No More Learning

Vergennes, upon an annunciation being made to
him of the signature of the treaty, addressed a sharp re-
buke to Franklin for having concluded the preliminary
articles without any communication to him, " although the
instructions from congress prescribe that nothing should
be done without the participation of the king. " Franklin
mildly answered, that nothing had been agreed in the
preliminaries contrary to the interest of France, " and that
no peace was to take place between us and England till
France concluded hers. " He disclaimed any intentional
disrespect to the king, and asked to be excused "this single
indiscretion. "f
In a subsequent letter to the American government, af-
ter stating that Vergennes had been satisfied on this point,
he observed, in reference to a possible censure by con-
gress, "that their nomination of five persons to this ser-
? 3 S. J. 159. Report of Lovell, Carroll, and Madison, t 4 D. C. 57.
19
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THE LIFE OF
vice, seems to mark that they had some dependence on
our joint judgments, since one alone could have made a
treaty by direction of the French ministry as well as
twenty. " He imputes the conduct of France to an appre-
hension that if America should have claimed too much, the
opportunity of peace might have been lost; comments on
the suspicions entertained by Adams that Vergennes and
he " were continually plotting against him, and employing
the ministers of Europe to depreciate his character;" but
at the same time makes the declaration, " I am persuaded,
however, that he means well for his country, is always an
honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes and in some
things absolutely out of his senses. "*
The result of these negotiations was received by the
people of America with a burst of approbation. Not only
had the United States obtained all, but more than they
could have expected; every essential right had been se-
cured--no sacrifice had been made of the national honour.
But a different feeling existed with a party in congress;
that which the nation approved, they deemed deserving
of censure.
The American commissioners, on the annunciation to
congress of the conclusion of the preliminary treaty, ex-
plained the motives which had induced them to approve
of its leading articles. As to the boundaries, they stated
the extent of the British claims--the hostility of France.
and Spain to the American interests--and the advanta-
geous limits which had been established.
The provision for the British creditors was defended on
the obvious principles of justice. The articles as to the
refugees were represented as having been assented to by
Great Britain because it was particularly important to its
administration then to conclude the negotiation. The
* 4 D. C. 139.
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? HAMtLTON. 147
concealment of the provisions of the treaty from France
was justified on the ground that they " did not correspond
with the policy of France. " The stipulation to act "in
confidence and in concurrence with her," was founded on
a mutual understanding that she would assist the United
States in obtaining their " indubitable rights;" and having
opposed them, they insisted she was no longer entitled to
that confidence, and that the injunction "to do nothing
without the advice and consent of that court," could not
have intended a consultation to procure an injury.
The separate article, they observed, was added from co-
gent motives. Deeming it important to extend the limits
of the United States to the lowest possible point on the
Mississippi, it was thought advisable to impress Britain
with a strong sense of the value of this navigation to her
future commerce on the interior waters from the Saint
Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, and thus to render her
averse to the claims of Spain. These objects militated
against each other, because to enhance the value of the
navigation, was also to enhance the value of the contiguous
territory, and disincline England to a dereliction of it.
This was effected by a composition: Great Britain with-
drew her pretensions above the Yazoo, and the United
States ceded all below it, in case that power should repos-
sess Florida; both parties retaining the common use of
the Mississippi. This composition was inserted in a sepa-
rate article, expressly in order to keep it secret, lest Spain
should have been irritated and have retarded the conclu-
sion of the negotiation. France had no interest in this
matter--she was not entitled to be informed of it.
Jefferson had been appointed early in the session a
member of this commission, and was at this time engaged
in the department of state preparing for its duties. The
advices removing the motives to his departure, his appoint-
ment was revoked.
