Standard Library Edition AMERICAN STATESMEN EDITED BY JOHN T. MORSE, JR. IN THIRTY-TWO VOLUMES VOL. XIII. THE JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY ALBERT GALLATIN [Illustration: Albert Gallatin] American Statesmen STANDARD LIBRARY EDITION [Illustration: The Home of Albert Gallatin] HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. American Statesmen ALBERT GALLATIN BY JOHN AUSTIN STEVENS BOSTON AND NEW YORKHOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANYThe Riverside Press, Cambridge Copyright, 1883 and 1898, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. _All rights reserved. _ PREFACE Every generation demands that history shall be rewritten. This is notalone because it requires that the work should be adapted to its ownpoint of view, but because it is instinctively seeking those lines whichconnect the problems and lessons of the past with its own questions andcircumstances. If it were not for the existence of lines of this kind, history might be entertaining, but would have little real value. Themore numerous they are between the present and any earlier period, themore valuable is, for us, the history of that period. Suchconsiderations establish an especial interest just at present in thelife of Gallatin. The Monroe Doctrine has recently been the pivot of Americanstatesmanship. With that doctrine Mr. Gallatin had much to do, both asminister to France and envoy to Great Britain. Indeed, in 1818, someyears before the declaration of that doctrine, when the Spanish coloniesof South America were in revolt, he declared that the United Stateswould not even aid France in a mediation. Later, in May, 1823, sixmonths before the famous message of President Monroe, Mr. Gallatin hadalready uttered its idea; when about leaving Paris, on his return fromthe French mission, he said to Chateaubriand, the French minister offoreign affairs (May 13, 1823): "The United States would undoubtedlypreserve their neutrality, provided it were respected, and avoid anyinterference with the politics of Europe. . . . On the other hand, theywould not suffer others to interfere against the emancipation ofAmerica. " With characteristic vanity Canning said that it was he himselfwho "called the new world into existence to redress the balance of theold. " Yet precisely this had already for a long while been a cardinalpoint of the policy of the United States. So early as 1808, Jefferson, alluding to the disturbed condition of the Spanish colonies, said: "Weconsider their interest and ours as the same, and that the object ofboth must be to exclude all European influence in this hemisphere. " Matters of equal interest are involved in the study of Mr. Gallatin'sactions and opinions in matters of finance. Every one knows that heranks among the distinguished financiers of the world, and problemswhich he had to consider are still agitating the present generation. Hewas opposed alike to a national debt and to paper money. Had themetallic basis of the United States been adequate, he would haveaccepted no other circulating medium, and would have consented to theuse of paper money only for purposes of exchange and remittance. In 1830he urged the restriction of paper money to notes of one hundred dollarseach, which were to be issued by the government. Obviously these must beused chiefly for transmitting funds, and would be of little use for thedaily transactions of the people. Yet even this concession was due tothe fact that the United States was then a debtor country, and so lateas 1839, as Mr. Gallatin said, "specie was a foreign product. " Forsubsidiary money he favored silver coins at eighty-five per cent. Of thedollar value, a sufficient alloy to hold them in the country. Silver wasthen the circulating medium of the world, the people's pocket money, andgold was the basis and the solvent of foreign exchanges. Great interest attaches to the application of some other of Gallatin'sfinancial principles to more modern problems; and a careful study of hispapers may fairly enable us to form a few conclusions. It may be safelysaid that he would not have favored a national bank currency based ongovernment bonds. This, however, would not have been because of anyobjection to the currency itself, but because the scheme would insurethe continuance of a national debt. He was too practical, also, not tosee that the ultimate security is the faith of the government, and thatno filtering of that responsibility through private banks could dootherwise than injure it. Further, it is reasonably safe to say that hewould favor the withdrawal both of national bank notes and of UnitedStates notes, the greenbacks so-called; and that he would consent to theuse of paper only in the form of certificates directly representing theprecious metals, gold and silver; also that he would limit the use ofsilver to its actual handling by the people in daily transactions. Hewould feel safe to disregard the fluctuations of the intrinsic value ofsilver, when used in this limited way as a subordinate currency, on theground that the stamp of the United States was sufficient for conferringthe needed value, when the obligation was only to maintain the parity, not of the silver, but of the coin, with gold. He understood that, inthe case of a currency which is merely subordinate, parity arises fromthe guaranty of the government, and not from the quality of the coin;and that only such excess of any subordinate currency as is not neededfor use in daily affairs can be presented for redemption. Thisprinciple, well understood by him, is recognized in European systems, wherein the minimum of circulation is recognized as a maximum limit ofuncovered issues of paper. The circulation of silver, or ofcertificates based upon it, comes within the same rule. At the time of the publication of this volume objection was taken to theauthor's statement that, until the publication of Gallatin's writings, his fame as a statesman and political leader was a mere tradition. Yetin point of fact, not only is his name hardly mentioned by the earlybiographers of Jefferson, Madison, and J. Q. Adams, but even by thelater writers in this very Series, his work, varied and important as itwas, has been given but scant notice. The historians of the UnitedStates, and those who have made a specialty of the study of politicalparties, have been alike indifferent or derelict in their investigationsto such a degree that it required months of original research in theannals of Congress to ascertain Gallatin's actual relations towards theFederalist party which he helped to overthrow, and towards theRepublican party which he did so much to found, and of which he becamethe ablest champion, in Congress by debate, and in the cabinet byadministration. Invited by the publishers of the Statesmen Series to bring this study"up to date, " the author has found no important changes to make in hiswork as he first prepared it. In the original investigation every sourceof information was carefully explored, and no new sources have sincethen been discovered. Mr. Gallatin's writings, carefully preserved inoriginals and copies, and well arranged, supplied the details; while thefamily traditions, with which the author was familiar, indicated theobjects to be obtained. But so wide was the general field of Mr. Gallatin's career, so varied were his interests in all that pertained tohumanity, philanthropy, and science, and so extensive were his relationswith the leaders of European and American thought and action, that thesubject could only be treated on the broadest basis. With this apologythis study of one of the most interesting characters of American life isagain commended to the indulgence of the American people. NEWPORT, April, 1898. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. EARLY LIFE 1 II. PENNSYLVANIA Legislature 32 III. UNITED STATES SENATE 56 IV. THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION 67 V. MEMBER OF CONGRESS 97 VI. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 170 VII. IN THE CABINET 279 VIII. IN DIPLOMACY 301 IX. CANDIDATE FOR THE VICE-PRESIDENCY 355 X. SOCIETY--LITERATURE--SCIENCE 361 INDEX 391 ILLUSTRATIONS ALBERT GALLATIN _Frontispiece_ From the original painting by Gilbert Stuart, in thepossession of Frederic W. Stevens, Esq. , New York, N. Y. Autograph from the Chamberlain collection, BostonPublic Library. The vignette of "Friendship Hill, " Mr. Gallatin'shome at New Geneva, Pa. , is from a photograph. Page ROBERT GOODLOE HARPER _facing_ 98 From a painting by St. Mémin, in the possession ofHarper's granddaughter, Mrs. William C. Pennington, Baltimore, Md. Autograph from a MS. In the New York PublicLibrary, Lenox Building. ALEXANDER J. DALLAS _facing_ 236 From the original painting by Gilbert Stuart, in thepossession of Mrs. W. H. Emory, Washington, D. C. Autograph from the Chamberlain collection, BostonPublic Library. JAMES A. BAYARD _facing_ 312 From a painting by Wertmüller, owned by the lateThomas F. Bayard, Wilmington, Del. Autograph from the Chamberlain collection, BostonPublic Library. ALBERT GALLATIN CHAPTER I EARLY LIFE Of all European-born citizens who have risen to fame in the politicalservice of the United States, Albert Gallatin is the most distinguished. His merit in legislation, administration, and diplomacy is generallyrecognized, and he is venerated by men of science on both continents. Not, however, until the publication of his writings was the extent ofhis influence upon the political life and growth of the country otherthan a vague tradition. Independence and nationality were achieved bythe Revolution, in which he bore a slight and unimportant part; hisplace in history is not, therefore, among the founders of the Republic, but foremost in the rank of those early American statesmen, to whom itfell to interpret and administer the organic laws which the foundersdeclared and the people ratified in the Constitution of the UnitedStates. A study of his life shows that, from the time of the peace untilhis death, his influence, either by direct action or indirect counsel, may be traced through the history of the country. The son of Jean Gallatin and his wife, Sophie Albertine Rollaz, he wasborn in the city of Geneva on January 29, 1761, and was baptized by thename of Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin. The name Abraham he receivedfrom his grandfather, but it was early dropped, and he was always knownby his matronymic Albert. The Gallatin family held great influence inthe Swiss Republic, and from the organization of the State contributednumerous members to its magistracy; others adopted the militaryprofession, and served after the manner of their country in the Swisscontingents of foreign armies. The immediate relatives of AlbertGallatin were concerned in trade. Abraham, his grandfather, and Jean, his father, were partners. The latter dying in 1765, his widow assumedhis share in the business. She died in March, 1770, leaving twochildren, --Albert, then nine years of age, and an invalid daughter whodied a few years later. The loss to the orphan boy was lessened, if notcompensated, by the care of a maiden lady--Mademoiselle Pictet--who hadtaken him into her charge at his father's death. This lady, whoseaffection never failed him, was the intimate friend of his mother aswell as a distant relative of his father. Young Gallatin remained inthis kind care until January, 1773, when he was sent to aboarding-school, and in August, 1775, to the academy of Geneva, fromwhich he was graduated in May, 1779. The expenses of his education werein great part met by the trustees of the Bourse Gallatin, --a sum left in1699 by a member of the family, of which the income was to be applied toits necessities. The course of study at the academy was confined toLatin and Greek. These were taught, to use the words of Mr. Gallatin, "Latin thoroughly, Greek much neglected. " Fortunately his preliminaryhome training had been careful, and he left the academy the first in hisclass in mathematics, natural philosophy, and Latin translation. French, a language in general use at Geneva, was of course familiar to him. English he also studied. He is not credited with special proficiency inhistory, but his teacher in this branch was Muller, the distinguishedhistorian, and the groundwork of his information was solid. No Americanstatesman has shown more accurate knowledge of the facts of history, ora more profound insight into its philosophy, than Mr. Gallatin. Education, however, is not confined to instruction, nor is the influenceof an academy to be measured by the extent of its curriculum, or theproficiency of its students, but rather by its general tone, moral andintellectual. The Calvinism of Geneva, narrow in its religious sense, was friendly to the spread of knowledge; and had this not been the case, the side influences of Roman Catholicism on the one hand, and theliberal spirit of the age on the other, would have tempered itsexclusive tendency. While the academy seems to have sent out few men of extraordinaryeminence, its influence upon society was happy. Geneva was the resort ofdistinguished foreigners. Princes and nobles from Germany and the northof Europe, lords and gentlemen from England, and numerous Americans wentthither to finish their education. Of these Mr. Gallatin has leftmention of Francis Kinloch and William Smith, who later representedSouth Carolina in the Congress of the United States; Smith wasafterwards minister to Portugal; Colonel Laurens, son of the presidentof Congress, and special envoy to France during the war of the AmericanRevolution; the two Penns, proprietors of Pennsylvania; Franklin Bache, grandson of Dr. Franklin; and young Johannot, grandson of Dr. Cooper ofBoston. Yet no one of these followed the academic course. To use againthe words of Mr. Gallatin, "It was the Geneva society which theycultivated, aided by private teachers in every branch, with whom Genevawas abundantly supplied. " "By that influence, " he says, he was himself"surrounded, and derived more benefit from that source than fromattendance on academical lectures. " Considered in its broader sense, education is quite as much a matter of association as of scholarlyacquirement. The influence of the companion is as strong and enduring asthat of the master. Of this truth the career of young Gallatin is anotable example. During his academic course he formed ties of intimatefriendship with three of his associates. These were Henri Serre, JeanBadollet, and Etienne Dumont. This attachment was maintained unimpairedthroughout their lives, notwithstanding the widely different stationswhich they subsequently filled. Serre and Badollet are only rememberedfrom their connection with Gallatin. Dumont was of different mould. Hewas the friend of Mirabeau, the disciple and translator of Bentham, --aman of elegant acquirement, but, in the judgment of Gallatin, "withoutoriginal genius. " De Lolme was in the class above Gallatin. He had suchfacility in the acquisition of languages that he was able to write hisfamous work on the English Constitution after the residence of a singleyear in England. Pictet, Gallatin's relative, afterwards celebrated as anaturalist, excelled all his fellows in physical science. During his last year at the academy Gallatin was engaged in the tuitionof a nephew of Mademoiselle Pictet, but the time soon arrived when hefelt called upon to choose a career. His state was one of comparativedependence, and the small patrimony which he inherited would not pass tohis control until he should reach his twenty-fifth year, --the periodassigned for his majority. It would be hardly just to say that he wasambitious. Personal distinction was never an active motor in his life. Even his later honors, thick and fast though they fell, were ratherthrust upon than sought by him. But his nature was proud and sensitive, and he chafed under personal control. The age was restless. The spiritof philosophic inquiry, no longer confined within scholastic limits, wasspreading far and wide. From the banks of the Neva to the shores of theMediterranean, the people of Europe were uneasy and expectant. Meneverywhere felt that the social system was threatened with a cataclysm. What would emerge from the general deluge none could foresee. Certainly, the last remains of the old feudality would be engulfed forever. Nowherewas this more thoroughly believed than at the home of Rousseau. Underthe shadow of the Alps, every breeze from which was free, the Genevesephilosopher had written his "Contrat social, " and invited the rulers andthe ruled to a reorganization of their relations to each other and tothe world. But nowhere, also, was the conservative opposition to the newtheories more intense than here. The mind of young Gallatin was essentially philosophic. The studies inwhich he excelled in early life were in this direction, and at no timein his career did he display any emotional enthusiasm on subjects ofgeneral concern. But, on the other hand, he was unflinching in hisadherence to abstract principle. Though not carried away by theextravagance of Rousseau, he was thoroughly discontented with thepolitical state of Geneva. He was by early conviction a Democrat in thebroadest sense of the term. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a moreperfect example of what it was then the fashion to call a _citoyen dumonde_. His family seem, on the contrary, to have been alwaysconservative, and attached to the aristocratic and oligarchic system towhich they had, for centuries, owed their position and advancement. Abraham Gallatin, his grandfather, lived at Pregny on the northern shoreof the lake, in close neighborhood to Ferney, the retreat of Voltaire. Susanne Vaudenet Gallatin, his grandmother, was a woman of the world, alady of strong character, and the period was one when the influence ofwomen was paramount in the affairs of men; among her friends she countedVoltaire, with whom her husband and herself were on intimate relations, and Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, with whom she corresponded. Sosincere was this latter attachment that the sovereign sent his portraitto her in 1776, an honor which, at her instance, Voltaire acknowledgedin a verse characteristic of himself and of the time:-- "J'ai baisé ce portrait charmant, Je vous l'avoûrai sans mystère, Mes filles en out fait autant, Mais c'est un secret qu'il faut taire. Vous trouverez bon qu'une mère Vous parle un peu plus hardiment, Et vous verrez qu'également, En tous les temps vous savez plaire. " At Pregny young Gallatin was the constant guest of his nearest relativeson his father's side, and he was a frequent visitor at Ferney. Thosewhose fortune it has been to sit at the feet of Mr. Gallatin himself, in the serene atmosphere of his study, after his retirement from activeparticipation in public concerns, may well imagine the influence whichthe rays of the prismatic character of Voltaire must have had upon thephilosophic and receptive mind of the young student. There was and still is a solidarity in European families which canscarcely be said to have ever had a counterpart in those of England, andof which hardly a vestige remains in American social life. The fate ofeach member was a matter of interest to all, and the honor of the namewas of common concern. Among the Gallatins, the grandmother, MadameGallatin-Vaudenet, as she was called, appears to have been thecontrolling spirit. To her the profession of the youthful scion of thestock was a matter of family consequence, and she had already marked outhis future course. The Gallatins, as has been already stated, hadacquired honor in the military service of foreign princes. Her friend, the Landgrave of Hesse, was engaged in supporting the uncertain fortunesof the British army in America with a large military contingent, and shehad only to ask to obtain for her grandson the high commission oflieutenant-colonel of one of the regiments of Hessian mercenaries. Tothe offer made to young Gallatin, and urged with due authority, hereplied, that "he would never serve a tyrant;" a want of respect whichwas answered by a cuff on the ear. This incident determined his career. Whether it crystallized long-cherished fancies into sudden action, orwhether it was of itself the initial cause of his resolve, is now merematter of conjecture; probably the former. The three friends, Gallatin, Badollet, and Serre seem to have amused their leisure in planning anideal existence in some wilderness. America offered a boundless fieldfor the realization of such dreams, and the spice of adventure could behad for the seeking. Here was the forest primeval in its originalgrandeur. Here the Indian roamed undisputed master; not the tutoredHuron of Voltaire's tale, but the savage of torch and tomahawk. Thecontinent was as yet unexplored. In uncertainty as to motives for man'saction the French magistrate always searches for the woman, --"cherchezla femme!" One single allusion in a letter written to Badollet, in 1783, shows that there was a woman in Gallatin's horoscope. Who she was, whather relation to him, or what influence she had upon his actions, nowhereappears. He only says that besides Mademoiselle Pictet there was onefriend, "une amie, " at Geneva, from whom a permanent separation would behard. Confiding his purpose to his friend Serre, Gallatin easily persuadedthis ardent youth to join him in his venturesome journey, and on April1, 1780, the two secretly left Geneva. It certainly was no burningdesire to aid the Americans in their struggle for independence, such ashad stirred the generous soul of Lafayette, that prompted this act. Inlater life he repeatedly disclaimed any such motive. It was rather alonging for personal independence, for freedom from the trammels of asociety in which he had little faith or interest. Nor were his politicalopinions at this time matured. He had a just pride in the Swiss Republicas a free State (Etat libre), and his personal bias was towards the"Négatif" party, as those were called who maintained the authority ofthe Upper Council (Petit Conseil) to reject the demands of the people. To this oligarchic party his family belonged. In a letter written threeyears later, he confesses that he was "Négatif" when he abandoned hishome, and conveys the idea that his emigration was an experiment, asearch for a system of government in accordance with his abstractnotions of natural justice and political right. To use his own words, hecame to America to "drink in a love for independence in the freestcountry of the universe. " But there was some method in this madness. Therash scheme of emigration had a practical side; land speculation andcommerce were to be the foundation and support of the settlement in thewilderness where they would realize their political Utopia. From Geneva the young adventurers hurried to Nantes, on the coast ofFrance, where Gallatin soon received letters from his family, who seemto have neglected nothing that could contribute to their comfort oradvantage. Monsieur P. M. Gallatin, the guardian of Albert, a distantrelative in an elder branch of the family, addressed him a letterwhich, in its moderation, dignity, and kindness, is a model ofwell-tempered severity and reproach. It expressed the pain MademoisellePictet had felt at his unceremonious departure, and his own afflictionat the ingratitude of one to whom he had never refused a request. Finally, as the trustee of his estate till his majority, the guardianassures the errant youth that he will aid him with pecuniary resourcesas far as possible, without infringing upon the capital, and within thesworn obligation of his trust. Letters of recommendation todistinguished Americans were also forwarded, and in these it is found, to the high credit of the family, that no distinction was made betweenthe two young men, although Serre seems to have been considered as theoriginator of the bold move. The intervention of the Duke de laRochefoucauld d'Enville was solicited, and a letter was obtained by himfrom Benjamin Franklin--then American minister at the Court ofVersailles--to his son-in-law, Richard Bache. Lady Juliana Penn wrote intheir behalf to John Penn at Philadelphia, and Mademoiselle Pictet toColonel Kinloch, member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina. Thus supported in their undertaking the youthful travelers sailed fromL'Orient on May 27, in an American vessel, the Kattie, Captain Loring. Of the sum which Gallatin, who supplied the capital for the expedition, brought from Geneva, one half had been expended in their land journeyand the payment of the passages to Boston; one half, eighty louisd'or--the equivalent of four hundred silver dollars--remained, part ofwhich they invested in tea. Reaching the American coast in a fog, or badweather, they were landed at Cape Ann on July 14. From Gloucester theyrode the next day to Boston on horseback, a distance of thirty miles. Here they put up at a French café, "The Sign of the Alliance, " in ForeStreet, kept by one Tahon, and began to consider what step they shouldnext take in the new world. The prospects were not encouraging; the military fortunes of thestruggling nation were never at a lower ebb than during the summer whichintervened between the disaster of Camden and the discovery of Arnold'streason. Washington's army lay at New Windsor in enforced inactivity;enlistments were few, and the currency was almost worthless. Such wasthe stagnation in trade, that the young strangers found it extremelydifficult to dispose of their little venture in tea. Two months werepassed at the café, in waiting for an opportunity to go to Philadelphia, where Congress was in session, and where they expected to find theinfluential persons to whom they were accredited; also letters fromGeneva. But this journey was no easy matter. The usual routes of travelwere interrupted. New York was the fortified headquarters of the Britisharmy, and the Middle States were only to be reached by a détour throughthe American lines above the Highlands and behind the Jersey Hills. The homesick youths found little to amuse or interest them in Boston, and grew very weary of its monotonous life and Puritanic tone. Theymissed the public amusements to which they were accustomed in their owncountry, and complained of the superstitious observance of Sunday, when"singing, fiddling, card-playing and bowling were forbidden. " Foreignerswere not welcome guests in this town of prejudice. The sailors of theFrench fleet had already been the cause of one riot. Gallatin's lettersshow that this aversion was fully reciprocated by him. The neighboring country had some points of interest. No Swiss ever saw ahill without an intense desire to get to its top. They soon felt themagnetic attraction of the Blue Hills of Milton, and, descrying fromtheir summit the distant mountains north of Worcester, made a pedestrianexcursion thither the following day. Mr. Gallatin was wont to relatewith glee an incident of this trip, which Mr. John Russell Bartlettrepeats in his "Reminiscences. " "The tavern at which he stopped on his journey was kept by a man who partook in a considerable degree of the curiosity even now-a-days manifested by some landlords in the back parts of New England to know the whole history of their guests. Noticing Mr. Gallatin's French accent he said, 'Just from France, eh! You are a Frenchman, I suppose. ' 'No!' said Mr. Gallatin, 'I am not from France. ' 'You can't be from England, I am sure?' 'No!' was the reply. 'From Spain?' 'No!' 'From Germany?' 'No!' 'Well, where on earth are you from then, or what are you?' eagerly asked the inquisitive landlord. 'I am a Swiss, ' replied Mr. Gallatin. 'Swiss, Swiss, Swiss!' exclaimed the landlord, in astonishment. 'Which of the ten tribes are the Swiss?'" Nor was this an unnatural remark. At this time Mr. Gallatin did notspeak English with facility, and indeed was never free from a foreignaccent. At the little café they met a Swiss woman, the wife of a Genevan, one DeLesdernier, who had been for thirty years established in Nova Scotia, but, becoming compromised in the attempt to revolutionize the colony, was compelled to fly to New England, and had settled at Machias, on thenortheastern extremity of the Maine frontier. Tempted by her account ofthis region, and perhaps making a virtue of necessity, Gallatin andSerre bartered their tea for rum, sugar, and tobacco, and, investing theremainder of their petty capital in similar merchandise, they embarkedOctober 1, 1780, upon a small coasting vessel, which, after a long andsomewhat perilous passage, reached the mouth of the Machias River on the15th of the same month. Machias was then a little settlement five milesfrom the mouth of the stream of the same name. It consisted of abouttwenty houses and a small fortification, mounting seven guns andgarrisoned by fifteen or twenty men. The young travelers were warmlyreceived by the son of Lesdernier, and made their home under his roof. This seems to have been one of the four or five log houses in a largeclearing near the fort. Gallatin attempted to settle a lot of land, andthe meadow where he cut the hay with his own hands is still pointed out. This is Frost's meadow in Perry, not far from the site of the Indianvillage. A single cow was the beginning of a farm, but the mainoccupation of the young men was woodcutting. No record remains of theresult of the merchandise venture. The trade of Machias was wholly infish, lumber, and furs, which, there being no money, the settlers wereready enough to barter for West India goods. But the outlet for theproduct of the country was, in its unsettled condition, uncertain andprecarious, and the young traders were no better off than before. Onetransaction only is remembered, the advance by Gallatin to the garrisonof supplies to the value of four hundred dollars; for this he took adraft on the state treasury of Massachusetts, which, there being nofunds for its payment, he sold at one fourth of its face value. The life, rude as it was, was not without its charms. Serre seems tohave abandoned himself to its fascination without a regret. Hisdescriptive letters to Badollet read like the "Idylls of a Faun. " Thoseof Gallatin, though more tempered in tone, reveal quiet content with thesimple life and a thorough enjoyment of nature in its original wildness. In the summer they followed the tracks of the moose and deer through theprimitive forests, and explored the streams and lakes in the lightbirch canoe, with a woodsman or savage for their guide. In the winterthey made long journeys over land and water on snowshoes or on skates, occasionally visiting the villages of the Indians, with whom theLesderniers were on the best of terms, studying their habits andwitnessing their feasts. Occasional expeditions of a different naturegave zest and excitement to this rustic life. These occurred when alarmsof English invasion reached the settlement, and volunteers marched tothe defence of the frontier. Twice Gallatin accompanied such parties toPassamaquoddy, and once, in November, 1780, was left for a time incommand of a small earthwork and a temporary garrison of whites andIndians at that place. At Machias Gallatin made one acquaintance whichgreatly interested him, that of La Pérouse, the famous navigator. He wasthen in command of the Amazone frigate, one of the French squadron onthe American coast, and had in convoy a fleet of fishing vessels ontheir way to the Newfoundland banks. Gallatin had an intense fondnessfor geography, and was delighted with La Pérouse's narrative of hisvisit to Hudson's Bay, and of his discovery there (at Fort Albany, whichhe captured) of the manuscript journal of Samuel Hearne, who some yearsbefore had made a voyage to the Arctic regions in search of a northwestpassage. Gallatin and La Pérouse met subsequently in Boston. The winter of 1780-81 was passed in the cabin of the Lesderniers. Theexcessive cold does not seem to have chilled Serre's enthusiasm. Likethe faun of Hawthorne's mythical tale, he loved Nature in all her moods;but Gallatin appears to have wearied of the confinement and of hisuncongenial companions. The trading experiment was abandoned in theautumn, and with some experience, but a reduced purse, the friendsreturned in October to Boston, where Gallatin set to work to supporthimself by giving lessons in the French language. What success he metwith at first is not known, though the visits of the French fleet andthe presence of its officers may have awakened some interest in theirlanguage. However this may be, in December Gallatin wrote to his goodfriend, Mademoiselle Pictet, a frank account of his embarrassments. Before it reached her, she had already, with her wonted forethought, anticipated his difficulties by providing for a payment of money to himwherever he might be, and had also secured for him the interest of Dr. Samuel Cooper, whose grandson, young Johannot, was then at school inGeneva. Dr. Cooper was one of the most distinguished of the patriots inBoston, and no better influence could have been invoked than his. InJuly, 1782, by a formal vote of the President and Fellows of HarvardCollege, Mr. Gallatin was permitted to teach the French language. Aboutseventy of the students availed themselves of the privilege. Mr. Gallatin received about three hundred dollars in compensation. In thisoccupation he remained at Cambridge for about a year, at the expirationof which he took advantage of the close of the academic course towithdraw from his charge, receiving at his departure a certificate fromthe Faculty that he had acquitted himself in his department with greatreputation. The war was over, the army of the United States was disbanded, and thecountry was preparing for the new order which the peace would introduceinto the habits and occupations of the people. The long-soughtopportunity at last presented itself, and Mr. Gallatin at once embracedit. He left Boston without regret. He had done his duty faithfully, andsecured the approbation and esteem of all with whom he had come incontact, but there is no evidence that he cared for or sought socialrelations either in the city or at the college. Journeying southward hepassed through Providence, where he took sail for New York. Stopping foran hour at Newport for dinner, he reached New York on July 21, 1783. Thesame day the frigate Mercury arrived from England with news of thesignature of the definitive treaty of peace. He was delighted with thebeauty of the country-seats above the city, the vast port with itsabundant shipping, and with the prospect of a theatrical entertainment. The British soldiers and sailors, who were still in possession, he foundrude and insolent, but the returning refugees civil and honest people. At Boston Gallatin made the acquaintance of a French gentleman, oneSavary de Valcoulon, who had crossed the Atlantic to prosecute in personcertain claims against the State of Virginia for advances made by hishouse in Lyons during the war. He accompanied Gallatin to New York, andtogether they traveled to Philadelphia; Savary, who spoke no English, gladly attaching to himself as his companion a young man of the abilityand character of Gallatin. At Philadelphia Gallatin was soon after joined by Serre, who hadremained behind, engaged also in giving instruction. The meeting atPhiladelphia seems to have been the occasion for the dissolution of apartnership in which Gallatin had placed his money, and Serre hisenthusiasm and personal charm. A settlement was made; Serre giving hisnote to Gallatin for the sum of six hundred dollars, --one half of theirjoint expenses for three years, --an obligation which was repaid morethan half a century later by his sister. Serre then joined afellow-countryman and went to Jamaica, where he died in 1784. AtPhiladelphia Gallatin and Savary lodged in a house kept by one MaryLynn. Pelatiah Webster, the political economist, who owned the house, was also a boarder. Later he said of his fellow-lodgers that "they werewell-bred gentlemen who passed their time conversing in French. "Gallatin, at the end of his resources, gladly acceded to Savary'srequest to accompany him to Richmond. Whatever hesitation Gallatin may have entertained as to his definitiveexpatriation was entirely set at rest by the news of strife between therival factions in Geneva and the interposition of armed force by theneighboring governments. This interference turned the scale against theliberal party. Mademoiselle Pictet was the only link which bound him tohis family. For his ingratitude to her he constantly reproached himself. He still styled himself a citizen of Geneva, but this was only as amatter of convenience and security to his correspondence. Hisdetermination to make America his home was now fixed. The lands on thebanks of the Ohio were then considered the most fertile in America, --thebest for farming purposes, the cultivation of grain, and the raising ofcattle. The first settlement in this region was made by the OhioCompany, an association formed in Virginia and London, about the middleof the century, by Thomas Lee, together with Lawrence and Augustine, brothers of George Washington. The lands lay on the south side of theOhio, between the Monongahela and Kanawha rivers. These lands were knownas "Washington's bottom lands. " In this neighborhood Gallatin determinedto purchase two or three thousand acres, and prepare for that idealcountry home which had been the dream of his college days. Land here wasworth from thirty cents to four dollars an acre. His first purchase wasabout one thousand acres, for which he paid one hundred pounds, Virginia currency. Land speculation was the fever of the time. Savarywas early affected by it, and before the new friends left Philadelphiafor Richmond he bought warrants for one hundred and twenty thousandacres in Virginia, in Monongalia County, between the Great and LittleKanawha rivers, and interested Gallatin to the extent of one quarter inthe purchase. Soon after the completion of this transaction the sale ofsome small portions reimbursed them for three fourths of the originalcost. This was the first time when, and Savary was the first person towhom, Gallatin was willing to incur a pecuniary obligation. Throughouthis life he had an aversion to debt; small or large, private or public. It was arranged that Gallatin's part of the purchase money was not to bepaid until his majority, --January 29, 1786, --but in the meanwhile hewas, in lieu of interest money, to give his services in personalsuperintendence. Later Savary increased Gallatin's interest to one half. Soon after these plans were completed, Savary and Gallatin moved toRichmond, where they made their residence. In February, 1784, Gallatin returned to Philadelphia, perfected thearrangements for his expedition, and in March crossed the mountains, and, with his exploring party, passed down the Ohio River to MonongaliaCounty in Virginia. The superior advantages of the country north of theVirginia line determined him to establish his headquarters there. Heselected the farm of Thomas Clare, at the junction of the MonongahelaRiver and George's Creek. This was in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, about four miles north of the Virginia line. Here he built a log hut, opened a country store, and remained till the close of the year. It waswhile thus engaged at George's Creek, in September of the year 1784, that Gallatin first met General Washington, who was examining thecountry, in which he had large landed interests, to select a route for aroad across the Alleghanies. The story of the interview was first madepublic by Mr. John Russell Bartlett, who had it from the lips of Mr. Gallatin. The version of the late Hon. William Beach Lawrence, in apaper prepared for the New York Historical Society, differs slightly inimmaterial points. Mr. Lawrence says:-- "Among the incidents connected with his (Mr. Gallatin's) earliest explorations was an interview with General Washington, which he repeatedly recounted to me. He had previously observed that of all the inaccessible men he had ever seen, General Washington was the most so. And this remark he made late in life, after having been conversant with most of the sovereigns of Europe and their prime ministers. He said, in connection with his office, he had a cot-bed in the office of the surveyor of the district when Washington, who had lands in the neighborhood, and was desirous of effecting communication between the rivers, came there. Mr. Gallatin's bed was given up to him, --Gallatin lying on the floor, immediately below the table at which Washington was writing. Washington was endeavoring to reduce to paper the calculations of the day. Gallatin, hearing the statement, came at once to the conclusion, and, after waiting some time, he himself gave the answer, which drew from Washington such a look as he never experienced before or since. On arriving by a slow process at his conclusion, Washington turned to Gallatin and said, 'You are right, young man. '" The points of difference between the two accounts of this interview areof little importance. The look which Washington is said to have givenMr. Gallatin has its counterpart in that with which he is also said tohave turned upon Gouverneur Morris, when accosted by him familiarly witha touch on the shoulder. Bartlett, in his recollection of the anecdote, adds that Washington, about this period, inquired after the forwardyoung man, and urged him to become his land agent, --an offer whichGallatin declined. The winter of 1784-85 was passed in Richmond, in the society of whichtown Mr. Gallatin began to find a relief and pleasure he had not yetexperienced in America. At this period the Virginia capital was thegayest city in the Union, and famous for its abundant hospitality, rather facile manners, and the liberal tendency of its religiousthought. Gallatin brought no prudishness and no orthodoxy in hisGenevese baggage. One of the last acts of his life was to recognize ingraceful and touching words the kindness he then met with:-- "I was received with that old proverbial Virginia hospitality to which I know no parallel anywhere within the circle of my travels. It was not hospitality only that was shown to me. I do not know how it came to pass, but every one with whom I became acquainted appeared to take an interest in the young stranger. I was only the interpreter of a gentleman, the agent of a foreign house, that had a large claim for advances to the State, and this made me known to all the officers of government, and some of the most prominent members of the Legislature. It gave me the first opportunity of showing some symptoms of talent, even as a speaker, of which I was not myself aware. Every one encouraged me, and was disposed to promote my success in life. To name all those from whom I received offers of service would be to name all the most distinguished residents at that time in Richmond. " In the spring of 1785, fortified with a certificate from GovernorPatrick Henry, commending him to the county surveyor, and intrusted byHenry with the duty of locating two thousand acres of lands in thewestern country for a third party, he set out from Richmond, on March31, alone, on horseback. Following the course of the James River hecrossed the Blue Ridge at the Peaks of Otter, and reached GreenbrierCourt House on April 18. On the 29th he arrived at Clare's, on George'sCreek, where he was joined by Savary. Their surveying operations weresoon begun, each taking a separate course. An Indian rising broke up theoperations of Savary, and both parties returned to Clare's. Gallatinappeared before the court of Monongalia County, at its October term, andtook the "oath of allegiance and fidelity to the Commonwealth ofVirginia. " Clare's, his actual residence, was north of the Virginialine, but his affections were with the old Dominion. In November thepartners hired from Clare a house at George's Creek, in Springfieldtownship, and established their residence, after which they returned toRichmond by way of Cumberland and the Potomac. In February, 1786, Gallatin made his permanent abode at his new home. Mention has been made of the intimacy of the young emigrants with JeanBadollet, a college companion. When they left Geneva he was engaged inthe study of theology, and was now a teacher. He was included in theoriginal plan of emigration, and the first letters of both Gallatin andSerre, who had for him an equal attachment, were to him, and year byyear, through all the vicissitudes of their fortune, they kept himcarefully informed of their movements and projects. For two years aftertheir departure no word was received from him. At last, spurred by thesharp reproaches of Serre, he broke silence. In a letter written inMarch, 1783, informing Gallatin of the troubles in Switzerland, heexcused himself on the plea that their common friend, Dumont, retainedhim at Geneva. In answer, Gallatin opened his plans of westernsettlement, which included the employment of his fortune in theestablishment of a number of families upon his lands. He suggested toBadollet to bring with him the little money he had, to which enoughwould be added to establish him independently. Dumont was invited toaccompany him. But with a prudence which shows that his previousexperience had not been thrown away upon him, Gallatin recommends hisfriend not to start at once, but to hold himself ready for the next, or, at the latest, the year succeeding, at the same time suggesting the ideaof a general emigration of such Swiss malcontents as were smallcapitalists and farmers; that of manufacturers and workmen hediscouraged. It was not, however, until the spring of 1785, on the eveof leaving Richmond with some families which he had engaged to establishon his lands, that he felt justified in asking his old friend to crossthe seas and share his lot. This invitation was accepted, and Badolletjoined him at George's Creek. The settlement beginning to spread, Gallatin bought another farm higherup the river, to which he gave the name of Friendship Hill. Here helater made his home. The western part of Pennsylvania, embracing the area which stretchesfrom the Alleghany Mountains to Lake Erie, is celebrated for the wild, picturesque beauty of its scenery. Among its wooded hills the headwaters of the Ohio have their source. At Fort Duquesne, or Pittsburgh, where the river takes a sudden northerly bend before finally settling inswelling volume on its southwesterly course to the Mississippi, theMonongahela adds its mountain current, which separates in its entirecourse from the Virginia line the two counties of Fayette andWashington. The Monongahela takes its rise in Monongalia County, Virginia, and flows to the northward. Friendship Hill is one of thebluffs on the right bank of the river, and faces the Laurel Ridge to theeastward. Braddock's Road, now the National Road, crosses the mountains, passing through Uniontown and Red Stone Old Fort (Brownsville), on itscourse to Pittsburgh. The county seat of Fayette is the borough of Unionor Uniontown. Gallatin's log cabin, the beginning of New Geneva, was onthe right bank of the Monongahela, about twelve miles to the westward ofthe county seat. Opposite, on the other side of the river, in WashingtonCounty, was Greensburg, where his friend Badollet was later established. Again for a long period Gallatin left his family without any wordwhatever. His most indulgent friend, Mademoiselle Pictet, could hardlyexcuse his silence, and did not hesitate to charge that it was due tomisfortunes which his pride prompted him to conceal. In the early daysof 1786 a rumor of his death reached Geneva, and greatly alarmed hisfamily. Mr. Jefferson, then minister at Paris, wrote to Mr. Jay forinformation. This was Jefferson's first knowledge of the existence ofthe young man who was to become his political associate, his philosophiccompanion, and his truest friend. Meanwhile Gallatin had attained histwenty-fifth year and his majority. His family were no longer left indoubt as to his existence, and in response to his letters drafts were atonce remitted to him for the sum of five thousand dollars, through thebanking-house of Robert Morris. This was, of course, immediately appliedto his western experiment. The business of the partnership now calledfor his constant attention. It required the exercise of a great varietyof mental powers, a cool and discriminating judgment, combined with anincessant attention to details. Nature, under such circumstances, is notso attractive as she appears in youthful dreams; admirable in heroriginal garb, she is annoying and obstinate when disturbed. The view ofcountry which Friendship Hill commands is said to rival Switzerland inits picturesque beauty, but years later, when the romance of theMonongahela hills had faded in the actualities of life, Gallatin wroteof it that "he did not know in the United States any spot which affordedless means to earn a bare subsistence for those who could not live bymanual labor. " Gallatin has been blamed for "taking life awry and throwing away theadvantages of education, social position, and natural intelligence, " byhis removal to the frontier, and his career compared with that ofHamilton and Dallas, who, like him, foreign born, rose to eminence inpolitics, and became secretaries of the treasury of the United States. But both of these were of English-speaking races. No foreigner of anyother race ever obtained such distinction in American politics as Mr. Gallatin, and he only because he was the choice of a constituency, toevery member of which he was personally known. It is questionablewhether in any other condition of society he could have securedadvancement by election--the true source of political power in alldemocracies. John Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice, recognizedGallatin's talent soon after his arrival in Richmond, offered him aplace in his office without a fee, and assured him of future distinctionin the profession of the law; but Patrick Henry was the more sagaciouscounselor; he advised Gallatin to go to the West, and predicted hissuccess as a statesman. Modest as the beginning seemed in the country hehad chosen, it was nevertheless a start in the right direction, as thefuture showed. It was in no sense a mistake. Neither did the affairs of the wilderness wholly debar intercourse withthe civilized world. Visiting Richmond every winter, he graduallyextended the circle of his acquaintance, and increased his personalinfluence; he also occasionally passed a few weeks at Philadelphia. Twovisits to Maine are recorded in his diary, but whether they were ofpleasure merely does not appear. One was in 1788, in midwinter, by stageand sleigh. On this excursion he descended the Androscoggin and crossedMerrymeeting Bay on the ice, returning by the same route in a snowstorm, which concealed the banks on either side of the river, so that hegoverned his course by the direction of the wind. With the intellect ofa prime minister he had the constitution of a pioneer. On one of theseoccasions he intended to visit his old friends and hosts, theLesderniers, but the difficulty of finding a conveyance, and the rumorthat the old gentleman was away from home, interfered with his purpose. He remembered their kindness, and later attempted to obtain pensions forthem from the United States government. But the time now arrived when the current of his domestic life waspermanently diverted, and set in other channels. In May, 1789, hemarried Sophie Allègre, the daughter of William Allègre of a FrenchProtestant family living at Richmond. The father was dead, and themother took lodgers, of whom Gallatin was one. For more than a year hehad addressed her and secured her affections. Her mother now refused herconsent, and no choice was left to the young lovers but to marry withoutit. Little is known of this short but touching episode in Mr. Gallatin'slife. The young lady was warmly attached to him, and the letter writtento her mother asking forgiveness for her marriage is charminglyexpressed