Your Friend

If Mr B A 1 thinks a Question from me worth his answering, ask him whether he has lost some value-able Books which I have seen in his Library, the Works of our illustrious Forefathers.

1 Benjamin Austin.



1781



TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.

[MS., Lee Papers, American Philosophical Society.]

PHILADE Jany 15th 1781

MY DEAR SIR

Your second Letter came to hand in due Season. My much Esteemed Friend Mr Arthur Lee will take the Charge of this. I will say to you as I have said to my Boston Friends, who are sollicitous to know what Treatment he meets with here. The more I have conversd with him, the more I have been confirmd in a good opinion of him, and lamented the Mistakes and Prejudices of some Men & the Wickedness of others. His Enemies, I think, dare not openly attack his Reputation or Conduct. But the Whispers of Envy & Malice, have sometimes Influence enough to prevent the Justice due to the virtuous Citizen. When this is the Case, it affords a Symptom of the Decay of publick Spirit, more threatning to the Liberties of a Common Wealth than Hosts of foreign Enemies. Monarchs have their Favorites who serve as Pimps on their honest Subjects. But Republicks should examine the Conduct of their Servants with an impartial Eye; and it discovers the Want of pub-lick Virtue, as much, to withhold their Smiles from the wise and good as to bestow them on the wicked & unfaithful. Mr Lee has as yet had neither Smiles nor Frowns. I am still in hopes, he will meet with the Rewards which I am sure he would have receivd if he had returnd a few years ago. He will have them, when the Trustees of the Publick shall have Fortitude enough, to be uninfluencd by great Names & Characters given to Men of base & depraved Minds. You will ask, when that will be. Perhaps not in this Age. But the Historian will in some future time draw forth the Proofs of his Patriotism, & unprejudicd Posterity will acknowledge that Arthur Lee has borne a great Share in defending & establishing the Liberties of America. I say Posterity; for I believe that a wiser Generation will enjoy the Fruits of the Toil of Patriots & Heroes in the present Day.

My Friend, we must not suffer any thing to discourage us in this great Conflict. Let us recur to first Principles without Delay. It is our Duty, to make every proper Exertion in our respective States to revive the old patriotick Feelings among the People at large, and to get the publick Departments, especially the most important of them, filled with Men of Understanding & inflexible Virtue. It would be indeed alarming, if the United States should ever entrust the Ship in which our all is at Stake, with inexperiencd or unprincipled Pilots. Our Cause is surely too interesting to Mankind, to be put under the Direction of Men, vain, avaricious or conceald under the Hypocritical Guise of Patriotism, without a Spark of publick or private Virtue. We may possibly be more in Danger of this, than many of our honest Citizens may imagine. Is there not Reason to apprehend, that even those who are inimical to our Cause may steal into Places of the highest Trust? I need not remind you that Men of this Character have had Seats in Congress from the begining. Where is Galloway, LOW, Allen & Alexander?—If it was so in those Times of Vigilance & Zeal, how much more is it to be expected, when the Love of many is waxen cold, & their Minds are distracted with the Pursuit of Pleasure & exorbitant Riches. We cannot be perswaded to believe that bad Men have been sent by their States with a View of giving a fatal Stab to our Cause in its Infancy; but is it unreasonable to suppose that their Elections were secretly influencd by artful Men, with that Design. Our most dangerous Enemies may be in our Bosoms.

Mr Lee will inform you how Matters go on here.

I must let you know that when your Kinsman Mr William Lee was in Boston in Sept 1779 he borrowed five hundred Dollars of Moses Gill Esqr, and drew his Bill on his Brother Mr George Lee of Westmoreland County. I wish it may be paid on Sight, for it was advancd on my Application.

My Regards to Mrs Lee &c. Adieu & believe me to be

Your Friend



TO JOHN PITTS.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILAD. Jany 17 1781

MY DEAR SIR

Your favor of the 17th of Novr was duly receivd. It bodes very ill to Government when Men are exalted to places of high trust through their own Sollicitations. He only fills a place with Dignity, who is invited to it by his Fellow Citizens, from the Experience they have had of his adequate Abilities, & who does the Duties of it with Zeal & Fidelity. Such a Man, being conscious that neither Smiles, Intreaties, Gifts, Intrigue nor any dishonorable Practices have procured him his high Station, may rely on the People who gave him their free Suffrages, to approve of his honest Endeavors to serve them. And having Nothing in View but that the Publick may be best servd, he will chearfully resign his Place whenever the People shall make Choice of another whom they judge more capable than he. The People are certainly the best Judges, who are most likely to render them substantial Service; & whoever interposes in their Elections, with his own Sollicitations for himself, it is to be feard, if he is of any Consequence, will in time become a dangerous Party Man. He ought therefore to be despisd as an obtruder. I hope there are not many such Men in our Government. I am sorry to be informd that there are any. They should be watchd; for if they have no evil Designs, their Vanity may prompt them to do Mischief. The Express waits. Adieu.



TO JAMES WARREN.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE Feb 1st 1781—

MY DEAR SIR

I have not had Leisure to write to you since the 20th of Novr. Indeed I am not willing to trust a Confidential Letter to the Post, which has shamefully been catchd in the same Trap more than once. I gladly embrace the opportunity by Mr Otis, with whom I have had frequent & candid Conversations concerning Men & Things. He will be able to tell you some Truths which I do not think it prudent to commit to Paper. You & I have been long struggling for the Liberty of our Country. I believe its Independence will be finally acknowledgd by the World. But are not many Nations England in particular called Independent? And do you think the People of England are free. No People, in my opinion can be long free who are not virtuous; and it is no Sign of Virtue, when the Councils of an enlightned Country are directed by a foreign Influence. If I were a Minister at a foreign Court, my Vanity might be flatterd, in imagining that by having Address enough to rule its Measures, I might fix myself in the Esteem and Confidence of my Country, but I should entertain a contemptible Opinion of the Wisdom & Virtue of that Court if it would suffer me to do it. The Councils of a Nation must be weak in the extreme, or it must be reducd to the greatest Degree of Dependence to submit to so servile a Condition. You will not think I have the remotest Reference in what I now say, jealous as I allow my self to be, to the Amphictyon of the United States of America. It is presumd they will always have too high a Sense of their Dignity to suffer themselves & their Nation to be degraded. But when Peace is happily settled & a Number of foreign Ministers are about our Court, it will require Men of great Knowledge of the World & Experience in Affairs to penetrate their various Intrigues. I have been assured that the Court of France would be highly disgusted with any of its Ministers if they should improperly interfere in our Councils; and indeed when I consider the Jealousy of a rising Republick, I think nothing would equal the Impolicy of their attempting it, but the Imprudence of Congress in submitting to it. —— But I am unexpectedly called off and Mr Otis is just going. I intended to have written to you largely but must omit it till the next opportunity. Pray inform my worthy Friend Capt Bradford that I must also omit writing to him, as I intended, for the same Reason.

your affectionate,

TO MRS. ADAMS.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE Feb. 1st 1781

MY DEAR BETSY

My last was by Major Clarkson. He is a young officer of military Merit. I wish you would entertain him with a Dish of Tea.

Our new AEra of Government, I fancy, has occasiond a Revolution in political Circles & a Change of Connections. I cannot otherwise account for the long Silence of my Friend Doctor Cooper. I used to correspond with him very confidentially. We indeed thought aloud together. But I have receivd only one Letter from him since I left Boston, which was deliverd to me by Mr A Lee. I considerd it as a Compliment to that most deserving Patriot, rather than a Letter of Friendship to me. I have written several Times to him, & once desired particular Information, which he might have given me without offending any Man, but he has not done it. I hope the Doctor does not think his Letters troublesome to me. He has no Reason to think so. But, he chuses to close the Correspondence, & you know, that I am disposd on such Occasions, to retaliate. It sometimes affects my Feelings, but I shall never be in Debt on that Score. You may let the Dr read this Letter if he pleases, but no other Person; for when I think amiss of the private Conduct of a Friend, I let none know it, but him & you. Indeed I shall say nothing to you at present that I would not wish him to know. I employ no Pimps or Spies on my Fellow Citizens, & yet I hear of many things that are said & done in Boston. I may sometimes be misinformd, & I am always inclind to think I am, when I cannot reconcile what is said with the Honor & Integrity of Friendship. If Mr W C1 has "spoken very disrespectfully" of me, I am sorry for him. It gives me no Pain on my Account because I deserve not his reproach. I know he is apt to be sanguine in his Opinions of Men, & his Zeal in Elections has been commendable. But as I did not interest myself at all in the late Elections he might have spared me. I have candidly declared, when I was asked in Boston, who I thought to be most endowd with those great Qualities, which should characterize the first Magistrate of so respectable a Commonwealth. This is the Right, it is the Duty of every Citizen. And had I been present, I should most certainly have voted for that Candidate. I may have been mistaken in my Judgment; and, as it becomes a Citizen, I will, acquiesce in the Choice of a Majority of the People, who ought to know & prefer the fittest Person. If they do not, they are hardly worthy to be servd by any Man. I hope we shall never fall into those Dregs of Time, when it shall be the Custom for one Citizen to treat another ill, merely because a popular Man has markd him as his Enemy, or because others, for servile Purposes, have reported him as such. This may afford Sport for the Enemies of our Cause, who are laying the Snare with great Art & Industry. James Rivington has publishd in his Royal Gazette, that the Acrimony between Mr Hancock & me, was owing to his Attachment to General Washington, & my being on the Contrary, desirous of his Removal. This is an old Story which Men have believd and disbelievd as they pleasd, without much Concern of mine. It was a pityful Contrivance to render me obnoxious to the General & our common Friends. If there has been any Difference between Mr H and me, Rivington knows not the Origin of it. Mr Hancock never thought me an Enemy to Gen1 Washington. He never thought that I was desirous of his being removd, & therefore could never treat me with Acrimony on that Account. I never wishd for the Removal of General Washington, but if I had even attempted to effect it, it might have been an Evidence of my Deficiency in Judgment, or Rashness, but it could be no Evidence that I was his Enemy. Mr W C may think that I am an Enemy to Mr Hancock, because he may have heard that I preferd another as a Governor before him. At this Rate, I must be thought an Enemy to every Man to whom I cannot give the Preference for an exalted Station for which few of the Many can be supposd to be qualified. Ridiculous [&] mischievous as this is, I am told that some carry their opinions further and that it is not enough, that a Man who cannot consistently vote for a Governor is to be reckon'd his Enemy, but he is for this Reason to be excluded from every Department. Who could wish to hold a Seat in Government on so slavish a Tenure? The People of Massachusetts under the old Government have seen enough of the mischievous Effects of the Governors having a Power to negative Elections & I cannot see the Difference between this & his being able to influence or prevent an Election by causing it to be believd that a Candidate is his Enemy. He who gives his Suffrage according to the Dictates of a well informd Judgment, is certainly a virtuous Citizen. And is it to be supposd that such a Man would withhold his Influence in favor of a wise Measure, because a Gentleman is placed in the Chair by his Fellow Citizens, whom he did not vote for? Such a Supposition savours so much of a Narrow, illiberal party Spirit, that I should think no intelligent Man would countenance it. If it should prevail, it would produce evil Consequences; for some Men, if they are made to believe their political Existence depends on their being thought the Governors Friends, will not easily prevail on themselves to risque that Existence by giving him Advice, however salutary it might be, & necessary for the Honor & Safety of the Commonwealth, if they think it will disgust him.

