WASHINGTON JOURNEYS TO MOUNT VERNON--HIS TOUR THROUGH THE SOUTHERN
STATES--VISITS THE MORAVIANS AT SALEM--RESULTS OF HIS
OBSERVATIONS--CONDITION AND RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY--THE FEDERAL
CITY--OPENING OF THE SECOND CONGRESS--LAFAYETTE AND HIS
PERPLEXITIES--THE JACOBIN CLUB--FLIGHT AND ARREST OF THE KING--THE
CONSTITUTION ACCEPTED BY HIM--GRAND FETE ON THE OCCASION--PARTY
LINES DRAWN IN THE UNITED STATES--VIEWS OF HAMILTON AND
JEFFERSON--ADAMS'S _DISCOURSES ON DAVILA_--PAINE'S _RIGHTS OF
MAN_--JEFFERSON'S ENDORSEMENT OF THE LATTER--HIS UNGENEROUS CHARGES
AGAINST ADAMS AND HAMILTON--WASHINGTON DISTURBED BY PARTY FEUDS.
Washington left Philadelphia for home on Monday, the twenty-first of
March, prepared for a tour through the southern states. He was
accompanied as far as Chester by Mr. Jefferson, the secretary of state,
and General Knox, the secretary of war--the only heads of departments
then remaining in Philadelphia. He travelled by Chestertown, in
Maryland, to Rock Hall, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, where he
and his suite, with horses, carriage, et cetera, embarked for Annapolis.
They arrived at that city on the morning of the twenty-fifth, after a
night of peril on the bay in the midst of a storm of wind, rain, and
lightning. The president was cordially received by the governor and
other dignitaries. On the twenty-eighth he reached Georgetown, and
partook of a public dinner given by the mayor and corporation. There he
met the commissioners appointed under the residence law, and examined
the surveys of the federal city made by Andrew Ellicott, and plans of
public buildings by Major L'Enfant.
It was left to the discretion of the president, it will be remembered,
to choose a place on the Potomac, between the East branch and
Conococheague, for the federal city. He chose the land between the
villages of Georgetown and Carrollsburg; and on his arrival he found
disputes running very high between the inhabitants of the two places
respecting the location of the public buildings, the landholders in each
desiring their village to be the favored one. Washington requested the
contestants to meet him the next day. He then frankly told them that the
dispute in which they were engaged did not comport with either their own
interest or that of the public; that while each party was aiming to
obtain the public buildings, they might, by placing the matter on a
contracted scale, defeat the measure altogether, not only by
procrastination, but for want of means to carry on the work; that
neither the offer of land from Georgetown or Carrollsburg for the public
buildings, separately, was adequate to the end of insuring the object;
that both together did not comprehend more ground, nor would afford
greater means, than was required for the federal city; and that, instead
of contending which of the two should have it, they had better, by
combining more offers, make a common cause of it, and thereby secure it
to the district. The parties saw the wisdom of the president's
suggestion, that while they were contesting for the shadow they might
lose the substance, and they mutually agreed, in writing, to surrender
for public purposes one half of the land they severally possessed. This
business being finished, Washington rode on to Mount Vernon, where he
arrived on the evening of the thirtieth of March.
On the seventh of April the president resumed his tour southward. "I was
accompanied," he says in his diary, "by Major Jackson. My equipage and
attendants consisted of a chariot and four horses drove in hand, a light
baggage-wagon and two horses, four saddle-horses, besides a led one for
myself; and five, to wit, my valet-de-chambre, two footmen, coachman,
and postillion."
Previous to leaving Mount Vernon, he wrote to the secretaries of state,
treasury, and war, giving them information concerning the time when he
expected to be at certain places on his route, and desiring them, in
case of important occurrences, to communicate with him, that he might,
if necessary, return to the seat of government. So judicious were his
arrangements, and so fortunate was the journey, that Washington reached
the several places designated at the time contemplated.[32]
Honors awaited the president at every step. Receptions, escorts,
artillery salutes, and public dinners, everywhere testified the respect
of the people, and many invitations to private entertainments were given
him: he declined all. Among others was one from his kinsman, William
Washington (a hero of the southern campaign), to make his house in
Charleston his home while there. The president's reply in this case
exhibits the spirit of the whole: "I can not comply with your invitation
without involving myself in inconsistency," he said; "as I have
determined to pursue the same plan in my southern as I did in my eastern
visit, which was, not to incommode any private family by taking up my
quarters with them during my journey. It leaves me unencumbered by
engagements, and, by a uniform adherence to it, I shall avoid giving
umbrage to any, by declining all such invitations."
