Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson
Chapter 93 : LETTER CXVI.--TO JOHN ADAMS TO JOHN ADAMS.Paris, December 12, 1787.Dear Sir, In the mon

LETTER CXVI.--TO JOHN ADAMS

TO JOHN ADAMS.

Paris, December 12, 1787.

Dear Sir,

In the month of July, I received from Fiseaux & Co. of Amsterdam, a letter notifying me that the princ.i.p.al of their loan to the United States would become due the first day of January. I answered them that I had neither powers nor information on the subject, but would transmit their letter to the board of treasury. I did so, by the packet which sailed from Havre, August the 10th. The earliest answer possible would have been by the packet which arrived at Havre three or four days ago.

But by her I do not receive the scrip of a pen from any body. This makes me suppose, that my letters are committed to Paul Jones, who was to sail a week after the departure of the packet; and that possibly, he may be the bearer of orders from the treasury, to repay Fiseaux' loan, with the money you borrowed. But it is also possible, he may bring no order on the subject. The slowness with which measures are adopted on our side the water, does not permit us to count on punctual answers; but, on the contrary, renders it necessary for us to suppose, in the present case, that no orders will arrive in time, and to consider whether any thing, and what, should be done. As it may be found expedient to transfer all our foreign debts to Holland, by borrowing there, and as it may always be prudent to preserve a good credit in that country, because we may be forced into wars, whether we will or not, I should suppose it very imprudent to suffer our credit to be annihilated, for so small a sum as fifty-one thousand guelders. The injury will be greater too, in proportion to the smallness of the sum; for they will ask, 'How can a people be trusted for large sums, who break their faith for such small ones?' You know best what effect it will have on the minds of the money-lenders of that country, should we fail in this payment. You know best also, whether it is practicable and prudent for us, to have this debt paid without orders. I refer the matter, therefore, wholly to your consideration, willing to partic.i.p.ate with you in any risk and any responsibility, which may arise. I think it one of those cases, where it is a duty to risk one's self. You will perceive, by the enclosed, the necessity of an immediate answer, and that, if you think any thing can and should be done, all the necessary authorities from you should accompany your letter. In the mean time, should I receive any orders from the treasury by Paul Jones, I will pursue them, and consider whatever you shall have proposed or done, as _non avenue_.

I am, with much affection, Dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Th: Jefferson.

LETTER CXVII.--TO JAMES MADISON, December 20, 1787

TO JAMES MADISON.

Paris, December 20, 1787.

Dear Sir,

My last to you was of October the 8th, by the Count de Moustier.

Yours of July the 18th, September the 6th, and October the 24th, were successively received, yesterday, the day before, and three or four days before that. I have only had time to read the letters; the printed papers communicated with them, however interesting, being obliged to lie over till I finish my despatches for the packet, which despatches must go from hence the day after to-morrow. I have much to thank you for; first and most for the ciphered paragraph respecting myself. These little informations are very material towards forming my own decisions.

I would be glad even to know, when any individual member thinks I have gone wrong in any instance. If I know myself, it would not excite ill blood in me, while it would a.s.sist to guide my conduct, perhaps to justify it, and to keep me to my duty, alert. I must thank you too, for the information in Thomas Burke's case; though you will have found by a subsequent letter, that I have asked of you a further investigation of that matter. It is to gratify the lady who is at the head of the convent wherein my daughters are, and who, by her attachment and attention to them, lays me under great obligations, I shall hope, therefore, still to receive from you the result of all the further inquiries my second letter had asked. The parcel of rice which you informed me had miscarried, accompanied my letter to the Delegates of South Carolina.

Mr. Bourgoin was to be the bearer of both, and both were delivered together into the hands of his relation here, who introduced him to me, and who, at a subsequent moment, undertook to convey them to Mr.

Bourgoin. This person was an engraver, particularly recommended to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Hopkinson. Perhaps he may have mislaid the little parcel of rice among his baggage. I am much pleased, that the sale of western lands is so successful. I hope they will absorb all the certificates of our domestic debt speedily, in the first place, and that then, offered for cash, they will do the same by our foreign ones.

The season admitting only of operations in the cabinet, and these being in a great measure secret, I have little to fill a letter, I will therefore make up the deficiency, by adding a few words on the const.i.tution proposed by our convention.

