CHAPTER III.

Genet recalled.... Is succeeded by Mr. Fauchet....

Gouverneur Morris recalled, and is succeeded by Mr.

Monroe.... Kentucky remonstrance.... Intemperate resolutions

of the people of that state.... General Wayne defeats the

Indians on the Miamis.... Insurrection in the western parts

of Pennsylvania.... Quelled by the prompt and vigorous

measures of the government.... Meeting of Congress....

President's speech.... Democratic societies.... Resignation

of Colonel Hamilton.... Is succeeded by Mr. Wolcott....

Resignation of General Knox.... Is succeeded by Colonel

Pickering.... Treaty between the United States and Great

Britain.... Conditionally ratified by the President.... The

treaty unpopular.... Mr. Randolph resigns.... Is succeeded

by Colonel Pickering.... Colonel M'Henry appointed secretary

of war.... Charge against the President rejected..... Treaty

with the Indians north-west of the Ohio.... With Algiers....

With Spain.... Meeting of Congress.... President's

speech.... Mr. Adet succeeds Mr. Fauchet..... The house of

representatives call upon the President for papers relating

to the treaty with Great Britain.... He declines sending

them.... Debates upon the treaty making power.... Upon the

bill for making appropriations to carry into execution the

treaty with Great Britain.... Congress adjourns.... The

President endeavours to procure the liberation of Lafayette.

{1794}

That the most material of those legislative measures on which the two

great parties of the United States were divided, might be presented in

one unbroken view, some transactions have been passed over, which will

now be noticed.

In that spirit of conciliation, which adopts the least irritating

means for effecting its objects, the President had resolved to bear

with the insults, the resistance, and the open defiance of Mr. Genet,

until his appeal to the friendship and the policy of the French

republic should be fairly tried. Early in January, this resolution was

shaken, by fresh proofs of the perseverance of that minister, in a

line of conduct, not to be tolerated by a nation, which has not

surrendered all pretensions to self government. Mr. Genet had

meditated, and deliberately planned, two expeditions to be carried on

from the territories of the United States, against the dominions of

Spain; and had, as minister of the French republic, granted

commissions to citizens of the United States, who were privately

recruiting troops for the proposed service. The first was destined

against the Floridas, and the second against Louisiana. The detail of

the plans had been settled. The pay, rations, clothing, plunder, and

division of the conquered lands to be allotted to the military; and

the proportion of the acquisitions to be reserved to the republic of

France, were arranged. The troops destined to act against the Floridas

were to be raised in the three southern states, were to rendezvous in

Georgia, were to be aided by a body of Indians and were to co-operate

with the French fleet, should one arrive on the coast. This scheme had

been the subject of a correspondence between the executive and Mr.

Genet, but was in full progress in the preceding December, when by the

vigilance of the legislature of South Carolina, it was more

particularly developed, and some of the principal agents were

arrested.

About the same time, intelligence less authentic, but wearing every

circumstance of probability, was received, stating that the expedition

against Louisiana, which was to be carried on down the Ohio from

Kentucky, was in equal maturity.

[Sidenote: Genet recalled.]

This intelligence seemed to render a further forbearance incompatible

with the dignity, perhaps with the safety of the United States. The

question of superseding the diplomatic functions of Mr. Genet, and

depriving him of the privileges attached to that character, was

brought before the cabinet; and a message to congress was prepared,

communicating these transactions, and avowing a determination to adopt

that measure within ---- days, unless, in the mean time, one or the

other house should signify the opinion that it was not adviseable so

to do. In this state, the business was arrested by receiving a letter

from Mr. Morris, announcing, officially, the recall of this rash

minister.

[Sidenote: Is succeeded by Mr. Fauchet.]

Mr. Fauchet, the successor of Mr. Genet, arrived in February, and

brought with him strong assurances that his government totally

disapproved the conduct of his predecessor. He avowed a determination

to avoid whatever might be offensive to those to whom he was deputed,

and a wish to carry into full effect the friendly dispositions of his

nation towards the United States. For some time, his actions were in

the spirit of these professions.

[Sidenote: Gouverneur Morris is recalled and is succeed by Mr.

Monroe.]

Not long after the arrival of Mr. Fauchet, the executive government of

France requested the recall of Mr. Morris. With this request the

president immediately complied; and Mr. Monroe, a senator from

Virginia, who had embraced with ardour the cause of the French

republic, and was particularly acceptable to the party in opposition,

was appointed to succeed him.

The discontents which had been long fomented in the western country,

had assumed a serious and alarming appearance.

[Sidenote: Kentucky remonstrance.]

A remonstrance to the President and congress of the United States from

the inhabitants of Kentucky, respecting the navigation of the

Mississippi, was laid before the executive, and each branch of the

legislature. The style of this paper accorded well with the

instructions under which it had been prepared.

In the language of an offended sovereign people, injured by the

maladministration of public servants, it demanded the use of the

Mississippi as a natural right which had been unjustly withheld; and

charged the government, openly, with being under the influence of a

local policy, which had prevented its making one single real effort

for the security of a good which was all essential to the prosperity

of the western people. Several intemperate aspersions upon the

legislative and executive departments, accompanied with complaints

that the course of the negotiations had not been communicated to those

who were interested in the event, and with threats obviously pointing

to dismemberment, were concluded with a declaration that nothing would

remunerate the western people for the suspension of this great

territorial right; that they must possess it; that the god of nature

had given them the means of acquiring and enjoying it; and that to

permit a sacrifice of it to any other considerations, would be a crime

against themselves and their posterity.

In the senate, the subject was referred to a committee, who reported,

"that in the negotiation now carrying on at Madrid between the United

States and Spain, the right of the former to the free navigation of

the Mississippi is well asserted and demonstrated, and their claim to

its enjoyment is pursued with all the assiduity and firmness which the

magnitude of the subject demands; and will doubtless continue to be so

pursued until the object shall be obtained, or adverse circumstances

shall render the further progress of the negotiation impracticable.

That in the present state of the business, it would be improper for

congress to interfere. But in order to satisfy the citizens of the

United States more immediately interested in the event of this

negotiation, that the United States have uniformly asserted their

right to the free use of the navigation of the river Mississippi, and

have employed and will continue to pursue such measures as are best

adapted to obtain the enjoyment of this important territorial right,

the committee recommend that it be resolved by the senate--

"That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is

requested to cause to be communicated to the executive of the state of

Kentucky,[22] such part of the existing negotiation between the United

States and Spain relative to this subject, as he may deem adviseable,

and consistent with the course of the negotiation."

[Footnote 22: Two months previous to the passage of this

resolution, the secretary of state had, by direction of the

President, given the governor the most solemn assurances on

this point.]

In the house of representatives also, a resolution was passed,

expressing the conviction of the house, that the executive was urging

the claim of the United States to the navigation of the Mississippi,

in the manner most likely to prove successful.

Had the measures pursued in the western country been dictated,

exclusively, by a wish to obtain an important good, these resolutions

would have allayed the ferment which had been excited. The effect

which must be produced on Spain by the insinuation that the

continuance of their connexion with the Atlantic states depended on

obtaining the object they sought, was too apparent to escape the

notice of men endowed with an ordinary share of intelligence. But when

the real motives for human action are latent, it is vain to

demonstrate the unreasonableness of those which are avowed.

After the reception of these resolutions, a number of the principal

citizens from various parts of Kentucky assembled at Lexington, and

among many intemperate resolutions passed the following:

[Sidenote: Intemperate resolutions of the people of that state.]

"That the general government whose duty it was to put us in possession

of this right (the navigation of the Mississippi) have, either through

design or mistaken policy, adopted no effectual measures for its

attainment.