At Richmond, Washington inspected the works in progress of the James
River Navigation company, of which he was president, and received from
Colonel Carrington, the marshall of that judicial district, the pleasing
assurance that the people generally were favorable to the federal
government. To ascertain the temper of the people, become personally
acquainted with the leading citizens, and to observe the resources of
the country, were the grand objects of the president's tour, and he was
rejoiced to find evidences that his own state was gradually perceiving
the value and blessings of the Union. At Richmond he was entertained at
a public dinner, and escorted far on toward Petersburg by a cavalcade of
gentlemen. Having been much incommoded by dust, and finding an escort of
horse was preparing to accompany him from Petersburg, Washington caused
inquiries as to the time he would leave the town to be answered, that he
should endeavor to do it before eight o'clock in the morning. He managed
to get off at five, by which means he avoided the inconvenience
above-mentioned.
At Wilmington, in North Carolina, he was received by a military and
civic escort, entertained at a public dinner, and attended a ball given
in his honor in the evening. At Newbern he received like homage, where
the dinner and the ball were given at the palace built by Governor Tryon
about twenty-five years before. On the morning of the second of May he
breakfasted at the country-seat of Governor Pinckney, a few miles from
Charleston; and when he arrived at Haddrell's point, across the mouth of
the Cooper river, he was met by General Pinckney, Edward Rutledge, and
the recorder of the city, in a twelve-oared barge, rowed by twelve
captains of American vessels, elegantly dressed. This was accompanied by
a great number of other boats with gentlemen and ladies in them; and
the gay scene, as the flotilla proceeded toward the city, was enlivened
by vocal and instrumental music. At the wharf he was met by the governor
and other civil officers, amid the thunder of artillery; and by the
Cincinnati and a civic and military escort he was conducted to his
lodgings.
Washington remained in Charleston a week, and then departed for
Savannah. There he was greeted by General Wayne, General M'Intosh, and
other companions-in-arms, and remained several days. He left for Augusta
on the fifteenth, dined at Mulberry grove (the seat of Mrs. General
Greene) that day, and reached Augusta on the eighteenth. There Governor
Telfair, Judge Walton, and others, led in offering ceremonial honors to
the illustrious guest.
On the twenty-first the president turned his face homeward, travelling
by way of Columbia and Camden in South Carolina, Charlotte, Salisbury,
Salem, Guilford and Hillsborough in North Carolina, and Harrisburg,
Williamsburg, and Frederickburg, to Mount Vernon. At Salem, a Moravian
settlement, he halted for the purpose of seeing Governor Martin, who, he
was informed, was on his way to meet the president. He spent a day
there, visiting the social and industrial establishments of the
community, and attended their religious services in the evening. A
committee in behalf of the community presented an address to him, to
which he made a brief reply.[33] He reached home on the twelfth of June,
having made a most satisfactory journey of more than seventeen hundred
miles, after starting from Mount Vernon, in sixty-six days, with the
same team of horses. "My return to this place is sooner than I
expected," he wrote to Hamilton, "owing to the uninterruptedness of my
journey by sickness, from bad weather, or accidents of any kind
whatsoever," for which he had made an allowance of eight days.
Washington returned to Philadelphia on the sixth of July. "I am much
pleased," he wrote to Colonel Humphreys, then in Paris, on the
twentieth, "that I have undertaken the journey, as it has enabled me to
see with my own eyes the situation of the country through which we
travelled, and to learn more accurately the disposition of the people
than I could from any information." His observations filled his mind
with joy in contemplating the future. "The country appears," he said,
"to be in a very improving state, and industry and frugality are
becoming much more fashionable than they have hitherto been.
Tranquillity reigns among the people, with that disposition towards the
general government which is likely to preserve it. They begin to feel
the good effects of equal laws and equal protection. The farmer finds a
ready market for his produce, and the merchant calculates with more
certainty on his payments. Manufactures have as yet made but little
progress in that part of the country, and it will probably be a long
time before they are brought to that state to which they have already
arrived in the middle and eastern parts of the Union. Each day's
experience of the government of the United States seems to confirm its
establishment, and to make it more popular. A ready acquiescence in the
laws made under it shows in a strong light the confidence which the
people have in their representatives, and in the upright views of those
who administer the government."