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Under date of the sixth of November, the secretary
of foreign affairs had written "that the clauses of the
commission to Mr. Fitzherbert, which were designed to
include the United States, were strong indications of the
extreme reluctance of the British to give up their supposed
dominion over this country. " In another letter, under the
supposition that England would withhold the fisheries, he
observed, "they are essential to some states, and we can-
not but hate the nation that keeps us from using this com-
mon favour of Providence. "
Notwithstanding the evidence these despatches gave
that the clauses in the commission which he had repro-
bated were inserted with the approbation of Vergennes,
and although England had yielded the fisheries in despite
of the efforts of France to keep us from " using this com-
mon favour of Providence," a criminatory letter was ad-
dressed by him to congress, asking their directions as to
the reply to be given to these communications.
In this letter, after a sharp condemnation of their con-
duct, he proposed three resolutions to be passed: one
directing him to communicate the secret article to the am-
bassador of France, in such manner as will best remove
any unfavourable impression of the sincerity of these
states or their minister; another, informing the Ameri-
can commissioners of this act, and of the reasons which
influenced congress, and instructing them to agree that in
whatever hands West Florida might remain at the conclu-
sion of the war, the United States will be satisfied with
the limits in the separate article; and a third, declaring the
"sense" of congress that the provisional articles " are not
to take place until a peace shall have been actually signed"
between France and Britain.
The preamble to these articles declared, " that the treaty
of peace which they were to constitute, was not to be
concluded until terms of a peace shall be agreed upon be-
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? HAMILTON. 149
tween Great Britain and France. His Britannic majesty
shall be ready to conclude such treaty accordingly. " This
preamble, he declared, was so expressed, as to render it
"very doubtful whether our treaty does not take place the
moment France and England have agreed on the terms
of their treaty, though France should refuse to sign till her
allies were satisfied. "
Had the proposed resolution passed, its effect would
have been to keep the question of peace or war open until
France should have satisfied her allies;--to have made the
termination of this controversy depend on the disposition
of Spain to relinquish her extravagant pretensions to the
western territory of the United States.
When the character of this treaty is considered, it is not
to be supposed that a communication of such a complexion
would have been prepared on the sole responsibility and
suggestion of its author, and without confidence in the
strength of the party in congress devoted to France. On
its being read, a vote of censure was proposed as to a
negotiation which must forever command the gratitude of
the American people, and in which Jay took "a lead no
less honourable to his talents than to his firmness. "
This vote of censure was sustained by Madison ;* but
* Judge Peters, who was a member of this congress, and who offered an
approving resolution, wrote to Jay :--
"I voted against an unwarrantable philippic of censure, brought forward
in congress against your conduct to please the French. I thought then,
and do now, that it was a mean compliance. Our friend Madison, who was
generally then with us, left his friends on that subject, and I never liked him
the better for it. " Jay replied: "After my return in 1784, I was informed
of the debate in congress on the proposed resolution which you mention. In
my opinion Madison voted consistently. "--2 Jay's Life, 401,404.
Referring to a resolution of Virginia, Madison wrote Randolph, January
7,1783:--" The preliminary requisition of an acknowledgment of our inde-
pendence, in the most ample manner, seems to be still more incautious, since
it disaccords with the treaty of alliance which admits the sufficiency of a
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THE LIFE OF
there were those in that senate who would have incurred
any sacrifice, rather than a sacrifice of the dignity of their
country to avert the displeasure of any foreign power.
It was resisted, and resisted firmly, perseveringly, and
successfully.
Different substitutes were offered. That of Hamilton
declared, that "as congress are desirous of manifesting at
all times the most perfect confidence in their ally, the
secret article should be communicated to the minister of
France by the secretary of foreign affairs; and that he in-
form the commissioners of the reasons for that communi-
cation, expressing to them the desire of congress that they
will, upon all occasions, maintain perfect harmony and
confidence with an ally to whose generous assistance the
United States are so signally indebted; that congress en-
tertain a high sense of the services of these commissioners,
for their steady attention to the dignity and essential rights
of the United States, and in obtaining from the court of
Great Britain articles so favourable and so important to
those interests. "*
These substitutes were referred, and on the nineteenth
of March, a report was made, the draft of which still ex-
ists with encomiastic interlineations in Hamilton's hand.