"That even the measures they have adopted, have been uniformly

concealed from us, and veiled in mysterious secrecy.

"That civil liberty is prostituted, when the servants of the people

are suffered to tell their masters, that communications which they may

judge important ought not to be intrusted to them."

These resolutions concluded with a recommendation of county meetings,

of county committees of correspondence, and of a convention when it

might be judged expedient, to deliberate on the proper steps for the

attainment and security of their just rights.

To estimate these resolutions accurately, it will be necessary to view

in connexion with them, the military preparations which were making in

that country, under the authority of France.

In October, 1793, it was alleged by the Spanish commissioners, that

four Frenchmen had left Philadelphia, empowered by the minister of the

French republic to prepare an expedition, in Kentucky, against New

Orleans. This fact was immediately communicated by Mr. Jefferson to

the governor of that state, with a request that he would use those

means of prevention which the law enabled him to employ. Binding to

good behaviour was particularly recommended. This letter was

accompanied by one from the secretary of war, conveying the request of

the President, that, if preventive means should fail, effectual

military force should be employed to arrest the expedition; and

General Wayne was ordered to hold a body of troops at the disposal of

the governor, should he find the militia insufficient for his purpose.

The governor had already received information, that a citizen of

Kentucky was in possession of a commission appointing him

Commander-in-chief of the proposed expedition; and that the Frenchmen

alluded to in the letter of Mr. Jefferson, had arrived, and, far from

affecting concealment declared, that they only waited for money which

they expected soon to receive, in order to commence their operations.

The following extract of a letter from the governor, on this subject,

exhibits a curious specimen of the conclusions to which gentlemen were

conducted by the course of political reasoning which prevailed at the

day.

After stating the facts above alluded to, he says, "I have great

doubts, even if they do attempt to carry their plan into execution,

(provided they manage their business with prudence,) whether there is

any legal authority to restrain or punish them, at least before they

have actually accomplished it. For if it is lawful for any one citizen

of this state to leave it, it is equally so for any number of them to

do it. It is also lawful to carry with them any quantity of

provisions, arms, and ammunition; and if the act is lawful in itself,

there is nothing but the particular intention with which it is done

that can possibly make it unlawful. But I know of no law which

inflicts a punishment on intention only; or any criterion by which to

decide what would be sufficient evidence of that intention, if it was

a proper subject for legal censure.

"I shall, upon all occasions, be averse to the exercise of any power

which I do not consider myself as clearly and explicitly invested

with, much less would I assume power to exercise it against men whom I

consider as friends and brethren, in favour of a man whom I view as an

enemy and a tyrant. I shall also feel but little inclination to take

an active part in punishing or restraining any of my fellow citizens

for a supposed intrusion only, to gratify or remove the fears of the

minister or a prince who openly withholds from us an invaluable right,

and who secretly instigates against us a most savage and cruel enemy."

Upon the receipt of this extraordinary letter, the President directed

General Wayne to establish a military post at Fort Massac, on the

Ohio, for the purpose of stopping by force, if peaceful means should

fail, any body of armed men who should be proceeding down that river.

This precaution appears to have been necessary. The preparations for

the expedition were, for some time, carried on with considerable

activity; and there is reason to believe that it was not absolutely

relinquished, until Spain ceased to be the enemy of France.[23]

[Footnote 23: Intercepted letters were laid before the

President, showing that this expedition had been

communicated to some members of the national convention and

approved. It was stated that Mr. Genet, with the rank of

major general, was to be Commander-in-chief of all forces

raised on the American continent, and to direct their

movements.]

The proceedings of the legislature of South Carolina embarrassed those

who had planned the invasion of the Floridas, but did not entirely

disconcert them. In April, a French sloop of war arrived on the

confines of Georgia and East Florida, with a small body of troops, who

were landed on one of the islands on the coast, south of the St. Mary,

and who declared themselves to be part of a larger force, which might

soon be expected. Upon their arrival, several small corps of Americans

who had engaged to serve the republic of France, assembled in Georgia,

for the purpose, as was universally understood, of co-operating with

the French against the neighbouring dominions of Spain.

The interposition of government, and the inadequacy of the force to

the object, disconcerted this expedition. Its leader conducted his

followers into the Indian country, and endeavoured to make a

settlement on their hunting grounds.

While these turbulent scenes were acting, the loud plaudits of France,

which were dictated by a passionate devotion to that country, were

reechoed from every part of the American continent. The friendship of

that republic for the United States, her respect for their rights, the

ingratitude with which her continuing benefits were repaid, the

injustice done her by the executive, its tameness under British

insults, were the inexhaustible themes of loud, angry, and unceasing

declamation. It required a firmness of mind, and a weight of character

possessed only by the chief magistrate, to maintain the ground he had

taken, against such an assemblage of passions and of prejudices.

It will be recollected that in the preceding year, the attempt to

treat with the hostile Indians had suspended the operations of General

Wayne until the season for action had nearly passed away. After the

total failure of negotiation, the campaign was opened with as much

vigour as a prudent attention to circumstances would permit.

The Indians had expected an attempt upon their villages, and had

collected in full force, with the apparent determination of risking a

battle in their defence. A battle was desired by the American general;

but the consequences of another defeat were too serious to warrant him

in putting more to hazard by precipitate movements, than the

circumstances of the war required. The negotiations with the Indians

were not terminated till September, and it was then too late to

complete the preparations which would enable General Wayne to enter

their country and to hold it. He, therefore, contented himself with

collecting his army and penetrating about six miles in advance of Fort

Jefferson into the uninhabited country, where he established himself

for the winter, in a camp called Greensville. After fortifying his

camp, he took possession of the ground on which the Americans had been

defeated in 1791, where he erected Fort Recovery. These positions

afforded considerable protection to the frontiers, and facilitated the

opening of the ensuing campaign.

Seeing only the dark side of every measure adopted by the government,

and not disinclined to militia expeditions made at the expense of the

United States, the people of Kentucky loudly charged the President

with a total disregard of their safety, pronounced the continental

troops entirely useless, declared that the Indians were to be kept in

awe alone by militia, and insisted that the power should be deposited

with some person in their state, to call them out at his discretion,

at the charge of the United States.

Meanwhile, some steps were taken by the governor of Upper Canada which

were well calculated to increase suspicions respecting the

dispositions of Great Britain.

It was believed by the President, not without cause,[24] that the

cabinet of London was disposed to avail itself of the non-execution of

that article of the treaty of peace, which stipulates for the payment

of debts, to justify a permanent detention of the posts on the

southern side of the great lakes, and to establish a new boundary

line, whereby those lakes should be entirely comprehended in Upper

Canada. Early in the spring, a detachment from the garrison of Detroit

repossessed and fortified a position near fifty miles south of that

station, on the Miamis of the lakes, a river which empties into Lake

Erie at its westernmost point.

[Footnote 24: See note No. IX. at the end of the volume.]

This movement, the speech of Lord Dorchester, and other facts which

strengthened the belief that the hostile Indians were at least

countenanced by the English, were the subjects of a correspondence

between the secretary of state and Mr. Hammond, in which crimination

was answered by recrimination, in which a considerable degree of

mutual irritation was displayed, and in which each supported his

charges against the nation of the other, much better than he defended

his own. It did not, however, in any manner, affect the operations of

the army.

The delays inseparable from the transportation of necessary supplies

through an uninhabited country, infested by an active enemy peculiarly

skilled in partisan war, unavoidably protracted the opening of the

campaign until near midsummer. Meanwhile, several sharp skirmishes

took place, in one of which a few white men were stated to be mingled

with the Indians.