"Our public credit stands on that ground which, three years ago, it
would have been a species of madness to have foretold. The astonishing
rapidity with which the newly-instituted bank was filled gives an
unexampled proof of the resources of our countrymen, and their
confidence in public measures. On the first day of opening the
subscription, the whole number of shares (twenty thousand) were taken up
in one hour, and application made for upwards of four thousand shares
more than were granted by the institution, besides many others that were
coming in from different quarters."
In reference to the future seat of government the president said: "I am
now happy to add, that all matters between the proprietors of the soil
and the public are settled to the mutual satisfaction of both parties,
and that the business of laying out the city, the grounds for public
buildings, walks, et cetera, is advancing under the inspection of Major
L'Enfant with pleasing prospects."
L'Enfant, who had served as an engineer in the continental army, and was
employed to furnish a plan for, and make a survey of, the federal city,
spent a week at Mount Vernon, immediately after Washington's return from
his southern tour, in submitting his plans to the president, and in
consulting with him about the future. These plans were approved by
Washington, and met the approbation of Congress when laid before them at
the next session. The city was laid out upon a plot containing eight
square miles.
The first session of the second Congress commenced at Philadelphia on
the twenty-fourth of October, in conformity to an act of the last
session of the first Congress. Washington had spent a greater portion of
the summer in the federal city, in close attention to public duties; but
for six weeks previous to the assembling of the national legislature he
remained in the seclusion of Mount Vernon. It was not for him a season
of repose. Every mail brought him numerous letters, most of them on
public business. Many of them gave him themes for deep and solemn
meditation; for national affairs at home and abroad were assuming forms
and attitudes that occasioned him much anxiety.
The French revolution, in which his friend Lafayette was engaged as a
chief actor, was exhibiting a most alarming and disappointing aspect to
the friends of genuine liberty; and the dreams of the marquis, that his
country was speedily to be redeemed from disorder and corrupt rule, were
disturbed by dismal visions of reality. "Whatever expectations I had
conceived of a speedy termination to our revolutionary troubles," he
wrote to Washington as early as the previous March, "I still am tossed
about in the ocean of factions and commotions of every kind; for it is
my fate to be attacked on each side with equal animosity; on the one by
the aristocratic, slavish, parliamentary, clerical--in a word, by all
the enemies to my free and levelling doctrine--and on the other by the
Orleans factions, anti-royal, licentious, and pillaging parties of every
kind: so that my personal escape from amidst so many hostile bands is
rather dubious, although our great and good revolution is, thank Heaven,
not only insured in France, but on the point of visiting other parts of
the world, provided the restoration of public order is soon obtained in
this country, where the good people have been better taught how to
overthrow despotism than they can understand how to submit to the laws.
To you, my dear general, the patriarch and generalissimo of universal
liberty, I shall render exact accounts of the conduct of your deputy and
aid in that great cause."
In May he wrote: "I wish it were in my power to give you an assurance
that our troubles are at an end, and our constitution totally
established. But, although dark clouds are still before us, we have come
so far as to foresee the moment when the legislative corps will succeed
this convention; and, unless foreign powers interfere, I hope that
within four months your friend will have resumed the life of a private
and quiet citizen. The rage of parties, even among the patriots, is gone
as far as it is possible, short of bloodshed; but, although hatreds are
far from subsiding, matters do not appear so much disposed as they
formerly were towards collision among the supporters of the popular
cause. I myself am exposed to the envy and attacks of all parties--for
this simple reason, that whoever acts or means wrong finds me an
insuperable obstacle. And there appears a kind of phenomenon in my
situation--all parties against me, and a national popularity, which, in
spite of every effort, has remained unchanged.... Given up to all the
madness of license, faction, and popular rage, I stood alone in defence
of the law, and turned the tide into the constitutional channel."
A little later, Lafayette wrote: "The refugees hovering about the
frontiers; intrigues in most of the despotic and aristocratic cabinets;
our regular army divided into tory officers and undisciplined soldiers;
licentiousness among the people not easily repressed; the capital, that
gives the tone to the empire, tossed about by anti-revolutionary or
factious parties; the assembly fatigued by hard labor, and very
unmanageable--cause me sometimes to be filled with alarm."
These few sentences lift the curtain slightly from the terrible drama,
then in cautious rehearsal, which was soon openly acted before the great
audience of the nations. In place of constitutional order, there was the
anarchy of faction in the French capital and throughout the provinces.
