
 houfe at New-York, with liberty to copy, and were obtain- 
 ed through Mr. Duer. 
 
 The above contains the truth, to the beftof my knowledge 
 and recollection, and to which I am ready to make oath. 
 
 Given under my hand this I3th December, 1792. 
 
 (Signed,) JACOB CLINGMAN. 
 
 ' (No. V.) 
 
 Philadelphia, i$tb December, 1792. 
 
 Mr. Clingman informs us, that Mr. Reynolds returned to 
 town, on Thurfday night, and told him, he had written him a let- 
 ter which he then had ; not having had an opportunity to fend 
 it to him, and which he then tore; part of which was throxvn in- 
 to the fire. Other parts he prefented to us, and which we now 
 have. 
 
 That Reynolds, at the fame time, told him, he had been re- 
 ceived by Mr. Hamilton, the morning of that day, when they 
 parted, about funrife. That he was extremely agitated, walk- 
 ing backward and forward the room, andftrlklng, alternately, 
 'his forehead and his thigh ; obferving to him, that he had ene- 
 mies at work, but was willing to meet them, on fair ground, 
 and requejted him not to ft ay long, lejl It might be noticed* 
 
 Mr. Clingman alfo informs us, that he received a note from 
 Mr. Wolcot, to meet him, on Friday morning, at half paft nine 
 (which note we have). That he attended, and had an inter- 
 view with him, in prefence of Mr. Hamilton; when he' was 
 ftri&ly examined by both, refpe&ing the perfons, who were en- 
 quiring into the matter, and their obj eel: ; that he told Mr. 
 Hamilton, he had been pofiefied of his notes to Reynolds, and 
 
UNITED STATES. 217 
 
 had given them up to thefe gentlemen: and to which, he re- 
 plied, he had done very wrong. That he alfo told Mr. Ha- 
 milton of the letter he had received from Reynolds, fmce his 
 enlargement, mentioning that he (Mr. Hamilton) would make 
 Francis fwear back what he had faid ; and to which Mr. Ha- 
 milton replied, he would make him unfay any falfity he had 
 declared. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton faid, Reynolds was a villain, arafcal, arid he 
 fuppofed, would fwear to any thing. 
 
 Mr. Wolcot faid, tha.t unlefs Clingman ufed the fame can- 
 dour to him, that he had done to Clingman, he fhould not con- 
 fider himfelf bound. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton wanted to know, what members of Congrefs 
 were concerned in the enquiry, and defired him to go into the 
 gallery, where he would fee them, and enquire their names of 
 the byftanders. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton obferved, he had had fome tranfaclrion with 
 Reynolds, which he had before mentioned, as well as Clingmaa 
 remembers, to Mr. Wolcot, and need not go into detail. 
 
 Glingman alfo informs us, that Reynolds told him, fmce his 
 enlargement, that when he was about tofet out to Virginia, on 
 his laft trip to buy up cam-claims of the Virginia line, he told 
 Mr. Hamilton, that Hopkins would not psy upon thofe pow- 
 ers of attorney ; and to which he, (Mr. Hamilton) replied* he 
 would write to Hopkins, on the fubjecl:. 
 
 i6th. Laft night we waited on colonel Hamilton, when he 
 informed us of a particular connection with Mrs. Reynslds : 
 the period of its commencement, and circumftances attending 
 it ; his vifiting her at Infkeep's ; the frequent fupplies of mo- 
 ney to her and her hufband, on that account ; his durefs by them 
 from the fear of a difclofure, and bis anxiety to be relieved from 
 it and them. To fupport this, he fhewed a great number of 
 letters from Reynolds ad herfelf, commencing early in 1791. 
 He acknowledged all the letters in a difguifed hand, in our 
 poffej/ion^ to be his. We left him under an impreffion, our 
 fufpicions were removed. He acknowledged our conduct to- 
 ward him had been fair and liberal : he could not complain of 
 it. We brought back all the papers, even his own notes, nor 
 did he afk their deftruclion. 
 
 He faid, the dtfmiilion of the profecution againft the parties, 
 Reynolds and Clingman, had been in confideration of a furren- 
 ilerofa lift of pay improperly obtained from his office, and by 
 
 F f 
 
 K y " ji> 
 
2i8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 means of a perfbn, who had it not in his power now to injure 
 the department, intimating he meant Duer : that he obtained 
 this information from Reynolds ; owned that he had received 
 a note from Reynolds in the night, at the time ftated in Mr. 
 Clingman's paper, and that he had likewife feen him in the 
 morning following : faid, he never had feen Reynolds be- 
 fore he came to this place ; and that the ftatement in Mr. 
 Clingman's paper, in that refpedl:, was correct. 
 
 (Signed,) JAMES MONROE. 
 
 ABRAHAM VENABLE- 
 F. A. MUHLENBERG. 
 
 January zd y 1793. Mr. Clingman called on me, this even- 
 ing, and mentioned, that he had been apprifed of Mr. Hamil- 
 ton's vindication, by Mr. Wolcott, a day or two after our 
 interview with him. He farther obferved to me, that he com- 
 municated the fame to Mrs. Reynolds, who appeared much 
 Jhocked at tf, and wept immoderately. That fhe denied the 
 imputation, and declared, that it had been a fabrication of colonel 
 Hamilton, and that her huiband had joined in it, who had told 
 tierfoy and that he had given him receipts for money and writ- 
 ten letters, fo as to give countenance to the pretence. That 
 he was with colonel Hamilton, the day after he left the jail, 
 when we fuppofed he was in Jerfey. He was of opinion {he 
 was innocent, and that the defence was an impofition. 
 
 (Signed,) JAMES MONROE. 
 
 (No. VI.) 
 LETTERS FK.OM COLONEL HAMILTON TO JAMES 
 
 REYNOLDS, REFERRED TO IN No. III. 
 Endorfement on the parcel, in the hand-writing 
 of Reynolds, " From Secortary Hamilton, efq.*" 
 
 lo-morrow what is requejled -will be done. Twill 
 hardly be pqffible to day* 
 
 [This card has neither date nor addrefs. It is in 
 a kind of character, half print, half manufcript- It 
 was admitted as his own by the fecretary.] 
 
 * The loofe paper on which thefe words are written, Is itfeU 
 part tffomeitfreyedb&r from Mr, Hamilton^ for it has o chc op- 
 
UNITED STATES. 219 
 
 It is utterly tint of my power I ajjure you, PON 
 my honour, to comply with your requeft. Tour note 
 is returned. 
 
 [This is the cardreferred to in No. IV. being the 
 anfwer to a requefl from Reynolds, of money to fub- 
 fcribe for the Lancafter turnpike. It has neither 
 date nor addrefs ; but muft have been written about 
 the month of June, 1792. On what ground could 
 Reynolds pretend to make fuch applications to a 
 perfon fo far above his rank ? The gentle tone of 
 the refufal, alfo, deferves notice. It exprefsly im- 
 plies a high degree of previous intimacy. The 
 fwiple affurance of inability was not enough. Mr*. 
 Hamilton declares PON HIS HONOUR, that it is not 
 merely out of his power, but UTTERLY, &c. How 
 generous ! How magnanimous this language of the 
 ex-fecretary ! efpecially when he wrote to a being 
 who was in the habit of threatening to bring him 
 to difgrace. If the ftatement of Mr. Hamilton, as 
 to Mrs. Reynolds, had been true, fhe mufl have coil 
 him, in whole, a {mart fum. In No. IV. fhe fays, 
 that herhufband had, fometime before, frc received 
 " upwards of eleven hundred dollars of colonel 
 "Hamilton." A {hare in the Lancafter turnpike 
 coft three hundred dollars ; and though, in this re- 
 quell, Reynolds did not fucceed, yet b extenilve a 
 fcale of application (hews, that he had. been in the 
 habit of receiving, or at lead of expecting, to a cen- 
 iiderable amount. In the fame number it appears, 
 that Clingman was almoft an eye witnefs to there^ 
 ceipt, by Reynolds, of a large fbmfrom Mr. Hamii* 
 ton. No. IV. alfo, fhews, that Mrs. Reynolds, du* 
 ring the, confinement of her hulband, received mo- 
 ney from our fecretary ; and in Na. IIL when Mr. 
 
 pofite fide, in his ff<^&^. hand-writhg, this addrefs, as the bak 
 of a letter : " Mr. James Reyn^s," 
 
220 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Hamilton wanted to get rid of thefe people, he of- 
 fered, if they would leave thefe parts, not to be Jeen 
 here again, to' give SOMETHING CLEVER. By the 
 way, this was not the language of a lover. If the 
 colonel was tired he might have quitted the lady 
 with lefs ceremony. We proceed to the third card.] 
 
 DOLLARS. They could not befent 
 fooner. 
 
 AddrefTed on the back, Mr. James Reynolds. 
 
 [This letter has neither date, nor fubfcription ; 
 and is in the feigned hand of the two former. The 
 addrefs is in a counterfeit hand, of a different kind ; 
 but refembling that of the Jeer etary.~\ 
 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 I expelled to have heared the day after I had the 
 fleajure of feeing you. 
 
 [This is in Mr. Hamilton's common hand. It has 
 no date or fignature. The addrefs, if it had any, 
 has been torn away.] 
 
 *The per/on Mr. Reynolds enquired for on Friday y 
 
 WAITED FOR HIM ALL THE EVENING, at his houfe, 
 
 from a little after J even Mr. R* mayjee him at any 
 time to-day, or to-morrow, bet-ween the hours of two 
 &nd three. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds. Monday* 
 
 [The above, and its addrefs, are in the feigned 
 hand. So much correfpondence could not refer ex- 
 elufively to wenching. No man of common fenfe 
 will believe that it did. Hente it muft have im- 
 plicated fome connexion flill more di(horiourable > 
 in Mr, Hamilton's eyes, than that of incontinency. 
 Reynolds and his wife affirm that it reipecled cer- 
 tificate {peculations* The folicitu.de of Mr. Ha~ 
 
UNITED STATES. 221 
 
 milton to get theie people out of the way, is quite 
 contradictory to an amorous attachment for Mrs. 
 Reynolds, and befpeaks her innocence in the clear- 
 eft ftile. The following is the torn letter refer- 
 red to, in the beginning of No. V. It is in the fame 
 hand writing with the indorfement a,bove quoted 
 on the parcel of letters, and merits particular atten- 
 tion.] 
 
 Thurfday, one o'clock, 1 3th December, 1 792*. 
 MY DEAR M. CLINGMAN, 
 
 7 hope I have not forfeited your friendfliip, the lafl 
 night's converfation, dont think anything of it, for I 
 was not my/elf* / know I have treated******** 
 friend ill, and too -well I am convinjed [Here about 
 three lines are torn out.] to have fatis faction from 
 HIM at all events, and you onely I truji too. I 'will 
 
 SEE YOU THIS EVENING. HE HAS OFFERED TO 
 FURNISH ME AND MRS. REYNOLDS WITH MONEY 
 
 TO CARRY us OFF. If I will go, he willjee that Mrs. 
 Reynolds has money to follow me, and as for Mr. 
 Francis, he fas he will make him /wear back what he 
 has f aid, and will turn him out of office^. 'This is all I * 
 can Jay till I fee you . 
 
 I am, dear Clingman, believe me, forever your 
 fincere friend, 
 
 J4MES RErNOLDS. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Clingman. 
 
 Here the ftory comes to a crifis. Reynolds, a 
 man of a bad character, and dependent circum- 
 flances,had been caft into jail for an offence of a very 
 deep dye, and which, as it appears, could have been 
 fixed upon him. Inftead of comporting himfelf with 
 
 * Reynolds got out of prifon, on Wednefday evening, the i2th 
 of December. See No. iv. 
 
 + The Secretary kept his word. The perfon here meant was d*f- 
 charged from the treafury office. 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 that humility fuitablc to a iituation apparently fo def- 
 perate, he ipeaks of nothing eife but ruining and 
 hanging Mr. Hamilton, who, the Prefident ex- 
 cepted,was the moft powerful and dangerous enemy 
 that he could have met with on the whole continent. 
 This was not, certainly, an obvious way to get out 
 of prifon. He had been profecuted by the Comptrol- 
 ler, Mr. Wolcot, with whom he found no blame ; 
 but he affirmed, that it was a fcheme of the fecre- 
 tary to keep him low^ and drive him away. Even ad- 
 mitting that his wife was the favourite of Mr. Ha- 
 milton, for which there appears no evidence but 
 the word of the fccretary, this conduct would have 
 been eminently foolifli. Mr. Hamilton had only 
 to fay, that he was fick of his amour, and the influ- 
 ence and hopes of Reynolds .q.t once vamftied. Our 
 Secretary was far above the Ye#--,h. of his revenge. 
 The accufation of an illicft arnoi.r, though founded 
 in notes louder than the laft trumpet, could not 
 have defamed the conjugal fidelity of Mr. Hamil- 
 ton. It would only have been holding a farthing 
 candle to the fun. On that point, the world had pre- 
 vioufly fixed its opinion. In the fecretary's bucket 
 of chaflity, a drop more or lefs was not to be per- 
 ceived. If Reynolds had no claim to regard but in 
 one of the capacities of Mercury, his accufations 
 and his threats were more than folly. They were 
 fynommous to lunacy. 
 
 Grounding merely on the procuring fyftem, the 
 forbearance of Mr. Hamilton is equally inexplica- 
 ble. The natural temper of our fecretary, where 
 he ventures to exert it, is vindictive and furious*, 
 combining cc that unufual mixture of quick feroci- 
 tc ty and unrelenting vengeance," which Mr. Hume 
 has marked out as a peculiarity in the character of. 
 
 * See Findley and 8;ackenridge> pa 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 Charles the ninth*. That fuch a man^ or indeed 
 that any man (hould tamely endure, this treatment 
 is in itfelf highly incredible. No tranfient attach- 
 ment, fuch as that which the fecretary alledged that 
 he had,, could have been put in the balance againft 
 his official character ; and from the time that Mr. 
 Monroe and the other gentlemen faw Reynolds, his 
 reputation was evidently at flake. 
 
 In No. V. Clingman fays, that he received a note 
 from Mr. Wolcot to call 911 him. It is in thefe 
 words. 
 
 Mr. Wolcott will be glad to fee Mr. Clingman to- 
 morrow, at half after nine o'clock. 
 Thurj'day. 
 
 At this meeting, Clingman fays that he was finely 
 examined by Meffrs. Wolcot and Hamilton, refpec- 
 ting the perfons who were enquiring into the matter, 
 and their object. If 'every thing was found at bot- 
 tom Mr. Hamilton, might have held fuch perfons 
 
 * The feelings of Mr. Hamilton may bs eftimated by the tone 
 of the hireling writers of his-party ; and (hew how little quarter he 
 or they are entitled to* William Cobbett, in hisCenforfbr March 
 1 797, defcribes Mr. Monroe as " a traitor, who has bartered the hd- 
 " nour and intereft of his country, to a perfidious and favage enemy." 
 Meffrs. Muhlenberg, Jefferfon, Swanwick, Giles, Madifon, Gallatin, 
 Mr. Tench Coxe, and others, are all fpoken of in the fame fcurri- 
 lous way, without the leaft regard to truth or decency. What could 
 ail this writer at Dr. Rulh ? That gentleman has long fince quitted 
 politics, and his philofophical works are better known and more 
 highly refpe'fted in Europe, than thofe of any writer whom the new 
 world has produced, Franklin or Jefferfon's notes excepted. 
 
 This man does not write at random. His enemies laughed at him 
 for boafting of intimacy with fome of the firft characters in this coun- 
 try. He fpoke only ti;uth. Not long fince, Mr. Lifton, the Bri- 
 tilh ambafTador, came d\)wn North Second-ftreet, paft by tbe door 
 of his ftore, looked carefully around him, as if to fee whether he 
 wasobferved, then turned back and went in. Two days after he 
 was in the fame ftore: and, no doubt his excellency derives mu<h 
 improvement fifoui this elegant and dignified c.onnehion> 
 
224 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and fuch enquiries in defiance. The following 
 letter, the laft in the order of thefe pieces, is from 
 Mr. Hamilton himfelf. 
 
 Philadelphia^ Dec ember ', 1792. 
 Gentlemen^ 
 
 ON reflexion, I deem it advifeable for me to have copies of 
 the feveral papers which you communicated to me in our in- 
 ter view on Saturday evening, including the notes, and the frag- 
 ment of Mr. Reynold's letter to Mr. Clingman. I therefore 
 requeft that you will either caufe copies of thefe papers to be 
 furnimed to me, taken by the perfon in whofe hand writing the 
 declarations which you {hewed to me were, or will let me have 
 the papers themfelves to be copied. It is alfo my wifh, that 
 all fuch papers as are original, may be detained from the par- 
 ties of whom they were had, to put it out of their power to 
 repeat the abufe of them in fituations which may deprive me of 
 the advantage of explanation. Confidering of how abomina- 
 ble an attempt they have been the inftruments, I truft you 
 will feel nofcruples about this detention. 
 With confideration, 
 
 I have the honour to be, gentlemen, 
 
 Your obedient fervant, 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 F. Auguflus Mughknbergh^~\ 
 James Msnroe, and > Efquires, 
 
 Abraham fonable y J 
 
 AddrefTed on the back thus. " Frederick A, 
 Mughlenbergh, efquire" 
 
 The above letter, clofes the collection of papers 
 regarding this affair of Key nolds . It only remains 
 to make fome obfervations ; and thefe demand a 
 retrofpecl. 
 
 If we conflder the 'magnitude of the object be- 
 fore them, it was highly commendable in the gen- 
 tlemen concerned in thefe enquiries to trace the 
 matter as clofely as they did. The funding of cer- 
 tificates to the extent of perhaps thirty, or thirty- 
 iive millions of dollars, at eight times the price 
 
UNITED STATES. 22^ 
 
 which the holders had actually paid for them, pre- 
 fents, in itfelf, one of the moft egregious, the mod 
 impudent, the moil oppre/Tive, and the moft provo- 
 king bubbles that ever burlefqued the legislative 
 proceedings of any nation. The debt ^ at could 
 have been dilcharged for ten or fifteen millions of 
 dollars, was funded at forty millions. 
 
 But as the univerfal fuipicion and hatred which 
 the formation of this mafs had excited, might, at fome 
 future period, endanger its exiftence, the aiTump- 
 tion acl, was brought forward. This law incor- 
 porated into the former flock thofe debts contrac- 
 ted by individual flates during the war. Hence each 
 of them became, for its own fake, interefted in the 
 fnpport of public credit which implicated a rid- 
 dance of the debt efpecially due by itfelf. Thus 
 the certificate funds were infeparably embodied 
 with a powerful and popular ally, under the 
 flicker of whofe reputation they might hope for 
 fome degree of longevity. This artful meafure 
 was puflied through Congrefs by the fame party, 
 who funded the half-crown certificates at twenty 
 millings. But, even in this projecl, it is entertaining 
 to notice the blindnefs and precipitation of confci- 
 ous guilt. The paper-jobbing junto were in fuch 
 a hurry to fhelter their {peculations under the wings 
 of the above aflumption law, that the^afted the 
 meafure in the mofl profligate or bungling manner 
 which can be imagined. Take notice ! They pled- 
 ged the public faith for twenty-two millions of dol- 
 lars, inflead of eleven millions* ; for, the latter imu 
 
 " * The accounts of the uniop with the Individual flates might 
 " have been placed in the fame relative fituation in which they now 
 " ftand, by aflu ruing eleven millions, inftead of twenty-two. The 
 " additional and unneceflary debt, created by that fatal meafure, 
 " amounts, therefore, to ten millions eight hundred and eighty -thre;^ 
 " th:ufand,fix hundred and twenty-eight dcllars^ and fifty-eight a'..'-/' 
 Ga.llatin,p, 107, 
 
 G g 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 would have fettled the claims, if a reaibnable de- 
 gree of time, of judgment, or of method had been 
 employed upon it. This work was the very pin- 
 nacle of flupidity, or knavery, pr probably of both. 
 Suppofe thjtf you lee a man go into a ftore, and buy 
 ten fhillings worth of linen. He receives the cloth; 
 flings clown a guinea, and runs away without wai- 
 ting for his change. You will infer that he is ei- 
 ther circulating falie money, or has deferted from 
 bedlam. Yet fuch is preciiely the profile view of 
 this alTumption srct. It is natural that Dr. Smith 
 ihould be foncl of calling Americans the mod intel- 
 ligent of mankind, when his party have made them 
 fuch egregious dupes. Thus, the founder of fome 
 new feet in religion, while cramming the cars of 
 his clifciples with vifions and miracles, affures them 
 that they are the chofen people. In both inftan- 
 ces the encomiafl. holds in his eye the very fame ob- 
 ject. As for the ilate of public information, it is 
 likely that not more than one-tenth part of our ci- 
 tizens recolle<ft or have heard any thing of the a- 
 fumption act. Not one out of five thoufand people 
 is acquainted with this blafHng blunder, about the 
 eleven millions being funded at twenty-two. 
 
 This is a profile view of the affumption act. But 
 when we look Itraight into its face, fraud, anarchy, 
 and rebellion, are feen indelibly engraved on its 
 forehead. Witnefs the debates of laft winter in 
 Congrefs, about the balance due from New- York to 
 the union ! A fpark a thoufand times fmaller, has, 
 before now, involved half the world in conflagra- 
 tion. This act is like an ulcer in the midriff of Ame- 
 rican tranquillity. To paint its poiiible effects 
 would require the eloquence of Milton defcribing 
 the conqrefs of Death and Sin. 
 
 The bank of the United States was another but- 
 trefi railed to prop the rampart of corruption. 
 
UNITED STATES. 227 
 
 This institution, andtheirrefiilible influence which 
 it draw?, after it, afford a ftriking evidence of the da- 
 ring and profound genius of its author . By what 
 claufe of the constitution Congrefs thought t : 
 ieives puthcrifed to turn bankers, they 1) ; ;t 
 yet informed the public. From any thing which 
 appears on the face of that inftrument, they 
 had no more warrant for erecting banks than 
 for creeling pyramids. Their plea, that the 
 inftitution was to be of national benefit, dc.^s not 
 form a proper apology. It v/ould have been bet- 
 ter to tell the real motive, which wa^ that the lea- 
 ders of a majority in Congrefs expe&e'dthe fcheme 
 to ifTue in perfonal advantage to themfelves. The 
 report of Mr. Hamilton to Congrefs, on this bank> 
 promifed mighty matters which have never < ome 
 to pafs. But the grand point, the bracing _of.i; ? 
 funding fyftern, has been completely fecure.', "he 
 city of Wafhirigton ihall be juft mention 
 quietus to the honeft credulity of the Prelu 
 Millions have been worfe than idly funk upon th t; 
 ipot, which, if government removes to it, may be 
 fafely predicted as the tomb of the federal conla- 
 tution. 
 