and full of feeling. They passed a few happy months atFriendship Hill, when suddenly she died. From this time Mr. Gallatinlost all heart in the western venture, and his most earnest wish was toturn his back forever upon Fayette County. In his suffering he wouldhave returned to Geneva to Mademoiselle Pictet, could he have sold hisVirginia lands. But this had become impossible at any price, and he hadno other pecuniary resource but the generosity of his family. Meanwhile the revolution had broken out in France. The rights of man hadbeen proclaimed on the Champ de Mars. All Europe was uneasy and alarmed, and nowhere offered a propitious field for peaceful labor. But Gallatindid not long need other distraction than he was to find at home. CHAPTER II PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE Political revolutions are the opportunity of youth. In England, Pitt andFox; in America, Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris; in Europe, Napoleon andPozzo di Borgo, before they reached their thirtieth year, helped toshape the political destiny of nations. The early maturity of Gallatinwas no less remarkable. In his voluminous correspondence there is notrace of youth. At nineteen his habits of thought were already formed, and his moral and intellectual tendencies were clearly marked in hischaracter, and understood by himself. His tastes also were alreadydeveloped. His life, thereafter, was in every sense a growth. The germsof every excellence, which came to full fruition in his subsequentcareer, may be traced in the preferences of his academic days. Fromyouth to age he was consistent with himself. His mind was of that rareand original order which, reasoning out its own conclusions, seldom hascause to change. His political opinions were early formed. A letter written by him inOctober, 1783, before he had completed his twenty-third year, shows thematurity of his intellect, and his analytic habit of thought. An extractgives the nature of the reasons which finally determined him to make hishome in America:-- "This is what by degrees greatly influenced my judgment. After my arrival in this country I was early convinced, upon a comparison of American governments with that of Geneva, that the latter is founded on false principles; that the judicial power, in civil as well as criminal cases, the executive power wholly, and two thirds of the legislative power being lodged in two bodies which are almost self-made, and the members of which are chosen for life, --it is hardly possible but that this formidable aristocracy should, sooner or later, destroy the equilibrium which it was supposed could be maintained at Geneva. " The period from the peace of 1783 to the adoption of the federalConstitution in 1787 was one of political excitement. The utter failureof the old Confederation to serve the purposes of national defense andsafety for which it was framed had been painfully felt during the war. Independence had been achieved under it rather than by it, the patrioticaction of some of the States supplying the deficiencies of others lessable or less willing. By the radical inefficiency of the Confederationthe war had been protracted, its success repeatedly imperiled, and, atits close, the results gained by it were constantly menaced. The moreperfect union which was the outcome of the deliberations of the federalconvention was therefore joyfully accepted by the people at large. Indeed, it was popular pressure, and not the arguments of its advocates, that finally overcame the formidable opposition in and out of theconvention to the Constitution. No written record remains of Mr. Gallatin's course during the sessions of the federal convention. He wasnot a member of the body, nor is his name connected with any public acthaving any bearing upon its deliberations. Of the direction of hisinfluence, however, there can be no doubt. He had an abiding distrust ofstrong government, --a dread of the ambitions of men. Precisely what formhe would have substituted for the legislative and executive systemadopted nowhere appears in his writings, but certainly neither presidentnor senate would have been included. They bore too close a resemblanceto king and lords to win his approval, no matter how restricted theirpowers. He would evidently have leaned to a single house, with atemporary executive directly appointed by itself; or, if elected by thepeople, then for a short term of office, without renewal; and he wouldhave reduced its legislative powers to the narrowest possible limit. Thebest government he held to be that which governs least; and many of theablest of that incomparable body of men who welded this Union held theseviews. But the yearning of the people was in the other direction. Theyfelt the need of government. They wanted the protection of a strong arm. It must not be forgotten that the thirteen colonies which declaredtheir independence in 1776 were all seaboard communities, each with itsport. They were all trading communities. The East, with its fisheriesand timber; the Middle States, with their agricultural products andpeltries; the South, with its tobacco; each saw, in that freedom fromthe restrictions of the English navigation laws which the treaty ofpeace secured, the promise of a boundless commerce. To protect commercethere must be a national power somewhere. Since the peace the governmenthad gained neither the affection of its own citizens nor the respect offoreign powers. The federal Constitution was adopted September 17, 1787. The first Stateto summon a convention of ratification was Pennsylvania. No one of thethirteen original States was more directly interested than herself. Thecentre of population lay somewhere in her limits, and there wasreasonable ground for hope that Philadelphia would become once more theseat of government. The delegates met at Philadelphia on November 2. Anopposition declared itself at the beginning of the proceedings. Regardless of the popular impatience, the majority allowed full scope toadverse argument, and it was not until December 12 that the final votewas taken and the Constitution ratified, without recommendations, by amajority of two to one. In this body Fayette County was represented byNicholas Breading and John Smilie. The latter gentleman, of Scotch-Irishbirth, an adroit debater, led the opposition. In the course of hiscriticisms he enunciated the doctrines which were soon to become a partycry; the danger of the Constitution "in inviting rather than guardingagainst the approaches of tyranny;" "its tendency to a consolidation, not a confederation, of the States. " Mr. Gallatin does not appear tohave sought to be a delegate to this body, but his hand may be tracedthrough the speeches of Smilie in the precision with which theprinciples of the opposition were formulated and declared; and hissubsequent course plainly indicates that his influence was exerted inthe interest of the dissatisfied minority. The ratification was receivedby the people with intense satisfaction, but the delay in debate lostthe State the honor of precedence in the honorable vote ofacquiescence, --the Delaware convention having taken the lead by aunanimous vote. For the moment the Pennsylvania Anti-Federalists clungto the hope that the Constitution might yet fail to receive the assentof the required number of States, but as one after another fell intoline, this hope vanished. One bold expedient remained. The ratification of some of the States wascoupled with the recommendation of certain amendments. Massachusetts ledthe way in this, Virginia followed, and New York, which, in the languageof the day, became the eleventh pillar of the federal edifice, on July26, 1788, accompanied her ratification with a circular letter to thegovernors of all the States, recommending that a general convention becalled. [1] The argument taken in this letter was the only one which had any chanceof commending itself to popular favor. It was in these words: "that theapprehension and discontents which the articles occasion cannot beremoved or allayed unless an act to provide for the calling of a newconvention be among the first that shall be passed by the nextCongress. " This document, made public at once, encouraged thePennsylvania Anti-Federalists to a last effort to bring about a newconvention, to undo or radically alter the work of the old. A conferenceheld at Harrisburg, on September 3, 1788, was participated in bythirty-three gentlemen, from various sections of the State, whoassembled in response to the call of a circular letter which originatedin the county of Cumberland in the month of August. The city ofPhiladelphia and thirteen counties were represented; six of thedissenting members of the late convention were present, among whom wasSmilie. He and Gallatin represented the county of Fayette. Smilie, Gallatin's earliest political friend, was born in 1742, and wastherefore about twenty years his senior. He came to the United States inyouth, and had grown up in the section he now represented. Hispopularity is shown by his service in the state legislature, and duringtwelve years in Congress as representative or as senator. In anyestimate of Mr. Gallatin, this early influence must be taken intoaccount. The friendship thus formed continued until Smilie's death in1816. From the adviser he became the ardent supporter of Mr. Gallatin. Blair McClanachan, of Philadelphia County, was elected chairman of theconference. The result of this deliberation was a report in the form ofa series of resolutions, of which two drafts, both in Mr. Gallatin'shandwriting, are among his papers now in the keeping of the New YorkHistorical Society. The original resolutions were broad in scope, andsuggested a plan of action of a dual nature; the one of which failing, resort could be had to the other without compromising the movement bydelay. In a word, it proposed an opposition by a party organization. Thefirst resolution was adroitly framed to avoid the censure with which thepeople at large, whose satisfaction with the new Constitution had grownwith the fresh adhesions of State after State to positive enthusiasm, would surely condemn any attempt to dissolve the Union formed under itsprovisions. This resolution declared that it was in order to _prevent_ adissolution of the Union and to secure liberty, that a revision wasnecessary. The second expressed the opinion of the conference to be, that the safest manner to obtain such revision was to conform to therequest of the State of New York, and to urge the calling of a newconvention, and recommended that the Pennsylvania legislature bepetitioned to apply for that purpose to the new Congress. These weredeclaratory. The third and fourth provided, first, for an organizationof committees in the several counties to correspond with each other andwith similar committees in other States; secondly, invited the friendsto amendments in the several States to meet in conference at a fixedtime and place. This plan of committees of correspondence and of ameeting of delegates was simply a revival of the methods of the Sons ofLiberty, from whose action sprung the first Continental Congress of1774. The formation of such an organization would surely have led todisturbance, perhaps to civil war. During the progress of the New Yorkconvention swords and bayonets had been drawn, and blood had been shedin the streets of Albany, where the Anti-Federalists excited popularrage by burning the new Constitution. But the thirty-three gentlemen whomet at Harrisburg wisely tempered these resolutions to a moderate tone. Thus modified, they recommended, first, that the people of the Stateshould acquiesce in the organization of the government, while holding inview the necessity of very considerable amendments and alterationsessential to preserve the peace and harmony of the Union. Secondly, thata revision by general convention was necessary. Thirdly, that thelegislature should be requested to apply to Congress for that purpose. The petition recommended twelve amendments, selected from those alreadyproposed by other States. These were of course restrictive. The reportwas made public in the "Pennsylvania Packet" of September 15. With thisthe agitation appears to have ceased. On September 13 Congress notifiedthe States by resolution to appoint electors under the provisions of theConstitution. The unanimous choice of Washington as president hushed allopposition, and for a time the Anti-Federalists sunk intoinsignificance. The persistent labors of the friends of revision were not withoutresult. The amendments proposed by Virginia and New York were laidbefore the House of Representatives. Seventeen received the two thirdsvote of the House. After conference with the Senate, in which Mr. Madison appeared as manager for the House, these, reduced in number totwelve by elimination and compression, were adopted by the requisite twothirds vote, and transmitted to the legislatures of the States forapproval. Ratified by a sufficient number of States, they became a partof the Constitution. They were general, and declaratory of personalrights, and in no instance restrictive of the power of the generalgovernment. In 1789, the Assembly of Pennsylvania calling a convention to revise theConstitution of the State, Mr. Gallatin was sent as a delegate fromFayette County. To the purposes of this convention he was opposed, as adangerous precedent. He had endeavored to organize an opposition to itin the western counties, by correspondence with his political friends. His objections were the dangers of alterations in government, and theabsurdity of the idea that the Constitution ever contemplated a changeby the will of a mere majority. Such a doctrine, once admitted, wouldenable not only the legislature, but a majority of the more popularhouse, were two established, to make another appeal to the people on thefirst occasion, and, instead of establishing on solid foundations a newgovernment, would open the door to perpetual change, and destroy thatstability which is essential to the welfare of a nation; since noconstitution acquires the permanent affection of the people, save inproportion to its duration and age. Finally, such changes would sooneror later conclude in an appeal to arms, --the true meaning of the popularand dangerous words, "an appeal to the people. " The opposition was beguntoo late, however, to admit of combined effort, and was not persistedin; and Mr. Gallatin himself, with practical good sense, consented toserve as a delegate. Throughout his political course the pride ofmastery never controlled his actions. When debarred from leadership hedid not sulk in his tent, but threw his weight in the direction of hisprinciples. The convention met at Philadelphia on November 24, 1789, andclosed its labors on September 2, 1790. This was Gallatin'sapprenticeship in the public service. Among his papers are a number ofmemoranda, some of them indicating much elaboration of speeches made, orintended to be made, in this body. One is an argument in favor ofenlarging the representation in the House; another is against a plan ofchoosing senators by electors; another concerns the liberty of thepress. There is, further, a memorandum of his motion in regard to theright of suffrage, by virtue of which "every freeman who has attainedthe age of twenty-one years, and been a resident and inhabitant duringone year next before the day of election, every naturalized freeholder, every naturalized citizen who had been assessed for state or countytaxes for two years before election day, or who had resided ten yearssuccessively in the State, should be entitled to the suffrage, paupersand vagabonds only being excluded. " Certainly, in his conservativelimitations upon suffrage, he did not consult his own interest as alarge landholder inviting settlement, nor pander to the natural desiresof his constituency. In an account of this convention, written at a later period, Mr. Gallatin said that it was the first public body to which he was elected, and that he took but a subordinate share in the debates; that it was oneof the ablest bodies of which he was ever a member, and with which hewas acquainted, and, excepting Madison and Marshall, that it embraced asmuch talent and knowledge as any Congress from 1795 to 1812, beyondwhich his personal knowledge did not extend. Among its members wereThomas McKean, signer of the Declaration of Independence and presidentof the Continental Congress, Thomas Mifflin and Timothy Pickering, ofthe Revolutionary army, and Smilie and Findley, Gallatin's politicalfriends. General Mifflin was its president. But mental distraction brought Mr. Gallatin no peace of heart at thisperiod, and when the excitement of the winter was over he fell into astate of almost morbid melancholy. To his friend Badollet he wrote fromPhiladelphia, early in March, that life in Fayette County had no morecharms for him, and that he would gladly leave America. But his landswere unsalable at any price, and he saw no means of support at Geneva. Some one has said, with a profound knowledge of human nature, that noman is sure of happiness who has not the capacity for continuous laborof a disagreeable kind. The occasional glimpses into Mr. Gallatin'sinner nature, which his correspondence affords, show that up to thisperiod he was not supposed by his friends or by himself to have thiscapacity. In the letter which his guardian wrote to him after his flightfrom home, he was reproached with his "natural indolence. " His goodfriend, Mademoiselle Pictet, accused him of being hard to please, anddisposed to _ennui_; and again, as late as 1787, repeats to him, in atone of sorrow, the reports brought to her of his "continuance in hisold habit of indolence, " his indifference to society, his neglect ofhis dress, and general indifference to everything but study and reading, tastes which, she added, he might as well have cultivated at Geneva asin the new world; and he himself, in the letter to Badollet justmentioned, considers that his habits and his laziness would proveinsuperable bars to his success in any profession in Europe. Inestimation of this self-condemnation, it must be borne in mind that theGenevans were intellectual Spartans. Gallatin must be measured by thathigh standard. But if the charge of indolence could have ever justlylain against Gallatin, --a charge which his intellectual vigor attwenty-seven seems to challenge, --it certainly could never have beensustained after he fairly entered on his political and public career. InOctober, 1790, he was elected by a two thirds majority to representFayette County in the legislature of the State of Pennsylvania; JamesFindley was his colleague, John Smilie being advanced to the stateSenate. Mr. Gallatin was reëlected to the Assembly in 1791 and 1792, without opposition. Among his papers there is a memorandum of his legislative service duringthese three years, and a manuscript volume of extracts from the Journalsof the House, from January 14, 1791, to December 17, 1794. They formpart of the extensive mass of documents and letters which were collectedand partially arranged by himself, with a view to posthumouspublication. Here is an extract from the memorandum:-- "I acquired an extraordinary influence in that body [the Pennsylvania House of Representatives]; the more remarkable as I was always in a party minority. I was indebted for it to my great industry and to the facility with which I could understand and carry on the current business. The laboring oar was left almost exclusively to me. In the session of 1791-1792, I was put on thirty-five committees, prepared all their reports, and drew all their bills. Absorbed by those details, my attention was turned exclusively to administrative laws, and not to legislation properly so called. . . . I failed, though the bill I had introduced passed the House, in my efforts to lay the foundation for a better system of education. Primary education was almost universal in Pennsylvania, but very bad, and the bulk of schoolmasters incompetent, miserably paid, and held in no consideration. It appeared to me that in order to create a sufficient number of competent teachers, and to raise the standard of general education, intermediate academical education was an indispensable preliminary step, and the object of the bill was to establish in each county an academy, allowing to each out of the treasury a sum equal to that raised by taxation in the county for its support. But there was at that time in Pennsylvania a Quaker and a German opposition to every plan of general education. "The spirit of internal improvements had not yet been awakened. Still, the first turnpike-road in the United States was that from Philadelphia to Lancaster, which met with considerable opposition. This, as well as every temporary improvement in our communications (roads and rivers) and preliminary surveys, met, of course, with my warm support. But it was in the fiscal department that I was particularly employed, and the circumstances of the times favored the restoration of the finances of the State. "The report of the Committee of Ways and Means of the session 1790-91 was entirely prepared by me, known to be so, and laid the foundation of my reputation. I was quite astonished at the general encomiums bestowed upon it, and was not at all aware that I had done so well. It was perspicuous and comprehensive; but I am confident that its true merit, and that which gained me the general confidence, was its being founded in strict justice, without the slightest regard to party feelings or popular prejudices. The principles assumed, and which were carried into effect, were the immediate reimbursement and extinction of the state paper-money, the immediate payment in specie of all the current expenses, or warrants on the treasury (the postponement and uncertainty of which had given rise to shameful and corrupt speculations), and provision for discharging without defalcation every debt and engagement previously recognized by the State. In conformity with this, the State paid to its creditors the difference between the nominal amount of the state debt assumed by the United States and the rate at which it was funded by the act of Congress. "The proceeds of the public lands, together with the arrears, were the fund which not only discharged all the public debts, but left a large surplus. The apprehension that this would be squandered by the legislature was the principal inducement for chartering the Bank of Pennsylvania, with a capital of two millions of dollars, of which the State subscribed one half. This, and similar subsequent investments, enabled Pennsylvania to defray, out of the dividends, all the expenses of government without any direct tax during the forty ensuing years, and till the adoption of the system of internal improvement, which required new resources. "It was my constant assiduity to business, and the assistance derived from it by many members, which enabled the Republican party in the legislature, then a minority on a joint ballot, to elect me, and no other but me of that party, senator of the United States. " Among the reports enumerated by Mr. Gallatin, as those of which he wasthe author, is one made by a committee on March 22, 1793, that they . . . Are of opinion slavery is inconsistent with every principle of humanity, justice, and right, and repugnant to the spirit and express letter ofthe Constitution of the Commonwealth. Added to this was a resolution forits abolition in the Commonwealth. The seat of government was changed from New York to Philadelphia in1790, and the first Congress assembled there in the early days ofDecember for its final session. Philadelphia was in glee over thetransfer of the departments. The convention which framed the new stateConstitution met here in the fall, and the legislature was also holdingits sessions. The atmosphere was political. The national and localrepresentatives met each other at all times and in all places, and thepublic affairs were the chief topic in and out of doors. In this busywhirl Gallatin made many friends, but Philadelphia was no more to histaste as a residence than Boston. He was disgusted with theostentatious display of wealth, the result not of industry but ofspeculation, and not in the hands of the most deserving members of thecommunity. Later he became more reconciled to the tone of Pennsylvaniasociety, comparing it with that of New York; he was especially pleasedwith its democratic spirit, and the absence of _family influence_. "InPennsylvania, " he says, "not only we have neither Livingstons, norRensselaers, but from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the banks of theOhio I do not know a single family that has any extensive influence. Anequal distribution of property has rendered every individualindependent, and there is amongst us true and real equality. In a word, as I am lazy, I like a country where living is cheap; and as I am poor, I like a country where no person is very rich. " Hamilton's excise bill was a bone of contention in the national andstate legislatures throughout the winter. Direct taxation upon anythingwas unpopular, that on distilled spirits the most distasteful toPennsylvania, where whiskey stills were numerous in the Alleghanies. Tothe bill introduced into Congress a reply was immediately made January14, 1791, by the Pennsylvania Assembly in a series of resolutions whichare supposed to have been drafted by Mr. Gallatin, and to have been thefirst legislative paper from his pen. They distinctly charged that theobnoxious bill was "subversive of the peace, liberty, and rights of thecitizen. " Tax by excise has always been offensive to the American people, as itwas to their ancestors across the sea. It was characterized by the firstContinental Congress of 1774 as "the horror of all free States. "Notwithstanding their warmth, these resolutions passed the Assembly by avote of 40 to 16. The course of this excitement must be followed; as itswept Mr. Gallatin in its mad current, and but for his self-control, courage, and adroitness would have wrecked him on the breakers at theoutset of his political voyage. The excise law passed Congress on March3, 1791. On June 22 the state legislature, by a vote of 36 to 11, requested their senators and representatives in Congress to oppose everypart of the bill which "shall militate against the rights and libertiesof the people. " The western counties of Pennsylvania--Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington, and Allegheny--lie around the head-waters of the Ohio in a radius ofmore than a hundred miles. At this time they contained a population ofabout seventy thousand souls. Pittsburgh, the seat of justice, had abouttwelve hundred inhabitants. The Alleghany Mountains separate this wildregion from the eastern section of the State. There were few roads ofany kind, and these lay through woods. The mountain passes could betraveled only on foot or horseback. The only trade with the East was bypack-horses, while communication with the South was cut off by hostileIndian tribes who held the banks of the Ohio. This isolation from theolder, denser, and more civilized settlements bred in the people aspirit of self-reliance and independence. They were in great partScotch-Irish Presbyterians, a religious and warlike race to whom thehatred of an exciseman was a tradition of their forefathers. Having nomarket for their grain, they were compelled to preserve it by convertingit into whiskey. The still was the necessary appendage of every farm. The tax was light, but payable in money, of which there was little ornone. Its imposition, therefore, coupled with the declaration of itsoppressive nature by the Pennsylvania legislature, excited a spirit ofdetermined opposition near akin to revolution. Unpopular in all the western part of the State, Hamilton's bill wasespecially odious to the people of Washington County. The first meetingin opposition to it was held at Red Stone Old Fort or Brownsville, thesite of one of those ancient remains of the mound-builders which aboundin the western valleys. It was easily reached by Braddock's Road, thechief highway of the country. Here gathered on July 27, 1791, a numberof persons opposed to the law, when it was agreed that county committeesshould be convened in the four counties at the respective seats ofjustice. Brackenridge, in his "Incidents of the Western Insurrection, "says that Albert Gallatin was clerk of the meeting. One of thesecommittees met in the town of Washington on August 23, when violentresolutions were adopted. Gallatin, engaged at Philadelphia, was notpresent at this assemblage, three of whose members were deputed to meetdelegates from the counties of Westmoreland, Fayette, and Allegheny, atPittsburgh, on the first Tuesday in September following, to agree uponan address to the legislature on the subject of excise and othergrievances. At the Pittsburgh meeting eleven delegates appeared for thefour counties. The resolutions adopted by them, general in character, read more like a declaration of grievances as a basis for revolutionthan a petition for special redress. No wonder that the secretary of thetreasury stigmatized them as "intemperate. " They charge that in the lawsof the late Congress hasty strides had been made to all that was unjustand oppressive. They complain of the increase in the salaries ofofficials, of the unreasonable interest of the national debt, of thenon-discrimination between original holders and transferees of thepublic securities, of the National Bank as a base offspring of thefunding system; finally, in detail, of the excise law of March 3, 1791. At this meeting James Marshall and David Bradford represented WashingtonCounty. In August government offices of inspection were opened. The spirit ofresistance was now fully aroused, and in the early days of September thecollectors for Washington, Westmoreland, and Fayette were treated withviolence. Unwilling to proceed to excessive measures, and no doubtswayed by the attitude of the Pennsylvania legislature, Congress inOctober referred the law back to Hamilton for revision. He reported anamended act on March 6, 1792, which was immediately passed, and became alaw March 8. It was to take effect on the last day of June succeeding. By it the rate of duty was reduced, a privilege of time as to therunning of licenses of stills granted, and the tax ordered only for suchtime as they were actually used. But these modifications did not satisfy the malcontents of the fourwestern counties, and they met again on August 21, 1792, at Pittsburgh. Of this second Pittsburgh meeting Albert Gallatin was chosen secretary. Badollet went up with Gallatin. John Smilie, James Marshall, and JamesBradford of Washington County were present. Bradford, Marshall, Gallatin, and others were appointed to draw up a remonstrance toCongress. In order to carry out with regularity and concert the measuresagreed upon, a committee of correspondence was appointed, and themeeting closed with the adoption of the violent resolutions passed atthe Washington meeting of 1791:-- "Whereas, some men may be found among us so far lost to every sense of virtue and feeling for the distresses of this country as to accept offices for the collection of the duty. "Resolved, therefore, that in future we will consider such persons as unworthy of our friendship; have no intercourse or dealings with them; withdraw from them every assistance, and withhold all the comforts of life which depend upon those duties that as men and fellow citizens we owe to each other; and upon all occasions treat them with that contempt they deserve; and that it be, and it is hereby, most earnestly recommended to the people at large, to follow the same line of conduct towards them. " If such an excommunication were to be meted out to an offendingneighbor, what measure would the excise man receive if he came fromabroad on his unwelcome errand? These resolutions were signed by Mr. Gallatin as clerk, and made publicthrough the press. Resolutions of this character, if not criminal, reachthe utmost limit of indiscretion, and political indiscretion is quite asdangerous as crime. The petition to Congress, subscribed by theinhabitants of western Pennsylvania, was drawn by Gallatin; whileexplicit in terms, it was moderate in tone. It represented the unequaloperation of the act. "A duty laid on the common drink of a nation, instead of taxing the citizens in proportion to their property, falls asheavy on the poorest class as on the rich;" and it ingeniously pointedout that the distance of the inhabitants of the western counties frommarket prevented their bringing the produce of their lands to sale, either in grain or meal. "We are therefore distillers through necessity, not choice; that we may comprehend the greatest value in the smallestsize and weight. " Hamilton, indignant, reported the proceedings to the President onSeptember 9, 1792, and demanded instant punishment. Washington, who wasat Mount Vernon, was unwilling to go to extremes, but consented to issuea proclamation, which, drafted by Hamilton, and countersigned byJefferson, was published September 15, 1792. It earnestly admonished allpersons to desist from unlawful combinations to obstruct the operationsof the laws, and charged all courts, magistrates, and officers withtheir enforcement. There was no mistaking Hamilton's intention toenforce the law. Prosecutions in the Circuit Court, held at Yorktown inOctober, were ordered against the Pittsburgh offenders, but no proofcould be had to sustain an indictment. The President's proclamation startled the western people, and someuneasiness was felt as to how such of their representatives as had takenpart in the Pittsburgh meeting would be received when they should go upto the legislature in the winter. Bradford and Smilie accompaniedGallatin; Smilie to take his seat in the state Senate, and Bradford torepresent Washington County in the House, where he "cut a poor figure. "Gallatin despised him, and characterized him as a "tenth-rate lawyer andan empty drum. " Gallatin found, however, that although the Pittsburghmeeting had hurt the general interest of his party throughout the State, and "rather defeated" the repeal of the excise law, his eastern friendsdid not turn the cold shoulder to him. He said to every one whom heknew that the resolutions were perhaps too violent and undoubtedlyhighly impolitic, but, in his opinion, contained nothing illegal. Meanwhile federal officers proceeded to enforce the law in WashingtonCounty. A riot ensued, and the office was forcibly closed. Bills werefound against two of the offenders in the federal court, and warrants toarrest and bring them to Philadelphia for trial were issued. Gallatinbelieved the men innocent, and did not hesitate to advise Badollet tokeep them out of the way when the marshal should go to serve the writs, but deprecated any insult to the officer. He thought "the precedent avery dangerous one to drag people such a distance in order to be triedon governmental prosecutions. " Here the matter rested for a season. At this session of the legislature Gallatin introduced a new system ofcounty taxation, proposed a clause providing for "trustees yearlyelected, one to each township, without whose consent no tax is to beraised, nor any above one per cent. On the value of lands, " which hehoped would "tend to crush the aristocracy of every town in the State. "Also he proposed a plan to establish a school and library in eachcounty, with a sufficient immediate sum in money, and a yearly allowancefor a teacher in the English language. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 1: The drafting of this letter was, notwithstanding hisprotest, intrusted to John Jay, one of the strongest of the Federalleaders, and a warm supporter of the Constitution as it stood. ] CHAPTER III UNITED STATES SENATE The death of the grandfather of Mr. Gallatin, and soon after of hisaunt, strongly tempted him to make a journey to Geneva in the summer of1793. The political condition of Europe at that time was of thrillinginterest. On January 21 the head of Louis XVI. Fell under theguillotine, to which Marie Antoinette soon followed him. The armies ofthe coalition were closing in upon France. Of the political necessityfor these state executions there has always been and will always bedifferent judgments. That of Mr. Gallatin is of peculiar value. It isfound expressed in intimate frankness in a letter to his friendBadollet, written at Philadelphia, February 1, 1794. "France at present offers a spectacle unheard of at any other period. Enthusiasm there produces an energy equally terrible and sublime. All those virtues which depend upon social or family affections, all those amiable weaknesses, which our natural feelings teach us to love or respect, have disappeared before the stronger, the only, at present, powerful passion, the _Amor Patriæ_. I must confess my soul is not enough steeled, not sometimes to shrink at the dreadful executions which have restored at least apparent internal tranquillity to that republic. Yet upon the whole, as long as the combined despots press upon every frontier, and employ every engine to destroy and distress the interior parts, I think they, and they alone, are answerable for every act of severity or injustice, for every excess, nay for every crime, which either of the contending parties in France may have committed. " Within a few years the publication of the correspondence of De Fersen, the agent of the king and queen, has supplied the proof of the chargethat they were in secret correspondence with the allied sovereigns tointroduce foreign troops upon the soil of France, --a crime which nopeople has ever condoned. The French Revolution, which from its beginning in 1789 reacted upon theUnited States with fully the force that the American Revolution exertedupon France, had become an important factor in American politics. Theintemperance of Genet, the minister of the French Convention to theUnited States on the one hand, and the breaches of neutrality by Englandon the other, were dividing the American people into English and Frenchparties. The Federalists sympathized with the English, the late enemies, and the Republicans with the French, the late allies, of the UnitedStates. Mr. Gallatin had about made up his mind to visit Europe, when anunexpected political honor changed his plans. The Pennsylvanialegislature elected him a senator of the United States on joint ballot, a distinction the more singular in that the legislature was Federalistand Mr. Gallatin was a representative of a Republican district, andstrong in that faith. Moreover, he was not a candidate either of his ownmotion or by that of his friends, but, on the contrary, had doubts as tohis eligibility because of insufficient residence. This objection, whichhe himself stated in caucus, was disregarded, and on February 28, 1793, by a vote of 45 to 37, he was chosen senator. Mr. Gallatin had justcompleted his thirty-second year, and now a happy marriage cameopportunely to stimulate his ambition and smooth his path to otherhonors. Among the friends made at Philadelphia was Alexander J. Dallas, agentleman two years Gallatin's senior, whose career, in some respects, resembled his own. He was born in Jamaica, of Scotch parents; had beenthoroughly educated at Edinburgh and Westminster, and, coming to theUnited States in 1783, had settled in Philadelphia. He now held the postof secretary of state for Pennsylvania. Mr. Gallatin's constantcommittee service brought him into close relations with the secretary, and the foundation was laid of a lasting political friendship and socialintimacy. In the recess of the legislature, Mr. Gallatin joined Mr. Dallas and his wife in an excursion to the northward. Mr. Gallatin'shealth had suffered from close confinement and too strict attention tobusiness, and he needed recreation and diversion. In the course of thejourney the party was joined by some ladies, friends of Mrs. Dallas, among whom was Miss Hannah Nicholson. The excursion lasted nearly fourweeks. The result was that Mr. Gallatin returned to Philadelphia theaccepted suitor of this young lady. He describes her in a letter toBadollet as "a girl about twenty-five years old, who is neither handsomenor rich, but sensible, well-informed, good-natured, and belonging to arespectable and very amiable family. " Nor was he mistaken in hischoice, --a more charming nature, a more perfect, well-rounded characterthan hers is rarely found. They were married on November 11, 1793. Shewas his faithful companion throughout his long and honorable career, anddeath separated them but by a few months. This alliance greatly widenedhis political connection. Commodore James Nicholson, his wife's father, famous in the naval annalsof the United States as the captain of the Trumbull, the first ofAmerican frigates, at the time resided in New York, and was one of theacknowledged leaders of the Republican party in the city. His twobrothers--Samuel and John--were captains in the naval service. His twoelder daughters were married to influential gentlemen;--Catharine toColonel Few, senator from Georgia; Frances, to Joshua Seney, member ofCongress from Maryland; Maria later (1809) married John Montgomery, whohad been member of Congress from Maryland, and was afterwards mayor ofBaltimore. A son, James Witter Nicholson, then a youth of twenty-one, was, in 1795, associated with Mr. Gallatin in his Western Company, and, removing to Fayette, made his home in what was later and is now known asNew Geneva. Here, in connection with Mr. Gallatin and the brothersKramer, Germans, he established extensive glass works, which provedprofitable. * * * * * Mr. Gallatin's election to the United States Senate did not disqualifyhim for his unfinished legislative term, and, on his return toPhiladelphia, he was again plunged in his manifold duties. The few dayswhich intervened between his marriage and the meeting of Congress--ashort honeymoon--were spent under the roof of Commodore Nicholson in NewYork. On February 28, 1793, the Vice-President laid before the Senate acertificate from the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania tothe election of Albert Gallatin as senator of the United States. Mr. Gallatin took his seat December 2, 1793. The business of the session wasopened by the presentation of a petition signed by nineteen individualsof Yorktown, Pennsylvania, stating that Mr. Gallatin had not been nineyears a citizen of the United States. This petition had been handed toRobert Morris, Mr. Gallatin's colleague for Pennsylvania, by a member ofthe legislature for the county of York, but he had declined to presentit, and declared to Mr. Gallatin his intention to be perfectly neutralon the occasion--at least so Mr. Gallatin wrote to his wife the nextday; but Morris did not hold fast to this resolution, as the votes inthe sequel show. The petition was ordered to lie upon the table. OnDecember 11 Messrs. Rutherford, Cabot, Ellsworth, Livermore, andMitchell were appointed a committee to consider the petition. Thesegentlemen, Gallatin wrote, were undoubtedly "the worst for him thatcould have been chosen, and did not seem to him to be favorablydisposed. " He himself considered the legal point involved as a nice anddifficult one, and likely to be decided by a party vote. The fourtharticle of the Constitution of the first Confederation of the UnitedStates reads as follows:-- "The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different States in this Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States. " Article 1, section 3, of the new Constitution declares:-- "No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. " Mr. Gallatin landed in Massachusetts in July, 1780, while still a minor. His residence, therefore, which had been uninterrupted, extended overthirteen years. He took the oath of citizenship and allegiance toVirginia in October, 1785, since which, until his election in 1793, nineyears, the period called for by the United States Constitution, had notelapsed. On the one hand, his actual residence exceeded the requiredperiod of citizenship; on the other, his legal and technical residenceas a citizen was insufficient. In point of fact, his intention to becomea citizen dated from the summer of 1783. To take from the case the air of party proscription, which it wasbeginning to assume, the Senate discharged its special committee, andraised a general committee on elections to consider this and othercases. On February 10, 1794, the report of this committee was submitted, and a day was set for a hearing by the Senate, with open doors. On thatday Mr. Gallatin exhibited a written statement of facts, agreed tobetween himself and the petitioners, and the case was left to the Senateon its merits. On the 28th a test vote was taken upon a motion to theeffect that "Albert Gallatin, returned to this House as a member for theState of Pennsylvania, is duly qualified for and elected to a seat inthe Senate of the United States, " and it was decided in thenegative--yeas, 12; nays, 14. [2] Motion being made that the election of Albert Gallatin to be a senatorof the United States was void, --he not having been a citizen of theUnited States for the term of years required as a qualification to be asenator of the United States, --it was further moved to divide thequestion at the word "void;" and the question being then taken on thefirst paragraph, it passed in the affirmative--yeas, 14; nays, 12. Theyeas and nays were required, and the Senate divided as before. Theresolution was then put and adopted by the same vote. Thus Mr. Gallatin, thirteen years a resident of the country, a large land-holder inVirginia, and for several terms a member of the Pennsylvanialegislature, was excluded from a seat in the Senate of the UnitedStates. Mr. Gallatin conducted his case with great dignity. On being askedwhether he had any testimony to produce, he replied, in writing, thatthere was not sufficient matter charged in the petition and proved bythe testimony to vacate his seat, and declined to go to the expense ofcollecting evidence until that preliminary question was settled. Short as the period was during which Mr. Gallatin held his seat, it waslong enough for him seriously to annoy the Federal leaders. Indeed, itis questionable whether, if he had delayed his embarrassing motion, amajority of the Senate could have been secured against him. Certain itis that the Committee on Elections, appointed on December 11, did notsend in its report until the day after Mr. Gallatin moved hisresolution, calling upon the secretary of the treasury for an elaboratestatement of the debt on January 1, 1794, under distinct heads, including the balances to creditor States, a statement of loans, domestic and foreign, contracted from the beginning of the government, statements of exports and imports; finally for a summary statement ofthe receipts and expenditures to the last day of December, 1790, _distinguishing the moneys received under each branch of the revenue andthe moneys expended under each of the appropriations, and stating thebalances of each branch of the revenue remaining unexpended on thatday_, and also calling for similar and separate statements for the years1791, 1792, 1793. This resolution, introduced on January 8, was laidover. On the 20th it was adopted. It was not until February 10 that areply from the secretary of the treasury was received by the Senate, andon the 11th submitted to Gallatin, Ellsworth, and Taylor forconsideration and report. In this letter (February 6, 1794) Hamiltonstated the difficulty of supplying the precise information called for, with the clerical forces of the department, the interruption it wouldcause in the daily routine of the service, and deprecated the practiceof such unexpected demands. With this response of the secretary the inquiry fell to the ground, butit was neither forgotten nor forgiven by his adherents, and Mr. Gallatinpaid the penalty on at least one occasion. This was years later, when hehimself was secretary of the treasury. On March 2, 1803, the day beforethe adjournment of Congress, Mr. Griswold, Federalist from Connecticut, attacked the correctness of the accounts of the sinking fund, anddemanded an answer to a resolution of the House on the management ofthis bureau. Had such been his desire, Mr. Gallatin was foreclosed fromHamilton's excuse. On the night of the 3d he sent in an elaboratestatement which set accusation at rest and criticism at defiance. Mr. Gallatin's short stay in the Senate revealed to the Federalists thecharacter of the man, who, disdaining the lesser flight, checked only atthe highest game. He accepted his exclusion with perfect philosophy. Soon after the session opened he said, "My feelings cannot be much hurtby an unfavorable decision, since having been elected is an equal proofof the confidence the legislature of Pennsylvania reposed in me, and notbeing qualified, if it is so decided, cannot be imputed to me as afault. " His exclusion was by no means a disadvantage to him. It madecommon cause of the honor of Pennsylvania and his own; it endeared himto the Republicans of his State as a martyr to their principles. It"secured him, " to use his own words, "many staunch" friends throughoutthe Union, and extended his reputation, hitherto local and confined, over the entire land; more than all, it led him to the true field ofpolitical contest--the House of Representatives of the people of theUnited States. