_ToCharlesCarroll_
_Philadelphia,April15,1791_
DEARSIR,——Ireceivedlastnightyourfavorofthe10th,withMr。Brown’sreceipt,andthankyouforthetroubleyouhavebeensokindastotakeinthisbusiness。
Ournewsfromthewestwardisdisagreeable。ConstantmurderscommittingbytheIndians,andtheircombinationthreatenstobemoreandmoreextensive。Ihopeweshallgivethemathoroughdrubbingthissummer,andthenchangeourtomahawkintoagoldenchainoffriendship。Themosteconomicalaswellasmosthumaneconducttowardsthemistobribethemintopeace,andtoretaintheminpeacebyeternalbribes。Theexpeditionthisyearwouldhaveservedforpresentsonthemostliberalscaleforonehundredyears;norshallweotherwiseevergetridofanyarmy,orofourdebt。TheleastragofIndiandepredationwillbeanexcusetoraisetroopsforthosewholovetohavetroops,andforthosewhothinkthatapublicdebtisagoodthing。Adieu,mydearSir。Yoursaffectionately。
BURKE,PAINE,ANDMR。ADAMS
_TothePresidentoftheUnitedStates_
GEORGEWASHINGTON
_Philadelphia,May8,1791_
SIR,——Thelastweekdoesnotfurnishonesinglepubliceventworthycommunicatingtoyou:sothatIhaveonlytosay”alliswell。”Paine’sanswertoBurke’spamphletbeginstoproducesomesquibsinourpublicpapers。InFenno’spapertheyareBurkites,intheothers,Painites。OneofFenno’swasevidentlyfromtheauthorofthediscoursesonDavila。IamafraidtheindiscretionofaprinterhascommittedmewithmyfriendMr。Adams,forwhom,asoneofthemosthonest&disinterestedmenalive,Ihaveacordialesteem,increasedbylonghabitsofconcurrenceinopinioninthedaysofhisrepublicanism;andevensincehisapostacytohereditarymonarchy&nobility,tho’wediffer,wedifferasfriendsshoulddo。
BeckleyhadtheonlycopyofPaine’spamphlet,&lentittome,desiringwhenIshouldhavereadit,thatIwouldsendittoaMr。J。
B。Smith,whohadaskeditforhisbrothertoreprintit。BeinganutterstrangertoJ。B。Smith,bothbysight&characterIwroteanotetoexplaintohimwhyIastrangertohimsenthimapamphlet,towit,thatMr。Beckleyhaddesiredit;&totakeoffalittleofthedrynessofthenote,IaddedthatIwasgladtofinditwastobereprinted,thatsomethingwouldatlengthbepubliclysaidagainstthepoliticalheresieswhichhadlatelysprungupamongus,&thatI
didnotdoubtourcitizenswouldrallyagainroundthestandardofcommonsense。ThatIhadinmyviewtheDiscoursesonDavila,whichhavefilledFenno’spapers,foratwelvemonth,withoutcontradiction,iscertain,butnothingwaseverfurtherfrommythoughtsthantobecomemyselfthecontradictorbeforethepublic。Tomygreatastonishmenthowever,whenthepamphletcameout,theprinterhadprefixedmynotetoit,withouthavinggivenmethemostdistanthintofit。Mr。Adamswillunquestionablytaketohimselfthechargeofpoliticalheresy,asconsciousofhisownviewsofdrawingthepresentgovernmenttotheformoftheEnglishconstitution,and,I
fearwillconsidermeasmeaningtoinjurehiminthepubliceye。I
learnthatsomeAnglomenhavecensureditinanotherpointofview,asasanctionofPaine’sprinciplestendstogiveoffencetotheBritishgovernment。Theirrealfearhoweveristhatthispopular&
republicanpamphlet,takingwonderfully,islikelyatasinglestroketowipeoutalltheunconstitutionaldoctrineswhichtheirbell-weatherDavilahasbeenpreachingforatwelvemonth。I
certainlynevermadeasecretofmybeinganti-monarchical,&
anti-aristocratical;butIamsincerelymortifiedtobethusbroughtforwardonthepublicstage,wheretoremain,toadvanceortoretire,willbeequallyagainstmyloveofsilence&quiet,&myabhorrenceofdispute——IdonotknowwhetheryourecollectthattherecordsofVirginiaweredestroyedbytheBritishintheyear1781。Particularlythetransactionsoftherevolutionbeforethattime。IamcollectinghereallthelettersIwrotetoCongresswhileIwasintheadministrationthere,andthisbeingdoneIshallthenextendmyviewstothetransactionsofmypredecessors,inordertoreplacethewholeinthepublicofficesinVirginia。Ithinkthatduringmyadministration,saybetweenJune1。1779。&June1。1781。
Ihadthehonorofwritingfrequentletterstoyouonpublicaffairs,whichperhapsmaybeamongyourpapersatMountVernon。Woulditbeconsistentwithanygeneralresolutionyouhaveformedastoyourpapers,toletmylettersoftheaboveperiodcomeheretobecopied,inordertomakethemapartoftherecordsIamendeavoringtorestoreforthestate?orwouldtheirselectionbetootroublesome?