You may wonder, my Dear, that I send this Budget of Politicks to you. I see no Reason why a Man may not communicate his political opinions to his Wife, if he pleases. But to tell you the truth I consider this Epistle, after the License I have already given you, as indirectly addressd to the Friend I have mentiond. I would gladly know his opinion, Whether there is not more Parade among our Gentry than is consistent with sober republican Principles. Is it to imitate the Vanity of former times that every order of Men have been so fond of addressing the Governor? Are we to pay the same Ceremonies to the next & the next? Will not such high Strains of Panegyrick injure the Feelings of modest Men? And if there should happen to be a weak Man, will they not make him intollerably vain? Republicks should adopt the Rule of another Society. The Yea should be Yea, and the Nay, Nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of Evil. Adieu.

1 William Cooper.



TO MRS. ADAMS.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADELPHIA Mar. 15 1781

MY DEAR BETSY

Mr Bagnal, the Bearer of this Letter, this Moment informs me, that he sets off in half an hour for Boston I am sorry he did not give me more timely Notice, because I chuse to write to my Confidential Friends by private Hands rather than the Post. I have in a Letter forwarded yesterday, given Notice to the General Assembly, of my Wish to return home as early as may be and requested to be relievd by one of my Colleagues or otherwise as may be thought proper. I expect to have General Wards Servant to attend me on my Journey. He is afterwards to return here. I am much concernd at the Dissentions in the New South Society, who have generally been remarkeable for Peace & Harmony. They should strive for a conciliatory Spirit as far as is consistent with good Conscience, condescend to each other in smaller Matters, and bear with each others Tempers. I have not been unmindful of my Sons Situation, as mentiond in his Letter to me some time ago. He will see by the Journals of Congress (Sept. 30, 1780) that the officers in the Medical Department, are intitled annually to draw Cloathing from the Stores of the Cloathier General in the same Manner & under the same Regulations as are establishd for officers of the Line by a Resolution Novr 25, 1779— such Cloathing to be deliverd by the Cloathier General or any sub Cloathier in the State in which the officer to receive the Cloathing shall reside. I have sent the Journals of the Dates above mentiond, and wish Mr Davis or some other of my Friends would speak to Mr Ruggles, who I think is the Sub Cloathier in the State, in Behalf of my Son. I hope however that the Matter is already settled, & he gone to Newport. I am uneasy at his being absent from his Station any length of Time; for however necessary it may be, it may be turnd to the Disadvantage of his Character, which if I am not flatterd, he has hitherto kept unsullied. In this virtuous & important Struggle, he will remember that all of us must ruff it as well as we can.——The medical Committee inform me that it is the Duty of the State Cloathier to furnish him without the intervention of the Commander in Chiefe or Board of War.

Pray let Mrs Fogs know that Mr Level & I have done all we could for the Release of her Son who was made a Sea Prisoner & carried to New York. Our officers have some of them been sent to England, but not any of the Seamen, so that it is hoped he is still there. Many of them have died. They have lately been better treated than they were some time ago. The British Sea Officers are retaind in close Confinement here till we hear what is become of ours. We are in hopes there will soon be an Exchange of the whole.

Remember me to Friends——Adieu.



ARTICLE, UNSIGNED.

[Boston Gazette, April 2, 1781; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.1]

Extract of a Letter from the Southward.

"As we have a Constitution which is admired for its genuine Principles, I have been sollicitous to know, whether our Countrymen at large partook of the Spirit of those who formed it. I have conceived strong Hopes, that in organizing their Government and electing Persons to fill the important Places of Trust, no Consideration would avail, to govern their Suffrages in Favour of any Candidate, unless he was possessed of those Qualities which are necessary, to enable him to perform the Duties of the Office to be filled, to the Advantage of the Publick. I have flattered my self, that both the Governors and the Governed would have lain aside the gawdy Trappings of Monarchy, and put on that Simplicity which is the Ornament and Strength of a free Republick. HOW far it has been done, I am not able to judge at this Distance. It is a great Satisfaction to me to be informed, that some of the best Men in the Commonwealth have been elected into the Principal Departments of Government. Men, who will dignify the Character of our Country—who will revive and disseminate those Principles, moral and political, to propagate which, our Ancestors transplanted themselves into this new World—Men who by the Wisdom of their Councils and their exemplary Manners, will establish the public Liberty on the Foundation of a Rock.—These Men will secure to themselves more of the Esteem of their virtuous, and even of their vicious Fellow-Citizens, than they could by a thousand courtly Addresses which are commonly the Breath of Vanity and Adulation.—There is a charm in Virtue to force Esteem.—If Men of a different Character have by any Means been advanced to those hallow'd Seats, who have even sollicited public Employments to give a Scope to Views of Ambition and Avarice, Passions which have in all Ages been the Bane of human Society; or, to gratify the raging Thirst for popular Applause, a Disease with which little minds are usually tormented, it is our Happiness that the Constitution requires annual Elections, and such Mistakes may be corrected at the next.

"I was sorry to hear, that the Number of Votes returned, the last Time, did not amount to a Quarter of the Number of qualified Electors in the Commonwealth. The Choice of Legislators, Magistrates and Governors, is surely a Business of the greatest Moment, and claims the Attention of every Citizen. The Framers of our Constitution, while they gave due Attention to Political were not forgetful of Civil Liberty—that personal Freedom and those Rights of Property, which the meanest Citizen is intitled to, and the Security of which is the great End of political Society. It was not indeed their Province to make particular Laws for these Purposes. To do this, and to provide for the equal and impartial Execution of such Laws, agreeable to the Constitution, is the Duty of the Legislature. Hence every Citizen will see, and I hope will be deeply impressed with a Sense of it, how exceedingly important it is to himself, and how intimately the welfare of his Children is connected with it, that those who are to have a Share in making as well as in judging and executing the Laws should be Men of singular Wisdom and Integrity. Such as are conscious that they are deficient in either of these Qualities, should even TREMBLE at being named as Candidates! I hope the great Business of Elections will never be left by the Many, to be done by the Few; for before we are aware of it, that few may become the Engine of Corruption—the Tool of a Junto.—Heaven forbid! that our Countrymen should ever be byass'd in their Choice, by unreasonable Predilections for any man, or that an Attachment to the Constitution, as has been the Case in other Countries, should be lost in Devotion to Persons. The Effect of this would soon be, to change the Love of Liberty into the Spirit of Faction. Let each Citizen remember, at the Moment he is offering his Vote, that he is not making a Present or a Compliment to please an Individual, or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn Trusts in human Society, for which he is accountable to GOD and his Country.

"When the great Body of the People are determined not to be imposed upon by a false Glare of Virtues held before their Eyes, but, making up their own Minds, shall impartially give in their Suffrages, after their best Enquiries into the Characters of Candidates, for those whom they judge to be the fittest Persons, there will be no Danger that the generous Enthusiasm of Freedom, so characteristic of the People of Massachusetts, will ever sink into the Violence and Rage of Party, which has often proved fatal to free Republicks."

1 Endorsed by Adams: "The foregoing was sent to Mr Edes by the Post March 13, 1781."



TO CALEB DAVIS1

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE April 3 1781

DEAR SIR /

I have just receivd your favor of the 17th Ulto by Mr Dugan. The Request he proposes to make to Congress for Liberty to bring his Effects from Ireland, cannot be complied with consistently with the inclosd ordinance, which strictly forbids all Intercourse between the Citizens of the United States & the Subjects of Great Britain. There have been so many undue Advantages taken from Indulgences of this Kind, as to render the Continuance of them unsafe to us and disgustful to our Ally. I shall always pay a due Regard to your Recommendations, and should have been particularly desirous of rendering Service to your Friend Mr Dugan whom I personally know & of whose Integrity I have no Reason to doubt.