 The refult of all thefe meafures hath been a pub- 
 Jic debt of eighty millions, inftead of thirty ; a re- 
 publican government harnafled in a monarchical fac- 
 tion ] a continent overwhelmed with paper money, 
 with jobs, and bankruptcies,- of a nature and fpecies 
 of infamy almoft unknown in Europe* ; the price 
 doubled on every article of living ; a commerce in- 
 
 * See, for example, the polite correfpondence between Mr. Jamea 
 Greenleaf and Mr. John Nicholfon, that hath fo long blockaded 
 the newfpapers. Sometime ago, bills of a merchant in this city 
 \vere advertifed for fale, by auion to the amount of about four 
 hundred thoufand dollars. Thefe things make a pcrfon from the old 
 world to fta re., but American*, perhaps, kao^ r bct'.er, 
 
22 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fulted and within fight of ruin ; a public treafury 
 without money, and without credit ; and laft and 
 worft, a fquadron of legiflative confpirators, in 
 the fifth Congrefs, who, by every infidious artifice, 
 and every unbluftiing effort, pant and toil to bury 
 their country in aBritifh alliance and a French war. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Farther obfervations on the correspondence between 
 Mefjrs. Hamilton and Reynolds .Singular mode 
 ofjecrecy in framing the federal conftitution, and 
 of difciiiling Jay's ^treaty. Defence of General 
 Ma/bn'. Report to Prcfident Adams, by Mr. 
 Pickering, on French captures. Singular Jtyle of 
 that paper. Defamatory charge by Judge Ire dell 
 to a ?r and jury in Virginia. Their pitiful pre- 
 fentment. Defence of Mr. Cabell. Curious let- 
 ter to Mr. John Beckley. Observations^ on the ^ 
 PURITY of the federal government. Specimens of 
 ike mode of travelling in America. ^ trip to 
 New-Tor k* 
 
 IN his letter laft copied, Mr. Hamilton fpeaks of 
 an explanation. He gave nothing meriting that 
 name. Thefhort way to exculpate himfelf was, by 
 confronting Reynolds and his wife, who accufed 
 him of fraud, with the gentlemen who undertook 
 the enquiry. Inttead of that, he fent Reynolds and 
 his wife out of the way,to prevent any fuch perfonal 
 exculpation. That he packed them off, there can 
 belittle doubt, fmce the fuddenefs of the difappear- 
 ance of Reynolds can be accounted for upon no other 
 ground. The letter from Reynolds to Clingman 
 mentions a promifdof that kind, and Mrs. Reynolds 
 
UNITED STATES. 229 
 
 had previonfly declared, that this \vas a fchenae in 
 contemplation. Reynolds could not fly from fear. 
 The profecution againft him was clofed, and his 
 chief refoarce for fubllfterice had been by applying 
 to Mr. Hamilton. That he was removed, to keep 
 him from a meeting with Mr .Monroe and his friends, 
 bears the ftronged marks of probability. It may 
 be faid, that the infamous character of Reynolds 
 made him unworthy of credit. Taken by itfelf, 
 his testimony was, indeed, worth little; but, when 
 fuppor.ted by various circumftances, it might me- 
 rit more attention. The profligate manners of the 
 accufer afforded an additional reafon why Mr. Ha- 
 milton, if innocent, fliould have brought him for- 
 ward, iince it would have been proportionably a 
 more eafy talk to convince Mr. Monroe of his falfe- 
 hood. But the fecrctary lealed the importance of 
 the accufers tertimony, by forbearing to produce 
 him to the gentlemen enquiring after him. When 
 perlbns of fo much weight and refpeftability had 
 entered upon this bufinefs, every principle of com- 
 mon fenle called for the cleareft explanation. 
 In place of that the chief evidence was con- 
 cealed, and fent off, while the mafs of his 
 correfpondence with Mr. Hamilton was, by defire 
 of the latter, abruptly committed to the flames. You 
 will determineVhether thefe fugitive meafures look 
 mod like innocence, or like fomething elfe. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton, referring to Reynolds and his 
 wife, calls this an abominable attempt. Granted. But, 
 fince the meafures of himfelf and his party, on the 
 affair of certificates, had excited a very general and 
 violent fufpicion, and fince he well knew that the 
 gentlemen who came forward, were fuppofed to 
 be in the number of thofe who entertained it, every 
 motive of felf-love, and of zeal for the honour of his 
 partisans, fhould have prompted Mr, Hamilton to 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tear up the laft twig of jealoufy. In place of {mo- 
 thering teftimony, he fhould have courted it. in 
 place of burning letters, he fhould haw frinted them. 
 Publicity was the only balis by which he could main- 
 tain the ground that he was in danger of lofing. Yet 
 this was the very mode of defence which he chofe to 
 avoid. WhenRandolph was arraigned of mifcon duel: 
 not more culpable than that imputed by Reynolds to 
 Hamilton, he purfued the accufer to Rhode-Hi and, 
 ;rnd obtained a certificate of his innocence, couched 
 in the ftrongefl terms. Yet the federal party, with 
 t:heir ufual fortitude of afTertion, and infelicity of de~ 
 monftration, have loaded him w r ith reproaches, and 
 the bare fuppofition of the poflibillly of his innocen c e, 
 has-been fcouted as the height of effrontery. Pat 
 the cafe that Fauchet, when his apocrypha was in- 
 tercepted, had been in jail, that Randolph, inflead 
 of bringing him forward had paid his debts, burnt 
 all his remaining papers, and hurried him out of the 
 country. Every friend to order ;, would have been 
 convinced that Randolph was guilty, "and had re- 
 moved Fauchet, that <c the pool of corruption might 
 cc putrifyin peace*." The force of moral or pre- 
 fumptive teftimony does not augment or diminish, 
 becaufe the party accufecl happens to be for or a- 
 gainft the American funding fyftem. 
 
 Some years ago, the late President was attacked in 
 the newfpapers for condantly uplifting his falary, be- 
 fore it became due. Mr. Hamilton immediately prin- 
 ted ^a reply that filled nine columns of the Philadel- 
 phia Gazette. Even the very worfl which could be 
 alledged of Mr. Wafhington amounted only to this 
 practice being irregular, improper, and fuper-emi- 
 nently ridiculous from a man who pretended to do 
 the bufinefs of his country for his mere houfhold 
 
 * Robert Hall, on the liberty of the prefs,. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 expcnces. The chai'ge of Reynolds wears a more 
 ferious afpcft. If he was one agent for the pur- 
 chaie of certificates, it may well be conceived, 
 though it cannot yet be proved, that our fecretary 
 had twenty others. Phyfician ! heal thyfelf. Before 
 Mr. Hamilton prints any farther defences of other 
 people, before he again arraigns one-half of his fel- 
 low citizens as cut-throats*, let him tell us what has 
 become of Reynolds. Let him obferve that this nar- 
 rative is explicit ; and that, under all the circum- 
 ftances of the affair, filence will be more fatal to 
 his character, than the moft feeble vindication. 
 
 It is eafy to fee why Mr. Hamilton, and his par- 
 ty, have been permitted to reduce America to its 
 prefent cliiagreeable condition. When a merchant 
 refufes not only to balance his books, but vilifies thole 
 who advife him to do fo, it requires no ghofl from the 
 dead, to foretell for what port he is bound. In pri- 
 vate life, it is hardly poffible to find fuch a fool; 
 but nations are fometimes actuated by a degree of 
 madnefs to which, in their individual concerns, it 
 would-be im practicable to drive them. Of this re- 
 mark, America, during the fliort period of her po- 
 litical career, has afforded various examples. The 
 people of other countries are Ignorant againft their 
 will. The citizens of the United States appear of- 
 ten averfe, and even hoftile to information. Thus, 
 the federal conffition, highly refpeclable and valu- 
 able as truth mufl acknowledge it to be, was yet an. 
 instrument framed in darknefs* When the conven- 
 tion who made it met at Philadelphia, they began 
 by fhutting their doors. This clandeftine appear- 
 ance exhibited the worft auguries imaginable of 
 what they were going to do. Though they had to 
 frame a conftitution, yet, before it could take effect 
 
 * See Americau Annual Regi'der, cbap. x. 
 
232 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 it was to be fubmitted, feperately, to each of the 
 thirteen flates. To afftfl the citizens at large in 
 forming their opinions, the fafeft an dfaireil method 
 was to have debated with open galleries. If the 
 arguments that fwayed thedecifion of the delegates 
 were well-founded, they might have had the fame 
 effect on their conflituents*. But, to immure them- 
 felves in the way in which they did, looked more 
 like a Venetian fenate, a gang of finugglers or coiners, 
 than the Reprefentatives of a free people. The long 
 parliament of England would never have obtained 
 the confidence of their party, they could never have 
 overturned royal deipotifm, if they had kept their 
 proceedings and debates a fecret from the world. 
 In England, a Itate-trial muft be carried on in pub- 
 lic. The fplrit of the country would not endure 
 the concealment of fuch a tranfadtion. In the 
 courfe of ordinary affairs, the prefentHoufe of Com- 
 mons do not fhut their doors above once in feveral 
 years. But the framing of a conftitution is of in- 
 finitely more importance than the ullial routine of 
 budneis ; the Eiiglilh people would not, on fuch an 
 emergency, fubmit to exclufion. The Scots union 
 wris previously known to be detefted by cdl ranks 
 of people ; and brought the country to the brink 
 of a revolution. Yet the Scots parliament debated 
 
 * We have not entirely forgot the mode in which the federal con- 
 ftitution was crammed down the gullet of Pennfylvania. When it firft 
 appeared, the affembly were in iei'iion. A minority declined accep- 
 tance, bccaufethey had nofpecial powers to that purpofe from their 
 electors ; and, to prevent its py fling, they feceded from the houfe. 
 The remaining members did not form a quorum. Here they would 
 have (luck, but the friends of order) alias, a troop of ruffians, with the 
 captain of a very modern frigate at their head, broke iuto the lodg- 
 ings of fome feceding members, feized them, dragged them through 
 the ftreets, with one-half of Philadelphia at their heels, and, by main 
 force, projected them into .the affembly. Thus a quorum was for- 
 racd, and the conftitution accepted, in a way which would have dif* 
 graced a -ingof glpiie*. 
 

 UNITED STATES. 233 
 
 with open doors. The acquiescence of our citizens 
 in the Tiberian privacy of their delegates, has mar- 
 ked a peculiarity in the American character. 
 
 The arrival of Jay's treaty afforded another in- 
 ftance of the fame kind. In London, public impa- 
 tience would, by fuch a circumftance, have been 
 wounded up to the higheft degree ; and the proud- 
 eft miniller muft have found his popularity inte- 
 relied in an early communication. But at Philadel- 
 phia, there was even a parade of fecrecy. The 
 treaty reached the President on the 7th of March> 
 1795. Instead of laying it before the public, who 
 were ultimately to bear its confequences, and who 
 could have made light break in upon every quar- 
 ter, he fupprefled its .contents from mankind, till 
 the meeting of the Senate. Thirty gentlemen then 
 ihut themfelves up, like the trariilators of the Sep- 
 tuagint, as if they had been to a6l by infpiration* 
 Without rafhnefs it may be faid, that ihisjiipenor 
 branch of government, as Mr. Fen no calls it, did 
 not collectively know as much about commerce, and 
 its foreign relations, as general Smith and John 
 Swanwick. The refolution of the Senate to ratify, 
 tranfpired on the 24th of June 1795", three months 
 and an half after the Preiident had got the treaty. 
 This long fuppreffipn did not excite an audible 
 murmur. Nay, after the ratification, the federal 
 party difplayed flill more flrongly their manly no- 
 tions of government. The Senate had juft one 
 member, general Malbn, of fufficient/ civility to- 
 \vards the public, to fend a copy of the treaty to 
 the newfpapers. This violated an injunction of fe- 
 crefy paft by the Senate. The federal catcalls be- 
 gan inftantly to fqueak ; and, if the general had 
 been forging bank notes, they could hardly have 
 made much more noife. Thus the Plymouth refo- 
 lutionsof the Qotli ofO&ober, 1795? charged him 
 
 H h 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 with '" a notorious breach of official confidence*." 
 Inflead of this language, they fliould have* thanked 
 him for his intelligence. If it had been communi- 
 cated three months more early, much of the fubfe- 
 quent bad confequences might have been prevented. 
 He fhould, alfo, have printed Jay's inftructions, 
 with minutes of the notable harangues about the par- 
 tition of the United Stalest* With open doors, no 
 fenator durft have broached a doctrine of luch en- 
 ormous attrocity. The mafler'scyemakes afat horje^ 
 lays the proverb. In public affairs, the fame cafe 
 holds good. The more that a nation knows about 
 the mode of conducting its bufmefs, the better chance 
 has that bufinefs of being properly conducted. 
 This maxim appears very plain ; and, in his dome- 
 tic concerns, every man approves ofit. On a great 
 national fcale, we are the firft free people who have 
 rejected it, and that is one of the principal reafons 
 whyfome parts of our federal adminiftration have 
 fucceeded fb very ill. Secrecy is a favourite doc- 
 trine with our financial Mahomet ; and its triumph 
 hath enfured his own. 
 
 In the clofe of the laft chapter, the word confpi- 
 rator has been employed. It founds harfhly, but 
 it has been inferted on the cleared evidence, and af- 
 ter the ftriften: confideration. To be convinced 
 of an executive plot, for involving America in a 
 French war, we have only to look at a report from 
 fecretary Pickering to Prefi dent Adams, and which, 
 on the 22d of June, 1797, was fent by the latter to 
 Congrefs. The title page profeffes to ftate "the 
 <c depredations committed on the commerce of the 
 " United States fmce the ift of October, 1796." 
 Confiftency with this profeifion required, that, as 
 
 * Carey's Remembrancer, vol. iii. p. 311. 
 i American Annual Regifter, chap, v. 
 
UNITED STATES. 235* 
 
 jnuch time fhould have been bellowed on the reci- 
 tal of Britifh captures, as on that of French ones. 
 Apparently^ grounding on this idea, Mr. Adams, in 
 liis meflage accompanying tjie papers, hath thefc 
 words : lc I directed a collection to be made of Atl* 
 cc fuch information as fhould be found in the po- 
 " feflion of the government." 
 
 The report and documents fill about an hundred 
 and fixty pages. The lift of French captures is ta- 
 ken from the Philadelphia and United States ga- 
 zettes. Of the Britifh, Mr., Pickering writes thus : 
 
 " Captures and loiTes by Britijh cruifers, the fe- 
 u cretary preiumes, have not been numerous ; for, 
 * c citizens of the United States having, thefe three 
 IC years pad, been accuftomedto look up to. the go- 
 cc vernment for aid in profecuting their claims, it 
 " is not to be doubted, that generally thefe cafes 
 <c have been reported to the department of ftate. 
 u An abftraft of fuch as have been communicated, 
 cc is annexed/' Report, p. 5. This lift amounts on- 
 ly to ten velTels. They are difpatched in two pa- 
 ges. That of captures by the republic occupies 
 about an hundred and forty. As an apology for 
 this difproportion of bulk, Mr. Pickering, on p. 9, 
 gives a moft curious rea&n. "This examination 
 c< was chiefly made prior to the call of the houfe of 
 cc Representatives fora report on this fubjecl:, with, 
 cc a view to ascertain the number of French cap- 
 cc tures, and the circumftances attending them ; and 
 cc the refult of the whole is annexed. It is regretted, 
 cc that the time did not permit a re-examination of 
 cc thofe papers to afcertaip likewife the captures, 
 "made by the Britifh cruifers." The call of the 
 houic was dated the loth of June. The papers 
 were laid before the houfe on the 22d, being at an 
 interval of twelve days . As the French lift had been 
 made out beforehand, the fecretary had the more- 
 
236 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 time to compile the BritiTb lift. Six aftivc clerks* 
 like thofe in his own office, could, with great eafe> 
 have completed the bufmeTs in forty-eight hours a*- 
 fartheft. Where was the mighty affair of turning 
 over twofiles of newfpapers for the laft eight months ? 
 "With fome diligence, the whole might have been 
 finifhed in a (ingle afternoon. In a city like Philadel- 
 phia, full of public offices, and able tranfcribers,the 
 jfecretary, if he had been in earned, could have col- 
 lecfted forty proper affiftants, on an hour's warning ; 
 and even admitting the Britifh lift to be as bulky as 
 the French one, each of thefe auxiliaries would hard- 
 ly have found an hour*s employment. But the fecre-* 
 tary himfelf fays, that Britifh captures were not nu- 
 merous. Be it fo. Then it would have taken the lefs 
 time to make them out. Yet it ieexns that, with 
 a (pace of ten or twelve days before him, the fe- 
 crctary could not accompHfli this Lilliputian tafk, 
 
 Thus does our fecretary trifle with the^ orders of 
 the legiflature ; and Mr. Adams., by the acceptance 
 of fo abfurd an excufe, exemplifies the proverb, like 
 -mafter, like man. But, to be plain with Mr. Picker- 
 ing, fuch palpable fophiftication will not go down. 
 All people know very well why the Britifh lift of 
 captures was not made out. It would have coun- 
 teracted his plan of inflaming us againft the re- 
 public. He proceeds thus. 
 
 u The editors of thofe two gazettes agree in 
 * c faying, that no great attention was paid to the 
 cc fubjer, for the purpofe of inferting accounts of 
 * c all the captures which were publifhed in the va- 
 <c rious other newfpapers ; yet the number collec- 
 * c ted exceeds three hundred, of which but few ef- 
 * c cape condemnation." The Gazette of the Uni- 
 ted States is, and long has been, as much an engine 
 of the American executive, as that of London is ta 
 
UNITED STATES. 237 
 
 an Englifli premier*. Mr. Fenno, beyond all que- 
 tion, inferted every French capture that he could 
 find. As to the Philadelphia Gazette, the prefent 
 editor has only held it fince laft February ; and, 
 previous to that time, he knows not how it was 
 conduced. When Congrefs wanted informa- 
 tion, it was the duty of Mr. Pickering to have 
 looked at a wide variety of newfpapers. But he 
 was well aware, that Mr. Fenno had collected 
 about every thing of the kind. The object of Mr.* 
 Pickering is, to iniinuate that many French captures 
 have efcaped notice. Yet the number colleded ex- 
 ceeds THREE HUNDRED. So long ago as September, 
 1794, a lift was published, by authority, of Briti/h 
 captures. They were about three hundred and flxty. 
 
 " The conduct of the public agents," fays Mr. 
 Pickering, " and of the commiffioned cruifers there, 
 " has furpafFed all fonner examples^ ." They can- 
 not be worfe than the confifcation of the Two 
 Friends, and the murder of captain BoiTon. We 
 might add an hundred Britifh piracies recited in this 
 volume, all as atrocious as any poffible cafe of 
 French piracy. 
 
 cc The perfons alfo of our citizens have been 
 cc beaten, infulted, and cruelly imprifoned ; and, in 
 " the forms ufed towards priibners of war, they 
 " have been exchanged with the Britifh for French- 
 " men." This is very bad, but the French arc 
 only followingthe example that England, for above 
 two years, had fet before them, and atthis moment 
 continues to give them. When complaints of im- 
 
 * * Inftead of trying to turn the fpeech of Barras into an inftrument 
 for a French war, Mr. Adams might have bought a fet of this rvw 
 
 newfpapcr, and fent it over as a prefent to the Direftory at 
 Paris. For every fyllable in the whole fpeech of Barras, they 
 would have found themfelves paid beforehand with a column of in* 
 veftive. 
 
 i Pickering's report, p. 8. 
 
S3& HISTORY OF THE 
 
 prefTincnt were made againft England, the federal 
 party did their utmoft to quell the {lory. In Con- 
 grcis, Mr. Tracy, and others, would gladly have de- 
 nied ; itiOijmpreffiiients had taken place, and 
 Webfler vvcn-icred \vhy American printers (liould 
 trouble thcmfelves about the matter*. This was 
 the uniform language of the whole party. 
 
 4C There have been frequent accounts of at- 
 * tempts to effeft condemnations by bribing the of- 
 '* fleers and Teamen of our veiTels to fwear falfely ; 
 1 but it was referved to thefe times, when offered 
 c bribes were refufed, and threats defpifecl, to en- 
 c deavour to accomplifh the object by torture " 
 Report p. i a. American (earn en have been flog- 
 ged by dozens at a Britiih gangway. This alia 
 v/as torture. Captain Reynolds, under the very 
 nofecf admiral Murray, attacked American vefTels. 
 Several men were killed and wounded. This was 
 torture. There is not the (mailed defign to exten- 
 uate French outrages, but. merely to prove the grofs 
 partiality of our executive in (hewing only the rob- 
 beries perpetrated upon one fide. 
 
 Paulo major a canamns.. If Mr.. Pickering has 
 difplayed grofs partiality, Prefident Adams has not 
 acled ? in the fni a Heft degree, better. On the 2%d of 
 June, 1797, general Smith was reciting in Congreis 
 the fleps purfued by the friends of order, for bring- 
 ing about a French war. He faid, that the execu- 
 tive had called Congrefs, and had complained of 
 the French ; for the fpeech did not contain a -(ingle 
 word of reference to any other nation. He next 
 recommended the fitting out of frigates, with which 
 he propofed to convoy American commerce. Our 
 merchant (hips are to be armed, and, on arrivingin 
 % French port, the queftion is put, againft ivhoin G.TC 
 
 * Supra, chapters v, and vi. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 you armed? The French would fay, we have read 
 your Prefident's Jpeech. By theje preparations^ he 
 can only mean to fight us. Your envoys, arriving in 
 France at the fame time, are fur of being turned 
 back again'. General Smith farther obferved, that 
 Dr. Smith and Mr. Harper had avowed the defign 
 of employ ing the frigates to force a trade into ports 
 of the Weft-Indies which the French havejuftly de- 
 clared to be in a ftate of rebellion. Such was port 
 Jeremie. General Smith affirmed, that thefe mea- 
 fures led directly to war. He believed that gentle- 
 men wanted to lead us into war. The member was 
 right ; there can be no doubt of it. This aftonifh- 
 ing feffion of Congrefs hath afforded a whole die-, 
 tionary of evidence. Sir John Brute fays, " every 
 " thing I fee, every thing I hear, every thing I feel, 
 cc and every thing I tafte, methinks, has 'wife in 
 " it." So at prefent with the federal party, every 
 thing has "war in it. A combination more culpable, 
 more hateful, hath not occurred fince the age of 
 Cataline or Fiefco. 
 
 Mr. Pickering complains of the French mal- 
 treating American feamen. His party have encou- 
 raged theBritifh to imprefs them. In proof of this, 
 attend to general Smith, who is no violent demo- 
 crat, for he profefled in Congrefs great concern, 
 when Mr. Hamilton retired from office. On the 
 27th of May, 1797, this gentleman faid, in the 
 lioufe, that members had affected to treat the law 
 for the protection of our feamen with lightnefs. It 
 conferred the highefl honour on Mr. Livingflon, 
 who introduced it. It was oppofed in both houfes 
 by thofe who are always combating for an increale 
 of power and influence in the executive govern- 
 ment. The Senate mutilated that law, fo as to de- 
 prive it of its moft falutary proviflons. After all, 
 the Senate refufcd their affknt to a law for protecting 
 
240 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 American Jea-men from imprejjment, and from 
 whipped on the bare back at the gang-way of a Bri* 
 ti/Ji man of war* They refufed to adopt it, until it 
 ivas fo much mutilated, that the executive, to render 
 it in any fliape effectual, was obliged to enforce it 
 with ajiipplementary part. Thus far general Smith. 
 
 If this majority in the Senate had been felecled 
 from the Divan of Algiers, they could not have 
 more completely difgraced their Ration. At the 
 Tame time, MefTrs. Tracy and Harper, below itairs, 
 were attempting to deny the reality of Britifh im- 
 preiTments ; and Webfter and KufTel inveighed 
 againfb every one who mentioned their exiitence. 
 Thefe things are part of a fyftem for degrading 
 America into a Britifh footftool. What kind of an 
 AMERICAN Senate is that which refujes its conjcnt 
 to a law for the protection of AMERICAN feamen f 
 The very idea looks fo monflrous .that one is apt 
 to think himfelf in a dream when he endeavours to 
 revolve it. The circumflances of their refufal to 
 concur in the bill, ftand recorded on the journals 
 of both honfes. The full detail mall foon be given 
 to the world. The journals of the Britifh houfe 
 of peers afford no precedent for fuch horrible de- 
 pravity. England has hitherto fhood upon her own 
 legs. Her reprefentatives and legiflators, though 
 often extremely corrupted, have never been fu- 
 peeled of fervility to a foreign nation ; and, a tri- 
 vial inftance excepted*, they have not put them- 
 fclves up to auction for foreign gold. Their oppo- 
 nents, at leaft, have not. alledged that they ever did 
 fo ; and this forms a ftrong prefumption of their 
 innocence. 
 