On the 8th of August, General Wayne reached the confluence of the Au

Glaize and the Miamis of the lakes, where he threw up some works of

defence, and protection for magazines. The richest and most extensive

settlements of the western Indians lay about this place.

The mouth of the Au Glaize is distant about thirty miles from the post

occupied by the British on the Miamis of the lakes, in the vicinity of

which the whole strength of the enemy, amounting, according to

intelligence on which General Wayne relied, to rather less than two

thousand men, was collected. The continental legion was not much

inferior in number to the Indians: and a reinforcement of about eleven

hundred mounted militia from Kentucky, commanded by General Scott,

gave a decided superiority of strength to the army of Wayne. That the

Indians had determined to give him battle was well understood; and the

discipline of his legion, the ardour of all his troops, and the

superiority of his numbers, authorized him confidently to expect a

favourable issue. Yet, in pursuance of that policy by which the United

States had been uniformly actuated, he determined to make one more

effort for the attainment of peace without bloodshed. Messengers were

despatched to the several hostile tribes who were assembled in his

front, inviting them to appoint deputies to meet him on his march, in

order to negotiate a lasting peace.

On the 15th of August, the American army advanced down the Miamis,

with its right covered by that river; and on the 18th, arrived at the

rapids. Here they halted on the 19th, in order to erect a temporary

work for the protection of the baggage, and to reconnoitre the

situation of the enemy.

The Indians were advantageously posted behind a thick wood, and behind

the British fort.

[Sidenote: General Wayne defeats the Indians at the Miamis.]

At eight in the morning of the 20th, the American army advanced in

columns: the legion with its right flank covered by the Miamis: One

brigade of mounted volunteers commanded by General Todd was on the

left; and the other under General Barbee was in the rear. A select

battalion, commanded by Major Price, moved in front of the legion,

sufficiently in advance to give timely notice for the troops to form

in case of action.[25]

[Footnote 25: An evasive answer having been returned to the

pacific overture made from the Au Glaize, General Wayne was

uncertain whether the Indians had decided for peace or war.]

After marching about five miles, Major Price received a heavy fire

from a concealed enemy, and was compelled to retreat.

The Indians had chosen their ground with judgment. They had advanced

into the thick wood in front of the British works which extends

several miles west from the Miamis, and had taken a position, rendered

almost inaccessible to horse by a quantity of fallen timber which

appeared to have been blown up in a tornado. They were formed in three

lines, within supporting distance of each other; and, as is their

custom, with a very extended front. Their line stretched to the west,

at right angles with the river, about two miles; and their immediate

effort was to turn the left flank of the American army.

On the discharge of the first rifle, the legion was formed in two

lines, and the front was ordered to advance with trailed arms, and

rouse the enemy from his covert at the point of the bayonet; then, and

not until then, to deliver a fire, and to press the fugitives too

closely to allow them time to load after discharging their pieces.

Soon perceiving the strength of the enemy in front, and that he was

endeavouring to turn the American left, the general ordered the second

line to support the first. The legion cavalry, led by Captain

Campbell, was directed to penetrate between the Indians and the river,

where the wood was less thick and entangled, in order to charge their

left flank; and General Scott, at the head of the mounted volunteers,

was directed to make a considerable circuit, and to turn their right

flank.

These orders were executed with spirit and promptitude; but such was

the impetuosity of the charge made by the first line of infantry, so

entirely was the enemy broken by it, and so rapid was the pursuit,

that only a small part of the second line and of the mounted

volunteers could get into the action. In the course of one hour, the

Indians were driven more than two miles, through thick woods; when the

pursuit terminated within gun shot of the British fort.

General Wayne remained three days on the banks of the Miamis, in front

of the field of battle, during which time the houses and cornfields

above and below the fort, some of them within pistol shot of it, were

reduced to ashes. During these operations, a correspondence took place

between General Wayne and Major Campbell, the commandant of the fort,

which is stated by the former in such a manner as to show, that

hostilities between them were avoided only by the prudent acquiescence

of the latter in this devastation of property within the range of his

guns.

On the 28th, the army returned to Au Glaize by easy marches,

destroying on its route all the villages and corn within fifty miles

of the river.

In this decisive battle, the loss of the Americans, in killed and

wounded, amounted to one hundred and seven, including officers. Among

the dead was Captain Campbell, who commanded the cavalry, and

Lieutenant Towles of the infantry, both of whom fell in the first

charge. General Wayne bestowed great and well merited praise on the

courage and alacrity displayed by every part of the army.

The hostility of the Indians still continuing, their whole country was

laid waste, and forts were erected in the heart of their settlements,

to prevent their return.

This seasonable victory rescued the United States from a general war

with all the Indians north-west of the Ohio. The Six Nations had

discovered a restless uneasy temper; and the interposition of the

President, to prevent a settlement which Pennsylvania was about to

make at Presqueisle, seemed rather to suspend the commencement of

hostilities, than to establish permanent pacific dispositions among

those tribes. The battle of the 20th of August, however, had an

immediate effect; and the clouds which had been long gathering in that

quarter, were instantly dissipated.

In the south too, its influence was felt. In that quarter, the

inhabitants of Georgia and the Indians seemed equally disposed to war.

Scarcely was the feeble authority of the government competent to

restrain the aggressions of the former, or the dread of its force

sufficient to repress those of the latter. In this doubtful state of

things, the effect of a victory could not be inconsiderable.

About this time, the seditious and violent resistance to the execution

of the law imposing duties on spirits distilled within the United

States, had advanced to a point in the counties of Pennsylvania lying

west of the Alleghany mountains, which required the decisive

interposition of government.

[Sidenote: Insurrection in the Western parts of Pennsylvania.]

Notwithstanding the multiplied outrages committed on the persons and

property of the revenue officers, and of those who seemed willing to

submit to the law, yet, in consequence of a steady adherence to the

system of counteraction adopted by the executive, it was visibly

gaining ground, and several distillers in the disaffected country were

induced to comply with its requisites. The opinion, that the

persevering efforts of the administration would ultimately prevail,

derived additional support from the passage of an act by the present

congress, containing those provisions which had been suggested by the

chief of the treasury department. The progress of this bill, which

became a law on the fifth of June, could not have been unknown to the

malcontents, nor could its probable operation have been misunderstood.

They perceived that the certain loss of a market for the article,

added to the penalties to which delinquents were liable, might

gradually induce a compliance on the part of distillers, unless they

could, by a systematic and organized opposition, deprive the

government of the means it employed for carrying the law into

execution.

On the part of the executive, this open defiance of the laws, and of

the authority of the government, was believed imperiously to require,

that the strength and efficacy of those laws should be tried. Against

the perpetrators of some of the outrages which had been committed,

bills of indictment had been found in a court of the United States,

upon which process was directed to issue; and at the same time,

process was also issued against a great number of non-complying

distillers.

The marshal repaired in person to the country which was the scene of

these disorders, for the purpose of serving the processes. On the 15th

of July, while in the execution of his duty, he was beset on the road

by a body of armed men, who fired on him, but fortunately did him no

personal injury. At daybreak, the ensuing morning, a party attacked

the house of General Nevil, the inspector; but he defended himself

resolutely, and obliged the assailants to retreat.

Knowing well that this attack had been preconcerted, and apprehending

that it would be repeated, he applied to the militia officers and

magistrates of the county for protection. The answer was, that "owing

to the too general combination of the people to oppose the revenue

system, the laws could not be executed so as to afford him protection:

that should the _posse comitatus_ be ordered out to support the civil

authority, they would favour the party of the rioters."