Your Letter of the 23d of Feby never came to hand; and I regret it the more, because you tell me, you then wrote fully of the State of Affairs in Boston which I should have been glad to have receivd. Let me observe to you as a private Friend, the Delegates of Massachusetts are by no means duly informd of what is done in their own State; & when they receive any kind of Information, it is not in a Manner adapted to give them Weight. I do not mention this on my own Account; for I intend very soon to take Leave of Congress & get myself excusd from any future Attendance. I will then explain the Hint I have now given you, more fully than I chuse to do in a Letter by the Post. You mention a certain Juncture when you wish me to return. I think I can discover your Motive and your old Partiality for me. I do assure you, I am not at all sollicitous about any thing of the Kind which your Letter seems to intimate. I have always endeavord to confine my Desires in this Life within moderate Bounds, and it is time for me to reduce them to a narrower Compass. You speak of "Neglect," "Ingratitude" &c. But let us entertain just Sentiments. A Citizen owes everything to the Commonwealth. And after he has made his utmost Exertions for its Prosperity, has he done more than his Duty? When Time enfeebles his Powers & renders him unfit for further Service, his Country, to preserve its own Vigour will wisely call upon others; and if he decently retreats to make Room for them he will show that he has not yet totally lost his Understanding. Besides, there is a Period in Life when a Man should covet the exalted Pleasure of Reflection in Retirement.

I thank you, my dear Sir, for the information you gave Mrs A of Mr Dugans coming. Pray let her know that I receivd her Letter & am well. My Compts to the Circle about you.

Your affectionate,

1 Speaker of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts.



ARTICLE, UNSIGNED.

[Boston Gazette, April 16, 1781; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.1]

Extract of a Letter from the Southward.

"BEFORE this will reach you, your Countrymen will have finished the important business of electing their Legislators, Magistrates and Governors for the ensuing year. I hope they have made a wise choice. At least, from the opinion I entertain of their virtue, I am persuaded they have acted with all that deliberation and caution which the solemnity of the transaction required. They may then reflect, each one on his own integrity, and appeal to the Monitor within his breast, that he has not trifled with the sacred trust reposed in him by GOD and his country—that he has not prostituted his honor and conscience to please a friend or a patron —that he has not been influenced with the view of private emolument to himself and his family, but has faithfully given his vote for the candidate whom he thought most worthy the choice of free and virtuous citizens—I congratulate that Legislator, Magistrate & Governor, who knows that neither smiles, entreaties, gifts, dissimulation, intrigue, nor any base and dishonorable practices have procured him this exalted station. His fellow citizens, unsollicited by him, have called him into their service, from the opinion they have formed of his integrity and adequate abilities.—He feels himself happy in their opinion of him—happy is he indeed, if he is conscious he deserves it.

But our countrymen will not imagine, that having filled the several departments of government, they have no further concern about it. It is, I humbly conceive, their duty and interest to attend to the manner in which it is administered by those whom they have entrusted. HOW often has the finishing stroke been given to public virtue, by those who possessed, or seemed to possess many amiable virtues? GUSTAVUS VASA was viewed by the Swedes as the deliverer of their country from the Danish yoke. The most implicit obedience, says the historian, was considered by them as a debt of gratitude, and a virtue. He had many excellent qualities. His manners were conciliating—His courage and abilities great—But the people by an entire confidence in him suffered him to lay a foundation for absolute monarchy. They were charmed with his moderation and wisdom, qualities which he really possessed; but they did not consider his ambition, nor had they a thought of his views. They found peace restored, order established, justice administered, commerce protected, and the arts and sciences encouraged, and they looked no further. They did not imagine, that he who had been the instrument of recovering the independence of their country, could be the very man who was to effect the ruin of their liberties. By the Constitution of Sweden their kings were elective, and the powers of the crown were exceedingly limited. The unsuspecting people even voluntarily gave up their right of election, and suffered Gustavus to enlarge the powers of the crown, and entail it in his own family! This is the account which the history of Sweden has given us; and it affords an instance among a thousand others, of the folly and danger of trusting even good men with power, without regarding the use they make of it. Power is in its nature incroaching; and such is the human make, that men who are vested with a share of it, are generally inclined to take more than it was intended they should have. The love of power, like the love of money, increases with the possession of it; and we know, in what ruin these baneful passions have involved human societies in all ages, when they have been let loose and suffered to rage uncontrouled— There is no restraint like the pervading eye of the virtuous citizens.—I hope therefore our countrymen will constantly exercise that right which the meanest of them is intitled to, and which is particularly secured to them by our happy constitution, of inquiring freely, but decently, into the conduct of the public servants. The very being of the Commonwealth may depend upon it. I will venture to appeal to the experience of ancient Republicks, to evince the necessity of it; and it is never more necessary than in the infancy of a Commonwealth, and when the people have chosen honest men to conduct their affairs. For, whatever is done at a time nearly contemporary with the constitution, will be construed as the best exposition of it; and a mistaken principle of a virtuous ruler, whose public conduct is generally good, and always supposed to be honestly intended, carries with it an authority scarcely to be resisted, and precedents are thus formed which may prove dangerous—perhaps fatal."—

1 Endorsed by Adams: "The foregoing was sent to Mr Edes by the Post Mar 27, 81."



TO SAMUEL COOPER.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE Apr 23 1781

MY DEAR SIR

I did not receive your favor of the 3d Instt till yesterday; a week later than Letters of the same Date from some others of my Boston friends were brought to me by the Post. As the Subject is delicate, I do not chuse to continue it in this Letter, which is to go thro a Channel provd from repeated Experience to be uncertain & unsafe. It was for this Reason that I committed to the Care of a private friend, my Letter to Mrs A of the 1st of Feby which she communicated to you. I am glad she did it in a Manner so acceptable. Indeed I never found Reason to doubt her Discretion. What you have written is very obliging & satisfactory to me. I hope to have the Pleasure of seeing you next Month. We will then, after our usual Manner, disclose each others Hearts.

Your Letter of the 31st Decr was not long ago deliverd to me by the Count Chartres. He appears to me to be an amiable & fine-spirited young Nobleman. After a short stay here, he preceded with the Marqs de la Fayette to the Southward.

You will recollect a Design which I mentiond to you respecting our Friend Mr L, & the Omission which, we were informd the Evening before I left Boston, had happend thro Mistake. I early wrote to you & requested your Influence to have it rectified. I have heard Nothing of it since. In my Opinion the most essential Interest of the Town of Boston will be servd by it, & therefore I cannot look upon it as a Matter of Indifference. Not being acquainted with that Gentleman in the early Times of our Contest, I had by some means conceivd an Opinion of him not so favorable; but having had an Opportunity of critically observing him in the late Convention at Cambridge, I am satisfied he is a Virtuous Citizen, and possessd of the genuine Principles of New England. That Mr Rivington, if this Letter should fall into his Hands, may not pretend to be at a LOSS to know what is here meant, I will inform him that the genuine Principles of New England are Republican Principles which have been admired by some of the greatest Characters, whom (if he is an Englishman) his Country can boast of. You & I, among others, have had the Honor of being abusd by Rivingtons Press. A labord Performance has lately crept out, called the Times. I have had a cursory reading of it. It appears to me so much like the Productions of certain Geniuses who figurd in Mr Popes Time, that had the Author been cotemporary with them, a Page might have been added to the Dunciad, to immortalize his Works. I will endeavor to get some Parts of it transcribd & carry them to Boston. I am sure the reading it would serve to divert rather than to give you the least Pain. My due Regards to Friends.

Your affectionate



TO THOMAS McKEAN.1

[MS., Historical Society of Pennsylvania.]

BOSTON Augt 29th 1781

MY HONORD FRIEND

I have not yet acknowledgd your obliging Letter of the 8th of July, deliverd to me by Mr Davidson. Bodily Indisposition prevented my writing, when he returnd. I fancy he settled his Affairs here to his own Satisfaction. He is much esteemd by those who were favord with his Company, & I hope he met with Nothing disagreable to him during his short Stay among us.

Colo John Laurens with our Friend Mr Pain arrivd here a few Days ago from France. He left the Town the Day after his Arrival. His Visit to me was so short that I could not converse with him so fully as I wishd. I hope he will be able to inform you of his complete Success in his Negociation. Will you be so kind as to give me such Intelligence as you may receive from him or any other Person from Europe. I wish to know the true State of our Affairs. Are we soon to have Peace? However desireable this may be, we must not wish for it on any Terms but such as shall he honorable & safe to our Country. Let us not disgrace our selves by giving just Occasion for it to be said hereafter, that we finishd this great Contest with an inglorious Accommodation. Things are whisperd here which, if true, will cause much Discontent. The Citizens of this Part of America will say, and judge, my dear Sir, whether it would not be just, that the fishing Banks are at least as important as Tobacco yards, or Rice Swamps, or the flourishing Wheat Fields of Pennsylvania. The Name only of Independence is not worth the Blood of a single Citizen. We have not been so long contending for Trifles. A Navy must support our Independence; and Britain will tell you, that the Fishery is a grand Nursery of Seamen. —I understand that G M,2 is appointed Deputy Financier, R R L,3 Secretary of foreign Affairs, and if Gl S4 is appointed to the War Department and Gl M5 to the" Marine, there will be a compleat N Y Administration. It may be well to enquire, what Influence has brought this about, & whether so much Power vested in the Citizens of any one State will excite the reasonable Jealousy of the rest. Adieu my Friend. Find a Moments Leisure to write to me.

1 President of Congress.

2 Gouverneur Morris.

3 Robert R. Livingston.

4 Philip Schuyler.

5 Alexander McDougall.



TO THOMAS McKEAN.

[MS., Historical Society of Pennsylvania; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Sept 19 1781

MY HONORD FRIEND

The Bearer, Major Brown, is a Person who has deservd well of the United States, and has for that Reason the Esteem of Men of Distinction in this Commonwealth. He was formerly a Soldier in the British Service, and before the Commencement of Hostilities, he left that Service—Immediately after the Battle of Lexington he joynd the American Army in which his Zeal & Activity was signalizd—In July 1776 he servd as Major in the Militia of this State at Ticonderoga under Genl Gates—In 1777 he was appointed Depy Muster Master by Col Ward, and when the Convention Troops arrivd at Cambridge he was employd by Genl Heath as Town Major— He has Certificates of his Fidelity from that General as well as the Commissary of Musters Coll Ward— Your Attention to a Request he will make to Congress for Allowance for Depreciation (if you can find Leisure) will much oblige me.