 In the mean time, Harrifon Otis cants about 
 French imprefTments, and Mr. Harper on the cor- 
 
 * In the reign of Charles the fecond. See Sir John Dalrymple's 
 "Memoirs, and Hume's Hiilory of England, in the lateit editions* 
 
UNITED STATES. 24! 
 
 ruptiorfof Mr. Monroe, by French gold. For con- 
 ceit and ignorance, Otis may be looked upon as the 
 lineal fuccefTor of Samuel Dexter. As for Harper, 
 he is faid to be in embarrafTed circumftances ; and^ 
 while he prattles about foreign gold, on.e might afk 
 him, who pays for the printing of his eternal pam- 
 phlets* ? By land, our intereffc has been as grofsly 
 betrayed as by fea^ This appears from the clifcou- 
 ragement confkantly given to the defence of the 
 Indian frontier. On that head, the following narra- 
 tive will repay a perufaL 
 
 On the 1 9th of November, 1794, Prefident 
 Washington, in his fpeech to Congrefs, has thele 
 words. cc To wards none of the Indian tribes have 
 " overtures of frfendfhip been fpared. The Creeks, 
 * c in particular, are covered from encroachment by 
 cc the interposition of the general government, and 
 u that of Georgia." It would have been fortu- 
 nate for the people of TenneiTee, if the general go- 
 vernment had covered them from the encroachments 
 of the Creeks. Refpecling the behaviour of the 
 Creeks, previous to the delivery of that fpeech, in- 
 formation for the prefent work has been derived 
 from two fourceS) the public newfpapers, andapri- 
 
 * During the two laft feflions, it is computed that this gentleman 
 coft the country at leaft ten thoufand dollars worth of time, by ma- 
 king fuperfluous motions, for the fake of making ufelefs fpeeches 
 about them. In the feflion of December, 17961 he repeated one 
 fpeeeh, about augmenting the duties OR imports,- at four different 
 times, in the eourfe of little more than a month. 
 
 He has a very pretty delivery, if any obliging friend would fup- 
 ply him with a fuitable ftock of ideas. If he could be contented 
 with repeating the fame thoughts not oftener than five times in the 
 sourfe of fifteen minutes, he would not fo barbaroufly drive the 
 members from their feats, nor run himfelf into fo many fcrapes 
 with the fpeakef, as to wandering from the queftion. In an antedilu- 
 vian Congrefs, when people lived to the age of a thoufand years, one 
 might have found letiure for hearing him to an end. Our fpan of 
 threefeore and ten is too narrow for the torrent of 
 
 I v 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 vate manufcript communicated by Mr. Andrew 
 Jackfon, Reprefentative from the ftateof Tenneflee 
 in the fourth Congrefs. An examination of thefe 
 details will aflift in afcertaining what fort of friend- 
 ihip the Creeks deferved, and to what fide the ba- 
 lance of protection ought to have leaned. 
 
 The account given in the newfpapers amounts in 
 fubftanceto what follows. Continual fkirmiihes had 
 been taking place for a long time. In one of thefe, 
 on the 1 3th of x\tiguft, 1794, lieutenant M'Clellan, 
 with thirty- feven men, had been attacked on the 
 Cumberland path, eighteen miles from South-Weft- 
 Point, by above an hundred Creeks. He had four 
 men killed, and four miffing. He likewife loft 
 thirty-one horfes, with fever al other articles. A 
 multitude of murders by the Indians are mentioned. 
 Of thefe, it would be needlefs here to attempt a ca- 
 talogue. A letter from Knoxville, dated 22d of 
 September, 1794, &ys, that the general affembly of 
 Tenneflee had then been in feffionfor feveral weeks. 
 They had prepared another memorial to Congrefs 
 with a lift of the citizens killed, wounded, or taken 
 prifoners by the Creeks and Cherokees, fince the 
 i ft of March laft, the date of a former ftatement to 
 Congrefs. The number of citizens was an hun- 
 dred and twenty-ieven, befides which the Indians 
 had ftolen four hundred and feventy-four horfes. 
 Thefe thefts and murders had been chiefly commit- 
 ted while a party of the Lower Cherokees were at 
 Philadelphia, giving the ftrongcft promifesof peace, 
 and while major Seagrove, an agent forlndian affairs, 
 was making aflurances of the friendfhip of the 
 Creeks. The letter con cl odes with an account of 
 fome frefh murders which had, at that moment, 
 been received. They were faid to have been com- 
 mitted on the 1 6th of September current. Nicka- 
 jack and Running Water were two of the naoftpo- 
 
UNITED STATES. 243 
 
 pulous of the Lower Cherokee towns. They were 
 fituated clofe on the fouth bank of the TennefTee, 
 below a place called the -Suck. They were prin- 
 cipal crofllng-places for the Creeks over the Ten- 
 nefTee, when they wanted to make war on Cumber- 
 land and Kentucky. They had co-operated with 
 the warriors of Look-out Mountain, and Will's 
 towns for feveral years pafh They boafted of per- 
 fect fecurity from their (ituation. They were fur- 
 rounded on three fides by mountains, and protected 
 on the north by the fouth branch of the TennefTee. 
 They were alfo formidable by their numbers. 
 
 On the 7th of September, major Ore marched 
 from Naftwille to attack the favages. He had with 
 him five hundred and fifty militia, of whom an 
 hundred and fifty were from Kentucky. They arri- 
 ved on the bank of the TenneiTee, oppofite to Nicka- 
 jack, and undifcovered, in the dufkofthe evening. 
 About eleven o'clock at night, a part of them cro- 
 fed the .river on rafts, and furrounded the town, 
 while another party lay in ambufti on the oppofite 
 fide of the river. The attack began about day break 
 Many of the favages plunged, according to their cu 
 torn, into the water, and having got almofl to the 
 oppofite fhore, the militia in referverofe from their 
 covert, and difcharged a volley at the fugitives in 
 theriver. The victory was com pleat. Nhie fquaws 
 and children were taken. About forty or forty-five 
 warriors were killed. Accounts differ about their 
 exact numbers. As no particular detail is offered a- 
 bout Running Water, but barely that it was deftroy- 
 ed at the fame time with Nickajack, it feems pro- 
 bable that they flood very near to each other. In 
 thefe towns two frefh fcalps were found ; and fe- 
 veral others dry, that had been hung up as trophies. 
 Many articles of property were recovered which the 
 militia knew to have been taken from their owners 
 
244 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 when killed by the Indians, in the courfe of the pre- 
 ceding twelve months. Among thefe were found 
 a number of letters. They ha*d been carried off 
 when the Kentucky mail was robbed and the pott 
 murdered. In Nickajack was found a quantity of 
 powder and lead, that had ju.ft been received from 
 the Spanidi government, as alfo a commiffion to 
 Braeth, chief of the town, who was among the {lain. 
 The prifoners con Petted that ilxty Creek and Che- 
 rokee warriors had pafTed through Nickajack, only 
 nine days before, on their way to make war againft 
 the United States. Two nights previous to the cle- 
 fhruclion of Running Water, afcalp dance was held 
 in it. Among others, John Watts was prelent ; 
 and it was there refolvedto carry on the war with 
 additional vigour. This the white people learned 
 from the prifoners. The towns were burnt, and 
 every thing deftroyed. Such is the fubftance of 
 the newfpaper account. That received from Mr, 
 Jackfon is to the following effecl. 
 
 Major James Ore was, in the clofe ofAugnft, 
 1794, rdered by governor Blount to march to 
 the diftricl: of Mero, to defend its frontier ; and, on 
 the 6th of September, was ordered, by general Ro- 
 bertfon to march to the Lower Cherokee towns, and 
 deflroy them. 
 
 c It is proper for me here to obferve," fays Mi% 
 Jackfon, ic that the Indians inhabiting thofe towns 
 
 c were daily killing our citizens, and our officers, 
 <c tranfmitting a Roflrvm of the captured, killed, 
 
 ' and wounded to the fecretary at war* ; and the 
 cc anfw T ers returned were, not 'to pnrjiie on any ac- 
 
 count ac rajs the Indian boundary, or carry on any 
 
 - c offenfive meafures againft the Indians ; conjlruing 
 ^ the word offenfive to be an aft of crolfing the 
 
 
 Henry Knoxc 
 
UNITED STATES. 245- 
 
 a Indian boundary in the purfuit of depredating 
 " parties." 
 
 Major Ore obeyed the orders of general Robert- 
 fon. He marched to Nickajack and Running Wa- 
 ter, fwept them with the beibm of deftruftion, and 
 killed about thirty warriors. It is necefTary here 
 toftate fome fafts. The night before major Ore 
 made the attack on Nickajack, the Indians held the 
 fcalp dance over two frefli fcalps, which they had 
 taken on the frontier. Ore had purfued the track 
 of this party. On the^ very day that he made the at- 
 tack twenty-two Indians fell upon the ftation of the 
 widow Hays, killed oiie man, and wounded three ; 
 and the evening before, they had burnt captain 
 John Donelfon's ftation. At the time that general 
 Robertfon ifTued the order to Ore, he had infor- 
 mation of an intended general attack, contemplated 
 on that frontier. This was well fubftantiated, and 
 the expedition of Ore was the only circumftance 
 which prevented it, and eftablifhed peace on the 
 frontier. 
 
 The pay of thefe troops hath been fufpended, be- 
 cauie they erofTed the Indian boundary, although 
 they precifely purfued the orders given by ge- 
 neral Robertfon. The mnfter and pay roll's 
 were, in the latter end of the year 1794, depofited 
 with colonel David Henly, agent of the war de- 
 partment at Knoxville. Governor Blount, in 1794, 
 tranfmitted to Mr. Knox general Robertfon's or- 
 der, authorizing and commanding the expedition, 
 and on the I9th of December of that year this com- 
 munication was laid before Congrefs. Yet though 
 frequent applications have been made at the office- 
 of the fecretary at war for payment, they have con- 
 ilantly been refufed. After a delay of more thai* 
 two years, Mr. Jackfon, in the laft feffion of the 
 fourth Congrefs, has. applied to Mr Pickering t$- 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 recover the necefTary papers, that he might lay the 
 iubjeft before the Houfe of Reprefentatives. ct I 
 tc am informed by him/' fays Mr. Jackion, "that 
 ( he knows nothing of the buftne/s . " Here the mat- 
 ter flood, on the 22d of February, 1797. 
 
 Mr. Jackfon further addsthatthis is not a fmgle 
 imbtqce. In 1794, ma j or Thomas Johnftoii com- 
 manded a party of TennefTce militia who were or- 
 dered to purfue a gang of Indians. The latter had 
 murdered colonel John Montgomery, and the Tit- 
 worth family. In the purfuit, theycrofTed into the 
 Kentucky territory. Colonel Henly gave that rea- 
 Jtbn for fufpending their pay. Thefe were the on- 
 ly two parties of TennerTee-militia, whofe arrears 
 have not been paid up, excepting thofe comprehen- 
 ded in the appropriation aft for 1797. 
 
 Many parts of the union lie beyond the reach of 
 public information. The country newfpapers are 
 commonly very barren. To remedy this inconve- 
 nience, fome members of Congrefs fend printed 
 circular letters to their constituents on the exifting 
 condition of the political world. Mr. Samuel J. 
 Cabell, of Virginia, tranfmitted two of fuch letters. 
 One of them was dated the nth, and the other the 
 23d of January, 1797. They contained nothing 
 uncommon. They mentioned the brilliant and ir- 
 refiftible progrefs of the French arms, the unfortu- 
 nate chagrin which had taken place between France 
 and the United States, and the deplorable confequen- 
 ces that would enfue to this country from an actu- 
 al rupture. Mr. Pickering's letter to Pinckney was 
 referred to as more likely to promote than prevent 
 a French quarrel. Mr. 'Cabell exprefled his regret 
 at the election of Mr. Adams as Prefldent, and ad- 
 ded, as a confolation, that of Mr* jefFerfbn. 
 
 On the 22dof May, 1797, judge Iredell, of the fe- 
 deral court, delivered a charge at Richmond to the 
 
UNITED STATES. 2 4 ; 
 
 grand jury, for the diftricl: of Virginia. It conveyed 
 encomiums on the government, and a ftrong recom- 
 mendation of confidence in it. The jury immedi- 
 ately gave in the following prefentment. 
 
 " We, of the grand jury of the United States for 
 " the diftritf: of Virginia, prefent, as a real evil, 
 " the circular letters of feveral members of the 
 * c late Congrefs, and particularly letters with the 
 " fignature of Samuel J. Cabell, endeavouring, at 
 ; a time of real public danger, to difTeminate un- 
 cc founded calumnies againft the happy government 
 " of the United States, and thereby to feparate the 
 " people therefrom ; and to increafe or produce 
 <c a foreign influence, ruinous to the peace, happi- 
 " nefs, and independence of thefe United States. " 
 
 The jurors themfelves were evidently commit- 
 ting calumny. The phrafe of 'feveral members was 
 cafting their ftink-pot in the dark. As to Mr. Ca- 
 bell, they fhould have fpecified the calumnies. 
 When the grand jury of Chatham county, Georgia, 
 arraigned judge Wilfbn as a land-jobber, they con- 
 defcendecl on matters notorioufly true*. When a ci- 
 tizen of Maryland ceofures judge Chafe, he begins 
 with a hiftory of the bankrupt law. If Mr. Cabell 
 declared his difTat is faction at the eleclion of Mr. 
 Adams, one half of the American citizens were do- 
 ing the fame. This did not produce the fmalleft 
 confufion or embarrafTment on the fide of govern- 
 ment. It is unfortunate for the union, that Mr. Ca- 
 bell had fo much foundation for regret. The out- 
 fet of the new Prefident has been marked by an en- 
 deavour to hurry his conftituents into an unnecel- 
 iary war, while fecretary Pickering has been wri- 
 ting, and fecretary Wolcot has been encouraging 
 
 * It was upon the queftior\able evidence of this judge, that the 
 prefident declared the four weftern cosntict f PeanfylraRi* to be 
 in a ftate of ir " 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 others to write invedlives againft the French nation* . 
 America needs not to hope for a fincere peace with 
 France, while either Mr. Adams or his prcfent mi- 
 mfters remain in office. She cannot forget nor will 
 fhe forgive the many volumes of ribbaldry, which, 
 under their countenance, have been printed againft 
 her. Befides, upon a Britifh fpy, upon an aiTociate 
 with the attorney general of England for the ruin 
 of Thomas Painet, every honeft Frenchman, every 
 true republican, of every country, mufl look with 
 horror. 
 
 " For never can true reconcilement grow, 
 . " Where wounds of deadly hate have pierc'd fo deepj." 
 
 On the gift of May, 1797, Mr. Cabell fent a 
 third letter to his constituents. " It has," fays he, 
 u been a regular practice of the federal judges, to 
 cc make political difcourfes to the grand jurors. 
 " They have become a band of political preachers." 
 This is true, and their fermons are often very dull* 
 In Britain, judges have generally -been foremoft to 
 undermine the liberties of the people, and encou- 
 rage the encroachments of the crown. There is a 
 country where {peculators occupy, in part, the fu* 
 preme bench of juftjce. There, the alfertion of a 
 public officer, whofe want of probity is proverbial, 
 has been taken as complete evidence, that four coun- 
 ties were in a ft ate of rebellion. It would certain- 
 ly be very wrong in a private citizen to conteftthe 
 
 * Britifh Honour and Humanity* p. $$ t 
 
 f Mr. Adams has acled in both of thefe HONOURABLE capacities. 
 See American Annual Regifter, chap. vi. 
 
 { The following anecdote ought to be known, and it is here gi- 
 ven on the beft evidence. A few weeks ago, the firit perfori in Ame- 
 rica gave a dinner to a party of the Senate. They were ail from the 
 eaftward excepting two fouthern members, The whole ccnverfation 
 turned on ridiculing tkejoutitifmjtates, 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 purity of iuch legiflators. In a fubfequent letter 
 of June yth, Mr. Cabell fays, upon an affurance of 
 the fad from general Smith, that thejuft claims of 
 America, for Frencl) depredations, do not exceed 
 a million of dollars, and that the accuracy of his ftate- 
 ment is confirmed by the prefi dent of th e American In- 
 furance Company. In the Congrefs debates on Jay's 
 treaty,dr. Ames computed Britifli depredations akfive 
 millions, and the account hath fincebeen augmented. 
 The federal party naturally wifh to drive out 
 of their way every man who dares to think for hini- 
 fclfi Thus Monroe was recalled from France be- 
 caufe, without orders from Mr. Wafhington, he had 
 obtained the releafementof Thomas Paine from the 
 Luxembourg ; and becauie he had retained with 
 the directory a degree of that confidence which Mr. 
 Wafhington had loft, Thus captain Montgomery, 
 of one of the revenue cutters of this port, hath 
 been dif miffed from his office becaufe he voted 
 for the Jefferfon ticket. Mr. Beckley hath not on- 
 ly been difcharged and attacked from the prefs, but 
 even from the pod-office^ x\n elegant and polite 
 letter came to him a few days after his difmiffion. 
 It is printed here for an odd enough reafbn. The 
 char after is feigned, but ftill, on a careful com- 
 pariibn, it has a ftrong likenefs to the hand writing 
 of MR. OLIVER. WOLCOT, as the Saracen's head, in 
 fpite of difguife, refembled fir Roger de Coverly*. 
 
 DEAR SIR 
 
 You will now Experance the frUt of your fooly in being fa 
 great a Demicrate & bitter Enemay to that Goverment whofe 
 Bread you have Eaten which has now caft you out of hir fer- 
 vice & is certainly nothing lefs than you could have expede 
 confidering your conduct for a-number of years paft I can feal 
 for your fituation as I Underftood all your Land fpeculation 
 
 * See the Speftator, 
 K k 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 has turned out but little to fuport a family in that Dignefied 
 Way you have keept up However this I hope will turn for 
 your Good to make you Humble & know a little more of the 
 Deficulties attending thofe whofe Cup has not ruin over with 
 thatfullnefs & fweet you have long injoysd [plafe turn over] 
 Let me give you an advife as a friend Not to let your former 
 {ration Hinder you from Acepteing of a lefs & notfo hounorable 
 a place as that you have loft to enable you to fuport your 
 family You now ftand Yet a Refpetable Charater for if your 
 Pride & Haughtenefs keeps you out of Employ becaufe you 
 are not in To honourable a ftation as before till your finances get 
 lower & Lower you find that it will be tenfold more dificult 
 then to get into a place then at prefent & Endeavour to lay afide 
 your politics leave that to thofe whofe Country have called 
 them to the Important afairs of there Country by giveing them 
 all the Aid& not throwing Impedements in there way by fuch 
 a prudent Conduct youll Only deferve Well your Country 
 and in time come forward again and get a good place t?ake thefe 
 hints from a friend who Wifhes the Happeinefs your family 
 Belive me to be with much refpe6r. 
 
 Your Moft Obt fervant, 
 JONATHAN WOTHERSPOON. 
 Nine years ago, the fuppofed writer of this piece 
 was copying in the office of the treafurer of Con- 
 neclicut, at feventy-five cents per day. The gro- 
 velling infolence which marks his elegant epiftle 
 has been too frequent with men unexpectedly raifed 
 from mediocrity to fomething above it. The let- 
 ter affords a fine fpecinien of the fpirit of the party. 
 Your fooly in being JQ great a dernier ate ; that is to 
 fay, in being fo great a friend to the political rights 
 and importance of the people. Frederick of PruA 
 fia once wrote a letter to this effect : " If my fur> 
 " jecls of Neufchatel chufe to be eternally dam- 
 4C ned, I can fay nothing againfl it." In like man- 
 ner, if the citizens of America chufe to be trode 
 down by an ariftocracy, no third party fhould in- 
 terfere. 
 
 Tour condutt for a number of years paft* The 
 official conduft of Mr, Beckley was uneKception- 
 
UNITED STATES. 25* 
 
 able. Indeed no audible complaint has been 
 made about it. Dr. William Smith, at the head 
 of his regiment of forty, declined argument, and 
 obtained; a fllent vote. Where any thing can be 
 faid, the doftor is not a niggard of acc.ufation.. 
 That government ivhoje bread you have eaten, which 
 has now c aft you off. The bread was. not eaten for 
 Hothing. The falary was moderate, and the duties, 
 laborious. As to the cafting off, it was by the odd 
 vote of Dr. Smith, who is, it ieems, government. 
 As for giving them all the aid, and not throwing 
 impediments in their way, they cannot furely have 
 apprehenfions- from a difcarded clerk, who has ta 
 provide for his family by the toilfome .profeflion o 
 the law ? If government fear impediments from Mr. 
 Beckley, their fituation muft be very frail. That 
 fomething is, wrong will. appear from what follows. 
 Alexander Hamilton calls it an abominable attempt 
 in Reynolds to charge him with dealing in the pur- 
 chafe of certificates. Thus, by his own admiflion, 
 the fact, if proved upon him, would be abomina- 
 ble. Colonel Wadfworth ipoke of it, as above 
 quoted, exactly in the fame way. But if this prac- 
 tice was indefenfible in a fecretaryof the tre : afury, 
 it was juft as criminal in a member of Congrefs. 
 There is no difference, or,, if there be, the cafe of 
 the member differs for the worfe. The fecretary 
 could only make a report in favour of funding the 
 half-crown certificates at twenty fhillings. But the; 
 member voted for it. The one drew the fword ; 
 the other drove it up to the hilt. Hence, by a 
 very fhort and plain pro cefs of reafoningj if one of 
 our legiflators was concerned in thefe {peculations, 
 he committed an abominable crime. The heroes of 
 the piece are fenfible of this fa<fh Their conceal- 
 ment of transfers at the treafury, and the bank of 
 Ihe United States of the names and amount of flock 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 holders, proves an irrefiftible and difgraceful 
 evidence of their internal condemnation. What 
 are you to think 'of a perfon who calls hirnielf your 
 creditor, but refufes to tell his name, or the amount 
 of his debt? Such was the plan of the renowned 
 leeches of the Nabob of Arcot. Bonds to an im- 
 menfe fum were conftantly produced, yet the ca* 
 talogues of creditors constantly varied. This rule 
 at the treafury is like the crape over a highwayman's 
 face, or the dark lanthorn of a houfe- breaker. The 
 public creditors of England wear no fuch mafk- Mr. 
 Raytnent printed their names to the number of an 
 hundred and twenty-feven thoufand. When Ameri- 
 cans begin to think upon this fubjeft, they will re-, 
 fufe to pay one cent more of intereft upon the public 
 funds, till they fhaH have torn afunder the veil that 
 fhrouds the fyftem. To the great mafsof the pre- 
 fent holders the clifcovery would be indifferent or 
 welcome. It is only the patriarchal, the congref- 
 fional (harks of ftockholding, who can wifh for 
 mountains to cover them, the men whofe aftions 
 Meflrs. Wadfworth and Hamilton, have, by the 
 cleareft implication, declared to be abominable. Mr. 
 Adams, by the way, holds the funding fyftem in ab~ 
 horreace*, and he will put an end to it, if he can 
 get into his French war. While Americans entruft 
 and admire fuch leaders, they difplay a temporal 
 likenefs to the inhabitants of Neufchatel. Thcfe are 
 the paper currency politicians, who rail at jacobin 
 rapacity, and at Jefferfon for want of religiont. 
 
 * See particulars in the American Annual Regifter, chap. 6. 
 