During the debate on this report, intelligence of the sig-
lacit acknowledgment. " Also, March 18, 1783--"The latest letters from
our ministers express the greatest jealousy of Great Britain; and secondly,
that the situation of France betweenthe interfering claims of Spain and the
United States, to which may perhaps be added some particular views of her
own, having carried her into a discountenance of our claims, the suspicions
of our ministers on that side gave an opportunity to British address to decoy
them into a degree of confidence, which seems to leave their own reputa-
tions, as well bb the safety of their country, at the mercy of Shelburne. In
this business Jay has taken the lead, and proceeded to a length of which you
can form little idea. Adams has followed with cordiality; Franklin has
been dragged into it. "
? Vol. 2, No. 25, state department.
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? HAMILTON. 151
nature of the preliminary articles was received, and on
the fifteenth of April the instrument of ratification prepar-
ed by Hamilton was agreed to.
He wrote to Jay:--" Though I have not performed my
promise of writing to you, which I made you when
you left this country, yet I have not the less inter-
ested myself in your welfare and success. I have been
witness with pleasure to every event which has had a ten-
dency to advance you in the esteem of your country; and
I may assure you with sincerity, that it is as high as you
can possibly wish. ,
"The peace, which exceeds in the goodness of its terms
the expectations of the most sanguine, does the highest
honour to those who made it. It is the more agreeable, as
the time was come when thinking men began to be se-
riously alarmed at the internal embarrassments and ex-
hausted state of this country. The New-England people
talk of making you an annual fish-offering, as an acknow-
ledgment of your exertions for the participation of the
fisheries.
"We have now happily concluded the great work of
independence, but much remains to be done to reap the
fruits of it. Our prospects are not flattering. Every day
proves the inefiicacy of the present confederation; yet the
common danger being removed, we are receding instead
of advancing in a disposition to amend its defects. The
road to popularity in each state is, to inspire jealousies of
the power of congress; though nothing can be more appa-
rent than that they have no power, and that for the want
of it the resources of the country during the war could not
be drawn out, and we at this moment experience all the
mischief of a bankrupt and ruined credit. It is to be
hoped that when prejudice and folly have run themselves
out of breath, we may return to reason and correct our
errors. "
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The preceding narrative develops a policy which evi-
dently sought to curtail the limits and to check the growth
of this infant empire. A confirmation of its purposes is to
be found in the instructions of Montmorin, the successor
of Vergennes, to his legate in the United States. "That
it is not advisable for France to give to America all the
stability of which she is susceptible: she will acquire a
degree of power she will be too well disposed to abuse. "
It is seen in the continued efforts of her agents to support
the impotent confederacy of the states, after every enlight-
ened and every virtuous patriot had condemned it; and
may be read in the proclamation to the world by their
successors, of the perfidious conduct of the old government
of France towards their too confiding ally.
Such a policy, it would seem, could only have been sug-
gested by and founded upon the subservience of leading
men in this country, who, prompted by illicit motives, allied
themselves to her corrupt and crafty councils.
When the existence and consequences of such a con-
nection are considered, Hamilton's public declaration will
not excite surprise :--
"Upon my first going into congress, I discovered symp-
toms of a party too well disposed to subject the interests
of the United States to the management of France.
Though I felt, in common with those who had participated
in the revolution, a lively sentiment of good-will towards
a power whose co-operation, however it was and ought to
have been dictated by its own interest, had been extremely
useful to us, and had been afforded in a liberal and hand-
some manner; yet, tenacious of the real independence of
our country, and dreading the preponderance of foreign
influence as the natural disease of popular government, I
was struck with disgust at the appearance, in the very
cradle of our republic, of a party actuated by an undue
complaisance to a foreign power, and I resolved at once to
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? HAMILTON.
153
resist this bias in our affairs: a resolution which has been
the chief cause of the persecution I have endured in the
subsequent stages of my political life.