Will you suffer me Sir, in great Haste, to offer a few indigested Hints for your Consideration. I take it for granted that a very great Majority of the People in Each of the United States are determind to support this righteous & necessary War, till they shall obtain their grand Object, an undisputed Sovereignty. This must hereafter be maintaind, under God, by the Wisdom and Vigour of their own Councils & their own Strength— Their Policy will lead them, if they mean to form any Connections with Europe, to make themselves respectable in the Eyes of the Nations by holding up to them the Benefits of their Trade— Trade must be so free to all as to make it the Interest of Each to protect it till they are able to protect it themselves—This, the United States must do by a Navy. Till they shall have erected a powerful Navy, they will be lyable to Insults wch may injure & depreciate their Character as a Sovereign & independent State; & while they may be incapable of resenting it themselves, no friendly power may venture or care to resent it on their Behalf. The U. S. must then build a Navy. They have or may have all the Materials in Plenty—But what will Ships of War avail them without Seamen? And Where will they find a Nursery for Seamen but in THE FISHERY? Adieu my dear Sir.

Your affectionate



TO HORATIO GATES.

[MS., Historical Society of Pennsylvania.]

BOSTON Oct 11TH 1781

MY DEAR SIR

Altho' I am at this Juncture much pressd with pub-lick Business, I will not omit writing a few Lines, to testify my sincere Regards for you—When I left you in Philadelphia last June, I regretted the disagreable Situation you was then in—deprivd of the Prospect of reaping fresh Laurels, when an active Campaign was expected. Whether a Court of Enquiry has yet been called, agreable to your Wishes, I know not. Till that is done, I say it without Flattery, our Country will lose the Assistance of one of its most able & faithful Servants.—We are at this Distance in great Uncertainty of every thing that happens Southward of New York. We hear of military Movements & naval Engagements, but not of their Events—Pray inform me of the Situation of publick Affairs, and of your own as far as you shall think proper. We hope, & are even sanguine in our Expectations of great & decisive Events in our favor—God grant we may not be disappointed! Doctor Gordon who kindly takes the Care of this Letter, is well acquainted with the Internal State of this Common Wealth—He knows my Mind, & will communicate to you, more than I can now do for Want of Leisure. Adieu, & believe me to be with the warmest Attachment——Your unalterd Friend



TO WILLIAM HEATH.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Novr [21] 1781

SIR

The Bearer of this Letter Mr Edgar called on me the other Day with General Baylie of Vermont a Gentleman of undoubted Integrity & Attachment to the Cause of our Country & [who] has renderd himself very useful by the Intelligence he has obtaind from Canada since the Beginning of this War, & is well known to the Commander in Chief of our Armies. Genl Bay-lie earnestly wishes that Mr Edgar may be introducd to Head Quarters because he thinks from what he has to say it will appear that if two Gentlemen who are now Prisoners in Canada whose Names he will mention to you may be exchangd they will be able to make a full Discovery to you, of the Plan of union which he says is actually compleated between the Govr of Canada & the principal Leaders in Vermont. One of these Gentlemen General Baylie tells me he has long been acquainted with & confides in. It is possible you may be already sufficiently acquainted with this Matter; & there may be a Scheme of Policy on our Side which has not come to my Knowledge. In this Uncertainty I hope I shall be excusd troubling you with this Letter.

Mr Edgar, according to his own Account was in the British Service on the Lakes in 1774, afterwards was at Detroit as a private Trader, when he renderd Services to Colo Clark as an Intelligencer, became suspected he was sent a Prisoner to Montreal where he lay in Irons nine Months, & after two years Imprisonment, he made an Escape.

After congratulating you on the Divine Blessing afforded to the Allied forces under the Direction of his Excy Gen1 Washington, I am &c

THE TOWN OF BOSTON TO THE SELECTMEN OF OTHER TOWNS.

[MS., Chamberlain Collection, Boston Public Library.]

GENTLEMEN

The Inhabitants of the Town of Boston legally assembled, have taken into Consideration a Matter which they conceive all the other Maritime Towns in this & the Neighboring States are equally, and some of them more nearly interested than they. It is the Subject of the Fishery, and the great Importance of a Common Right therein being secured to the United States, whenever a Treaty of Peace shall be concluded. To flatter our selves with so happy a Prospect, so far as to neglect the necessary Preparations for another vigorous Campaign, would indeed be unbecoming the Wisdom of Americans; and yet, so important has been the Success of the allied Arms, the last year, that it would seem to be Madness in the Extreme for Britain any longer to persist in her unrighteous Claims. But Wisdom has forsaken her Councils.

We ought to presume, that the supreme Representative of these States will have an equal Regard in so momentuous a Crisis to the Rights of each Individual. We would not suggest the Contrary. But, may it not be supposd, that Persons whose Situation is remote from the Fishery, and who derive Advantages from it in its more distant Effects & not directly perceivable, are probably not so attentive to its unspeakeable Importance, as others who are immediately concernd, & depend upon it as the only Source of their Commerce & even their Subsistence? If this should be the Fact, Would not States so immediately interested in the Fishery as ours, be justly criminated by the others, if we should neglect seasonably to lay before them our own Sense of the Necessity of an express Article in a Treaty of Peace for its Security? Should we not be wanting to our selves in a most essential Point, & be chargeable by all Posterity, with sacrificing our and their invalueable Rights by unpardonable Carelessness? Such is the Sentiment of this Town. And though we would be far from obtruding this or any Sentiment of ours upon others, we cannot but think our selves justifyable in candidly recommending it to their serious Deliberation.

This Town have judgd it necessary to instruct their Representatives in the General Court on the Subject. The instructions are inclosd. Many other and cogent Reasons might have been urgd, & will undoubtedly be made Use of by you, if you shall think it proper to take the Matter into your Consideration. Should we be so fortunate as to have your full Concurrence in Opinion with us, we assure our selves that we shall be equally fortunate in the Aid we shall receive from your Concurrent Exertions.

In the Name & by Order of the Town of Boston1 in Meeting legally assembled December 14 1781.

1 Signed, in the original as published, by William Cooper, Town Clerk. This letter and the instructions of the town of December 11, 1781, were printed in a pamphlet of three pages. A copy is in the Boston Public Library.



TO JOHN ADAMS.1

[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON 18 Decr 1781

MY DEAR SIR

I have already written to you this Day by the Marquis de Lafayette. This passes thro the Hands of Count de Noailles, whom you did me the Honor to introduce to me. I duly acknowledgd the Receipt of your Favor which he brought me; but the LOSS of my Letter was attended with an infinitely greater, that of Coll0 Palfrey. I wrote to you largely by him.

The Son in Law of one of our good Friends has lately arrivd here from England, which gives great Disgust to more Persons than his near Relations conceive of. On his Arrival, the Governor & Council directed him to state his Reasons for going to England and returning hither without the Leave of Government. He stated his Reasons; which in general were to render Service to the United States, particularly by removing the Ideas which the British Minister had conceivd of the Attachment of nine tenths of the Americans to that Government, and their Wishes to return to it. However frivolous this may appear to others, his nearest Friends speak of it, can you believe me, in a high Tone, and Mr —— told me that Mr ——— was happy in being conscious not only of Innocence, but of great Merit.2—Those who hope for a Change of Person in our first Magistrate next Spring will be much embarrassd by this Circumstance. Adieu my Friend.

1 Addressed to Adams at Amsterdam.

2 The draft at this point has the words. "the Affair is in the Hands of the Attourney General by the Direction of the Govr & Council."

TO JOHN ADAMS.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Decr 19 1781

MY DEAR SIR

The Marquis La Fayette is so obliging as to take the Care of this Letter, which, for the sake of him, the Count de Noailles and others our french Friends who take Passage with him in the Alliance, I hope will arrive safely. In the same Conveyance is a Packett intended for you from Congress, by which you will doubtless he informd of what has been doing there. It is six Months since I left Philadelphia; you cannot therefore expect I should give you any of the Intelligence of that City. I presume Mr L1 makes known to you every thing interesting. I wrote to you frequently while I was there, but suppose all my Letters miscarried, as well as yours if you have written to me; for I have not receivd one for many Months. I except your favor by the Sieur de la Etombe, to whom I pay great Attention, both on Account of your Recommendation & his Merit. I give you Credit for a Packett of Gazzettes lately receivd, because I knew the Direction on the Cover to be your hand writing.

Matters go on here just as you would expect from your knowledge of the People. Zealous in the great Cause, they hesitate at no Labor or Expence for its Support. Anxious to have a Code of Laws for the internal Government, adapted to the Spirit of their new Constitution with which they continue to be highly pleasd, the General Court have appointed the supreme Judges with Mr Bowdoin who is at present at perfect Leisure, to revise the Laws and report necessary or proper Amendments. The two great Vacancies in the offices of President & Professor of Mathematicks &c in our University are filled with Gentlemen of Learning & excellent Characters, the Revd Mr Willard of Beverly & the Revd Mr Williams. The Academy of Arts & Sciences is in a flourishing Way. A new Society is incorporated by the Name of the Medical Society. And this Metropolis has lately appointed a Committee, to consider the present Arrangement of the Schools & what further Improvements may be made, in which the better Education of female Children is designd to be comprehended. All these things I know are pleasing to you. Our People treat Foreigners of Merit who come among them, with good Humour & Civility, being desirous of adopting the virtuous Manners of others, and ingrafting them into our Stock. Laudable Examples on their side & ours will be productive of mutual Benefits. Indeed the Men of Influence must form the Manners of the People. They can operate more towards cultivating the Principles & fixing the Habits of Virtue than all the Force of Laws. This I think is verified in the Experience of the World; & should induce those People who exercise the Right of electing their own Rulers, to be circumspect in making their Choice. You are well enough acquainted with the Character of our first Magistrate to judge what Effects his Influence will have upon Manners.