 "r Phocion accufes him, i. Of trying toflch a fitik popularity from a 
 fenu free negroes. An important acquifuion ! The charge is eked 
 through feveral pages. 2. With impaling butterflies. 5. With difbe- 
 Jieving the ftory of Noah's flood. 4. With the conftruftion of fide- 
 boards and eafy chairs. 5. Of refigning his office as governor of Vir- 
 ginia, during a Britifh invafion. Smith himfelf wasin England through 
 war, He chpfe te let hiseftate be double taxed rather 
 
UNITED STATES. 253 
 
 In March, 1793, f me debate enfued in Congrels 
 on the motion of Mr. Giles for .examining the con- 
 dud: of Mr. Hamilton. " The free latitude of dif- 
 tc cuflion, practifed upon other occaftons, \vasrcfu- 
 >c fed ; the fm^lleft departure was cenfured ; and 
 c whenever, in particular, an approach was made 
 u toward the bank, the whole party tumultuoufly 
 c crying to order, and with the directors at their 
 u -head, role in arms to defend it. The character 
 c of the vote itfelf, which conftituted the majority 
 
 "is eafily given, Of the thirty-five, twenty-one 
 
 c were ftockholders, or dealers in the funds, and 
 < c three of thefe latter bank directors*," 
 
 The great cry of the party is about th -na- 
 
 ture of public faith, w r hich they alledge to have con- 
 fummated by funding the domeftic debt, r i ^is 
 confided of arrears of pay due to the army., to con- 
 tractors for fupplies, of loans made to government^ 
 and of the remnant of old paper money then in cir- 
 culation. Now, we muft recollect, that^ during the 
 revolution, this country had been covered with emi 
 lions of paper. When the old Congrefs borrowed 
 money, they took part of this paper back in loan, but 
 not at the value for which they themfelves had [filled 
 it out. They allowed credit only for what was its 
 current price in the market. The difference was 
 frequently as forty to one. Thus a farmer got four 
 
 than return to defend his country 6. " Whoeverfaw him (JefFerfon) 
 ** in a place of rwzrj&ip?" The doctor has been fully defcribed in a 
 line of Plautus: //fl/ww, impudent, hrcerecundrjjimiis* 
 
 * An Examination of the late Proceedings in Congrefey &f. p. 2. 
 It was in this ftruggle that dr. Smith pledged himfelf for the ange- 
 lic purity of Mr. Hamilton. Supra, chap. 6. Though the number of 
 ftockholding members is fpecified in the text, it appears, afterwards, 
 to have been but a conjafture. The writer gives a lift of thirty-four 
 members of tfie two houfes, who were believed to be ftockholders ; 
 but their names are carefully blinked, as if he had thought himfeU' 
 liable to profecution. With fuch unexampled oftenration of fecrecjy 
 tfiere muft be feme dirty fyilem that needs conceal raqnt.. 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 thoufand dollars worth of government paper for 
 his wheat. After the value of paper fell, he came 
 to lend it to them, and they would only give him cre- 
 dit for the fortieth part of its nominal value, being 
 one hundred dollars. This {hocking fraud could 
 be excufed only by the omnipotence of neceflity. 
 But farther, " a part of the paper remained tinre- 
 :c deemed at the clofe of the war, and has been fun- 
 :i ded at the rate of one hundred for one under the 
 " prefent government*." 
 
 Thus taking Americafor a merchant who has three 
 creditors, one of them is paid with a fortieth, and a 
 fecond with a hundredth part of the fum that he lent . 
 A third receives full payment. But a debt contrac- 
 ted ten years ago, apd ftill unpaid, is as fairly due 
 as if it had been incurred but yefterday. The cre- 
 ditor of 1776, who was paid with one-tenth, twen- 
 tieth, fortieth, or hundredth part of his jti (I claim, 
 was quite as meritorious as the other of I73i,whofe 
 debt has been bought up and funded, in the name 
 of Theodore Sedgwick, at twenty millings in the 
 pound. A brief consideration will convince you, that 
 this pofition agrees with the effence of juftice. 
 
 If the continent had been fold by an hour glafs, 
 its utmoft value would perhaps have fallen fhort of 
 iatisfaftion to the honeft demands of public creditors * 
 The greater part of the United States had been 
 fwindled or plundered to a degree that exceeds the 
 defcriptive talents of the moft powerful mind. 
 Funds could not be had to fatisfy all the creditors, 
 or even a twentieth part of them. It remains, there- 
 fore, to be proved what was the Juperlor merit of 
 that clafs of creditors, whofe claims were ultimately 
 admitted, at their full value, as a debt on the pub- 
 lic. The common faying is, that they were oldjol-. 
 
 * Gallatin, p. 89. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 diers. A great number of them were fo, and po- 
 fefTed the higheft merit. A large portion of certifi- 
 cates was. alfo held by contractors, and perfbns 
 who had furnimed various kinds of fupplies, 
 but who were not in the army. The country 
 was full of widows and orphans, whofe fathers and 
 luilbands had been killed in the war, and who, to 
 this day, have received no compenfation. Multi- 
 tudes of foldiers had been alfo difcharged from want 
 of health^ or from wounds, and who in equity, though 
 not perhaps in name, were creditors to the public. 
 Hence, if it ha4 been poilible to clear off all the laft 
 clafs oi* creditors, they were not more deferving 
 thai) a flill greater proportion of military fufferers 
 whf) got nothing. The whole hiftory of American 
 public credit, during the war, holds up a picture of 
 inevitable but enormous iniquity. Three-fourths 
 of the citizens of the United States were, in real 
 truth, creditors to government. The lofs by de- 
 preciated paper was prodigious and next to univer- 
 fal. If it could have been poflible to pick out 
 all the foldiers or their families, a,nd give them a 
 higher proportion of payment than others, it would 
 have been well. But to give one part of them their 
 whole demand, and nothing to the reft, was not 
 ftrift juftice. The widow and orphan of one old 
 fbldier were actually taxed to pay the wages of ano- 
 ther. When the federal party clamour fo loudly on 
 public faith, let them revolve thefe particulars. Let 
 them look at the annual bundles of petitions refer- 
 red to the committee of claims, and then they may 
 blufh at the very mention of American public faith. 
 Some perhaps think that the friends of order have 
 been treated with too little ceremony in point of 
 of flile. Obferve a few fpecimens of their own. 
 Mr. Fenno's gazette, of the 2 6th of April, 1796, con- 
 tains a piece wherein the members of Cgnrefs 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 oppofed the treaty, are termed the ivar-ivhoop party f 
 If they carry their point, " it will murder all your li- 
 " her ties, privileges and properties " Again, refer- 
 ring to Mr. Albert Gall at in, " Let the mighty Ita- 
 " lian^ with his jlilletto and bowl ofpoijbn come on." 
 This piece concludes with faying that the Ameri- 
 cans defpife all incendiaries ; and it is fubfcribed 
 
 ORDE.R. 
 
 An extract of a letter in the fame newfpaper has 
 the folio wing words. "I want to know how Madi- 
 <c fon has accounted for his inconjiftency and dupli- 
 <c city of conduct. How long will the people of 
 " America be duped by this man." 
 
 The firft queition to be here afked is, whether 
 \\<S\inconfifiency and duplicity exift ? No details are 
 attempted, and no evidences are offered. There 
 never was an active and diftinguiihed member in 
 any legHlative aflembly, farther above impeachment 
 than Mr. Madifon. The marked attention which 
 this gentleman obtained in Congrefs, is a tribute of 
 efteem whr.L all Turtles pay not more to his abilities 
 than his virfnes, to the irreproachable tenor of a life, 
 that, (into h .; ' entrance on the political career, 
 has i r.cd without a ftain, and which is far 
 
 above the ordure of Mr. Fenno ? s correspondents. 
 
 As for the deftrucllcm of privileges and proper- 
 ties, no party ever difplayed greater tamenefs on 
 that head than the Hamiltonians. After the Britifh 
 had, for, many months, been capturing American 
 velfels without provocation, and almofl without pre- 
 tence, the Reprefentatives, on the 2ift of April, 
 i79j- 3 pail a refolution prohibiting, from and after 
 the I ft of November then next, iw all commercial 
 tc intercourfe between the United States andthefub- 
 u jecls of Britain, or the citizens cr fabjecis of any 
 "other nation, fo far as refpecls articles of the 
 " frrowth or manufafture of Britain or Ireland" 
 
UNITED STATES. 2 > 7 
 
 This would have been a moft effectual blow to Bri- 
 tifli commerce ; and, as fix months were to inter- 
 vene before the commencement of its operation, full 
 time would have been given for a mutual explana- 
 tion and compromife. The Britim majority in the Se- 
 ll ate of Con grefs rejected this propofal, fo cheap, fo 
 fimple, and To decifive. Jay, that executioner of 
 his country, was, at the fame time, difpatched to 
 Britain. He there, by a claufe of the treaty^ tied up> 
 the hands of America, and deftroyed all chance of 
 adopting fuch a refource in future. The fifteenth ar- 
 ticle has thefe words. * c Nor fhall any prohibition 
 c be impofed on the exportation or importation of* 
 ' any articles to or from the territories of the two 
 c nations refpeftively, which fhall not equally extend 
 c to all other nations.-" Thus we cannot prohibit the 
 importation of Englifh manufactures, without alia 
 prohibiting thofe of all other nations ; and that is 
 impracticable* 
 
 This article has the appearance of reciprocity ^ 
 but not the fubftance. Suppofing that England 
 fhould entirely prohibit all intercourfe with this 
 country, her lofs would be an hundred times 
 greater than ours. The defolation of her Weft-In- 
 dies would be the firft confequence, and a general 
 bankruptcy among her Weft-Indian merchants, and 
 her manufacturers for the American market, would 
 be the fecond. On the contrary, the inconvenience 
 and lofs to the United States would be very fup- 
 portable. We mould begin to manufacture more 
 among ourfelve's. American produce would foon 
 find other markets. Other nations would learn to 
 fupply our wants, while theartifts of England would 
 croud over to this country in queft of employment. 
 More cammmanding ground could not be defired. 
 Yet Jay jumped from his eminence to waddle in the 
 .'lough of pretended reciprocity, to betray every 
 principle of official tmflf, and to trample onevcry a- 
 
 LI 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 torn of his iriftr uftions. The reader will infallibly 
 abhor fuch ignorance or treachery, unlefs he has been 
 a Britifh commiflary during the lafl war, or a cer- 
 tificate correfpondent with James Reynolds fince it, 
 unlefs he has a fuit of compenfation depending at 
 London, unlefs he expects to be made an officer in 
 the cuftorns, a director of the mint, a chaplain to 
 Congrefs, a printer to the Senate, or an ambafTador 
 to Berlin ; or, unlefs he has twenty bills lying pro- 
 tefted at the bank of the United States, and his cre- 
 dit {ticking together by the nod of Mr. Thomas 
 Willing, 
 
 While the resolution of the 2ift of April, 1794, 
 was under debate, and frequently before that time, 
 in the fame feffion, the gentlemen on the oppofitefkle 
 of the queftion, faid that the Britifh would not feel 
 the want of our commerce, becaufe the three milli- 
 ons Sterling of exports from Britain to North- Ame- 
 rica, formed only one- fixth part of her total exports* 
 This reafoning refembled that of fuppofing, that a 
 perfon worth fix thoufand dollars, will not regret 
 the lofs of one thoufand, becaufe he has five times 
 that number behind; or, if you will, that a man 
 would not feel the amputation of one of his fingers, 
 if the other Seven are fafe and found. Another 
 circumftance mutt be attended to. One-half of the 
 commerce of Britain had been deftroyed by the ra- 
 vages of the French war, fothat the lofs of Ameri- 
 can commerce would then have been equal to the 
 annihilation of one third or fourth part of her whole 
 foreign trade. 
 
 What effect thefe refolutions, if adopted, were 
 likely to produce in Britain, may be perfectly afcer- 
 tained upon the authority of Dr. Adam Smith, who 
 was, on a point of this kind, a judge above xepti- 
 on. The pafTagenow tobequoted, is of confiderablr, 
 length, but it iervcs toilluflratetheprefent fubjcft 
 
UNITED STATES. 259 
 
 fo completely, that an apology would be unnecefTa- 
 
 ry for its infertion. After clefcribing forne of the 
 
 numerous inconveniences which Britain met with, 
 
 in attempting to monopolize the commerce of her 
 
 North-American colonies, the doctor proceeds thus : 
 
 u Her commerce, inflead of running in a great number of 
 
 " fmall channels, has been taught to run principally in one 
 
 a great channel. But the whole fyftem of her induftry and 
 
 " commerce has thereby been rendered lefs fecure ; the whole 
 
 " (late of her body politic lefs healthful, than it otherwife 
 
 " would have been. In her prefent condition, Britain refem- 
 
 " bles one of thofe unwholefome bodies, in which fome of the 
 
 " vital parts are overgrown, and which, upon that account, are 
 
 " liable to many dangerous diforders, fcarce incident to thofe 
 
 " in which all the parts are more properly proportioned. A 
 
 " fmall flop in that great blood-veflel which has been artifici- 
 
 " ally fwelled beyond its natural dimenfions, and through 
 
 tc which an unnatural proportion of the induftry and commerce 
 
 " of- the country has been forced to circulate, is very likely to 
 
 " bring on the moft dangerous diforders upon the whole body 
 
 " politic. The expectation of a rupture with the colonies, ac- 
 
 " cordingly, has flruck the people of Britain with more terror 
 
 " than they ever fehfor a Spanljh armada^ or a French inva- 
 
 " Jion. It was this terror, whether well or ill-grounded, which 
 
 " rendered the repeal of thejlamp afl^ among the merchants, 
 
 ** at lead, a popular meafure. In a total exclufion from the co- 
 
 " lony market, was it to laft only for a few years, the greater 
 
 " part of our merchants ufed to fancy that they fbrefaw an en- 
 
 u tirejlop to their trade ; the greater part of our mailer ma- 
 
 u nufadurers, the entire ruin of their bttfmefs 5 and the grea- 
 
 tc ter part of our workmen, an end of their employment. 
 
 <c A rupture with any of our neighbours upon the continent 1 , 
 
 <c though likely too to occafion fome flop or interruption in 
 
 u the employment of fome of all thefe different orders of peo- 
 
 " pie, is forefeen, however, without any fuch general emotion. 
 
 u The blood, of which the circulation is flopt in fome of the 
 
 " fmaller vefTels, eafily difgorges itfelf into the greater, with- 
 
 " out occafioning any dangerous diforder ; but, when it is 
 
 " flopt in any of the greater ve/Tels, convulfions, apoplexy, or 
 
 " deatr^mre the immediate and unavoidable eonfequences. If 
 
 " but one of thefe overgrown manufactures, which, by means 
 
 * 4 either of bounties or of tiie monopoly of the home and 
 
00 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 " ny markets, have been artificially raifed up to an unnatural 
 <c height, finds forne fmall ftop or interruption in its employ- 
 ^ merit, it frequently occafions a mutiny and diforcler alarming 
 " to government, and embarrafling even to the deliberations of 
 & the legijlature* HOW great, therefore, would be the diforder 
 * and confufion, it was thought, which muft neceiFarily be oc- 
 * c cafioned by a tudden and entire ftop in the employment of fo 
 * c great a pruportion of our principal manufacturers !" 
 
 In defpite of this overwhelming narrative, men> 
 bers of Congrefs could ftand up and make fpeeches, 
 by the hour, co prove, that an interruption of her 
 commerce with America would not be ferioufly re- 
 garded by Britain, if me was fo deeply afraid of 
 America in -1766, when victorious, and at peace 
 with all the world, iier alarm would, of courfe, 
 be vaftly greater in 179.4, when her public debt 
 had doubled, nace the former time ; when her ar- 
 mies on the continent were extirpated ; when her 
 manufacturing ckifTes were already ftarving by 
 thoufands* ; and when her trade to the United States 
 was computed to be at twice the amount of what 
 it had been twenty years before. This turn of 
 circumflances went directly in favour of America. 
 In 1766,, England was more deeply alarmed than 
 fhe had been by the Spanifh armada. In 1794, her 
 tremor would have been ten times greater, as a 
 :man dipt up to the chin, ftands in more hazard of 
 drowning, than when the ftream only wets his ancle. 
 The exports from Britain to America, were, in 
 1794, aDOUt three millions fterlingt ; being, as 
 above ftated, equal to about a fixth part of her ex- 
 ported manufactures. Let us fuppofe that every 
 
 * A letter from a merchant in Mancheftcr to his friend in this 
 city, written about that time, obferved, that, if it wasnct for America, 
 they nuouldhme wanted BREAD TO THEIR MOUTHS. 
 
 f On the 1 8th of April, 1 7961 Pitt faid, in the Houfe of Cotn- 
 rnons, that the total exports of Britain, amounted to twenty-four 
 millions iterling ; and in 1795, to twenty-feven millions* t v^O hun- 
 drsd and fcventy thoufand pounds fterling. 
 
UNITED STATES. 261 
 
 manufa&urer in Britain requires fifteen pounds fter- 
 Jing per annum to fupport him ; and that one-half 
 of the price of the commodities exported from Bri- 
 tain' to America conflfts in the wages of their la- 
 bour. Here then we have ablirafted from the fund 
 of fubfiftence for the labouring part oy the people 
 of Britain, ONE MILLION AND FIVE HUNDRED THOU- 
 SAND POUNDS STERLING. Of theie manufacturers, 
 a confiderable nu.nocr mul be married, and have 
 families, of children, It m?.y ieem frrange in Ame~. 
 rica, but it is absolutely true., that in Britain, or 
 at leaft in Scotl-.nd, a journeyman rnanufacturer 
 has raifed his family on fi:; (billings fterling a week, 
 which is only fifteen pounds twelve ihillings per 
 annum. Let us compute Uien that one- fourth part 
 of the hundred thoufand manufacturers above fta- 
 ted, are married, and that each has three children. 
 This eftimate gives us two hundred thoufand peo- 
 ple reduced to beggary at a {Ingle fcrokc. We 
 rnufl likewife take into the account, that many 
 thoufands of Britidi tradefmen depend entirely for 
 their fubfiftence upon the cuftom of thole two hun- 
 dred thoufand people ; fo that the whole number 
 deprived of employment may be conjectured at 
 two hundred and fifty thoufand. To this we muft 
 add the deftruction of revenue, the confufion, 
 alarm, and bankruptcy of merchants, and the fall 
 of the flocks, which muft be the necefTary confe- 
 quence, and then let any body fay, whether the 
 Jofs of the commerce of America mufl not be a ve- 
 ry ferious objecl: to Britain. 
 
 This acb, prohibiting the importation of Briti/h 
 goods, was loft in the Senate, by the caftjng vote of 
 Mr. John Adams. All the advantages that it would 
 have produced, have been thrown away, and all 
 the mifchiefs attending Jay's treaty have been ori- 
 ginally caufed by the fatal rejection of the vice- 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 proficient. The advocates againft the prohibition 
 discovered a great want of information, of inte- 
 grity, or of judgment. There cannot be a plain- 
 er pofition than that now before us. Adam Smith 
 was, perhaps, the beft informed political writer 
 that Britain ever had. He affirmed, that an exclu- 
 iion from the United States would affright her more 
 effectually than a Spanim armada, or a French in- 
 vafion. The Adamites denied all this ; and their 
 Ignorance, their factious fpirit, or their treachery, 
 has cofl American trade at lead feven or eight mil* 
 lions of dollars. The conftant cry was, that the 
 Britifli would declare war. Some weeks before 
 that time, when Madiforfs refolutions were deba- 
 ted, general Smith afked one of thefe bawlers, 
 what made him apprehenfive that England would 
 attack us ? He replied, that he had no apprehen- 
 flons of fnch a thing, but fome of his neighbours 
 were afraid of it, and he -wanted to pleaj'e them. 
 General Smith told this in Congrefs, on the 27th 
 of May, 1797. This would be one of thofe impol- 
 tors who went home and told their conflituents, 
 that Madifon wanted to deflroy the government. 
 Among the ridiculous arguments advanced in 
 Congrefs for accepting the Britifh treaty, one was, 
 that it would prevent the renewal of an Indian war. 
 On the 29th of April, 1796, Mr. Dayton faid, that, 
 by rejecting Jay's treaty, it tc might be calculated 
 
 c upon as inevitable, and the confequent expendi- 
 " ture of fourteen hundred thoufand dollars annu- 
 " ally ; but in carrying the treaty into effect, and 
 " pofie fling the (Weftern) pofts with the troops, 
 " they fliould be free from any danger of a ferious 
 
 * rupturfi- with the favages*." That the Weftern 
 
 * Eache's Debatfs, vol. ii. p, 347. 
 
UNITED STATES/ 263 
 
 ports would firmly bridle the Indians, was, at that 
 time, a received opinion. 
 
 Dr. Ames took up thefubjecl: in a higher drain* 
 The tories were ready to fpit in any man's face 
 who did not admire his ipeech on that occafion. On 
 the Indian war, he fets out as follows : 
 
 ic On this theme, my emotions are unutterable : 
 
 c if I could find words for them, if my powers bore 
 
 c any proportion to my zeal, I would Iwell my voice 
 
 u to fuch a note of remonftrance, it fhould reach 
 
 " every log-houfe beyond the mountains. I would 
 
 '' fay to the inhabitants, wake you from your falfc 
 
 c lecurity. Your cruel dangers, your more cru- 
 
 ' c el apprehenfions are foon to be renewed : the 
 
 >c wounds, yetunhealed, are to be torn open again. 
 
 4 In the day time, your path through the woods 
 
 c will be ambuflied. The darknefs of midnight 
 
 " will glitter with the blaze of your dwellings. 
 
 cc You are a father -the blood of your fons 
 
 c mall fatten your cornfield. You are a mother 
 
 " the war-whoop (hall wake the deep of the cradle. 
 
 ' On this fubjecl, you need not fuipeft any decep- 
 
 ' tion on your feelings. It is a fpeclacle of horror 
 
 : which cannot be overdrawn . If you have nature 
 
 " in your hearts, it will fpeak a language compa- 
 
 cc red with which all I havefaid or can fay, will be 
 
 1(1 poor and frigid. 
 
 " Will it be whifpered that the treaty has made 
 
 :< me a new champion for the protection of the fron- 
 
 cc tiers ? It is known that my voice as well as vote 
 
 " have been uniformly given in conformity witU 
 
 * ( the ideas I have exprefled. Protection is the 
 
 u right of the frontiers ; it is our duty to give it." 
 
 All this is very fine. The conclufion implies an 
 
 internal doubt in the mind of the orator that he 
 
 \vas liable to the charge of inconfiftency. Indeed, 
 
 en the 6th of June, 1794, ^ r Ames fpokethws, in 
 
264 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Congrefs .* (c I am not one of thofe who think that 
 t4 there are too many Indians, any more than too 
 " many wild beafts. The one may, by fkilful ma- 
 u nagement^ be rendered as harmlefs as the other. '* 
 In 1794, wnen the doftor ufed this language, he 
 thought only of injuries that Indians have fuf-^ 
 fered from white people. In April, 1796, he 
 thought only of injuries that white people fuffer 
 from Jndians. In the latter inftance, Dr. Ames 
 proved more than he forciavv. A refufal to appro- 
 priate would not have juftified England in breaking 
 the peace of 1783 ; and hence her ftimulating the 
 favages to murder, would have been an aft of the 
 blacked perfidy* The doclor looked upon this 
 co'nfequence as certain* Jacobini r m can do no- 
 thing worfe* This proves the folly of thinking 
 Frenchmen more barbarous than Britons* The 
 doftor fays, that " his voice as well as vote has 
 u been uniform ." NO. He was an advocate for 
 that fyflem, which ended with refufing payment to 
 the militia of Tenneffee, for having done their du- 
 ty. Yet the capture of Nickajack was nearly as 
 important as Wayne's viftory on the banks of the 
 Miamis. Of the former, nobody fpeaks. For the 
 latter, America has rung with exultation. 
 
 Again, if the Indians are ready to break a trea- 
 ty, when a governor of Canada /hall bid them do 
 ib, we have certainly too many of fuch neighbours, 
 and fyfteniatic treachery makes it hardly worth 
 while to negociate with them. This pifture of 
 perfidy does not agree with what Dr. Ames had 
 laid only a few minutes before. " I feenoexcep- 
 " tion to the refpect that is paid among nations to 
 " the law of good faith. If there are cafes in this 
 u enlightened period when it is violated, there are 
 c none where it is decried. It is the philofophy 
 " of politics,- the religion of governments. It is 
 
1JNITE6 STATES. 
 