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 2: The yeas and nays being required by one fifth of thesenators present, there were: _Affirmative_. --Bradley, Brown, Burr, Butler, Edwards, Gunn, Jackson, Langdon, Martin, Monroe, Robinson, Taylor; 12. _Negative_. --Bradford, Cabot, Ellsworth, Foster, Frelinghuysen, Hawkins, Izard, King, Livermore, Mitchell, Morris, Potts, Strong, Vining; 14. ] CHAPTER IV THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION Mr. Gallatin was now out of public life. For eighteen months since hecame up to the legislature with his friends of the Pittsburghconvention, he had not returned to Fayette. His private concerns weresuffering in his absence. Neither his barn, his meadow, nor his housewas finished at the close of 1793. In May, 1794, he took his wife to hiscountry home. Their hopes of a summer of recreation and domestic comfortin the wild beauties of the Monongahela were not to be realized. Beforethe end of June the peaceful country was in a state of mad agitation. The seeds of political discontent, sown at Pittsburgh in 1792, hadripened to an abundant harvest. An act passed by Congress June 5, 1794, giving to the state courts concurrent jurisdiction in excise cases, removed the grievance of which Gallatin complained, the dragging ofaccused persons to Philadelphia for trial, but was not construed to beretroactive in its operation. The marshal, accordingly, found it to behis duty to serve the writs of May 31 against those who had fallen undertheir penalties. These writs were returnable in Philadelphia. They wereserved without trouble in Fayette County. Not so in Allegheny. Here onJuly 15, 1794, the marshal had completed his service, when, while stillin the execution of his office, and in company with the inspector, hewas followed and fired upon. The next day a body of men went to thehouse of the marshal and demanded that he should deliver up hiscommission. They were fired upon and dispersed, six were wounded, andthe leader killed. A general rising followed. The marshal's house, though defended by Major Kirkpatrick, with a squad from the Pittsburghgarrison, was set on fire, with the adjacent buildings, and burned. OnJuly 18 the insurgents sent a deputation of two or three to Pittsburgh, to require of the marshal a surrender of the processes in hispossession, and of the inspector the resignation of his office. Thesedemands were, of course, rejected; but the officers, alarmed for theirpersonal safety, left the town, and, descending the Ohio by boat toMarietta, proceeded by a circuitous route to Philadelphia, and madetheir report to the United States authorities. This was the outbreak of the Western or Whiskey Insurrection. Theexcitement spread rapidly through the western counties. Fayette Countywas not exempt from it. The collector's house was broken into, and hiscommission taken from him by armed men; the sheriff refused to serve thewrits against the rioters of the spring. Since these disturbances therehad been no trouble in this county. But the malcontents elsewhere rosein arms, riots ensued, and the safety of the whole community wascompromised. The news reaching Fayette, the distillers held a meeting atUniontown, the county seat, on July 20. Both Gallatin and Smilie werepresent, and by their advice it was agreed to submit to the laws. Theneighboring counties were less fortunate. On July 21 the WashingtonCounty committee was summoned to meet at Mingo Creek Meeting-house. Onthe 23d there was a large assemblage of people, including a number ofthose who had been concerned in burning the house of the Pittsburghinspector. James Marshall, the same who opposed the ratification of thefederal Constitution, David Bradford, the "empty drum, " and JudgeBrackenridge of Pittsburgh, attended this meeting. Bradford, the mostunscrupulous of the leaders, sought to shirk his responsibility, but wasintimidated by threats, and thereafter did not dare to turn back. Brackenridge was present to counsel the insurgents to moderation. Inspite of his efforts the meeting ended in an invitation, which theofficers had not the boldness to sign, to the townships of the fourwestern counties of Pennsylvania and the adjoining counties of Virginiato send representatives to a general meeting on August 14, atParkinson's Ferry on the Monongahela, in Washington County. Bradford, determined to aggravate the disturbance, stopped the mail at Greensburg, on the road between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and robbed it of theWashington and Pittsburgh letters, some of which he published, to thealarm of their authors. On July 28 a circular signed by Bradford, Marshall, and others was sentout from Cannonsburg to the militia of the county, whom it summoned forpersonal service, and likewise called for volunteers to rendezvous thefollowing Wednesday, July 30, at their respective places of meeting, thence to march to Braddock's Field, on the Monongahela, the usualrendezvous of the militia, about eight miles south of Pittsburgh, by twoo'clock of Friday, August 1. It closed in these words, "Here is anexpedition proposed in which you will have an opportunity for displayingyour military talents and of rendering service to your country. " Nothingless was contemplated by the more extreme of these men than an attackupon Fort Pitt and the sack of Pittsburgh. Thoroughly aroused at last, the moderate men of Washington determined to breast the storm. A meetingwas held; James Ross of the United States Senate made an earnest appeal, and was supported by Scott of the House of Representatives and Stokelyof the Senate of Pennsylvania. Marshall and Bradford yielded, andconsented to countermand the order of rendezvous. But the excitedpopulation poured into the town from all quarters, and Bradford, whofound that he had gone too far to retreat, again took the lead of themovement, already beyond restraint. There are accounts of this formidable insurrection by H. H. Brackenridgeand William Findley, eye-witnesses. These supply abundant details. Findley says that he knew that the movement would not stop at the limitapparently set for it. "The opposing one law would lead to opposeanother; they would finally oppose all, and demand a new modeling of theConstitution, and there would be a revolution. " There was great alarm inPittsburgh. A meeting was held there Thursday evening, July 31, at whicha message from the Washington County insurgents was read, violentresolutions adopted, and the 9th of August appointed as the day for atown meeting for election of delegates to a general convention of thecounties at Parkinson's Ferry; Judge Brackenridge of Pittsburgh, a manof education, influence, and infinite jest and humor, was present atthis meeting. Of Scotch-Irish birth himself, his sympathies of race werewith his countrymen, but in political sentiments he was not in harmonywith their leaders. They were nearly all Republicans, while he had sidedwith the Federalists in the convention which adopted the newConstitution of the United States. He was a man of peace, and of toomuch sagacity not to foresee the inevitable ruin upon which they wererushing. At Mingo Creek he had thwarted the plans of immediaterevolution. The evident policy of moderate men was to prevent anyviolence before the convention at Parkinson's Ferry should meet, and tobend all their energies to control the deliberations of that body. Thepeople of Pittsburgh were intensely excited by the armed gatheringalmost at their doors. Brackenridge felt that the only safe issue from the situation was totake part in and shape the action of that gathering. Under his lead acommittee from the Pittsburgh meeting, followed by a large body of thecitizens, went out to the rendezvous. Here they found a motleyassemblage, arrayed in the picturesque campaign costume which themountaineers wore when they equipped themselves to meet theIndians, --yellow hunting-shirts, handkerchiefs tied about their heads, and rifles on the shoulder; the militia were on foot, and the lighthorse of the counties were in military dress. Conspicuous about thefield, "haughty and pompous, " as Gallatin described him in thelegislature, was David Bradford, who had assumed the office ofmajor-general. Brackenridge draws a lifelike picture of him as, mountedon a superb horse in splendid trappings, arrayed in full uniform, withplume floating in the air and sword drawn, he rode over the ground, gaveorders to the military, and harangued the multitude. On the historicground where Washington plucked his first military laurels were gatheredabout seven thousand men, of whom two thousand militia were armed andaccoutred as for a campaign, --a formidable and remarkable assemblage, when it is considered that the entire male population of sixteen yearsof age and upwards of the four counties did not exceed sixteenthousand, and was scattered over a wide and unsettled country. This isBrackenridge's estimate of the numbers. Later, Gallatin, on comparisonof the best attainable information, estimated the whole body at fromfifteen hundred to two thousand men. Whatever violence Bradford may haveintended, none was accomplished. That he read aloud the Pittsburghletters, taken from the mail, shows his purpose to inflame the people tovindictive violence. He was accused by contemporary authorities ofimitation of the methods of the French Jacobins, which were freshexamples of revolutionary vigor. But the mass was not persuaded. Afterdesultory conversation and discussion, the angry turn of which was attimes threatening to the moderate leaders, the meeting broke up onAugust 2; about one third dispersed for their homes, and the remainder, marching to Pittsburgh, paraded through the streets, and finallycrossing the river in their turn scattered. They did no damage to thetown beyond the burning of a farm belonging to Major Kirkpatrick of thegarrison. The taverns were all closed, but the citizens brought whiskeyto their doors. Judge Brackenridge reports that his sacrifice to peaceon this occasion cost him four barrels of his best old rye. This moderation was no augury of permanent quiet. Brackenridge, who wasa keen observer of men, says of the temper of the western population atthis period: "I had seen the spirit which prevailed at the Stamp Act, and at the commencement of the revolution from the government of GreatBritain, but it was by no means so general and so vigorous amongst thecommon people as the spirit which now existed in the country. " Nor didthe armed bands all return peaceably to their homes. The house of thecollector for Fayette and Washington counties was burned, and warningswere given to those who were disposed to submit to the law. Thedisaffected were called "Tom the tinker" men, from the signature affixedto the threatening notices. From a passage in one of Gallatin's lettersit appears that there was a person of that name, a New England man, whohad been concerned in Shays's insurrection. Liberty poles, with thedevice, "An equal tax and no excise law, " were raised, and the treesplacarded with the old revolutionary motto, "United we stand, divided wefall, " with a divided snake as an emblem. Mr. Gallatin's neighborhoodwas not represented at Braddock's Field, and not more than a dozen werepresent from the entire county. But now the flame spread there also, andliberty poles were raised. Mr. Gallatin himself, inquiring as to theirsignificance and expressing to the men engaged the hope that they wouldnot behave like a mob, was asked, in return, if he was not aware of theWestmoreland resolution that any one calling the people a mob should betarred and feathered, --an amusing example of that mob logic whichproves the affirmative of the proposition it denies. Mr. Gallatin did not attend the meeting at Braddock's Field. Somewhatisolated at his residence at the southerly border of the county, engagedin the care of his long neglected farm, and in the full enjoyment ofrelease from the bustle and excitement of public life, he had paidlittle attention to passing events. He was preparing definitively toabandon political pursuits and to follow some kind of mercantilebusiness, or take up some land speculation and study law in hisintervals of leisure. It was not a year since he had given hostages tofortune. He was now in the full tide of domestic happiness, which wasalways to him the dearest and most coveted. He might well have hesitatedbefore again engaging upon the dangerous and uncertain task ofcontrolling an excited and aggrieved population. But he did nothesitate. The people among whom he had made his home, and whose confidence hadnever failed him, were his people. By them he would stand in theirextremity, and if hurt or ruin befell them, it should not be for want ofthe interposition of his counsel. He knew his powers, and he determinedto bring them into full play. He knew the danger also, but it onlynerved him to confront and master it. He knew his duty, and did notswerve one hair from the line it prompted. In no part of his long, varied, and useful political life does he appear to better advantagethan in this exciting episode of the Whiskey Insurrection. Hisself-possession, his cool judgment, swayed neither by timidity norrashness, never for a moment failed him. Here he displayed thatremarkable combination of persuasion and control, --the indispensableequipment of a political chief, --which, in later days, gave him theleadership of the Republican party. With intuitive perception of thepolitical situation he saw that the only path to safety, beset withdifficulty and danger though it were, was through the convention atParkinson's Ferry. He did not believe that any revolutionary proceedingshad yet been taken, or that the convention was an illegal body, but hewas determined to separate the wheat from the chaff, and disengage themoderate and the law-abiding from the disorderly. By the light of hisown experience he had learned wisdom. He also had drawn a lesson fromthe French Revolution, and knew the uncontrollable nature of largepopular assemblages. The news from Philadelphia, the seat of government, was of a kind to increase his alarm. Washington was not the man tooverlook such an insult to authority as the resistance to the marshaland inspector; nor was it probable that Hamilton would let pass such anoccasion for showing the strength and vigor of the government. Before the meeting at Braddock's Field, the secretary's plans for asuppression of the insurrection were matured. On August 2 he laidbefore the President an estimate of the probable armed force of theinsurgents, and of that with which he proposed to reduce them tosubmission. When the question of the use of force came before thecabinet, Edmund Randolph, who was secretary of state, opposed it in awritten opinion, one phrase of which deserves repetition:-- "It is a fact well known that the parties in the United States are highly inflamed against each other, and that there is but one character which keeps both in awe. As soon as the sword shall be drawn, who shall be able to retain them. " Mifflin, the governor of Pennsylvania, deprecated immediate resort toforce; the venerable Chief Justice McKean suggested the sending ofcommissioners on the part of the federal and state governments. Washington, with perfect judgment, combined these plans, and happilyallied conciliation with force. A proclamation was issued on August 7summoning all persons involved in the disturbance to lay down their armsand repair to their homes by September 1. Requisitions were made uponthe governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey forfifteen thousand men in all, and a joint commission of five wasraised, --three of whom on the part of the United States were appointedby the President, and two on the part of the State of Pennsylvania. Thisnews was soon known at Pittsburgh, and rapidly spread through theadjacent country; and it was clear that in the proceedings to be takenat Parkinson's Ferry the question of resistance or submission must bedefinitively settled. On August 14, 1794, the convention assembled; twohundred and twenty-six delegates in all, of whom ninety-three were fromWashington, forty-nine from Westmoreland, forty-three from Allegheny, thirty-three from Fayette, two from Bedford, five from Ohio County inVirginia, with spectators to about the same number. Parkinson's Ferry, later called Williamsport, and now Monongahela City, is on the left bank of the Monongahela, about half way betweenPittsburgh and Red Stone Old Fort or Brownsville. Brackenridge picturesthe scene with his usual local color: "Our hall was a grove, and wemight well be called 'the Mountain' (an allusion to the radical left ofthe French convention), for we were on a very lofty ground overlookingthe river. We had a gallery of lying timber and stumps, and there weremore people collected there than there was of the committee. " In fullview of the meeting stood a liberty pole, raised in the morning by themen who signed the Braddock's Field circular order, and it bore thesignificant motto, "Liberty and no excise and no asylum for cowards. "Among the delegates, or the committee, to use their own term, wereBradford, Marshall, Brackenridge, Findley, and Gallatin. Before themeeting was organized, Marshall came to Gallatin and showed him theresolutions which he intended to move, intimating at the same time thathe wished Mr. Gallatin to act as secretary. Mr. Gallatin told him thathe highly disapproved the resolutions, and had come to oppose both himand Bradford, and therefore did not wish to serve. Marshall seemed towaver; but soon the people met, and Edward Cook of Fayette, who hadpresided at Braddock's Field, was chosen chairman, with Gallatin forsecretary. Bradford opened the proceedings with a summary sketch of theaction previously taken, declared the purpose of the committee to be todetermine on a course of action, and his own views to be the appointmentof committees to raise money, purchase arms, enlist volunteers, or draftthe militia: in a word, though he did not use it, to levy war. At this point in the proceedings the arrival of the commissioners fromthe President was announced, but the progress of the meeting was notinterrupted. The commissioners were at a house near the meeting, butthere were serious objections against holding a conference at thisplace. Marshall then moved his resolutions. The first, declaratory of thegrievance of carrying citizens great distances for trial, wasunanimously agreed to. The second called for a committee of publicsafety "to call forth the resources of the western country to repel anyhostile attempts that may be made against the rights of the citizens, orof the body of the people. " Had this resolution been adopted, the peoplewere definitively committed to overt rebellion. This brought Mr. Gallatin at once to his feet. He denied that any hostile attemptsagainst the rights of the people were threatened, and drew an adroitdistinction between the regular army, which had not been called out, andthe militia, who were a part of the people themselves; and to gain timehe moved a reference of the resolutions to a committee who should beinstructed to wait the action of the government. In the course of hisspeech Gallatin denied the assertion that resistance to the excise lawwas legal, or that coercion by the government was necessarily hostile. He was neither supported by his own friends nor opposed by those ofBradford. He stood alone. But Marshall withdrew his resolution, and a committee of sixty wasappointed, with power to summon the people. The only other objectionableresolution was that which pledged the people to the support of the laws, except the excise law and the taking of citizens out of their countiesfor trial, --an exception which Gallatin succeeded in having strickenout. He then urged the adoption of the resolution, without theexception, as necessary "to the establishment of the laws and theconservation of the peace, " and here he was supported by Brackenridge. The entire resolutions were finally referred to a committee offour, --Gallatin, Bradford, Husbands, and Brackenridge. The meeting thenadjourned. The next morning a standing committee of sixty was chosen, one from each township. From these a committee of twelve was selectedto confer with the government commissioners. Upon this committee wereCook, the chairman, Bradford, Marshall, Gallatin, Brackenridge, andEdgar. The meeting then adjourned. Upon this representative body there seems to have been no outsidepressure. The proclamation of the President, which arrived while it wasin session, showed the determination, while the appointment of thecommission showed the moderation, of the government. Gallatin availed ofeach circumstance with consummate adroitness, pointing out to thedesperate the folly of resistance, and to the moderate an issue forhonorable retreat. Meanwhile, the commissioners reached Pittsburgh, where on August 20 thecommittee of conference was received by them, and an informalunderstanding arrived at, which was put in writing. The laws were to beenforced with as little inconvenience to the people as possible. Allcriminal suits for indictable offenses were to be dropped, but civilsuits were to take their course. Notice was given that a definitivesubmission must be made by September 1 following. On the 22d theconference committee answered that they must consult with the committeeof sixty. Thursday the 28th was appointed for a meeting at Red Stone OldFort, the very spot where the original resolutions of opposition werepassed in 1791. In the report drawn up every member of the twelve, except Bradford, favored submission. The hour was critical, the deliberations were in the open air, and underthe eyes of a threatening party of seventy riflemen accidentally presentfrom Washington County across the stream. Bradford, who instinctivelyfelt that he had placed himself beyond the pale of pardon, and to whomthere was no alternative to revolution but flight, pressed an instantdecision and rejection of the written terms of the commissioners. In thepresence of personal danger, the conferrees only dared to move that partof their report which advised acceptance of the proffered terms. Thequestion of submission they left untouched. An adjournment was obtained. The next day, to quote the words of Brackenridge, "the committee havingconvened, Gallatin addressed the chair in a speech of some hours. It wasa piece of perfect eloquence, and was heard with attention and withoutdisturbance. " Never was there a more striking instance of intellectualcontrol over a popular assemblage. He saved the western counties ofPennsylvania from anarchy and civil war. He was followed byBrackenridge, who, warned by the example of his companion, or encouragedby the quiet of the assemblage, supported him with vigor. Bradford, onthe other hand, faced the issue with directness and savage vehemence. Herepelled the idea of submission, and insisted upon an independentgovernment and a declaration of war. Edgar of Washington rejoined insupport of the report. Gallatin now demanded a vote, but the twelveconferrees alone supported him. He then proposed an informal vote, butwithout result. Finally a secret ballot was proposed by a member. A hatwas passed, and when the slips of paper were taken out, there werethirty-four yeas and twenty-three nays. The report was declared to beadopted, and amid the scowls of the armed witnesses the meetingadjourned; not, however, before a new committee of conference had beenappointed. On this new committee not one of the old leaders was named. They evidently knew the folly of further delay, or of attempting tosecure better terms. As his final act Colonel Cook, the chairman of thestanding committee of sixty, indorsed the resolution adopted. Itdeclared it to be "to the interest of the people of the country toaccede to the proposals made by the commissioners on the part of theUnited States. " This was duly forwarded, with request for a furtherconference. The commissioners consented, but declined to postpone thetime of taking the sense of the people beyond September 11. William Findley said of the famous and critical debate at Red Stone: "Ihad never heard speeches that I more ardently desired to see in printthan those delivered on this occasion. They would not only be valuableon account of the oratory and information displayed in all the three, and especially in Gallatin's, who opened the way, but they would alsohave been the best history of the spirit and the mistakes which thenactuated men's minds. " Findley, in his allotment of the honors of theday, considers that "the verbal alterations made by Gallatin saved thequestion. " Brackenridge thought that his own seeming to coincide withBradford prevented the declaration of war; and he has been credited withhaving saved the western counties from the horrors of civil war, Pittsburgh from destruction, and the Federal Union from imminent danger. Historians have agreed in according to Gallatin the honor of this fieldday. It was left to John C. Hamilton, half a century later, to charge awant of courage upon Gallatin, --a baseless charge. [3] Not Malesherbes, the noble advocate defending the accused monarch before the angry Frenchconvention, with the certainty of the guillotine as the reward of hisgenerosity, is more worthy of admiration than Gallatin boldly pleadingthe cause of order within rifle range of an excited band of lawlessfrontiersmen. If, as he confessed later, in his part in the Pittsburghresolutions he was guilty of "a political sin, " he nobly atoned for itunder circumstances that would have tried the courage of men bred todanger and to arms. Sin it was, and its consequences were not yet summedup. For although the back of the insurrection was broken at Red StoneOld Fort, there was much yet to be done before submission could becompleted. Bradford attempted to sign, but found that his course at Red Stone OldFort had placed him outside the amnesty. Well might the moderate men sayin their familiar manner of Scripture allusion, "Dagon is fallen. " Hefled down the Ohio and Mississippi to Louisiana, then foreign soil. Thecommissioners waited at Pittsburgh for the signatures of adhesion onSeptember 10, which was the last day allowed by the terms of amnesty. They required that meetings should be held on this day in the severaltownships; the presiding officers to report the result to commissionerRoss at Uniontown the 16th of the same month, on which day he would setout for Philadelphia. The time was inadequate, but there was no help. Gallatin hastened the submission of Fayette, and a meeting of committeesfrom the several townships met at the county seat, Uniontown, onSeptember 10, 1794, when a declaration drawn by Mr. Gallatin wasunanimously adopted. A passage in this admirable paper shows thecomparative order which prevailed in Fayette County during this periodof trouble. It is an appeal to the people of the neighboring counties, who, under the influence of their passions and resentment, might blamethose of Fayette for their moderation. "The only reflection we mean to suggest to them is the disinterestedness of our conduct upon this occasion. The indictable offences to be buried in oblivion were committed amongst them, and almost every civil suit that has been instituted under the revenue law, in the federal court, was commenced against citizens of this county. By the terms proposed, the criminal prosecutions are to be dropped, but no condition could be obtained for the civil suits. We have been instrumental in obtaining an amnesty, from which those alone who had a share in the riots derive a benefit, and the other inhabitants of the western country have gained nothing for themselves. " This declaration was forwarded on September 17 to Governor Mifflin, withreasons for the delay, and advice that signatures were fast beingobtained, not only in the neighboring counties, but even in Fayette, where this formality had not been thought necessary. It closes with aforcible appeal to delay the sending of troops until every conciliatorymeasure should have proved abortive. But the commissioners, unfortunately, were not favorably impressed withthe reception they met with or the scenes they witnessed on theirwestern mission. They had heard of Bradford's threat to establish anindependent government west of the mountains, and they had seen aliberty pole raised upon which the people with the greatest difficultyhad been dissuaded from hoisting a flag with six stripes--emblematic ofthe six counties represented in the committee. The flag was made, butset aside for the fifteen stripes with reluctance. This is Findley'srecollection, but Brackenridge says that it was a flag of seven starsfor the four western counties, Bedford, and the two counties ofVirginia. This, he adds, was the first and only manifestation among anyclass of a desire to separate from the Union. But here his memoryfailed him. Hamilton had long been impatient. Again, as in old days, he presentedhis arguments directly to the people. Under the heading, "Tully to thepeople of the United States, " he printed a letter on August 26, of whichthe following is a passage:-- "Your representatives in Congress, pursuant to the commission derived from you, and with a full knowledge of the public exigencies, have laid an excise. At three succeeding sessions they have revised that act . . . And _you_ have actually paid more than a million of dollars on account of it. But the four western counties of Pennsylvania undertake to rejudge and reverse your decrees. _You_ have said, 'The Congress _shall have power_ to lay _excises_. ' They say, 'The Congress shall _not have_ this power;' or, what is equivalent, they shall not exercise it, for a _power_ that may not be exercised is a nullity. Your representatives have said, and four times repeated it, 'An excise on distilled spirits _shall_ be collected;' they say, 'It _shall not_ be collected. We will punish, expel, and banish the officers who shall attempt the collection. '" The peace commissioners returned to Philadelphia and made their reporton September 24. The next day, September 25, Washington issued aproclamation calling out the troops. In it he again warned theinsurgents. The militia, already armed, accoutred, and equipped, andawaiting marching orders, moved at once. Governor Mifflin at firsthesitated about his power to call out the militia, but when thePresident's requisition was made, he summoned the legislature in specialsession, and obtained from it a hearty support, with authority to acceptvolunteers and offer a bounty. Thus fortified, he made a tour throughthe lower counties of the State, and by his extraordinary populareloquence soon filled up the ranks. The old soldier led his troops inperson. Those of New Jersey were commanded by their governor, RichardHowell of Revolutionary fame. These formed the right wing and marched torendezvous at Bedford to cross the mountains by the northern andPennsylvania route. The left wing, composed of the Virginia troops, under the veteran Morgan, and those of Maryland, under Samuel Smith, abrigadier-general in the army of the Revolution, assembled at Cumberlandto cross the mountains by Braddock's Road. The chief command wasconfided to Governor Henry Lee of Virginia. Washington accompanied thearmy as far as Bedford. Hamilton continued with it to Pittsburgh, whichwas reached in the last days of October and the first of November, aftera wearisome march across the mountains in heavy weather. Arrived in thewestern counties, the army found no opposition. Meanwhile, on October 2, the standing committee met again at Parkinson'sFerry, and unanimously adopted resolutions declaring the generalsubmission, and explaining the reasons why signatures to the amnesty hadnot been general. Findley and Redick were appointed to take theseresolutions to the President, and to urge him to stop the march of thetroops. They met the left wing at Carlisle. Washington received themcourteously, but did not consent to countermand the march. They hurriedback for more unequivocal assurances, which they hoped to be able tocarry to meet Washington on his way to review the right wing. On October14, the day of the autumn elections, general submissions wereuniversally signed, and finally, on October 24, a third and last meetingwas held at Parkinson's Ferry, at which a thousand people attended, when, with James Edgar, chairman, and Albert Gallatin, secretary, it wasresolved, first, that the civil authority was fully competent to punishboth past and future breaches of the law; secondly, that surrendershould be made of all persons charged with offenses, in default of whichthe committee would aid in bringing them to justice; thirdly, thatoffices of inspection might be opened, and that the distillers werewilling and ready to enter their stills. These resolutions were published in the "Pittsburgh Gazette. " Findleycarried them to Bedford, but before he reached the army the Presidenthad returned to Philadelphia. The march of the army was not stopped. Thetwo wings made a junction at Uniontown. Companies of horse werescattered through the country. New submissions were made, and the oathof allegiance, required by General Lee, was generally taken. Hamilton now investigated the whole matter of the insurrection, and itwas charged against him, and the charge is supported by Findley, withnames of persons, that he spared no effort to secure evidence to bringGallatin within the pale of an indictment. Of course he failed in thispurpose, if indeed it were ever seriously entertained. But the beliefthat Gallatin was the arch-fiend, who instigated the WhiskeyInsurrection, had already become a settled article in the Federalistcreed, and for a quarter of a century, long after the Federalist partyhad become a tradition of the past, the Genevan was held up to scorn andhatred, as an incarnation of deviltry--an enemy of mankind. On the 8th of November, Hamilton, who remained with the army, wrote tothe President that General Lee had concluded to take hold of all who areworth the trouble by the military arm, and then to deliver them over tothe disposition of the judiciary. In the mean time, he adds, "allpossible means are using to obtain evidence, and accomplices will beturned against the others. " The night of November 13, 1794, was appointed for the arrests; adreadful night Findley describes it to have been. The night was frosty;at eight o'clock the horse sallied forth, and before daylight arrestedin their beds about two hundred men. The New Jersey horse made theseizures in the Mingo Creek settlement, the hot-bed of the insurrectionand the scene of the early excesses. The prisoners were taken toPittsburgh, and thence, mounted on horses, and guarded by thePhiladelphia Gentlemen Corps, to the capital. Their entrance intoCannonsburg is graphically described by Dr. Carnahan, president ofPrinceton College, in his account of the insurrection. "The contrast between the Philadelphia horsemen and the prisoners was the most striking that can be imagined. The Philadelphians were some of the most wealthy and respectable men of that city. Their uniform was blue, of the finest broadcloth. Their horses were large and beautiful, all of a bay color, so nearly alike that it seemed that every two of them would make a good span of coach horses. Their trappings were superb. Their bridles, stirrups, and martingales glittered with silver. Their swords, which were drawn, and held elevated in the right hand, gleamed in the rays of the setting sun. The prisoners were also mounted on horses of all shapes, sizes, and colors; some large, some small, some long tails, some short, some fat, some lean, some every color and form that can be named. Some had saddles, some blankets, some bridles, some halters, some with stirrups, some with none. The riders also were various and grotesque in their appearance. Some were old, some young, some hale, respectable looking men; others were pale, meagre, and shabbily dressed. Some had great coats, --others had blankets on their shoulders. The countenance of some was downcast, melancholy, dejected; that of others, stern, indignant, manifesting that they thought themselves undeserving such treatment. Two Philadelphia horsemen rode in front and then two prisoners, and two horsemen and two prisoners, actually throughout a line extending perhaps half a mile. . . . If these men had been the ones chiefly guilty of the disturbance, it would have been no more than they deserved. But the guilty had signed the amnesty, or had left the county before the army approached. " Dallas, the secretary of state, Gallatin's friend, was one of thistroop. Gallatin saw him soon after his return. In a letter to his wifeof December 3, Gallatin relates the experience of the trooper who hadlittle stomach for the work he had to do. "I saw Dallas yesterday. Poor fellow had a most disagreeable campaign of it. He says the spirits, I call it the madness, of the Philadelphia Gentlemen's Corps was beyond conception before the arrival of the President. He saw a list (handed about through the army by officers, nay, by a general officer) of the names of those persons who were to be destroyed at all events, and you may easily guess my own was one of the most conspicuous. Being one day at table with sundry officers, and having expressed his opinion that, if the army were going only to support the civil authority, and not to do any military execution, one of them (Dallas did not tell me his name, but I am told it was one Ross of Lancaster, aide-de-camp to Mifflin) half drew a dagger he wore instead of a sword, and swore any man who uttered such sentiments ought to be dagged. The President, however, on his arrival, and afterwards Hamilton, took uncommon pains to change the sentiments, and at last it became fashionable to adopt, or at least to express, sentiments similar to those inculcated by them. " Randolph was, perhaps, not far out of the way in his fear of a civil warshould blood be drawn, and in his conviction that the influence ofWashington was the only sedative for the fevered political pulse. OnNovember 17 general orders were issued for the return of the army, adetachment of twenty-five hundred men only remaining in the West, undercommand of General Morgan. There were no further disturbances. The armyexpenses gave a circulating medium, and the farmers, having now themeans to pay their taxes, made no further complaints of the excise law. The total expense of the insurrection to the government was $800, 000. Mr. Gallatin returned with his wife from his western home early inNovember. He had been again chosen at the October elections to representFayette in the Pennsylvania Assembly. Moreover, at the same time, he waselected to represent the congressional district of Washington andAllegheny in the House of Representatives of the United States. Of fourcandidates Gallatin led the poll. Judge Brackenridge was next in order. No better proof is needed of the firm hold Gallatin had in the esteemand affection of the people. No doubt, either, that they understood hisprinciples, and relied upon his sincere attachment to the country he hadmade his home. When he appeared to take his seat in the Assembly he found that hiselection was contested. A petition was presented from thirty-fourpersons calling themselves peaceable citizens of Washington County, which stated that their votes had not been cast, because of thedisturbed condition of the country, and requested the Assembly todeclare the district to have been in a state of insurrection at the timeof the election, and to vacate the same. Mr. Gallatin knew the personwho procured the signatures, and also that the business originated inthe army. It was couched in terms insulting to all the members electfrom that district. After a protracted debate the election was declaredvoid on January 9, 1795. It was during this debate that Mr. Gallatinmade the celebrated speech called "The speech on the western elections, "in which occurs the confession already alluded to. Speaking of thePittsburgh resolutions of 1792, he said:-- "I might say that those resolutions did not originate at Pittsburgh, as they were almost a transcript of the resolutions adopted at Washington the preceding year; and I might even add that they were not introduced by me at the meeting. But I wish not to exculpate myself where I feel I have been to blame. The sentiments thus expressed were not illegal or criminal; yet I will freely acknowledge that they were violent, intemperate, and reprehensible. For, by attempting to render the office contemptible, they tended to diminish that respect for the execution of the laws which is essential to the maintenance of a free government; but whilst I feel regret at the remembrance, though no hesitation in this open confession of that _my only political sin_, let me add that the blame ought to fall where it is deserved. " This was the first speech of Gallatin that appeared in print--simple, lucid, convincing. The result of the new Assembly election wouldnaturally determine the right of the representatives of the contesteddistrict to their seats in Congress. Word had gone forth from theTreasury Department that Gallatin must not take his seat in Congress, and the whippers-in took heed of the desire of their chief. A line ofinstruction to Badollet, who lived at Greensburg in Washington County, across the river from Gallatin's residence, determined the matter. Gallatin warned him against the attempt that would be made to disaffectthat district because none of the representatives whose seats had beenvacated were residents of it. "Fall not into the snare, " he wrote; "takeup nobody from your own district; reëlect unanimously the same members, whether they be your favorites or not. It is necessary for the sake ofour general character. " Here is an instance of that true politicalinstinct which made of him "the ideal party leader. " His advice wasfollowed, and all the members were reëlected but one, who declined. Mr. Gallatin returned to his seat in the Assembly on February 14, andretained it until March 12, when he asked and obtained leave of absence. He does not appear to have taken further part in the session. Thesubjects, personal to himself, which occupied his attention during thesummer will be touched upon elsewhere. The pitiful business of the trial of the western prisoners needs onlybrief mention. In May Gallatin was summoned before the grand jury as awitness on the part of the government. The inquiry was finished May 12, and twenty-two bills were found for treason. Against Fayette two billswere found; one for misdemeanor in raising the liberty pole inUniontown. The petit jury was composed of twelve men from each of thecounties of Fayette, Washington, Allegheny, and Northumberland, but nonefrom Westmoreland. One man, a German from Westmoreland, who wasconcerned in a riot in Fayette, was found guilty and condemned to death. Mr. Gallatin, at the request of the jury, drew a petition to thePresident, who granted a pardon. Washington extended mercy to the onlyother offender who incurred the same penalty. To the close of this national episode, which, in its various phases ofincident and character, is of dramatic interest, Gallatin, through goodrepute and ill repute, stood manfully by his constituents and friends. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 3: Hamilton's _History of the Republic_, vi. 96. ] CHAPTER V MEMBER OF CONGRESS The first session of the fourth Congress began at Philadelphia onMonday, December 7, 1795. Washington was president, John Adamsvice-president. No one of Washington's original constitutional advisersremained in his cabinet. Jefferson retired from the State Department atthe beginning of the first session of the third Congress. EdmundRandolph, appointed in his place, resigned in a cloud of obloquy onAugust 19, 1795, and the portfolio was temporarily in charge of TimothyPickering, secretary of war. Hamilton resigned the department of theTreasury on January 31, 1795, and Oliver Wolcott, Jr. , succeeded him inthat most important of the early offices of the government. GeneralHenry Knox, the first secretary of war, pressed by his own privateaffairs and the interests of a large family, withdrew on December 28, 1794, and Timothy Pickering, the postmaster-general, had been appointedin his stead January 2, 1795. The Navy Department was not as yetestablished (the act creating it was passed April 30, 1798), but theaffairs which concerned this branch of the public service were underthe direction of the secretary of war. The administration of Washingtonwas drawing to a close. In the lately reconstructed cabinet, honest, patriotic, and thorough in administration, there was no man of shiningmark. The Senate was still in the hands of the Federal party. The baremajority which rejected Gallatin in the previous Congress had increasedto a sufficient strength for party purposes, but neither in the ranks ofthe administration nor the opposition was there in this augustassemblage one commanding figure. The House was nearly equally divided. The post of speaker was warmlycontested. Frederick A. Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, who had presidedover the House at the sessions of the first Congress, 1789-1791, andagain over the third, 1793-1795, was the candidate of the Federalists, but was defeated by Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey, whose views in thelast session had drifted him into sympathy with the Republicanopposition. The House, when full, numbered one hundred and five members, among whom were the ablest men in the country, veterans of debate versedin parliamentary law and skilled in the niceties of party fence. In theFederal ranks, active, conscious of their power, and proud of the greatparty which gloried in Washington as their chief, were Robert GoodloeHarper of South Carolina, Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts, RogerGriswold and Uriah Tracy of Connecticut, who led the front and held thewings of debate; while in reserve, broken in health but still in theprime of life, the pride of his party and of the House, was Fisher Ames, the orator of his day, whose magic tones held friend and foe in raptattention, while he mastered the reason or touched the heart. Upon thesemen the Federal party relied for the vindication of their principles andthe maintenance of their power. Supporting them were William Vans Murrayof Maryland, Goodrich and Hillhouse of Connecticut, William Smith ofSouth Carolina, Sitgreaves of Pennsylvania, and in the ranks awell-trained party. Opposed to this formidable array of Federal talentwas the Republican party, young, vigorous, and in majority, bold intheir ideas but as yet hesitating in purpose under the controlling ifnot overruling influence of the name and popularity of Washington. [Illustration: Rob. G. Harper] Hamilton watched the shifting fortunes of his party from a distance, andfound time in the pressure of a large legal practice to aid each branchof administration in turn with his advice. But though he still inspiredits councils, he no longer directed its course. In his Monticello homeJefferson waited till the fruit was ripe for falling, occasionallyimpatient that his followers did not more roughly shake the tree. The open rupture of Jefferson with Hamilton was the first great break inthe Federal administration; the lukewarmness of Madison, whose leaningswere always towards Jefferson, followed. At the head of the Republican opposition was Madison. Wise in council, convincing in argument, an able and even adroit debater, he was anadmirable leader, but his tactics were rather of the closet than thefield. He was wanting in the personal vigor which, scorning defense, delights in bold attack upon the central position of the enemy, andcarries opposition to the last limit of parliamentary aggression. Withthis mildness of character, though recognized as the leader of hisparty, he, as a habit, waived his control upon the floor of the House, and, reserving his interference for occasions when questions ofconstitutional interpretation arose, left the general direction ofdebate to William B. Giles of Virginia, a skillful tactician and a readydebater, keen, bold, and troubled by no scruples of modesty, respect, orreverence for friend or foe. Of equal vigor, but of more reserve, wasJohn Nicholas of Virginia--a man of strong intellect, reliable temper, and with the dignity of the old school. To these were now added AlbertGallatin and Edward Livingston. Edward Livingston, from New York, wasyoung, and as yet inexperienced in debate, but of remarkable powers. Hewas another example of that early intellectual maturity which was acharacteristic of the time. When Congress met, the all-disturbing question was the foreign policy ofthe United States. The influence of the French Revolution upon Americanpolitics was great. The Federalists, conservative in their views, heldthe new democratic doctrines in abhorrence, and used the terribleexcesses of the French Revolution with telling force against theirRepublican adversaries. The need of a strong government was held up asthe only alternative to anarchy. In the struggle which now united Europeagainst the French republic, the sympathies of the Federalists were withEngland. Hence they were accused of a desire to establish a monarchy inthe United States, and were ignominiously called the British party. Shays's Rebellion in Massachusetts and the Whiskey Insurrection inPennsylvania gave point to their arguments. On the other side was the large and powerful party which, throughout thewar in the Continental Congress, under the confederation in the nationalconvention which framed and in the state conventions which ratified theConstitution, had opposed the tendency to centralization, but had beendefeated by the yearning of the body of the plain people for agovernment strong enough at least to secure them peace at home andprotection abroad. This natural craving being satisfied, the oldaversion to class distinctions returned. The dread of an aristocracy, which did not exist even in name, threw many of the supporters of theConstitution into the ranks of its opponents, who were democrats in nameand in fact. The proclamation of the rights of man awoke this latentsentiment, and aroused an intense sympathy for the people of France. This again was strengthened by the memory, still warm, of the servicesof France in the cause of independence. Lafayette, who represented thetrue French republican spirit, and held a place in the affections of theAmerican people second only to that of Washington, was languishing, aprisoner to the coalition of sovereigns, in an Austrian dungeon. Jefferson returned from France deeply imbued with the spirit of theFrench Revolution. His views were warmly received by his politicalfriends, and the principles of the new school of politics were rapidlyspread by an eager band of acolytes, whose ranks were recruited untilthe feeble opposition became a powerful party. Democratic societies, organized on the plan of the French Jacobin clubs, extended Frenchinfluence, and no doubt were aided in a practical way by Genet, whoserecent marriage with the daughter of George Clinton, the head of theRepublican party in New York, was an additional link in the bond ofalliance. During the second session of the third Congress Madison had led theopposition in a mild manner; party lines were not yet strongly defined, and the influence of Washington was paramount. In the interim betweenits expiration and the meeting of the fourth Congress in December, thecountry was wildly agitated by the Jay treaty. This document notreaching America until after the adjournment of Congress in March, Washington convened the Senate in extra and secret session on June 1, and the treaty was ratified by barely two thirds majority. Imprudentlywithheld for a time, it was at last made public by Senator Mason ofVirginia, one of the ten who voted against its ratification. Itdisappointed the people, and was denounced as a weak and ignominioussurrender of American rights. The merchants of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston protested against it in public meetings. Itwas burned, and the English flag was trailed in the dust before theBritish minister's house at the capital. Jay was hung in effigy, andHamilton, who ventured to defend the treaty at a public meeting, wasstoned. To add to the popular indignation that the impressment ofAmerican seamen had been ignored in the instrument, came the alarmingnews that the British ministry had renewed their order to seize vesselscarrying provisions to France, whither a large part of the Americangrain crop was destined. On the other hand, Randolph, the secretary ofstate, had compromised the dignity of his official position in hisintercourse with Fauchet, the late French ambassador, whosecorrespondence with his government, thrown overboard from a Frenchpacket, had been fished up by a British man-of-war, and forwarded toGrenville, by whom it was returned to America. Thus petard answeredpetard, and the charge by the Republicans upon the Federalists of takingBritish gold was returned with interest, and the accusation of receivingbribe money was brought close home to Randolph, if not proved. Hard names were not wanting either; Jefferson was ridiculed as a_sans-culotte_ and red-legged Democrat. Nor was Washington spared. Hewas charged with an assumption of royal airs, with political hypocrisy, and even with being a public defaulter; a charge which no one dared tofather, and which was instantly shown to be false and malicious. It wasmade by Bache in "The Aurora, " a contemptible sheet after the fashion of"L'Ami du Peuple, " Marat's Paris organ. Such was the temper of the people when the House of Representatives meton December 7, 1795. The speaker, Dayton, was strongly anti-British infeeling. He was a family connection of Burr, but there is no reason tosuppose that he was under the personal influence of that adroit andunscrupulous partisan. On the 8th President Washington, according to hiscustom, addressed both houses of Congress. This day for the first timethe gallery was thrown open to the public. When the reply of the Senatecame up for consideration, the purpose of the Republicans was at oncemanifest. They would not consent to the approbation it expressed of theconduct of the administration. They would not admit that the causes ofexternal discord had been extinguished "on terms consistent with ournational honor and safety, " or indeed extinguished at all, and theywould not acknowledge