Inclosd are some of the Proceedings of a late Town Meeting,2 which I send to you as a private Citizen for your mere information. The Meeting was called in Consequence of a Letter receivd by our Selectmen from Marblehead, in which it was proposd that the Subject should be considerd in a Convention of the Maritime Towns. But this Town judgd it more proper to lay the Matter before the General Court, and have accordingly instructed their Representatives & recommended it to the others to take the same Method. They could not think it becoming in them to write to you (tho a fellow Citizen) on a Subject which concerns the American Republick. They have an entire Confidence in your Attachment to the Interest of the United States & of this which makes an essential Part of it.

The Count de Noailles tells me he has a Letter for you from your Family. Please to pay my due Regards to Mr Dana Mr Th——3 &c. I rejoyce to hear of the Welfare of one of your Sons, whom we had almost given up for lost. Mrs Adams sends Compliments Miss has changed her Name & left her Fathers House.

Your affectionate,

1 Laurens.

2 Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xxvi., p. 214.

3 John Thaxter, private secretary to John Adams.



1782



TO ALEXANDER McDOUGALL.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON May 13 1782.

MY DEAR SIR

Your Favors of 10th Decr & 7th Feb last were severally deliverd to me by Major Gibbs & Dr Town-send. I am sometimes obligd to apologize for omitting to answer Letters in Season. You, I am perswaded, will be ready to believe that necessary Avocations have prevented my writing to you, for there can be no Doubt in your Mind, of the Sincerity of my Professions of Esteem & Friendship. The Present you sent me by Major Gibbs gratified me exceedingly. I intend to transmit it to my Posterity, as a Specimen of Spartan Frugality in an American General Officer. The Citizen & the Soldier are called to the Exercise of Self Denial and Patience, and to make the utmost Exertions in Support of the great Cause we are engagd in. Providence has highly honord our Patriots & Heroes in calling them into Existence at a Time when there is an Object worthy their Views. The Romans fought for Empire. The Pride of that haughty People was to domineer over the rest of Mankind. But this is not our Object. We contend for the Liberty of our Country and the Rights of human Nature. We hope to succeed in so righteous a Contest; and it is our Duty to acquire such Habits, and to cultivate in those who are to come after us such Principles and Manners as will perpetuate to our Country the Blessings which are purchasd with our Toils and Dangers.

I have been expecting your Confidential Letters under the Signature you proposd. Pray let me hear of the Event of the Court Martial, and as many particulars as are expedient—Complts to your Lady.

Adieu.



TO JOHN LOWELL.

[Historical Magazine, 1st ser., vol. i., pp. 260, 261.]

BOSTON, May 15th, 1782.

MY DEAR SIR,—

The General Court was prorogu'd Friday, the tenth instant, previous to which on the same day the Govr sent the Impost Bill to the house of Representatives with his objections and reasons against it stated in form. The house conceiving that the five days to which he was limited by the Constitution, had expired the preceding day, sent it back to him without reading the objections, as being in their opinion to all intent and purposes a law. It seems the bill had been sent to the Governor on Saturday. He excludes Sunday from the 5 days, in which the House differ in opinion. This matter of difference which arises from an incidental circumstance, would have been avoided if his Excellency had thought it convenient to have sent the bill to the House a day sooner. It is a subject of speculation among the political casuists. But how will it affect the great public for whose benefit it was intended? If the bill has become a law, how will it operate? What will be the opinion of Congress concerning it under its present circumstances? I wish to hear from you by return of this post.

Yesterday, this town made choice of the same gentlemen to represent them in the G. C. who had served them the last year, except that Mr. Lord1 is chosen in the room of Mr. Davis.2 No one doubts my personal regard for Mr. L., but I think it may be highly dangerous, and attended with very ill effects, to admit an undue influence of the Superintendent of Finance into the general assemblies of these states, and therefore could not help mentioning my objections, to such of the inhabitants as I had an opportunity of conversing with, against his agent's being chosen a member of ours. The post is just going.

Your affectionate,

1 The town records appear to indicate that John Rowe should have been named in this connection.

2 Caleb Davis; cf. page 253.



TO JOHN LOWELL.

[Historical Magazine, 1st ser., vol. i., p. 261.]

BOSTON, June 4th, 1782.

MY DEAR SIR,—

Last week the House of Representatives directed the attendance of the Secretary, and enquired of him whether he had forwarded the Impost Act to Congress. He answered he had not seen it since he left it on their table, in the last session. The House then sent a message to the Governor to the same purpose.

He returned a message acquainting them that he conceived the bill in the same light he had before, and could not send it to Congress as a law, or to that effect; adding, that if the House would signify their desire of having it, the Secretary would be directed to lay it before them. The House stated the matter, and sent it to the Senate with the Governor's message and a vote to join a committee to consider them, and the Senate concurred; the result of which is that the two houses have resolved, that the Governor did not return the bill to the late House of Representatives, where it had originated, within five days after it was presented to him by the late General Court, and therefore that it had passed all the forms prescribed by the Constitution to constitute it a law of the Commonwealth. What the next step will be, may, I think, be easily foreseen, that those who are against the law upon principle, or those who would wish to gratify the Govr, will move for a repeal of it, and have a new bill brought in. But it is difficult for me to conceive how a bill can be framed which will remove his doubts, and answer the end of Congress. You remember that matter was once tried. I must break off abruptly.

Your affectionate,



TO ARTHUR LEE.

[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 229, 230.1]

BOSTON, Nov. 21st, 1782.

MY DEAR SIR,—In the late session of our general court, and in the hurry of important business, a petition was presented signed William Burgess, praying to be naturalized. This gentleman very lately arrived from England, by way of Holland. The senate declined sustaining his petition, and gave him leave to withdraw it. A few days after, an authenticated resolution of congress came to hand, recommending it to the states not to admit any British subject whatever. Yet this man has had interest enough to prevail on the assembly to permit him to go to congress, to have it decided there whether he comes within the meaning of their resolution, because his arrival here was prior to the reception of the resolution by this government. If it should be thought there was in this instance a want of attention, it must be imputed to the circumstance I first mentioned. The general court had before directed his departure from the state; requesting the governor however, to allow him convenient time to prepare for his voyage, which appeared to me a sufficient indulgence. Some of our good citizens are disgusted at the favour shown to Mr. B. They say that being a partner with Messrs. Champion and Dickinson, the latter of whom is reported to have been always inimical to America by his residence here, he will probably be instrumental in the importation of as many English goods as he will be able to vend; or in other words, that the new house in Boston will be nearly if not quite as convenient in the time of war, as the old house in London was in time of peace. Whether there will be any danger, congress will judge. Jealousy is a necessary political virtue, especially in times like these. Such a plan would gratify those among us who are still hankering after the onions of Egypt, and would sacrifice our great cause to the desire of gain. What need is there of our admitting (to use the language of congress) any British subject whatever? Congress surely had some good reason when they so earnestly cautioned us against it. Our citizens are in more danger of being seduced by art, than subjugated by arms. I give you this notice that you may have an opportunity of conversing on the subject in your patriotic circles (if you think it worth while) in season. Mr. B. will set off next week in company with one of our new delegates, who I am satisfied will favour his cause. My friendly regards to Dr. Shippen, and my old friends in congress, if any such are there. Adieu.

Believe me to be very affectionately your friend,

1 A short note to Lee, also dated November 21, is in Ibid., p. 231.



TO ARTHUR LEE.

[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 231, 232.]

BOSTON, Dec 2d, 1782.

MY DEAR SIR,—A friend of mine to whom I give entire credit, who lived many years in Canada, and was well acquainted with the bearer of this letter, requests me to introduce him to you. After a long confinement in prison in Quebec, where he was used with great severity, he found means to make his escape, and came to this town. He is a Frenchman by birth, and was a very respectable merchant in Canada. When the attempt was made to gain that country in 1775, he privately aided our forces; the suspicion of which rendered him obnoxious to the British government, and was the real cause of his suffering. He will inform you of the state and circumstances of British affairs there, and will tell you it is an easy thing to unite that province with these states. Possibly he may be influenced in some degree by a just resentment of the ill-treatment he has received; but other intelligent persons acquainted with the people of Canada, have zealously affirmed the same to me. If it be so, it is hoped that a favourable opportunity to effect it will be embraced, if any such should offer. I need not hint to you the importance of that object. Adieu,

Your friend,



1783



TO ARTHUR LEE.

[R. H. Lee, Life of Arthur Lee, vol. ii., pp. 232-234, a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON, Feb. 10th, 1783.

MY DEAR SIR,—It is a long time since I had the pleasure of a letter from you. I hope you have not struck my name from the list of your correspondents. Mr. Stephen Higginson, who will deliver you this letter, is appointed a delegate of this state. He is a sensible and very worthy man, and I think entertains sentiments like yours. I am persuaded you will find him a valuable member, if his great modesty and diffidence of himself will allow him to step forward as far as his good understanding would lead him.