 ; * obferved by barbarians. A whiff of tobacco^ 
 <c fmoke, or a firing of beads, gives not merely 
 u binding force, bhtfon&zfy to treaties." 
 
 By the fubfequent account of the gentleman him-* 
 felf, the beads and tobacco were both to be for- 
 gotten at the nod of England. No exception to the 
 rejpetf to the law of good faith ! Modern hiftory 
 is as full as it can be of the violation of good faith* 
 The Britifh orders of the 8th of June, and 6th of 
 November, 1793, arK ^ 8th of January, 1794, were 
 all breaches of treaty. The extravagance of the 
 orator's ftyle is too evident for detection. He then 
 puts the fuppofition that England u refufes to -ex- 
 " ecute the treaty, after we have done everything 
 " to carry it into effeft. What would you fay, or 
 cc rather what would you not fay ?" He then, in 'a 
 ftrain of lofty declamatioi), tells what might be 
 faid ! The only remark <vorth making would be 
 that a blackamoor cannot frafily itiafli himfelf 'white; 
 and that no man verfant In hiftory would feel fur- 
 prize at fu'ch national bafenefs. Dr. Ames makes 
 repeated reference to the ftates of Barbary, as nn~. 
 Jufpefied^of breaking treaties. A fhort hiftory of 
 Algiers^ printed fbrae years ago by Mr. Mathew 
 Carey, will give him a precious catalogue of fuch 
 matters. Jay's treaty itfelf is regarded by the 
 French as a violation of owr treaty with them. The 
 remarks on this fpeech may be fhortened, for the 
 treaty has defatfo died. This can be proved in a 
 few words. 
 
 " There is no pbfition better fettled, than that 
 
 " the breach of any article of a treaty by one par-" 
 
 ' tv ? gives the other an option to confider the whole 
 
 ^ c treaty as annulled*." Now, as England is on: 
 
 tfee vcrg of a general bankruptcy, our 
 
 * Camillas, No. viir. 
 M m 
 
266 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 have no chance to recover their five millions of dol- 
 lars.- This was the temptation for accepting the 
 treaty; and, when that viiion has vanifhed, Con- 
 greis, by the admiftion of Camillas himfelf, are at 
 liberty to declare it void. They could do nothing 
 better. 
 
 His majefty's moft faithful fubjecls in Philadel- 
 phia toil hard to prove that England will .recover 
 her credit. The prefcnt diftrefs hath .not come of 
 a fuddeii. In April, 1796, a committee of mer- 
 chants waited on Mr. Pitt. At this interview it 
 came out that the bank of England had advanced 
 fourteen millions ft,erjing for government. Sixteen 
 millions {Berlin g of cafh and bullion had, within 
 three years, been exported from the kingdom. 
 Gambling in the funds had been excited by Pitt's 
 exorbitant; premiums to iu ch a pitch, that twenty, 
 thirty, and forty per. ; cent were given for money to 
 carry it on. Manufacturers or merchants could no 
 longer borrow money at five per cent, ib that.lb- 
 ber trade was not to befupported. All thefewere 
 the ftrongeft caufes and fymptoms which could be 
 conceived of approaching ruin. France hath only 
 to reft on her arms, to exclude, as (he hath done, 
 Engiifh commerce from almoft every port in Eu- 
 rope, and then to permit England to proceed with 
 an annual loan, of twenty millions fterl ing. Hence 
 it is of little concern whether Britain profefleclly 
 flops payment in this year or the next. The event 
 is certain. The delay is but like a fortnight's rei- 
 pite from the gibbet. The predictions of Gerald 
 and Palmer have not been long unfulfilled ; nor 
 have their wrongs been long unavenged. 
 . Recurring to Dr. Ames, we can now anfwer one 
 of his queries. u The articles ftipulating the 
 c redrcfs of our injuries by captures, are faid to be 
 f c delufive. By 'whom is thisjaid f" By every body . 
 
UNITED STATES. 267 
 
 Dr. Ames has been fucceded in the fifth Congrefs 
 oy a diligent imitator. Of all that might have been 
 fpared in the reprefentative of Bofton we find & 
 faithful copy. But from his comprehenfive know- 
 ledge, his pathetic vivacity, his acutenefs of remark, 
 his chafte, yet luxuriant elegance of expreffion, the 
 honourable Harrifon Gray Otis of Maflachufetts 
 keeps, and forever will keep, at an immeafurablc 
 dif lance. 
 
 On the ifl of July, 1797, an amendment was 
 propofecl in Congrefs to the (lamp-duty bill. Twen- 
 ty dollars were to be charged for a certificate of 
 citizenfhip to an emigrant. On this occafion, Mr, 
 Otis made, as ufual, afpeech of confiderablelength, 
 Mr. Loyd took an extenfive iketch of it. But a 
 the commodities of this orator are not much in dt 
 mand, Mr. Loyd has not yet prefumed to incumbf 
 his newfpaper with the copy. Mr. Bache gave 
 fhort account of it, and as Mr. Otis has compla 
 ed bitterly of the negligence of reporters, the ' 
 lowing extract of the mod fhiningpafTages, hast 
 here inferted, cum notis variorum. 
 
 Mr Otis defended theftamp duty. " We di< 
 " want population now." [The United ftatef 
 tain above a million of fquare miles, and abou 
 millions of people. Making large aliowanc 
 water, and for ufelefs land, their territory 
 with much eafe accommodate twenty time 
 prefent number of people. An immenfe " 
 neis beyond the Miflilfippi -'remains alfo to V 
 up. We need an increafe of numbers mo 
 any other nation. It is momentous to our 
 fafety. Jn the A. B. C. of American poli* 
 Otis might have learned this leffon.] " 
 cc fome obfervations on the relative m 
 u Europe, ai^ this country, ,He cowl^' 
 
 
$68 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ^ that there was this fimilarity* ^ at leaftin thej 
 " fent diftrafted fhte of Europe ; when mora 
 <c and religion, and every veflige of what was great 
 ^ and amiable, was endeavoured tobefwept from, 
 u the furface of the earth." [In fome parts of Eu- 
 rope, in Portugal and Rudia, for exajnple, the hu^ 
 man charafter is degraded by defpotifm, But in 
 every country where any degree of freedom can 
 be found, the people of Europe wiU bear, in all 
 relpecis, a companion withthofe of America. How 
 ihould it be other wife ? The United States have be- 
 come inhabited by a fuccefiion of chips from the 
 pld block qf European population. They have 
 not been long enough in the New world to attain 
 any important diftindlion of character. During 
 this debate, an Jrifh reprefentative remarked to a 
 ftranger in the lobby, that nearly one fourth part, 
 of the members then prefent were natives of Eu- 
 rope. To the fouth of New-England, at lead one 
 half of the citizens are either emigrants from thence, 
 or the fons or grandfons of fuch emigrants, As for 
 the attempt to fweep morality and religion, every vet- 
 tige of all that is great and writable from the fur- 
 /ace of the earth, this is only a round-about way 
 pf profeffing that Mr. Otis is an enemy to the Frencli 
 Devolution. Had he been born in due time, he would 
 furely have refifted that of America ; for tfye 
 French had received at leallfive millions ofprovoca- 
 ions, where the Americans could produce one. It 
 ' to be inferred that Mr. Otis laments the deftrucr 
 " on of the Baftile, the abolition of the Gabelle, the 
 .ick, the wheel, monarchy, nobility, and that ut- 
 *ioft of abominations an epifcopal eft abli foment by 
 y. He thinks that to let every man believe what 
 
 Mr. Gallatin had faid that we were in faft an European nation, 
 the manners of the people, on both fides of the water, wera 
 ially the fame. 
 
UNITED STATES. 269 
 
 $reed, and employ what prieft he pleafes, is the 
 waytofweep religion from the earth. . To deftroy 
 ariftocracy is to deftroy morality. This muft be 
 his meaning,] u He wiihed to place a bar in the way 
 *' of the admiffion of thofe reftlefs people who could 
 ' not be tranquil and happy in their own country; 
 ;c thofe who had unfurled the ftaridard of rebellion 
 " at home. He profeffed an efteem for fomeemi- 
 c grants to this country ; but he did not wifh a horde 
 * 4 of wild Irifiincn to be let loofe upon us ; who were 
 " now endeavouring to effect a revolution in their 
 * c own country. He did not wifh the introduction 
 " hereof their revolutionary principles. He was 
 " willing to fraternize with thoje emigrants who. 
 " might be admitted among us now, but he wifhed 
 " a bar placed to further migrations, aryi he did pot 
 * c think twenty dollars too much. 
 
 The term of wild, as here applied exclusively to 
 Irifhmen, is highly impertinent. In thofe parts 
 of Ireland where the peace and property of the 
 fubjects have formerly been protected, the ge- 
 neral caft of manners was fully as good as that 
 in New-England. A great body of the peo- 
 ple were however kept in a ft ate of ineeffant 11% 
 ritation by the prefTure of their landed ariftocracy, 
 and their blood-fucking church of England hierar-* 
 chy. Of thefe unfortunate victims it would be un- 
 fair to eftimate the morals, till they mail enjoy a 
 political fyftem, whereby induftry is encouraged, 
 and property iecured. Fortune has never fported 
 more cruelly, than by Subjecting that hofpitable 
 and generous nation to the monopolizing jealoufy, 
 and the fyftematic barbarity of an Englifh parlia- 
 ment. An Irifli revolution is now expected, and 
 in its triumphant ifTue, Ireland, fpurning the yoke 
 of hereditary tyrants, will aflUme her proper rank 
 dignity among the powers of Europet 
 
2 ;o HISTORY OF THE , 
 
 " Thofe," fays Mr. Otis, u who have unfurlert 
 Ct the ftandard of rebellion AT HOME.'"' A gang of 
 banditti from the town of Bofton began the Ame- 
 Jtican revolution, by unfading the Itandard of vil- 
 lainy. They wantonly deftroyed three hundred 
 and forty-two chefls of tea, in prefence, and with 
 the approbation of an immenfe crowd of fpeftators. 
 The aft of parliament fbr (hutting up the port of 
 Bofton, was the natural and fuitable confequence 
 of that fliameful tranfaftion. The burning of the 
 Gafpee fchooner, at Providence, in Rhode-IOand, 
 becaufe it obftrufted fmuggling, was another wan- 
 ton outrage, that muft be reprobated by every man. 
 who is fit fr living mider a civilized government. 
 The whole continent was dragged prematurely 
 Into war, to fave the factious townfmen of Boll on 
 from a chaftifement that fome of them very highly 
 deferved. The friends of America in England, 
 could no. longer defend their proceedings. The 
 caufe of liberty was difgraced and injured by the 
 unbecoming infolence of its advocates. The town- 
 men of Belfaft have invaded no man's property. 
 The burden of actual oppreffion cruihes them to the 
 earth. The wrongs of America were chiefly in im- 
 agination. She was more lightly taxed than any 
 other country in the -world. If the people of New- 
 England had behaved with equal moderation -and 
 dignity as thofe of Virginia, it is likely enough that 
 we might dill have been Britifh colonies, and in a 
 happy fituation, without any revolution at all. 
 When once the contefl had begun, there could be 
 no medium between independence and flavery, but 
 that does not lefTen the extreme want of ienie and 
 honefty in burning the tea. It very ill becomes fuch 
 people to rail at reformers in Europe. The whole 
 ipeech proves that Mr. Otis is unworthy even to 
 refide in a free country, and infinitely more b to re- 
 
UNITED STATES. 271 
 
 prefent it. Nature intended him for a keeper of the 
 Conciergerie, or a led captain to fome prince of 
 Wales. After all, Otis only betrayed the realfenti- 
 ments of his whole party ; and under fuch leaders, we 
 cannot wonder .. at the contemptible and .pitiable fi- 
 gure which the United States do at prefent make. 
 The unexpected length to which fome articles in 
 4 J -is Volume are found to extend, has of neccflity 
 ; 10 ^jVented the publication of others. This devia- 
 tion from the firft defign is more fully explained in 
 2,Jrie preface. The following mifcellaueous remarks 
 *aave, however, been inferted, as a relief to the rea- 
 der from the famenefs of political details. They 
 refer-to fubjecls of univerial intereil, and which, 
 in the moll expreflive manner, demand reforma- 
 tion. 
 
 On Saturday, the I2th of March, 1796, two ftage coaches, 
 fet out at fix o'clock in the morning, from French town For 
 Newcastle. The diftance is only feventeen miles, and yet 
 the drivers did not reach the latter place till twelve o'clock. 
 They took fix hours to travel a fpace, which a healthy, ac- 
 tive man would have walked over with eafe, in four and an half. 
 The road through which the coaches had to go, was very tole- 
 rable. One of the drivers, when near Newcaftle, attempted 
 a kind of quicker pace than ufual. The wretched harneffing 
 inftantly gave way; the two .foremoft horfes broke loofe r and 
 fct off at full gallop : one of them was near breaking his neck. 
 
 When the paflengers arrived at Newcaftle, the wind was 
 fair, the tide was making, and the boat for Philadelphia was 
 ready and waiting ; yet they were detained an hour and an half. 
 The only conceivable reafon for this delay was, that the Innkeeper 
 might fcrub the paffengers out of the price of a dinner. 
 
 At laft the boat got off, and with a fair wind came up within 
 lefs than two miles of Gloucefter point ; but the wind and tide 
 failing, the veffel was obliged to come to anchor. If ihe had 
 left Newcaftle but an hour more early, fhe might have come 
 with eafe to the wharf at Chdhut-ftreet, by fix g'cbck in the 
 
72 HISTORY OF TH& 
 
 Seven or eight of the pafTengers, who were anxious to get For- 
 V/ard, \verebbligedto pay haif-a-ddllar each to th$ failors to 
 row them afhore. If the owners of thefe boats are capable of 
 fbame, which is extremely doubtful, they tnuft blufli at fuch 
 multiplied inftances of negligence, infolence and extortion. 
 
 Another tide was expected to begin about one o'clock in the 
 rhomirtg. The mafter, whofe name is Mitchell, fate up, 
 drinking grog, playing at cards with fome paffengers, and 
 making an intolerable noife, till the hour above-mentioned r 
 he then went to bed. About four in the morning, fome^ 
 his men came down to tell him that the tide was ebbing, h& 
 that the boat was run agroiind; It was a long time before 
 they could make him underfland them. 
 
 Finally, the boat came up to Arch-ftreet wharf on Sunday 
 evening, with the tide, having performed a pafiage in twenty- 
 eight hours, which, with the u'anoit eafs, might have been 
 executed \njix. 
 
 The above appeared iri a Baltimore newfpaper. 
 .Some of the parties felt themfelves angry, and fa id 
 fb ; but they did not attempt to contradict the ftate- 
 ins:it, for it was only a fpecimen of their daily 
 practice. 
 
 cf a letter from a gentleman in Philadelphia^ to bis 
 friend in Baltimore ^ dated 1$tb of April, 1796. 
 
 In the Maryland Journal of the i8th of March laft, I ob^- 
 ferve a^n account of an expedition from Frenchtown to New- 
 caftle in the ftage coach, and from the latter place to Philadel- 
 phia by the ftage boat. The writer complains that the coach 
 took fix hours to drive feventeen miles over a tolerable road ; 
 that the boat fpent twenty-eight hoiirs on a voyage up the De- 
 laware, which might have been ended in^v hours ; that Mitchell, 
 the mailer of the boat, got drunk ; that his failors fleeced fome 
 of the pafTengers, &c. Sid 
 
 This malcontent mufl undoubtedly be a foreigner, other^ 
 wife he never would have attempted to grumble, for two folid, 
 reafons. Firft, becaufe, with a few exceptions, brutality* 
 negligence and filching, are as naturally expected by people ac- 
 cuflomed to travelling in America, as a mouth, anofe, and two 
 eves, are looked for in a man's face. Secondly, becaufe legal 
 mirefs, and individual reformation, are equally hopelefs< The 
 
UNITED STATES. 273 
 
 brmer would require fuch a wafte of time and money, with fo 
 xtreme an uncertainty of the iflue, that no perfon of common 
 prudence ever thinks of it. As for the fecond, there are excep- 
 tions, both as to landlords and drivers, between this place and 
 Baltimore; and others may be found in different parts of the 
 country. But the blanks in this lottery are more numerous 
 than the prizes ; and to hope reformation or amendment of cha- 
 racter, among the worthlefs, would be the moft vifionary o 
 all vi lions. 
 
 Thus (landing the cafe, this gentleman, inftead of grumbling, 
 fKould rather be very thankful to have rode from Frenchtown 
 to Newcaftl6 ? without getting his limbs broke, and his trunk, 
 if he had one with him, {battered to pieces, or pitched a yard 
 deep into the mire* Mitchell, the boatman from Newcaftle 
 to Philadelphia, did not endanger the lives of his paffengers. 
 He only kept them about five times longer than was neceflary 
 on the water. If hisfailors took half-a-dollar a piece for row- 
 ing fome of the paflerigers on fhore, they {houldhave been ve- 
 ry grateful that the boat was not overfet. Permit me to relate 
 fome of my own trials and troubles of this nature. 
 
 In June 1794, 1 had odxafion to go to New- York. Two 
 rival coaches came near th& town of Brunfwick, at the fame 
 time. The one in which I Was, got the ftart of the other by 
 a few yards ; and entered the town at full gallop. I expected 
 every moment when the coach would break down, or fome of 
 the horfes fall dead under the fatigue. Moft of our pafiengers 
 were as fond of this triumph as the driver himfelf, and did 
 every thing in their power to encourage him to hreak their 
 necks. At Elizabeth-town, a young lady, well mounted, 
 came up behind us, and attempted to ride by. Six or eight 
 of us inftantly raifed a halloo, frightened her horfe, and almoft 
 unfeated her. On attempting to expoftulate, I foon found 
 that I might prefently be treated ftill worfe than (he was. The 
 whole cargo roared out, ffibat ? Suffer any body to take the road 
 of us r^They reviled the lady in the moft (hameful ftile. One of 
 them I learned to be a merchant in New- York, and a man not 
 of anobfcure fituation. A fecond was a quaker. I tried to ar- 
 gue with him on the principles of his fociety, on the vilenefs and 
 cowardice of hazarding the life or limbs of a fellow creature for 
 fuch a jockey piece of ettiquette. I had a furly anfwer, and was 
 at the fame time, taken upiliort by a clergyman from the north 
 of Ireland, who conftantly kept himfelf in a Itate ef elevation 
 during the iaft ftxtymiks of our journey* 
 
 N n 
 
574 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 At New-York, I was lodged with two others, in a back 
 room, on the ground floor. This was a dirty hole about three 
 yards and an half fquare. What can be the reafon for that 
 vulgar hoggifh cuftom, common in America, of fqueezihg 
 three, fix, or eight beds into one room ? No fuch thing is feen 
 in the Britifh iflands. Among genteel or decent people, every 
 perfon has not only abed, but even a room tohimfelf, and very 
 frequently locks the door. 
 
 The back yard, into which the window of our cell opened, 
 was about fix yards wide every way. Within 'this fpace, and 
 juft oppofite to our window flood a little brick kitchen, and 
 cheek by jowl, an edifice of the mofrneceffary nature. They 
 were feparated by a brick partition about fix or nine inches 
 thick. The delicacy of this arrangement muft ftrike every 
 perf >n of fuperior tafte. Having occafion to vifit the temple, 
 id that the roof had tumbled in. It. was about noon, and 
 a very fultry day, and before I could get out again, I had well 
 nigh fainted with the moft horrible flench that ever afiailed my 
 noftriK 
 
 If the continent of America were only ten miles broad, there 
 might be fome excufe for jamming buildings together in fuch a 
 difgufting, aukward and dangerous way. I call it difgufting, 
 ss the fcene jufr dcfcribed might turn the ftomach of a Hotten- 
 tot. It is aukward, for when thefe receptacles of filth come to 
 be emptied, matters are often fo badly laid out, that the only 
 pafTage to get the naftinefs away, is through the very middle 
 of the houfe itfelf. Such is not univerfally the mode of purga- 
 tion, but it occurs, in too many inflances. Now it is furely 
 aukward to be thus, almoft in a literal fenfe, entrenched up to 
 the teeth in human excrement; and it is the more extraordi- 
 nary, as the Americans are highly and juftly commended for 
 the general cleanlinefs of their domeftic economy. Can any 
 body wonder that a city, under the fortieth degree of latitude, 
 fhould be vifited by the yellow fever, when a part of its inhabi- 
 tants are permitted to render it a centre of putrefaction r The 
 danger of fqueezing houfes together like herrings in a barrel, 
 is readily feen in cafes of fire. A houfe burnt down laft winter 
 in Philadelphia near the corner of Arch-ftreet ; and fuch was 
 its fituation that it was either ajmoft, or entirely inacceffible to 
 fire-engines. I know a city in Europe larger than Philadel- 
 phia, that did notfufferfo much by fire in fifteen years, as I 
 have repeatedly feen the latter do in a finale evening. Ex- 
 cufe this difgreffion. I now return to my travels. 
 
UNITED STATES. 27 f 
 
 In coming back from New- York to this city, I preferred 
 going by water. The mailer of a flage-boat, which took ua 
 over un arm of the Tea to New-Jerfey, gave an eminent proof 
 of attention to his duty. He fuffered our boat to be very 
 nearly run down on a fmooth calm fea, in broad day light, by 
 a veflel of much larger bulk than ours, that was coming up 
 in full fail. At laft, when within perhaps twenty yards of 
 her, the {boating of her crew awaked him from his torpor; 
 but after all, we miffed only by a few feet, a flroke that ine- 
 vitably would have fent us to the bottom. Thus we; i,,- 
 lives of twenty or thirty people brought into the moft ir i- 
 nent rifk, becaufe the boat was er.trufred with a blockhead, 
 who had not common ferifc enough to drive a dung cart. 
 
 At Amboy, part of our baggage was forgot, notwithftrn- 
 ding the injunctions which we gave, and the iTuranccs wh ch 
 v/e received, that the whole would be carefully packed. So, 
 
 freat was the politenefs of the houfe, that though we had paid 
 >r feats over-night, the coach was on the point of fetting off 
 without giving notice to five or fix of us, who were in confi- 
 derable danger of being left behind. 
 
 In our paffage acrofs Jerfey, the drives did every ning in 
 their power to kill the horfes, by making them go at i hand 
 gallop, for fix or feven miles together, without flopping, over 
 a deep fandy road, and in a very hot day. If the ow;i : )f 
 thefe coaches had the leaft fenfe even of their own interefr, d -y 
 would flog fuch barbarous villains, in place of paying them 
 wages. 
 
 At Bordenton, we went into a fecond boat, where we met 
 with very forry accommodation. This was about four o'clock 
 in the afternoon. We had about twenty mi'us down the De- 
 laware to reach Philadelphia. The captain, who had i moft 
 provoking tongue, was a boy about eighteen years of age. 
 He, and a few companions, difpatched a dozen or eigh- 
 teen bottles of porter. We ran three different times againft 
 other veflels that were coming up the ftream. The women 
 aixl children lay all night on the bare boards of the cabin floor. 
 A little boy, one of the paffengers from New- York, lingered 
 at the brink of the grave, during feveral months, in confequence 
 of this mode of travelling. We reached Arch-flreet wharf, 
 about eight o'clock on the Wednefday morning, having been 
 about fixteen hours on a voyage of twenty miles. Compared 
 to. fuch navigators as thofe two, whom I have juft given you aa 
 
27 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 account of, even poor Mitchell was an Anfon or a C~ 
 lumbus. 
 
 Print the above. The prefs cannot do better than to defcribe 
 icenes of inhofpitality and fwindling that feem to have been 
 reduced to a national fyftem, and that could hardly be expec- 
 ted in a Turkifh caravanfera. 
 