The club of forty gentlemen and men of letters, who met in the hall of
the Jacobin monks long before the states-general convened, had now grown
up to a vast and popular association known as the Jacobin club. They
were the avowed and determined adversaries of monarchy and all
aristocratic titles and privileges, and contemners of Christianity; and
they had started a journal for the dissemination of their
ultra-democratic and irreligious doctrines, having for its
watchwords--_Liberty and Equality_. It was puissant in spreading the
spirit of revolt and disaffection to the king, and the greatest license
began to prevail among the people. The king and his family were insulted
in public. Lafayette, disgusted with the refractory spirit that began to
prevail among the National Guards, resigned the command of them, but
resumed it at the urgent solicitation of sixty battalions. The
democratic spirit became more and more insolent, and at length the king
and his family fled from Paris in disguise. Terror prevailed among all
classes. A crisis seemed impending. Political dissolution appeared at
hand. But the monarch was arrested at Varennes and taken back to Paris
under an escort of thirty thousand National Guards. The helpless king
assured the assembly that he had no intention of leaving France, but
wished to live quietly at a distance from the capital, until government
should in a degree be restored and the constitution settled. His
justification was that he was subjected to too many insults in the
capital, and that the personal safety of the queen was imperilled.
The populace were not satisfied. On the twentieth of July they met in
the Elysian Fields, with Robespierre at their head, and petitioned for
the dethronement of the king. Four thousand troops fired upon them and
killed several hundred. Then and there, in the exasperation of the
people and the appearance of Robespierre, the epoch of the Reign of
Terror dawned. Yet Lafayette and his friends held the factions in
check. The constitution was completed early in September, and was
accepted by the king, who solemnly swore that he would "employ all the
powers with which he was intrusted in maintaining the constitution
declared by the national assembly."
Proclamation of this act was made throughout the kingdom, and a grand
festival in commemoration of the event took place in the Elysian Fields.
One hundred thousand citizens danced on that occasion; festoons of
many-colored lamps were suspended between the trees; every half hour,
one hundred and thirty pieces of cannon thundered along the banks of the
Seine; and on a tree planted upon the site of the Bastile was a placard
inscribed--
"Here is the epoch of liberty;
We dance on the ruins of despotism;
The constitution is finished--
Long live patriotism!"
On the thirtieth, the king made a speech to the assembly, when the
president proclaimed: "The constituent assembly declares their mission
fulfilled and their sittings terminated." Then opened a new act in the
French revolution.
While this revolution was thus progressing, half-formed, half-understood
political maxims, that were floating upon the tide of social life in the
United States, were crystallizing into distinct tenets and assuming
strongly antagonistic party positions. The electric forces, so to speak,
which produced this crystallization, proceeded from the president's
cabinet, where the opinions of the secretaries of the treasury and of
the state were at direct variance, and were now making constant war upon
each other. Hamilton regarded the federal constitution as inadequate in
strength to perform its required functions, and believed that weakness
to be its greatest defect; and it was his sincere desire, and his
uniform practice, so to construe its provisions as to give the greatest
strength to the executive in the administration of public affairs.
Jefferson, on the other hand, contemplated all executive power with
distrust, and desired to impair its vitality and restrain its
operations, believing with Paine that a weak government and a strong
people were the best guaranties of liberty to the citizen. He saw in the
funding system, the United States bank, and the excise law, instruments
for enslaving the people, and believed that the rights of the states and
liberties of the inhabitants were in danger. And as Hamilton was the
originator of these measures, and they constituted prominent features of
the administration, Jefferson found himself, at the opening of the new
Congress, arrayed politically with the opposers of the president and the
general government, and in the position of arch-leader.
Not content with an expression of his opinions, he charged his
opponents, and especially Hamilton, with corrupt and anti-republican
designs, selfish motives, and treacherous intentions; and then was
inaugurated that system of personal vituperation which, from that time
until the present, has disgraced the press and the politicians of our
country, and brought odium upon us as a nation.
The party of which Jefferson was the head called themselves Republicans,
and warmly sympathized with the radical revolutionists in France; while
the great majority of the people--the conservative men of the
country--who were favorable to Hamilton's financial schemes and the
constitution, were called FEDERALISTS.