that the efforts of the President to establish thepeace, freedom, and prosperity of the country had been "enlightened andfirm. " Nevertheless the address was agreed to by a vote of 14 to 8. In the House a resolution was moved that a respectful address ought tobe presented. The opposition immediately declared itself. Objection wasmade to an address, and in its stead the appointment of a committee towait personally on the President was moved. The covert intent wasapparent through the thin veil of expediency, but the Republicans as abody were unwilling to go this length in discourtesy, and did notsupport the motion. Only eighteen members voted for it. Messrs. Madison, Sedgwick, and Sitgreaves, the committee to report an address, brought ina draft on the 14th which was ordered to be printed for the use of themembers. The next day the work of dissection was begun by an objectionto the words "probably unequaled spectacle of national happiness"applied to the country, and the words "undiminished confidence" appliedto the President. The words "probably unequaled" were stricken outwithout decided opposition by a vote of forty-three to thirty-nine. Opinions were divided on that subject even in the ranks of theFederalists. The cause of dissatisfaction was the Jay treaty. Theaddress was recommitted without a division. The next day Madison broughtin the address with a modification of the clause objected to. In its newform the "very great share" of Washington's zealous and faithfulservices in securing the national happiness was acknowledged. Theaddress thus amended was unanimously adopted. In this encounter nothingwas gained by the Republicans. The people would not have endured an opendeclaration of want of confidence in Washington. But the entering wedgeof the new policy was driven. The treaty was to be assailed. It was, however, the pretext, not the cause of the struggle, the real object ofwhich was to extend the powers of the House, and subordinate theexecutive to its will. Before beginning the main attack the Republicansdeveloped their general plan in their treatment of secondary issues; ofthese the principal was a tightening of the control of the House overthe Treasury Department. In this Mr. Gallatin took the lead. His first measure was theappointment of a standing Committee of Finance to superintend thegeneral operations of this nature, --an efficient aid to the Treasurywhen there is accord between the administration and the House, anannoying censor when the latter is in opposition. This was the beginningof the Ways and Means Committee, which soon became and has sincecontinued to be the most important committee of the House. To it were tobe referred all reports from the Treasury Department, all propositionsrelating to revenue, and it was to report on the state of the publicdebt, revenue, and expenditures. The committee was appointed withoutopposition. It consisted of fourteen members, William Smith, Sedgwick, Madison, Baldwin, Gallatin, Bourne, Gilman, Murray, Buck, Gilbert, Isaac Smith, Blount, Patten, and Hillhouse, and represented the strengthof both political parties. To this committee the estimates ofappropriations for the support of the government for the coming yearwere referred. The next step was to bring to the knowledge of the Housethe precise condition of the Treasury. To this end the secretary wascalled upon to furnish comparative views of the commerce and tonnage ofthe country for every year from the formation of the department in 1789, with tables of the exports and imports, foreign and domestic, separatelystated, and with a division of the nationality of the carrying vessels. Later, comparative views were demanded of the receipts and expendituresfor each year; the receipts under the heads of Loans, Revenue in itsvarious forms, and others in their several divisions; the expenditures, also, to be classified under the heads of Civil List, ForeignIntercourse, Military Establishment, Indian Department, Naval, etc. Finally a call was made for a statement of the annual appropriations andthe applications of them by the Treasury. The object of Mr. Gallatin wasto establish the expenses of the government in each department ofservice on a permanent footing for which annual appropriations should bemade, and for any extraordinary expenditure to insist on a specialappropriation for the stated object and none other. By keepingconstantly before the House this distinction between the permanent fundand temporary exigencies, he accustomed it to take a practical businessview of its legislative duties, and the people to understand theprinciples he endeavored to apply. In a debate at the beginning of the session, on a bill for establishingtrading houses with the Indians, Mr. Gallatin showed his hand bydeclaring that he would not consent to appropriate any part of the warfunds for the scheme; nor, in view of the need of additional permanentfunds for the discharge of the public debt, would he vote for the billat all, unless there was to be a reduction in the expense of themilitary establishment; and he would not be diverted from his purposealthough Mr. Madison advocated the bill because of its extremelybenevolent object. The Federal leaders saw clearly to what this doctrinewould bring them, and met it in the beginning. The first struggleoccurred when the appropriations for the service of 1796 were broughtbefore the House. Beginning with a discussion upon the salaries of theofficers of the mint, the debate at once passed to the principle ofappropriations. The Federalists insisted that a discussion of the meritsof establishments was not in order when the appropriations were underconsideration; that the House ought not, by withholding appropriations, to destroy establishments formed by the whole legislature, that is, bythe Senate and House; that the House should vote for the appropriationsagreeably to the laws already made. This view was sanctioned bypractice. Mr. Gallatin immediately opposed this as an alarming anddangerous principle. He insisted that there was a certain discretionarypower in the House to appropriate or not to appropriate for any objectwhatever, whether that object were authorized or not. It was a powervested in the House for the purpose of checking the other branches ofgovernment whenever necessary. He claimed that this power was shown inthe making of yearly instead of permanent appropriations for the civillist and military establishments, yet when the House desired tostrengthen public credit it had rendered the appropriation for thoseobjects permanent and not yearly. It was, therefore, "contradictory tosuppose that the House was bound to do a certain act at the same timethat they were exercising the discretionary power of voting upon it. "The debate determined nothing, but it is of interest as the firstdeclaration in Congress of the supremacy of the House ofRepresentatives. The great debate which, from the principles involved in it as well asthe argument and oratory with which they were discussed, made thissession of the House famous, was on the treaty with Great Britain. Thiswas the first foreign treaty made since the establishment of theConstitution. The treaty was sent in to the House "for the informationof Congress, " by the President, on March 1, with notice of itsratification at London in October. The next day Mr. Edward Livingstonmoved that the President be requested to send in a copy of theinstructions to the minister of the United States who negotiated thetreaty, together with the correspondence and other documents. A few dayslater he amended his resolution by adding an exception of such of saidpapers as any existing negotiations rendered improper to disclose. TheSenate in its ratification of the treaty suspended the operation of theclause regulating the trade with the West Indies, on which Great Britainstill imposed the old colonial restriction, and recommended thePresident to open negotiations on this subject; and in fact suchnegotiations were in progress. The discussion was opened on the Federalside by a request to the gentlemen in favor of the call to give theirreasons. Mr. Gallatin supported the resolution, and expressed surpriseat any objection, considering that the exception of the mover renderedthe resolution of itself unexceptionable. The President had not informedthe House of the reasons upon which the treaty was based. If he did notthink proper to give the information sought for, he would say so tothem. A question might arise whether the House should get at thosesecrets even if the President refused the request, but that was not thepresent question. In reply to Mr. Murray, who asserted that the treatywas the supreme law of the land, and that there was no discretionarypower in the House except on the question of its constitutionality, Mr. Gallatin said that Congress possessed the power of regulatingtrade, --perhaps the treaty-making power clashed with that, --andconcluded by observing that the House was the grand inquest of thenation, and that it had the right to call for papers on which to groundan impeachment. At present he did not contemplate an exercise of thatright. Mr. Madison said it was now to be decided whether the generalpower of making treaties supersedes the powers of the House ofRepresentatives, particularly specified in the Constitution, so as togive to the executive all deliberative will and leave the House only anexecutive and ministerial instrumental agency; and he proposed to amendthe resolution so as to read, "except so much of said papers as in his(the President's) judgment it may be inconsistent with the interest ofthe United States at this time to disclose. " But his motion was defeatedby a vote of 47 nays to 37 yeas. The discussion being resumed in committee of the whole, the expressionsof opinion were free on both sides, but so moderate that one of themembers made comment on the calmness and temper of the discussion. Nicholas said that, if the treaty were not the law of the land, thePresident should be impeached. But the parts of the treaty into whichthe President had not the right to enter, he could not make law byproclamation. Swanwick supported the call as one exercised by the Houseof Commons. On the Federal side, Harper said that the papers were notnecessary, and, being unnecessary, the demand was an improper andunconstitutional interference with the executive department. If hethought them necessary, he would change the milk and water style of theresolutions. In that case the House had a right to them and he had noidea of requesting as a favor what should be demanded as a right. Gallatin, he said, had declared that it was a request, but that in caseof refusal it might be considered whether demand should not be made, andhe charged that when, at the time the motion was made, the question hadbeen asked, what use was to be made of the papers, Gallatin did not andcould not reply. Mr. Gallatin answered that whether the House had adiscretionary power, or whether it was bound by the instrument, therewas no impropriety in calling for the papers. He hoped to have avoidedthe constitutional question in the motion, but as the gentlemen had comeforward on that ground, he had no objection to rest the decision of theconstitutional power of Congress on the fate of the present question. Hewould therefore state that the House had a right to ask for the papers. The constitutional question being thus squarely introduced, Mr. Gallatinmade an elaborate speech, which, from its conciseness in statement, strength of argument, and wealth of citations of authority, was, to saythe least, inferior to no other of those drawn out in this memorablestruggle. In its course he compared the opinion of those who had opposedthe resolution to the saying of an English bishop, that the people hadnothing to do with the law but to obey it, and likened their conduct tothe servile obedience of a Parliament of Paris under the old order ofthings. He concluded with the hope that the dangerous doctrine, that therepresentatives of the people have not the right to consult theirdiscretion when about exercising powers delegated by the Constitution, would receive its death-blow. Griswold replied in what by common consentwas the strongest argument on the Federal side. The call, at first viewsimple, had, he said, become a grave matter. The gist of his objectionto it was that the people in their Constitution had made the treatypower paramount to the legislative, and had deposited that power withthe President and Senate. Mr. Madison once more rose to the constitutional question. He said that, if the passages of the Constitution be taken literally, they must clash. The word _supreme_, as applied to treaties, meant as over the stateConstitutions, and not over the Constitution and laws of the UnitedStates. He supported Mr. Gallatin's view of the congressional power ascoöperative with the treaty power. A construction which made the treatypower omnipotent he thought utterly inadmissible in a constitutionmarked throughout with limitations and checks. Mr. Gallatin again claimed the attention of the House, as the originalquestion of a call for papers had resolved itself into a discussion onthe treaty-making power. In the treaty of peace of 1783 there werethree articles which might be supposed to interfere with the legislativepowers of the several States: 1st, that which related to the payment ofdebts; 2d, the provision for no future confiscations; 3d, therestitution of estates already confiscated. The first could not bedenied. "Those, " he said, "might be branded with the epithet ofdisorganizers, who threatened a dissolution of the Union in case themeasures they dictated were not obeyed; and he knew, although he did notascribe it to any member of the House, that men high in office andreputation had industriously spread an alarm that the Union would bedissolved if the present motion was carried. " He took the ground that atreaty is not valid, and does not bind the nation as such, till it hasreceived the sanction of the House of Representatives. Mr. Harper closedthe argument on the Federal side. On March 24 the resolution calling forthe papers was carried by a vote of yeas 62, nays 37, absent 5, thespeaker 1 (105). Livingston and Gallatin were appointed to present therequest to the President. On March 30 the President returned answer to the effect that heconsidered it a dangerous precedent to admit this right in the House;that the assent of the House was not necessary to the validity of atreaty; and he absolutely refused compliance with the request. Theletter of instructions to Jay would bear the closest examination, butthe cabinet scorned to take shelter behind it, and it was on theirrecommendation that the President's refusal was explicit. This message, in spite of the opposition of the Federalists, was referred, by a voteof 55 yeas to 37 nays, to the committee of the whole. This referenceinvolved debate. In his opposition to this motion, Mr. Harper said thatthe motives of the friends of the resolution had been avowed by the"gentleman who led the business, from Pennsylvania;" whereby it appearsthat Mr. Gallatin led the Republicans in the first debate. During thishis first session he shared this distinction with Mr. Madison. At thenext he became the acknowledged leader of the Republican party. On April 3 the debate was resumed. This second debate was led by Mr. Madison, who considered two points: 1st, the application for papers; 2d, the constitutional rights of Congress. His argument was of course calmand dispassionate after his usual manner. The contest ended on April 7, with the adoption of two resolutions: 1st, that the power of makingtreaties is exclusively with the President and Senate, and the House donot claim an agency in making them, or ratifying them when made; 2d, that when made a treaty must depend for the execution of itsstipulations on a law or laws to be passed by Congress; and the Househave a right to deliberate and determine the expediency or inexpediencyof carrying treaties into effect. These resolutions were carried by avote of 63 to 27. There was now a truce of a few days. In the meanwhile the country wasagitated to an extent which, if words mean anything, really threatenedan attempt at dissolution of the Union, if not civil war itself. Theobjections on the part of the Republicans were to the treaty as a whole. Their sympathies were with France in her struggle for liberty anddemocratic institutions and against England, and their real and properground of antipathy to the instrument lay in its concession of the rightof capture of French property in American vessels, whilst the treatywith France forbade her to seize British property in American vessels. The objections in detail had been formulated at the Boston publicmeeting the year before. The commercial cities were disturbed by theinterference with the carrying trade; the entire coast, by the search ofvessels and the impressment of seamen; the agricultural regions, by theclosing of the outlet for their surplus product; the upland districts, by the stoppage of the export of timber. But the country was without anavy, was ill prepared for war, and the security of the frontier wasinvolved in the restoration of the posts still held by the British. The political situation was uncertain if not absolutely menacing. Thethreats of disunion were by no means vague. The Pendleton Society inVirginia had passed secession resolutions, and a similar dispositionappeared in other States. While the treaty was condemned in the UnitedStates, British statesmen were not of one opinion as to the advantagesthey had gained by Grenville's diplomacy. Jay's desire, expressed toRandolph, "to manage so that in case of wars our people should be unitedand those of England divided, " was not wholly disappointed. And there ison record the expression of Lord Sheffield, when he heard of the rupturein 1812, "We have now a complete opportunity of getting rid of that mostimpolitic treaty of 1794, when Lord Grenville was so perfectly duped byJay. "[4] Washington's ratification of the treaty went far to correct thehasty judgment of the people, and to reconcile them to it as a choice ofevils. Supported by this modified tone of public opinion, theFederalists determined to press the necessary appropriation bills forcarrying the treaties into effect. Besides the Jay treaty there werealso before the House the Wayne treaty with the Indians, the Pinckneytreaty with Spain, and the treaty with Algiers. With these three theHouse was entirely content, and the country was impatient for theirimmediate operation. Wayne's treaty satisfied the inhabitants on thefrontier. The settlers along the Ohio, among whom was Gallatin'sconstituency, were eager to avail themselves of the privileges grantedby that of Pinckney, which was a triumph of diplomacy; and all America, while ready to beard the British lion, seems to have been in terror ofthe Dey of Algiers. Mr. Sedgwick offered a resolution providing for theexecution of the four treaties. Mr. Gallatin insisted on and received aseparate consideration of each. That with Great Britain was reservedtill the rest were disposed of. It was taken up on April 14. Mr. Madisonopened the debate. He objected to the treaty as wanting in realreciprocity; 2d, in insufficiency of its provisions as to the rights ofneutrals; 3d, because of its commercial restrictions. Other Republicanleaders followed, making strong points of the position in which thetreaty placed the United States with regard to France, to whom it wasbound by a treaty of commercial alliance, which was a part of thecontract of aid in the Revolutionary War; and also of the possibleinjustice which would befall American claimants in the British courts ofadmiralty. The Federalists clung to their ground, defended the treaty as the bestattainable, and held up as the alternative a war, for which the refusalof the Republicans to support the military establishment and build up anavy left the country unprepared. In justice to Jay, his significantwords to Randolph, while doubtful of success in his negotiation, shouldbe remembered: "Let us hope for the best and prepare for the worst. " Tothe red flag which the Federalists held up, Mr. Gallatin replied, accepting the consequences of war if it should come, and gave voice tothe extreme dissatisfaction of the Virginia radicals with Jay and thenegotiation. He charged that the cry of war and threats of adissolution of the government were designed for an impression on thetimidity of the House. "It was through the fear of being involved in awar that the negotiation with Great Britain had originated; under theimpression of fear the treaty had been negotiated and signed; a fear ofthe same danger, that of war, had promoted its ratification; and nowevery imaginary mischief which could alarm our fears was conjured up inorder to deprive us of that discretion which this House thought they hada right to exercise, and in order to force us to carry the treaty intoeffect. " He insisted on the important principle that 'free ships makefree goods, ' and complained of its abandonment by the negotiators. In a reply to this attack upon Jay, whose whole life was a refutation ofthe charge of personal or moral timidity, Mr. Tracy passed the limits ofparliamentary courtesy. "The people, " he said, "where he was mostacquainted, whatever might be the character of other parts of the Union, were not of the stamp to cry hosannah to-day and crucify to-morrow; theywill not dance around a whiskey pole to-day and curse their government, and upon hearing of a military force sneak into a swamp. No, " said he, "my immediate constituents, whom I very well know, understand theirrights and will defend them, and if they find the government will notprotect them, they will attempt at least to protect themselves;" and heconcluded, "I cannot be thankful to that gentleman for coming all theway from Geneva to give Americans a character for pusillanimity. " Heheld it madness to suppose that if the treaty were defeated war could beavoided. Called to order, he said that he might have been too personal, and asked pardon of the gentleman and of the House. The brilliant crown of the debate was the impassioned speech of FisherAmes, the impression of which upon the House and the crowded gallery isone of the traditions of American oratory. The scene, as it has beenhanded down to us, resembles, in all save its close, that whichParliament presented when Chatham made his last and dying appeal. Likethe great earl, Ames rose pale and trembling from illness to address aHouse angry and divided. Defending himself and the Federal party againstthe charge of being in English interest, he said, "Britain has noinfluence, and can have none. She has enough--and God forbid she evershould have more. France, possessed of popular enthusiasm, of partyattachments, has had and still has _too much influence_ on ourpolitics, --any foreign influence is too much and ought to be destroyed. I detest the man and disdain the spirit that can ever bend to a meansubserviency to the views of any nation. It is enough to be American. That character comprehends our duties and ought to engross ourattachments. " Considering the probable influence on the Indian tribes ofthe rejection of the treaty, he said, "By rejecting the Posts we lightthe savage fires, we bind the victims. . . . I can fancy that I listen tothe yells of savage vengeance and shrieks of torture. Already they seemto sigh in the west wind, --already they mingle with every echo from themountains. " His closing words again bring Chatham to mind. "Yet I haveperhaps as little personal interest in the event as any one here. Thereis, I believe, no member who will not think his chance to be a witnessof the consequences greater than mine. If, however, the vote should passto reject, and a spirit should rise, as rise it will, with the publicdisorders to make confusion worse confounded, even I, slender and almostbroken as my hold upon life is, may outlive the government andConstitution of my country. " This appeal, supported by the petitions andletters which poured in upon the House, left no doubt of the result. Anadjournment was carried, but the speech was decisive. The next day, April 29, it was resolved to be expedient to make the necessaryappropriations to carry the treaty into effect. The vote stood 49 ayesto 49 nays, and was decided in the affirmative by Muhlenberg, who was inthe chair. But the House would not be satisfied without an expression ofcondemnation of the instrument. On April 30 it was resolved that in theopinion of the House the treaty was objectionable. While Mr. Gallatin in this debate rose to the highest rank ofstatesmanship, he showed an equal mastery of other important subjectswhich engaged the attention of the House during the session. He wasearnest for the protection of the frontier, but had no good opinion ofthe Indians. "Twelve years had passed, " he said, "since the peace of1783; ever since that time he had lived on the frontier of Pennsylvania. Not a year of this period had passed, whether at war or peace, that somemurders had not been committed by the Indians, and yet not an act ofinvasion or provocation by the inhabitants. " In the matter ofimpressment of American seamen, he urged the lodging of sufficient powerin the executive. Men had been impressed, and he held it to be the dutyof the House to take notice of it by war or negotiation. In theestablishment of land offices for the sale of the western lands hebrought to bear upon legislation his practical experience. He urged thatthe tracts for sale be divided, and distinctions be made between largepurchasers and actual settlers--proposing that the large tracts besold at the seat of government, and the small on the territory itself. He instanced the fact that in 1792 all the land west of the Ohio wasdisposed of at 1_s_. 6_d_. The acre, and a week afterwards was resold at$1. 50, so that the money which should have gone into the treasury wentto the pockets of speculators. He also suggested that the proceeds ofthe sales should be a fund to pay the public debt, and that the publicstock should always be received at its value in payment for land; a planby which the land would be brought directly to the payment of the debt, as foreigners would gladly exchange the money obligations of thegovernment for land. On the question of taxation he declared himself infavor of direct taxes, and held that a tax on houses and lands could belevied without difficulty. He would satisfy the people that it was topay off the public debt, which he held to be a public curse. Hesupported the excise duty on stills under regulations which would avoidthe watching of persons and houses and inspection by officers, andproposed that licenses be granted for the time applied for. The military establishment he opposed in every way, attacked theprinciple on which it was based, and fought every appropriation indetail, from the pay of a major-general to the cost of uniforms for theprivate soldiers. He was not afraid of the army, he said, but did notthink that it was necessary for the support of the government ordangerous to the liberties of the people; moreover, it cost six hundredthousand dollars a year, which was a sum of consequence in the conditionof the finances. The navy found no more favor in his eyes. He denied that fleets werenecessary to protect commerce. He challenged its friends to show, fromthe history of any nation in Europe as from our own, that commerce andthe navy had gone hand in hand. There was no nation except GreatBritain, he said, whose navy had any connection with commerce. Navieswere instruments of power more calculated to annoy the trade of othernations than to protect that of the nations to which they belonged. Theprice England had paid for her navy was a debt of three hundred millionsof pounds sterling. He opposed appropriations even for the threefrigates, United States, Constitution, and Constellation, --theconstruction of which had been ordered, --the germs of that navy whichwas later to set his theory at naught, redeem the honor of the flag, protect our commerce, and release the country and the civilized worldfrom ignominious tribute to the Mediterranean pirates, who werepropitiated in this very session only at the cost of a million ofdollars to the Treasury of the United States, and by the gift of afrigate. In the debate over the payment of the sum of five millions, which theUnited States Bank had demanded from the government, the greatest partof which had been advanced on account of appropriations, he lamented thenecessity, but urged the liquidation. This was the occasion of anotherpersonal encounter. In reply to a charge of Gallatin that theFederalists were in favor of debt, Sedgwick alluded to Gallatin's partin the Whiskey Insurrection, and said that none of those gentlemen whomGallatin had charged with "an object to perpetuate and increase thepublic debt" had been known to have combined "in every measure whichmight obstruct the operation of law, " nor had declared to the world"that the men who would accept of the offices to perform the necessaryfunctions of government were lost to every sense of virtue;" "that fromthem was to be withheld every comfort of life which depended on thoseduties which as men and fellow-citizens we owe to each other. If, " hesaid, "the gentlemen had been guilty of such nefarious practices, therewould have been a sound foundation for the charge brought against them. "Gallatin made no reply. This was the one political sin he hadacknowledged. His silence was his expiation. The Treasury Department and its control, past and present, was theobject of his unceasing criticism. In April, 1796, he said, "Thesituation of the gentleman at the head of the department [Wolcott] wasdoubtless delicate and unpleasant; it was the more so when compared withthat of his predecessor [Hamilton]. Both indeed had the same power toborrow money when necessary; but that power, which was efficient in thehands of the late secretary and liberally enough used by him, was becomeuseless at present. He wished the present secretary to be extricatedfrom his present difficulty. Nothing could be more painful than to be atthe head of that department with an empty treasury, a revenue inadequateto the expenses, and no means to borrow. " Nevertheless he feared that ifit were declared that the payment of the debt incurred by themselveswere to be postponed till the present generation were over, it mightwell be expected that the principle thus adopted by them would becherished, that succeeding legislatures and administrations would followin their steps, and that they were laying the foundations of thatnational curse, --a growing and perpetual debt. On the last day of the session W. Smith had challenged the correctnessof Gallatin's charge that there had been an increase of the public debtby five millions under the present administration, and claimed thatthere were errors in Gallatin's statement of more than four and a halfmillions. Gallatin defended his figures. At this day it is impossible todetermine the merits of this dispute. One incident of this session deserves mention as showing the distaste ofGallatin for anything like personal compliment, stimulated in thisinstance, perhaps, by his sense of Washington's dislike to himself. Ithad been the habit of the House since the commencement of the governmentto adjourn for a time on February 22, Washington's birthday, thatmembers might pay their respects to the President. When the motion wasmade that the House adjourn for _half an hour_, the Republicansobjected, and Gallatin, nothing loath to "bell the cat, " moved that thewords "half an hour" be struck out. His amendment was lost without adivision. The motion to adjourn was then put and lost by a vote of 50nays to 38 ayes. The House waited on the President at the close of thebusiness of the day. On June 1 closed this long and memorable session, in which the assaults of the Republicans upon the administration were sopersistent and embarrassing as to justify Wolcott's private note toHamilton, April 29, 1796, that "unless a radical change of opinion canbe effected in the Southern States, the existing establishments will notlast eighteen months. The influence of Messrs. Gallatin, Madison, andJefferson must be diminished, or the public affairs will be brought to astand. " Here is found an early recognition of the political"triumvirate, " and Gallatin is the first named. Gallatin seems to have had some doubts as to his reëlection to Congress. As he did not reside in the Washington and Allegheny district, his namewas not mentioned as a candidate, and, to use his own words, he expectedto "be gently dropped without the parade of a resignation. " In hisdistaste at separation from his wife, the desire to abandon public lifegrew upon him. But personal abuse of him in the newspapers exasperatinghis friends, he was taken up again in October, and he arrived on thescene, he says, too late to prevent it. He had no hope, however, ofsuccess, and was resolved to resign a seat to which he was in every wayindifferent. "Ambition, love of power, " he wrote to his wife on October16, he had never felt, and he added, if vanity ever made one of theingredients which impelled him to take an active part in public life, ithad for many years altogether vanished away. He was neverthelessreëlected by the district he had represented. * * * * * The second session of the fourth Congress began on December 5, 1796. Atthe beginning of this session Mr. Gallatin took the reins of theRepublican party, and held them till its close. The position of theFederalists had been strengthened before the country by the energy ofWashington, who, impatient of the delays which Great Britain opposed tothe evacuation of the posts, marched troops to the frontier and obtainedtheir surrender. Adet, the new French minister, had dashed the feelingof attachment for France by his impudent notice to the President thatthe dissatisfaction of France would last until the executive of theUnited States should return to sentiments and measures more conformableto the interests and friendships of the two nations. In SeptemberWashington issued his Farewell Address, in which he gave the famouswarning against foreign complications, which, approved by the country, has since remained its policy; but neither the prospect of his finalwithdrawal from the political and official field, nor the advice ofJefferson to moderate their zeal, availed to calm the bitterness of theultra Republicans in the House. The struggle over the answer to the President's message, which FisherAmes on this occasion reported, was again renewed. An effort was made tostrike out the passages complimentary to Washington and expressingregret at his approaching retirement. Giles, who made the motion, wentso far as to say that he 'wished him to retire, and that this was themoment for his retirement, that the government could do very wellwithout him, and that he would enjoy more happiness in his retirementthan he possibly could in his present situation. ' For his part he didnot consider Washington's administration either "wise or firm, " as theaddress said. Gallatin made a distinction between the administration andthe legislature, and in lieu of the words, wise, firm, and patrioticadministration, proposed to address the compliment directly to thewisdom, firmness, and patriotism of Washington. But Ames defended hisreport, and it was adopted by a vote of 67 to 12. Gallatin voted withthe majority, but Livingston, Giles, and Macon held out with the smallband of disaffected, among whom it is amusing also to find AndrewJackson, who took his seat at this Congress to represent Tennessee, which had been admitted as a State at the last session. [5] The indebtedness of the States to the general government, in the oldbalance sheet, on the payment of which Gallatin insisted, was a subjectof difference between the Senate and the House. Gallatin was appointedchairman of the committee of conference on the part of the House. Thereduction of the military establishment, which he wished to bring downto the footing of 1792, was again insisted upon. Gallatin hereingeniously argued against the necessity for the number of menproposed, that it was a mere matter of opinion, and if it was a matterof opinion, it was not strictly necessary, because if necessary it wasno longer a matter of opinion. Naval appropriations were also opposed, on the ground that a navy was prejudicial to commerce. Taxation, directand indirect, and compensation to public officers were also subjects ofdebate at this session. On the subject of appropriations, general orspecial, he was uncompromising. He charged upon the Treasury Departmentthat notwithstanding the distribution of the appropriations they thoughtthemselves at liberty to take money from an item where there was asurplus and apply it to another where it was wanted. To check suchirregularity, he secured the passage of a resolution ordering that "theseveral sums shall be solely applied to the objects for which they arerespectively appropriated, " and tacked it to the appropriation bill. TheSenate added an amendment removing the restriction, but Gallatin andNicholas insisting on its retention, the House supported them by a voteof 52 to 36, and the Senate receded. Notwithstanding the apparent enthusiasm of the House in the early partof the session, when the tricolor of France, a present from the Frenchgovernment to the United States, was sent by Washington to Congress, tobe deposited with the archives of the nation, French influence was onthe wane. The common sense of the country got the better of itspassion. In the reaction the Federalists regained the popular favor fora season. Whatever latent sympathy the French people may have had for America asthe nation which set the example of resistance to arbitrary rule, theFrench government certainly was moved by no enthusiasm for abstractrights. Its only object was to check the power of their ancient enemy, and deprive it of its empire beyond the seas. Nevertheless, France didcontribute materially to American success. The American government andpeople acknowledged the value of her assistance, and, in spite of theprejudices of race, there was a strong bond of sympathy between the twonations; and when, in her turn, France, in 1789, threw off the feudalyoke, she expected and she received the sympathy of America. Beyond thisthe government and the people of the United States could not and wouldnot go. The position of France in the winter of 1796-97 was peculiar. She was at war with the two most formidable powers of Europe, --Austriaand England, the one the mistress of Central Europe, the other supremeruler of the seas. The United States was the only maritime power whichcould be opposed to Great Britain. The French government determined tosecure American aid by persuasion, if possible, otherwise by threat. TheDirectory indiscreetly appealed from the American government to theAmerican people, forgetting that in representative governments these areone. Nor was the precedent cited in defense of this unusualproceeding--namely, the appeal of the American colonists to the peopleof England, Ireland, and Canada to take part in the struggle against theBritish government--pertinent; for that was an appeal to sufferers undera common yoke. The enthusiasm awakened in France by the dramatic reception of theAmerican flag, presented by Monroe to the French Convention, wassomewhat dampened by the cooler manner with which Congress received thetricolor, and was entirely dashed by the moderation of the reply of theHouse to Washington's message. The consent of the House to theappropriations to carry out the Jay Treaty decided the French Directoryto suspend diplomatic relations with the United States. The marveloussuccesses of Bonaparte in Italy over the Austrian army encouraged Barrasto bolder measures. The Directory not only refused to receive Charles C. Pinckney, the new American minister, but gave him formal notice toretire from French territory, and even threatened him with subjection topolice jurisdiction. In view of this alarming situation, President Adamsconvened Congress. The first session of the fifth Congress began at Philadelphia on Monday, May 15, 1797. Jonathan Dayton was reëlected speaker of the House. Somenew men now appeared on the field of national debate: Samuel Sewall andHarrison Gray Otis from Massachusetts, James A. Bayard from Delaware, and John Rutledge, Jr. , from South Carolina. Madison and Fisher Ames didnot return, and their loss was serious to their respective parties. Madison was incontestably the finest reasoning power, and Ames, as anorator, had no equal in our history until Webster appeared to dwarf allother fame beside his matchless eloquence. Parties were nicely balanced, the nominal majority being on the Federal side. Harper and Griswoldretained the lead of the administration party. Giles still led theRepublican opposition, but Gallatin was its main stay, always ready, always informed, and already known to be in the confidence of Jefferson, its moving spirit. The President's message was, as usual, the touchstoneof party. The debate upon it unmasked opinions. It was to all intents awar message, since it asked provision for war. The action of France leftno alternative. The Republicans recognized this as well as theFederalists. They must either respond heartily to the appeal of theexecutive to maintain the national honor, or come under the charge theyhad brought against the Federalists of sympathy with an enemy. At firstthey sought a middle ground. Admitting that the rejection of ourminister and the manner of it, if followed by a refusal of allnegotiation on the subject of mutual complaints, would put an end toevery friendly relation between the two countries, they still hoped thatit was only a suspension of diplomatic intercourse. Hence, in responseto the assurance in the message that an attempt at negotiation wouldfirst be made, Nicholas moved an amendment in this vein. The Federalistsopposed all interference with the executive, but the Republicans tookadvantage of the debate to clear themselves of any taint of unpatrioticmotives in their semi-opposition. The Federalists, repudiating thecharge of British influence, held up Genet to condemnation, as making anappeal to the people, Fauchet as fomenting an insurrection, and Adet asinsulting the government. The Republicans retorted upon them Grenville'sproposition to Mr. Pinckney, to support the American government againstthe dangerous Jacobin factions which sought to overturn it. Gallatindeprecated bringing the conduct of foreign relations into debate, andhoped that the majority would resist the rashness which would drive thecountry into war; he claimed that a disposition should be shown to putFrance on an equal footing with other nations. He would offer anultimatum to France. Harper closed the debate in a powerful andbrilliant speech, opposing the amendment because he was for peace, andbecause peace could only be maintained by showing France that we werepreparing for war. So the rival leaders based their opposite action on acommon ground. Dayton, the speaker, now embodied Gallatin's idea inanother form, and introduced a paragraph to the effect that "the Housereceive with the utmost satisfaction the information of the Presidentthat a fresh attempt at negotiation will be instituted, and cherish thehope that a mutual spirit of conciliation and a disposition on the partof the United States to place France on grounds as favorable as othercountries will produce an accommodation compatible with the engagements, rights, and honor of our nation. " Kittera, who was one of the committee on the address, then moved to addafter "mutual spirit of conciliation" the clause, "to compensate for anyinjury done to our neutral rights, " etc. This both Harper and Gallatinopposed. Gallatin objected to being forced to this choice. To vote inits favor was a threat, if compensation were refused; to vote against itwas an abandonment of the claim. But he should oppose it, if forced to achoice. The Federal leaders insisted; the previous question was ordered, 51 to 48. Here Mr. Gallatin showed himself the leader of his party. Hestated that, the majority having determined the question, it was now achoice of evils, and he should vote for the amendment, and it wasadopted, 78 ayes to 21 nays. Among the nays were Harper, the Federalistleader, Giles, the nominal chief of the Republicans, and Nicholas, highin rank in that party. But the last word was not yet said. EdwardLivingston, who day by day asserted himself more positively, denied thatthe conduct of the executive had been "just and impartial to foreignnations, " and moved to strike out the statement; Gallatin was moremoderate. Though he did not believe that in every instance thegovernment had been just and impartial, yet, generally speaking, it hadbeen so. He did not approve the British treaty, though he attributed nobad motives to its makers; but he did not think that the laws respectingthe subordinate departments of the executive and judiciary had beenfairly executed. He therefore would not consent to the sentence in theanswer to the address, that the House did not hesitate to declare that"they would give their most cordial support to principles sodeliberately and uprightly established. " What, he asked, were these principles? Otis denounced this as an artfulattempt to cast a censure, not only on the executive, but on all thedepartments of government, and Allen of Connecticut declared "that therewas American blood enough in the House to approve this clause andAmerican accent enough to pronounce it. " The rough prejudice of theSaxon against the Latin race showed itself in this language, andexpressed the antagonism which Mr. Gallatin found to increase with hispolitical progress. Both the resolution and the amendment were defeated, 53 nays to 45 yeas. But when the final vote came upon the address, Mr. Gallatin, with that practical sense which made him the sheet anchor ofhis party in boisterous weather, voted with the Federalists and carriedthe moderate Republicans with him. The vote was 62 to 36. Among theirreconcilables the name of Edward Livingston is recorded. The answer of the President was a model of good sense. "No event canafford me so much cordial satisfaction as to conduct a negotiation withthe French Republic to a removal of prejudices, a correction of errors, a dissipation of umbrages, an accommodation of all differences, and arestoration of harmony and affection to the mutual satisfaction of bothnations. " This was the leading debate of the session. The situation was too gravefor trifling. On June 5, two days after the President's reply, resolutions were introduced to put the country in a state of defense. Gallatin struggled hard to keep down the appropriations, and opposed theemployment of the three frigates, which as yet had not been equipped ormanned. If they got to sea, the President would have no option except toenforce the disputed articles of the French treaty. Gallatin laid downalso the law of search in accordance with the law of nations, andpointed out that resistance to search or capture by merchantmen wouldnot only lead to war, but was war. In the remaining acts of the sessionhe was in favor of the defense of ports and harbors, with no preferenceas to fortification on government territory; in favor of a prohibitionof the export of arms; against raising an additional corps of artillery;against expatriation of persons who took service under foreigngovernments. He opposed the duty on salt as unequal and unnecessary, andsought to have the loan, which became necessary, cut down to the exactsum of the deficiency in the appropriations; and finally, on theimpeachment of William Blount, Senator of the United States, chargedwith having conspired with the British government to attack theSpaniards of St. Augustine, he pointed out the true method of procedurein the preparation of the bill of impeachment and the arraignment of theoffender. The House adjourned on July 10. Jefferson complained of the weakness andwavering of this Congress, the majority of which shifted with the breezeof "panic or prowess. " This was, however, a very narrow view; for atthis session the House fairly represented the prevailing sentiment ofthe country, which was friendly to France as a nation, but indignantwith the insolence of her rulers. Gallatin, in the middle of thesession, wrote to his wife that the Republicans "were beating and beatenby turns. " He supposed that her father, Commodore Nicholson, 'thoughthim too moderate and about to trim, ' and then declared, 'Moderation andfirmness hath ever been, and ever will be, my motto. ' Gallatin tells astory of his colleague from Pennsylvania, the old Anti-Federalist, BlairMcClanachan, which shows the warmth of party feeling. They were bothdining with President Adams, who entertained the members of Congress inturn. "McClanachan told the President that, by God, he would rather seethe world annihilated than this country united with Great Britain; thatthere would not remain a single king in Europe within six months, etc. , all in the loudest and most decisive tone. " Jefferson, who, as vice-president, presided over the debates in theSenate, had no cause to complain of any hesitation in that body, inwhich the Federalists had regained a clear working majority, giving himno chance of a deciding vote. * * * * * The second session of the fifth Congress began on November 13, 1797. Thewords of the President's address, "We are met together at a mostinteresting period, the situation of the powers of Europe is singularand portentous, " was not an idle phrase. The star of Bonaparte alreadydominated the political firmament. Europe lay prostrate at the feet ofthe armies of the Directory. England, who was supposed to be the nextobject of attack, was staggering under the load of debt; and the sailorsof her channel fleet had risen in mutiny. Even the Federalists, thearistocrats as Mr. Gallatin delighted to call them, believed that shewas gone beyond recovery. But the admirers of France were no bettersatisfied with the threatening attitude of the Directory towardsAmerica, and eagerly waited news of the reception given to the envoysextraordinary, Gerry, Pinckney, and Marshall, whom Adams with theconsent of the Senate dispatched to Paris in the summer. Even Jeffersonlost his taste for a French alliance, and almost wished there were "anocean of fire between the new and the old world. " The tone of the President's address was considered wise on all sides, and it was agreed that the answer should be general and not a subjectof contention. One of the members asked to be excused from going withthe House to the President, but Gallatin showed that, as there was nopower to compel attendance, no formal excuse was necessary. When themotion was put as to whether they should go in a body as usual topresent their answer, Mr. Gallatin voted in the negative. Henevertheless accompanied the members, who were received pleasantly byPresident Adams and "treated to cake and wine. " Harper was made the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Though ofhigh talents and a fine speaker, Gallatin found him a "great bungler" inthe business of the House, a large share of which fell upon his ownshoulders as well as the direction of the Republicans, of whom, notwithstanding the jealousy of Giles, he now was the acknowledgedleader. As a member for Pennsylvania, Mr. Gallatin presented a memorialfrom the Quakers with regard to the arrest of fugitive slaves on hersoil; the law of Pennsylvania declaring all men to be free who set footin that State except only servants of members of Congress. There wasalready an opposition to hearing any petition with regard to slaves, butGallatin insisted on the memorial taking the usual course of referenceto a committee. He directed the House also in the correct path in itslegislation as to foreign coins. It was proposed to take from