"Among the fruits of the bias I have mentioned, were the
celebrated instructions to our commissioners, for treating
of peace with Great Britain; which, not only as to final
measures, but also as to preliminary and intermediate ne-
gotiations, placed them in a state of dependence on the
French ministry, humiliating to themselves and unsafe for
the interests of the country. This was the more excep-
tionable, as there was cause to suspect, that, in regard to
the two cardinal points of the fisheries and the navigation
of the Mississippi, the policy of the cabinet of Versailles
did not accord with the wishes of the United States.
"The commissioners, of whom Mr. Adams was one, had
the fortitude to break through the fetters which were laid
upon them by those instructions; and there is reason to
believe that, by doing it, they both accelerated the peace
with Great Britain and improved the terms, while they
preserved our faith with France. Yet a serious attempt
was made to obtain from congress a formal censure of
their conduct. The attempt failed, and instead of cen-
sure, the praise was awarded which was justly due to the
accomplishment of a treaty advantageous to this country
beyond the most sanguine expectation. In this result, my
efforts were heartily united. "
20
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THE LIFE OF
CHAPTER XVIII.
[1783. ]
The necessity felt by the friends of the public faith of
availing themselves of the army discontents, much as the
exercise of such an influence was apprehended, is shown
by the proceedings of Massachusetts, at that time the rich-
est state in the confederation, and which had suffered less
than any other from the war.
It will be remembered that the half-pay was established
in seventeen hundred and eighty, by a congress elected
before the articles of the confederation had gone into ope-
ration, while they were exercising all the large powers
which, in the early exigencies of the country, had been
conferred upon them, and which were incidental to the
purposes of their election; no question could, therefore,
exist as to their right to make this pledge.
The articles of the confederation were adopted on the
first March, seventeen hundred and eighty-one. By the
twelfth article, all the engagements of the previous con-
gresses were sanctioned as a charge against the United
States, " for the payment whereof the public faith was so-
lemnly pledged. " Yet, with a knowledge of this pledge,
the legislature of Massachusetts, under the influence of the
individuals who had been principally instrumental in
framing those articles, though they admitted the discre-
tionary power of congress to provide for the support of
the army, declared that the principles of equity had not
been attended to in the grant of half-pay: "that being,
in their opinion, a grant of more than an adequate reward
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? HAMILTON. 155
for their services, and inconsistent with that equality
which ought to subsist among citizens of free and republi-
can states; that such a measure appeared to be calculated
to raise and exalt some citizens in wealth and grandeur, to
the injury and oppression of others. "
Such was the language of a state, in reference to an
explicit public engagement, to an army which had by that
engagement alone been saved from dissolution. This re-
monstrance of Massachusetts was brought before congress
at a later period than that now under consideration. A
committee sustained the grant, independent of all consid-
erations of policy, upon the ground that it was a complete
and constitutional act; yet such were the jealousies of this
assembly, that on the discussion of their report, the decla-
ration of the constitutional power of congress to make it
was stricken out; and the delegates of Massachusetts,
though some of them were in favour of the measure,
yielded so far to the influence of their state, as to decline
voting on the final question. *
Among the resolutions adopted by the army on the fif-
teenth of March, one expressed their " unshaken confi-
dence in the justice of congress and their country; and
stated that they were fully convinced that the representa-
tives of America would not disband or disperse them, un-
til their accounts were liquidated, the balances accurately
ascertained, and adequate funds established for their pay-
ment. "
The terms of this resolution had given great embarrass-
ment. The committee of which Hamilton was chairman,
requested him to communicate their difficulties to the com-
mander-in-chief, and to ask his private opinion, which ha
* A formal protest signed by Samuel Adams was presented to congress,
in which it is to be remarked, that this provision for the army is assigned as
one of the reasons for refusing the impost.
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THE LIFE OF
thus did:--" The army, by their resolutions, express an
expectation that congress will not disband them previous
to a settlement of accounts and the establishment of funds.
Congress may resolve upon the first, but the general opin-
ion is, that they cannot constitutionally declare the second.
They have no right by the confederation to demand funds,
they can only recommend; and to determine that the army
shall be continued in service till the states grant them,
would be to determine that the whole present army shall
be a standing army during peace, unless the states comply
with the requisitions for funds. This, it is supposed^would
excite the claims and jealousies of the states, and increase
rather than lessen the opposition to the funding scheme.