I feel myself constrained to mention to you the present situation of Capt. Landais, though not at his request, or the smallest intimation from him. He resides in this town, and sometimes calls to see me. As he appears to be an injured man, I wish that justice may be done to him; and I am the more solicitous about it, as I was, with your worthy brother Mr. R. H. instrumental in his first appointment in the American navy. Congress granted him 12,000 livres as a compensation for services he had performed, and ordered that he should be paid by Dr. F. in France; but for some reason which is or ought to be known, he has never received that sum. Much the greater part of his wages as commander of the Alliance remains unpaid. A large sum due to him for prize-money is stopped in the hands of some person or persons in France; which indeed is too common a complaint among those continental officers and seamen who have carried prizes into ports in Europe. He made a journey to Philadelphia to obtain a settlement of his accounts, and was offered by Mr M.1 three months' pay, and a certificate for the balance, which he would not accept, because he really wanted the whole of his wages to supply him with the necessaries of life. I am sure that your own feelings of justice and humanity will plead an excuse for my troubling you with this detail. Perhaps his court-martial, by whose decree he was broken, were too severe. If his conduct in his last passage from France was blameable was not his mind to the greatest degree irritated by the treatment he met with there? and should not reasonable allowances have been made? He thinks it was an unrighteous decree. He may judge partially; I know nothing of the matter. If it was, is not the wound given to his honour sufficiently severe? But even if it was just, should not a discarded officer be immediately paid? Should not congress demand the reason why the prize-money has not been paid to those to whom it has been long due? Complaints of this kind have to my knowledge spread from Philadelphia to Boston. I am concerned for the honour of congress. These complaints may appear of little consequence; but I am afraid if they continue unattended to, they will cast a dark shade over the public character. The state of Landais' affairs will appear in his own memorial to congress, which was rejected, and perhaps may be on the files. You will oblige me if you will interest yourself (if leisure will admit of it) as far as you may think just, in his favour.

I have been applied to by some of the inhabitants of the island of Nantucket, and have promised them to write to my friend respecting the whale fishery. These people have been usually employed in that branch of business chiefly. They have greatly reduced the number of their vessels, since the commencement of the war, by which means they say they are reduced to great distress and wish for some indulgence from congress. Whether this can be consistently granted, and in what manner, you will judge. The delegates of this state, I believe, can inform you more particularly of this matter. You are sensible of the absolute dependence of this state upon the fishery for its trade, and how great an advantage will accrue from it to the United States, if they intend ever to have a navy. I hope our peacemakers are instructed by all means to secure a common right in it.

My respects to the Hon. Mr. Izard, if at Philadelphia, and other friends. Adieu, and believe me very affectionately yours,

1 Morns.



TO THE SELECTMEN OF BOSTON.

[MS., Chamberlain Collection, Boston Public Library.]

MARCH 10 1783

GENTLEMEN

Having been just now made acquainted by your Messenger that the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Boston assembled in Town Meeting,1 have chosen me their Moderator, I beg the Favor of you to inform them, that I esteem my self greatly honourd by their Choice; but my Engagements in the Senate, which it is not in my Power to dispense with, lay me under a Necessity of praying that I may be excusd by the Town.——

With the warmest Wishes for their Prosperity, I am

Gentlemen

Your obedient hbl Servt

1 Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xxvi., p. 292.



TO ARTHUR LEE.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Apr 21 1783

DR SR

I am indebted to you for several Letters which I have not acknowledged. The Anecdote you gave me in one of them relating to a Mr Mercer & Colo Griffin in Virginia was very diverting to me. The People in this part of the Continent would never have fixed upon the Names of La Le or A1 to hold up to a publick Assembly as the Heads of a British Interest in America. It would not have been sooner believed here than another Story I have heard, that a certain french Politician of Consideration in America had expressd his high Displeasure with Mr S A for stiring up his Countrymen to attend to the Importance of our retaining a Common Right to the Newfd Ld fishery. Many wonderful Tales are & will be told, some of which a Sight of the secret Journals of Congress would unravel. I think the sooner those Journals are publishd the better. The People at large ought to know what that illustrious Body has been doing for them and the Part each Member has acted. We are now at Peace, God be thanked, with all the World—and I hope we shall never intermeddle with the Quarrels of other Nations. Let the U S continue in peace & Union, & in order to this Let them do Justice to each other. Let there be no longer secret Journals or secret Comtees. Let the Debates in Congress be open and the whole of their transactions publishd weekly—this will tend to the speedy rectifying Mistakes & preserving mutual Confidence between the People & their Representatives. And let Care be taken to prevent Factions in America, foreign or domestick.

Will you suffer me to recommend to you my good friends & excellent fellow Citizens Mr Appleton the Bearer of this Letter & his fellow Traveller Mr Wendel. My Regards.

Adieu.

1 Laurens, Lee, Adams.



TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON May 1 1783

MY DEAR SIR

Coll0 John Allan will deliver you this Letter. This Gentleman soon after the Commencement of the late Hostilities, left his Connections in Nova Scotia which were respectable there & took a decided part with us against Great Britain. In the Winter of 77 Congress appointed him Superintendent or Agent for the Indians in Nova Scotia & the Tribes to the Northward & Eastward thereof, with a Salary of 900 Dollars p Annum, & afterwards requested this State to furnish him from time to time with needful Supplies. The State raised an Artillery Company for the Defence of the Post of Machias & gave him the Command with a Cols Commission. Congress in Feb 81 if I mistake not, empowerd our supreme Executive to enlarge that Compy to the Number of 65, officers included, & to officer the same with the express Nomination of Colo Allan to the Command. This Compy was by the Resolve to be raisd cloathed subsisted & paid as other officers & Soldiers of the US. I believe Colo A has executed the trusts reposed in him with Fidelity & to the Advantage of the Publick. As this State has supplied him at the Expence of the U S, I suppose that his Accots which remain to be settled, will as his former Accts have been, be settled in the first Instance by our Assembly when it meets. He takes the Oppty in the Interval (the War being finishd) to wait on Congress for their further Direction. Your Notice of him & Care that he may receive such Emoluments as he may be intitled to as an officer will oblige me. I think he has too much Republican Pride to expect more than is reasonable from Congress, & he is too much the Gentleman to be troublesome to you. I write this without his knowledge.

Another calls upon me. You will think me a Man of Importance! But this is one of my Days of Business. Is it not strange that an officer of the American Army should apply to the Friendship of one whom they have been led to look upon as their Enemy? But—I am informd that Colo Badlam was among the first who flew to Arms, that he has sustained the Character of a meritorious officer. If he has been unfortunate rather than faulty or if guilty of a Fault it was attended with Circumstances very alleviating why should an officer of Merit at the very close of the War be deprivd of the Benefits which are allotted to others? I think I know your feelings for that officer and perhaps your private Judgment of his Case from your Letter to him which I have seen. What Advantage can he expect from an Application to this State? Would not a Recommendation to Congress from Head Quarters in his favor answer a much better Purpose? This is only a Hint to you. Perhaps I am out of my Line. I will conclude this Epistle with congratulating you most heartily on the return of Peace with Liberty and Independence & assuring you that I am affectionately

Yours



TO HORATIO GATES.

[MS., Emmet Collection, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON May 2 1783

MY DEAR SIR

Our Friend Colo John Allan takes the Care of this Letter and will deliver it to you. The War being finishd, he is going to Philadelphia to receive such Directions as Congress shall think proper to give to him. You remember he was appointed in 77, Agent of the St Johns & Nova Scotia Indians, and he has since commanded an Artillery Company raised by this State for the Defence of the Post at Machias, adopted by Congress in Feb. 81 and cloathd subsisted & paid as other Officers & Soldiers of the United States. He has I doubt not, executed the Trusts reposed in him with Fidelity, and I think is entitled to the Emoluments given to Officers of his Rank. I have given him a Letter to the Secretary at War &c.

Your Recommendation first gaind him the Confidence of Congress and your repeated Favor will still be a substantial Advantage to him.

I most heartily congratulate you on the Return of Peace with Liberty & Independence.—Blessings for which Patriots have toiled & Heroes fought & bled. Our Country may now be happy if she is not wanting to her self. We have done our Duty. Future Generations can never curse the present for carelessly surrendering their Rights.

I beg you, my Friend, not to impute my long Silence to a faulty Cause. If you believe me to be a Man of Truth, be assured that I have constantly participated with you in good & ill Fortune. I shall ever rejoice that you was honord by Providence, in captivating Burgoyne & his whole Army—An Event which wrought the most happy Change in the Face of our Affairs in Europe, and which alone, in Spite of Envy, will give you a brilliant Page in History.

Mr Yancey is gone to South Carolina. I have written by him to my old Patriotick friend Gadsden and the stronger to enforce my Recommendation of Mr Yancey have mentiond him as one whom you regard.

Oblige me with your Letters for I am sincerely and affectionately

Your Friend

& very humble Servant,



TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.1

[J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 408-410; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON, Sept. 9, 1783.

MY DEAR SIR,

This is the first letter I have been able to write since I had the pleasure of seeing you, excepting a short one to our delegates, informing them that the general court had appointed a committee to correspond with them. Mr. Appleton and Mr. Rowe are my colleagues in this business. The correspondence is to be very extensive. "Any other important matter which relates to the being and welfare of the United States!" My bodily illness has prevented my engaging in it. I wish the delegates would begin. The welfare, and perhaps the being of the United States, in my opinion, depends much upon congress possessing the confidence of the people at large; that upon the administration of public affairs being manifestly grounded upon principles of equality and justice, or upon the people being assured that congress merit their confidence. The war is now over, and the people turn their eyes to the disposition of their money, a subject, which I hope congress will always have so clear a knowledge of, as to be able at any time to satisfy the rational enquiries of the people. To prevent groundless jealousies, it seems necessary not only that the principal in that department should himself be immaculate, but that care should be taken that no persons be admitted to his confidence but such as have the entire confidence of the people. Should a suspicion prevail that our high treasurer suffers men of bad principles or of no principles to be about him and employed by him, the fidelity of congress itself would be suspected, and a total loss of confidence would follow. I am much concerned for the reputation of congress, and have laboured to support it because that body is and must be the cement of the union of the states. I hope, therefore, they will always make it evident to reasonable men that their administration merits the public applause. Will they be able to do this, if they should cease to be very watchful over men whom they trust in great departments, especially those who have the disposition of the public moneys? Power will follow the possession of money, even when it is known that it is not the possessor's property. So fascinating are riches in the eyes of mankind! Were our financier, I was going to say, even an angel from heaven, I hope he will never have so much influence as to gain the ascendency over congress, which the first lord of the treasury has long had over the parliament of Britain; long enough to effect the ruin of that nation. These are the fears which I expressed in congress when the department was first instituted. I was told, that the breath of congress could annihilate the financier; but I replied, that the time might come, and if they were not careful it certainly would, when even congress would not dare to blow that breath. Whether these fears are the mere creatures of the imagination you will judge.