 The buildings of Baltimore, New- York, and Philadelphia, 
 contain in their conftruclion fo great a proportion of wood, 
 that if a flame has once fairly caught, nothing but the moil 
 vigorous efforts can ftop its progrefs. 
 
 If the ground ftory of one of our houfcs catches fire, a family 
 refidirig in thefecond floor, may run the utmoft hazard of be- 
 ing either fiiffbcated by the fmoke, or burnt alive in the flames. 
 Their oaly fhift is to jump out of the windows, at the expence 
 of breaking half their bones, unlefs, which does not always 
 happen, ladders are brought to their afiiflance. Even in that 
 cafe, from hurry and confufion, the rifk is confidsrable. In 
 many places, houfes are heaped together \n fuch a manner, that 
 in cafe of a fire, either exit or accefs would be almoft imprac- 
 ticable. 
 
 Every man who fees a conflagration in an American town, 
 muft remark the facility with which it fprcads from one roof 
 to another. This is one of the great and leading caufes, which 
 make our fires fo generally deftrucYive. The firft reafon is, 
 that our houfes are roofed with wood ; and fecondl y,- ; a moft ab- 
 furd and ftuf>id practice among houfe-carpenters, has multiplied 
 the hazard in a ten-fold proportion. 
 
 When two houfes of equal height are built clofe together, it 
 is Very common for the planks of each roof to crbfs over and 
 jyjn with thofe of the other.. By this means, whenever one 
 ifco'fjdridles, the flame, if it gets not oppofition, from a water 
 enine^fpreads immediately to the next. In Dublin, the hou- 
 *ies are roofed with flate or tile, and each roof is feparated from 
 others by a little parapet of frone, which is raifed about nine or 
 f twelve v inches above thereof, being in fact, the top of the par- 
 tition wall between the two buildings. This incombuftible 
 boundary makes the conflagration fpread far more tardily than 
 it otherwife would do. 
 
 When a traveller from Europe firft lands in the United 
 States, he is amazed at theblindnefs and infatuation of perfifting 
 sa this practice of running the wooden roofs acrofs each other, a 
 
UNITED STATES. 277 
 
 practice fo pregnant with danger and ruin. A few years of ha- 
 bit reconcile him to it, and if he builds a. houfc for himfelf, he is 
 not ambitious of looking wiferthan other people. 
 
 We often hear of fires in London, and they are fometimes ve- 
 ry terrible. But London is about feven or ei^ht times more 
 populous than the five largeft fea- port towns in America put 
 together, fo that if we compare the number of buildings with 
 the number of fires, in thefe different places, it will be found 
 that thofe of London are of much inferior frequency. 
 
 In Edinburgh, the houfes are far more durably built than 
 cither in London or Dublin. In the two latter, the walls are 
 almoft univerfally formed of brick, and the flairs of wood. In 
 Edinburgh the wnlls and ftairs are of ftone, and every ftair is 
 arched quite round with ftone, fo firmly compacted, that the 
 wooden parts of the houfe might be confumed twenty times 
 over, and the ftair-cafe itfelf remain without damage. No 
 wooden roof is to be feen ; and the flate roofs are invariably 
 feparated by a parapet wall. The refult from this ftyle of ar- 
 chitecture is, that a well built houfe can hardly burn to the 
 ground, on any account. A dirty chimney may kindle, caufe 
 occafional alarm, and produce petty damage; but the burning 
 out of a family is a very uncommon accident. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Proceedings of Congrefs. Affair of Randall and 
 Whitney. Plan of appointing a fliort-hand wri- 
 ter. Debates on the federal city. Aft of Appro- 
 priation. Debates on the call for Jay's injlruc- 
 tions. 'Strange anfwer of the P reft dent. 'Appro- 
 priations for the Britifli treaty. Explanation of 
 the conduct of Mr. Muhlenberg. Singular multi- 
 plicity of petitions in favour of appropriating for 
 the Britifli treaty. Rife ofthejeffion. 
 
 THE preliminary and mifcellaneous materials 
 of this volume have fwelled to a much grea- 
 ter bulk than had been forefeen or defigned. A- 
 
278 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ter all, many articles are left out, which were 
 originally propofed for ini'ertion. Though not al- 
 ways in a regular feries, yet a confiderable part of 
 the mod important events of the prefent year, have 
 been related. Our maritime hiftory, that is to fay, 
 an account of the French and Britifh depredations, 
 for the firft five months of 1796, have Leen com- 
 piled with tolerable completenefk. The prefent 
 chapter is to give a fketch of the principal procee^- 
 dings in Congrefs, u r le-fic -, 
 
 v/hich began with the i ft of January, 1796. Of 
 many of the mod interefting ipeeches, there have 
 already been inferted large fpecimens. 
 
 The affair of Randall and Whitney belongs, moft 
 properly, to the year 1795'. A full account of it 
 has been recently given in the American Annual lie- 
 gifter. It is fufficient here to fay, that Robert Ran- 
 dall and Charles Whitney, did, in 1795, conceive 
 a project, in conjunction with ibme Britifli fettlers 
 in Canada, for purchasing from Congrefs that fpa- 
 cious peninfula, which lies between lakes Erie, 
 Michigan, and Huron. It contains about twenty 
 millions of acres. With this view they came to 
 Philadelphia. Randall made fome improper ad- 
 vances to certain members of the Houfe of Repre- 
 ientatives, in order to gain their intereft. Having, 
 no doubt, heard of the pilot-boat hiftory, he wai- 
 ted among others, upon Dr. William Smith. He 
 was apprehended, brought to the bar of the houfe, 
 and for a fhort time confined in prifon. Whitney 
 had done nothing wrong. He was lent to jail, and 
 then difm'uTed without examination. In this hufi- 
 nefs,- the houfe acted without regularity, without 
 judgment, and without juftice. 
 
 On the 1 9th of January, they took up the bill of 
 appropriations for the current year. Mr. Williams 
 moved to ilrike out of it all the fums allotted for 
 
UNITED "STATES. 279 
 
 the mint. After a very hard (truggle, the mint pro- 
 traded its exigence, under the feverelt repobation 
 of its management from every fide of the houfe. 
 The plan of this eftablifhment came from Mr. Ha- 
 milton. Large fums had been expended to very 
 little purpofe. One defign of it feems to have been 
 the erection of a board of linecures for the fake of 
 increafing the executive influence. 
 
 On the 2oth of January, the houfe went into a 
 committee of the whole, on a report from a com- 
 mittee that had been appointed to find out a fhort 
 hand writer who was to take down their debates at 
 full length, and print them. A peribn had, for al- 
 moft two preceding feffions, attended the houie to 
 take minutes of its proceedings for the Philadelphia 
 Gazette. In this wildernefs of fcribbling, many 
 particulars tranfpired,whichmembers were afhamed 
 to confefs and afraid to deny. Four gentlemen were 
 efpecially irritated, viz. Theodore Sedgwick, Dr. 
 William Smith, Samuel Dexter, and Robert Good- 
 lo,e Harper. Meflrs. Dexter and Sedgwick were 
 not able to forgive the figure that they had made in 
 the nobility debates, as well as on fome other occa- 
 fions. Harper had diiputed with col. James White, 
 delegate from TennefTee, OH the defence of the 
 South-Weftern frontier ; and the particulars, which 
 were not to his advantage, had been related with 
 unfeeling accuracy. But Dr. Smith, was by far more 
 rancorous than the other gentlemen collectively. 
 During the debate on Madifon's refolutions, Mr. 
 Abraham Clarke of New-Jerfey faid, turning; round 
 to his right hand, and looking at Mr. H^illiam Sjnitk^ 
 that a ftranger in the gallery might fuppofe there 
 was a Britim agent in the houfe. The nickname of 
 Britifk agent became general. Mr. Smith was 
 burnt in effigy at Charlefton. On the rifing of the 
 fcifioa, he found it convenient to fhunameeting with 
 
*8o HISTORY OF THE 
 
 his conftituents by a tour for the enfuing fummer, 
 into the eaftern ftates. The blame of this whole 
 fcandal was imputed I the pen of the guilty taker 
 of minutes for the Philadelphia Gazette. Influence 
 was employed, but in vain, to procure his diimiffion. 
 This occurred in January, 1794. 
 
 But on the 2d and gd of March, 1795, theRepre- 
 fentatives met in the evening, and fome of them be- 
 ing in a liate of unufual vivacity, Smith and Dex- 
 ter arofe and complained bitterly of the minutes in 
 the Philadelphia Gazette. Neither of them faid, 
 becaufe neither of them durfl fay, that any thing 
 of their own had been mifrepreiented. The late 
 Mr. Andrew Brown, knowing that miftakes were 
 unavoidable, had uniformly advertifed that he was 
 ready to receive and print corrections. The two 
 members clofed by propofmg a refolntion for ap- 
 pointing a committee to examine a ftenographer. 
 It pan: by twenty-eight votes againft twenty-fix. 
 
 All this was in March, 1795. n tnc 2 9 tn f 
 January, 1796, Mr. Giles and Dr. Smith, who 
 had been appointed a committee, reported in fa- 
 vour of Mr. Robertfon, a Scotfman, from Peteri- 
 burg, in Virginia. He demanded four thoufand 
 dollars. Congrefs were to give him two thoufand 
 nine hundred, and Mr. Brown undertook for the 
 reft of the fum. The debates were to be printed 
 firfl in his newfpaper. This would likewifeanfwer 
 theobjeft of Mr. Smith infeparating Mr. Brown and 
 his prefent reporter. 
 
 The plan was attacked from every part of the 
 houfe, as impracticable, if ufeful ; and as ufelefs if it 
 could be practicable. Mr. Baldwin faid that he 
 had feen many printed fketches of fpeeches made in 
 that houfe, and which lie would not wim to fee bet- 
 ter done. Mr. Swanwick had often heard of nrij- 
 cdlancQiis compojitions , but the ftrangeft of all 
 
UNITED STATES, 281 
 
 eellanies that he ever heard of, was for the legiila- 
 ture of a country to ran (hares with a printer in 
 the publication of their proceedings. Even Mr* 
 Sedgwick, alfo, oppofed the plan. He honeftty 
 faid, that gentlemen were apt to getin;to apaflion, 
 and then they werq angry at feeing their expreflions 
 in print. Mr. Nicholas was for the appointment. 
 He complained that a perlbn who came often to 
 that houfe, and who had a very good flyle of wri- 
 ting, once publiftied a fpeech as his. tc ^he language 
 t was much better than I could have made/' laid 
 Mr. Nicholas, and here the member was miftaken. 
 : The fpeech did not contain a fingle fentiment 
 " that I would have difowned, but flill the fpeech 
 " was not mine." Mr. Harper attacked the de- 
 bates in the Philadelphia Gazette, as difgraceful to 
 the country, and full of falfehoods. He prattled 
 away at this rate, for a confiderable time. He had 
 never complained of inaccuracy but once ; and his 
 correction was immediately adopted. Mr. Harper 
 pofTefTes a readinefs of invention, and a confidence 
 of affirmation, which the public eflimate at their 
 proper value. 
 
 Mr. Giles fpoke in favour of the report ; but he 
 feemed to lofe courage on finding that a large 
 majority in the houfe entirely difapproved of the 
 plan. He expreffed regret at having been concern- 
 ed in it. As an excufe, he complained, for the firfl 
 time, of the inaccuracy of the debates. He had 
 never before dropt a hint of that nature. Theprc- 
 fumption is, that it was now brought forward to 
 help him out with a lame argument. He felt evi- 
 dent chagrin at finding himfelf entangled in this 
 prodigal and abfurd project. The committee rofe 
 without a divifion. On the 2d of February, 1796, 
 the fubjedl: was difcharged by a refolution of the 
 houfe. Mr. Robertfon had come feme hundreds 
 
 Oo 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 of miles, from a lucrative employment, at the par- 
 ticular defire of the fpecial committee, and had 
 {laid in Philadelphia waiting on this bufinefs, at a 
 conflderable expence. He was difmiffed without 
 compenfation. The houfe ought at lead to have 
 paid the charges of his journey. 
 
 On the 8th of January, the Prefident had fent a 
 meffage to Congrefs. It ioclofed a memorial from 
 the commiilioriers appointed for infpecting the 
 buildings at the federal city. The objeft was, to 
 obtain a loan of money, under the fantftion of go- 
 vernment, in order to complete the public build- 
 ings at that place. The loan was to be fecured on 
 the public property in the city. The United States 
 were to pledge themielves that, in cafe of the pro- 
 perty proving inadequate for difcharging the loan, 
 government was to make good the deficiency. 
 
 A committee was appointed to report on this 
 meflage. After feveral difcufllons, a bill refpeling 
 it palled the Houie of Reprefentatives, on the 3ift 
 of March, 1796. The Prefident was thereby au- 
 thorued to borrow three hundred thoufand dollars 
 on the plan above flated. The bill went through, 
 by feventy-two votes againft twenty-one. Thus a 
 frefli blifler is applied to the back of our national 
 debt. 
 
 Mr. Coit, Mr, Sit greaves, Mr. Havens, and Mr. 
 Swanwick, did themfelves the honour of oppofing 
 this annihilation of the public money ; for, that 
 thefe three hundred thoufand dollars will finally 
 come out of the federal treafury, and never more 
 return to it, Is tolerably certain. 
 
 Mr. Coit faid, that, between three and four hun- 
 dred thoufand dollars have already been expended ; 
 and, as he conceived, to what 'was uuorje than no 
 purpofe* Ninety-feven thoufand dollars had beeii 
 laid out on the Prefideut's houfe ? and it was eftima- 
 
UNITED STATES. 283 
 
 ted that nearly as much more would be wanted to 
 complete it. When finilhed, he conceived that 
 a houfe, which would cod only fifty thoufand dol- 
 lars, would better anfwer the purpole. About 
 eighty thoufand dollars had been expended on the 
 capitol, and yet, progrefs ivas fcarce-ly made beyond 
 the foundation. He expected many future and hea- 
 vy applications to the public treafury for thofe buil- 
 dings, which he feared would be a lading monu- 
 ment of the pride and folly of this country. Nine- 
 ty-feven thoufand dollars for a prefidential palace, 
 that is not yet more than half completed ! Thus the 
 whole building will cod at lead two hundred thou- 
 fand dollars. If this is not deplorable wade of mo- 
 ney, we mould be happy to learn what name it de- 
 ferves ? Indeed, unlefs among the parties immedi- 
 ately intereded in forwarding this houfe, there can 
 hardly be two opinions about it. The abfurdity is 
 too enormous to be endured with tranquility by 
 any man, unlefs his ideas are adulterated by fel- 
 intered, by prejudice, by the horror of being left in 
 a minority, or by fome other petty motive unconnec- 
 ted with the common exercifeofhis underdandingo 
 The capitol is another fuperfluous edifice, that, as 
 came out in the debates, has already funk eighty 
 thoufand dollars, and is fcarcely raifed beyond its 
 foundation. Such. things are encouraged to go 
 on, while our mod excellent of all governments 
 can hardly raife money to pay the very intered of 
 the debts which it is annually contracting. It is not 
 a feafon to varnifh the poop, when the wind is ren- 
 ding the ihrouds, when the fea is burding the fams 7 
 and driving in the cabin windows. 
 
 Mr. Sedgwick, in the debate on the 25th of Februa- 
 ry declared, with a convenient rotundity of afTertion.) 
 that accommodations are to be made for govern- 
 ment without any expence to the public treajury ^ It: 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 is certain that they will be erefted at a very enor- 
 mous expence, which muft come in fome fhape 
 from the purfes of the people. Every newfpaper 
 is occafionally filled with advertifements about the 
 Waftiington lottery. This is a tax on the public. 
 In Europe it is univerfally agreed, that a lottery is 
 the moft ruinous of all methods for raifing money, 
 and, at the fame time, the moft injurious to the morals 
 of the people. When we hear Mr. Sedgwick fay, 
 that thefe public buildings are to be raifed without 
 expence to the public, one might guefs that, like 
 the palace in an Arabian tale, they were to rife by 
 enchantment. 
 
 It is amazing that any gentleman can fband up in 
 Congrefs, and talk in fuch a way. Nay, Mr. Sedg- 
 wick went further. He faid that the more magni- 
 ficent thefe buildings were, fo much the better. If 
 they exceeded the fplendour of the palaces of Eu- 
 rope, Americans ought to \>c grateful. It is highly 
 wrong for any legiflature to encourage, among its 
 citizens, a tafte for gambling. The lottery for the 
 federal city does this in a confiderable degree ; it ex- 
 plains, what Mr. Coit juftly faid, that between three 
 and four hundred thoufand dollars have been expen- 
 ded to what is ivorfe than no purpoje* 
 
 Mr. Sedgwick may rant as much as he pleafes, 
 about the gratification that Americans muft feel in 
 contemplating the completion, and magnificence of 
 thefe buildings in the federal city. A man with 
 chafte ideas of political economy, and of national 
 freedom, will confider them as an equal outrage on 
 the one and the other. The pyramids of Egypt, 
 the amphitheatre of Titus, the pillar of Trajan, 
 and a thoufand other edifices of a flmilar defcrip- 
 tion, were durable andinfulting teflimonials of the 
 flavery of mankind, with an impreffton more forci- 
 
UNITED STATES. 285* 
 
 fele than the pen or the pencil can convey. They 
 attefted, that the property and induftry of mil- 
 lions of people had been facrificed to glut the 
 caprice and vanity of a Tingle man. j4nd iuho 
 or what 'was this man f Some jockey king, or 
 cut throat emperor, who, if ilript of a little brief 
 authority, would, ufually, have been one of the 
 mod inflgnificant of his ipecies. But it is need- 
 leis to enter into general declarations, or appeal to 
 the mournful evidence of Rome and Egypt, The 
 fafts admitted in Congrefs fpeak with fufficient di- 
 tinclnefs. 
 
 If the money had been laid out on a canal be- 
 tween Newcaftle and Frenchtown, or on a high 
 road between Philadelphia and Baltimore, or in 
 penfions, to fbme of the poor old foldiers, who 
 fold their certificates for half a crown in the pound, 
 there might be fome confolation. The cam had, to 
 be fure, been raifed in a bad way, but its expendi- 
 ture had anfwered fome ufeful end ; and, though 
 no man of fenfe would ever have been highly plea- 
 fed by feeing the rapid fale of lottery tickets, yet 
 the laudable application of the money, mufhhave 
 ferved as an emolient to the ulcer. 
 
 It is hard to fay what was the original object of 
 founding this federal city, or what benefit it could 
 be fuppofed to anfwer to the country in general. 
 The human faculties are as clear on the banks of 
 the Delaware as on thofe of the Potomac. The Pre~ 
 fident had already a good houfe in Philadelphia, 
 for which his very large falary, of twenty-five 
 thoufand dollars, well enables him to pay a fuit- 
 able rent. The apartments wherein Congrefs at 
 prefent aflemble, in the fame city, are as roomy 
 and elegant as can be defired. Philadelphia has 
 a centrical fituation, and an atmofphere at leaft as 
 healthy as the intended new metropolis. We aik 
 
i86 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 then, what could be the life or object of thele 
 buildings ? Or why did a government, encumbered 
 with a debt of feventy millions of dollars, plunge 
 its citizens into this unfathomable pit of architec- 
 ture and of lotteries ? An old London bookfeller 
 ufed to fay, that the title page was half of the bat- 
 tle. In like manner, the name of this city has pro- 
 duced more than half the patience with which its 
 expenditures have been endured. 
 
 Endured is the proper word, for this plan has 
 never excited popular enthuflafm. It hardly could. 
 Is there not already in the union a city good 
 enough to accommodate Congrefs ? No other 
 city on the continent can expect the fmalleft 
 advantage from this removal, and every one of 
 them feels a certain lofs. cc On the fame principle/' 
 faid Mr. Swanwick, u the houfe might guarantee 
 " loans for all the cities in the union ? Why a loan 
 u for the city of Wafhington in particular ? Was 
 " there any reafon why the different cities in the 
 4C union fhould be taxed for that city f" He might 
 have Subjoined, is there 9jxy*juJKc& in fuch a tax ? 
 If Washington becomes an eminent commercial 
 place, Alexandria, or Norfolk, or Baltimore, will 
 not be one farthing the better for it, but they may 
 chance to be the worfe, 
 
 It is highly expedient that the / legiflature of a 
 nation fhould afTemble to do buiinefs in one of the 
 largell of its cities. The reafon is obvious. The 
 eyes of the people are thus more effectually open- 
 ed to its proceedings ; and a legiflature is much 
 more fafely to be entrufted when under fuch in- 
 fpection. 
 
 The fpirit of liberty, the penetration to difcern 
 and fortitude to reflfLdefpotifm, have often been 
 found to beat higher in the metropolis of a limited 
 government than in any other place* Thus Charles. 
 
UNITED STATES. 287 
 
 was blamed for calling the long parliament 
 at London, \vhere his tyranny was detefted, and 
 confequently where parliament were fure of firm 
 and effectual fupport. His friends regretted that it 
 liad not met at Oxford; themiflakecoft hismajefty 
 the lofs of his head. 
 
 The French revolution began at Paris. The 
 true character of government was much better un- 
 derfteod there, by the common people, than by the 
 lame clafs in moft other quarters of the kingdom. 
 At Amfterdam, alfo, oppofition to the corrupting 
 influence of the fladtholder \vas always ftronger than 
 any where elfe. A very large city is, in almoffc 
 every refpee% a great nuifance. Yet, as it is a bad 
 ivindiuhich blows good to nobody, a fubordinate ad- 
 vantage may often be traced in the midfl of a po- 
 litical evil. 
 
 Suchimmenfe capitals as London, Paris, or even 
 Amfterdam, cannot fubfift in America, for centuries 
 to come, but if they did fo, many reafons would re- 
 commend that the feat of government mould alib 
 refide in fuch a fit u at ion. With fo many obfer- 
 vers to watch its motions, and whofe very numbers 
 infpirethem with peculiar confidence, the infolencc 
 or corruption of office is more likely to be detected 
 and expofed than on a more limited field of enquiry. 
 The prefent trifling oppofition that the abandoned 
 minifter of England finds in the Houfe of Commons, 
 would, by this time, have moft likely dwindled alto- 
 gether away, if the fpirit of Sheridan and others had 
 not been fupported by their fltuation in the bo- 
 fom of a numerous party of the citizens of London. 
 
 Thefe hints tend to point out the propriety of 
 retaining the refidence of the federal legislature in 
 one of the larger cities of the union. On the ftreets 
 of New- York or Philadelphia, every member of 
 Congrefs meets with fellow citizens as independent 
 
2 88 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 and well-informed as himfelf, and who, without ce- 
 remony, will tell him what they think of his 
 conduct. In fuch a place, he has a thoufand 
 opportunities of learning public feelings, which 
 he never could acquire in a fequeflered defart, like 
 the paper-built city of Wafhington, even fuppofmg 
 that he were to read all thenewfpapers in the Uni- 
 ted States. We have at this time about an hundred 
 and twenty newfpapers, if not more ; and hence, 
 that tafk is, in it-elf, impoflible. It is by mix- 
 Ing with mankind that you learn how to legif- 
 late for them, hi the multitude of counjellors there 
 is Jafety, fdid the wife man ; and in a limited fenfe, 
 the maxim holds good. It is only by a collision of 
 various fentiments, opinions, habits of thinking and 
 views of life, the light of truth is finally to be 
 ftruck out. 
 
 There is a large houfe in Philadelphia which the 
 AfTembly of Pennfylvaniahad deflgned for thePrefi- 
 dent. Mr. Swanv/ick, in a debate about this fede- 
 ral city bill, noticed that twenty thoufand dollars 
 were granted to build it ; but nearly twice the fum 
 had been afked for it fmce, and the houfe \snot yet 
 finifhed. 
 