ifnot,Iwouldbegtheloanofthem,underanassurancethattheyshallbetakentheutmostcareof,&safelyreturnedtotheirpresentdeposit。
Thequiet®ularmovementsofourpoliticalaffairsleavesnothingtoaddbutconstantprayersforyourhealth&welfareandassurancesofthesincererespect&attachmentofSirYourmostobedient,&mosthumbleservt。
ANORTHERNTOUR
_ToThomasMannRandolph_
_Bennington,inVermont,June5,1791_
DEARSIR,——Mr。Madison&myselfaresofaronthetourwehadprojected。WehavevisitedinthecourseofittheprincipalscenesofGenl。Burgoyne’smisfortunestowitthegroundsatStillwaterwheretheactionofthatnamewasfought,&particularlythebreastworkswhichcostsomuchbloodtobothparties,theencampmentsatSaratoga&groundwheretheBritishpiledtheirarms,thefieldofthebattleofBenningtonabout9milesfromthisplace。WehavealsovisitedFortsWm。Henry&George,Ticonderoga,Crownpoint,&c。whichhavebeenscenesofbloodfromaveryearlypartofourhistory。Weweremorepleasedhoweverwiththebotanicalobjectswhichcontinuallypresentedthemselves。ThoseeitherunknownorrareinVirgnaweretheSugarmapleinvastabundance,theSilverfir,Whitepine,Pitchpine,Sprucepine,ashrubwithdecumbentstemswhichtheycallJuniper,anazaleaverydifferentfromthenudiflora,withverylargeclustersofflowers,morethicklysetonthebranches,ofadeeperred,&highpink-fragrance。ItistherichestshrubIhaveseen。Thehoneysuckleofthegardensgrowingwildonthebanks’ofL。George,thepaper-birch,anAspenwithavelvetleaf,ashrub-willowwithdownycatkins,awildgooseberry,thewildcherrywithsinglefruitnotthebunchcherrystrawberriesinabundance。
FromtheHighlandstothelakesitisalimestonecountry。ItisinvastquantitiesontheEasternsidesofthelakes,butnoneontheWesternsides。TheSandyhillfalls&Wing’sfalls,twoveryremarkablecataractsoftheHudsonofabout35f。or40f。eachbetweenF。Edward&F。Georgeareoflimestone,inhorizontalstrata。
ThoseoftheCohoes,ontheW。sideoftheHudson,&of70f。height,wethoughtnotoflimestone。Wehavemetwithasmallredsquirrelofthecolorofourfox-squirrel,withablackstripeoneachside,weighingabout6oz。generally,andinsuchabundanceonL。ChamplainparticularlyasthattwentyoddwerekilledatthehousewelodgedinoppositeCrownpointthemorningwearrivedthere,withoutgoing10
yardsfromthedoor。Wekilled3crossingthelakes,oneofthemjustashewasgettingashorewhereitwas3mileswide,&wherewiththehighwindthenblowinghemusthavemadeit5or6miles。
IthinkIaskedthefavr。ofyoutosendforAnthonyintheseasonforinoculn,aswellastodowhatisnecessaryintheorchard,astopursuetheobjectofinoculatingalltheSpontaneouscherrytreesinthefieldswithgoodfruit。
Wehavenowgotoverabout400milesofourtourandhavestillabout450moretogoover。ArrivinghereontheSaturdayevening,andthelawsofthestatenotpermittingustotravelontheSunday,hasgivenmetimetowritetoyoufromhence。IexpecttobeatPhiladelphiabythe20thor21st。Iam,withgreat&sincereesteemDearSiryoursaffectionately。
BREACHOFAFRIENDSHIP
_ToJohnAdams_
_Philadelphia,July17,1791_
DEARSIR——Ihaveadozentimestakenupmypentowritetoyouandasoftenlaiditdownagain,suspendedbetweenopposingconsiderations。Ideterminehowevertowritefromaconvictionthattruth,betweencandidminds,canneverdoharm。
ThefirstofPaine’spamphletsontheRightsofman,whichcametohandhere,belongedtoMr。Beckley。HelentittoMr。Madisonwholentittome;andwhileIwasreadingitMr。Beckleycalledonmeforit,and,asIhadnotfinishedit,hedesiredme,assoonasI
shouldhavedoneso,tosendittoMr。JonathanB。Smith,whosebrothermeanttoreprintit。Ifinishedreadingit,and,asIhadnoacquaintancewithMr。JonathanB。Smith,proprietyrequiredthatI