It is also observed that the longer the army is kept together,
the more the payment of past dues is procrastinated; the
abilities of the states being exhausted for their immediate
support, and a new debt every day incurred. It is further
suggested, that there is danger in keeping the army to-
gether in a state of inactivity, and that a separation of the
several lines would facilitate the settlement of accounts,
diminish present expense, and avoid the danger of the
union.
It is added, that the officers of each line, being on
the spot, might, by their own solicitations and those of their
friends, forward the adoption of funds in the different
states. A proposition will be transmitted to you by Colo-
nel Bland, in the form of a resolution to be adopted by
congress, framed upon the principles of the foregoing rea-
soning.
"Another proposition is contained in the following reso-
lution :--' That the commander-in-chief be informed, it is
the intention of congress to effect the settlement of the
accounts of the respective lines previous to their reduction,
and that congress are doing and will continue to do every
thing in their power towards procuring satisfactory secu-
rities for what shall be found due on such settlement. '
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? HAMILTON.
157
"The scope of this, your excellency will perceive with-
out comment. I am to request you will favour me with
your sentiments on both the propositions, and in general
with your ideas of what had best be done with reference
to the expectation expressed by the officers, taking into
view the situation of congress. On one side, the army
expect they will not be disbanded till accounts are settled
and funds established; on the other hand, they have no
constitutional power of doing any thing more than to
recommend funds, and are persuaded that these will
meet with mountains of prejudice in some of the states.
A considerable progress has been made in a plan for
funding the public debt, and it is to be hoped it will ere
long go forth to the states with every argument that can
give it success.
"Philadelphia, 25th of March, 1783. " ,
This public letter was enclosed in a private one of the
same date, which exhibits his deep sense of the injuries to
which the army was exposed, and his indignation and dis-
gust at the imbecile counsels that induced congress to trifle
with so solemn an engagement.
"SIB,
"The enclosed I write more in a public than in a private
capacity. Here I write as a citizen zealous for the true
happiness of this country; as a soldier who feels what is
due to an army which has suffered every thing and done
much for the safety of America.
"I sincerely wish ingratitude was not so natural to the
human heart as it is. I sincerely wish there were no
seeds of it in those who direct the councils of the United
States. But while I urge the army to moderation, and
advise your excellency to take the direction of their dis-
contents, and endeavour to confine them within the bounds
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? 158 TIIE LIFE OF
of duty, I cannot, as an honest man, conceal from you that
I am afraid their distrusts have too much foundation. Re-
publican jealousy has in it a principle of hostility to an
army, whatever be their merits, whatever be their claims to
the gratitude of the community. It acknowledges their
services with unwillingness, and rewards them with reluc-
tance. I see this temper, though smothered with great
care, involuntarily breaking out upon too many occasions.
I often feel a mortification which it would be impolitic to
express, that sets my passions at variance with my reason.
Too many, I perceive, if they could do it with safety or
colour, would be glad to elude the just pretensions of the
army. I hope, however, this is not the prevailing disposi-
tion.
"But supposing the country ungrateful, what can the
army do? It must submit to its hard fate. To seek re-
dress by its arms, would end in its ruin. The army would
moulder by its own weight; and for want of the means of
keeping together, the soldiery would abandon their officers.
There would be no chance of success without having re-
course to means that would reverse our revolution.
f I make these observations, not that I imagine your ex-
cellency can want motives to continue your influence in
the path of moderation, but merely to show why I cannot
myself enter into the views of coercion which some gen-
tlemen entertain; for I confess, could force avail, I should
almost wish to see it employed. I have an indifferent
opinion of the honesty of this country, and ill forebodings
of its future system.
"Your excellency will perceive I have written with
sensations of chagrin, and will make allowance for colour-
ing, but the general picture is too true. God send us all
more wisdom. "
Washington replied on the fourth of April:--
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? HAMILTON.
150
"dear sir,
"The same post which gave me your two letters of the
twenty-fifth of March, handed me one from Colonel Bland
on the same point.