I like much the general idea of framing a government, which should go on of itself, peaceably, without needing continual recurrence to the State legislatures. I like the organization of the government into legislative, judiciary, and executive. I like the power given the legislature to levy taxes, and for that reason solely, I approve of the greater House being chosen by the people directly. For though I think a House, so chosen, will be very far inferior to the present Congress, will be very illy qualified to legislate for the Union, for foreign nations, &c.; yet this evil does not weigh against the good of preserving inviolate the fundamental principle, that the people are not to be taxed but by represent.i.tives[sp.] chosen immediately by themselves. I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great and little States, of the latter to equal, and the former to proportional influence. I am much pleased, too, with the subst.i.tution of the method of voting by persons, instead of that of voting by States: and I like the negative given to the Executive, conjointly with a third of either House; though I should have liked it better, had the judiciary been a.s.sociated for that purpose, or invested separately with a similar power. There are other good things of less moment.

I will now tell you what I do not like. First, the omission of a bill of rights, providing clearly, and without the aid of sophism, for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the _habeas corpus_ laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land, and not by the laws of nations. To say, as Mr.

Wilson does, that a bill of rights was not necessary, because all is reserved in the case of the general government which is not given, while in the particular ones, all is given which is not reserved, might do for the audience to which it was addressed: but it is surely a _gratis dictum_, the reverse of which might just as well be said; and it is opposed by strong inferences from the body of the instrument, as well as from the omission of the clause of our present Confederation, which had made the reservation in express terms. It was hard to conclude, because there has been a want of uniformity among the States as to the cases triable by jury, because some have been so incautious as to dispense with this mode of trial in certain cases, therefore the more prudent States shall be reduced to the same level of calamity. It would have been much more just and wise to have concluded the other way, that as most of the States had preserved with jealousy this sacred palladium of liberty, those who had wandered, should be brought back to it: and to have established general right rather than general wrong. For I consider all the ill as established, which maybe established. I have a right to nothing, which another has a right to take away; and Congress will have a right to take away trials by jury in all civil cases. Let me add, that a bill of rights is what the people are ent.i.tled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.

The second feature I dislike, and strongly dislike, is the abandonment, in every instance, of the principle of rotation in office, and most particularly in the case of the President. Reason and experience tell us, that the first magistrate will always be re-elected if he may be re-elected. He is then an officer for life.

This once observed, it becomes of so much consequence to certain nations, to have a friend or a foe at the head of our affairs, that they will interfere with money and with arms. A Galloman, or an Angloman, will be supported by the nation he befriends. If once elected, and at a second or third election outvoted by one or two votes, he will pretend false votes, foul play, hold possession of the reins of government, be supported by the States voting for him, especially if they be the central ones, lying in a compact body themselves, and separating their opponents; and they will be aided by one nation in Europe, while the majority are aided by another. The election of a President of America, some years hence, will be much more interesting to certain nations of Europe, than ever the election of a King of Poland was. Reflect on all the instances in history, ancient and modern, of elective monarchies, and say, if they do not give foundation for my fears; the Roman Emperors, the Popes while they were of any importance, the German Emperors till they became hereditary in practice, the Kings of Poland, the Deys of the Ottoman dependencies. It may be said, that if elections are to be attended with these disorders, the less frequently they are repeated the better. But experience says, that to free them from disorder, they must be rendered less interesting by a necessity of change. No foreign power, nor domestic party, will waste their blood and money to elect a person, who must go out at the end of a short period.