My regards to Dr. Holten and Mr. Higgenson, if he is still in Congress. Pray write to me often.

Adieu.

1 For a facsimile note by Adams to Gerry, dated September 11, 1783, see Brotherhead, Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1872), p. 172.



TO JOHN ADAMS.

[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy; the text is also in John Adams, Works, vol. ix., pp. 519-521.]

BOSTON Novr 4 1783.

MY DEAR SIR

Colo John Trumbull, the Son of the worthy Governor of Connecticutt is the Bearer of this Letter. I give the Governor this Epithet, because I think his faithful Services to our Country entitle him to it. Yet even he has undergone the Suspicions of some, unsupported by any solid Reasons that I have heard of. We live in an Age of Jealousy, and it is well enough. I was led to believe in early Life, that Jealousy is a political Virtue. It has long been an Aphorism with me, that it is one of the greatest Securities of publick Liberty. Let the People keep a watchful Eye over the Conduct of their Rulers; for we are told that Great Men are not at all times wise. It would be indeed a Wonder if in any Age or Country they were always honest. There are however some Men among us, who under the Guise of watchful Patriots, are finding Fault with every publick Measure, with a Design to destroy that just Confidence in Government, which is necessary for the Support of those Liberties which we have so dearly purchas'd. Many of your Countrymen besides myself, feel very grateful to you and those of our Negociators who joyned you, in preventing the Tory Refugees from being obtruded upon us. These would certainly have increasd the Number of such Kind of Patriots as I have mentiond, and besides, their Return would have been attended with other mischievous Effects. Mutual Hatred and Revenge would have occasiond perpetual Quarrels between them & the people & perhaps frequent Bloodshed. Some of them, by Art and Address might gradually recover a Character & in time an Influence, and so become the fittest Instruments in forming Factions either for one foreign Nation or another. We may be in Danger of such Factions, and should prudently expect them. One might venture to predict that they will sooner or later happen. We should therefore guard against the evil Effects of them. I deprecate the most favord Nation predominating in the Councils of America, for I do not believe there is a Nation on Earth that wishes we should be more free or more powerful than is consistent with their Ideas of their own Interest. Such a disinterested Spirit is not to be found in National Bodies; The World would be more happy if it prevaild more in individual Persons. I will say it for my Countrymen, they are, or seem to be, very grateful. All are ready freely to acknowledge our Obligations to France for the Part she took in our late Contest. There are a few who consider the Advantage derivd to her, by a total Seperation of Britain & the Colonies, which so sagacious a Court doubtless foresaw & probably never lost Sight of. This Advantage was so glaring in the first Stages of our Controversy, that those who then ran the Risque of exciting even an Appeal to Heaven rather than a Submission to British tyranny, were well perswaded that the Prospect of such a Seperation would induce France to interpose, and do more than she has done if necessary. America with the Assistance of her faithful Ally has secured and establishd her Liberty & Independence. God be praisd! And some would think it too bold to assert, that France has thereby saved the Being of her great Importance.—But if it be true why may we not assert it? A punctual Fulfillment of Engagements solemnly enterd into by Treaty is the Justice, the Honor & Policy of Nations. If we, who have contracted Debts, were influenced only by Motives of sound Policy, we should pay them as soon as possible & provide sure & adequate Funds for the Payment of Interest in the mean time. When we have done this we shall have the Sense of Independence impressd on our Minds, no longer feeling that State of Inferiority which a wise King tells us the Borrower stands in to the Lender.

Your Negociation with Holland, as "my old Friend" observd, is all your own. The faithful Historian will do Justice to your Merits—Perhaps not till you are dead. I would have you reconcile yourself to this Thought. While you live you will probably be the Object of Envy. The leading Characters in this great Revolution will not be fairly marked in the present Age, It will be well if the leading Principles are rememberd long. You, I am sure, have not the Vanity, which Cicero betrayed, when he even urged his Friend Licinius to publish the History of the Detection of Cataline in his Life Time that he might enjoy it. I am far from thinking that Part of History redounds so much to the Honor of the Roman Consul, as the Treaty of Holland does to its American Negociator.

Decr 4th I intended to have committed the Care of the foregoing Letter to Mr Trumbull, but when he called on me I was confind to my Chamber by severe bodily Indisposition unable to attend even to the lightest Business. I am still kept at home, but hope soon to be abroad. Mr Jonn Jackson will deliver this to you if he meets you in London, otherwise he will convey it by some safe hand. When I shall be certain of your being appointed for London, I will write to you as often as I can. May Heaven bless you My Friend as I am

affectionately yours



1784



TO JOHN ADAMS.

[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy.]

BOSTON Feb 4 1784

MY DEAR SIR/

I had laid up in my mind many things to say to you, but an hours notice only of this opportunity and the hurry of business in the General Court now sitting prevents my communicating them to you at present. The Son of Mr Nathl Appleton will deliver to you this short epistle; written for the sake of recommending him to your notice. He is a young gentleman lately enterd into Business in the Commercial line. My Affection for a young fellow Citizen, and Regard for his Father an intimate friend & a Member of the old committee of Correspondence of this town are strong Inducements to me to take this method of availing the Son of your Advice & Patronage. I wrote to you the 4 Decr by Mr Jonathan Jackson & will write again by the next opportunity. Your Family was well a few Days ago. You will doubtless have heard, before this will reach you, of the Death of our good Friend Dr Cooper.

Adieu



TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

BOSTON Feb 25 1784

MY DEAR SIR

When a Committee was appointed by the G C1 to correspond with the Delegates in Congress for this C W2 I proposd that the Correspondence shd be carried on in a liberal Manner; but it was apprehended that the Sentiments of the G C might be mistaken by the Come & the Delegates thereby misled & so the Idea was drop'd & nothing material was left for the Court to do but to forward such Letters or papers as shd be from time to time orderd by the Court. Had the Come pursued the first proposal, I could have had no Share in the Correspondence having been exceedingly sick the greatest part of the Time from June to January. This I hope will apologize for my not having written to you & my other Friends in Congress; which I mention because, not receiving your favors, I have been affraid you imputed my Omission to Neglect. In the September Session the Court thought fit to direct the Delegates officially to write to the Govr once a fortnight which of Course dissolved the Corresponding Come, & since that time no Letters from the Delegates have been laid before the G C.

Your Letter of Sept 11 directed to the Come was through mere forgetfulness omitted to be communicated in Season. This was attributed by some Persons of illiberal Minds & Party Spirit to an abominable Design to withhold from the Court the Sentiments of the Delegates respecting the Expediency of refusing to yield Supplys to the Continental Treasury till Justice should be done us with Regard to the Old money now in our publick Treasury & private hands. I could not help diverting my self with the Ebullitions of apparent Zeal for the publick Good on this Occasion, and upon its being said by a Gentn in Senate that it was the Subject of warm Conversation among the people without Doors I observed the Clamour wd undoubtedly subside on the Afternoon of the first Monday in April next. Your Letter has since been very prudently published by an unknown Person in Edes' Paper.

Inclosd is a Letter to your Self from Colo Scar Gridley. It seems he applied to this G C some time ago for Depretion of his pay while in the Service, upon which the Govr was requested to write to G W to make known to him the Rank held by Mr Gridley & . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .but the Letter has never been written. I advisd him to write you on the Subject, & hope you will excuse my giving you the Trouble. As you are now near the Place of Residence of General Washington, perhaps it may not be inconvenient to you to write to him, in doing which you will gratify & oblige Mr Gridley.

I shall esteem a Letter from you one of the greatest favors being your very affectionate Friend,

1 General Court.

2 Commonwealth.



TO JOHN ADAMS.

[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy; a draft is in the Lenox Library.]