"Observing that both have been written at the desire
of a committee of which you are both members, I have
made a very full reply to their subject in my letter which
is addressed to Colonel Bland; and supposing it unneces-
sary to enter into a complete detail to both, I must beg
leave to refer you to Colonel Bland's (a sight of which I
have desired him to give you) for a full explanation of my
ideas and sentiments.
"I read your private letter of the twenty-fifth with
pain, and contemplated the picture it had drawn, with
astonishment and horror. But I will yet hope for the best.
The idea of redress by force, is too chimerical to have had
a place in the imagination of any serious mind in this
army; but there is no telling what unhappy disturbances
may result from distress and distrust of justice: and as
the fears and jealousies of the army are alive, I hope no
resolution will be come to for disbanding or separating
the lines till the accounts are liquidated. You may rely
upon it, sir, that unhappy consequences would follow the
attempt. The suspicions of the officers are afloat, not-
withstanding the resolutions which have passed on both
sides; any act, therefore, which can be construed into an
attempt to separate them before the accounts are settled,
will convey the most unfavourable ideas of the rectitude
of congress; whether well or ill-founded matters not, the
consequences will be the same.
"I will now, in strict confidence, mention a matter which
may be useful for you to be informed of. It is, that some
men (and leading ones too) in this army are beginning to
entertain suspicions that congress, or some members of it,
regardless of the past sufferings and present distress--mau-
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THE LIFE OP
gre the justice which is due to them--and the return which
a grateful people should make to men who certainly have
contributed more than any other class to the establishment
of independency, are to be made use of as mere puppets
to establish continental funds; and that rather than not
succeed in this measure or weaken their ground, they
would make a sacrifice of the army and all its interests.
"I have two reasons for mentioning this matter to you.
The one is, that the army (considering the irritable state
it is in, its sufferings and composition) is a dangerous in-
strument to play with; the other, that every possible
means consistent with their own views (which certainly
are moderate) should be essayed to get it disbanded with-
out delay. I might add a third; it is, that the financier is'
suspected to be at the bottom of this scheme. If senti-
ments of this sort should become general, their operation
will be opposed to this plan, at the same time that it
would increase the present discontents. Upon the whole,
disband the army as soon as possible, but consult the
wishes of it, which really are moderate, in the mode, and
perfectly compatible with the honour, dignity, and justice
which is due from the country to it. I am, with great re-
gard, dear sir, your most obedient servant. "
Hamilton answered on the eleventh of April:--
"SIR,
"I have received your excellency's letters of the thirty-
first of March and fourth of April, the last to-day. The
one to Colonel Bland, as member of the committee, has been
read in committee confidentially, and gave great satisfac-
tion. The idea of not attempting to separate the army
before the settlement of accounts, corresponds with my
proposition; that of endeavouring to let them have some
pay, had also appeared to me indispensable. The expec-
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? HAMILTON.
tations of the army, as represented by your excellency, are
moderation itself. To-morrow we confer with the super-
intendent of finance on the subject of money. There will
be difficulty, but not, we hope, insurmountable. I thank
your excellency for the hints you are so obliging as to
give me in your private letter. I do not wonder at the
suspicions that have been infused; nor should I be sur-
prised to hear that I have been pointed out as one of the
persons concerned in playing the game described: but
facts must speak for themselves. The gentlemen who
were here from the army, General McDougall who is still
here, will be able to give a true account of those who
have supported the just claims of the army, and of those
who have endeavoured to elude them. There are two
classes of men, sir, in congress of very different views;
one attached to state, the other to continental politics.
The last have been strenuous advocates for funding the
public debt upon solid securities; the former have given
every opposition in their power, and have only been drag-
ged into the measures, which are now near being adopted,
by the clamours of the army and other public creditors.