The power of removing every fourth year by the vote of the people, is a power which they will not exercise, and if they were disposed to exercise it, they would not be permitted. The King of Poland is removable every day by the diet. But they never remove him. Nor would Russia, the Emperor, &c. permit them to do it. Smaller objections are, the appeals on matters of fact as well as law; and the binding all persons, legislative, executive, and judiciary, by oath, to maintain that const.i.tution. I do not pretend to decide, what would be the best method of procuring the establishment of the manifold good things in this const.i.tution, and of getting rid of the bad. Whether by adopting it, in hopes of future amendment; or, after it shall have been duly weighed and canva.s.sed by the people, after seeing the parts they generally dislike, and those they generally approve, to say to them, 'We see now what you wish. You are willing to give to your federal government such and such powers: but you wish, at the same time, to have such and such fundamental rights secured to you, and certain sources of convulsion taken away. Be it so. Send together your deputies again. Let them establish your fundamental rights by a sacrosanct declaration, and let them pa.s.s the parts of the const.i.tution you have approved. These will give powers to your federal government sufficient for your happiness.' This is what might be said, and would probably produce a speedy, more perfect, and more permanent form of government. At all events, I hope you will not be discouraged from making other trials, if the present one should fail. We are never permitted to despair of the commonwealth. I have thus told you freely what I like, and what I dislike, merely as a matter of curiosity; for I know it is not in my power to offer matter of information to your judgment, which has been formed after hearing and weighing every thing which the wisdom of man could offer on these subjects. I own, I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive. It places the governors indeed more at their ease, at the expense of the people. The late rebellion in Ma.s.sachusetts has given more alarm, than I think it should have done. Calculate that one rebellion in thirteen States in the course of eleven years, is but one for each State in a century and a half. No country should be so long without one. Nor will any degree of power in the hands of government prevent insurrections. In England, where the hand of power is heavier than with us, there are seldom half a dozen years without an insurrection. In France, Where it is still heavier, but less despotic, as Montesquieu supposes, than in some other countries, and where there are always two or three hundred thousand men ready to crush insurrections, there have been three in the course of the three years I have been here, in every one of which greater numbers were engaged than in Ma.s.sachusetts, and a great deal more blood was spilt. In Turkey, where the sole nod of the despot is death, insurrections are the events of every day. Compare again the ferocious depredations of their insurgents, with the order, the moderation, and the almost self-extinguishment of ours. And say, finally, whether peace is best preserved by giving energy to the government, or information to the people. This last is the most certain and the most legitimate engine of government. Educate and inform the whole ma.s.s of the people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. And it requires no very high degree of education to convince them of this. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. After all, it is my principle that the will of the majority should prevail. If they approve the proposed const.i.tution in all its parts, I shall concur in it cheerfully, in hopes they will amend it, whenever they shall find it works wrong. This reliance cannot deceive us, as long as we remain virtuous; and I think we shall be so, as long as agriculture is our princ.i.p.al object, which will be the case, while there remain vacant lands in any part of America. When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become corrupt as in Europe, and go to eating one another as they do there. I have tired you by this time with disquisitions which you have already heard repeated by others, a thousand and a thousand times; and, therefore, shall only add a.s.surances of the esteem and attachment, with which I have the honor to be, Dear Sir, your affectionate friend and servant,

Th: Jefferson.

P. S. The instability of our laws is really an immense evil. I think it would be well to provide in our const.i.tutions, that there shall always be a twelvemonth between the engrossing a bill and pa.s.sing it: that it should then be offered to its pa.s.sage without changing a word: and that if circ.u.mstances should be thought to require a speedier pa.s.sage, it should take two thirds of both Houses, instead of a bare majority.

LETTER CXVIII.--TO E. CARRINGTON, December 21, 1787

TO E. CARRINGTON

Paris, December 21, 1787.

Dear Sir,

I have just received your two favors of October the 23rd and November the 10th. I am much obliged to you for your hints in the Danish business. They are the only information I have on that subject, except the resolution of Congress, and warn me of a rock on which I should most certainly have split. The vote plainly points out an agent, only leaving it to my discretion to subst.i.tute another. My judgment concurs with that of Congress as to his fitness. But I shall inquire for the surest banker at Copenhagen to receive the money, not because I should have had any doubts, but because I am informed others have them. Against the failure of a banker, were such an accident, or any similar one to happen, I cannot be held accountable in a case, where I act without particular interest. My princ.i.p.al idea in proposing the transfer of the French debt, was, to obtain on the new loans a much longer day for the reimburs.e.m.e.nt of the princ.i.p.al, hoping that the resources of the United States could have been equal to the article of interest alone. But I shall endeavor to quiet, as well as I can, those interested. A part of them will probably sell out at any rate: and one great claimant may be expected to make a bitter attack on our honor. I am very much pleased to hear, that our western lands sell so successfully. I turn to this precious resource, as that which will, in every event, liberate us from our domestic debt, and perhaps too from our foreign one: and this, much sooner than I had expected. I do not think any thing could have been done with them in Europe. Individual speculators and sharpers had duped so many with their unlocated land-warrants, that every offer would have been suspected.

As to the new const.i.tution, I find myself nearly a neutral. There is a great ma.s.s of good in it, in a very desirable form; but there is also, to me, a bitter pill or two. I have written somewhat lengthily to Mr.

Madison on this subject, and will take the liberty to refer you to that part of my letter to him. I will add one question to what I have said there. Would it not have been better to a.s.sign to Congress exclusively, the article of imposts for federal purposes, and to have left direct taxation exclusively to the States? I should suppose the former fund sufficient for all probable events, aided by the land office.