 Veterans who fought battles for America, were 
 glad to accept, as all the world knows, of half- 
 a-crown in the pound for the arrears of their 
 dear-bought wages. Hundreds of petitions are, in 
 the courfe of every fefllon, prefented to Congrefs 
 from miferable objects of all forts, who were redu- 
 ced to decrepitude and beggary in the continental fer- 
 vice. Government cannot relieve all thefe people, 
 bi:t ftill if they promoted lotteries for that end, the 
 money would be more honourably beftowedthan on 
 a capital, which has already coft eighty thoufand dd- 
 lars, though it is hardly infible above ground ! 
 
 As for the palace of the Prefident, the plan muft 
 
UiMlTED STATES. 289" 
 
 have originated with fomebody, who wanted to let 
 up a political idol. A Prefident is the very laft 
 man in the comrn unity for whom the public ought 
 to build a houfe, becaufe he has a falary five times 
 larger than that of any other public officer in the 
 union ; and hence can afford better than other pub- 
 lic officer to pay the rent of his houfe. 
 
 The money expended on palaces at the federal 
 city, js ahfolutely caft away. The Prefident and 
 Gongrels are already as well accommodated with 
 lodgings as they need wi(h to be, or defer ve to be. 
 There is no ufe for fuch extravagant buildings. 
 The raifing of money by lotteries is the mod perni- 
 cious reiburce withinthe range of political infanity. 
 The erection of fuch fabrics tends to excite a tone 
 of ariftocracy and of royalty, to which mankind 
 are already but too much addicted. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Johnfon fays, that "to build is to be 
 " robbed." We cannot expect that houfes raifed 
 for a government will be carried on with more 
 economy than thofe of private perfons. Mr* 
 Coit* fays, that the buildings at Wafhington have 
 been commenced on an extravagant plan, and 
 that he hopes the commiflioners will be obliged to 
 contratt them. Mr. Sitgreaves, in the fame debate, 
 allb declares that the eventual expence of the builr- 
 dings is not within the reach of calculation, or eveft 
 ef conjecture. What a miferable profpeft is yawn- 
 ing before us ! 
 
 Mr. Havens afked, what was meant when it was 
 faidthat there exifted an obligation of going to this 
 new city at the year 1800 ? If room was not to be 
 had in it, Congrefs might go to Georgetown. They 
 may jufl as well ft ay where they arc. What would 
 they be at ? Poor Richard fays, 
 
 * See debate of the 31(1 of March? 1796. 
 
*?. HISTORY OF THE 
 
 I never faxv an oft removed tree, 
 
 Qt yet an oft removed family, 
 
 \Vhich throve fo well, as thofe that fettled be. 
 
 Let us make a fuppofition that, before the end of 
 the year 1800, only two millions of dollars are ex- 
 pended on the federal city. The buildings, as has 
 been already explained, are on an extravagant 
 fcale. The United States could do as well without 
 them . 
 
 Put two millions of dollars into any rational 
 icheme of domeflic improvement in the .country, 
 fuch as a well contrived canal. The money will 
 yield a clear profit often, twenty or thirty per cent. 
 Take it at the lowed rate, and with ten per cent, 
 f compound interefl, a fum doubles itfelf in feven 
 years, fifty-two days and an half. In fifty years, 
 thefe two millions of dollars will double them felves 
 feven times. They will amount to two hundred 
 and fifty-fix millions. In an hundred years, they will 
 amount to thirty-two thoufand feven hundred and 
 fixty-eight millions of dollars, which, at that sera, 
 will be the real expence of the city, even if reftrio 
 ted only to the original two millions. This com- 
 putation fhews the folly of finking a capital on an 
 object which is both unproductive and fuperfluous. 
 
 At the end of the nineteenth century, the federal 
 quarries above ground will not be worth fo great a 
 fum; nor indeed worth what they originally cojl. 
 They cannot, like a high road, or an improved farm, 
 pay a large intereft. They are mere unproductive 
 marTes of brick and lime, and wood and flone, the 
 ipawn of lotteries and land jobbing, for all which 
 fine articles Mr. Theodore Seclgwick imagines 
 it our duty to be grateful. 
 
 This project of the federal city has been examined 
 at fome length, becaufe the fubject is very imper- 
 fe&ly understood, and becaufe the plan, if conrple- 
 
UNITED STATES. 291 
 
 ted, mufl end in deftroying the American conftitu- 
 tion. The monarchical party in the convention of 
 1 7 87, had the following clauiethruft into that paper. 
 <c The, Congrefs (hall have power to exercife EX- 
 " CLUSIVE legiflation, in all cafes -whatjoever, over 
 * c fuch diftridl, not exceeding ten miles Jquare^ as 
 " may, by ceffion of particular flates, and the ac- 
 u ceptan ce of Congrefs, become the feat of govern- 
 " mentof the United States." A like claufe was 
 never heard of before in the conftitution, or prac- 
 tical adminiftration of any government in the world. 
 Suppofe that, at the Englim revolution of 1688, 
 the new parliament had declared themfelvesexclu- 
 five legiflators over a fquare often miles, and of 
 which St. Stephen's chapel was to be the centre., 
 Exclusive legislation is but another term for arbi- 
 trary power, becaufe it confounds the characters of 
 judge and legislator. In fo fmall a fpace, where 
 parliament were fureto fee every thing, magiftrates 
 would have been nothing but their tools ; and jobs, 
 defpotifm, anarchy, and revolt mu ft have enfued. 
 The citizens of London and Weftmkifter would, 
 in two or three years at the utmoft, have laid the 
 new government on its back. But it would be wrong- 
 ing the character of the Englifh nation to put the 
 fuppofition that a claufe fo abfurd, fo fantaftical, 
 fo big with mifchief, and confuflon could ever have 
 paft in that country. Such an originality was re- 
 lerved forthe fertile brain of Alexander Hamilton. 
 In the convention of bolted doors, this bauble was 
 part of the compromife and facrifice granted by Ma- 
 difon and his friends to the royal fatlion. Being 
 combined with better materials, it was without re- 
 flection accepted by the citizens of America. As 
 a parting appeal to their common fenfe, let us only 
 figure this cafe, that the ftatc of Pennfylvania had 
 ceded to Congrefs a diftrift of ten miles, including 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 this city. There is not a man in Philadelphia who 
 wiihes to fee Congreis erecled into its exclufive le- 
 giflators. 
 
 Their ignorance, their caprice, the natural info- 
 lence of unlimited authority, would, in a few years, 
 liave thinned the rlreets of the city. If on the 4th of 
 July, 1795, Congrefs had held exclufive legislation 
 in Philadelphia the evening would not have doled 
 with a mower of brick-bats. The demounting and 
 diiarming of captain John MorrelJ, of the china 
 ware-houfe, in North Front-ttreet, and his being fo 
 bafely pitched into Frog-pond at Kenfmgton, might 
 have produced a general mafTacre of the citizens. 
 The fale of his fword for fixper-ce, on his declining 
 to reclaim it, might have eailly been turned into a 
 high crime and mii demeanour. This inference be- 
 comes very probable, when we contemplate the 
 bloody maxims of our American DUKE OF ALVA*, 
 Thus much for the federal city. 
 
 On the 5th of February, 1796, the bill of ap- 
 propriation for the current year, having gone 
 
 * Alexander Hamilton wimed, " that the people, atfernbled at 
 * f Braddock's field, had burnt Pitijlurgb." Randolph's Vindication, 
 p. 83. " One motive affigned in argument, for calling forth thr mi- 
 litia, has been, that a government can never be fa id to be eftablim- 
 l< ed, until fome SIGNAL DISPLAY has manifefted its power ofW/- 
 tf tctry coercion. t( This maxim,'* adds Randolph, " if indulged, would 
 ** heap curfes upon the government, The Itrength of a government 
 ".isthc afFeclion of the people/' Ibid p. 102. The maxims and 
 willies of Mr. Hamilton exceed any fentiment recorded from the 
 hemp-crack-governor of the Netherlands. They rather approach 
 to the comprehenfive fublimity of Caligula. 
 
 It is extremely worthy of notice, that although the Gazette of the 
 United States has been ccmftamly railing at Randolph, yet no deni- 
 al has ever appeared as to the accuracy of the pailages above quoted. 
 "It is no wonder that, after fnch discoveries, the party hate him. 
 They fometimes harp upon his ftile. It is at loaft far fuperior to 
 thatwf Mr. Fenno's auxiliaries. If Randolph is not fo acute, fo 
 terfe, fo critical, and fo bniliant, as Thomas Jefierfon, yet, in his 
 printed correfpondence with Hammond, he writes like a man who 
 meant well, and who felt for the wrongs of his country. 
 
UNITED STATES. 293 
 
 through both houfes, was approved by the prefi- 
 dent. This approbation is an in iignifi cant form. The 
 worft laws, as well as the bell ones, have, for feve- 
 ral years pad, conflantly received the prelident's 
 affirmative. In all cafes of importance, however,' 
 his will is previoufly underflood and ftriclly obey- 
 ed by a majority of the Senate. There may have 
 been one or two exceptions to this rule, but none 
 for a con fider able tune. In the cafe of Madifon's 
 jfirft refolution, and of Mr. Clarke's bill; for prohi- 
 biting commercial intercouric with England, the 
 Senate were, indeed, equally divided, and the ca 
 ting vote of Mr. Adams negatived both. But here 
 it muft be fuppofed, that Mr. Wafhington had kept 
 himfelf in fufpence. He had only juit parted with 
 Jefferfbn, and Hamilton was not yet completely 
 fixed in the -laddie.. When the latter fact came tp 
 be known, every/^fertf/meafure was bolted through, 
 by a large majority. After all, when two legilla- 
 tive bodies have agreed to a law, it is below their 
 dignity to enquire for the opinion of any fingle 
 man. By the constitution, a prefident who wifhes' 
 to be troublefome, can raile confiderable confufion. 
 If he refuies approbation, the law is fent back to 
 Congrefs ; and, unlefs two-thirds of each houfe 
 fiiall afterwards agree to it, the law becomes void. 
 It is very feldom that fo great a majority unites 
 upon an important meafure. The Senate confjfls, 
 at pretent, of thirty-two members ; and, by this 
 clanfe of the conftitution, Mr. Adams, fupported 
 by eleven fenators, being more than one-third of the 
 whole number, could prevent the pafling of any 
 bill which he did not like. Thus the veto of twelve 
 perfons,who are not wifer or better than their neigh- 
 bours, might in every inftance over weigh the whole 
 Houfe of Reprefentatives, though fupported by 
 twenty-one fenators. This is one of the miftakes 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 In our conftitution. If the citizens of America 
 could, like the bees, create an animal of faculties fu~ 
 perior to their own, this veto might be ufeful. But 
 in the late and prefent mediocrity of prefidential ta- 
 lents, it is at belt an expenfive excrefence. This 
 fubfcription of the laws, and a trifling or ioflam- 
 matory fpeeeh at the opening of each feffion of Con- 
 grefs, is almoft the only real duty that a preiident 
 his to perform. The bufmefs of (late is divided 
 among three fecretaries, and we underftand from. 
 Randolph that Mr. Wafhington ufed to hold a 
 meeting with them oninterefting points, and decide 
 by the opinion of the majority. All this is no great 
 matter. JareJ IngerfoJ, or the fecretary of the 
 llate of Pennfylvania, or any counfellor of equal 
 talents, would do the bufmefs fully as well, and 
 think himfelf handfomely paid with an annual fee 
 of a thoufand dollars*. 
 
 * The account might ftand thus : 
 
 The UiNITED STATES, D*. 
 
 To my trouble in writing and reading to the two houfes of 
 congrefsa fpeeeh againtt democratic Societies, or againft the 
 citizens of the fouth weftern frontier, or againft another 
 fpeeeh made by a member of the French direclorv, or 
 concerning my friendlhip with John Watts and Double- 
 head, or in praife of the gallant army who carried off one 
 half of the pots and pans of the four weltern counties of 
 Pennfyivania, and who burnt every rail fence within their 
 reach, * 2j" 
 
 To my fecretary for a eleap copy of ditto fpeeeh, - 5 
 
 To my trouble in approving of fixty afts o/ congrefs, dur- 
 ing laft feffion, at five dollars each, - - 300 
 
 To my ftererary,for announcing thefame to the two houres, 
 
 at twenty-five cents each, - i $ 
 
 For my attendance to count the votes of the triumvirate 
 rmnifrry, once a week, during fifty-two weeks, at eight 
 dollars per time, - - 
 
 To a complete fet of Gobbet's Gazette, of the Minerva, of 
 tht Columbian Centinel>. of the Gazette of the United 
 
 Carried over, 
 
UNITED STATE'S. 295 
 
 On the 9th of February, was prefented the rop- 
 inorial above inferted from the fnuff-makers of 
 Philadelphia. The aft of which they complained 
 exemplifies the remark of Montaigne, that tc there is 
 " nothing fo commonly or fo grofsly faulty as the 
 u laws." The firft of the two ftatutes in queftion 
 required the performance of impoffibilities. For 
 inltance, the ihufFmaker was to fwear to a daily jour- 
 nal of the fnuff grinded. To be able ,to do io he 
 mud have taken down his mill at the end of every 
 day's work, and another entire clay was requifite for 
 putting it again in order. Thus between taking down 
 and Jetting up, the (huff-maker would have ipent 
 four or fi\42 days in the week in hard work, with- 
 out grinding one ounce of (huff. Mr. Thomas Lei- 
 per, and his fellow fufferers, had not logic enough 
 to convince Mr. Hamilton, Mr.&edgwick, and Dr. 
 Smith, of this rule producing a hardfhip. Other 
 claufes were equally flupid, oppreffive, and imprac- 
 ticable. A ruinous excife on refined fugar manu- 
 factured in America had been blended in the fame 
 law with fnuff, and it (till remains in force. In a 
 proof flieet of the/7^/-/ hijlory ofexcije, it was fta- 
 
 Brought over, 761 
 
 States, and of the works of MefTrs. Harper and Gobbet, 
 to be reforted to for occafional information, - - loo 
 
 To my trouble in figning recalls, and appointments of for- 
 eign ambaffadors, e. g. the recall of my fen from Holland, 
 for which he had received an outfit of nine thoufand dol- 
 lars, to my trouble, at the fame time, in appointing him 
 ambaffador to Portugal, with a fecond outfit of nine thou- 
 fand dollars, of recalling him within fix weeks, and fend- 
 ing him to Berlin,, with a third outfit of nine thoufand 
 dollars, over and above his falaries, - 120 
 
 To my lofs of time in bowing on the (treet to the addi- 
 tional acquaintances whom I have acquired face my ap- 
 pointmnt> - - JQ 
 
 Total dolls. 1000 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ted that, afterpaying the duty, there woiild not re- 
 main to the refiners of fugar more than a clear pro- 
 fit of five per cent, upon the capital embarked in 
 their bullnefs. This circnmilance was related on 
 the authority offomeofthe principal man ufaclii- 
 rers in Philadelphia. But, on a reviial, they chofe 
 to ftrike it out of the publication, left a difdofure 
 might alarm their correfpondents, and injure the ge- 
 neral interefl of the trade. This was in the fall of 
 1795. Matters have certainly been improved, or 
 elfe the manufacture muft have ft opt, as that of 
 in n ff actually did. The fugar boilers could have 
 got fix per cent, for their money in the common 
 rate of intereit, and ten times that ium from an ex- 
 porting flour merchant. 
 
 One would be apt to believe that the federal mem- 
 bers of Congrefs wanted to deflroy altogether Ame- 
 rican manufactures. The paper money fyflem is 
 chiefly theirs. Twenty millions of dollars, fabri- 
 cated out of old rags, are now circulating about 
 the continent. Of thefe, ten millions belong to the 
 bank of the United States. The total dividend of 
 all thefe banks, as flated in Congrefs by Dr. Smith 
 and Mr. Gallatin, comes to two millions of dollars 
 per annum. The expences of management can 
 hardly be lefs than five hundred thouland dollars 
 more. This enormous tax, for juft nothing at all, 
 and the fcropholous abundance of money produced 
 by the bank capitals, have tended extremely to im- 
 pede the progrefs of American manufactures. 
 Though not the fole caufe, they have yet been 
 among the chief caufes that raife the wages of la- 
 bour in America fo extravagantly beyond its price 
 in Europe. Some leaders of the federal party pof- 
 Jefs extenfive concerns in the bank of the United 
 States. But the maturity of American manufactures 
 never can arrive, till wages fall, a/id that mufl 
 
UNITED STATES. 297 
 
 be preceded by a reduction of the mafs of paper. 
 Hence thefe leaders wiih to encourage the importa- 
 tion of Britifh goods. The merchants who import 
 them, alfb, and who, in general, deteft American 
 rivalfhip, are in conftant habits of difcounting at 
 the banks, and it is of confequence to favour fuch 
 valuable cuftomers. Thefe obvious motives tend 
 to make the federal commanders anxious for the 
 clofeft connexion with England. The fame fcale 
 of argument leads them to abhor the French, 
 among whom paper currency has always been de 
 pifed. Hence, among other reafons, we find their 
 conftant inclination to revile France*. Hence 
 their enthufiaftic zeal, for the completion of Jay's 
 treaty to which the journal of Congrefs hath now 
 brought us. 
 
 Nothing that excited general attention occurred 
 in Congrefs from the trial of Randall till the ift of 
 March. On that day, the Preftdent fent a mefTage 
 to each houfe informing them that ratifications of 
 the Britifh treaty had been exchanged at London, 
 on the 28th of October, 1795" " I have direttcd 
 " the fame to be promulgated/' added the Prefi- 
 dent, " and herewith tranfmit a copy thereof for 
 " ^^information of Congrefs." This was clearly 
 the ftyle of a public officer, who confidered his au- 
 thority on this point, as independent and 
 
 * Camden, In his hiftory of Elizabeth, book iv. p. 443, haa 
 thefe words. " The French lawyers fay, that whatfoever is once an- 
 '< nexed to the crown of France, doth infeparably adhere to it for- 
 c * ever." This vindicates the republicans from a fufpicion of innova- 
 tion, when they refufe to reftore the Low Countries to the emperor. 
 
 During the time of the French league, Elizabeth was advifed to 
 attempt the conqueft of Picardy and Normandy. " She heard it," 
 fays Camden, " with regret and diflike, and rejected it with much 
 indignation, faying, nubenfoevtr the lajl day of the kingdom of Franc^ 
 cvmeth, it will, undoubtedly ) be the eve of the definition of England* ' 
 Ibid. p. 444. 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 tionable. He had complied with every formality 
 required by the conftitution. He had felefted an 
 ambaffador for England, and had given himinftruc- 
 tions as a rule of conduct. The conftitution fays 
 " he (hall nominate, and by and with the advice 
 " and confent of the Senate, (hall appoint ambafFa- 
 u dors." The prefident had announced his nomi- 
 nation to that body. They were mean or ftupid 
 enough to acquiefce in the appointment, without 
 once aiking for what purpofe Jay was to be fent to 
 England, or demanding a copy of his inftructions. 
 This (hewed that the mefTage was but an empty 
 form, and that, in the particular details of his ne~ 
 gociation, the Prefident fcorned to hold any prefa- 
 tory communications with them. Here, by the 
 way, comes out, as before obferved,* an evidence 
 of hypocrify towards Genet. Mr. Wafhington could 
 not negociate with the French envoy, becauf the 
 Senate were not in feffion. Yet, over their heads, 
 he fent an envoy to England, without letting them 
 tmderfland one line of his directions. This was 
 frankly telling the republic that he rejecled their 
 advances. He could not have taken a more ungra- 
 cious, a more ungrateful or infatuated ftep. After 
 fuch coldnefs and contempt on our part, we fhould 
 fpeakwith temper about the republic. Frenchmen 
 have never been celebrated for patience ; and it 
 can leaft of all be expected in the midfl of a blaze 
 of victories, which reduce Belifarius and Hannibal 
 to the rank and file of conquerors. 
 
 From this digreffion we go back to Jay. Recei- 
 ving orders from the Prefident, and a fanclion from 
 the Senate, he went to England and framed a trea- 
 ty. On its arrival here, the Senate, and Prefident, 
 gave in due time, a ratification. They exprefsly 
 
 * Supra chap. |. 
 
UNITED STATES. 
 
 look the whole burden upon themfelves ; and whe- 
 ther Jay obeyed his inftructions, or broke them,was 
 a queftion entirely between himfelf and the Prefi- 
 dent, from whom exclufively he accepted of them. 
 The Senate had, beforehand, refigned all right of 
 thinking upon the fubjecl. They pofTefTed no fu- 
 ture title to call for the inftruclioBS. The fit time 
 for that demand had pafTed away. If the treaty 
 proved to be a good one, it was quite a frivoloua 
 enquiry, whether the inftr unions were right or 
 wrong. If it was bad, the Prefident flood in the 
 gap, and they could difappoint all bad effects by a 
 rejection. They approved of the whole treaty,, 
 one article excepted. It was, thereafter, ratified by 
 the Prefident. Here the character of thefe two 
 branches, or rather of thefe two fprigs from the 
 trunk of reprcfentation, was completely embarked. 
 
 There does not appear any folid reafon why the 
 Preddent, in the Sequel, fubmitted Jay's inflruclions 
 to the Senate, after the treaty had been ratified. 
 The only time for fuch a communication was be- 
 fore Jay failed for England. The inftrument could 
 only ftand or fall, not by the tenor of the inflruc- 
 tions, but by its own intrinfic value. The tardy 
 produftion of Jay's orders refembled a Chinefe 
 marriage. The lover, it is faid, does not fee his 
 iniftrefs till after the wedding, but has leave to fend 
 her home again, if he does not like her. The Pre- 
 fident could only fend this paper as a matter of ci- 
 vility. The Senate had loft their right of calling 
 for the inftruftions. They had not even a decent 
 pretence to have challenged Jay He atfted as pri- 
 vate agent to Mr.Wafhington, and the Senate had> 
 in plain juftice, no more to do with him, than the 
 Prefident had with his fecretary, Mr. Trumbal. 
 
 But farther, Jay was, upon a different ground^ 
 placed beyond the reach of perfonal confequences . 
 
goo HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Admitting that he acted with the wildelt deviation 
 from his orders, yet he neither did nor could 
 do any thing final. If the Prefident difapproved 
 of the treaty, iHll he had only to refufe it. He 
 could have fent Grenville a copy of his instructions 
 to evince that Jay had entirely contradicted them. 
 This muft have been a full apology for his negati- 
 ving the treaty. 
 
 There ftill remained one point of view in which 
 Jay might be regarded as refponfible. Suppofe 
 that, while he carried on a negociation contrary to 
 the fpirit of his, orders, the relative condition of the 
 two parties had altered, that Britain had become 
 flronger, and America weaker, or that fome change 
 in the condition of a third party had produced a 
 fimilar effect. In that cafe, the Houfe of Reprc- 
 fentatives might have addrefled the envoy in terms 
 like thefe ; 
 
 u It is true that you acted as an immediate agent 
 
 c for the Prefident, that he had legal authority to 
 
 c employ you, and that he, along with the Senate, 
 
 c has taken upon himfelf the total refponfibility for 
 
 ' your conduct. In common matters an employer, 
 
 <c by vindicating his .agent, completely covers him 
 
 * c from enquiry ; but, in your affair, there is fomc- 
 
 >c thing particular to be faid. We believe that you 
 
 Ct< difobeyedyour orders, that you treacheroufly en- 
 
 cc tangled the Prefident in a bargain for which you 
 
 <c had no powers, and that you thus forfeited that 
 
 " impunity annexed to the character of HIS agent. 
 
 cc He received your production with every feeling of 
 
 <c fhame, of alarm, and indignation. Agreeable to 
 
 <c law he afTembled the Senate ; and they and he fuc- 
 
 <c cedively ratified the treaty, under the dread that 
 
 <c ifthey rejected it, their perfidious and formidable . 
 