On the succeeding day, the insurgents re-assembled to the number of

about five hundred, to renew their attack on the house of the

inspector. That officer, finding that no protection could be afforded

by the civil authority, had applied to the commanding officer at Fort

Pitt, and had obtained a detachment of eleven men from that garrison,

who were joined by Major Kirkpatrick. Successful resistance to so

great a force being obviously impracticable, a parley took place, at

which the assailants, after requiring that the inspector[26] and all

his papers should be delivered up, demanded that the party in the

house should march out and ground their arms. This being refused, the

parley terminated, and the assault commenced. The action lasted until

the assailants set fire to several adjacent buildings, the heat from

which was so intense that the house could no longer be occupied. From

this cause, and from the apprehension that the fire would soon be

communicated to the main building, Major Kirkpatrick and his party

surrendered themselves.

[Footnote 26: The inspector had left the house and secreted

himself. The demand of the papers was acceded to.]

The marshal and Colonel Pressly Nevil were seized on their way to

General Nevil's house, and detained until two the next morning. The

marshal, especially, was treated with extreme rudeness. His life was

frequently threatened, and was probably saved by the interposition of

some leading individuals who possessed more humanity, or more

prudence, than those with whom they were associated. He could obtain

his liberty only by entering into a solemn engagement, which was

guaranteed by Colonel Nevil, to serve no more process on the western

side of the Alleghany mountains.

The marshal and inspector having both retired to Pittsburg, the

insurgents deputed two of their body, one of whom was a justice of the

peace, to demand that the former should surrender all his process, and

that the latter should resign his office; threatening, in case of

refusal, to attack the place, and seize their persons. These demands

were not acceded to; but Pittsburg affording no security, these

officers escaped from the danger which threatened them, by descending

the Ohio; after which, they found their way by a circuitous route to

the seat of government.

The perpetrators of these treasonable practices, being desirous to

ascertain their strength, and to discover any latent enemies who might

remain unsuspected in the bosom of the disaffected country, despatched

a party which stopped the mail from Pittsburg to Philadelphia, cut it

open, and took out the letters which it contained. In some of these

letters, a direct disapprobation of the violent measures which had

been adopted was avowed; and in others, expressions were used which

indicated unfriendly dispositions towards them. Upon acquiring this

intelligence, delegates were deputed from the town of Washington to

Pittsburg, where the writers of the offensive letters resided, to

demand the banishment of the offenders. A prompt obedience to this

demand was unavoidable; and the inhabitants of Pittsburg, who were

convened on the occasion, engaged to attend a general meeting of the

people, who were to assemble the next day in Braddock's field, in

order to carry into effect such further measures as might be deemed

adviseable with respect to the excise and its friends. They also

determined to elect delegates to a convention which was to meet, on

the 14th of August, at Parkinson's ferry. The avowed motives to these

outrages were to compel the resignation of all officers engaged in the

collection of the duties on distilled spirits; to withstand by force

of arms the authority of the United States; and thereby to extort a

repeal of the law imposing those duties, and an alteration in the

conduct of government.

Affidavits attesting this serious state of things were laid before the

President.

The opposition had now reached to a point which seemed to forbid the

continuance of a temporizing system. The efforts at conciliation,

which, for more than three years, the government had persisted to

make, and the alterations repeatedly introduced into the act for the

purpose of rendering it less exceptionable, instead of diminishing the

arrogance of those who opposed their will to the sense of the nation,

had drawn forth sentiments indicative of designs much deeper than the

evasion of a single act. The execution of the laws had at length been

resisted by open force, and a determination to persevere in these

measures was unequivocally avowed. The alternative of subduing this

resistance, or of submitting to it was presented to the government.

The act of congress which provided for calling forth the militia "to

execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel

invasions," required as a pre-requisite to the exercise of this power,

"that an associate justice, or the judge of the district, should

certify that the laws of the United States were opposed, or their

execution obstructed, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by

the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested

in the marshals." In the same act it was provided, "that if the

militia of the state, where such combinations may happen, shall

refuse, or be insufficient, to suppress the same, the President may

employ the militia of other states."

The evidence which had been transmitted to the President was laid

before one of the associate justices, who gave the certificate, which

enabled the chief magistrate to employ the militia in aid of the civil

power.

The executive being now authorized to adopt such measures as the

crisis might require, the subject was again seriously considered in

the cabinet; and the governor of Pennsylvania was also consulted

respecting it. To avoid military coercion, if obedience to the laws

could be produced by other means, was the universal wish; and

therefore, all concurred in advising the appointment of commissioners

from the governments of both the union, and the state, who should warn

the deluded insurgents of the impending danger, and should convey a

full pardon for past offences, upon the condition of future

submission. But, respecting ulterior and eventual measures, a

difference of opinion prevailed. The act already mentioned, made it

the duty of the President, previous to the employment of military

force, to issue his proclamation, commanding the insurgents to

disperse within a limited time. The secretary of state (and the

governor of Pennsylvania is understood to have concurred with him) was

of opinion, that this conciliatory mission should be unaccompanied by

any measure which might wear the appearance of coercion. He was

alarmed at the strength of the insurgents, at their connexion with

other parts of the country, at the extensive-ness of the prevailing

discontents with the administration, and at the difficulty and expense

of bringing the militia into the field. The governor of Pennsylvania

having declared his opinion, that the militia of that state, who could

be drawn forth, would be incompetent to enforce obedience, the aid of

the neighbouring states would consequently be necessary. The secretary

of state feared that the militia of the neighbouring states would

refuse to march; and that, should he be mistaken in this, their

compliance with the orders of the executive might be not less fatal

than their disobedience. The introduction of a foreign militia into

Pennsylvania might greatly increase the discontents prevailing in that

state. His apprehensions of a failure, in the attempt to restore

tranquillity by coercive means, were extreme; and the tremendous

consequences of a failure were strongly depicted. From the highly

inflamed state of parties, he anticipated a civil war, which would

pervade the whole union, and drench every part of it with the blood of

American citizens.

The secretary of the treasury, the secretary of war, and the attorney

general, were of opinion that the President was bound by the most high

and solemn obligations to employ the force which the legislature had

placed at his disposal, for the suppression of a criminal and

unprovoked insurrection. The case contemplated by congress had clearly

occurred; and the President was urged by considerations the most

awful, to perform the duty imposed on him by the constitution, of

providing "that the laws be faithfully executed." The long forbearance

of government, and its patient endeavours to recall the deluded people

to a sense of their duty and interest by appeals to their reason, had

produced only increase of violence, and a more determined opposition.

Perseverance in that system could only give a more extensive range to

disaffection, and multiply the dangers resulting from it.

Those who were of opinion that the occasion demanded a full trial of

the ability of the government to enforce obedience to the laws, were

also of opinion, that policy and humanity equally dictated the

employment of a force which would render resistance desperate. The

insurgent country contained sixteen thousand men able to bear arms;

and the computation was, that they could bring seven thousand into the

field. If the army of the government should amount to twelve thousand

men, it would present an imposing force which the insurgents would not

venture to meet.

It was impossible that the President could hesitate to embrace the

latter of these opinions. That a government entrusted to him should be

trampled under foot by a lawless section of the union, which set at

defiance the will of the nation, as expressed by its representatives,

was an abasement to which neither his judgment nor his feelings could

submit. He resolved, therefore, to issue the proclamation, which, by

law, was to precede the employment of force.

On the same day, a requisition was made on the governors of New

Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, for their several quotas

of militia to compose an army of twelve thousand[27] men; who were to

be immediately organized, and prepared to march at a minute's warning.

[Footnote 27: This requisition was afterwards augmented to

fifteen thousand.]

While steps were taking to bring this force into the field, a last

essay was made to render its employment unnecessary. Three

distinguished and popular citizens of Pennsylvania were deputed by the

government to be the bearers of a general amnesty for past offences,

on the sole condition of future obedience to the laws.