The form which the affairs of Europe may a.s.sume, is not yet decipherable by those out of the cabinet. The Emperor gives himself, at present, the airs of a mediator. This is necessary to justify a breach with the Porte. He has his eye at the same time on Germany, and particularly on Bavaria, the Elector of which has, for a long time, been hanging over the grave. Probably, France would now consent to the exchange of the Austrian Netherlands, to be created into a kingdom for the Duke de Deux-ponts, against the electorate of Bavaria. This will require a war. The Empress longs for Turkey, and viewing France as her princ.i.p.al obstacle, would gladly negotiate her acquiescence. To spur on this, she is coquetting it with England. The King of Prussia, too, is playing a double game between France and England. But I suppose the former incapable of forgiving him, or of ever reposing confidence in him.

Perhaps the spring may unfold to us the final arrangement, which will take place among the powers of this continent.

I often doubt whether I should trouble Congress or my friends with these details of European politics. I know they do not excite that interest in America, of which it is impossible for one to divest himself here. I know too, that it is a maxim with us, and I think it is a wise one, not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of Europe. Still, I think, we should know them. The Turks have practised the same maxim of not meddling in the complicated wrangles of this continent. But they have unwisely chosen to be ignorant of them also, and it is this total ignorance of Europe, its combinations, and its movements, which exposes them to that annihilation possibly about taking place. While there are powers in Europe which fear our views, or have views on us, we should keep an eye on them, their connections, and oppositions, that in a moment of need, we may avail ourselves of their weakness with respect to others as well as ourselves, and calculate their designs and movements, on all the circ.u.mstances under which they exist. Though I am persuaded, therefore, that these details are read by many with great indifference, yet I think it my duty to enter into them, and to run the risk of giving too much, rather than too little information.

I have the honor to be, with perfect esteem and respect, Dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,

Th: Jefferson.

P. S. The resolution of Congress, relative to the prize money received here, speaks of that money as paid to me. I hope this matter is properly understood. The treasury board desired me to receive it, and apply it to such and such federal purposes; and they would pay the dividends of the claimants in America. This would save the expense of remittance. I declined, however, receiving the money, and ordered it into the hands of their banker, who paid it away for the purposes to which they had destined it. I should be sorry an idea should get abroad, that I had received the money of those poor fellows, and applied it to other purposes. I shall, in like manner, order the Danish and Barbary money into the hands of bankers, carefully avoiding ever to touch a sou of it, or having any other account to make out than what the banker will furnish. T. J.

LETTER CXIX.--TO MONSIEUR LIMOZIN, December 22, 1787

TO MONSIEUR LIMOZIN.

Paris, December 22, 1787.

Sir,

I have the honor now to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of the 18th and 19th of November, and two of the 18th of the present month.

I did not write to you immediately on the receipt of the two first, because the observation they contained were to be acted on here. I was much obliged to you for them, as I have been frequently before for others, and you will find that I have profited by them in the _Arret_ which is to come out for the regulation of our commerce, wherein most of the things are provided for, which you have from time to time recommended. With respect to the article of yellow wax, I think there is a general clause in the _Arret_, which will take it in; but I am not sure of it. If there be not, it is now too late to get any alteration made. You shall receive the _Arret_ the moment it is communicated to me.

I have examined the case of Captain Thomas, with all the dispositions possible, to interpose for him. But on mature reflection, I find it is one of those cases wherein my solicitation would be ill received. The government of France, to secure to its subjects the carrying trade between her colonies and the mother country, have made a law, forbidding any foreign vessels to undertake to carry between them. Notwithstanding this, an American vessel has undertaken, and has brought a cargo. For me to ask that this vessel shall be received, would be to ask a repeal of the law, because there is no more reason for receiving her, than there will be for receiving the second, third, &c, which shall act against the same law, nor for receiving an American vessel, more than the vessels of other nations. Captain Thomas has probably engaged in this business, not knowing the law; but ignorance of the law is no excuse, in any country.

If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can be always pretended. Were I to make this application to the Comptroller General, he might possibly ask me, whether, in a like case, of a French vessel in America acting through ignorance, against law, we would suspend the law as to her? I should be obliged honestly to answer, that with us there is no power which can suspend the law for a moment; and Captain Thomas knows that this answer would be the truth. The Senegal company seems to be as much engaged in it as he is. I should suppose his most probable means of extrication, would be with their a.s.sistance, and availing himself of their privileges, and the apparent authority he has received from the officers of government there. I am sorry his case is such a one, as I cannot present to the minister. A jealousy of our taking away their carrying trade, is the princ.i.p.al reason which obstructs our admission into their West India islands. It would not be right for me to strengthen that jealousy.