 4C enemy would pervert their refufal into a pretence 
 
 " for declaring war t Soflanding the cafe> we con* 
 
UNiTED STATES. 301 
 
 " tend that in fubftantial equity, you have not been 
 
 " the agent of Mr. Wafhington, but of lord Gren- 
 
 " ville ; and that the compulfive operation created 
 
 ' by your perfidy on the minds of the Senate and 
 
 c Prefident, transferred the constitutional refponfi^ 
 
 " bility from them to you. The charges here 
 
 5C made againft you are matters of ftrongfufpicion, 
 
 c but not of certainty. We are in want of evi- 
 
 " dence either to fapport or to refute them. We 
 
 K can only get that evidence by reforting to your 
 
 " inftr uftions, for you can only be impeached on the 
 
 c head of having difobeyed them, and of your difo- 
 
 c dienee having thereafter mackled the delibera- 
 
 L< tions of the Prefident and Senate. For the pur- 
 
 '' pofe of afcertaining your guilt or innocence, 
 
 " we are going to folicit the Prefident. He has 
 
 tc fcnt thefe papers to the Senate. He cannot, 
 
 c therefore, in common civility, or even decency, 
 
 c deny our requeft. Yet we hav/e no conftitution- 
 
 ". al right of demandingthe paper. The power of 
 
 ^making treaties has been excluiively and jointly 
 
 c vefted in the Senate and in him. No part of 
 
 fc the conftitution requires that he fliould explain 
 
 c to our houfe his motives, or divulge, unlels by 
 
 " his own free will, your inftruclions and fubfequent 
 
 c correfpondence. If he withholds thefe means of 
 
 c information and impeachment, we can only grum- 
 
 c ble into filence, arid bludi at the contemptible in- 
 
 c cenfe of adulation that, for feven years pafl, we 
 
 a have piled on the altar of Mount; Vernon." 
 
 The above is apprehended to contain a fummary 
 of the arguments that might have been employed in 
 favour of impeaching Jay. The ftrefs lies on a- 
 certaining that the Prefident difliked the treaty, and 
 gave it a reluctant ratification. On this point, Ran- 
 dolph affords a copious evidence. " My opinion," 
 fays Mr* Waftungton, u refpefting the treaty, is 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 t the fame now that it was, that is, not favourable 
 ' c to it, but that it is better to ratify it in the man- 
 * c ner the Senate have advifed, than to fufFer matters 
 tc to remain, as they are, unfettled. I find endea- 
 ec vours are not wanting to place it in all the odious 
 <c points of view of which it is fufceptible, and in 
 ec fbrne which it will not admit." [This is plain 
 enough.] u I have never, fmce I have been in the 
 
 c -d'niniftration of the government, feen a crifis, 
 ficti in my judgment has been fo pregnant of 
 
 c iritereftirig events, nor one from which more is 
 <c to be apprehended: whether viewed on cnefide 
 ic or the other. Scarcely a day pafTed, that he (the 
 cc President) did not enumerate many objections to it ; 
 Cc objections going not only to the commercial part, 
 
 6 but alfo to the Canada article, to the omiffion 
 cc of compenfation for the negroes and property 
 <c plundered, and to fome other parts of lefs confe- 
 C quence." It would be ufelefs to heap up farther 
 teftimony that the Prefident difapproved of Jay and 
 his treaty, and that he agreed to it only to prevent 
 ibme worfe confeqnences. 
 
 Having fettled this point, we proceed with the 
 journal of the Reprefentatives. On the ;th of 
 March, 1796, the houfe took up a refolution mo- 
 ved by Mr. Livingfton. It was in thefe words : 
 
 " Rejdived, that the Preftdent of the United States 
 <c be requefted to lay before this houfe, a copy of the 
 " inftrutfions to the miniRer of the United States 
 cc who negociated the treaty with the king of Great 
 * c Britain, communicated by his mefTageof fehefirft of 
 * c March, together with the correfpondence and o- 
 <c ther documents relative to the faid treaty, except- 
 c ing fuch of faicl papers as any exifting negociation 
 cc may render improper to be difclofed." As one 
 
 * Randolph, p, 35? 36, 3$. 
 
UNITED STATES. 303 
 
 reafbn for this motion, Mr. Livingfton faid that 
 the produftion of the papers would determine th$ 
 houfe whether " an impeachment would be deem- 
 " ed advifeable*." But his chief reafon was "a 
 "firm conviftion that the houfe were veiled with 
 " a difcretionary power of carrying the treaty into 
 u effect, or refufing it their fan<fiion. To guide 
 " them in an enlightened determination as to that 
 u point, the papers are neceffary ; they would cer- 
 :c tainly throw light upon the fubjeft, and enable 
 " the houfe to determine whether the treaty was 
 "fitch as that it ought to be carried into effeft* V 
 Mr. Livingfton calls the latter his principal reafon. 
 He did not fpeak exactly what he thought. The 
 papers called for could not be needful to guide the 
 determination of the houfe, as to whether they 
 fhould fanftion the treaty, for nothing but its indi- 
 vidual merits could decide for or againft it. But, 
 fecond, if the papers were needful, the houfe, be- 
 fore this time, had virtually, though not officially 
 feen them. They had been lying for foine time on 
 the table of the Senate. Many Reprefentatives had 
 gone up flairs and read them, and every member 
 was acquainted with the efTence of their contents. 
 Hence, they could not be wanted for the purpofe of 
 determining an opinion about the treaty, even had 
 its fate refled on fuch a difclofure. 
 
 Mr. Livingflon well knew that his former reafbn 
 for wanting the papers was almofl equally hollow, 
 He knew, or he well might have known, that an 
 impeachment was not advifeable. The fequel of 
 the debates difcovered the real fenfe of his party. 
 The projeft of impeachment was but rarely and 
 faintly dwelt upon. But the democrat ical mem- 
 bers had other aad good reafons for defiring an o 
 
 * JBache, vol. i, p, 4, t Ibid, p. , 
 
S o 4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ficial communication of the inftruclions. This 
 would have fixed the perfidy of Jay in departing 
 from them. Popular refentment at his behaviour 
 would have rifen to the higheft pitch. His alledged 
 preceptor, Mr. Hamilton, would have been involved 
 in the clamour. The treaty muft, on frefh grounds, 
 have become an object of jealoufy and difguft ; and 
 this addition to the force of its enemies was to have 
 enfured, in theHoufe of Reprefentatives, a refufal 
 of money for its fulfilment. 
 
 By an impeachment of Jay, nothing, in common 
 fenfe, could be expected, but an enormous wade of 
 time and of congreffional wages, a pernicious and 
 endlefs delay in the routine of private bufmefs, and 
 finally, a triumphant acquital of the envoy. In de- 
 fiance of all imaginable teftimony, the Britifh trea- 
 ty majority in the Senate were fnre to have pro- 
 nounced him guiltlefs. Look at their extrufion of 
 Albert Gallatin, at their fraternal embrace of Meff. 
 Gunn and Marfbal ! 
 
 Thus it appears that Mr. Livingfton could hope 
 for nothing from an impeachment, and he as little 
 needed the inftructions* to complete his opinion of 
 the treaty, lhat opinion had been long fmce matu- 
 red. It is difficult to keep from fmiling when we per- 
 ceive an intelligent legiflator (landing up, and give- 
 ing all reafons but the real one, in defence of his re- 
 folution. The debate lafted, with fome intervals, 
 from the yth of March to the 7th of April, both in- 
 clufive; and the report occupies three hundred and 
 eighty-{}x clofe printed octavo pages. This is the 
 
 * In the debate of the 2ift of March, Mr. Williams obferved 
 that " for the fpace of ten weeks, any member of that houfe 
 " might have feen them," Bache, vol i. p. 236, But the great lofs 
 *vas, that no member could, from fuch infpeftion, venture to quote 
 them in the Houfe of Reprefentatives. He would have been cal- 
 led to order, and obliged to fit down. 
 
UNITED STATES. 305 
 
 American mode of managing Jeghlative debates, 
 In a Britifh Houfe of Commons, the qtieftion could 
 hardly have been protracted beyond fix o'clock on 
 afecond morning; 
 
 Mr. William Lyman rofe next after Mr. Living- 
 fton. He jkfjnded the refolution. One of his ar-> 
 guments was, that pofiibly the papers " might throw 
 ct fuch light as co produce a very great degree of 
 <c unanimity relative to ttiat inftrument (viz. the 
 " treaty). Such circumftances might poffibly be 
 " difciofed as to reconcile thofe now oppofed to it, 
 44 and who might otherwife remain irreconcilable. 
 ec If the refolution tended only to this object it was 
 cc effecting a valuable purpofe." Mr. Lyman held 
 the treaty in notorious deteilationj fo that this 
 argument was mere hypocritical canting. The 
 unanimity which he deiired and expected from a 
 production of the papers was not for the treaty, but% 
 againft it. As to impeachment, Mr. Lyman fpoke 
 not one word. Mr. Giles on the fame fide, follow- 
 ed. He did not contemplate impeachment " as the 
 cc probable ifliie, but the information might tend, 
 c perhaps, to reconcile thofe now averfe to the in- 
 " ftrunient. ?> This gentleman fpoke with as little 
 fincerity as the two former. We may obferve 
 how very foon the Madifonians began to file away 
 from their impeachment. 
 
 Mr; Murray fucceeded Mr. Giles. He oppofed 
 the refolution. ^He denied the right of the houfe 
 R> intermeddle in treaties, unlefs thefe were alled- 
 ged to be unconftitutionaL He objefled the general 
 impolicy of expofing fecrets of flate.' Mr. Murray- 
 is a moderate and fenflble fpeaker; but, with all 
 his fondnefs for fecrecy, he would Certainly have 
 voted for the refolution, if its real objecl: had beea 
 to promote tke fuccefs of the treaty. 
 
 Mr. Buck, another friend to Jay, took the fame 
 fide, " but not from an apprehenfioa that 
 
 R r 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 cc pers referred to will not bear- the public fcrutiny * 
 
 " or from a belief that there would be the lead rc- 
 
 ' luctance on the part of the executive to deliver 
 " them." Here the mil fentenceof Mr. Buck's ha- 
 rangue contained two direcl untruths. He knew that 
 the papers would not bearfcrutiny*. He knew, and 
 and fo did every perfon in the houfe, that Mr. 
 Wafhingt on would be alhamed and unwilling to give 
 them up. It was for thefe very reafons, which Mr. 
 Buck fet out with difowning, that he oppofecl the 
 refolutlon. 
 
 Thus the combatants went on. They interperfed 
 much extraneous matter, with pretended arguments 
 on each fide, which, as in the five cafes already cited, 
 the orator himfelf held in fovereign contempt, and 
 which every man who heard him knew that he de- 
 fpifed. Some fpeeches deferved a better character, 
 but the limits of this volume do not permit farther 
 criticifm. At a future time it may be convenient and 
 inftruftive to trace the obliquities of congrefFional 
 difcuffion. The pompous petulance and Ifcariot- 
 like malignity of Buckt, the plaufible fhipidity and 
 felf-important ignorance of Sedgwick, the pregnant 
 
 * Such as the two cards upon impreiTment. Supra chap. 5. t( Was 
 f -< it unknown, that tboufands of our failors have been occasionally 
 t( enflaved by the imprefs tyranny of the Britifh government ? Or, 
 t( that tkoujands have loft their lives in noxious prifons, while their 
 < veffels were carried into Britifh ports for legcd cj-udication?" Fea- 
 tures of Jay's treaty, feftion 3d. 
 
 " In all* my vaft reading," as Dr. Wagtail fays, this pamphlet, 
 both as to (tile and matter, is confiderably the bell which has ap- 
 peared either for Jay or againft him. Candid, elegant, comprehen- 
 five, and concife, its accuracy gratifies the moft informed, while its 
 perfpicuity convinces the plaincft reader. Yet Mr. Dallas has a ma- 
 terial defect. His extreme referve and delicacy are entirely caft away 
 upon fuch enemies as Wilcocks, Webfter, Curtius, and Camillus, on 
 the ftupid malignity too frequentin Mr. Fenno's Gazette, and on the 
 illiterate brutality of the Columbian Centinel. 
 
 t A ihort memoir of this gentleman, tranfmitted from Vermont? 
 has, for theprcfent volume, been laid afide. 
 
UNITED STATES. 307 
 
 vacuity, and elegant loquacity of Harper, often 
 approaching to good fenfe, yet almoft never get- 
 ting up to it, hold out prominent materials for amu- 
 fing iHuflration. But the number of refpectable 
 fpeakers was greatly fuperiorto that of luch phan- 
 toms as thefe. In general, a member ofCongrefs 
 hath fufficient prudence either to hold his tongue, 
 or to tell his fentiments in a way which does not 
 make him ridiculous. 
 
 On Thurfday, the 24th of March, 1796, a divi- 
 fion took place ifi a committee of the whole houfe 
 on this refolution to call for Jay's inftr uclions and 
 correfpondence. It pafTed by fixty-one votes againft 
 thirty-eight. This was a majority unufual on great 
 political queftions. When fome victim who has 
 been reduced to beggary by the late war, or ibme 
 French officer who neglected to call, in due time, 
 for his arrears of pay, has the weakncfs to folicit 
 Gongrefs, a negative pafTes with unanimity, or fome- 
 thing like it. But in matters of high political im- 
 port, the majority runs, for the moft part, very 
 clofe. The refolution pad in the houfe by flxty- 
 two votes againft thirty- feven. On the 2yth of 
 March, it wasprefented to the Prefident. On the 
 3oth, he fent a refufal of the papers. His meffage 
 mifquoted and perverted the requefl of the houfe 
 into a pofitive demand, and then pretended to refufc 
 what had not been afkedt. Their behaviour gave 
 Mr. Wafliington reafon to defpifethem. The de- 
 bates that lafted for eight, ten, or twenty days 
 about an anfwer to his annual ipeech dilhonoured 
 the whole body. His refufal of the inflruclions 
 was to conceal the difobedience of Jay, and his 
 own tamenefs in bearing it. 
 
 The majority of fixty-t wo ought to have received 
 the meffage with filent diidain, and prohibited their 
 
 t Sec American Annual Regifter, chap. xi,. 
 
308 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 clerk from inferring it on the journals. Without 
 oftenfible interference they could have fent to prefs 
 a copy of the inftru&ions. Thefe would have dais- 
 ted through the newfpapers with the velocity of 
 lightning. An abortive attempt to conceal this pa- 
 per muft have enfured its univerfal perufal. A vic- 
 tory to the publifhers was the natural confequence. 
 The people would have refented the difobedience 
 of Jay, the pusillanimous acquiefcence of the Prefi- 
 dent, and his ill-concerted fcheme for fupprefling in- 
 formation. While they fympathized with the af- 
 "fronted reprefentatives, a few well written efTays 
 might have matured into effe&ive fervice the germ 
 of indignation ; ar\d the treaty aud its allies had 
 funk into the dud. 
 
 But the majority poffefTed not one maa with the 
 refources, firrrmefs and activity of colonel Hamilton . 
 The party feemed fludious to diiplay more than 
 their ufual inferiority pf addrefs and boldnefs. Ne- 
 ver was a critical moment more miferably cad away. 
 Indead of a glowing declaration that they contem- 
 ned the refufal, initead of fome fpirited harangues 
 to animate their partifans without doors, thrir tre- 
 mulous and trimming meafures towards a faclion 
 whofe animofities are immortal, betrayed their to- 
 tal want of energy, depreffed their friends, encou- 
 raged their enemies, and paved the way for tfeeir 
 own approaching downfall. They did not perceive 
 that the public had become tired of thefe de- 
 bates, that farther haggling and wrangling would 
 only increafe that difguft, and raife the mefTage to 
 an unmerited importance, and that 'filent contempt 
 was the plained way to render it defpi cable. 
 
 On the 6th of April two refolutions* were brought 
 forward. The meaning of the fird was, that the 
 , if they could hold thernfelves together^ 
 
 5 See them in Bache's Debates, 'vol. i. p. 374, 
 
UNITED STATES. 309 
 
 would refufe money for fulfilling Jay's treaty. The 
 fecond implied, that when the houfo defired the ex- 
 ecutive to let them have the in (Ir nations, they were 
 not obliged to tell for what purpofe the paper was 
 wanted. Madifon explained and enforced the re- 
 folutions with that fuperior knowledge, ingenuity, 
 and eloquence, which have fo often illuftrated and 
 adorned the tranfaftions of Congrefs. Next day, 
 they were paft, ayes fifty-feven, noes thirty-five. 
 They were not worth one half cf the trouble 
 which they coft. To illuminate and brace the minds 
 of the people it would have been better to propofe 
 the ftriking twenty thoufand dollars from the preil- 
 dent's falary . Mr. Adams, as a premium for his two 
 Britifh negatives, might have been reflri&ed to 
 twelve dollars per day during the fitting of Con- 
 grefs. This is the allowance to a fpeaker of the 
 reprefentatives, a character of more real ufe, and 
 who bears more a&ual drudgery than the Senate 
 and their vice-prefident put together. Such refb- 
 lutions could not have been carried, but the bare 
 proppfal would have conveyed an important hint, 
 A contrail might have been run between an old 
 ibldier with the palfy and feven dollars and an half 
 per annum, or his widow with fix ragged children, 
 and Mrs.WaftiingtongofTipping for a whole evening 
 at the national expence,with fifty or an hundred and 
 fifty women, while fnuff-mills and fu gar- bakeries 
 were cafl idle by the approbation of her huiband. 
 
 Treaties had, within a fhort tkne, been enter- 
 ed into by the United States with Britain, with Al~ 
 giers, with Spain, and with thofe Indians whom 
 Wayne defeated at fort Miamis. On the 1 3th of 
 April, 1796, Mr. Sedgwick moved a refolution 
 that provifion fliould be made for carrying thefe 
 treaties into effeft. He meant that the houfe ought 
 to vote fums of money for that end, and his view 
 in bundling the whole four treaties into one refolu-~ 
 
gio HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tion was that they might (land or fall together, 
 Thisrefolution produced warm debates. Several 
 amendments were fug-gelled and difcuffed. Of 
 thefe a particular detail can hardly intcreil an ordi- 
 nary reader. The whole proceedings have been 
 minutely compiled by Mr. Bache, and deferve to 
 be ftudied by every future candidate for a feat in 
 Congrefs. For this place, it is enough to fet in one 
 luminous point of vi'ew the a&ual objefts of the op- 
 polite parties. The news of the Spanilh treaty had 
 been received in America with univerfal exultation. 
 it was to open the navigation of the weftern waters, 
 of which the king of Spam had hitherto been the 
 jailor. The Indian and Algerine treaties were ra- 
 ther convenient than advantageous, but as their 
 terms gave general fatisfaction, no doubt was en- 
 tertained that money would be voted to fulfil them. 
 A refufal was, of neceffity, to fubjecl: the union to 
 Immediate piracy and warfare. But it was, in all 
 refpefts, quite otherwife with the Britifh treaty. A 
 general and violent oppofltion had appeared againft 
 it. A complexity of principles ,was involved in its 
 difcuflion . Hitherto, moft reprefentatives had pro- 
 feded to diflike it, and a delay, or even a rejection, 
 could not reafonably be fwppofed to produce war, 
 when, by the conqueil of Holland, the extirpation of 
 her armies in Europe and the Weil-Indies, the fear- 
 city of money, and the difcontent of her people, 
 England was evidently daggering on the brink of 
 ruin. 
 
 The fcheme of the federal members was to blend 
 thefe negociations in one mafs. Their arguments 
 and motives, when flri.pt of the loquacious ma- 
 querads common to both parties,, might be exprei- 
 fed thus: 
 
 tc 'We have on the table before us four treaties. 
 < c Of thefe, three are equally acceptable to the wholer 
 <c houfe- but you want to Fulfil them ? and to rejeft 
 
UNITED STATES. 311 
 
 f< the fourth. We are as defirous as you can be 
 
 46 for friendfhip with Spain, and for peace with Al- 
 
 <c giers and the Indians. But our Britifh treaty, 
 
 cc that you propofe to deftroy, is of infinitely grea- 
 
 " ter importance incur eyes than all the others col- 
 
 u leclively, and the intereft and independence of our 
 
 c country into the bargain. Grenvilie has adver- 
 
 u ted to you, as American jacobins, and has aflu- 
 
 c red the toad-eating Thomas Pinckney that a Bri- 
 
 < tifli army fliall, if we requeft it, be lent over to 
 
 5-6 cvufli you. But if we reject this treaty, that aid 
 
 cc cannot be expected ; and that twilight of our po- 
 
 <c litical millenium fhall be forever extinguifhed, 
 
 cc while fo fignal a defeat on the floor ofCongrefs 
 
 ' will give a mortal blow to the power which we at 
 
 4C prefent pofTefs. Mankind will begin to think 
 
 '* and aft about us with common fenfe. They will 
 
 4C demand a publication of the books of the 'treajury* 
 
 ' They will no longer pay intereft for forty inil- 
 
 c lions of dollars of domeftic debt to creditors, till 
 
 c they (hall have learned who thefe people are ? And 
 
 c whether William Smith, or Izard, or Hillkoufe* 
 
 cc or Sedgwick, has waded fartheft into the funds? 
 
 This profpeft is terrible. To avert it we fliall 
 
 c fail or conquer by theiide of tile treaty. If that 
 
 cc cannot be carried, we fliall rejoice in blocking 
 
 c up the Miffiffippi, !n whetting the tomohawk, in 
 
 c glutting the pirates of Barbary with the plunder 
 
 cc of our commerce." 
 
 The refolution was negatived. The three trea- 
 ties were agreed to. Afecondferies of debates occur- 
 red as to the granting of money for fulfilling Jay's 
 treaty. This ended on the lirft of May, 1796. The 
 appropriations paft, in committee of the whole, by 
 the cafting vote of the chairman, Mr. Muhlenberg, 
 the votes of members being forty-eight on each 
 fide, In the houfe, this appropriation paft by fifty- 
 
HISTORY OF*THE 
 
 one votes againft forty-eight. Some even of tint 
 narrow majority, declared their entire difapproba- 
 tion of the treaty. The general zeal excited in its 
 favour, and the probability that the fix per cent, 
 citadel of Connecticut would have burft into a^ual 
 rebellion"*, were forcible reafons in favour of adop- 
 tion. The multitude and ftile of the addreffes 
 to Congrefs in its behalf were fufficient to make 
 thoughtful members doubtful as to rejecting it. Mr. 
 Muhlenberg has been highly blamed for his vote on 
 this queflion. By an uniform tenor of con duel, 
 fince 1789, he had already offended the oppofite 
 party beyond all hope of forgivenefs. But on this 
 emergency, he preferred the fecurity of internal 
 peace, even to the approbation of his confHtueitfs. 
 He had candidly dated his ideas in feveral private 
 meetings of members previous to the final vote. 
 
 The ielfion rofe on the ift of June, 1796. Bri- 
 tifli depredations diti not, as had been fondly fore- 
 told, ccafe after the appropriations had pad for the 
 treaty. As one of its confequences the French be- 
 gan fcon after to difturb our trade. The weftern 
 pofts were, however, delivered up. The general 
 election for Congrefs, and that for aPrefident, the 
 difference between the French minifler and the Ame- 
 rican executive, were among the chief events 
 which occurred till the next meeting of Congrefs, 
 which was on the 5th of December 1796. 
 
 * Supra, chap. 2d. See alfo, the fpirit of fome people in thatftate, 
 in the American Annual Regifter, chap. 6th. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 On p. 1 64, third line from the bottom> read " the American 
 
 monied inter*, ft.", In the note on page 232, eleventh line from the 
 
 bottom, read " A minority declined to pafs an afi for tfa calling of a 
 
 " cortwentux) in 6rder to its acceptance," &c. On page 26o ; third 
 
 line from the bottom, read '* amounted, in 1794* to," c. 
 

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