The advocates for continental funds have blended the in-
terests of the army with other creditors, from a convic-
tion that no funds for partial purposes will go through
those states to whose citizens the United States are largely
indebted; or if they should be carried through from im-
pressions of the moment, would have the necessary sta-
bility; for the influence of those unprovided for would al-
ways militate against a provision for others, in exclusion
of them. It is in vain to tell men who have parted with
a large part of their property on the public faith, that the
services of the army are entitled to a preference. They
would reason from their interest and their feelings: these
would tell them that they had as great a title as any other
class of the community to public justice, and that while
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THE LIFE OF
this was denied to them, it would be unreasonable to make
them bear their part of a burden for the benefit of others.
This is the way they would reason, and as their influence
in some of the states was considerable, they would have
been able to prevent any partial provision.
"But the question was not merely how to do justice to
the creditors, but how to restore public credit. Taxation
in this country, it was found, could not supply a sixth part
of the public necessities. The loans in Europe were far
short of the balance, and the prospect every day diminish-
ing: the court of France telling us, in plain terms, she
could not even do as much as she had done; individuals in
Holland, and every where else, refusing to part with their
money on the precarious tenure of the mere faith of this
country, without any pledge for the payment either of
principal or interest. In this situation, what was to be
done? It was essential to our cause that vigorous efforts
should be made to restore public credit; it was necessary
to combine all the motives to this end, that could operate
upon different descriptions of persons in the different
stales. The necessity and discontents of the army pre-
sented themselves as a powerful engine. But, sir, these
gentlemen would be puzzled to support their insinuations
by a single fact. It was indeed proposed to appropriate
the intended impost on trade to the army debt, and, what
was extraordinary, by gentlemen who had expressed their
dislike to the principle of the fund. I acknowledge I was
one that opposed this, for the reasons already assigned and
for these additional ones: that was the fund on which we
most counted to obtain further loans in Europe; it was
necessary we should have a fund sufficient to pay the in-
terest of what had been borrowed and what was to be
borrowed. The truth was, these people in this instance
wanted to play off the army against the funding system.
"As to Mr. Morris, I will give your excellency a true
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? HAMILTON.
163
explanation of his conduct He had been for some time
pressing congress to endeavour to obtain funds, and had
found a great backwardness in the business. He found
the taxes unproductive in the different states; he found
the loans in Europe making a very slow progress; he found
himself pressed on all hands for supplies; he found himself,
in short, reduced to this alternative--either of making en-
gagements which he could not fulfil, or declaring his resig-
nation in case funds were not established by a given time.
Had he followed the first course, the bubble must soon
have burst; he must have sacrificed his credit and his
character, and public credit, already in a ruined condition,
would have lost its last support. He wisely judged it bet-
ter to resign; this might increase the embarrassments of
the moment, but the necessity of the case, it was to be
hoped, would produce the proper measures, and he might
then resume the direction of the machine with advantage
and success. He also had some hope that his resignation
would prove a stimulus to congress. He was, however,
ill advised in the publication of his letters of resignation.
This was an imprudent step, and has given a handle to his
personal enemies, who, by playing upon the passions of
others, have drawn some well-meaning men into the cry
against him. But Mr. Morris certainly deserves a great
deal from his country. I believe no man in this country
but himself could have kept the money machine a going
during the period he has been in office. From every thing
that appears, his administration has been upright as well
as able. The truth is, the old leaven of Deane and Lee is
at this day working against Mr. Morris. He happened in
that dispute to have been on the side of Deane, and certain
men can never forgive him. A man whom I once esteemed,
and whom I will rather suppose duped than wicked, is the
second actor in this business.
"The matter with respect to the army, which has occa-
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THE LIFE OF
sioned most altercation in congress, and most dissatisfaction
in the army, has been the half-pay. The opinions on this
head have been two: one party was for referring the
several lines to their states, to make such commutation as
they should think proper; thcother, for making the com-
mutation by congress, and funding it on continental secu-
rity. I was of this last opinion, and so were all those who
will be represented as having made use of the army as
puppets. Our principal reasons were--First, by referring
the lines to their respective states, those which were op-
posed to the half-pay would have taken advantage of the
officers' necessities to make the commutation far short of
an equivalent. Secondly, the inequality which would have
arisen in the different states when the officers came to com-
pare, (as has happened in other cases. ) would have been a
new source of discontent. Thirdly, such a reference was
a continuance of the old wretched state system, by which
the ties between congress and the army have been
nearly dissolved--by which the resources of the states
have been diverted from the common treasury and wasted;
a system which your excellency has often justly repro-
bated.