shouldexplaintohimwhyI,astrangertohim,senthimthepamphlet。IaccordinglywroteanoteofcomplimentinforminghimthatIdiditatthedesireofMr。Beckley,and,totakeoffalittleofthedrynessofthenote,IaddedthatIwasgladitwastobereprintedhere,andthatsomethingwastobepubliclysaidagainstthepoliticalheresieswhichhadsprungupamongusetc。IthoughtsolittleofthisnotethatIdidnotevenkeepacopyofit:noreverheardatittlemoreofittill,theweekfollowing,Iwasthunderstruckwithseeingitcomeoutattheheadofthepamphlet。I
hopedhoweveritwouldnotattractnotice。ButIfoundonmyreturnfromajourneyofamonththatawritercameforwardunderthesignatureofPublicola,attackingnotonlytheauthorandprinciplesofthepamphlet,butmyselfasit’ssponsor,byname。SoonaftercamehostsofotherwritersdefendingthepamphletandattackingyoubynameasthewriterofPublicola。Thuswereournamesthrownonthepublicstageaspublicantagonists。ThatyouandIdifferinourideasofthebestformofgovernmentiswellknowntousboth:butwehavedifferedasfriendsshoulddo,respectingthepurityofeachother’smotives,andconfiningourdifferenceofopiniontoprivateconversation。AndIcandeclarewithtruthinthepresenceofthealmightythatnothingwasfurtherfrommyintentionorexpectationthantohavehadeithermyownoryournamebroughtbeforethepubliconthisoccasion。Thefriendshipandconfidencewhichhassolongexistedbetweenusrequiredthisexplanationfromme,andIknowyoutoowelltofearanymisconstructionofthemotivesofit。Somepeopleherewhowouldwishmetobe,ortobethought,guiltyofimproprieties,havesuggestedthatIwasAgricola,thatIwasBrutusetc。etc。Ineverdidinmylife,eitherbymyselforbyanyother,haveasentenceofmineinsertedinanewspaperwithoutputtingmynametoit;andIbelieveInevershall。
WhiletheempressisrefusingpeaceunderamediationunlessOczakowandit’sterritorybecededtoher,sheisofferingpeaceontheperfectstatuquotothePorte,iftheywillconcludeitwithoutamediation。Francehasstruckasevereblowatournavigationbyadifferenceofdutyontob[acc]ocarriedinourandtheirships,andbytakingfromforeignbuiltshipsthecapabilityofnaturalization。
Shehasplacedourwhaleoilonratherabetterfootingthaneverbyconsolidatingthedutiesintoasingleoneof6。livres。Theyamountedbeforetosomesousoverthatsum。IamtoldIknownothowtrulythatEnglandhasprohibitedourspermacetioilaltogether,andwillprohibitourwheattillthepricethereis52/thequarter,whichitalmostneveris。WeexpecthourlytohearthetrueeventofGenl。Scott’sexpedition。Reportsgivefavorablehopesofit。BesogoodastopresentmyrespectfulcomplimentstoMrs。AdamsandtoacceptassurancesofthesentimentsofsincereesteemandrespectwithwhichIamDearSirYourfriendandservant。
HOPEFOR”OURBLACKBRETHREN”
_ToBenjaminBanneker_
_Philadelphia,Aug。30,1791_
SIR,——Ithankyousincerelyforyourletterofthe19thinstantandfortheAlmanacitcontained。NobodywishesmorethanI
dotoseesuchproofsasyouexhibit,thatnaturehasgiventoourblackbrethren,talentsequaltothoseoftheothercolorsofmen,andthattheappearanceofawantofthemisowingmerelytothedegradedconditionoftheirexistence,bothinAfrica&America。I
canaddwithtruth,thatnobodywishesmoreardentlytoseeagoodsystemcommencedforraisingtheconditionbothoftheirbody&mindtowhatitoughttobe,asfastastheimbecilityoftheirpresentexistence,andothercircumstanceswhichcannotbeneglected,willadmit。IhavetakenthelibertyofsendingyourAlmanactoMonsieurdeCondorcet,SecretaryoftheAcademyofSciencesatParis,andmemberofthePhilanthropicsociety,becauseIconsidereditasadocumenttowhichyourwholecolourhadarightfortheirjustificationagainstthedoubtswhichhavebeenentertainedofthem。
Iamwithgreatesteem,SirYourmostobed’thumbleserv’t。
STRENGTHENINGTHESTATEGOVERNMENTS
第39章