them thequality of legal tender; but he showed that it was policy not todiscriminate against such coins until the mint could supply asufficiency for the use of the country. In this argument he estimatedthe entire amount of specie in the United States at eight millions ofdollars. At this early period in his political career he was acquiringthat precise knowledge of the facts of American finance which laterserved to establish the principles upon which it is based. This session was noteworthy by reason of the first personal encounter onthe floor of the House. It was between two Northern members, Lyon ofVermont and Griswold of Connecticut. Gallatin stood by Lyon, who was ofhis party, and showed that the House could not expel him, since it wasnot at the time in organized session. As the Federalists would notconsent to censure Griswold, both offenders escaped even a formalreproof. The general bitterness of feeling which marked the summersession was greatly modified in the expectant state of foreign politics;but the occasion for display of political divergence was not longdelayed. On January 18, 1798, Mr. Harper, who led the business of the House, moved the appropriation for foreign intercourse. This was seized upon bythe opposition to advance still further their line of attack by alimitation of the constitutional prerogative of the President. Inaddition to the usual salaries of the envoys to Great Britain andFrance, appropriations were asked for the posts at Madrid, Lisbon, andBerlin, which last Mr. Adams had designated as a first-class mission. The discussion on the powers of the President, and the extent to whichthey might be controlled by paring down the appropriations, lifted thedebate from the narrow ground of economy in administration to thehigher plane of constitutional powers. Nicholas opened on theRepublican side by announcing that it was seasonable to bring back theestablishment of the diplomatic corps to the footing it had been onuntil the year 1796. In all governments like our own he declared thatthere was a tendency to a union and consolidation of all its parts intothe executive, and the limitation and annexion of the parts with eachother as settled by the Constitution would be destroyed by thisinfluence unless there were a constant attention on the part of thelegislature to resist it. The appointment of a minister plenipotentiaryto Prussia, with which we had little or no commercial intercourse, offered an opportunity to determine this limitation. Harper said thatthis was a renewal of the old charge that foreign intercourse wasunnecessary, and the old suggestion that our commerce ought to be givenup or left to shift for itself. Mr. Gallatin laid down extreme theorieswhich have never yet found practical application. He took the questionat once from party or personal ground by admitting that the governmentwas essentially pure, its patronage not extensive, or its effect uponthe legislative or any other branch of the government as yet material. The Constitution had placed the patronage in the executive. There hethought it was wisely placed. The legislature would be more corruptthan the executive were it placed with them. While not willing at onceto give up political foreign intercourse, he thought that it should bydegrees be altogether declined. To it he ascribed the critical situationof the country. Commercial intercourse could be protected by theconsular system. He then argued that the power to provide for expenseswas the check intended by the Constitution. To this Griswold answeredthat this doctrine of checks contained more mischief than Pandora's box;Bayard, that the checks were all directed to the executive, and thatthey would check and counter-check until they _stopped the wheels ofgovernment_. [6] When the President was manacled and at the mercy of theHouse they would be satisfied. He held the executive to be the weakestbranch of the government, because its powers are defined; but the limitsof the House are undefined. As the debate advanced, Nicholas declared that the purpose of theRepublicans was to define the executive power and to put an end to itsextension through their power over appropriations. Later he would bringin a motion to do away with all foreign intercourse. Goodrich answeredthat the office of foreign minister was created by the Constitutionitself, and the power of appointment was placed in the President. TheHouse might speculate upon the propriety of doing away with allintercourse with foreign powers, but could not decide on it, forpolitical intercourse did not depend on the sending of ministers abroad. Foreign ministers would come here and the Constitution required theirreception. The idea that we should have no foreign intercourse was takenfrom Washington's Farewell Address, but his words applied only toalliances offensive and defensive. If ministers were abandoned, envoysextraordinary must be sent, a much more dangerous practice; the onlychoice was between ministers and spies. In conclusion he accused theRepublicans of making one continuous attack upon the administration, andcharged that the opposition to the appropriation bill was not a singlemeasure, but connected with others, and intended to clog the wheels ofgovernment. The purpose of the Republicans being thus declared by Nicholas andsquarely met by the friends of the administration, Mr. Gallatin, March1, 1798, summed up the opposition arguments in an elaborate speech threehours and a quarter in length. He denied the novel doctrine that eachdepartment had checks within itself, but none upon others; he claimedthat the principle of checks is admitted in all mixed governments. Commercial intercourse, he said, is regulated by the law of nations, bythe municipal law of respective countries and by treaties of commerce, the application of which is the province of consuls. What advantages, heasked, had our commercial treaties given us, either that with France orthat with England? He excepted that part of the treaty with GreatBritain which arranged our difference with that power, as foreign to thediscussion. He claimed that the restriction which we had laid uponourselves by our commercial treaties had been attended with politicalconsequences fatal to our tranquillity. Washington had advised aseparation of our political from our commercial relations. The messageof President Adams intimated a different policy and alluded to thebalance of power in Europe as not to be forgotten or neglected. Interesting as that balance may be to Europe, how does it concern us? Weshall never throw our weight into the scale. Passing from this to thedanger of the absorption of powers by the executive, he cited theexamples of the Córtes of Spain, the États Généraux of France, the Dietsof Denmark. In all these countries the executive is in possession oflegislative, of absolute powers. The fate of the European republics wassimilar. Venice, Switzerland, and Holland had shown the legislativepowers merging into the executive. The object of the Constitution of theUnited States is to divide and distribute the powers of government. Withuncontrolled command over the purse of the people the executive tends toprodigality, to taxes, and to wars. He closed with a hope that a fixeddetermination to prevent the increase of the national expenditure, andto detach the country from any connection with European politics, wouldtend to reconcile parties, promote the happiness of America, andconciliate the affection of every part of the Union. No such admirableexposition of the true American doctrine of non-interference withEuropean politics had at that time been heard in Congress. In reply, Harper insisted on the admission that the purpose of theamendment of Nicholas was to restrain the President; that it was aquestion of power, not of money. Mr. Gallatin admitted the right ofappointment, but denied that the House was bound to appropriate. Harperrejoined that the offices did not originate with the President but withthe Constitution, and that they could not be destroyed by the action ofthe House, and, leaving the general ground of debate, made a brilliantattack upon the Republicans as revolutionists, whom he divided intothree classes: the philosophers, the Jacobins, and the _sans-culottes_. The philosophers are most to be dreaded. "They declaim with warmth onthe miseries of mankind, the abuses of government, and the vices ofrulers; all which they engage to remove, providing their theories shouldonce be adopted. They talk of the perfectibility of man and of thedignity of his nature; and, entirely forgetting what he is, declaimperpetually about what he should be. " Of Jacobins there are plenty. Theyprofit by the labors of others; tyrants in power, demagogues when not. Fortunately for America there are few or no _sans-culottes_ among herinhabitants. Jefferson, he said, returned from France a missionary toconvert Americans to the new faith, and he charged that the system ofFrench alliance and war with Great Britain by the United States was apart of the scheme of the French revolutionists, and was imported intothis country. Gallatin and his friends he regarded in the light of anenemy who has commenced a siege against the fortress of theConstitution. The restricting amendment was lost, and the bill passed by a vote of 52yeas to 43 nays. Nor is it easy to see how the theory of Mr. Gallatinwith regard to diplomatic relations could have been applied successfullywith the existing channels of intercourse. Now that the ocean cablebrings governments into direct relation with each other, there is atendency to restrict the authority of ambassadors, for whom there is nolonger need, and the entire system will no doubt soon disappear. Mr. Gallatin's speech was the delight of his party and his friends. He wascalled upon to write it out, and two thousand copies of it werecirculated as the best exposition of Republican doctrine. Early in February the President informed Congress of certain capturesand outrages committed by a French privateer within the limits of theUnited States, including the burning of an English merchantman in theharbor of Charleston. On March 19, in a further special message, hecommunicated dispatches from the American envoys in France, and alsoinformed Congress that he should withdraw his order forbidding merchantvessels to sail in an armed condition. A collision might, therefore, occur at any moment. On March 27, 1798, a resolution was introduced that it is not nowexpedient for the United States to resort to war against the FrenchRepublic; a second, to restrict the arming of merchant vessels; and athird, to provide for the protection of the seacoast and the internaldefense of the country. Speaking to the first resolution, Mr. Gallatinsaid that the United States had arrived at a crisis at which a standmust be made, when the House must say whether it will resort to war orpreserve peace. If to war, the expense and its evils must be met; ifpeace continue, then the country must submit: in either case Americanvessels would be taken. It was a mere matter of calculation which coursewould best serve the interest and happiness of the country. If he couldseparate defensive from offensive war, he should be in favor of it; buthe could not make the distinction, and therefore he should be in favorof measures of peace. The act of the President was a war measure. Members of the House so designated it in letters to their constituents. On April 2 the President was requested to communicate the instructionsand dispatches from the envoys extraordinary, mention of which he hadmade in his message of March 19. Gallatin supported the call. He saidthat the President was not afraid of communicating information, as hehad shown in the preceding session, and that to withhold it wouldendanger the safety of our commerce, or prevent the happy issue ofnegotiation. On April 3 Mr. Gallatin presented a petition againsthazarding the neutrality and peace of the nation by authorizing privatecitizens to arm and equip vessels. This was signed by forty members ofthe Pennsylvania legislature. Protests of a similar character werepresented from other parts of the country. On the same day the Presidentsent in the famous X Y Z dispatches, in confidence. These lettersrepresented the names of Hottinguer, Bellamy, and Hauteval, the agentsof Talleyrand, the foreign minister of the First Consul, which werewithheld by the President. The mysterious negotiations contained adistinct demand by Talleyrand of a douceur of 1, 200, 000 livres to theFrench officials as a condition of peace. The effect was immediately tostrengthen the administration, Dayton, the speaker, passing to the ranksof the Federalists. On the 18th the Senate sent down a bill authorizing the President toprocure sixteen armed vessels to act as convoys. Gallatin still heldfirm. He admitted that from the beginning of the European contest thebelligerent powers had disregarded the law of nations and thestipulations of treaties, but he still opposed the granting of armedconvoys, which would lead to a collision. Let us not, he said, act onspeculative grounds; if our present situation is better than war, let uskeep it. Better even, he said, suffer the French to go on with theirdepredations than to take any step which may lead to war. Allen of Connecticut read a passage from the dispatches which envenomedthe debate. By it one of the French agents appears to have warned theAmerican envoys that they were mistaken in supposing that an expositionof the unreasonable demands of France would unite the people of theUnited States. He said, "You should know that the _diplomatic skill_ ofFrance and the _means_ she possesses in your country are sufficient toenable her, with the _French party_ in America, to throw the blame whichwill attend the rupture of the negotiations on the _Federalists_, as youterm yourselves, but on the _British party_, as France terms you, andyou may assure yourselves this will be done. " Allen then charged uponGallatin that his language was that of a foreign agent. Gallatin repliedthat the representatives of the French Republic in this country hadshown themselves to be the worst diplomatists that had ever been sent toit, and he asked why the gentlemen who did not come forward with adeclaration of war (though they were willing to go to war without thedeclaration) charge their adversaries with meaning to submit to France. France might declare war or give an order to seize American vessels, butas long as she did not, some hope remained that the state of peace mightnot be broken; and he said in conclusion "that, notwithstanding all theviolent charges and personal abuse which had been made against him, itwould produce no difference in his manner of acting, neither prevent himfrom speaking against every measure which he thought injurious to thepublic interest, nor, on the other hand, inflame his mind so as toinduce him to oppose measures which he might heretofore have thoughtproper. " The war feeling ran high in the country; "Millions for defense, but notone cent for tribute, "[7] was the popular cry. On May 28 Mr. Harperintroduced a bill to suspend commercial intercourse with France. Gallatin thought this a doubtful measure. Its avowed purpose was todistress France in the West Indies, but he said that in six months thatentire trade would be by neutral vessels. In the discussion on the billto regulate the arming of merchant vessels, he showed that it was thepractice of neutral European nations to allow such vessels to arm, butnot to regulate their conduct. Bonds are required in cases of letter ofmarque, and the merchant who arms is bound not to break the laws ofnations or the agreements of treaties. Restriction was thereforeunnecessary. Government should not interfere. Commercial intercoursewith France was suspended June 13. In the pride of their new triumph and the intensity of their personalfeeling the Federalists overleaped their mark, and began a series ofmeasures which ultimately cost them the possession of the governmentand their political existence. The first of these was the Sedition Bill, which Jefferson believed to be aimed at Gallatin in person. Mr. Gallatinmet it at its inception with a statement of the constitutionalobjections, viz. , 1st, that there was no power to make such a law, and2d, the special provision in the Constitution that the writ of _habeascorpus_ shall not be suspended except in cases of rebellion andinvasion. There was neither. The second, the Alien Bill, gave thePresident power to expel from the country all aliens. Over this measureGallatin and Harper had hot words. Gallatin charged upon Harper not onlya misrepresentation of the arguments of his opponents, but anarraignment of the motives of others, while claiming all purity for hisown. Harper answered in words which show that Gallatin, for once, hadmet warmth with warmth, and anger with anger. When, Harper said, agentleman, who is usually so cool, all at once assumes such a tone ofpassion as to forget all decorum of language, it would seem as if theobservation had been properly applied. On the vote to strike out theobnoxious sections, the Federalists defeated their antagonists, and onJune 21 the bill itself was passed with all its odious features by 46 to40. On June 21 President Adams sent in a message with letters from Gerry, who had remained at Paris after the return of Marshall and Pinckney, onthe subject of a loan. They contained an intimation from Talleyrand thathe was ready to resume negotiations. In this message Adams said, "Iwill never send another minister to France without assurances that hewill be received, respected, and honored as the representative of agreat, free, powerful, and independent nation. " On the 25th an act waspassed authorizing the commanders of merchant vessels to defendthemselves against search and seizure under regulations by thePresident. On June 30 a further act authorized the purchase andequipment of twelve vessels as an addition to the naval armament. To allintents and purposes a state of war between the two countries alreadyexisted. The 4th of July (1798) was celebrated with unusual enthusiasm all overthe United States, and the black cockade was generally worn. This wasthe distinctive badge of the Federalists, and a response to the tricolorwhich Adet had recommended all French citizens to wear in 1794. On July 5 a resolution was moved to appoint a committee to consider theexpediency of declaring, by legislative act, the state of relationsbetween the United States and the French Republic. Mr. Gallatin asked ifa declaration of war could not be moved as an amendment, but thespeaker, Mr. Dayton, made no reply. Mr. Gallatin objected that Congresscould not declare a state of facts by a legislative act. But this view, if tenable then, has long since been abandoned. In witness of which itis only necessary to name the celebrated resolution of the Congress of1865 with regard to the recognition of a monarchy in Mexico. July 6 theHouse went into committee of the whole on the state of the Union toconsider a bill sent down by the Senate abrogating the treaty withFrance. The bill was passed on the 16th by a vote of 47 ayes to 37 nays, Gallatin voting in the negative. The House adjourned the same day. While thus engaged in debates which called into exercise his variedinformation and displayed not only the extent of his learning but hisremarkable powers of reasoning and statement, Mr. Gallatin never lostsight of reform in the administration of the finances of the government. To the success of his efforts to hold the Treasury Department to astrict conformity with his theory of administration, Mr. Wolcott, thesecretary, gave ample if unwilling testimony. To Hamilton he wrote onApril 5, 1798, "The management of the Treasury becomes more and moredifficult. The legislature will not pass laws in gross; theirappropriations are minute. Gallatin, to whom they yield, is evidentlyintending to break down this department by charging it with animpracticable detail. " During these warm discussions Gallatin rarely lost his self-control. Writing to his old friend Lesdernier at this period, he said, "You mayremember I am blessed with a very even temper; it has not been alteredby time or politics. " * * * * * The third session of the fifth Congress opened on December 3, 1798. Onthe 8th, when the President was expected, Lieutenant-General Washingtonand Generals Pinckney and Hamilton entered the hall and took theirplaces on the right of the speaker's chair. They had been recentlyappointed to command the army of defense. The President's speech announced no change in the situation. "Nothing, "he said, "is discoverable in the conduct of France which ought to changeor relax our measures for defense. On the contrary, to extend andinvigorate them is our true policy. An efficient preparation for war canalone insure peace. It must be left to France, if she is indeed desirousof accommodation, to take the requisite steps. The United States willsteadily observe the maxims by which they have hitherto been governed. "The reply to this patriotic sentiment was unanimously agreed to, and wasmost grateful to Adams, who thanked the House for it as "consonant tothe characters of representatives of a great and free people. " On December 27 a peculiar resolution was introduced to punish theusurpation of the executive authority of the government of the UnitedStates in carrying on correspondence with the government of any foreignprince or state. Gallatin thought this resolution covered too muchground. The criminality of such acts did not lie in their beingusurpations, but in the nature of the crime committed. There was noauthority in the Constitution for a grant of such a power to thePresident. To afford aid and comfort to the enemy was treason, butthere was no war, and therefore no enemy. He claimed the right tohimself and others to do all in his power to secure a peace, even bycorrespondence abroad, and he would not admit that the ground taken bythe friends of the measure was a proper foundation for a general law. Acommittee was, however, appointed, in spite of this remonstrance, toconsider the propriety of including in the general act all persons whoshould commence or carry on a correspondence, by a vote of 65 to 23. Abill was reported on January 9, when Gallatin endeavored to attach aproviso that the law should not operate upon persons seeking justice orredress from foreign governments; but his motion was defeated by a voteof 48 to 37. Later, however, a resolution of Mr. Parker, that nothing inthe act should be construed to abridge the rights of any citizen toapply for such redress, was adopted by a vote of 69 yeas to 27 nays. Onthis vote Harper voted yea. Griswold, Otis, Bayard, and Goodrich werefound among the nays. Gallatin succeeded in carrying an amendmentdefining the bill, after which it was passed by a vote of 58 to 36. Towards the close of January, 1799, a bill was brought in authorizingthe President to discontinue the restraints of the act suspendingintercourse with the French West India Islands, whenever any persons inauthority or command should so request. This was to invite a secessionof the French colonies from the mother country. Gallatin deprecated anyaction which might induce rebellion against authority, or lead toself-government among the people of the islands who were unfit for it. Moreover, such action would remove still further every expectation of anaccommodation with France. The bill was passed by a vote of 55 to 37. Heobjected to the bill to authorize the President to suspend intercoursewith Spanish and Dutch ports which should harbor French privateers, asplacing an unlimited power to interdict commerce in the hands of theexecutive. The bill was carried by 55 to 37. On the question of theaugmentation of the navy he opposed the building of the seventy-fours. In February Edward Livingston presented a petition from aliens, nativesof Ireland, against the Alien and Sedition laws. Numerous similarpetitions followed; one was signed by 18, 000 persons in Pennsylvaniaalone. To postpone consideration of the subject, the Federalists sentthese papers to a select committee, against the protests of Livingstonand Gallatin. This course was the more peculiar because of the referenceof petitions of a similar character in the month previous to thecommittee of the whole. The Federalists were abusing their majority, andprecipitating their unexpected but certain ruin. One more effort wasmade to repeal the offensive penal act; the constitutional objection wasagain pleaded, but the repeal was defeated by a vote of 52 in theaffirmative. Mr. Gallatin opposed these laws in all their stages, but, failing in this, persistently endeavored to make them as good aspossible before they passed. Jefferson later said that nothing couldobliterate from the recollection of those who were witnesses of it thecourage of Gallatin in the "Days of Terror. "[8] The vote of thanks toMr. Dayton, the speaker, was carried by a vote of 40 to 22. On March 3, 1800, this Congress adjourned. * * * * * The sixth Congress met at Philadelphia on December 2, 1799. TheFederalists were returned in full majority. Among the new members of theHouse, John Marshall and John Randolph appeared for Virginia. TheodoreSedgwick was chosen speaker. President Adams came down to the House onthe 3d and made the usual speech. The address in reply, reported by acommittee of which Marshall was chairman, was agreed to withoutamendment. Adams was again delighted with the very respectful termsadopted at the "first assembly after a fresh election, under the strongimpression of the public opinion and national sense at this interestingand singular crisis. " At this session it was the sad privilege ofMarshall to announce the death of Washington, "the Hero, the Sage, andthe Patriot of America. " In the shadow of this great grief, partypassion was hushed for a while. Gallatin again led the Republican opposition; Nicholas and Macon werehis able lieutenants. The line of attack of the Republicans was clear. If war could be avoided, the growing unpopularity of the Alien andSedition laws would surely bring them to power. The foreign-born voterwas already a factor in American politics. In January the law providingfor an addition to the army was suspended. Macon then moved the repealof the Sedition Law. He took the ground that it was a measure ofdefense. Bayard adroitly proposed as an amendment that "the offensestherein specified shall remain punishable as at common law, providedthat upon any prosecution it shall be lawful for the defendant to giveas his defense the truth of the matter charged as a libel. " Gallatincalled upon the chair to declare the amendment out of order, as intendedto destroy the resolution, but the speaker declined, and the amendmentwas carried by a vote of 51 to 47. The resolution thus amended was thendefeated by a vote of 87 to 1. The Republicans preferred the odious actin its original form rather than accept the Federal interpretation ofit. On February 11, 1800, a bill was introduced into Congress further tosuspend commercial intercourse with France. It passed the House after ashort debate by a vote of 68 yeas to 28 nays. On this bill theRepublican leaders were divided. Nicholas, Macon, and Randolph opposedit; but Gallatin, separating from his friends, carried enough of hisparty with him to secure its passage. Returned by the Senate withamendments, it was again objected to by Macon as fatal to the interestsof the Southern States, but the House resolved to concur by a vote of 50to 36. In March the country was greatly excited by the news of an engagement onthe 1st of February, off Guadaloupe, between the United States frigateConstellation, thirty-eight guns, and a French national frigate, LaVengeance, fifty-four guns. The House of Representatives called on thesecretary of the navy for information, and, by 84 yeas to 4 nays, voteda gold medal to Captain Truxton, who commanded the American ship. JohnRandolph's name is recorded in the negative. Notwithstanding this collision, the relations of the United States andFrance were gradually assuming a kindlier phase. The Directory hadsought to drive the American government into active measures againstEngland. Bonaparte, chosen First Consul, at once adopted a conciliatorytone. Preparing for a great continental struggle, he was concentratingthe energies and the powers of France. In May Mr. Parker called theattention of the House to this change of conduct in the Frenchgovernment and offered a resolution instructing the Committee onCommerce to inquire if any amendments to the Foreign Intercourse Actwere necessary. Macon moved to amend so that the inquiry should bewhether it were not expedient to repeal the act. Gallatin opposed theresolution on the ground that it was highly improper to take anymeasures at the present time which would change the defensive system ofthe country. The resolution was negatived, --43 nays to 40 yeas. One singular opposition of Gallatin is recorded towards the close of thesession; the Committee on the Treasury Department reported an amendmentto the act of establishment, providing that the secretary of thetreasury shall lay before Congress, at the commencement of everysession, a report on finance with plans for the support of credit, etc. Gallatin and Nicholas opposed this bill, because it came down from theSenate, which had no constitutional right to originate a money bill; butGriswold and Harper at once took the correct ground that it was not abill, but a report on the state of the finances, in which the Senate hadan equal share with the House. The bill was passed by a vote of 43 to39. It is worthy of note that the first report on the state of thefinances communicated under this act was by Mr. Gallatin himself thenext year, and that it was sent in to the Senate. The House adjourned onMay 14, 1800. * * * * * The second session of the sixth Congress was held at the city ofWashington, to which the seat of government had been removed in thesummer interval. After two southerly migrations they were nowdefinitively established at a national capital. The session opened onNovember 17, 1800. On the 22d President Adams congratulated Congress on"the prospect of a residence not to be changed. " The address of theHouse in reply was adopted by a close vote. The situation of foreign relations was changed. The First Consulreceived the American envoys cordially, and a commercial convention wasmade but secured ratification by the Senate only after the eliminationof an article and a limitation of its duration to eight years. While thebill was pending in the Senate, Mr. Samuel Smith moved to continue theact to suspend commercial intercourse with France. Mr. Gallatin opposedthis motion; at the last session he had voted for this bill becausethere was only the appearance of a treaty. Now that the precise state ofnegotiation was known, why should the House longer leave this matter tothe discretion of the President? The House decided to reject theindiscreet bill by a vote of 59 to 37. An effort was also made to repeala part of the Sedition Law, and continue the rest in force, but theHouse refused to order the engrossing of the bill, taking wise counselof Dawson, who said that, supported by the justice and policy of theirmeasures, the approaching administration would not need the aid ofeither the alien, sedition, or common law. The opponents of the billwould not consent to any modification. The last scenes of the sessionwere of exciting interest. Freed from the menace of immediate war, the people of plain common senserecognized that the friendship of Great Britain was more dangerous thanthe enmity of France. They dreaded the fixed power of an organizedaristocracy far more than the ephemeral anarchy of an ill-ordereddemocracy; they were more averse to class distinctions protected by lawthan even to military despotism which destroyed all distinctions, andthey preferred, as man always has preferred and always will prefer, personal to political equality. The Alien and Sedition laws had bornetheir legitimate fruit. The foreign-born population held the balance ofpower; a general vote would have shown a large Republican or, it is morecorrect to say, anti-Federalist majority. But the popular will could notbe thus expressed. Under the old system each elector in the electoralcollege cast his ballot for president and vice-president withoutdesignation of his preference as to who should fill the first place. NewEngland was solid for Adams, who, however, had little strength beyondthe limits of this Federal stronghold. New York and the Southern Stateswith inconsiderable exceptions were Republican. Pennsylvania was sodivided in the legislature that her entire vote would have been lost butfor a compromise which gave to the Republicans one vote more than to theFederalists. Adams being out of the question, the election to the firstplace lay between Jefferson and Burr, both Republicans. The Federalists, therefore, had their option between the two Republican candidates, andthe result was within the reach of that most detestable of combinations, a political bargain. Mr. Gallatin's position in this condition ofaffairs was controlling. His loyalty to Jefferson was unquestioned, while Burr was the favorite of the large Republican party in New Yorkwhose leaders were Mr. Gallatin's immediate friends and warm supporters. Both Jefferson and Burr were accused of bargaining to secure enough ofthe Federalist vote to turn the scale. That Mr. Jefferson did make somesacrifice of his independence is now believed. Whether Mr. Gallatin wasaware of any such compromise is uncertain. If such bargain were made, General Samuel Smith was the channel of arrangement, and in view of theinexplicable and ignominious deference of Jefferson and Madison to hispolitical demands, there is little doubt that he held a secret powerwhich they dared not resist. Gallatin felt it, suffered from it, protested against it, but submitted to it. The fear was that Congress might adjourn without a conclusion. To meetthis emergency Mr. Gallatin devised a plan of balloting in the House, which he communicated to Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Nicholas. It stated theobjects of the Federalists to be, 1st, to elect Burr; 2d, to defeat thepresent election and order a new one; 3d, to assume _executive_ powerduring the interregnum. These he considers, and suggests alternativeaction in case of submission or resistance on the part of theRepublicans. The Federalists, holding three branches of government, viz. , the presidency, a majority in the Senate, and a majority in theHouse, might pass a law declaring that one of the great officersdesignated by the Constitution should act as president pro tempore, which would be constitutional. But while Mr. Gallatin in this paragraphadmitted such a law to be constitutional, in the next he argued that theact of the person designated by law, or of the president pro tempore, assuming the power is clearly "unconstitutional. " By this ingeniousprocess of reasoning, to which the strict constructionists have alwaysbeen partial, it might be unconstitutional to carry out constitutionallaw. The assumption of such power was therefore, Mr. Gallatin held, usurpation, to be resisted in one of two ways; by declaring the intervaltill the next session of Congress an interregnum, allowing all laws notimmediately connected with presidential powers to take their course, andopposing a silent resistance to all others; or by the Republicansassuming the executive power by a joint act of the two candidates, or bythe relinquishment of all claims by one of them. On the other hand, theproposed outlines of Republican conduct were, 1st, to persevere invoting for Mr. Jefferson; 2d, to use every endeavor to defeat any law onthe subject; 3d, to try to persuade Mr. Adams to refuse his consent toany such law and not to call the Senate on any account if there shouldbe no choice by the House. In a letter written in 1848 Mr. Gallatin said that a provision by law, that if there should be no election the executive power be placed in thehands of some public officer, was a revolutionary act of usurpationwhich would have been put down by force if necessary. It was threatenedthat, if any man should be thus appointed President he should instantlybe put to death, and bodies of men were said to be organized, inMaryland and Virginia, ready to march to Washington on March 4 for thatpurpose. The fears of violence were so great that to Governor McKean ofPennsylvania was submitted the propriety of having a body of militia inreadiness to reach the capital in time to prevent civil war. From thisletter of Mr. Gallatin, then the last surviving witness of the election, only one conclusion can be drawn: that the Republicans would havepreferred violent resistance to temporary submission, even though theofficer exercising executive powers was appointed in accordance withlaw. Fortunately for the young country there was enough good sense andpatriotism in the ranks of the Federalists to avert the danger. On the suggestion of Mr. Bayard it was agreed by a committee of sixteenmembers, one from each State, that if it should appear that the twopersons highest on the list, Jefferson and Burr, had an equal number ofvotes, the House should immediately proceed in their own chamber tochoose the president by ballot, and should not adjourn until anelection should have been made. On the first ballot there was a tiebetween Jefferson and Burr; the deadlock continued until February 17, when the Federalists abandoned the contest, and Mr. Jefferson receivedthe requisite number of votes. Burr, having the second number, becamevice-president. Mr. Gallatin's third congressional term closed with this Congress. Inhis first term he asserted his power and took his place in the councilsof the party. In his second, he became its acknowledged chief. In thethird, he led its forces to final victory. But for his opposition, warwould have been declared against France, and the Republican party wouldhave disappeared in the political chasm. But for his admirablemanagement, Mr. Jefferson would have been relegated to the study oftheoretical government on his Monticello farm, or to play second fiddleat the Capitol to the music of Aaron Burr. In the foregoing analysis of the debates and resolutions of Congress, and the recital of the part taken in them by Mr. Gallatin, attention hasonly been paid to such of the proceedings as concerned theinterpretation of the Constitution or the forms of administration withwhich Mr. Gallatin interested himself. From the day of his firstappearance he commanded the attention and the respect of his fellows. The leadership of his party fell to him as of course. It was not graspedby him. He was never a partisan. He never waived his entireindependence of judgment. His ingenuity and adroitness never tempted himto untenable positions. Hence his party followed him with implicitconfidence. Yet while the debates of Congress, imperfectly reported asthey seem to be in its annals, show the deference paid to him by theRepublican leaders, and display the great share he took in thedefinition of powers and of administration as now understood, his nameis hardly mentioned in history. Jefferson and Madison became presidentsof the United States. They, with Gallatin, formed the triumvirate whichruled the country for sixteen years. Gallatin was the youngest of thethree. [9] To this political combination Gallatin brought a knowledge ofconstitutional law equal to their own, a knowledge of international lawsuperior to that of either, and a habit of practical administration ofwhich they had no conception. The Republican party lost its chief whenGallatin left the House; from that day it floundered to its close. In the balance of opinion there are no certain weights and measures. Thepreponderance of causes cannot be precisely ascertained. The freedomwhich the people of the United States enjoy to-day is not the work ofany one party. Those who are descended from its original stock, andthose whom its free institutions have since invited to full membership, owe that freedom to two causes: the one, formulated by Hamilton, astrong, central power, which, deriving its force from the people, maintains its authority at home and secures respect abroad; the other, the spirit of liberty which found expression in the famous declarationof the rights of man. This influence Jefferson represented. It taughtthe equality of man; not equality before the law alone, nor yetpolitical equality, but that absolute freedom from class distinctionwhich is true social equality; in a word, mutual respect. But forHamilton we might be a handful of petty States, in discordantconfederation or perpetual war; but for Jefferson, a prey to the classjealousy which unsettles the social relations and threatens thepolitical existence of European States. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 4: Lord Sheffield to Mr. Abbott, November 6, 1812. _Correspondence of Lord Colchester_, ii. 409. ] [Footnote 5: Gallatin later described Jackson as he first saw him in hisseat in the House: "A tall, lank, uncouth looking individual, with longlocks of hair hanging over his brows and face, while a queue hung downhis back tied in an eelskin. The dress of this individual was singular, his manners and deportment that of a backwoodsman. " Bartlett's_Reminiscences of Gallatin_. ] [Footnote 6: The phrase "stop the wheels of government" originated with"Peter Porcupine" (William Cobbett) and was on every tongue. ] [Footnote 7: Charles C. Pinckney, when ambassador to France, 1796. ] [Footnote 8: Jefferson to William Duane, March 28, 1811. Jefferson's_Works_, vol. V. P. 574. ] [Footnote 9: Jefferson was born in 1743, Madison in 1751, Gallatin in1761. ] CHAPTER VI SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY _Funding_ The material comfort of every people depends more immediately upon thecorrect management of its finances than upon any other branch ofgovernment. _Haute finance_, to use a French expression for which thereis no English equivalent, demands in its application the faculties oforganization and administration in their highest degree. The relationsof money to currency and credit, and their relations to industry andagriculture, or in modern phrase of capital to labor, fall within itsscope. The history of France, the nation which has best understood andapplied true principles of finance, supplies striking examples of thebenefits a finance minister of the first order renders to his country, and the dangers of false theories. The marvelous restoration of itsprosperity by the genius of Colbert, the ruin caused by the malignsciolism of Law, are familiar to all students of political economy. Norhas the United States been less favored. The names of Morris, Hamilton, Gallatin, and Chase shine with equal lustre. Morris, the Financier of the Revolution, was called to theadministration of the money department of the United States governmentwhen there was no money to administer. Before his appointment as"Financier" the expenses of the government, military and civil, had beenmet by expedients; by foreign loans, lotteries, and loan officecertificates; finally by continental money, or, more properly speaking, bills of credit emitted by authority of Congress and made legal tenderby joint action of Congress and the several States. The relation of cointo paper in this motley currency appears in the appendix to the "Journalof Congress" for the year 1778, when the government paid out in fourteenissues of paper currency, $62, 154, 842; in specie, $78, 666; in Frenchlivres, $28, 525. [10] The power of taxation was jealously withheld by theStates, and Congress could not go beyond recommending to them to levytaxes for the withdrawal of the bills emitted by it for their quotas, _pari passu_ with their issue. When the entire scheme of paper moneyfailed, the necessary supplies for the army were levied in kind. In thespring of 1781 the affairs of the Treasury Department were investigatedby a committee of Congress, and an attempt was made to ascertain theprecise condition of the public debt. The amount of foreign debt wasapproximately reached, but the record of the domestic debt wasinextricably involved, and never definitely discovered. Morris soonbrought order out of this chaos. His plan was to liquidate the publicindebtedness in specie, and fund it in interest-bearing bonds. The Bankof North America was established, the notes of which were soon preferredto specie as a medium of exchange. Silver, then in general use as themeasure of value, was adopted as the single standard. The weight andpureness of the dollar were fixed by law. The dollar was made the unitof account and payment, and subdivisions were made in a decimal ratio. This was the dollar of our fathers. Gouverneur Morris, the assistant ofthe Financier, suggested the decimal computation, and Jefferson thedollar as the unit of account and payment. The board of treasury, whichfor five years had administered the finances in a bungling way, wasdissolved by Congress in the fall of 1781, and Morris was left in solecontrol. Semi-annual statements of the public indebtedness were nowbegun. The expenses of the government were steadily and inflexibly cutdown to meet the diminishing income. A loan was negotiated in Holland, and, with the aid of Franklin, the amount of indebtedness to France wasestablished. The public debt on January 1, 1783, was $42, 000, 375, of which $7, 885, 088was foreign, bearing four and five per cent. Interest; and $34, 115, 290was held at home at six per cent. The total amount of interest was$2, 415, 956. No means were provided for the payment of either principalor interest. In July of the previous year Morris urged the wisdom offunding the public debt, in a masterly letter to the president ofCongress. On December 16 a sinking fund was provided for by aresolution, which, though inadequate to the purpose, was at least adeclaration of principle. In February, 1784, Morris notified Congress ofhis intended retirement from office. He may justly be termed the fatherof the American system of finance. In his administration he inflexiblymaintained the determination, with which he assumed the office, to applythe public funds to the purpose to which they were appropriated. Hedeclared that he would "neither pay the interest of our debts out of themoneys which are called for to carry on the war, nor pay the expenses ofthe war from the funds which are called for to pay the interest of ourdebts. " One new feature of Morris's administration was the beginning ofthe sale of public lands. On the retirement of Mr. Morris, November, 1784, a new board of treasurywas charged with the administration of the finances, and continued incontrol until September 30, 1788, when a committee, raised to examineinto the affairs of the department, rendered a pitiful report ofmismanagement for which the board had not the excuse of theirpredecessors during the war. They had only to observe the precepts whichMorris had enunciated, and to follow the methods he had prescribed, withthe aid of the assistants he had trained. But the taxes collected hadnot been covered into the Treasury by the receivers. Large sumsadvanced for secret service were not accounted for; and the entiresystem of responsibility had been disregarded. John Adams attributed allthe distresses at this period to "a downright ignorance of the nature ofcoin, credit and circulation;" an ignorance not yet dispelled. Moretruly could he have said that our distresses arose from willful neglectof the principle of accountability in the public service. The first Congress under the new Constitution met at New York on March4, 1789, but it was not until the autumn that the executiveadministration of the government was organized by the creation of thethree departments: State, Treasury, and War. The bill establishing the Treasury Department passed Congress onSeptember 2, 1789. Hamilton was appointed secretary by Washington onSeptember 11. On September 21 the House directed the secretary toexamine into and report a financial plan. On the assembling of Congress, June 14, 1790, Hamilton communicated to the House his first report, known as that on public credit. The boldness of Hamilton's plan startledand divided the country. Funding resolutions were introduced into theHouse. The first, relating to the foreign debt, passed unanimously; thesecond, providing for the liquidation of the domestic obligations, wassharply debated, but in the end Hamilton's scheme was adopted. Theresolutions providing for the assumption of the state debts, which heembodied in his report, aroused an opposition still more formidable, andit was not until August 4 that by political machinery this part of hisplan received the assent of Congress. To provide for the interest on thedebt and the expenses of the government, the import and navigationduties were raised to yield the utmost revenue available; but, in thetemper of Congress, the excise law was not pressed at this session. Thesecretary had securely laid the foundations of his policy. Time andsheer necessity would compel the completion of his work in essentialaccord with his original design. The President's message at the openingof the winter session added greatly to the prestige of Hamilton's policyby calling attention to the great prosperity of the country and theremarkable rise in public credit. The excise law, modified to apply todistilled spirits, passed the House in January. The principle of adirect tax was admitted. On December 14, 1790, in obedience to an orderof the House requiring the secretary to report further provision for thepublic credit, Hamilton communicated his plans for a national bank. Nextin order came the establishment of a national mint. Thus in two sessionsof Congress, and in the space of little more than a year from the timewhen he took charge of the Treasury, Hamilton conceived and carried tosuccessful conclusion an entire scheme of finance. One more measure in the comprehensive system of public credit crownedthe solid structure of which the funding of the debt was thecornerstone. This was the establishment of the sinking fund for theredemption of the debt. Hamilton conformed his plan to the maxim, which, to use his words, "has been supposed capable of giving immortality tocredit, namely, that with the creation of debts should be incorporatedthe means of extinguishment, which are twofold. 1st. The establishing, at the time of contracting a debt, funds for the reimbursement of theprincipal, as well as for the payment of interest within a determinateperiod. 