CHAPTER public trusts talents and virtue, unless accompanied by

IX.

wealth.

1796. In relation to the extensive injuries recently com

mitted upon American trade in the West Indies by the cruisers and agents of the French republic, and to communications lately received from the French minister, far from agreeable in other respects, and indicating the danger of still further interruptions, the president observed: "It has been my constant, sincere, and earnest wish, in conformity with that of our nation, to maintain cordial harmony and a perfectly friendly understanding with that republic. This wish remains unabated; and I shall persevere in the endeavor to fulfill it to the utmost extent of what shall be consistent with a just and indispensable regard to the rights and honor of our country; nor will I easily cease to cherish the expectation that a spirit of justice, candor, and friendship on the part of that republic will eventually insure success. But, in pursuing this course, I can not forget what is due to the character of our government and nation, or to a full and entire confidence in the good sense, patriotism, self-respect, and fortitude of my countrymen."

After suggesting to the House the expediency of carrying into effect at the present session the provisions discussed during the previous one, for the relief of the finances and the more complete discharge of the public debt, the speech concluded as follows: "The situation in which I now stand for the last time, in the midst of the representatives of the people of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the administration of the present form of government commenced; and I can not omit the occasion to congratulate you and my country on the success of the experiment, nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the uni

IX.

verse and Sovereign Arbiter of nations that his provi- CHAPTER dential care may still be extended to the United States, that the virtue and happiness of the people may be pre- 1796. served, and that the government which they have instituted for the protection of their liberties may be perpetual."

The answer, on the part of the House, was not agreed to without a good deal of debate, in which considerable handle was made by the opposition of an unlucky passage in the original draft alluding to the inhabitants of the United States as "the freest and most enlightened people on earth." So far as related to all the rest of the world, the modesty of the opposition would not have been so greatly shocked; but they were exceedingly distressed at the idea of thus taking precedence of the French republic. After a pretty complete echo of the sentiments of the president, by no means agreeable to the opposition, yet not quite strong enough to satisfy the more ardent Federalists, the answer, as agreed to, was principally occupied with compliments to Washington on the occasion of his approaching retirement. It concluded with the following words: "For our country's sake, for the sake of republicanism, it is our earnest wish that your example may be the guide of your successors, and thus, after being the ornament and safeguard of the present age, become the patrimony of our descendants." however, was further than the more zealous of the opposition were willing to go; and a motion to strike out this paragraph received the support of twenty-four members, near a third of the whole number voting. Gallatin, Giles, Andrew Jackson, Livingston, Macon, Swanwick, and Varnum were among the number. Of the twentyfour, eight were from Virginia. Madison, Nicholas, and Page were not prepared to go quite so far; they voted

This,

IX.

CHAPTER against the amendment, as also did Claiborne. The other seven Virginia members did not vote. The address did 1796. not finally pass without a call for the yeas and nays by Dec. 15. Blount of North Carolina-the same who had been put forward at the previous session to move the resolutions. as to the treaty-making power-and who now declared his anxiety to transmit the fact to posterity that he, Thomas Blount, had not been consenting to the address. Twelve members recorded themselves in the negative in Blount's company, among them Giles, Andrew Jackson, Livingston, and Macon.

The state of feeling toward Washington among the more violent part of the opposition may be judged of by Dec. 23. the following extract from a cotemporaneous article in the Aurora: "If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washington. duct, then, be an example to future ages.

Let his con

Let it serve

Let the

to be a warning that no man may be an idol.
history of the federal government instruct mankind that
the mask of patriotism may be worn to conceal the foul-
est designs against the liberties of the people." This,
indeed, was but a somewhat exaggerated specimen of
the abusive articles to be found almost daily in the col-
umns of the Aurora, from the office of which had just
issued a most virulent pamphlet, under the form of a let-
ter to Washington from the notorious Thomas Paine,
whose natural insolence and dogmatism had now become
aggravated by habitual drunkenness. This pamphlet,
sent for publication from Paris, had been composed under
the roof of Monroe, with whom Paine was residing, hav-
ing been released from prison at Monroe's intercession.
Paine's claim to be an American citizen, though he had

RESPONSES TO WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 697

IX.

sat in the Convention as a citizen of France, had been CHAPTER made the basis of an application, such as Monroe did not venture upon in Madame La Fayette's case, also a pris- 1796. oner, and for whom his intervention had likewise been solicited.

Nor did Washington's assailants confine themselves to libels. Among other means for destroying his influence was the republication of certain forged letters, originally printed in England in the course of the Revolutionary war, and artfully framed for the purpose of exhibiting Washington as secretly sick of the cause, and opposed to the Declaration of Independence.

These efforts of violent party zeal produced, however, but little effect on the great mass of the people. The state Legislatures, as they respectively met, responded, with but one or two exceptions, in the old tone of confidence and affection, to Washington's Farewell Address. Several of them ordered that paper to be entered at length on their journals, and nearly all-even Virginia included, and that, too, by a unanimous vote-passed resolutions expressing their respect for the president's person, their high sense of his exalted services, and their regret at his approaching retirement from office. The particular friends of Washington in the Virginia House of Delegates wished, indeed, to make the address of that body a little more specific, by expressly ascribing to him "wisdom in the cabinet, valor in the field, and the purest patriotism in both;" but to this amendment the House refused to accede, seventy-four to sixty-nine.

The early part of the session of Congress was consumed in the House in an endeavor to bring into a satisfactory shape a bill for organizing the militia on the basis of a classification into active and reserved corps; but this failed, like all other attempts of the sort before and since.

CHAPTER
IX.

The necessity of making some additional financial provisions had called attention to the Revolutionary balances 1796. due to the Union from several of the states. Upon the report of the Committee of Ways and Means, to whom

that subject had been referred, the House, after a very 1797. warm debate, agreed to two resolutions, one requesting Jan. 5. the president to inform the debtor states of the amount due, with the interest thereon; the other, agreeing to accept payment in the same sort of stocks and in the same proportions in which the balances to the creditor states had been paid. Much stronger measures had been proposed. New York, the principal debtor state, held in stocks of the United States, proceeds of the sales of her wild lands, of confiscated property, and of army certifi cates, purchased up at a very low price out of the product of her excise under the Confederation, a sum about equal to the amount due from her to the United States. During the debate in committee, Nicholas proposed to seize upon these stocks by way of payment, and in the House a motion was made to prohibit transfers of stocks held by debtor states. This motion failed to be carried, but the New York Legislature, then in session, took care to guard against the future by ordering an immediate sale of their stocks. By way of retort on the Connecticut members, who were zealous for obtaining payment, Livingston moved for an inquiry into the Connecticut title to the lands of the Western Reserve, lately sold by her, and of which the settlement was now commencing; but this motion was laid on the table, without any action on it.

In obedience to a resolution of the preceding session, the Secretary of the Treasury had sent in a very elaborate report on the state of the finances. According to his calculations, allowing $2,700,000 for the annual