In the adjustment of party lines at this time, there was a very small
party that appeared to be a cross between the two, as manifested by John
Adams in a series of essays which he published in the United States
Gazette, the acknowledged organ (if organ it had) of the administration,
entitled "Discourses on Davila." These were an analysis of Davila's
_History of the Civil Wars in France_ in the sixteenth century; and the
aim of Mr. Adams was to point out to his countrymen the danger to be
apprehended from factions and ill-balanced forms of government. In these
essays he maintained that as the great spring of human activity,
especially as related to public life, was self-esteem, manifested in the
love of superiority and the desire of distinction, applause, and
admiration, it was important in a popular government to provide for the
moderate gratification of all of them. He therefore advocated a liberal
use of titles and ceremonial honors for those in office, and an
aristocratic senate. To counteract any undue influence on the part of
the senate, he proposed a popular assembly on the broadest democratic
basis; and to keep in check the encroachment of each upon the other, he
recommended a powerful executive. He thought liberty to all would be
thus secured. From the premises which formed the basis of his reasoning,
Mr. Adams concluded that the French constitution, which disavowed all
distinctions of rank, which vested the legislative authority in a single
assembly, and which, though retaining the office of king, divested him
of nearly all actual power, must, in the nature of things, prove a
failure.
In the publication of these essays, Adams was most unfortunate. He
appears not to have presented his ideas concerning his political system
with sufficient clearness to be understood. He was, indeed, greatly
misunderstood, and was charged with advocating a monarchy and a
hereditary senate and presidency; with the greatest inconsistency,
because, in 1787, he had written and published in London an excellent
"Defence of the American Constitution;" and with political heresy, if
not actual apostasy, because of that inconsistency. Twenty years later,
when speaking of these essays, Mr. Adams said: "This dull, heavy volume
still excites the wonder of its author--first, that he could find, amid
the constant scenes of business and dissipation in which he was
enveloped, time to write it; secondly, that he had the courage to oppose
and publish his own opinions to the universal opinion of America, and
indeed of all mankind." Others were no less astonished, for the same
reasons.
These essays were published in 1790, and filled Jefferson with disgust.
He already began to suspect Hamilton of anti-republican schemes, and he
now cherished the idea that there was a conspiracy on foot, headed by
Adams and Hamilton, to overthrow the republican institutions of the
United States, and on their ruins to erect a mixed government like that
of England, composed of a monarchy and aristocracy. To counteract these
political heresies, Paine's Rights of Man, which he wrote in reply to
Burke's pamphlet on the French Revolution (a performance which Adams
held in "perfect detestation," but which other patriots regarded as one
of which any man might be proud), was reprinted and circulated in the
United States, with a complimentary note from Mr. Jefferson at its
head--"a note which Mr. Jefferson declared he neither desired nor
expected to have printed;" not because he did not approve of Paine's
doctrines, but because he did not wish to take such responsibility at
that crisis and while in his official position. He rejoiced, however, at
the reprint of Paine's essay.
"Paine's pamphlet," he said in a letter to Mr. Short, the American
_chargé d'affaires_ at Paris, "has been published and read with general
applause here;" and then he proceeds to charge "Adams, Jay, Hamilton,
Knox, _and many of the Cincinnati_," with endeavoring "to make way for a
king, lords, and commons." "The second" (Jay), he said, "says nothing;
the third [Hamilton] is open. Both are dangerous. They pant after union
with England, as the power which is to support their projects, and are
most determined anti-Gallicans." This, as time has demonstrated, was a
most unjust and ungenerous charge. So thoroughly was Mr. Jefferson then
imbued with the spirit of the French revolution, in its most democratic
and destructive aspect--so bitter was his hatred of monarchy and
aristocracy--that his judgment seemed entirely perverted, his usual
charity utterly congealed; and every man who differed with him in
opinion was regarded as a conspirator against the rights of mankind.
In after years, when the passions of the times had passed away, he
reiterated his opinion that Adams and Hamilton were at that time seeking
the subversion of republican institutions in the United States. "The one
[Adams]," he said, "was for two hereditary branches, and an honest
elective one; the other [Hamilton] for an hereditary king, with a house
of lords and commons, corrupted to his will, and standing between him
and the people. Hamilton was indeed a singular character. Of acute
understanding, disinterested, honest, and honorable in all private
transactions, amiable in society, and duly valuing virtue in private
life, yet so bewitched and perverted by British example, as to be under
thorough conviction that corruption was essential to the government of a
nation. Mr. Adams had originally been a republican. The glare of
royalty and nobility, during his mission to England, had made him
believe their fascination a necessary ingredient in government."