2d. The making it a part of the contract, that the fund soestablished shall be inviolably applied to the object. " The ingenuityand skill with which this master of financial science managed theTreasury Department for more than five years need no word of comment. Nor do they fall within the scope of this outline of the features of hispolicy. His reports are the textbook of American political economy. Whoever would grasp its principles must seek them in this limpid source, and study the methods he applied to revenue and loans. Well mightWebster say of him in lofty praise, "He smote the rock of nationalresources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth; he touched thedead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet. " On the resignation of Hamilton, January 31, 1795, Washington invitedWolcott, who was familiar with the views of Hamilton and on suchintimate terms with him that he could always have his advice in anydifficult emergency, to take the post. Wolcott had been connected withthe department from its organization, first as auditor, afterwards ascomptroller of the Treasury. He held the Treasury until nearly the endof Adams's administration. On November 8, 1800, upon the open breachbetween Mr. Adams and the Hamilton wing of the Federal party, Wolcott, whose sympathies were wholly with his old chief, tendered hisresignation, to take effect at the close of the year. On December 31 Mr. Samuel Dexter was appointed to administer the department. But the daysof the Federal party were now numbered: it fell of its own dissensions, "wounded in the house of its friends. " There is little in the administration of the finances by Wolcott toattract comment. He managed the details of the department with integrityand skill. On his retirement a committee of the House on the conditionof the Treasury was appointed. No similar examination had been madesince May 22, 1794. On January 28, 1801, Mr. Otis, chairman of thecommittee, submitted the results of the investigation in an unanimousreport that the business of the Treasury Department had been conductedwith regularity, fidelity, and a regard to economy; that thedisbursements of money had always been made pursuant to law, andgenerally that the financial concerns of the country had been left bythe late secretary in a state of good order and prosperity. During hissix years of administration of the finances Wolcott negotiated sixloans, amounting in all to $2, 820, 000. The emergencies wereextraordinary, --the expenses of the suppression of the WhiskeyInsurrection in 1794, and the sum required to effect a treaty of peacewith Algiers in 1795. To fund these sums Mr. Wolcott had recourse to anexpedient which marked an era in American finance. This was the creationof _new stock_, subscribed for at home. No loan had been previouslyplaced by the government among its own citizens. Between 1795 and 1798, four and a half, five, and six per cent. Stocks were created. In 1798the condition of the country was embarrassing. There was a threateningprospect of war. Foreign loans were precarious and improvident; themarket rate of interest was eight per cent. Under these circumstances aneight per cent. Stock was created, not redeemable until 1809. An Act ofMarch 3, 1795, provided for vesting in the sinking fund the surplusrevenues of each year. In the formation of the first Republican cabinet Mr. Gallatin wasobviously Mr. Jefferson's first choice for the Treasury. The appointmentwas nevertheless attended with some difficulties of a political andparty nature. The paramount importance of the department was a legacy ofHamilton's genius. Its possession was the Federalist stronghold, and theSenate, which held the confirming power, was still controlled by aFederalist majority. To them Mr. Gallatin was more obnoxious than anyother of the Republican leaders. In the few days that he held a seat inthe Senate (1793) he offended Hamilton, and aroused the hostility of thefriends of the secretary by a call for information as to the conditionof the Treasury. As member of Congress in 1796 he questioned Hamilton'spolicy, and during Adams's entire administration was a perpetual thornin the sides of Hamilton's successors in the department. The day afterhis election, February 18, 1801, Mr. Jefferson communicated to Mr. Gallatin the names of the gentlemen he had already determined upon forhis cabinet, and tendered him the Treasury. The only alternative wasMadison; but he, with all his reputation as a statesman and partyleader, was without skill as a financier, and in the debate on theFunding Bill in 1790 had shown his ignorance in the impracticability ofhis plans. If Jefferson ever entertained the thought of nominatingMadison to the Treasury, political necessity absolutely forbade it. Thatnecessity Mr. Gallatin, by his persistent assaults on the financialpolicy of the Federalists, had himself created, and he alone of theRepublican leaders was competent to carry out the reforms in theadministration of the government, and to contrive the consequentreduction in revenue and taxation, which were cardinal points ofRepublican policy. Public opinion had assigned Gallatin to the post, andthe newspapers announced his nomination before Mr. Jefferson waselected, and before he had given any indication of his purpose. To hiswife Mr. Gallatin expressed some doubt whether his abilities were equalto the office, and whether the Senate would confirm him, and said, certainly with sincerity, 'that he would not be sorry nor hurt in hisfeelings if his nomination should be rejected, for exclusively of theimmense responsibility, labor, etc. , attached to the intended office, another plan which would be much more agreeable to him and to her hadbeen suggested, not by his political friends, but by his New Yorkfriends. ' He was by no means comfortable in his finances, and he hadalready formed a plan of studying law and removing to New York. He hadmade up his mind to leave the western country, which would necessarilyend his congressional career. His wife was forlorn in his absence, andsuffered so many hardships in her isolated residence that he felt noreluctance to the change. To one of his wife's family he wrote at thistime:-- "As a political situation, the place of secretary of the treasury is doubtless more eligible and congenial to my habits; but it is more laborious and responsible than any other, and the same industry which will be necessary to fulfill its duties, applied to another object, would at the end of two years have left me in the possession of a profession which I might have exercised either in Philadelphia or New York. But our plans are all liable to uncertainty, and I must now cheerfully undertake that which had never been the object of my ambition or wishes. " Well might he hesitate as he witnessed the distress which had overtakenthe great party which for twelve years had held the posts of politicalhonor. Fortunately, perhaps for himself and certainly for his party andthe country, the proposition came at a time when he had definitivelydetermined upon a change of career. His situation was difficult. Thehostility of the Federal senators, and the great exertions which werebeing made to defeat the appointment, led him to the opinion that, ifpresented on March 4, it would be rejected. There was the alternative ofdelay until after that date, which would involve a postponement of theconfirmation until the meeting of Congress in December, but there was nocertainty that it would then be ratified. Meanwhile he would becompelled to remove to Washington at some sacrifice and expense. Hetherefore at first positively refused "to come in on any terms but aconfirmation by the Senate first given. " He was finally induced tocomply with the general wish of his political friends. The appointmentwas withheld by the President that the feeling in the Senate might bejudged from its action on the rest of the nominations submitted. Theywere all approved, and Mr. Dexter consented to hold over until hissuccessor should be appointed. Thus Mr. Gallatin's convenience wasentirely consulted. He remained in Washington a few days to confer withthe President as to the general conduct of the administration, and onMarch 14 set out for Fayette to put his affairs in order and to bringhis wife and family to Washington. On May 14 Jefferson wrote to Macon, "The arrival of Mr. Gallatin yesterday completed the organization of ouradministration. " Mr. Gallatin soon realized the magnitude of his task. He did nothing byhalves. To whatever work he had to do, he brought the best of hisfaculty. No man ever better deserved the epithet of "thorough. " Hesearched till he found the principle of every measure with which he hadconcern and understood every detail of its application. This perfectknowledge of every subject which he investigated was the secret of hispolitical success. As a committee man, he was incomparable. No one couldbe better equipped for the direction of the Treasury Department than he, but he was not satisfied with direction; he would manage also; and hewent to the work with untiring energy. A quarter of a century later hesaid of it, in a letter to his son, "To fill that office in the manner Idid, and as it ought to be filled, is a most laborious task and labor ofthe most tedious kind. To fit myself for it, to be able to understandthoroughly, to embrace and control all its details, took from me, duringthe two first years I held it, every hour of the day and many of thenight and had nearly brought on a pulmonary complaint. I filled theoffice twelve years and was fairly worn out. " Mr. Gallatin first drew public attention to his knowledge of finance inthe Pennsylvania legislature. An extract from his memorandum of histhree years' service gives the best account of this incident. In itappear the carefully matured convictions which he inflexibly maintained. "The report of the Committee of Ways and Means of the session 1790-1791 (presented by Gurney, chairman) was entirely prepared by me, known to be so, and laid the foundation of my reputation. I was quite astonished at the general encomiums bestowed upon it, and was not at all aware that I had done so well. It was perspicuous and comprehensive; but I am confident that its true merit, and that which gained me the general confidence, was its being founded in strict justice without the slightest regard to party feelings or popular prejudices. The principles assumed, and which were carried into effect, were the immediate reimbursement and extinction of the state paper money, the immediate payment in specie of all the current expenses or warrants on the Treasury (the postponement and uncertainty of which had given rise to shameful and corrupt speculations), and provision for discharging, without defalcation, every debt and engagement previously recognized by the State. In conformity with this, the State paid to its creditors the difference between the nominal amount of the state debt assumed by the United States and the rate at which it was funded by the act of Congress. "The proceeds of the public lands, together with the arrears, were the fund which not only discharged all the public debts, but left a large surplus. The apprehension that this would be squandered by the Legislature was the principal inducement for chartering the Bank of Pennsylvania with a capital of two millions of dollars, of which the State subscribed one half. This and similar subsequent investments enabled Pennsylvania to defray out of the dividends all the expenses of government without any direct tax during the forty ensuing years, and till the adoption of the system of internal improvement, which required new resources. " This report was printed in the Journal of the House, February 8, 1791. The next year he made a report on the same subject which was printedFebruary 22, 1792. But his equal grasp of larger subjects was shown in his sketch of thefinances of the United States, which he published in November, 1796. Itpresents under three sections the revenues, the expenses, and the debtsof the United States, each subdivided into special heads. The argumentsare supported by elaborate tabular statements. No such exhaustiveexamination had been made of the state of the American finances. The onecardinal principle which he laid down was the extinguishment of debt. Heseverely criticised Hamilton's methods of funding, and outlined thosewhich he himself later applied. He charged upon Hamilton directviolations of law in the application of money, borrowed as principal, tothe payment of interest on that principal. The public funds he regardedas three in number: 1st, the sinking fund; 2d, the surplus fund; 3d, thegeneral fund. In July, 1800, Mr. Gallatin published a second pamphlet, "Views of thePublic Debt, Receipts, and Expenditures of the United States, " theobject of the inquiry being to ascertain the result of the fiscaloperations of the government under the Constitution. The entire field ofAmerican finance is examined from its beginning. He severely condemnsthe mode of assumption of the state debts in Hamilton's original plan, and no doubt his strictures are technically correct. The debts assumedfor debtor States were not due by the United States, nor was there anymoral reason for their assumption. But the assumption was soundfinancial policy, and all the cost to the nation was amply repaid by theorder which their assumption drew out of chaos, and the vigor given tothe general credit by the strengthening of that of its parts. The courseof the Federalists and Republicans on this question shows that theformer had at heart the welfare of all the States, while the latterconfined their interest to their own body politic. Had Mr. Gallatin never penned another line on finance, these tworemarkable papers would place him in the first rank of economists andstatisticians. There are no errors in his figures, no flaws in hisreasoning, no faults in his deductions. In construction and detail, asparts of a complete financial system of administration, they are beyondcriticism. Opinions may differ as to the ends sought, but not as to themeans to those ends. For a long period Mr. Gallatin found no more time for essays; he wasnow to apply his methods. These may be traced in his printed treasuryreports, which are lucid and instructive. He was appointed to theTreasury on May 14, 1801, as appears by the official record in the StateDepartment. Before he entered on the duties of the office he submittedto Mr. Jefferson, March 14, 1801, some rough sketches of the financialsituation, and suggested the general outlines of his policy. He insistedupon a curtailment in the appropriations for the naval and militaryestablishments, the only saving adequate to the repeal of all internalduties; and upon the discharge of the foreign debt within the period ofits obligation. He estimated that the probable receipts and expendituresfor the year 1801 would leave a surplus of more than two millions ofdollars applicable to the redemption of the debt. On taking personal charge of the Treasury Department, his first businesswas to get rid of the arrears of current business which had accumulatedsince the retirement of Wolcott; his next, to perfect the internalrevenue system, so far as it could be remedied without new legislation. The entire summer of 1801 was passed in "arranging, or rather procuringcorrect statements amongst the Treasury documents, " a task of suchdifficulty that he was unwilling, on November 15, to arrive at anestimate of the revenue within half a million, or to commit himself toany opinion as to the feasibility of abolishing the internal revenues. In his "notes" submitted to Jefferson upon the draft of his firstmessage, there are several passages of interest which show Mr. Gallatin's logical habit of searching out economic causes. Under thehead of finances, he remarks, "The revenue has increased more than inthe same ratio with population: 1st, because our wealth has increased ina greater ratio than population; 2d, because the seaports and towns, which consume imported articles much more than the country, haveincreased in a greater proportion. " The final paragraph in these "notes"is a synopsis of his entire scheme of administration. "There is but one subject not mentioned in the message which I feel extremely anxious to see recommended. It is generally that Congress should adopt such measures as will effectually guard against misapplications of public moneys, by making specific appropriations whenever practicable; by providing against the application of moneys drawn from the Treasury under an appropriation to any other object or to any greater amount than that for which they have been drawn; by limiting discretionary power in the application of that money; whether by heads of department or by any other agents; and by rendering every person who receives public moneys from the Treasury as immediately, promptly, and effectually accountable to the accounting officer (the comptroller) as practicable. The great characteristic, the flagrant vice, of the late administration has been total disregard of laws, and application of public moneys by the Department to objects for which they were not appropriate. " Outlines for a system of specific appropriations were inclosed. That the mission of Jefferson's administration was the reduction of thedebt, Gallatin set forth in his next letter of November 16, 1801. "I amfirmly of opinion that if the present administration and Congress do nottake the most effective measures for that object, the debt will beentailed on us and the ensuing generations, together with all thesystems which support it, and which it supports. " On the other hand hesays, "If this administration shall not reduce taxes, they never will bepermanently reduced. " To reduce both the debt and the taxes was as mucha political as a financial problem. To solve it required the reductionto a minimum of the departments of War and Marine. But Mr. Jefferson wasnot a practical statesman. His individuality was too strong for muchsurrender of opinion. He stated the case very mildly when he wrote inhis retirement that he sometimes differed in opinion from some of hisfriends, from those whose views were as "pure and as sound as his own. "It was not his habit to consult his entire cabinet except on generalmeasures. The heads of each department set their views before himseparately. Under this system Mr. Gallatin was never able to realizethat harmonious interdependence of departments and subordination of waysto means which were his ideal of cabinet administration. The successful application of Mr. Gallatin's plan would havesubordinated all the executive departments to the Treasury. The theorywas perfect, but it took no account of the greed of office, thejealousies of friends, the opposition of enemies, and the unknown factorof foreign relations. A speck on the horizon would cloud the peacefulprospect, a hostile threat derange the intricate machinery by which thedelicate financial balance was maintained. Mr. Gallatin was fastrealizing the magnitude of his undertaking, in which he was greatlyembarrassed by the difficulty of finding faithful examining clerks, onwhose correctness and fidelity a just settlement of all accountsdepends. The number of independent offices attached to the Treasury madethe task still more arduous. He wrote to Jefferson at this time, "Itwill take me twelve months before I can thoroughly understand everydetail of all these several offices. Current business and the moregeneral and important duties of the office do not permit me to learn thelesser details, but incidentally and by degrees. Until I know them all Idare not touch the machine. " One of the acquirements which he consideredindispensable for a secretary of the treasury was a "thorough knowledgeof book-keeping. " The recollection of his persistent demands forinformation from Hamilton and Wolcott during his congressional careerwould have stung the conscience of an ordinary man. But Gallatin was notan ordinary man. He asked nothing of others which he himself was notwilling to perform. His ideal was high, but he reached its summit. Itseems almost as if, in his persistent demand that money accountabilityshould be imposed by law upon the Treasury Department, he sought to setthe measure of his own duty, while in the requirement that it should beextended to the other departments, he pledged himself to the perfectaccomplishment of that duty in his own. In his first report to Congress, [11] made December 18, 1801, Mr. Gallatin submitted his financial estimate for the year 1802. REVENUE. EXPENDITURES. Imposts $9, 500, 000 Int. On debts. $7, 100, 000Lands } 450, 000 Civil List 980, 000Postages } Army 1, 420, 000Internal Rev. 650, 000 Navy 1, 100, 000 ---------- ---------- $10, 600, 000 $10, 600, 000 Mr. Wolcott, in his last report to the Commissioners of the SinkingFund, stated the amount in the Treasury to its credit at $500, 718. Mr. Gallatin denied that there was any such surplus, but said that insteadof a credit balance the treasury books showed a deficiency of $930, 128on the aggregate revenue from the establishment of the government to theclose of the year 1799. Elliott, in his "Funding System, " saidconcerning this once vexed controversy, that it was difficult toreconcile such a diversity of opinion on so intricate a subject; andconcerning the official statements of Hamilton and Wolcott, that it washardly to be credited that they were so superficial or imperfect. Mr. Gallatin himself furnishes the apology that the difference might arisefrom "entries made or omitted on erroneous principles. " To the Federalfinanciers the palliation was as offensive as the charge, and rankledlong and sore. If it were not possible, when Elliott made anexamination, to arrive at the precise facts, it is certainly now asecret as secure from discovery as the lost sibylline leaves. Mr. Gallatin stated the debt of the United States-- On January 1, 1801, at $80, 161, 207. 60On January 1, 1802, at 77, 881, 890. 29 ---------------Reduction $2, 279, 317. 31 This difference was the amount of principal paid during the year 1801, the result of the management of his predecessors. On December 18, 1801, Mr. Gallatin entered upon an examination of the time in which the totaldebt might be discharged, and showed that, by the annual application of$7, 300, 000 to the principal and interest the debt would in eight years, _i. E. _ on January 1, 1810, be reduced (by the payment of $32, 289, 000 ofthe principal) to $45, 592, 739, and that the same annual sum of$7, 300, 000 would discharge the whole debt by the year 1817. The revenuesof the Union he found sufficient to defray all the current expenses. Inhis report to Congress at the beginning of the session he designatedthis sum of $7, 300, 000 to be set aside from the revenues, and Congressgave the requisite authority. An extract from a tabular statementsubmitted to the House of Representatives, April 16, 1810, will show hownearly Mr. Gallatin approached the result at which he aimed, and thenature of the embarrassment he encountered on the path. ------+--------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+ | Amount of | Payments | Debt | Annual |Years. | Public Debt | on | Contracted. | Increase. | | January 1st. | Principal. | | |------+--------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+1802 |$80, 712, 632. 25| $3, 657, 945. 95| - | - |1803 | 77, 054, 686. 30| 5, 627, 565. 42| $15, 000, 000* |$9, 372, 434. 58|1804 | 86, 427, 120. 88| 4, 114, 970. 38| - | - |1805 | 82, 312, 150. 50| 6, 588, 879. 84| - | - |1806 | 75, 723, 270. 66| 6, 504, 872. 02| - | - |1807 | 69, 218, 398. 64| 4, 022, 080. 67| - | - |1808 | 65, 196, 317. 97| 8, 173, 125. 88| - | - |1809 | 57, 023, 192. 09| 3, 850, 889. 77| - | - |1810 | 53, 172, 302. 32| - | - | - |------+--------------+--------------+---------------+-------------+----------------- Annual Decrease. ----------------- $3, 657, 948. 95 - 4, 114, 970. 38 6, 588, 879. 84 6, 504, 872. 02 4, 022, 080. 67 8, 173, 125. 88 3, 850, 889. 77 ------------------ * Louisiana purchase. 1802 $80, 712, 632. 25 Decrease $36, 912, 764. 511810 53, 172, 302. 32 Increase 9, 372, 434. 58 -------------- -------------- $27, 540, 329. 93 Decrease in 8 yrs. $27, 540, 329. 93 From this it appears that, notwithstanding the extraordinary increase ofthe principal by the amount of the Louisiana purchase, Mr. Gallatincontrived a reduction of $27, 540, 329. But if to this be added the truereduction for the year 1803, namely, the difference between theLouisiana debt, $15, 000, 000, and the increase for that year, by reasonof that purchase, $9, 372, 434, say $6, 627, 565, the reduction is found tobe, and but for that disturbing cause would have reached, $34, 167, 895, a sum exceeding by $1, 878, 895 that estimated by Mr. Gallatin in hisreport of 1801 as the amount of eight years' reduction, namely, $32, 289, 000. The ways and means of this remarkable example of financial managementappear in the following extracts from Elliott's synoptical statement(table given on page 194). The purchase of Louisiana was the extraordinary financial measure ofJefferson's first presidential term. Though the new obligation for theconsideration money, fifteen millions of dollars, was a large sum inproportion to the total existing debt of the United States, it did notin the least derange Gallatin's plan of funding and reduction, but wasbrought without friction within his general scheme. With the terms ofthe contract Gallatin had nothing to do. They were arranged byLivingston and Monroe, the American commissioners; the intervention ofthe houses of Hope and the Barings being a part of the understandingbetween the commissioners and the French government. These bankersengaged to make the money payments and take six per cent. Stock of theUnited States at seventy-eight and one half cents on the dollar. Withthis price Mr. Gallatin does not seem to have been satisfied, though ofcourse he interposed no objection to the terms; but to Jefferson hewrote, August 31, 1803, that the low price at which that stock had beensold, was "not ascribable to the state of public credit nor to any actof your administration, and particularly of the Treasury Department;"and he adds in a postscript, "at that period our threes were in Englandworth one per cent. More at market than the English. " RECEIPTS. ------------------+----------------+---------------+-------------+Four years | Customs. | Internal | Direct |ending | | Revenue. | Taxes. |December 31. | | | |------------------+----------------+---------------+-------------+Adams, 1800 | $30, 347, 093. 62 | $2, 808, 382. 37 | $734, 223. 97 | +--------------- +-------------- +------------ +Jefferson, 1804 | 44, 766, 997. 61 | 1, 936, 053. 30 | 862, 986. 46 | 1808 | 59, 813, 257. 40 | 63, 110. 73 | 131, 539. 54 | +--------------- +-------------- +------------ + | 104, 580, 255. 01 | 1, 999, 146. 03 | 994, 526. 00 |------------------+----------------+---------------+-------------+ ------------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+Four years | Postage. | Public | Loans and |ending | | Lands. | Treasury |December 31. | | | Notes. |------------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+Adams, 1800 | $223, 000. 00 | $95, 947. 46 | $7, 055, 791. 25 | +-------------+--------------+---------------+Jefferson, 1804 | 157, 427. 26 | 1, 009, 556. 56 | 25, 255. 00 | 1808 | 60, 074. 90 | 2, 419, 541. 86 | 179, 534. 81 | +-------------+--------------+---------------+ | 217, 502. 10 | 3, 429, 098. 42 | 205, 089. 81 |------------------+-------------+--------------+---------------+ ------------------+--------------+----------------+----------------Four years | Dividends | Miscellaneous. | Total. Ending | and sales of | |December 31. | Bank Stock. | |------------------+--------------+-------------- -+----------------Adams, 1800 | $607, 220. 00 | $168, 971. 76 | $42, 040, 630. 45 +--------------+----------------+----------------Jefferson, 1804 | 1, 416, 360. 00 | 672, 148. 72 | 50, 846, 784. 91 1808 | -- | 85, 782. 03 | 62, 758, 841. 27 +--------------+----------------+---------------- | 1, 416, 360. 00 | 757, 930. 75 | 113, 605, 626. 18------------------+--------------+----------------+---------------- EXPENDITURES. ------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+Four years | Civil List. | Foreign |Miscellaneous. |ending | | Intercourse | |December 31. | | including | | | | Awards. | |------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+Adams, 1800 | $2, 329, 433. 08 | $1, 793, 879. 57 | $621, 633. 37 | +---------------+---------------+--------------+Jefferson, 1804 | 2, 297, 648. 17 | 3, 144, 093. 00 | 1, 169, 601. 87 | 1808 | 2, 616, 772. 77 | 5, 441, 669. 24 | 1, 721, 876. 87 | +---------------+---------------+--------------+ | 4, 914, 420. 94 | 8, 585, 762. 24 | 2, 891, 478. 74 |------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+ ------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+Four years | Military | Pensions. | Indian |ending | Forts, etc. | | Department. |December 31. | | | | | | | |------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+Adams, 1800 | $8, 076, 750. 71 | $356, 677. 06 | $99, 299. 88 | +---------------+-------------+--------------+Jefferson, 1804 | 4, 549, 572. 11 | 301, 968. 66 | 279, 500. 00 | 1808 | 6, 126, 656. 97 | 316, 806. 16 | 849, 700. 00 | +---------------+-------------+--------------+ | 10, 676, 229. 08 | 618, 774. 82 | 1, 129, 200. 00 |------------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+ ------------------+----------------+----------------+----------------Four years | Naval | Public Debt. | Total. Ending | Establishment. | |December 31. | | | | | |------------------+----------------+----------------+----------------Adams, 1800 | $8, 070, 777. 52 | $18, 957, 962. 69 | $40, 306, 413. 88 +----------------+----------------+----------------Jefferson, 1804 | 5, 432, 049. 15 | 32, 258, 658. 68 | 49, 433, 091. 64 1808 | 6, 853, 673. 79 | 32, 927, 739. 85 | 56, 854, 985. 65 +----------------+----------------+---------------- | 12, 285, 722. 94 | 65, 186, 398. 53 | 106, 288, 077. 29------------------+----------------+----------------+---------------- Adams--Receipts $42, 040, 630. 45Adams--Expenditures 40, 306, 413. 88 --------------Under Wolcott, Secretary 1, 734, 216. 57 Jefferson--Receipts $113, 605, 626. 18Jefferson--Expenditures 106, 288, 077. 29 --------------Under Gallatin, Secretary 7, 317, 584. 89[12] [**Transcriber's Note: Some of the numbers in the above tables do notadd up, but reflect the actual numbers given in the original document. ] The arrangements being completed, Jefferson called Congress together inOctober, 1803, for a ratification of the treaty; the commissioners, byvirtue of the authority granted them, had already guaranteed the advanceby the Barings of ten million livres ($2, 000, 000). On October 25, 1803, Gallatin made a report to Congress on the state of the finances. Itshowed a reduction of the public debt in the two and one half years ofhis management, April 1, 1801, to September 30, 1803, of $12, 702, 404. The only question to be considered was whether any additional revenueswere wanted to provide for the _new debt_ which would result from thepurchase of Louisiana. The sum called for by treaty, fifteen millions, consisted of two items:1st, $11, 250, 000 payable to the government of France in a stock bearingan interest of six per cent. Payable in Europe, and the principal to bedischarged at the Treasury of the United States; 2d, a sum which couldnot exceed, but might fall short of, $3, 750, 000, payable in specie atthe Treasury of the United States to American citizens having claims ofa certain description upon the government of France. It is interesting here to note Mr. Gallatin's distinction between theplace of payment of interest and of principal as a new departure inAmerican finance. The principal and interest of foreign loans had up tothat period been paid abroad. But a United States stock was anobligation of a different character and properly payable at home. In thelarge negotiations which Secretary Chase had in 1862 with the TreasuryNote Committee of the Associated Banks, [13] this policy was matter ofgrave debate. The determined American pride of Mr. Chase prevailed, andboth the principal _and interest_ of the loans created were made payableat the Treasury of the United States. These may be small matters intheir financial result, but are grave points in national policy. The only financial legislation necessary to carry out the Louisianapurchase was a provision that $700, 000 of the duties on merchandise andtonnage, a sum sufficient to pay the interest on the new debt, be addedto the annual permanent appropriation for the sinking fund, making a sumof $8, 000, 000 in all. The new debt would, Gallatin said, neither impede nor retard the paymentof the principal of the old debt; and the fund would be sufficient, besides paying the interest on both, to discharge the principal of theold debt before the year 1818, and of the new, within one year and ahalf after that year. In this expectation he relied solely on themaintenance of the revenue at the amount of the year 1802, and in no waydepended on its probable increase as a result of neutrality in theEuropean war; nor on any augmentation by reason of increase ofpopulation or wealth, nor the effect which the opening of theMississippi to free navigation might be expected to have on the sales ofpublic lands and the general resources of the country. In his report of December 9, 1805, Mr. Gallatin reviewed the results ofhis first four years of service, April 1, 1801, to March 31, 1805. RECEIPTS. Duties on tonnage and importation offoreign merchandise $45, 174, 837. 22 From all other sources 5, 492, 629. 82 -------------- $50, 667, 467. 04 ============== EXPENDITURES. Civil list and miscellaneous $3, 786, 094. 79 Intercourse with foreign nations 1, 071, 437. 84 Military establishment and Indian department 4, 405, 192. 26 Naval establishment 4, 842, 635. 15 Interest on foreign debt 16, 278, 700. 95 Reimbursement of debt from surplusrevenue 19, 281, 446. 57 -------------- $49, 665, 507. 56 The Louisiana purchase and the admirable manner of its financialarrangement were important factors in Jefferson's reëlection. Mr. Gallatin was now sure of four years, at least, for the prosecution ofhis plan of redemption of the public debt. Estimating that with theincrease of population at the rate of thirty-five per cent. In tenyears, and the corresponding growth of the revenue, he could count upona net annual surplus of $5, 500, 000, he now proposed to convert theseveral outstanding obligations into a six per cent. Stock amounting, January 1, 1809, to less than _forty millions of dollars_, which thecontinued annual appropriation of $8, 000, 000 would, besides paying theinterest on the Louisiana debt, reimburse within a period of less thanseven years, or before the end of the year 1815. After that year noother incumbrance would remain on the revenue than the interest andreimbursement of the Louisiana stock, the last payment of which in theyear 1821 would complete the final extinguishment of the public debt. The conversion act was passed February 1, 1807, and books were opened onJuly 1 following. On February 27, 1807, Mr. Gallatin made a specialreport on the state of the debt from 1801 to 1807, showing a diminution, notwithstanding the Louisiana purchase, of $14, 260, 000. In the summer of 1807 war with England seemed inevitable. Gallatin hadthe satisfaction to report a full treasury, --the amount of specieOctober 7, 1807, reaching over eight and one half millions, --and anannual unappropriated surplus, which could be confidently relied upon, of at least three millions of dollars. On this subject his remarks inthe light of subsequent history are of extreme interest. Whilerefraining from any recommendations as to the application of thissurplus, either to "measures of security and defense, " or to "internalimprovements which, while increasing and diffusing the national wealth, will strengthen the bonds of union, " as "subjects which do not fallwithin the province of the Treasury Department, " he proceeds to considerthe advantage of an accumulation in the Treasury. In this report herises with easy flight far above the purely financial atmosphere intothe higher plane of political economy. "A previous accumulation of treasure in time of peace might in a great degree defray the extraordinary expenses of war and diminish the necessity of either loans or additional taxes. It would provide during periods of prosperity for those adverse events to which every nation is exposed, instead of increasing the burthens of the people at a time when they are least able to bear them, or of impairing, by anticipations, the resources of ensuing generations. . . . "That the revenue of the United States will in subsequent years be considerably impaired by a war neither can nor ought to be concealed. It is, on the contrary, necessary, in order to be prepared for the crisis, to take an early view of the subject, and to examine the resources which should be selected for supplying the deficiency and defraying the extraordinary expenses. . . . "Whether taxes should be raised to a greater amount or loans be altogether relied on for defraying the expenses of the war, is the next subject of consideration. "Taxes are paid by the great mass of the citizens, and immediately affect almost every individual of the community. Loans are supplied by capital previously accumulated by a few individuals. In a country where the resources of individuals are not generally and materially affected by the war, it is practicable and wise to raise by taxes the greater part at least of the annual supplies. The credit of the nation may also from various circumstances be at times so far impaired as to have no resource but taxation. In both respects the situation of the United States is totally dissimilar. . . . "An addition to the debt is doubtless an evil, but experience having now shown with what rapid progress the revenue of the Union increases in time of peace, with what facility the debt, formerly contracted, has in a few years been reduced, a hope may confidently be entertained that all the evils of the war will be temporary and easily repaired, and that the return of peace will, without any effort, afford ample resources for reimbursing whatever may have been borrowed during the war. " He then enumerates the several branches of revenue which might beselected to provide for the interest of war loans and to coverdeficiencies. First, a considerable increase of the duties onimportations; and here he says:-- "Without resorting to the example of other nations, experience has proven that this source of revenue is in the United States the most productive, the easiest to collect, and the least burthensome to the great mass of the people. 2d. Indirect taxes, however ineligible, will doubtless be cheerfully paid as _war taxes_, if necessary. 3d. Direct taxes are liable to a particular objection arising from unavoidable inequality produced by the general rule of the Constitution. Whatever differences may exist between the relative wealth and consequent ability of paying of the several States, still the tax must necessarily be raised in proportion to their relative population. " The Orders in Council of November 11, 1807, avowedly adopted to compelall nations to give up their maritime trade or accept it through GreatBritain, reached Washington on December 18, 1807, and were immediatelyreplied to by the United States by an embargo act on December 22. Thehistory of the political effect of this measure is beyond the limits ofthis economic study, and will be touched upon in a later chapter, butthe result of its application upon the Treasury falls within thisanalysis of the methods of Mr. Gallatin's administration. On December 18 Gallatin wrote Jefferson that "in every point of view, privations, sufferings, revenue, effect on the enemy, politics at home, etc. , " he preferred "war to a permanent embargo;" nevertheless he wascalled upon to draft the bill. The correctness of Mr. Gallatin'sprevision was soon apparent. In his report of December 10, 1808, hereviewed the general effect of the measure. "The embargo has broughtinto and kept in the United States almost all the floating property ofthe nation. And whilst the depreciated value of domestic productincreases the difficulty of raising a considerable revenue by internaltaxes, at no former time has there been so much specie, so muchredundant unemployed capital in the country. " Again stating his opinionthat loans should be principally relied on in case of war, he closedwith the following words: "The high price of public stocks (and indeedof all species of stocks), the reduction of the public debt, theunimpaired credit of the general government, and the large amount ofexisting bank stock in the United States [estimated by him at fortymillions of dollars], leave no doubt of the practicability of obtainingthe necessary loans on reasonable terms. " The receipts into the Treasury during theyear ending September, 1808, the last ofJefferson's administration, were $17, 952, 419. 90 The disbursements during the same periodwere 12, 635, 275. 46 -------------Excess of receipts $5, 317, 144. 44 And the specie in Treasury, October 1, 1808 $13, 846, 717. 82 From January 1, 1791, to January 1, 1808, the debt had fallen from$75, 169, 974 to $57, 023, 192; during the first ten years it had increasednearly seven millions of dollars, in the last eight it had beendiminished more than twenty millions and Louisiana had been purchased. Thus closed the second term of Gallatin's service. Happen what might, the credit of the country could not be in a better situation to meet theexigencies of a war. A letter from Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Gallatin afterthe close of this administration, and Gallatin's reply, show the entireaccord between them upon the one cardinal point of financial policy. Mr. Jefferson, October 11, 1809, wrote from Monticello, "I consider thefortunes of our republic as depending in an eminent degree on theextinction of the public debt before we engage in any war; because, thatdone, we shall have revenue enough to improve our country in peace anddefend it in war, without incurring either new taxes or new loans. " Andurging Gallatin to retain his post, he closed with the striking words, "I hope, then, you will abandon entirely the idea you expressed to me, and that you will consider the eight years to come as essential to yourpolitical career. I should certainly consider any earlier day of yourretirement as the most inauspicious day our new government has everseen. " To which Gallatin replied from Washington, on November 10:-- "The reduction of the public debt was certainly the principal object in bringing me into office, and our success in that respect has been due both to the joint and continued efforts of the several branches of government and to the prosperous situation of the country. I am sensible that the work cannot progress under adverse circumstances. If the United States shall be forced into a state of actual war, all the resources of the country must be called forth to make it efficient and new loans will undoubtedly be wanted. But whilst peace is preserved, the revenue will, at all events, be sufficient to pay the interest and to defray necessary expenses. I do not ask that in the present situation of our foreign relations the debt be reduced, but only that it shall not be increased so long as we are not at war. " In his eight years of service under Jefferson, Gallatin had not foundthe Treasury Department a bed of roses. Under Madison there was an undueproportion of thorns. It has been shown that the entire reliance of Gallatin for the expensesof government was on customs, tonnage dues, and land sales. The effectof the Embargo Act was soon felt in the falling off of importations, andconsequently in the revenue from this source. Mr. Gallatin felt thestrain in the spring of 1809; and on March 18, soon after Mr. Madison'sinauguration, he gave notice to the commissioners of the sinking fund ofa probable deficiency. In his annual report to Congress, December, 1809, he announced the expenses of government, exclusive of the payments onaccount of the principal of the debt, to have exceeded the actualreceipts into the Treasury by a sum of near $1, 300, 000. For thisdeficiency, and the sum required for the sinking fund, Gallatin wasauthorized in May to borrow from the Bank of the United States$3, 750, 000 at six per cent. , reimbursable on December 31, 1811. Of thissum only $2, 750, 000 was taken, the expenses having proved less than Mr. Gallatin had anticipated. Madison called Congress together on November 1, 1811. The politicaltension was strong, and he was anxious to throw the responsibility ofpeace or war upon Congress. On November 22, 1811, Mr. Gallatin made hisreport on the finances and the public debt. It was, as usual, explicitand in no manner despondent. The actual receipts arising from revenuealone exceeded the current expenses, including the interest paid on thedebt, by a sum of more than five and one half millions of dollars. Thepublic debt on January 1, 1812, was $45, 154, 463. Since Gallatin tookcharge of the department, the United States had in ten years and ninemonths paid in full the purchase money of Louisiana, and increased itsrevenue nearly two millions of dollars. For eight years eight millionsof dollars had been annually paid on account of the principal andinterest of the debt. And as though intending to leave as the legacy ofhis service a lesson of financial policy, he said:-- "_The redemption of principal has been effected without the aid of any internal taxes, either direct or indirect, without any addition during the last seven years to the rate of duties on importations, which on the contrary have been impaired by the repeal of the duty on salt, and notwithstanding the great diminution of commerce during the last four years. _ It therefore proves decisively the ability of the United States with their ordinary revenue to discharge, in ten years of peace, a debt of forty-two millions of dollars, a fact which considerably lessens the weight of the most formidable objection to which that revenue, depending almost solely on commerce, appears to be liable. In time of peace it is almost sufficient to defray the expenses of a war; in time of war it is hardly competent to support the expenses of a peace establishment. Sinking at once, under adverse circumstances, from fifteen to six or eight millions of dollars, it is only by a persevering application of the surplus which it affords us in years of prosperity, to the discharge of the debt, that a total change in the system of taxation or a perpetual accumulation of debt can be avoided. But if a similar application of such surplus be hereafter strictly adhered to, forty millions of debt, contracted during five or six years of war, may always, without any extraordinary exertions, be reimbursed in ten years of peace. This view of the subject at the present crisis appears necessary for the purpose of distinctly pointing out one of the principal resources within reach of the United States. But to be placed on a solid foundation, it requires the aid of a revenue sufficient at least to defray the ordinary expenses of government, and to pay the interest on the public debt, including that on new loans which may be authorized. " From this plain declaration, it was evident that the sum necessary topay interest on new loans, and provide for their redemption by theoperation of the sinking fund, could not be obtained from the ordinarysources of revenue, and that resort must be had to extraordinary impostsor direct taxation. On January 10, 1812, in response to an inquiry ofthe Ways and Means Committee as to an increase of revenue in _the eventof a war_, Gallatin submitted a project for war loans of ten millions ayear, irredeemable for ten years. He pointed out that the government hadnever since its organization obtained considerable loans at six percent. Per annum, except from the Bank of the United States, and these, on a capital of seven millions, never amounted to seven millions in thewhole. As the amount of prospective loans would naturally raise theamount of interest, it seemed prudent not to limit the rate of interestby law; ineligible as it seemed to leave that rate discretionary withthe executive, it was preferable to leaving the public serviceunprovided for. For the same reason the loans should be madeirredeemable for a term not less than ten years. He then repeated a former suggestion, that "treasury notes, " bearinginterest, might be issued, which would to that extent diminish theamount to be directly borrowed and also provide a part of thecirculating medium, passing as bank notes; but their issue must bestrictly limited to that amount at which they would circulate withoutdepreciation. So long as the public credit is preserved and a sufficientrevenue provided, he entertained no doubts of the possibility ofprocuring on loan the sums necessary to defray the extraordinaryexpenses of a war. He warned the committee, and through it Congress, that "no artificial provisions, no appropriations or investments ofparticular funds in certain persons, _no nominal sinking fund_, howeverconstructed, will ever reduce a public debt unless the net annualrevenue shall exceed the aggregate of the annual expenses, including theinterest of the debt. " He then submitted the following estimates:-- "The current or peace expenses have been estimated at nine millions of dollars. Supposing the debt contracted during the war not to exceed fifty millions and its annual interest to amount to three millions, the aggregate of the peace expenditure would be no more than twelve millions. And as the peace revenue of the United States may at the existing rate of duties be fairly estimated at fifteen millions, there would remain from the first outset a surplus of three millions applicable to the redemption of the debt. So far, therefore, as can be now foreseen, there is the strongest reason to believe that the debt thus contracted will be discharged with facility and as speedily as the terms of the loans will permit. Nor does any other plan in that respect appear necessary than to extend the application of the annual appropriation of eight millions (and which is amply sufficient for that purpose) to the payment of interest and reimbursement of the principal of the new debt. . . . If the national revenue exceeds the national expenditure, a simple appropriation for the payment of the principal of the debt and coextensive with the object is sufficient and will infallibly extinguish the debt. If the expense exceeds the revenue, the appropriation of any specific sum and the investment of the interest extinguished or of any other fund, will prove altogether nugatory; and the national debt will, notwithstanding that apparatus, be annually increased by an amount equal to the deficit in the revenue. . . . What appears to be of vital importance is that _the crisis_ should at once be met by the adoption of efficient measures, which will with certainty provide means commensurate with the expense, and, by _preserving unimpaired instead of abusing that public credit on which the public resources so eminently depend, will enable the United States to persevere in the contest until an honorable peace shall have been obtained_. " On March 14 Congress authorized a public loan of eleven millions ofdollars, leaving it optional with the banks who subscribed to takestock, or to loan the money on special contract. The books were openedMay 1 and 2, and in the two days $6, 118, 900 were subscribed: $4, 190, 000by banks and $1, 928, 000 by individuals. The rate was six per cent. Mr. Gallatin reported this result, and proposed the issue of treasury notesfor such amount as was desired within the limit of the loan to bearinterest at five and two fifths per cent. A year, equal to a cent and ahalf per day on a hundred dollars' note; 2d, to be payable one yearafter date of issue; 3d, to be in the meanwhile receivable in payment ofall duties, taxes, or debts due to the United States. The first of theseingenious qualifications was adopted by Mr. Chase in his issue of theseven-thirties. On June 18 war was declared. On the 28th Mr. Gallatin submitted hisestimate of receipts and expenditures for the year. EXPENDITURES IN ROUND NUMBERS. Civil and miscellaneous $1, 560, 000Military establishment, and Indian dept 12, 800, 000Naval establishment 3, 940, 000Public debt 8, 000, 000 ---------- $26, 300, 000 ========== FUNDS PROVIDED. Balance in Treasury, January 1 $2, 000, 000Receipts from duties and sales of lands as by estimate of November 22, 1811 8, 200, 000Loan authorized by law 11, 000, 000Treasury notes as authorized by House of Representatives 5, 000, 000 ---------- $26, 200, 000 The issue of _treasury notes_ was a novel experiment in the UnitedStates; but they were favorably received, and Mr. Gallatin calculatedthat the full amount authorized by law, $5, 000, 000, could be put incirculation during the year. The result of a loan seemed more doubtful. The old six per cents. And deferred stock had already fallen two orthree per cent. Below par. Mr. Gallatin again recommended the conversionof these securities into a new six per cent. Stock, which wouldfacilitate the new loan, and to prevent the necessity of applying, thesame years, the large sums required in reimbursement of and purchase ofthe public debt. On December 1 Mr. Gallatin made his last annual statement. _Treasury Report for Fiscal Year ending September_ 30, 1812. RECEIPTS. Customs, sales of lands, etc. $10, 934, 946. 