LETTER CCXXXI. MY DEAREST FRIEND, Philadelphia, 10 May, 1794. WE go on as usual, Congress resolving one thing and the democratical societies resolving the contrary; the President doing what is right, and clubs and mobs resolving it to be all wrong. We had in Senate, a few days ago, the greatest curiosity of all. The senators from Virginia moved, in consequence of an instruction from their constituents, that the execution of the fourth article of the treaty of peace, relative to bona fide debts, should be suspended, until Britain should fulfil the seventh article. When the question was put, fourteen voted against it, two only, the Virginia delegates, for it, and all the rest, but one, ran out of the room to avoid voting at all, and that one excused himself. This is the first instance of the kind. The motion disclosed the real object of all the wild projects and mad motions which have been made during the whole session. O! liberty. O! my country. O! debt, and O! sin? These debtors are the persons who are continually declaiming against the corruption of Congress. Impudence! thy front is brass. The House is upon ways and means, which will take us the rest of the month, I fear. LETTER CCXXXII. MY DEAREST FRIEND, Philadelphia, 17 May, 1794. THE long continuance of the session, and the uncommon heat and drought of the weather, have made this to me an unpleasant spring, and to increase my mortification, I have this week received no letter from you. I have not, for several months before, failed to receive a delicious letter, worth a dozen of mine, once a week. Well! Boston comes on. Mr. M. is now to be its leader. How changed in reputation since 1788! I wonder not at the choice of Well-born Winthrop. He might, I suppose, have been chosen at any time. His father was one of my best friends, and the son was a good son of liberty. I know of nothing to his disadvantage. The federalists committed an egregious blunder in a very unwarrantable and indecent attempt, I had almost said, upon the freedom of elections, at their previous meeting for the choice of govThe opposite party, to be sure, practise arts nearly as unwarrantable in secret, and by sending agents with printed votes. But this is no justification, unless upon Cato's principle: In corrupta civitate corruptio est licita; i. e., in a corrupt city, corruption is lawful. Elections are going the usual way in our devoted country. O! that I had done with them. ernor. We shall realize the raving in the Tempest, which C. quoted to me in his last letter: "I' the Commonwealth" we shall "by contraries No occupation; all men idle, all; And women too; but innocent and pure; All things in common nature should produce This is lubberland, indeed. Le pays de Cocagne, I believe the French call it; but it is terra incognita. I am afraid we shall have too many of its qualities without its innocence. I have no hope of Congress rising, before the last of May. Never in my life did I long to see you more. I am, most ardently, your VOL IV. 11 J. A. LETTER CCXXXIII. Philadelphia, 26 May, 1794. MY DEAREST FRIEND, I SHALL enclose with this some letters between Randolph and Hammond, which will show you how quarrelsome they are. Poor fellows! They both desire peace, but think themselves obliged to wrangle for their countries. It is fashionable to charge wars upon kings, but I think "le peuple souverain" is as inflammable and as proud, and at the same time less systematic, uniform, and united, so that it is not easy for them to avoid wars. We have labored very hard to preserve our tranquillity, but the peuple souverain is continually committing some intemperance or indiscretion or other, tending to defeat all our precautions. If we are involved in a war, my head, heart and hands shall be guiltless of the crime of provok ing it. But it will be my duty to submit to the legal voice and decree of my country. We have fine rains here for three days past, and I hope you enjoy a similar blessing. I shall take leave on Saturday, 31st of May, but cannot hope to get home before the 10th or 12th of June. The journey lies before me like a mountain. I am too old and too feeble for these long journeys, dry sessions, and uncomfortable scenes. I am at an age when I ought to be at home with my family. I wish you an agreeable election. Who will be Lieutenant Governor, Gill or Gerry? I wrote to Dr. Willard, sometime ago, a resignation of the chair of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. It would be a farce for me to hold it any longer. My duty to my mother. Tell my brother that I suppose he was for war to make himself popular; but I am very sorry to find that warlike sentiments are popular in Quincy. I am glad he is chosen, however, and hope he will get our town back to the county of Suffolk. Adieu, my dearest friend, adieu. LETTER CCXXXIV. Philadelphia, 27 May, 1794. MY DEAREST FRIEND, It is proper that I should apprize you that the President has it in contemplation to send your son to Holland, that you may recollect yourself and prepare for the event. I make this communication to you in confidence, at the desire of the President, communicated to me yesterday by the Secretary of State. You must keep it an entire secret until it shall be announced to the public in the journal of the Senate. But our son must hold himself in readiness to come to Philadelphia to converse with the President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, &c., and |