BOSTON April 16 1784

MY DEAR SIR

I have not receivd a Letter from you of a later Date than the 10th of Septr last. Extracts of yours to D G of the same Date have been handed about, with a View, as I conceivd, of giving the Sanction of your Opinion to that of others respecting the Tories. It is often inconvenient, perhaps unsafe, to trust ones Confidential Letters to indiscrete, however honest, Friends. Detachd Parts of them being given out, they may be made to bear a different Construction from what was intended, and answer the Purpose of interrested & designing Men. When the Recommendations of Congress in Pursuance of the 5th Article of the Treaty were receivd here, they were treated with great Decency & very seriously considerd. They were construed differently by Men of Sense, who were above the Influence of old Prejudices or of Party or Family Connections. This Difference, I supposed, was owing to certain Ambiguities in the Treaty, which I afterwards found had been acknowledgd in a joynt Letter to Congress of the 18th July, in which it appeard that our Negociators had studiously avoided any Expressions in the Articles of the Treaty which shd amount to absolute Stipulations in Favor of the Tories. From the first Sight I had of the Articles, I have been of opinion that no such Construction could fairly be put upon them, but that it would finally lie with the several Legislatures of the States, how far it would be proper to show Lenity to them, and I was happy in being confirmd in this Opinion by an Expression in your joynt Letter to Congress Septr 10th—"it is much to be wishd that the Legislators may not involve all the Tories in Banishment and Ruin, but that such Discrimination may be made as to intitle the Decisions to the Approbation of disinterested Men and dispassionate Posterity." In this View I early inculcated Moderation and Liberality towards them, as far as could be consistent with that leading Principle of Nature which ought to govern Nations as it does Individuals, Self Preservation. I cannot think that all can be admitted consistently with the Safety of the Commonwealth. I gave you my Reasons in my Letter of Nov. 4th. Nor can I believe you intended to be understood universally in your private Letter above referrd to. Some of them would be useful & good Citizens; others, I believe highly dangerous. Our Act passed in the late Session of the General Court declares them all Aliens, and excludes those of them who in a former Act were called Conspirators from residing among us. It restores the Estates of others which have not been confiscated and refers their coming to reside within the Commonwealth in the first Instance to the Governor with Advice of Council. The Licenses he may give are to be valid if approvd of by the General Court at the Session next after such License shall be given. It is thought that this will be a difficult Task for the Governor & Council, but a constant Attention to the publick Safety without Respect to Persons will prevent Difficulties. "Much, says your joynt Letter, will depend upon our Negociations with England." The sooner a Commercial Treaty is settled with that Nation the better, as it appears to me. Our General Court, in the late Session, thought of making Retaliation on England for her prohibiting Importations from America into her West India Islands but in British Bottoms. They were sensible of the Difficulty in the Way of the United States coming into general Regulations of this Kind, & have written to their Delegates on the Subject. Should the States agree to give Congress a more extensive Power, it may yet be a great while before it is compleated; and Britain in the mean time seeing our Trade daily reverting to its old Channel, may think it needless and impolitick to enter into express Stipulations in favor of any Part of it while she promises her self the whole without them.

I am fully in the Sentiment expressd in your joynt Letter Sept 10th, that now we have regular & constitutional Governments, popular Committees and County Conventions are not only useless but dangerous. They served an excellent Purpose & were highly necessary when they were set up. I shall not repent the small Share I then took in them. But what think you of the District & State Conventions of the Cincinnati, & of the Cincinnati in Congress assembled? Do not these Assemblies convene expressly to deliberate & adopt Measures on great and National Concerns proper only for the Cognizance of the United States in Congress assembled, and the different Legislators & Officers of Government? And will they not, being an Order of Military Men, too soon proceed to enforce their Resolutions, not only to the lessening the Dignity of the States in the Eye of Europe, but the putting an End to their free Existence! The Order is very unpopular here. By the inclosd you will see the Sentiments of our Gen1 Court. The Governor of Sdeg. Carolina in a late Speech to his Assembly inveighs against them with the Vehemence of Luther.

Adieu



TO JOHN ADAMS.

[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy; a draft is in the Lenox Library.]

BOSTON April 17 1784

DEAR SIR

Several of my Fellow Citizens have desired me to mention to you certain Difficulties they labour under & to request that you would inform me whether it is probable they can obtain Reliefe, among whom are Dr Nath1 Noyes & Capt Saml Dashwood. Both of them I believe you knew. I inclose Mr Noyess Questions as he has stated them himself.—Capt Dashwoods Goods were taken from him by order of the Commanding officer of the British Troops when they left this Town in 1776. I need not trouble you to explain as I doubt not you well remember the Circumstances of these Matters. It will be hard for such Persons to pay the British Creditors for the same Goods which the British Nation took from them for its own necessary Use & if I mistake not with a Promise to compensate them, unless the Promise is complied with.

A few Lines on this Subject when you are at Leisure will very much oblige them as well as

Your Friend



TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 422-424.]

BOSTON April 19th 1784

MY DEAR SIR,

Mr Higginson was so obliging as to show me your Letter to him dated the 4th of March. I was happy in having adopted an opinion of the Cincinnati so similar to what I found yours to be. I think I am as sensible as any Man ought to be of the important Services of our late Army, and am very desirous that their full Share of Merit may be gratefully acknowledgd & rewarded by the Country. This would have been done, (for the Prejudice of the People against the Gratuity of five years pay began to subside) had they not adopted a Plan so disgustfull to the Common Feeling. It appears wonderful that they could imagine a People who had freely spent their Blood & Treasure in Support of their equal rights & Liberties, could so soon be reconciled to the odious hereditary Distinction of Families. This Country must be humiliated & debased to a great Degree, before they will patiently bear to see Individuals stalking with their assumed honorary Badges, & proudly boasting "These are the Distinctions of our Blood." I cannot think that many of our Officers entertained such an Idea of haughty Pre-eminence; but the human Mind is so captivated with the Thought of being elevated above the ignoble Vulgar, that their Sons, if they should not themselves, when they perceive the Multitude grown giddy with gazing, may assume more than the mere Pageantry of Nobility. When Men begin to applaud themselves, they are not easily perswaded to believe they can take a greater Share of Honor than justly belongs to them. They will be pleasd with the Adulatory Addresses of other Men & flatter themselves that they are intitled to Power and Authority as well as the ostentatious Show of Superiority above their Equals. I confess I do not barely dislike the order. With you I think it dangerous & look upon it with the Eye of Jealousy. When the Pride of Family possesses the Minds of Men it is threatning to the Community in Proportion to the Good they have done. The unsuspecting People, when they are in a Mood to be grateful, will cry up the Virtues of their Benefactors & be ready to say, Surely those Men who have done such great things for us, will never think of setting up a Tyranny over us. Even Patriots & Heroes may become different Men when new & different Prospects shall have alterd their Feelings & Views; and the undiscerning People may too late repent that they have sufferd them to exalt themselves & their Family upon the Ruins of the Common Liberty. The Cincinnati are very unpopular here; you will wonder then that one of the Order has had a Majority of the Votes of this Town for a Senator for the County. I am affraid the Citizens are not so vigilant as they used and ought still to be. It was given out at the Moment of Election that he intended to withdraw himself from the Society. If he does, it may weaken their Influence—if not, he will probably destroy his own. You have doubtless seen the Sentiments of the General Court of the Order. The Reprobating Speech of the Governor of So Carolina has been publishd in our papers.

I had the Pleasure of receiving by the same Post your several Letters of the 15th, 20th and 24th Ulto. If I have a Seat in the General Court the ensuing year, (which is uncertain) I shall (tho very reluctantly) communicate your Intention to leave Congress, unless you will gratify the earnest Wishes of your Friends by altering your Determination. I assure you there is no Friend to our Country within my Circle who is not anxiously solicitous for your continuing there longer. I was in hopes when you was prevailed upon again to take a Seat you would have held it at least two years. Let me entreat you to release me from the obligation of complying with your Request.

I have written so much in Spite of my trembling hand, concerning the Cini, that I can at present only fulfill a Promise I gave our Navy officers, to inclose their Petition to Congress and to beg your Patronage of it. They appear to me to be injurd or at least neglected Men. It is certainly high time they should receive their Prize Money and Assurances of their Pay. I will write you by Mr Lowell (who sets off for Phila in a few Days & intends making you a Visit) or by the Post speedily. Mrs A desires her Complts

Adieu my Friend,



TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text with modifications is in J. T. Austin, Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. i., pp. 424-427.]

BOSTON April 23 1784

MY DEAR SIR,

Mr Lowel thinks he shall not be able to make you a Visit at Annapolis as he intended, so I have not written by him. Is the Court of Appeals1 of which he is a Member to continue now the War is over? I should think it a needless Expence. If ever there should be Occasion for it, a new Court might at any time be constituted. I observe by the inclosd, that the Cincinnati in Congress assembled are to meet at Philadelphia on the 5th of May & that General Washington is to preside. That Gentleman has an idea of the Nature & Tendency of the Order very different from mine, otherwise I am certain he would never have given it his Sanction. I look upon it to be as rapid a Stride towards an hereditary Military Nobility as was ever made in so short a Time. My Fears may be ill grounded, but if they are not, it is impossible for me not to think it a very great Misfortune to these States that he is a Member; for the Reputation he has justly acquired by his Conduct while Commander in Chiefe of our Armies, and the Gratitude & warm Affection which his Countrymen do & ought to feel towards him will give Weight to any thing he patronizes, & Lustre to all who may be connected with him. It is a Tribute due to the Man who has servd his Country well, to esteem him highly & confide in him. We ought not however to think any Man incapable of Error. But so it is with the Bulk of Mankind & even in a free Country. They will reprobate the Idea of implicit Faith; and at the same time, while the Impression of Gratitude is deep in their Minds, they will not admit of a Benefactor, which must be said of every Man, "aliquando dormitat." I would never inculcate a mean & envious Suspicion of any Man especially of those who have renderd signal Services to their Country. But there is a Degree of Watchfulness over all Men possessd of Power or Influence upon which the Liberties of Mankind much depend. It is necessary to guard against the Infirmities of the best as well as the Wickedness of the worst of Men. Such is the Weakness of human Nature that Tyranny has oftener sprang from that than any other Source. It is this that unravels the Mystery of Millions being enslavd by a few. What was it that indued the Cincinnati Gentlemen who have undertaken to deliberate and act upon Matters which may essentially concern "the Happiness & future Dignity of the American Empire," to admit foreign Military Subjects into their Society? Was there not Danger before that a foreign Influence might prevail in America? Do not Foreigners wish to have Weight in our Councils? Can such a Junction of Subjects of different Nations (& those Nations widely different in their principles of Government) to Deliberate upon things which relate to the Union & national Honor, the Happiness & future Dignity of one consist with sound Policy? Are we sure that those foreign Nations will never have separate Views & very national & interrested ones too, because they once united in the same object & it was accidentally their mutual Interest to fight Side by Side? If the Cincinnati had a Right to erect themselves into an order for the national Purposes of their Institution, had they a Right to call in foreign Aid for those Purposes? It appears to me as impolitic, preposterous & dangerous as it would be for the United States to invite & admit a Delegation from that foreign Power into their Congress.