20On account of loan of eleven millions, act 14 March, 1812 5, 847, 212. 50 -------------- $16, 782, 158. 70Balance in Treasury October 1, 1811 3, 947, 818. 36 -------------- $20, 729, 977. 06 ============== DISBURSEMENTS. Civil Department, foreign intercourse $1, 823, 069. 35Army, militia, forts, etc. $7, 770, 300. 00Navy Department 3, 107, 501. 54Indian Department 230, 975. 00 ------------- 11, 108, 776. 54Interest on debt $2, 498, 013. 19On account of principal 2, 938, 465. 99 ------------- 5, 436, 479. 18 -------------- $18, 368, 325. 07Leaving in Treasury 30 Sept. , 1812 2, 361, 652. 69 -------------- $20, 729, 977. 76 The sums obtained or secured on loans during the year amounted to$13, 100, 209, and the secretary had the satisfaction to state "thatnotwithstanding the addition thus made to the public debt, and althougha considerable portion has been remitted from England and brought tomarket in America, the public stocks (which had at first experienced aslight depression) have been for the last three months, and continue tobe, at par. " His last report to the commissioners of the sinking fund ofFebruary 5, 1813, stated the usual application of $8, 719, 773 to theprincipal and interest of the debt. In his report of December 1, 1812, Mr. Gallatin announced that a loan oftwenty-one millions was needed for the service of 1813. Congressauthorized a loan of $16, 000, 000, having six years to run, and anadditional issue of $5, 000, 000 of treasury notes. Congress adjourned onMarch 4. Their procrastination and the pressing demands of the WarDepartment nearly beggared the Treasury before the loans could benegotiated and covered into it. On April 17 Mr. Gallatin wrote to the secretaries of the army and of thenavy, and sent a copy of his letters to Mr. Madison with informationthat the loan had been filled, and the probable receipts of the Treasuryfrom ordinary sources for the year ascertained. These he estimated at$9, 300, 000. Deducting the annual appropriation for interest on the debt, the sum expended to March 31, and the amount needed for the civilservice, there remained for the War and Navy Departments together thesum of $18, 720, 000. The loan of $16, 000, 000 was obtained in the following places:-- States east of New York $486, 700State of New York 5, 720, 000Philadelphia, Pa. 6, 858, 400Baltimore and District of Columbia 2, 393, 300State of Virginia 187, 000Charleston, S. C. 354, 000 ----------- $16, 000, 000 The history of this subscription is not without interest. The extremelysmall subscriptions in New England and in the Southern States can hardlybe explained on any other theory than that of a belief in the collapseof the finances of the United States and a dissolution of the Union, forwhich the New England States had certainly been prepared by theirgoverning minds. [14] Books were opened on March 12 and 13, 1813, at Portsmouth, Salem, Boston, Providence, New York, Albany, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, and Charleston. In the two days the subscriptionsonly reached the sum of $3, 956, 400. They were again opened on the 25thof March at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. The NewEngland and Southern States seem to have been disregarded because oftheir indifference in the first instance. The books remained open fromMarch 25 to 31, during which time there were received $1, 881, 800, atotal of $5, 838, 200. The pressure fell on the Middle States. In these, fortunately for thegovernment, there were three great capitalists whose faith in the futureprosperity of the United States was unimpaired. All were foreigners:David Parish and Stephen Girard in Philadelphia and John Jacob Astor inNew York. These now came forward, no doubt at the instance of Mr. Gallatin, who was a personal friend of each. Parish and Girard offeredon April 5 to take eight millions of the loan at the rate ofeighty-eight dollars for a certificate of one hundred dollars bearinginterest at six per cent. , redeemable before December 31, 1825, they toreceive one quarter of one per cent. Commission on the amount accepted, and in case of a further loan for the service of the year 1813, to beplaced on an equal footing with its takers. John Jacob Astor on the sameday and at the same place proposed to take for himself and his friendsthe sum of two million and fifty-six thousand dollars of the loan on thesame conditions. These offers were accepted and the loan was complete. An offer on behalf of the State of Pennsylvania to take one million ofthe loan was received too late. Altogether the offers amounted to abouteighteen millions, or two millions more than the sum demanded. Mr. Gallatin, clinging to his old plan, endeavored to negotiate this loan atpar, by offering a premium of a thirteen years' annuity of one percent. , but found it impracticable. Indeed, the system of annuity, general in England, has never found favor as an investment in the UnitedStates. This was Mr. Gallatin's last financial transaction. A few weeks later, at his own request, he severed his actual connection with the TreasuryDepartment and was on his way to St. Petersburg to secure the profferedmediation of the emperor of Russia between the United States and GreatBritain. Thus ended Mr. Gallatin's administration of the national finances. Thehour for saving had passed. The imperious necessities of war take noheed of economic principles. The work which the secretary had donebecame as the rope of sand. It is not surprising that Gallatin weariedof his post; that he watched with vain regret and unavailing sighs theunavoidable increase of the national debt, and that he sought relief inother services where success was not so evanescent as in the TreasuryDepartment. Before the close of Madison's administration, February 12, 1816, the public debt had run up to over one hundred and twenty-threemillions, [15] and a sum equal to the entire amount of Mr. Gallatin'ssavings in two terms had been expended in one. But his work had not beenin vain. The war was the crucial test of the soundness of his financialpolicy. The maxims which he announced, that debt can only be reduced bya surplus of revenue over expenditure, and the accompaniment of everyloan by an appropriation for its extinguishment, became the fundamentalprinciple of American finance. Mr. Gallatin was uniformly supported init by Congress and public opinion. It was faithfully adhered to by hisdistinguished successors, Dallas and Crawford, and the impulse thusgiven continued through later administrations, until, in 1837, twentyyears after the peace, the entire debt had been extinguished. All thiswithout any other variation from Mr. Gallatin's original plan than anincrease of the annual appropriation, to the sinking fund for itsreimbursement, from eight to ten millions. [16] The only charge which has ever been made against Gallatin'sadministration was, that he reduced the debt at the expense of thedefenses and security of the country; but, to quote the words of one ofhis biographers:[17] "Mr. Gallatin had the sagacity to know that it [theredemption of the debt] would make but little difference in the degreeof preparation of national defense and means of contest, for which it isimpossible ever to obtain a considerable appropriation before the nearapproach of the danger that may render them necessary. He knew that themoney thus well and wisely devoted to the payment of the debt was onlyrescued from a thousand purposes of extravagance and mal-application towhich all our legislative bodies are so prone whenever they have controlof surplus funds. " In our own day the irresistible temptations of a fulltreasury need no labored demonstration. Friend and foe drop politicaldifferences over the abundant fleshpot. The very thought of catering tosuch appetites disgusted Gallatin. To Jefferson he frankly said, in1809, that while he did not pretend to step out of his own sphere and tocontrol the internal management of other departments, yet he could not"consent to act the part of a mere financier, to become a contriver oftaxes, a dealer of loans, a seeker of resources for the purpose ofsupporting useless baubles, of increasing the number of idle anddissipated members of the community, of fattening contractors, pursers, and agents, and of introducing in all its ramifications that system ofpatronage, corruption, and rottenness which you justly execrate. " RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES DURING MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION, FROM ELLIOTT'S SYNOPTICAL EXHIBITS. RECEIPTS. ------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+Four Years | Customs. | Internal | Direct Taxes. |Ending | | Revenue. | |Dec. 31. | | | |------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+1812 | $38, 151, 330. 15 | $18, 674. 03 | $28, 491. 87 |1816 | 62, 813, 212. 43 | 11, 470, 507. 24 | 8, 639, 611. 38 | |----------------+---------------+----------------+Madison | 100, 964, 542. 58 | 11, 489, 181. 27 | 8, 668, 103. 25 |------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ Postage. | Public Lands. | Loans and | Dividends | | | Treasury Notes. | Sales of | | | | Bank Stock. |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ $85, 077. 40 | $2, 889, 466. 46 | $15, 606, 201. 30 | - | 364, 787. 84 | 4, 977, 570. 54 | 94, 321, 103. 73 | - |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ 449, 865. 24 | 7, 867, 037. 00 | 109, 927, 305. 03 | - |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ ----------------+---------------- Miscellaneous. | Total. | |----------------+---------------- $209, 309. 34 | $56, 988, 550. 55 630, 248. 16 | 183, 217, 041. 32----------------+---------------- 839, 557. 50 | 240, 205, 591. 87----------------+---------------- EXPENDITURES. -----------+-----------------+---------------+----------------+Four Years | Civil List. | Foreign | Miscellaneous. |Ending | | Intercourse. | |Dec. 31. | | | |-----------+-----------------+---------------+----------------+1812 | $2, 887, 197. 98 | $860, 281. 28 | $1, 619, 849. 12 |1816 | 3, 768, 342. 61 | 1, 042, 633. 42 | 5, 015, 100. 92 | |-----------------+---------------+----------------+Madison | 6, 655, 540. 59 | 1, 902, 914. 70 | 6, 634, 950. 04 |-----------+-----------------+---------------+----------------+ ----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ Military Dept. | Pensions. | Indian Dept. | Naval Dept. | | | | | | | | |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ $19, 480, 722. 54 | $338, 023. 68 | $944, 848. 84 | $10, 006, 934. 54 | 70, 809, 210. 90 | 435, 614. 48 | 1, 140, 015. 30 | 26, 326, 169. 25 |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ 90, 289, 933. 44 | 773, 638. 16 | 2, 084, 864. 14 | 36, 333, 103. 79 |----------------+----------------+-------------------+----------------+ ----------------+---------------- Public Debt. | Total. | |----------------+---------------- $26, 920, 285. 12 | $63, 058, 143. 10 56, 508, 652. 66 | 165, 045, 739. 54----------------+---------------- 83, 428, 937. 78 | 228, 103, 882. 64----------------+---------------- * * * * * _Revenue_ _L'État c'est moi_ was the autocratic maxim of Louis Quatorze. Anadherence to it cost the Bourbons their throne. Burke was morephilosophical when he said, "The revenue of the State is the State. " Itsimposition, its collection, and its application involve all theprinciples and all the powers of government, constitutional orextraordinary. It is the sole foundation of public credit, the solesupport of the body politic, its life-blood in peace, its nerve in war. The "purse and the sword" are respectively the resource and defense ofgovernment and peoples, and they are interdependent powers. With thediscovery of the sources of revenue, and the establishment of itscurrents, Mr. Gallatin, in the first eight years of his administrationof the Treasury, had nothing to do. He had only to maintain thosesystems which Hamilton had devised, and which, wisely adapted to thegrowth of the country, proved amply adequate to the ordinaryexpenditures of the government and to the gradual extinguishment of thedebt. The entire revenue included three distinct branches: imposts onimportations and tonnage, internal revenue, sales of public lands. Theduties on imports of foreign merchandise were alone sufficient to meetthe current expenses of the various departments of administration on apeace establishment, and, increasing with the growth of the country, would prove ample in future. The gross amount of imports in the fouryears of Adams's administration, 1796-1800, was about three hundred andfourteen millions of dollars, and the customs yielded about thirtymillions. Mr. Gallatin's first annual report, submitted to the House ofRepresentatives in December, 1801, exhibited his financial scheme. Herecapitulated the various sources of permanent revenue. They were thoseof Hamilton's original tariff. The revenues for the year ended September 30, 1801, were the basis ofthe estimates for future years. These were Duties on imports and tonnage $10, 126, 213. 92Internal revenue 854, 000. 00Land sales 400, 000. 00 -------------- $11, 380, 213. 92 But the close of the war in Europe sensibly diminished the enormouscarrying trade which fell to the United States as neutrals, and, as aconsequence, the revenue from that source; large quantities of goodswere brought into the United States and reëxported to foreign portsunder a system of debenture. The revenue on what Mr. Gallatin calls"this accidental commerce" was $1, 200, 000. He therefore _estimated thepermanent revenues at_ Customs duties $9, 500, 000Land sales 400, 000Postage 50, 000Internal revenue 650, 000 ----------- $10, 600, 000 Or, without the internal revenue, say ten millions of permanent revenue, as a basis for _the permanent expenditures_. To bring the expenditures within this sum, however, a reduction in thearmy and navy establishments was necessary. This Gallatin soon found tobe too radical a measure for success, either in the cabinet or Congress, however well it may have accorded with Jefferson's utopian views. In thebudget of 1802 the internal revenue, $650, 000, was, therefore, anecessary item. The expenditures proposed were Annual appropriation for interest andprincipal of debt $7, 100, 000Civil list $780, 000Foreign intercourse 200, 000Military and Indian Dept 1, 420, 000Naval 1, 100, 000 ----------- $3, 500, 000 3, 500, 000 ----------- $10, 600, 000 In this budget the estimate for the military establishment was anincrease over that of Wolcott for 1801, which was $1, 120, 000. But theRepublicans in the House were not content with this arrangement. Theinternal revenues were utterly distasteful to them. They had been laidagainst their protest and collected under military menace. They were ofthose Federal measures of which they would have none. John Randolph, chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, reported, March 2, 1802, against the entire system of internal duties, in the old words of thePennsylvania radicals, as vexatious, oppressive, and peculiarlyobnoxious; as of the nature of an excise which is hostile to the geniusof a free people, and finally because of their tendency to multiplyoffices and increase the patronage of the executive. The repeal wasimperative upon the Republican party. On April 6, 1802, the act wasrepealed and the surplus of the budget stripped from it, without Mr. Gallatin's consent, certainly, but also without protest from him. The prosperity of the country continued. The impost duties for thefiscal year ending September 30, 1802, rose to $12, 280, 000, the sales ofthe public lands to $326, 000, and the postage to $50, 500, a total of$12, 656, 500, and left in the Treasury, September 30, 1802, the sum of$4, 539, 675. This large increase in the Treasury did not in the leastchange Mr. Gallatin's general plan, and his budget for 1803 was based onhis original scale of a permanent revenue of $10, 000, 000, to correspondwith which the estimates of the preceding year were reduced. The fiscalyear closed September 30, 1803, with a balance in the Treasury of$5, 860, 000. This situation of the finances was fortunate in view ofsecret negotiations which the President and Congress were initiating forthe purchase of Louisiana from France. The secretaries of war and of the navy had promised to reduce theirexpenditures to a figure approximate to Mr. Gallatin's estimates; butthe breaking out of hostilities with Tripoli prevented the proposedeconomy, and Mr. Gallatin was called upon to provide for an increasedexpenditure with one certain source of revenue definitively closed. Hetherefore proposed an additional tax of two and one half per cent. Onall importations which paid an _ad valorem_ duty. This additionalimpost, laid by act of March 25, 1804, called the Mediterranean Fund, remained in force long after the war closed and held its place on thebooks of the Treasury under that name. The bulk of the cost of Louisiana was met by an issue of bonds; but Mr. Gallatin, true to his principle, applied the moneys in the Treasury asfar as they would go. The budget for 1805 was on a different scale. Theincrease in the debt demanded a proportionate increase in the revenue tomeet the additional sum required for interest and gradual annualreimbursement. The Mediterranean Fund was sufficient to meet theincreased amounts required for the navy. In this manner he held up theNavy Department to a strict accountability and made it responsible toCongress and not to the cabinet for its administration, and he thus, from his own point of view, relieved the Treasury Department from anyresponsibility for extraordinary expenditure. Mr. Gallatin closed his four years of administration with flying colors. The successful management of the finances was an important factor in theelection of 1804, which returned Mr. Jefferson to the presidential chairand insured to the country the inestimable advantages of Mr. Gallatin'spractical mind. Order reigned in his department at least, and ordersubordinate to the strictest requirements of law. In the four years, 1801-1804, Jefferson's first term, the imports aggregated $337, 363, 510and the customs yielded $45, 000, 000. The annual report, made December 9, 1805, announced an increasingrevenue, amounting in all to thirteen and one half millions of dollars, chiefly from customs. Still Mr. Gallatin made but small addition to hisestimates for the coming year. The permanent revenue he raised to twelveand one half millions and increased the appropriation for the payment ofthe debt and interest to eight millions. Nothing occurred during thenext year to check the growth of the country; the revenue continued on arising scale, and reached close upon fifteen millions of dollars. So far Mr. Gallatin had met but inconsiderable obstacles in his course, and these he used to his advantage to impress economy upon the Army andNavy Departments, and enforce his principle of minute appropriationsfor their government. All that he had already accomplished in theestablishment of a sound financial system and the support of the creditof the United States was but the basis of a broader structure ofnational economy. His extensive scheme of internal improvements washardly matured when the thunder broke in the clear sky. The acquisition of Louisiana, the large carrying trade which had passedunder the American flag, and the rapid prosperity of the financial andindustrial condition of the country aroused the jealousy of GreatBritain, and determined her to check the further progress of the UnitedStates by war, if need be. The capture of the American frigateChesapeake by the man-of-war Leopard, June 22, 1807, was only the firstin a series of outrages which rendered the final collision, though longdelayed, inevitable. Mr. Gallatin at once recognized that the Treasurycould no longer be conducted on a peace basis. "Money, " he wrote toJoseph H. Nicholson, "we will want to carry on the war; our revenue willbe cut up; new and internal taxes will be slow and not sufficientlyproductive; we must necessarily borrow. This is not pleasing to me, butit must be done. " Congress was called together for October 26, 1807, andon November 5, Mr. Gallatin sent in his annual report. There was stillhope that Great Britain would make amends for the outrage, and Congresswas certainly peaceably disposed. In the condition of the Treasurythere was no reason as yet for recommending extraordinary measures. Therevenues for the year passed the sum of seventeen millions; the balancein the Treasury reached eight and one half millions; the surplus on apeace footing was twelve millions. Mr. Gallatin recommended that theduties should be doubled in case war were threatened. He said, "Shouldthe revenue fall below seven millions of dollars, not only the duty onsalt and the Mediterranean duties could be immediately revived, but theduties on importation generally be considerably increased, perhapsdouble, with less inconvenience than would arise from any other mode oftaxation. " Experience had proven that this source of revenue is in theUnited States "the most productive, the easiest to collect, and leastburdensome to the great mass of the people. " But still the war-cloud didnot break. Mr. Canning contented himself with war in disguise, and byhis Order in Council of November 11, 1807, shut the ports of Europe toAmerican trade, and wiped away the advantages of the United States as aneutral power. The United States answered with the act of embargo onDecember 22, 1807, completing, as far as it was possible for legislationto effect it, the blockade of the Treasury Department as regardedrevenues from foreign imports. The immediate effect, however, of theseacts in Great Britain and America was an enormous temporary increase ofimportations in the interim from the time of the passage of the actuntil the date when it took effect. To aid merchants in this peculiarcondition of affairs an act was passed by Congress, on March 10, 1808, extending the terms of credit on revenue bonds. Mr. Gallatin's report of December 16, 1808, closed the record of hiseight years of management of the Department. In the second term ofJefferson's administration, 1805-1808, the gross amount of imports hadrisen to $443, 990, 000, and the customs collected to nearly $60, 000, 000. In the entire eight years, 1800-1808, the gross amount of importationswas $781, 000, 000, and the customs yielded $105, 000, 000. The entireexpenses of the government in the same period, including $65, 000, 000 ofdebt, had been liquidated from customs alone. The specie in the Treasury on September 20, 1808, reached nearly$14, 000, 000. Mr. Jefferson knew of the amount in the Treasury when hewrote his last message, November 8, 1808, and he could not have beenignorant of Mr. Gallatin's warning of the previous year that acontinuance of the embargo restriction would reduce the revenue belowthe point of annual expenditures and require an additional impost; yethe had the ignorance or the presumption to say in his message, "Shall it(the surplus revenue) lie unproductive in the public vaults? Shall therevenue be reduced? or shall it not rather be appropriated to theimprovement of roads, canals, rivers, education, and other greatfoundations of prosperity and union under the powers which Congress mayalready possess or such amendments of the Constitution as may beapproved by the States? While uncertain of the course of things, thetime may be advantageously employed in obtaining the powers necessaryfor a system of improvement, should it be thought best. " In these wordsJefferson surrendered the vital principle of the Republican party. Inhis satisfaction at the only triumph of his administration, themanagement of the finances and the purchase of a province without aripple on the even surface of national finance, he gave up the verybasis of the Republican theory, the reduction of the government to itspossible minimum, and actually proposed a system of administrationcoextensive with the national domain, an increase of the functions ofgovernment, and consequently of executive power. The annual report of the Treasury, presented December 16, 1808, showedno diminution of resources. The total receipts for the fiscal year werenearly eighteen millions. The total receipts for-- Customs reached $26, 126, 648On which debentures were allowed on exportations 10, 059, 457 -----------Actual receipts from customs $16, 067, 191 But this source of revenue was now definitively closed by the embargo, while the expenditures of the government were increased. Mr. Gallatinmet the situation frankly and notified Congress of the resources of theTreasury. RESOURCES FOR 1809 Cash in Treasury $13, 846, 717. 52Back customs, net 2, 154, 000. 00 --------------Total resources $16, 000, 717. 52 The receipts from importations and land sales would be offset bydeductions for bad debts and extensions of credit to importers. Theexpenditures were set at $13, 000, 000, which would leave in the Treasuryfor extraordinary expenditure $3, 000, 717. The disbursements had been farbeyond the estimates; those for the military and naval establishmentsreaching together six millions. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Gallatin saw this depletion of theTreasury, this rapid dissipation of the specie, --always desirable andnever more so than in periods of trouble, --without disappointment andregret. His report to Congress was as outspoken politically as it wasfinancially, and from a foreign-born citizen to an American Congressmust have carried its sting. "Either America, " he wrote, "must acceptthe position of commerce allotted to her by the British edicts, andabandon all that is forbidden, --and it is not material whether this isdone by legal provisions limiting the commerce of the United States tothe permitted places, or by acquiescing in the capture of vesselsstepping beyond the prescribed bounds. Or the nation must oppose forceto the execution of the orders of England; and this, however done, andby whatever name called, will be war. " He recalled to them his advice ofthe preceding years in a vein of tempered bitterness: "Had the dutiesbeen doubled on January 1, 1808, as was then suggested, in case of warthe receipts into the Treasury during that and the ensuing year wouldhave been increased nine or ten millions of dollars. " He then proposedto continue the Mediterranean Fund and to double all existing duties onimportations after January 1, 1809. He informed them that no internaltaxes, either direct or indirect, were contemplated by him even in thecase of hostilities against the two belligerent powers; France havingresponded to the Orders in Council by Napoleon's Milan decree, December17, 1807, which was quite as offensive to the United States as that ofCanning. With true statesmanship Mr. Gallatin nerved the country toextraordinary exertion by reminding it that the geographical situationof the United States and their history since the Revolution removedevery apprehension of frequent wars. During the year 1809 the country drifted along apparently without rudderor compass, helmsman or course, and the treasury locker was beingrapidly reduced to remainder biscuit. Mr. Madison was inaugurated inMarch. In his first message, May 23, 1809, he exposed the financialsituation with an indecision which was as marked a trait of hischaracter as optimism was of that of Jefferson. In his message ofNovember 29, 1809, he said "the sums which had been previouslyaccumulated in the Treasury, together with the receipts during the yearending on September 30 last, and amounting to more than nine millions ofdollars, have enabled us to fulfill all our engagements and defray thecurrent expenses of government without recurring to any loan; but theinsecurity of our commerce and the consequent demands of the publicrevenue will probably produce a deficiency in the receipts of theensuing year. " Beyond this Madison did not venture; Gallatin was leftalone. The Treasury report of December 8, 1809, announced the beginning ofshort rations. The expenses of government, exclusively of the paymentson account of the principal of the debt, had exceeded the actualreceipts into the Treasury by a sum of near $1, 300, 000. If the militaryand naval establishments were to be continued at the figures of 1809, when six millions were expended, there would result a deficiency of$3, 000, 000, and a loan of $4, 000, 000 would be necessary. Otherwise theMediterranean Fund would suffice. The cash in the Treasury had fallenfrom nearly fourteen millions on June 2, 1809, to less than six millionson September 3, following. In this report Gallatin expressed hisopinion, that the system of restriction established by the embargo andpartly relaxed must be entirely reinstated or wholly abandoned. On May1, 1810, an act of strict prohibition of importations from GreatBritain and her dependencies was passed. While from the incompetency of the administration the country was fastapproaching the real crisis of open war, the Republicans in Congresswere deliberately destroying and undermining the basis of nationalcredit, by which alone it could be carried on. In February the UnitedStates Bank, by which, and its branches, the customs were collectedthroughout the country, was destroyed by the refusal of Congress torenew its charter. Mr. Gallatin in his combinations never contemplatedsuch a contingency as the total destruction of the fiscal agency onwhich the government had relied for twenty years. Unwilling to strugglelonger against the mean personalities and factious opposition of his ownparty in Congress, he tendered his resignation to Mr. Madison. But theRepublican party was a party of opposition, not of government. With theexception of Mr. Gallatin, no competent administrative head had as yetappeared. There was no one in the party or out of it to take his place. Mr. Madison knew it. Mr. Gallatin felt it, and remained. Congress met inNovember. On the 25th Mr. Gallatin sent in his annual report; thereceipts reached thirteen and a half million dollars. The budget for 1812 left a deficiency to be provided for of $1, 200, 000. This was a small matter. The revenue Mr. Gallatin proposed to increase, on the plan before recommended, by additions of fifty per cent, to theimposts on foreign commerce. This he preferred to any internal tax. At the close of the year the country, chafed beyond endurance by theindignities put upon it and the sufferings it encountered withoutcompensation to its pride, was eager for war. Congress was no way loathto try the dangerous path out of its labyrinth of blunders. The nearcontingency imposed the necessity of an immediate examination of thesources of revenue. In January, 1812, Mr. Gallatin was requested by thechairman of the Committee of Ways and Means to give his opinion as tothe probable amount of receipts from duties on tonnage and merchandisein the event of war. This, in view of the vigorous restrictions laid byFrance under her continental system of exclusion, Mr. Gallatin estimatedunder existing rules as not to exceed $2, 500, 000. He then stated, without hesitation, that it was practicable and advisable to double therate of duties, and to renew the old duty on salt. The sum acquired, with this addition, he anticipated, would amount to $5, 400, 000. On the basis of annual loans of ten millions of dollars during thecontinuance of the war (the sum assumed by the committee), thedeficiency for 1814 would amount, by Mr. Gallatin's estimate, to$4, 200, 000. To produce a net revenue equal to this deficiency he statedthat the gross sum of taxes to be laid must be five millions of dollars. He then reverted to his report of December 10, 1808, in which he hadstated that "no internal taxes, either direct or indirect, werecontemplated, even in the case of hostilities carried on against the twogreat belligerent powers. " The balance in the Treasury was then nearlyfourteen millions of dollars, but in view of the daily decrease of therevenue he had recommended "that all the existing duties be doubled onimportations subsequent to the first day of January, 1809. " As therevenues of 1809, 1810, and 1811 had yielded $26, 000, 000, the sum onhand, with the increase thus recommended, would have reached$20, 000, 000, a sum greater than the net amount of the proposed internaltaxes in four years. At that time no symptoms had appeared from which the absolutedissolution of the Bank of the United States without any substitutecould have been anticipated. If its charters had been renewed, on theconditions suggested by Mr. Gallatin, the necessity for internal taxeswould have been avoided. The resources of the country, properly applied, however, were amply sufficient to meet the emergency; but Mr. Gallatindistinctly threw upon Congress, and by implication upon the Republicanmajority, the responsibility for the state of the Treasury, and theimperative necessity for a form of taxation which it detested asoppressive, and which it was a party shibboleth to declare in and out ofseason, to be unconstitutional. The choice of the administration wasbetween the Bank which Jefferson detested and Gallatin favored, and theinternal tax which Mr. Gallatin considered as the most repulsive in itsoperation of any form of revenue. But necessity knows no law, and the prime mover, if not the originalauthor, of the opposition to Hamilton's system was driven to propose therenewal of the measures, opposition to which had brought the Republicanparty into power, and had placed himself at the head of the Treasury. Henow proposed to raise the five millions deficiency by internaltaxation--$3, 000, 000 by direct tax and $2, 000, 000 by indirect tax. Continuing his lucid and remarkable report with careful details of themethods to be adopted, Gallatin closed with an urgent recommendationthat the crisis should at once be met by the adoption of efficientmeasures to provide, with certainty, means commensurate with theexpense, and by preserving unimpaired, instead of abusing, that crediton which the public resources eminently depend, to enable the UnitedStates to persevere in the contest until an honorable peace should beobtained. Thus he held the bitter cup to the lips of the RepublicanCongress, which, however, was not yet to drain its full measure. War wasdeclared June 18, 1812. On July 1, 1812, an act was passed imposing anadditional duty of one hundred per cent. On all importations, anadditional ten per cent. On goods brought in foreign vessels, and also aduty of $1. 50 per ton on all foreign vessels. The duty was to remainuntil the expiration of one year after peace should be made with GreatBritain. On December 5, 1812, Mr. Gallatin sent in his last report. Thebalance in the treasury was $3, 947, 818. His estimate for the service ofthe year 1813 was a war budget. Resources, $12, 000, 000; expenditures, $31, 926, 000; promising a deficiency of $19, 925, 000. For this and othercontingencies Mr. Gallatin asked for a loan of twenty millions. Theauthority was granted, but the recommendations of direct and indirecttaxes were disregarded. Here Mr. Gallatin's direct connection with thecustoms system closed. The value of foreign importations during Madison's first term was$275, 230, 000, and the customs derived from them thirty-eight millions ofdollars. * * * * * Congress adjourned March 4, 1813, but was called together again in May, when the subject of internal taxes was again forced upon them. Theinternal revenue was a part of Hamilton's general scheme. His originalbill was passed, and, after numerous amendments suggested by trial, itsgrievances were tempered and the friction removed. In Adams's term ityielded nearly three millions of dollars. In Jefferson's first term, before the rise in customs revenue allowed of its abandonment, Mr. Gallatin drew from this source nearly two millions of dollars, enough topay the interest and provide for the extinguishment of a six per cent. Loan of thirty millions; a war budget in itself. But it had been soentirely set aside that in Jefferson's second term, 1808-1812, it hadfallen to a little over sixty-three thousand; in Madison's first term, to a little under nineteen thousand dollars. Was it to this Mr. Dallasreferred in that passage of his report, made in 1815, on the financialoperations of the war, in which he expresses his regret "that thereexisted no system by which the internal resources of the country couldbe brought at once into action, when the resources of its externalcommerce became incompetent to answer the exigencies of the time? Theexistence of such a system would probably have invigorated the earlymovements of the war, might have preserved the public credit unimpaired, and would have rendered the pecuniary contributions of the people moreequal, as well as more effective. " "It certainly, " to use the words ofthis Mr. Gallatin's oldest and best political friend, "furnishes alesson of practical policy. " Disagreeable as the necessity was, it couldnot be avoided, and Mr. Gallatin met it manfully. Nay more, he seems tohave had a grim satisfaction in proposing the measure to the Congresswhich had thwarted him in his plans. In accordance with his suggestions, Congress, in the extra session of May, 1813, laid a direct tax of$3, 000, 000 upon the States, and specific duties upon refined sugar, carriages, licenses to distillers of spirituous liquors, sales atauction, licenses to retailers of wines, and upon notes of banks andbankers. These duties, in the beginning temporary, were calculated toyield $500, 000, and with the direct tax to give a sum of $3, 500, 000. Butthe increasing expenditures again requiring additional sums of revenue, the duties were made permanent and additional taxes were laid; theentire revenue for 1815 being raised so as to yield $12, 400, 000. In thesecond term of Mr. Madison the internal revenue brought in nearly elevenand a half millions. The Federalists, who as a party were opposed to thewar, enjoyed the situation; Mr. Gallatin was compelled to impose theinternal revenue tax which he detested, and Mr. Dallas was called uponto enforce its application. [Illustration: A. J. Dallas] * * * * * The only remaining source of revenue was the sale of public lands. Thisalso was a part of Hamilton's original scheme. The public lands of theUnited States were acquired in three different ways, namely, 1, bycessions from the States of such lands as they claimed, or were entitledto by their original grants or charters from the crown, while colonies;2, by purchase from Indian tribes; 3, by treaties with foreignnations, --those of 1783 and 1794 with Great Britain, of 1795 with Spain, and of 1803 with France. The need of bringing this vast territory underthe control of the government and disposing of it for settlement wasearly apparent. In July, 1791, Hamilton sent in to the House a report on"A uniform system for the disposition of the lands, the property of theUnited States. " In March preceding, grants of the United States hadconfirmed to the actual settlers in the Illinois country the possessionof their farms. But what with the Indian wars and the rebellion withinthe United States, no action was taken by Congress to carry therecommendations of the secretary into effect, until Mr. Gallatin, whoseresidence on the frontier gave him direct interest in the subject, brought up the matter at the very first session he attended. In 1796 abill was passed authorizing and regulating the sale of lands northwestof the Ohio and above the mouth of the Kentucky River, and asurveyor-general was appointed with directions to lay out these lands intownships. The sales under Adams's administrations were trifling, thetotal amount received from this source before the year 1800 beingslightly over one hundred thousand dollars. In May, 1800, sales of thesame lands were authorized at public vendue at not less than two dollarsper acre; four land offices were established in the territory; surveyorswere appointed, and a register of the land office was made a permanentofficial. In March, 1803, an act was passed to regulate the sale of theUnited States lands south of the Tennessee River, two land offices wereestablished and public sale provided for at the same price set in theact of 1800. In March, 1804, the Indiana lands lying north of the Ohioand east of the Mississippi were brought within similar regulations, andan act was passed concerning the country acquired under Spanish andBritish grants. In the same month Louisiana was erected into twoterritories. The sums received from the sales during the first term ofJefferson's administration amounted to little more than one million ofdollars. In January, 1805, the territory of Indiana was divided into twoseparate governments; that one which was set off received the name ofMichigan, and in 1808, its territory was brought under the regulationsof the land office. The sums received from the sales in the second term of Jefferson'sadministration reached nearly two and one half millions of dollars, andin Madison's first term, nearly three millions of dollars. From first tolast Mr. Gallatin never lost sight of the subject, though occasion didnot serve for more than organization of the system which, in the fouryears ending 1836, yielded nearly fifty million dollars, and paid morethan one third of the entire expenses of the government. To John W. Eppes[18] Mr. Gallatin wrote in the crisis of 1813, "The public landsconstitute the only great national resource exclusive of loans andtaxes. They have already been mentioned as a fund for the ultimateextinguishment of the public debt. " The land offices were then in fulloperation. In 1810 Mr. Gallatin prepared an "Introduction to the collection oflaws, treaties, and other documents respecting the public lands, " whichwas published pursuant to an act of Congress passed in April of thatyear. _Free Trade_ While Mr. Gallatin differed from his early Republican associates in manyof their theories of administration, he was a firm believer in the bestof their principles, namely, the wisdom of giving free scope to thedevelopment of national resources with the least possible interferenceon the part of government. One of his purposes in his persistent desirefor economy in expenditure was to reduce the tariff upon foreignimportations to the lowest practicable limit. He was the earliest publicadvocate in America of the principles of free trade, and an experienceof sixty years confirmed him in his convictions. The extinguishment of the debt rendered a great reduction in the revenuepossible. On the other hand, it brought the friends of a low tariff faceto face with the problem of internal improvements. As the election of1832 drew near, the advocates of the two systems ranged themselves intwo great parties precisely as to-day: the advocates of the protectiveor American system with internal improvements as an outlet foraccumulations of revenue on the one side; on the other the advocates offree trade. Between his desire for the advantages of the one with itsattendant disadvantages of government interference in its prosecution, and the freedom of commerce from undue restrictions, Mr. Gallatin didnot hesitate. He threw the whole force of his experience and characterinto the free trade cause, and became the leader of its friends. On September 30, 1831, a convention of the advocates of free trade, without distinction of party, met at the Musical Fund Hall inPhiladelphia. Two hundred and twelve delegates appeared. Among them wereTheodore Sedgwick, George Peabody, and John L. Gardner fromMassachusetts; Preserved Fish, John Constable, John A. Stevens, JonathanGoodhue, James Boorman, Jacob Lorillard, and Albert Gallatin from NewYork; C. C. Biddle, George Emlen, Isaac W. Norris from Pennsylvania;Langdon Cheves, Henry Middleton, Joseph W. Allston, and William C. Preston from South Carolina; and men of equal distinction, bankers, merchants, statesmen, and political economists from other States. Ofthis convention Mr. Gallatin was the soul. He opened its business bystating the objects of the meeting, and nominated the Hon. Philip P. Barbour of Virginia for president. A general committee of two from eachState was appointed, which recommended an address to the people of theUnited States and a memorial to Congress. The address to the peopleclosed with a declaration that the near extinguishment of the nationaldebt, which would be discharged by the available funds of the governmenton January 1, 1833, suggested that the moment was propitious for theestablishment of the principles of free trade. Thus the people of theUnited States, who had successfully asserted the doctrines of freegovernment, might add to its claims upon the gratitude of the world bybeing the first also to proclaim the theory of a free and unrestrictedcommerce, the genuine "American system. " Mr. Gallatin was the chairmanof the committee of fourteen, one from each State represented in theconvention, to prepare the memorial which was presented in their behalfto Congress, the conclusions of which, presented with his consummateability, demonstrated with mathematical precision that a duty oftwenty-five per cent. Was sufficient for all the legitimate purposes ofgovernment. Here he found himself in direct opposition to Mr. Clay, whose political existence was staked upon the opposite theory. Mr. Clayanswered in a great speech in the Senate in February, 1832, and forgothimself in personal denunciation of Mr. Gallatin as a foreigner withEuropean interests at heart, and of utopian ideas; for this he expressedhis regret to Mr. Gallatin in an interview arranged by mutual friends ata much later period. Mr. Gallatin's views were accepted as the policy ofthe country, and after some shifting of parties, in which friends andfoes changed ground in subordination to other political exigencies, theyprevailed in the tariff of 1846, the best arranged and most reasonablewhich the United States has yet seen. It is certain that Mr. Gallatin was opposed to "protective" revenue. Hispreference was for an "even" duty on all imports. This is not the placefor an economic discussion. The true policy of the United States isprobably between the extremes of protection and free trade. The natureof our population has been changed by the enormous immigration of thelast fifty years. Moreover, instead of an absolute freedom from debt thenation has had to endure the legacy of debt left by the Civil War, tomeet which a development of all its resources of manufacture as well asof agriculture is required. _Administration_ To arrive at a correct estimate of Mr. Gallatin's administration of theTreasury Department, a cursory review of the establishment as hereceived it from the hands of Mr. Wolcott is necessary. This review isconfined to administration in its limited sense, namely, the directionof its clerical management under the provisions of statute law. Theorganization of the department as originated by Hamilton and establishedby the act of September 2, 1789, provided for a secretary of thetreasury as head of the department, whose general duty should be tosupervise the fiscal affairs of the country, and particularly to suggestand prepare plans for the improvement and support of the public credit;and, under his direction and supervision, a comptroller to adjust andpreserve accounts; an auditor to receive, examine, and rectify accounts;a treasurer to receive, keep, and disburse moneys on warrants signed andcountersigned; a register to keep the accounts of receipts andexpenditures; and an assistant to the secretary of the treasury to fillany vacancy from absence or other temporary cause. In addition to thedepartments of State, Treasury, and War, a fourth, that of the Navy, wasestablished April 30, 1798. The three departments were brought intorelation with that of the Treasury by an act passed July 16, 1798, supplementary to that organizing the Treasury, and which provided, 1st, for the appointment of an accountant in each department, who wasrequired to report to the accounting officer of the Treasury; 2d, thatthe Treasurer of the United States should only disburse by warrants onthe Treasury, countersigned by the accountant of the Treasury; 3d, thatall purchases for supplies for military or naval service should besubject to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury. Mr. Jefferson, after his usual fashion of economy in the wrongdirection, proposed to Mr. Gallatin "to amalgamate the comptroller andauditor into one, and reduce the register to a clerk of accounts: sothat the organization should consist, as it should at first, of a keeperof money, a keeper of accounts, and the head of the department. " But inthe Treasury Department there was no extravagance during Gallatin'sadministration, and the shifting of responsibility would bring no savingof salaries. In May, 1800, an act was passed making it "the duty of the secretary ofthe treasury to digest, prepare, and lay before Congress at thecommencement of every session a report on the subject of finances, containing estimates of the public revenue and expenditures, and plansfor improving and increasing the revenue from time to time, for thepurpose of giving information to Congress in adopting modes for raisingthe money requisite to meet the expenditures. " Hamilton had never sentin any other than a statement of expenditure for the past fiscal year, together with the estimate of the accountant of the Treasury for theproximate wants of the departments of government. Mr. Gallatinincorporated in his annual report a balance sheet in accordance with theordinary forms of book-keeping familiar to every accountant andindispensable in every business establishment, and such as is presentedto the public in the monthly and annual statements of the TreasuryDepartment at this day. The statutes show no legislation during Mr. Gallatin's period ofadministration, and to its close he was in continual struggle to forceupon Congress and the departments an accord with his pet plan of minutespecific appropriation of the sums estimated for and expended by each. Mr. Madison heartily agreed with Mr. Gallatin on this subject, and ontaking office placed the relations of the State Department upon thedesired footing. But the heads of the Army and Navy were never willingto consent to the strict limitation which Mr. Gallatin would haveimposed on their expenditures. In his notes to Jefferson for the draftof his first message in 1801, Mr. Gallatin said that the most importantreform he could suggest was that of 'specific appropriations, ' and heinclosed an outline of a form to be enforced in detail. In January, 1802, he sent to Joseph H. Nicholson a series of inquiries to beaddressed to himself by a special committee on the subject, with regardto the mode by which money was drawn from the Treasury and the situationof accounts between that department and those of the Army and Navy. Tothese questions he sent in to the House an elaborate reply, which heintended to be the basis of legislation. Strict appropriation was theideal at which he aimed, and this word was so often on his tongue or inhis messages that it could not be mentioned without a suggestion of hispersonality. He carried the same nicety of detail into his domesticlife. He managed his own household expenses, and at a time whenbountiful stores were the fashion in every household he insisted on arigid observance of the more precise French system. He made anappropriation of a certain sum each day for his expenses, and requiredfrom his purveyor a strict daily account of disbursements. An amusingstory is told of him at his own table. On an occasion when entertaininga company at dinner, he was dissatisfied with the menu and expressed hisdisapprobation to his maître d'hôtel, a Frenchman, who replied to himin