"I have gone into these details to give you a just idea of
the parties in congress. I assure you upon my honour, sir,
I have given you a candid statement of facts to the best
of my judgment. The men against whom the suspicions
you mention must be directed, are in general the most sen-
sible, the most liberal, the most independent, and the most
respectable characters in our body, as well as the most un-
equivocal friends to the army; in a word, they are the
men who think continentally.
"I am chairman of a committee for peace arrangements.
We shall ask your excellency's opinion at large on a proper
military peace establishment.
"We at this moment learn an officer is arrived from
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? HAMILTON.
165
Sir Guy Carleton with despatches; probably official ac-
counts of peace. "
From this letter may be seen the delicate and embar-
rassing position in which Hamilton was placed. Com-
pelled by a high sense of duty, and by his comprehensive
views of the public interest, to oppose those feeble and
partial measures of finance which he saw must result in
failure, he was exposed to all that misrepresentation and
malice could suggest as to his motives, and to the injurious
suspicion that, from considerations of policy, he would par-
ticipate in schemes to render the soldiery mere puppets to
advance the establishment of permanent funds.
Prompted, on the other hand, by that devotion to the
army and care of its interests which his relations to, them
peculiarly demanded of him, and which his deep distrust
of the purposes of congress increased, to use every proper
mean to enforce their claims, and almost to sanction a
line of conduct which was so necessary, and yet so full of
jeopardy, he unjustly incurred the deeper and more dan-
gerous suspicion of being accessary to an excitement
which, once aroused, might disregard all control, and in-
volve every interest, civil and military, in one common ruin.
Under these circumstances he followed the dictates of a
lofty intellect, and with the fullest confidence in the patri-
otism of his fellow-soldiers, and with a firm belief that the
dangers of military insubordination were exaggerated, he
adhered to his determination never to relinquish the de-
mands of public faith, which he pronounced "the corner-
stone of public safety. " He soon after received the fol-
lowing explanatory letter from Washington.
"Newburgh.
"DEAR SIR,
"My last letter to you was written in a hurry, when I
was fatigued by the more public yet confidential letter which
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THE LIFE OF
(with several others) accompanied it. Possibly I did not
on that occasion express myself, in what I intended as a
hint, with so much perspicuity as I ought. Possibly, too,
what I then dropped might have conveyed more than I
intended, for I do not at this time recollect the force of
my expression.
"My meaning, however, was only to inform (you) that
there were different sentiments in the army as well as in
congress respecting continental and state funds,--some
wishing to be thrown upon their respective states, rather
than the continent at large, for payment; and that, if an
idea should prevail generally that congress, or part of its
members or ministers, bent upon the latter, should delay
doing them justice, or hazard it in pursuit of their favour-
ite object, it might create such divisions in the army as
would weaken rather than strengthen the hands of those
who were disposed to support continental measures, and
might tend to defeat the end they themselves had in view
by endeavouring to involve the army. For these reasons
I said, or meant to say, the army was a dangerous engine
to work with, as it might be made to cut both ways, and,
considering the sufferings of it, would more than probably
throw its weight into that scale which seemed most likely
to preponderate towards its immediate relief, without look-
ing forward (under the pressure of present wants) to future
consequences with the eyes of politicians. In this light,
also, I meant to apply my observations to Mr. Morris, to
whom, or rather to Mr. G. M. , is ascribed in a great degree
the groundwork of the superstructure which was intended
to be raised in the army by the anonymous addresses.
"That no man can be more opposed to state funds and
local prejudices than myself, the whole tenor of my con-
duct has been one continual evidence of. No man, perhaps,
has had better opportunities to see and to feel the pernicious
tendency of the latter than I have, and I endeavour (I
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