It having been deemed adviseable that the executive of the state

should act in concert with that of the United States, Governor Mifflin

also issued a proclamation, and appointed commissioners to act with

those of the general government.

Meanwhile, the insurgents omitted nothing which might enlarge the

circle of disaffection. Attempts were made to embark the adjacent

counties of Virginia in their cause, and their violence was extended

to Morgantown, at which place an inspector resided, who saved himself

by flight, and protected his property by advertising on his own door

that he had resigned his office. They also made similar excursions

into the contiguous counties of Pennsylvania, lying east of the

Alleghany mountains, where numbers were ready to join them. These

deluded men, giving too much faith to the publications of democratic

societies, and to the furious sentiments of general hostility to the

administration, and particularly to the internal taxes, with which the

papers in the opposition abounded, seem to have entertained the

opinion, that the great body of the people were ready to take up arms

against their government, and that the resistance commenced by them

would spread throughout the union, and terminate in a revolution.

The convention at Parkinson's ferry had appointed a committee of

safety consisting of sixty members, who chose fifteen of their body to

confer with the commissioners of the United States, and of the state

of Pennsylvania. This committee of conference was not empowered to

conclude on any thing. They could only receive and report the

propositions which might be made to them.

Men of property and intelligence, who had contributed to kindle the

flame under the common error of being able to regulate its heat, now

trembled at the extent of the conflagration. It had passed the limits

they had assigned to it, and was no longer subject to their control.

The committee of conference expressed themselves unanimously in favour

of accepting the terms offered by the government, and exerted

themselves in the committee of safety to obtain a decision to the same

effect. In that committee, the question whether they would submit

peaceably to the execution of the law, retaining expressly the

privilege of using all constitutional means to effect its repeal, was

debated with great zeal. The less violent party carried it by a small

majority; but, not thinking themselves authorized to decide for their

constituents on so momentous a question, they afterwards resolved that

it should be referred to the people.

This reference resulted in demonstrating that, though many were

disposed to demean themselves peaceably, yet a vast mass of opposition

remained, determined to obstruct the re-establishment of civil

authority.

From some causes, among which was disaffection to the particular

service, the prospect of bringing the quota of troops required from

Pennsylvania into the field, was at first unpromising. But the

assembly, which had been summoned by the governor to meet on the first

of September, expressed in strong terms its abhorrence of this daring

attempt to resist the laws, and to subvert the government of the

country; and a degree of ardour and unanimity was displayed by the

people of other states, which exceeded the hopes of the most sanguine

friends of the administration. Some feeble attempts were indeed made

to produce a disobedience to the requisition of the President, by

declaring that the people would never be made the instruments of the

secretary of the treasury to shed the blood of their fellow citizens;

that the representatives of the people ought to be assembled before a

civil war was commenced; and by avowing the extravagant opinion that

the President could not lawfully call forth the militia of any other

state, until actual experiment had ascertained the insufficiency of

that of Pennsylvania. But these insidious suggestions were silenced by

the general sense of the nation, which loudly and strongly proclaimed

that the government and laws must be supported. The officers displayed

an unexampled activity; and intelligence from every quarter gave full

assurance that, with respect to both numbers and time, the

requisitions of the President would be punctually observed.

The governor of Pennsylvania compensated for the defects in the

militia law of that state by his personal exertions. From some

inadvertence, as was said, on the part of the brigade inspectors, the

militia could not be drafted, and consequently the quota of

Pennsylvania could be completed only by volunteers. The governor, who

was endowed with a high degree of popular elocution, made a circuit

through the lower counties of the state, and publicly addressed the

militia, at different places where he had caused them to be assembled,

on the crisis in the affairs of their country. So successful were

these animating exhortations, that Pennsylvania was not behind her

sister states in furnishing the quota required from her.

On the 25th of September, the President issued a second proclamation,

describing in terms of great energy the obstinate and perverse spirit

with which the lenient propositions of the government had been

received; and declaring his fixed determination, in obedience to the

high and irresistible duty consigned to him by the constitution, "to

take care that the laws be faithfully executed," to reduce the

refractory to obedience.

The troops of New Jersey and Pennsylvania were directed to rendezvous

at Bedford, and those of Maryland and Virginia at Cumberland, on the

Potomac.[28] The command of the expedition had been conferred on

Governor Lee of Virginia; and the governors of New Jersey and

Pennsylvania commanded the militia of their respective states under

him.

[Footnote 28: The spirit of disaffection was rapidly

spreading, and had it not been checked by this vigorous

exertion of the powers of the government, it would be

difficult to say what might have been its extent. Even while

the militia were assembling, it broke out in more than one

county in Pennsylvania, and showed itself in a part of

Maryland.]

The President, in person, visited each division of the army; but,

being confident that the force employed must look down all resistance,

he left the secretary of the treasury to accompany it, and returned

himself to Philadelphia, where the approaching session of congress

required his presence.

[Sidenote: Quelled by the prompt and vigorous measures of the

government.]

From Cumberland and Bedford, the army marched in two divisions into

the country of the insurgents. The greatness of the force prevented

the effusion of blood. The disaffected did not venture to assemble in

arms. Several of the leaders who had refused to give assurances of

future submission to the laws were seized, and some of them detained

for legal prosecution.

But although no direct and open opposition was made, the spirit of

insurrection was not subdued. A sour and malignant temper displayed

itself, which indicated, but too plainly, that the disposition to

resist had only sunk under the pressure of the great military force

brought into the country, but would rise again should that force be

withdrawn. It was, therefore, thought adviseable to station for the

winter, a detachment to be commanded by Major General Morgan, in the

centre of the disaffected country.

Thus, without shedding a drop of blood, did the prudent vigour of the

executive terminate an insurrection, which, at one time, threatened to

shake the government of the United States to its foundation. That so

perverse a spirit should have been excited in the bosom of prosperity,

without the pressure of a single grievance, is among those political

phenomena which occur not unfrequently in the course of human affairs,

and which the statesman can never safely disregard. When real ills are

felt, there is something positive and perceptible to which the

judgment may be directed, the actual extent of which may be

ascertained, and the cause of which may be discerned. But when the

mind, inflamed by supposititious dangers, gives a full loose to the

imagination, and fastens upon some object with which to disturb

itself, the belief that the danger exists seems to become a matter of

faith, with which reason combats in vain. Under a government emanating

entirely from the people, and with an administration whose sole object

was their happiness, the public mind was violently agitated with

apprehensions of a powerful and secret combination against liberty,

which was to discover itself by the total overthrow of the republican

system. That those who were charged with these designs were as

destitute of the means, as of the will to effect them, did not shake

the firm belief of their existence. Disregarding the apparent

partiality of the administration for France, so far as that partiality

was compatible with an honest neutrality, the zealots of the day

ascribed its incessant labours for the preservation of peace, to a

temper hostile to the French republic; and, while themselves loudly

imprecating the vengeance of heaven and earth on one of the

belligerents, and openly rejoicing in the victories of the other;

while impetuously rushing into a war with Britain, and pressing

measures which would render accommodation impracticable; they

attributed a system calculated to check them in this furious career,

not to that genuine American spirit which produced it, but to an

influence which, so far as opinions are to depend on facts, has at no

time insinuated itself into the councils of the United States.