The best refutation of the opinion of Jefferson concerning Hamilton's
views is contained in the whole tenor of that great man's life, and in
the close private and political friendship that existed between the
sagacious Washington and Hamilton until death separated them.
Paine's original pamphlet was dedicated "to the president of the United
States," and that dedication was retained in the reprint. That and
Jefferson's note produced quite a stir. Because of certain language in
the pamphlet, Paine had been prosecuted for libel by the British
government, and had fled to France; and this apparent endorsement of his
essay by the government of the United States, in the persons of the
president and secretary of state, was offensive to that of Great
Britain. Major Beckwith, the aid-de-camp of Governor Carleton already
mentioned, expressed his surprise that the pamphlet should have been
published under such auspices, because it seemed to imply unfriendliness
toward his government. He was satisfied, however, when assured that the
president knew nothing of the reprint of the pamphlet, and that the
publication of the note by the secretary of state was unauthorized. The
matter disturbed the friendly relations between Mr. Adams and Mr.
Jefferson for a short time. Frank explanations healed the breach for a
moment; but they differed too widely in their ideas concerning some of
the exciting questions of the day to act together as political friends.
Indeed, they soon became decided political antagonists, and Washington
was greatly disturbed by party dissentions in his cabinet and in
Congress.
FOOTNOTES:
[32] "I shall be," he said, "on the eighth of April at Fredericksburg,
the eleventh at Richmond, the fourteenth at Petersburg, the sixteenth at
Halifax, the eighteenth at Tarborough, the twentieth at Newbern, the
twenty-fifth at Wilmington, the twenty-ninth at Georgetown, South
Carolina; on the second day of May at Charleston in South Carolina,
halting there five days; on the eleventh at Savannah, halting there two
days. Then leaving the line of mail, I shall proceed to Augusta; and
according to the information I shall receive there, my return by an
upper road will be regulated."
[33] The following is the address of the Moravians to the president:--
"Happy in sharing the honor of a visit from the illustrious
president of the Union to the southern states, the Brethren of
Wachovia humbly beg leave, upon this joyful occasion, to express
their highest esteem, duty, and affection, for the great patriot of
this country.
"Deeply impressed as we are with gratitude to the great Author of
our being for his unbounded mercies, we can not but particularly
acknowledge his gracious providence over the temporal and political
prosperity of the country, in the peace whereof we do find peace,
and wherein none can take a warmer interest than ourselves; in
particular, when we consider that the same Lord who preserved your
precious person in so many imminent dangers has made you, in a
conspicuous manner, an instrument in his hands to forward that
happy constitution, together with those improvements, whereby our
United States begin to flourish, over which you preside with the
applause of a thankful nation.
"Whenever, therefore, we solicit the protection of the Father of
mercies over this favored country, we can not but fervently implore
his kindness for your preservation, which is so intimately
connected therewith.
"May this gracious Lord vouchsafe to prolong your valuable life as
a further blessing, and an ornament of the constitution, that by
your worthy example the regard for religion be increased, and the
improvements of civil society encouraged.
"The settlements of the United Brethren, though small, will always
make it their study to contribute as much as in them lies to the
peace and improvement of the United States, and all the particular
parts they live in, joining their ardent prayers to the best wishes
of this whole continent that your personal as well as domestic
happiness may abound, and a series of successes may crown your
labors for the prosperity of our times and an example to future
ages, until the glorious reward of a faithful servant shall be your
portion.
"Signed, in behalf of the United Brethren in Wachovia:
"FREDERICK WILLIAM MARSHALL,
"JOHN DANIEL KÖHLER,
"CHRISTIAN LEWIS BENZIEN.
"_Salem, the 1st of June_, 1791."
To which the president of the United States was pleased to return the
following answer:--
"_To the United Brethren of Wachovia:_
"GENTLEMEN: I am greatly indebted to your respectful and
affectionate expression of personal regard, and I am not less
obliged by the patriotic sentiment contained in your address.
"From a society whose governing principles are industry and the
love of order, much may be expected towards the improvement and
prosperity of the country in which their settlements are formed,
and experience authorizes the belief that much will be obtained.
"Thanking you with grateful sincerity for your prayers in my
behalf, I desire to assure you of my best wishes for your social
and individual happiness.
"G. WASHINGTON."