In popular governments, the resentments, the suspicions, and the

disgusts, produced in the legislature by warm debate, and the chagrin

of defeat; by the desire of gaining, or the fear of losing power; and

which are created by personal views among the leaders of parties, will

infallibly extend to the body of the nation. Not only will those

causes of dissatisfaction be urged which really operate on the minds

of intelligent men, but every instrument will be seized which can

effect the purpose, and the passions will be inflamed by whatever may

serve to irritate them. Among the multiplied evils generated by

faction, it is perhaps not the least, that it has a tendency to

abolish all distinction between virtue and vice; and to prostrate

those barriers which the wise and good have erected for the protection

of morals, and which are defended solely by opinion. The victory of

the party becomes the great object; and, too often, all measures are

deemed right or wrong, as they tend to promote or impede it. The

attainment of the end is considered as the supreme good, and the

detestable doctrine is adopted that the end will justify the means.

The mind, habituated to the extenuation of acts of moral turpitude,

becomes gradually contaminated, and loses that delicate sensibility

which instinctively inspires horror for vice, and respect for virtue.

In the intemperate abuse which was cast on the principal measures of

the government, and on those who supported them; in the violence with

which the discontents of the opponents to those measures were

expressed; and especially in the denunciations which were uttered

against them by the democratic societies; the friends of the

administration searched for the causes of that criminal attempt which

had been made in the western parts of Pennsylvania, to oppose the will

of the nation by force of arms. Had those misguided men believed that

this opposition was to be confined within their own narrow limits,

they could not have been so mad, or so weak as to have engaged in it.

The ideas of the President on this subject were freely given to

several of his confidential friends. "The _real people_" he said,

"occasionally assembled in order to express their sentiments on

political subjects, ought never to be confounded with permanent

self-appointed societies, usurping the right to control the

constituted authorities, and to dictate to public opinion. While the

former was entitled to respect, the latter was incompatible with all

government, and must either sink into general disesteem, or finally

overturn the established order of things."

[Sidenote: Meeting of congress.]

In his speech, at the opening of congress, the President detailed at

considerable length the progress of opposition to the laws, the means

employed both by the legislature and executive to appease the

discontents which had been fomented,[29] and the measures which he had

finally taken to reduce the refractory to submission.

[Footnote 29: The impression, he said, made by this

moderation on the discontented, did not correspond with what

it deserved. The acts of delusion were no longer confined to

the efforts of designing individuals. The very forbearance

to press prosecutions was misinterpreted into a fear of

urging the execution of the laws, and associations of men

began to denounce threats against the officers employed.

From a belief that by a more formal concert their operations

might be defeated, certain self-created societies assumed

the tone of condemnation.]

As Commander-in-chief of the militia when called into actual service,

he had, he said, visited the places of general rendezvous, to obtain

more correct information, and to direct a plan for ulterior movements.

Had there been room for a persuasion that the laws were secure from

obstruction, he should have caught with avidity at the opportunity of

restoring the militia to their families and homes. But succeeding

intelligence had tended to manifest the necessity of what had been

done, it being now confessed by those who were not inclined to

exaggerate the ill conduct of the insurgents, that their malevolence

was not pointed merely to a particular law; but that a spirit inimical

to all order had actuated many of the offenders.

After bestowing a high encomium on the alacrity and promptitude with

which persons in every station had come forward to assert the dignity

of the laws, thereby furnishing an additional proof that they

understood the true principles of government and liberty, and felt

their inseparable union; he added--

[Sidenote: Democratic societies.]

"To every description indeed of citizens, let praise be given. But let

them persevere in their affectionate vigilance over that precious

depository of American happiness,--the constitution of the United

States. And when in the calm moments of reflection, they shall have

retraced the origin and progress of the insurrection, let them

determine whether it has not been fomented by combinations of men,

who, careless of consequences, and disregarding the unerring truth

that those who rouse can not always appease a civil convulsion, have

disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts, suspicions,

jealousies, and accusations of the whole government."

The President could not omit this fair occasion, once more to press on

congress a subject which had always been near his heart. After

mentioning the defectiveness of the existing system, he said--

"The devising and establishing of a well regulated militia, would be a

genuine source of legislative honour, and a perfect title to public

gratitude. I therefore entertain a hope that the present session will

not pass without carrying to its full energy the power of organizing,

arming, and disciplining the militia; and thus providing, in the

language of the constitution, for calling them forth to execute the

laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions."

After mentioning the intelligence from the army under the command of

General Wayne, and the state of Indian affairs, he again called the

attention of the house of representatives to a subject scarcely less

interesting than a system of defence against external and internal

violence.

"The time," he said, "which has elapsed since the commencement of our

fiscal measures, has developed our pecuniary resources, so as to open

the way for a definitive plan for the redemption of the public debt.

It is believed that the result is such as to encourage congress to

consummate this work without delay. Nothing can more promote the

permanent welfare of the union, and nothing would be more grateful to

our constituents. Indeed, whatever is unfinished of our system of

public credit, can not be benefited by procrastination; and, as far as

may be practicable, we ought to place that credit on grounds which can

not be disturbed, and to prevent that progressive accumulation of debt

which must ultimately endanger all governments."

He referred to subsequent communications for certain circumstances

attending the intercourse of the United States with foreign nations.

"However," he added, "it may not be unseasonable to announce that my

policy in our foreign transactions has been, to cultivate peace with

all the world; to observe treaties with pure and inviolate faith; to

check every deviation from the line of impartiality; to explain what

may have been misapprehended; and correct what may have been injurious

to any nation; and having thus acquired the right, to lose no time in

acquiring the ability, to insist upon justice being done to

ourselves."

In the senate, an answer was reported which contained the following

clause:

"Our anxiety, arising from the licentious and open resistance to the

laws in the western counties of Pennsylvania, has been increased by

the proceedings of certain self-created societies relative to the laws

and administration of the government; proceedings, in our

apprehension, founded in political error, calculated, if not intended,

to disorganize our government, and which, by inspiring delusive hopes

of support, have been instrumental in misleading our fellow citizens

in the scene of insurrection."

The address proceeded to express the most decided approbation of the

conduct of the President in relation to the insurgents; and, after

noticing the different parts of the speech, concluded with saying--

"At a period so momentous in the affairs of nations, the temperate,

just, and firm policy that you have pursued in respect to foreign

powers, has been eminently calculated to promote the great and

essential interest of our country, and has created the fairest title

to the public gratitude and thanks."

To this unequivocal approbation of the policy adopted by the executive

with regard to foreign nations, no objections were made. The clause

respecting democratic societies was seriously opposed; but the party

in favour of the administration had been strengthened in the senate by

recent events, and the address reported by the committee was agreed to

without alteration.

The same spirit did not prevail in the house of representatives. In

that branch of the legislature, the opposition party continued to be

the most powerful, and the respect of their leaders for the person and

character of the chief magistrate was visibly diminishing. His

interference with a favourite system was not forgotten, and the

mission of Mr. Jay still rankled in their bosoms.

The address prepared by the committee, to whom the speech was

referred, omitted to notice those parts which respected self created

societies, the victory of General Wayne, and the policy observed by

the executive in its intercourse with foreign nations. On a motion

being made by Mr. Dayton to amend it, by inserting a clause which

should express the satisfaction of the house at the success of the

army under General Wayne, Mr. Madison said, that it had been the wish

of the committee who framed the address, to avoid the minutia of the

speech: but as a desire was manifested to amplify particular parts, it

might not be amiss to glance at the policy observed towards foreign

nations. He therefore moved to amend the amendment by adding the

words, "solicitous also as we are for the preservation of peace with

all nations, we can not otherwise than warmly approve of _a_ policy in

our foreign transactions, which keeps in view as well the maintenance

of our national rights, as the continuance of that blessing." Mr.

Hillhouse wished the word _your_ to be substituted for the article

_a_, that the answer might point, not to an abstract policy, but to

that of the executive, and thus have a direct application to the

speech. This motion produced a warm discussion, which terminated in a

request that Mr. Madison would withdraw his amendment; the friends of

the administration being of opinion, that it was more eligible to pass

over that part of the speech in silence, than to answer it in terms so

equivocal as those to which alone the house seemed willing to assent.

A proposition was then made by Mr. Fitzsimmons to introduce into the

address, a clause declaring, that "in tracing the origin and progress

of the insurrection, they (the house of representatives) entertain no

doubt that certain self created societies and combinations of men,

careless of consequences, and disregarding truth, by disseminating

suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the government, have had an

influence in fomenting this daring outrage against the principles of

social order, and the authority of the laws."

This attempt to censure certain organized assemblages of factious

individuals, who, under the imposing garb of watchfulness over

liberty, concealed designs subversive of all those principles which

preserve the order, the peace, and the happiness of society, was

resisted by the whole force of the opposition. A very eloquent and

animated debate ensued, which terminated in the committee, by striking

out the words "self created societies;" forty-seven voting for, and

forty-five against expunging them. The question was resumed in the

house; and, the chairman of the committee being opposed in sentiment

to the speaker, who was now placed in the chair, the majority was

precisely changed, and the words were reinstated. This victory,

however, if it may be termed one, was soon lost. A motion for

confining the censure to societies and combinations within the four

western counties of Pennsylvania and the adjacent country, succeeded

by the casting vote of the speaker, upon which, the friends of the

amendment gave it up, and the address was voted without expressing any

sentiment on the subject.

This triumph over the administration revived, for a moment, the

drooping energies of these pernicious societies. But it was only for a

moment. The agency ascribed to them by the opinion of the public, as

well as of the President, in producing an insurrection which was

generally execrated, had essentially affected them; and while

languishing under this wound, they received a deadly blow from a

quarter whence hostility was least expected.

The remnant of the French convention, rendered desperate by the

ferocious despotism of the Jacobins, and of the sanguinary tyrant who

had made himself their chief; perceiving that the number of victims

who were immolated as his caprice might suggest, instead of satiating,

could only stimulate his appetite for blood, had, at length, sought

for safety by boldly confronting danger; and, succeeding in a

desperate attempt to bring Robespierre to the guillotine, had

terminated his reign of terror. The colossean power of the clubs,

which had been abused to an excess that gives to faithful history the

appearance of fiction, fell with that of their favourite member, and

they sunk into long merited disgrace. The means by which their

political influence had been maintained were wrested from them; and,

in a short time, their meetings were prohibited. Not more certain is

it that the boldest streams must disappear, if the fountains which fed

them be emptied, than was the dissolution of the democratic societies

of America, when the Jacobin clubs were denounced by France. As if

their destinies depended on the same thread, the political death of

the former was the unerring signal for that of the latter; and their

expiring struggles, incapable of deferring their fate, only attested

the reluctance with which they surrendered their much abused power.

Notwithstanding the disagreement between the executive and one branch

of the legislature concerning self created societies, and the policy

observed towards foreign nations, the speech of the President was

treated with marked respect; and the several subjects which it

recommended, engaged the immediate attention of congress. A bill was

passed authorizing the President to station a detachment of militia in

the four western counties of Pennsylvania; provision was made to

compensate those whose property had been destroyed by the insurgents,

should those who had committed the injury be unable to repair it: and

an appropriation exceeding one million one hundred thousand dollars

was made to defray the expenses occasioned by the insurrection.

Many of the difficulties which had occurred in drawing out the militia

were removed, and a bill was introduced to give greater energy to the

militia system generally; but this subject possessed so many intrinsic

difficulties, that the session passed away without effecting any thing

respecting it.

A bill for the gradual redemption of the national debt was more

successful. The President had repeatedly and earnestly recommended to

the legislature the adoption of measures which might effect this

favourite object; but, although that party which had been reproached

with a desire to accumulate debt as a means of subverting the

republican system had uniformly manifested a disposition to carry this

recommendation into effect, their desire had hitherto been opposed by

obstacles they were unable to surmount. Professions of an anxious

solicitude to discharge the national engagements, without providing

the means of actual payment, might gratify those who consider words as

things, but would be justly estimated by men, who, neither condemning

indiscriminately, nor approving blindly, all the measures of

government, expect that, in point of fact, it shall be rightly and

honestly administered. On the friends of the administration,

therefore, it was incumbent to provide real, substantial funds, which

should attest the sincerity of their professions. This provision could

not be made without difficulty. The duty on imported articles, and on

tonnage, though rapidly augmenting, could not, immediately, be

rendered sufficiently productive to meet, alone, the various

exigencies of the treasury, and yield a surplus for the secure

establishment of a permanent fund to redeem the principal of the debt.

Additional sources of revenue must therefore be explored, or the idea

of reducing the debt be abandoned. New taxes are the never failing

sources of discontent to those who pay them, and will ever furnish

weapons against those who impose them, too operative not to be seized

by their antagonists. In a government where popularity is power, it

requires no small degree of patriotism to encounter the odium which,

however urgently required, they seldom fail to excite. Ready faith is

given to the declaration that they are unjust, tyrannical, and

unnecessary; and no inconsiderable degree of firmness is requisite to

persevere in a course attended with so much political hazard. The

opposition made to the internal taxes, which commenced in congress,

had extended itself through the community. Although only the act

imposing duties on spirits distilled within the United States had been

resisted by force, yet such a degree of irritation was manifested

against the whole system, as to evince the repugnance with which a

large portion of the people saw it go into operation. The duties on

refined sugars, and manufactured tobacco, especially, were censured in

terms which would authorize an opinion that a defect of power, rather

than of will, to resist the execution of the law, confined some of its

opponents to remonstrances. Nothing could be more unfriendly than this

spirit, to the reduction of the debt.

The reports of the secretary of the treasury having suggested the

several steps which had been taken by congress in the system of

internal taxation, he was justly considered as its author. The

perseverance which marked the character of this officer, gave full

assurance that no clamour would deter him from continuing to recommend

measures which he believed to be essential to the due administration

of the finances. That the establishment of public credit on a sound

basis was all important to the character and prosperity of the United

States, constituted one of those political maxims to which he

invariably adhered; and to effect it completely, seems to have been

among the first objects of his ambition. He had bestowed upon this

favourite subject the most attentive consideration; and while the

legislature was engaged in the discussions of a report made by a

select committee on a resolution moved by Mr. Smith, of South

Carolina, purporting that further provision ought to be made for the

reduction of the debt, addressed a letter to the house of

representatives, through their speaker, informing them that he had

digested and prepared a plan on the basis of the actual revenues, for

the further support of public credit, which he was ready to

communicate.

This comprehensive and valuable report presented the result of his

laborious and useful investigations, on a subject equally intricate

and interesting.

This was the last official act of Colonel Hamilton. The penurious

provision made for those who filled the high executive departments in

the American government, excluded from a long continuance in office

all those whose fortunes were moderate, and whose professional talents

placed a decent independence within their reach. While slandered as

the accumulator of thousands by illicit means, Colonel Hamilton had

wasted in the public service great part of the property acquired by

his previous labours, and had found himself compelled to decide on

retiring from his political station. The accusations brought against

him in the last session of the second congress had postponed the

execution of this design, until opportunity should be afforded for a

more full investigation of his official conduct; but he informed the

President that, on the close of the session, to meet in December,

1793, he should resign his situation in the administration. The events

which accumulated about that time, and which were, he said in a letter

to the President, of a nature to render the continuance of peace in a

considerable degree precarious, deferred his meditated retreat. "I do

not perceive," he added, "that I could voluntarily quit my post at

such a juncture, consistently with considerations either of duty or

character; and therefore, I find myself reluctantly obliged to defer

the offer of my resignation.

"But if any circumstances should have taken place in consequence of

the intimation of an intention to resign, or should otherwise exist,

which serve to render my continuance in office in any degree

inconvenient or ineligible, I beg leave to assure you, sir, that I

should yield to them with all the readiness naturally inspired by an

impatient desire to relinquish a situation, in which, even a momentary

stay is opposed by the strongest personal and family reasons, and

could only be produced by a sense of duty or reputation."

[Sidenote: Resignation of Colonel Hamilton.]

{1795}

Assurances being given by the President, of the pleasure with which

the intelligence, that he would continue at his post through the

crisis, was received, he remained in office until the commencement of

the ensuing year. On the 1st of December, immediately on his return

from the western country, the dangers of domestic insurrection or

foreign war having subsided, he gave notice that he should on the last

day of January give in his resignation.

Seldom has any minister excited the opposite passions of love and hate

in a higher degree than Colonel Hamilton. His talents were too

pre-eminent not to receive from all the tribute of profound respect;

and his integrity and honour as a man, not less than his official

rectitude, though slandered at a distance, were admitted to be

superior to reproach, by those enemies who knew him.

But with respect to his political principles and designs, the most

contradictory opinions were entertained. While one party sincerely

believed his object to be the preservation of the constitution of the

United States in its original purity; the other, with perhaps equal

sincerity, imputed to him the insidious intention of subverting it.

While his friends were persuaded, that as a statesman, he viewed all

foreign nations with an equal eye; his enemies could perceive in his

conduct, only hostility to France and attachment to her rival.

It was his fortune to hold a conspicuous station in times which were

peculiarly tempestuous, and under circumstances peculiarly

unfavourable to the fair action of the judgment. In the midst of

prejudices against the national debt, which had taken deep root, and

had long been nourished, he was called to the head of a department,

whose duty it was to contend with those prejudices, and to offer a

system which, in doing justice to the creditor of the public, might

retrieve the reputation of his country. While the passions were

inflamed by a stern contest between the advocates of a national, and

of state governments, duties were assigned to him, in the execution of

which there were frequent occasions to manifest his devotion to the

former. When a raging fever, caught from that which was desolating

France, and exhibiting some of its symptoms, had seized the public

mind, and reached its understanding, it was unfavourable to his quiet,

and perhaps to his fame, that he remain uninfected by the disease. He

judged the French revolution without prejudice; and had the courage to

predict that it could not terminate in a free and popular government.

Such opinions, at such a time, could not fail to draw a load of

obloquy upon a man whose frankness gave them publicity, and whose

boldness and decision of character insured them an able and steady

support. The suspicions they were calculated to generate, derived

great additional force from the political theories he was understood

to hold. It was known that, in his judgment, the constitution of the

United States was rather chargeable with imbecility, than censurable

for its too great strength; and that the real sources of danger to

American happiness and liberty, were to be found in its want of the

means to effect the objects of its institution;--in its being exposed

to the encroachments of the states,--not in the magnitude of its

powers. Without attempting to conceal these opinions, he declared his

perfect acquiescence in the decision of his country; his hope that the

issue would be fortunate; and his firm determination, in whatever

might depend upon his exertions, to give the experiment the fairest

chance for success. No part of his political conduct has been

perceived, which would inspire doubts of the sincerity of these

declarations. His friends may appeal with confidence to his official

acts, to all his public conduct, for the refutation of those charges

which were made against him while at the head of the treasury

department, and were continued, without interruption, till he ceased

to be the object of jealousy.

In the esteem and good opinion of the President, to whom he was best

known, Colonel Hamilton at all times maintained a high place. While

balancing on the mission to England, and searching for a person to

whom the interesting negotiation with that government should be

confided, the mind of the chief magistrate was directed, among others,

to this gentleman.[30] He carried with him out of office,[31] the same

cordial esteem for his character, and respect for his talents, which

had induced his appointment.

[Footnote 30: The apprehensions entertained by the

opposition that Colonel Hamilton would be appointed on the

embassy to England were extreme. Among the letters to

General Washington, are some from members of each branch of

the legislature, advising against the mission generally, and

dissuading him from the appointment of Colonel Hamilton

particularly, in terms which manifest a real opinion that

the best interests of the nation would be sacrificed by such

an appointment. Colonel Hamilton himself recommended Mr.

Jay.]

[Footnote 31: See note No. X. at the end of the volume.]

[Sidenote: Is succeeded by Mr. Wolcott.]

The vacant office of secretary of the treasury was filled by Mr.

Wolcott, of Connecticut, a gentleman of sound judgment, who was well

versed in its duties. He had served as comptroller for a considerable

time, and in that situation, had been eminently useful to the head of

the department.

The report of the select committee recommended additional objects for

internal taxation, and that the temporary duties already imposed

should be rendered permanent. The opposition made to this important

part of the system was so ardent, and so persevering, that, though the

measure was taken up early in the session, the bill did not pass the

house of representatives until late in February. Not only were the

taxes proposed by the friends of the administration encountered

successively by popular objections, urged with all the vehemence of

passion, and zeal of conviction, but it was with extreme difficulty

that the duties on sugar refined, and tobacco manufactured, within the

United States, could be rendered permanent. When gentlemen were urged

to produce a substitute for the system they opposed, a direct tax was

mentioned with approbation; but no disposition was shown to incur the

responsibility of becoming the patrons of such a measure. At length,

by the most persevering exertions of the federal party, the bill was

carried through the house; and thus was that system adopted, which, if

its operations shall not be disturbed, and if no great accumulations

of debt be made, will, in a few years, discharge all the engagements

of the United States.

On the third of March, this important session was ended. Although the

party hostile to the administration had obtained a small majority in

one branch of the legislature, several circumstances had occurred to

give great weight to the recommendations of the President. Among these

may be reckoned the victory obtained by General Wayne, and the

suppression of the western insurrection. In some points, however,

which he had pressed with earnestness, his sentiments did not prevail.

One of these was a bill introduced into the senate for preserving

peace with the Indians, by protecting them from the intrusions and

incursions of the whites.

From the commencement of his administration, the President had

reviewed this subject with great interest, and had permitted scarcely

a session of congress to pass away, without pressing it on the

attention of the legislature. It had been mentioned in his speech at

the commencement of the present session, and had been further enforced

by a message accompanying a report made upon it by the secretary of

war. The following humane sentiments, extracted from that report, are

characteristic of the general views of the administration.

"It seems that our own experience would demonstrate the propriety of

endeavouring to preserve a pacific conduct in preference to a hostile

one with the Indian tribes. The United States can get nothing by an

Indian war; but they risk men, money, and reputation. As we are more

powerful and more enlightened than they are, there is a responsibility

of national character that we should treat them with kindness, and

even with liberality."

The plan suggested in this report was, to add to those arrangements

respecting trade, which were indispensable to the preservation of

peace, a chain of garrisoned posts within the territory of the

Indians, provided their assent to the measure should be obtained; and

to subject all those who should trespass on their lands to martial

law. A bill founded on this report passed the senate, but was lost, in

the house of representatives, by a small majority.

[Sidenote: Resignation of General Knox.]

This report preceded the resignation of the secretary of war but a few

days. This valuable officer, too, was driven from the service of the

public, by the scantiness of the compensation allowed him.

On the 28th of December, 1794, he addressed a letter to the President

giving him official notice that, with the year, his services as

secretary for the department of war would cease. This resolution had

long before been verbally communicated.

"After having served my country," concluded the letter, "near twenty

years, the greater portion of the time under your immediate auspices,

it is with extreme reluctance I find myself constrained to withdraw

from so honourable a situation. But the natural and powerful claims of

a numerous family will no longer permit me to neglect their essential

interests.