broken English, that it was not his fault, but that of the"mal-appropriations. " The example set by Mr. Gallatin in this particular was never forgotten, and from his day to this strict accountability has been the tradition ofthe Treasury Department, now greatly increased in detail, but instructure essentially as it was originally organized. Of its managementMr. Sherman was able to say in his report of December 1, 1879, "Theorganization of the several bureaus is such, and the system ofaccounting so perfect, that the financial transactions of the governmentduring the past two years, aggregating $3, 354, 345, 040, have beenadjusted without question with the exception of a few small balances, now in the process of collection, of which it is believed that thegovernment will eventually lose less than $13, 000, or less than fourmills for each $1000 of the amount involved;" and in 1880 he said withentire truth, "The department is a well organized and well conductedbusiness office, depending mainly for its success upon the integrity andfidelity of the heads of bureaus and chiefs of divisions. " _Banking_ There is no more instructive chapter in the history of finance than thatupon the banking system of the United States. It has its distinct erasof radical change, each of which presents a series of tentativeexperiments. The outcome, by a process of development, in whichpolitical expediency has been as effective an agency as financialnecessity, is the present national banking system. Though the term"government, " or "national, " bank is constantly used in reference to thegreat banking institutions of England, France, and the United States, noone of these is in the true sense of the word a national bank. The Bankof England is a chartered corporation, the Bank of France an associationinstituted by law. The Bank of North America, and the Bank of the UnitedStates which followed it, were founded on the same principle. Both werecorporations of individuals intimately connected with the government, enjoying certain privileges accorded and being under certainrestrictions, but otherwise independent of government control. The Bank of North America, the first bank established in the UnitedStates, was also the first which had any direct relation to thegovernment. It was the conception of the comprehensive and original mindof Robert Morris, the financier or superintendent of the public financesof the United States. Its purpose was not the convenience or profit ofindividuals, but to draw together the scattered financial resources ofthe country and found a public credit. He submitted his plan toCongress, which adopted a resolution of approval May 26, 1781. Theoriginal plan contemplated a capital of ten millions of dollars; but thecollection of such a sum in gold and silver in one depository was beyondthe range of possibility at that period, and the capital was finallyfixed at four hundred thousand dollars, in one thousand shares of fourhundred dollars each. Subscription books were immediately opened, butnot more than $70, 000 was entered during the summer months. The arrivalat Boston of a French war frigate with a remittance of $470, 000 inspecie, which was brought to Philadelphia and deposited in the vaults ofthe bank, enabled Mr. Morris to mature his plans. He designed to retainthis sum in the bank as a specie basis; but the necessities of thecountry were so urgent during the critical season of the Yorktowncampaign, that nearly one half of it was exhausted before anorganization could be effected. In December Congress passed an ordinanceof incorporation. Mr. Morris then subscribed the specie remaining in theTreasury, about $254, 000, for shares for account of the United States, which became thereby the principal stockholder. The limit assigned bythe ordinance remained, however, at ten millions of dollars. There wasnothing in the acts of Congress which implied any exclusive right of theUnited States government in the bank except during the war of theRevolution. A local charter was obtained from the legislature ofPennsylvania, and the bank was opened in Philadelphia for thetransaction of business in January, 1782. Its services to the governmentduring the period of the war were inestimable. In the words of Hamilton, "American independence owes much to it. " But after the war such werethe local jealousies, the fears of oppression, and the dread of foreigninfluence, that, on the petition of the inhabitants of Philadelphia andsome of the neighboring counties, the legislature of Pennsylvaniarepealed its charter on September 13, 1785. The bank continued itsoperations, however, under the charter from Congress. On March 17, 1787, the legislature of Pennsylvania renewed the charter for fourteen yearsand limited the capital to two millions of dollars. The charter wasextended for a similar term of fourteen years on March 26, 1799. Thus inthe beginning of the American banking system are found that distrust andjealousy of money power which seem inherent in democracies. The exerciseof state jurisdiction over the existence of the Bank of North Americasuggested possible embarrassments, which could not escape thediscernment of Hamilton, whose policy, as it was also that of theFederal party, was to strengthen the powers of the government in everyvital branch of administration. * * * * * In his comprehensive plan of government Hamilton included a financialinstitution to develop the national resources, strengthen the publiccredit, aid the Treasury Department in its administration, and provide asecure and sound circulating medium for the people. On December 13, 1790, he sent in to Congress a report on the subject of a national bank. The Republican party, then in the minority, opposed the plan asunconstitutional, on the ground that the power of creating banks or anycorporate body had not been expressly delegated to Congress, and wastherefore not possessed by it. Washington's cabinet was divided;Jefferson opposing the measure as not within the implied powers, becauseit was an expediency and not a paramount necessity. Later he usedstronger language, and denounced the institution as "one of the mostdeadly hostility existing against the principles and form of ourConstitution, " nor did he ever abandon these views. There is theauthority of Mr. Gallatin for saying that Jefferson "died a decidedenemy to our banking system generally, and specially to a bank of theUnited States. " But Hamilton's views prevailed. Washington, who in theweary years of war had seen the imperative necessity of some nationalorganization of the finances, after mature deliberation approved theplan, and on February 25, 1791, the Bank of the United States wasincorporated. The capital stock was limited to twenty-five thousandshares of four hundred dollars each, or ten millions of dollars, payableone fourth in gold and silver, and three fourths in public securitiesbearing an interest of six and three per cent. The stock was immediatelysubscribed for, the government taking five thousand shares, two millionsof dollars, under the right reserved in the charter. The subscription ofthe United States was paid in ten equal annual installments. A largeproportion of the stock was held abroad, and the shares soon rose abovepar. By an act of March 2, 1791, the funded three per cents. Were alsomade receivable in payment of subscriptions to the bank, whence it hasbeen said that out of the funding system sprung the bank, as threefourths of its capital consisted of public stocks. Authority was giventhe bank to establish offices of discount and deposit within the UnitedStates. The chief bank was placed in Philadelphia, and branches wereestablished in eight cities, with capitals in proportion to theircommercial importance. In 1809 the stockholders of the Bank of the United States memorializedthe government for a renewal of their charter, which would expire onMarch 4, 1811; and on March 9, 1809, Mr. Gallatin sent in a report inwhich he reviewed the operations of the bank from its organization. Ofthe government shares, five million dollars at par, two thousand fourhundred and ninety-three shares were sold in 1796 and 1797 at an advanceof 25 per cent. , two hundred and eighty-seven in 1797 at an advance of20 per cent. , and the remaining 2220 shares in 1802, at an advance of 45per cent. , making together, exclusive of the dividends, a profit of$671, 680 to the United States. Eighteen thousand shares of the bankstock were held abroad, and seven thousand shares, or a little more thanone fourth part of the capital, in the United States. A table of all thedividends made by the bank showed that they had on the average been atthe rate of 8-3/8 (precisely 8-13/34) per cent. A year, which provedthat the bank had not in any considerable degree used the publicdeposits for the purpose of extending its discounts. From a general viewof the debits and credits, as presented, it appeared that the affairs ofthe Bank of the United States, considered as a moneyed institution, hadbeen wisely and skillfully managed. The advantages derived by thegovernment Mr. Gallatin stated to be, 1, safekeeping of the publicmoneys; 2, transmission of the public moneys; 3, collection of therevenue; 4, loans. The strongest objection to the renewal of the charterlay in the great portion of the bank stock held by foreigners. Not onaccount of any influence over the institution, since they had no vote;but because of the high rate of interest payable by America to foreigncountries. If the charter were not renewed the principal of thatportion, amounting to $7, 200, 000, must at once be remitted abroad; butif the charter were renewed, dividends equal to an interest of about8-1/2 per cent. Per annum must be remitted. Mr. Gallatin's report closedwith the following suggestions:-- I. That the bank should pay an interest to the United States on thepublic deposits above a certain sum. II. That it should be bound to lend the United States a sum notexceeding three fifths of its capital. III. That the capital stock of the bank should be increased to thirtymillions of dollars, to be subscribed for, 1, five millions by citizensof the United States; 2, fifteen millions by the States; a branch to beestablished in each subscribing State; 3, payments by either individualsor States to be in specie or public stock of the United States at ratesto be fixed by law; the subscribing States to pay in ten annualinstallments. IV. That some share should be given in the direction to the general andstate governments by appointment of directors in the general directionand branches. The result of this plan would be, 1st, that the United States might, from the interest on the public deposits, accumulate during years ofpeace and prosperity a treasure sufficient to meet periods of war andcalamity; 2d, that they might rely on a loan of eighteen millions ofdollars in any sudden emergency; 3d, that by the payment in teninstallments the increase in capital would be in proportion to theprogressive state of the country; 4th, that the bank itself would forman additional bond of common interest and union amongst the severalStates. But these arguments availed not against the blind and ignorantjealousy of the Republican majority in the House. The days of the bankwere numbered. Congress refused to prolong its existence, and theinstitution was dissolved. Fortunately for the country, it wound up itsaffairs with such deliberation and prudence as to allow of theinterposition of other bank credits in lieu of those withdrawn, andthus prevented a serious shock to the interests of the community. In thetwenty years of its existence from 1791 to 1811 its management wasirreproachable. Its annual dividends from 1791 to 1809 were 8-2/3 percent. , and its stock, always above par, from 1805 to 1809 ranged from 20to 40 per cent. Premium. In its numerous and varied relations to the government it had been auseful and faithful servant, and its directors had never assumed theattitude of money kings, of which the Jeffersonian democracy pretendedto stand in hourly dread. To the general and important nature of itsfinancial service Mr. Gallatin gave his testimony in 1830; after his owndirect participation in public affairs had ended. "Experience, however, has since confirmed the great utility and importance of a bank of the United States in its connection with the Treasury. The first great advantage derived from it consists in the safekeeping of the public moneys, securing in the first instance the immediate payment of those received by the principal collectors, and affording a constant check on all their transactions; and afterwards rendering a defalcation in the moneys once paid, and whilst nominally in the treasury, absolutely impossible. The next, and not less important, benefit is to be found in the perfect facility with which all the public payments are made by checks or treasury drafts, payable at any place where the bank has an office; all those who have demands against government are paid in the place most convenient to them; and the public moneys are transferred through our extensive territory at a moment's warning without any risk or expense, to the places most remote from those of collection, and wherever public exigencies may require. " Late in life, in a letter to John M. Botts, June 14, 1841, Mr. Gallatinexpressed the same opinions with regard to the usefulness of agovernment bank as an aid to the Treasury Department, but limited hisapproval to that use. "Except in its character of fiscal agent to thegeneral government I attach much less importance to a national bank thanseveral of those who are in favor of it. " "Did I believe, " he adds inthe same letter, "that a bank of the United States would effectuallysecure us a sound currency, I would think it a duty at all hazards topromote the object. " The reason for his doubts in 1841 is easily seen in the impossibility ofannihilating or controlling the three hundred distinct currencies of asmany banks, each nominally convertible into specie at its point ofissue; a financial puzzle which Mr. Chase solved in the device andorganization of the present national banking system, which, withoutinvolving the government in banking operations, affords to the people ahomogeneous currency of uniform value, and secures its convertibility byreasonable but absolute restrictions, upon conformity to which theexistence of the banks depends. The exigencies of war compelled anacquiescence in the plans of Mr. Chase, which, at the time when Mr. Gallatin expressed his doubts, could not have been had in any systemwhatever which involved the subordination of the banks. The wide spread of the state bank system, with its irresponsible andunlimited issues, occurring subsequent to Mr. Gallatin's withdrawal fromthe Treasury, was a consequence of the failure to renew the charter ofthe Bank of the United States; and if ever there were a system by whichthe inhabitants of States whose floating capital was small were placedat the mercy of moneyed corporations of the States where it wasabundant, it was the state bank system. The experience of the oldconfederation had not taught this lesson. The colonial system wascontinued by the several States, and bills of credit were issued ontheir faith. The continental system was a compound of the main featuresof this plan. The bills were issued by the Congress, but the States wererelied upon for their ultimate redemption. The collapse of the entire fabric of finance led to the establishment ofthe Bank of North America, the notes of which were redeemable andredeemed at the bank counters. The article in the Constitution of 1787, prohibiting the issue of bills of credit by the States, was evidentlyintended to secure a uniform currency to the people of the UnitedStates, and it has been by a strange perversion of this manifestintention that the power has been conceded to the States to chartercorporations to do that which was forbidden to themselves in theirsovereign capacity; namely, to issue bills of credit, which bank-notesare. It is idle to say that, because such bills were not a "legaltender, " they were therefore not of the character which the Constitutionforbade. Necessity knows no law, and in the absence of any othercurrency the people were perforce compelled to take what they could get. Experience later showed that large amounts of paper money manufacturedin one State were easily put in circulation in far distant communities, and considerable sums, through the operations of wear and tear and thevicissitudes incident to its fragile nature, never returned to plaguethe inventor. At the time of the organization of the National Bank by Hamilton, therewere but three banks in the United States: the Bank of North America, the Bank of New York, and the Bank of Massachusetts. Their added capitalamounted to two millions of dollars, and their issues wereinconsiderable. Mr. Gallatin estimated that in January, 1811, just before the expirationof the bank charter, there were in the United States eighty-eight statebanks with a capital of $42, 612, 000. --------------------------+-------------+---------------+------------ | | Notes in | | Capital. | Circulation. | Specie. --------------------------+-------------+---------------+------------Bank of the United States | $10, 000, 000 | $5, 400, 000 | $5, 800, 000Eighty-eight State Banks | 42, 610, 601 | 22, 700, 000 | 9, 600, 000--------------------------+-------------+---------------+------------ | $52, 610, 601 | $28, 100, 000 | $15, 400, 000--------------------------+-------------+---------------+------------ Over the local institutions the Bank of the United States alwaysexercised a salutary control, checking any disposition to overtrade byrestraining their issues and holding them to a proper specie reserve;and this by no other interference except its countenance or ill favor, as such banks severally observed or disregarded the ordinary rules offinancial prudence. The immediate effect of the refusal of Congress torecharter the Bank of the United States was to bring the Treasury to theverge of bankruptcy. The interference of Parish, Girard, and Astor alonesaved the credit of the government, and this interference was no doubtprompted by self-interest. That Mr. Astor was hostile to the bank iscertain. Gallatin wrote to Madison in January, 1811, that Mr. Astor hadsent him a verbal message, "that in case of non-renewal of the charterof the Bank of the United States, all his funds and those of hisfriends, to the amount of two millions of dollars, would be at thecommand of government, either in importing specie, circulatinggovernment paper, or in any other way best calculated to prevent anyinjury arising from the dissolution of the bank, " and he added that Mr. Bentson, Mr. Astor's son-in-law, in communicating this message said, "that in this instance profit was not Mr. Astor's object, and that hewould go great lengths, partly from pride and partly from wish, to seethe bank down. " In 1813, when the bank was "down, " Mr. Gallatin was nolonger master of the situation. He offered to treat directly withParish, Girard, and Astor for ten millions of dollars, but finding somehesitation, he opened the loan for subscription. When the subscriptionfailed, he was at the mercy of the capitalists. Another immediate effect of the dissolution of the bank was thewithdrawal from the country of the foreign capital invested in the bank, more than seven millions of dollars. This amount was remitted, in thetwelve months preceding the war, in specie. Specie was at that time aproduct foreign to the United States, and by no means easy to obtain. Specie, as Mr. Gallatin profoundly observed, does not precede, butfollows wealth. The want of it nearly destroyed Morris's original planfor the Bank of North America, and was only made up by the fortunatereceipt of the French remittances. In 1808 the specie in the vaults ofthe treasury reached fourteen millions of dollars, but during theoperation of the Embargo Act, the banks of New England had graduallyaccumulated a specie reserve, and that of Richmond, Virginia, pursuedthe same policy. Together they held one third of the entire speciereserve of the banks. The amount of specie in the Bank of the UnitedStates, January 1, 1811, had fallen to $5, 800, 000, which soon found itsway abroad. The notes of the Bank of the United States, payable on demand in goldand silver at the counters of the bank, or any of its branches, were, by its charter, receivable in all payments to the United States; butthis quality was also stripped from them on March 19, 1812, by a repealof the act according it. To these disturbances of the financialequilibrium of the country was added the necessary withdrawal of fifteenmillions of bank credit and its transfer to other institutions. Thisgave an extraordinary impulse to the establishment of local banks, eacheager for a share of the profits. The capital of the country, instead ofbeing concentrated, was dissipated. Between January 1, 1811, and 1815, one hundred and twenty new banks were chartered, and forty millions ofdollars were added to the banking capital. To realize profits, theissues of paper were pushed to the extreme of possible circulation. Meanwhile New England kept aloof from the nation. The specie in thevaults of the banks of Massachusetts rose from $1, 706, 000 on June 1, 1811, to $7, 326, 000 on June 1, 1814. This was a consequence of the NewEngland policy of opposition. Mr. Gallatin estimated that the proceedsof loans, exclusive of treasury notes and temporary loans, paid into thetreasury from the commencement of the war to the end of the year 1814were $41, 010, 000: of which sum the Eastern States lent $2, 900, 000; theMiddle States, $35, 790, 000; Southwestern States, $2, 320, 000. The floating debt of the United States, consisting of treasury notesand temporary loans unpaid, amounted, January 1, 1815, to $11, 250, 000, of which nearly four fifths were loaned by the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and the District of Columbia. Thesuspension of the banks was precipitated by the capture of Washington. It began in Baltimore, which was threatened by the British, and was atonce followed in Philadelphia and New York. Before the end of Septemberall the banks south and west of New England had suspended speciepayment. In his "Considerations on the Currency, " Mr. Gallatin expressedhis-- "deliberate opinion that the suspension might have been prevented at the time when it took place, had the Bank of the United States been in existence. The exaggerated increase of state banks, occasioned by the dissolution of that institution, would not have occurred. That bank would _as before_ have restrained them within proper bounds and checked their issues, and through the means of its offices it would have been in possession of the earliest symptoms of the approaching danger. It would have put the Treasury Department on its guard; both, acting in concert, would certainly have been able, at least, to retard the event; and as the treaty of peace was ratified within less than six months after the suspension took place, that catastrophe would have been avoided. " But within fifteen months the bank issues increased from forty-five anda half to sixty millions. ----------------------+-------------+--------------+------------ | Capital. | Circulation. | Specie. ----------------------+-------------+--------------+------------Banks of New England. | $15, 690, 000 | $5, 320, 000 | $8, 200, 000Other Banks | 66, 930, 000 | 44, 730, 000 | 8, 600, 000----------------------+-------------+--------------+------------1815. 208 State Banks. | $82, 620, 000 | $50, 050, 000 | $16, 800, 0001816. 246 State Banks. | 89, 822, 422 | 68, 000, 000 | 19, 000, 000----------------------+-------------+--------------+------------ The depression of the local currencies ranged from seven to twenty-fiveper cent. In New York and Charleston it was seven to ten per cent. Belowthe par of coin. At Philadelphia from seventeen to eighteen per cent. AtWashington and Baltimore from twenty to twenty-two, and at Pittsburghand on the frontier, twenty-five per cent. Below par. The circulatingmedium, or measure of values, being doubled, the price of commoditieswas doubled. The agiotage, of course, was the profit of the bankers andbrokers; a sum estimated at six millions of dollars a year, or ten percent. On the exchanges of the country, which McDuffie, in his celebratedreport, estimated at sixty millions annually. In November the Treasury Department found itself involved in the commondisaster. The refusal of the banks, in which the public moneys weredeposited, to pay their notes or the drafts upon them in specie deprivedthe government of its gold and silver; and their refusal, likewise, ofcredit and circulation to the issues of banks in other States deprivedthe government also of the only means it possessed for transferring itsfunds to pay the dividends on the debt and discharge the treasury notes. Mr. Dallas found himself compelled to appeal to the banks by circular tosubscribe for sufficient treasury notes to secure them such advances asmight be asked of them for the discharge of the public obligations. "In the latter end of the year 1814, " says Mr. Gallatin, "Mr. Jeffersonsuggested the propriety of a gradual issue by government of two hundredmillions of dollars in paper;" commenting upon which Mr. Gallatinremarks that Mr. Jefferson, from the imperfect data in his possession, "greatly overrated the amount of paper currency which could be sustainedat par; and he had, on the other hand, underrated the great expenses ofthe war;" but at "all events, " he adds, "the issue of government paperought to be kept in reserve for extraordinary circumstances. " But hereit may be remarked that the evolution of the systems of American financeseems to lead slowly but surely to an entire divorce of banking fromcurrency, and the day is not far distant when the circulating medium ofthe United States will consist of gold and silver, and of governmentissues restricted, according to the English principle, to the minimum ofcirculation, and kept equivalent to coin by a specie reserve in thetreasury; while the banks, their circulation withdrawn and theinstitutions freed from any tax, will be confined to their legitimatebusiness of receiving deposits and making loans and discounts. On October 14, 1814, Alexander J. Dallas, Mr. Gallatin's old friend, whohad been appointed secretary of the treasury on the 6th of the samemonth, in a report of a plan to support the public credit, proposed theincorporation of a national bank. A bill was passed by Congress, butreturned to it by Madison with his veto on January 15, 1815. In thispeculiar document Madison "waived the question of the constitutionalauthority of the legislature to establish an incorporated bank, as beingprecluded, in his judgment, by repeated recognitions, under variedcircumstances, of the validity of such an institution in acts of thelegislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government. " But heobjected for reasons of detail. Mr. Dallas again, as a last resort, insisted on a bank as the only means by which the currency of thecountry could be restored to a sound condition. In December, 1815, Dallas reported to the committee of the House of Representatives on thenational currency, of which John C. Calhoun was chairman, a plan for anational bank, and on March 3, 1816, the second Bank of the UnitedStates was chartered by Congress. The capital was thirty-five millions, of which the government held seven millions in seventy thousand sharesof one hundred dollars each. Mr. Madison approved the bill. Thiscompleted the abandonment of every shred of principle claimed by theRepublican party as their rule of action. They struggled through therest of their existence without a political conviction. The nationalbank, and the system of internal taxation which had been scorned byJefferson and Madison as unconstitutional, were accepted actually underMadison's administration. Gallatin's success, owing to the developmentand application of Hamilton's plans, was a complete vindication of thetheory and practice of the Federalists which they abhorred; Jefferson'splan of a government issue of paper money was a higher flight into theupper atmosphere of implied powers than Hamilton ever dreamed of. The second national bank of the United States was also located atPhiladelphia, and chartered for twenty years. The manner in which itperformed its financial service is admirably set forth in Mr. Gallatin's"Considerations on the Currency, " already mentioned. It acted as aregulator upon the state banks, checked excessive issues on their part, and brought the paper currency of the country down from sixty-six toless than forty millions, before the year 1820. In April, 1816, Mr. Dallas having signified his intention to resign theTreasury, Mr. Madison wrote to Gallatin, offering him his choice betweenthe mission to France and the Treasury Department. Mr. Gallatin's replywas characteristic. He declined the Treasury, but with reluctance, sincehe thought he would be more useful at home than abroad, and because hepreferred to be in America rather than in Europe. One of hispreponderating reasons was that, although he felt himself competent tothe higher duties of the office, there was, for what he conceived "aproper management of the Treasury, a necessity for a mass of mechanicallabor connected with details, forms, calculating, etc. , which havinglost sight of the thread and routine, he could not think of againlearning and going through. " He was aware that there was "much confusiondue to the changes of office and the state of the currency, and thoughtthat an active young man could alone reinstate and direct properly thatdepartment. " In June of the same year, while waiting for the Peacock, which was tocarry him across the sea, Gallatin wrote Mr. Madison an urgent letter, impressing upon him the necessity of restoring specie payment, and hisperfect conviction that nothing but the will of the government waswanted to reinstate the country in its moral character in that respect. He dreaded the "paper taint, " which he found spreading as he journeyednorthward. In January 1817, delegates from the banks of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Virginia met in Philadelphia and agreed to a general andsimultaneous resumption of specie payments. The Bank of the UnitedStates proposed a compact which was accepted by the state banks andratified by the secretary of the treasury. That institution engaged, toa reasonable extent, to support any bank menaced. This engagement andthe importation of seven millions of specie from abroad by the Bank ofthe United States secured a general restoration of specie payment. In1822 Mr. Gallatin was tendered and declined the office of president ofthe Bank of the United States. In 1829 he prepared for Mr. Ingham, then secretary of the treasury, amasterly statement of the relative value of gold and silver. In 1830 Mr. Gallatin wrote for the "American Quarterly Review" his essay, "Considerations on the Currency and Banking System of the UnitedStates. " Appearing at the time when the renewal of the charter of theBank of the United States was an absorbing question, this essay wasequally sought for by both the friends and opponents of the bank. It isnot confined, however, to this subject, but covers the entire field ofAmerican finance. His treatment of the currency question was novel. Heanalyzed the systems of Europe, compared them with those which prevailedin the United States, and reached the conclusion, the generalcorrectness of which has been justified by the experience of all othernations, and sooner or later will be accepted by our own; namely, thenecessity of a currency strong in the precious metals, and therestriction of paper money to notes of one hundred dollars to be issuedby the government. This limit is higher than that adopted in France andEngland, but the general principle that a circulating medium is soundonly as it is strong in gold and silver, and that gold and silver canonly be retained permanently by making a place for them in thecirculating medium by a restriction of paper issues, will yet findfavor even in this paper-loving country. In 1832 Mr. Gallatin accepted the presidency of a bank in New York, thesubscription to the stock of which, $750, 000, was completed by Mr. JohnJacob Astor on condition that Mr. Gallatin should manage its affairs. The direction of its concerns, without absorbing his time, kept him inthe financial current. The bank was called the National Bank of NewYork. But not in this modest post was he to find the financial pathsmooth. It is true he had lived in the flesh to see the financialmillennium. The rapid growth of the country and the faithful adherenceof his successors in the Treasury Department to the funding principlehad at last realized his dream. The national debt was extinguished. Thelast dollar was paid. Louis McLane, secretary of the treasury, onDecember 5, 1832, in his report on the finances, said that the dividendsderived from the bank shares held by the United States were more thanwas required to pay the interest, and that the _debt_ might therefore beconsidered as substantially extinguished after January 1, 1833. On December 3, 1833, Roger B. Taney, secretary of the treasury, reportedto Congress that he had directed the removal of the deposits of thegovernment from the Bank of the United States and placed them in banksof his own selection. He gave a number of reasons for this extraordinaryexercise of the power which he obtained by his appointment on September23, 1833. He received his reward in June, 1834, being then transferredby President Jackson to the seat of chief justice of the Supreme Court. In his annual report Taney named, among his elaborate reasons for theremoval, that the bank had used its money for electioneering purposes, and that he "had always regarded the result of the last election ofPresident of the United States as the declaration of a majority of thepeople that the charter ought not to be renewed. " He further expressedthe opinion "that a corporation of that description was not necessaryeither for the fiscal operations of the government or the generalconvenience of the people. " It mattered little to him that Mr. Gallatinhad only recently pointed out that from the year 1791 the operations ofthe Treasury had, without interruption, been carried on through themedium of banks; during the years 1811 to 1814, by the state banks, witha result which no one had as yet forgotten; before and since that briefinterval through the Bank of the United States. Enough for Taney, thatit was the will of his imperious master, 'the pugnacious animal, ' asGallatin aptly termed him. In October, 1834, Taney's successor in the Treasury, Levi Woodbury, gavenotice that the remaining debt, unredeemed after January 1, 1835, wouldcease to bear interest and be promptly paid on application to thecommissioners of loans in the several States. On December 8, 1835, Mr. Woodbury reported "an unprecedented spectacle presented to the world ofa government virtually without any debts and without any directtaxation. " The surplus revenues, about thirty-seven and a half millionsof dollars, had by an act of the previous session been distributed amongthe several States. But the secretary and the country soon found thatthey were on dangerous ground. In December, 1837, the same secretary, alarmed at his responsibility, said to Congress, in warning words, "Weare without any national debt to absorb and regulate surpluses, or anyadequate supply of banking institutions which provide a sound currencyfor general purposes by paying specie on demand, or which are in asituation fully to command confidence for keeping, disbursing, andtransferring the public funds in a satisfactory manner. " The Bank of the United States, on the expiration of its charter inMarch, 1836, accepted a charter from the State of Pennsylvania; but, though its influence continued to be as great, its direction was nolonger the same. Abandoning its legitimate business, it speculated inmerchandise, and even kept an agent in New Orleans to compete with theBarings in purchases of the cotton crop as a basis for exchange. Precisely as in 1811, after the withdrawal of the control of the Bank ofthe United States, the state banks ran a wild career of speculation. From 1830 to 1837 three hundred new banks sprang up with an additionalcapital of one hundred and forty-five millions, doubling, as twentyyears before, the banking capital of the country. This volume thedeposits of the Treasury continued to swell. Mr. Woodbury was the firstto take alarm. In December, 1836, he reported the specie in the countryto have increased from thirty millions in 1833 to seventy-three millionsat the date of his report, and the paper circulation, in the sameperiod, to have advanced, since the removal of the deposits from theBank of the United States, from eighty millions to one hundred andtwenty millions, or forty millions in eighteen months; and the bankcapital, in the same period, to have increased from two hundred to threehundred millions. Importation augmented; the balance of trade suddenlyturned against the United States to the extent of one hundred and fiftymillions, and coin began to flow abroad to liquidate the account. Therewas no debt to attract foreign investment and arrest the export ofspecie. Added to this was the withdrawal of the government deposits fromthe pet banks, which compelled an immediate contraction. The result wasinevitable. On May 10, 1837, the New York banks suspended, Mr. Gallatin's institution being of course dragged down with the rest. It isidle to suppose that any single bank can hold out against a generalsuspension. It may liquidate or become a bank of deposits, but it cannotmaintain its relations with its sister institutions except on a basis ofcommon accord. A general suspension followed. Mr. Woodbury proved himself equal to theemergency, and recommended a plan of "keeping the public money under newlegislative provisions without using banks at all as fiscal agents. "This was the beginning of the sub-treasury system, a new departure intreasury management, and a further evolution in American finance. Itstill remains, and will no doubt be permanent. Its establishment wasnecessary because of the absence of a national bank. Mr. Gallatin at once turned his attention to bring about first aliquidation and then a resumption. It was a favorite maxim with him, that "the agonies of resumption are far harder to endure than those ofsuspension, " as it is easier to refrain from lapse of virtue than torestore moral integrity once impaired. But in resumption the sufferingfalls where it belongs, on the careless, the improvident, and theover-trader. On August 15, 1837, the officers of the banks of New York city, in ageneral meeting, appointed a committee of three to call a convention ofthe principal banks to agree upon a time for a resumption of speciepayments. This committee, of which Mr. Gallatin was chairman, on August18 addressed a circular to the principal banks in the United States, inviting the expression of their wishes as to the time and place for aconvention, suggesting New York as the place, and October, 1837, as thetime. They said, in addition, that the banks of New York city, in viewof the law of the State dissolving them as legal corporations in caseof suspension for one year, must resume at some time between January 1and March 15, 1838. The circular committed the New York banks to nodefinite action, but expressed the opinion that the fall in the rate ofexchanges indicated an early return of specie to par, when resumptioncould be effected without danger. The banks of Philadelphia held ameeting on August 29, and adopted resolutions declaring it inexpedientto appoint delegates to the proposed convention. Aware of the reasonsfor this action, the chief of which was the extended and perhapsinsolvent condition of the United States Bank of Pennsylvania, the NewYork committee invited the banks in the several States to appointdelegates to meet on November 27, 1837, in New York. Delegates frombanks of seventeen States and the District of Columbia appeared. On the30th resolutions were brought in recommending a general resumption onJuly 1, without precluding an earlier resumption on the part of suchbanks as might find it necessary. The Pennsylvania banks opposed thisaction with resolutions condemning the idea of immediate resumption asimpracticable, and also, in the absence of delegates from the banks ofLouisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, as unwise. Theconvention met again on December 2, when an adjournment was carried toApril 11, 1838, when delegates from the banks not represented wereinvited to attend. Mr. Gallatin saw that the combination of thePhiladelphia and Boston banks, under the lead of Mr. Biddle, wouldcertainly force a further postponement. Exchange on London, which hadbeen as high as 121, the true par being about 109-1/2, nominal, hadfallen to 111-1/2, which, considering that the city bank paper was at adiscount of five per cent. , was at the rate of 2-1/2 per cent. Belowspecie par. The exportation of specie had entirely ceased. On December 15 Mr. Gallatin and his committee appointed at the generalconvention submitted a report which he had drafted, which, thoughaddressed to the New York banks, covered the whole ground. Meanwhile thehighest authority in Pennsylvania had given it as his opinion "that thebanks of Pennsylvania were in a much sounder state than before thesuspension, and that the resumption of specie payments, so far as itdepends on their situation and resources, may take place at any time. " On February 28, 1838, Mr. Gallatin's committee made a further reportshowing that the liabilities of the New York banks had been reduced morethan twelve millions and a half, or fifty per cent. , and asserting thatwith the support of the community and the state authorities they couldresume on an equal footing on May 10. This declaration was welcomed withgreat satisfaction by a general meeting of the citizens of New York. OnApril 11 the general convention again met in New York. The Philadelphiabanks declined to attend. A letter from Mr. Woodbury promised thesupport of the Treasury Department. A committee of one from each Statewas appointed, which recommended the first Monday in October as theearliest day for a general resumption. The convention could not, however, be brought to fix upon so early a day, but finally fixed uponJanuary 1, 1839, and adjourned. The New York banks would have acceptedJuly 1, 1838, but this being refused they resumed alone on May 10, andthe force of public opinion compelled resumption by nearly all the banksof the country on July 1. The terrible contraction was fatal to the United States Bank ofPennsylvania, which after a vain struggle closed its doors in October, 1839, and carried with it the entire banking system of the Southern andSouthwestern States. Although in no way similar to the semi-governmentalinstitutions which preceded it, yet, from its similarity of name andidentity of location, its disastrous failure added to the blind populardistrust of its predecessors, which narrow-minded politicians hadfostered for their own selfish purposes. Fortunately the sub-treasuryplan of Mr. Woodbury supplied the need of a safe place of deposit which, since the refusal of Congress to renew the charter of the old bank, hadbeen sorely felt. In 1838, on the foundation of the Bank of Commerce under the freebanking law of the State of New York, the presidency of it was firsttendered to Mr. Gallatin. The directors of this bank were among the mostdistinguished financiers of the city, and its object was to provide aconservative institution with sufficient power and capital to act as aregulator upon the New York banks. Profit to the stockholders wassecondary to the reserve power for general advantage. In June, 1839, Mr. Gallatin resigned his post as president of theNational Bank of New York. In 1841 he published a financial essay, whichhe entitled "Suggestions on the Banks and Currency of the UnitedStates, " a paper full of information, but from the nature of the subjectnot to be compared in general interest with his earlier paper, which isas fresh to-day as when it was written. Mr. Gallatin condemned papercurrency as an artificial stimulus, and the ultimate object of hisessays was to annihilate what he termed the "dangerous instrument. " Headmitted its utility and convenience, when used with great sobriety, buthe deprecated its tendency to degenerate into a depreciated andirredeemable currency. This tendency the present national banking lawarrests, but the law rather invites than prohibits the stimulus ofincreased issues. The last word has not yet been said on nationalcurrency, which, though the basis of all commercial transactions, hasnecessarily no other relation to banks than that which it holds to anyindividual in the community. Economic questions have interested the highest order of mind on the twocontinents. Sismondi published a paper on commercial wealth in 1803, andin 1810 a memoir on paper money, which he prepared to show how it mightbe suppressed in the Austrian dominions; Humboldt made a special studyof the sources and quantity of the precious metals in the world, inwhich Mr. Gallatin aided him by investigation in America. MichelChevalier was interested in the same subjects; surviving his two mastersin the art and witnessing the marvelous effects of the additions made byAmerica to the store of precious metals, he continued the study in thespirit of his predecessors, and favored the world with instructivepapers. Mr. Gallatin's contributions to this science are remarkable forminute research and careful deductions. In 1843 President Tyler tendered the Treasury portfolio to Mr. Gallatin. The venerable financier looked upon the offer as an act of folly towhich a serious answer seemed hardly necessary. Yet as silence might bemisconstrued, he replied that he wanted no office, and to accept at hisage that of secretary of the treasury would "be an act of insanity. " Hewas then in his eighty-third year. The offer of the post was but anill-considered caprice of Mr. Tyler. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 10: Cents are omitted as confusing figures. ] [Footnote 11: The first Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury. This was under the Supplementary Treasury Act. ] [Footnote 12: Excess of receipts, notwithstanding the purchase ofLouisiana and payments on account of principal and interest of thedebt. ] [Footnote 13: These were the banks of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Seven presidents formed the committee. John A. Stevens ofNew York was chairman, by request of the Secretary of the Treasury. Theother members were named by him. The sum advanced to the government wasone hundred and fifty millions of dollars in coin. ] [Footnote 14: At Portland, $120, 000; Salem, $183, 600; Boston, $75, 300;Providence, $67, 800; Richmond, $49, 000; Norfolk, $103, 000; Charleston, $354, 000. ] [Footnote 15: Report of Secretary Dallas, September 20, 1816. ] [Footnote 16: Act of March 3, 1817. ] [Footnote 17: _Democratic Review_, xii. 641. ] [Footnote 18: Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. ] CHAPTER VII IN THE CABINET The general principles which Mr. Jefferson proposed to apply in hisconduct of the government were not principles of organization but ofadministration. The establishments devised by Hamilton, in accordancewith or in development of the provisions of the Constitution, wereorganic. The new policy was essentially restrictive and economic. Themilitary and naval establishments were to be kept at their lowestpossible limit. The Treasury Department was to be conducted on strictlybusiness principles. The debt was to be reduced and finally paid by afixed annual appropriation. The revenue was to be raised by imposts onimportation and tonnage, and by direct taxation, if necessary. Thepublic land system was to be developed. A scheme of internalimprovements by land and water highways was to be devised. All thesepurposes except the last had been declared by the opposition during thelast part of Washington's second term and during Adams's presidency, andhad been lucidly expounded by Madison, Gallatin, Giles, Nicholas, andothers of the Republican leaders. On all these subjects Mr. Gallatinwas in accord with his chief. Only upon the bank question were they atissue. Mr. Jefferson detested or feared the aristocracy of money, whileGallatin, with a clearer insight into commercial and financialquestions, recognized that in a young country where capital was limited, and specie in still greater disproportion to the increasing demands oftrade, a well-ordered, well-managed money institution was an enormousadvantage, if not an imperative necessity to the government and thepeople. Peace was necessary to the success of this general policy of internalprogress, but peace was not to be had for the asking. It was not tillhalf a century later that the power of the western continent as afood-producing country was fully felt by Europe, and peace with theUnited States became almost a condition of existence to millions in theold world, while this country became independent, in fact as in name, tothe fullest meaning of the word. Peace was not menaced duringJefferson's first administration, for the Federalists had left no legacyof diplomatic discord to embarrass their successors. The divisions ofopinion were on home affairs. The Republican party was the firstopposition which had reached power since the formation of thegovernment. The Federalists had not hesitated to confine the patronageof the executive to men of their own way of thinking. The Republicanshad attacked that principle. There were men even in the ranks ofJefferson's administration who scouted the idea that the President ofthe United States could become "the President of a party. " But practiceand principle are not always in accord, even in administrations ofsentimental purity, and the pressure for office was as great in 1800 asit has ever since been on the arrival of a new party to power. Beyondall other departments of government, the Treasury depends for its properservice upon business capacity and a knowledge of the principles ofaccounting and office routine. Mr. Gallatin was well aware of thedifficulties his predecessors had encountered in finding and retainingcompetent examining and auditing clerks. As there was no reason tosuppose that all this talent was to be found in the ranks of theRepublican party, and his common sense pointed out the folly of limitingthe market of supply, he early (July 25, 1801) prepared a circular tocollectors, in which he informed them "that the door of office was nolonger to be shut against any man because of his political opinions, butthat integrity and capacity suitable to the station were to be the onlyqualifications required; and further, the President, considering freedomof opinion or freedom of suffrage at public elections imprescriptiblerights of citizens, would regard any exercise of official influence tosustain or control the same rights in others as injurious to the publicadministration and practically destructive of the fundamental principlesof a republican Constitution. " But Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madisonopposed this simple declaration of a principle which has since been thebase of every attempt at reform in the civil service. Mr. Jeffersonanswered that after one half of the subordinates were exchanged, talentsand worth might alone be inquired into in the case of new vacancies. This was a miserable shuffling policy which defeated itself. For aFederalist to retain office when such a discrimination was applied wasof itself a degradation. Mr. Jefferson here threw away and forever lostthe power to establish the true system, and fixed the curse of patronageupon American administration. The true principle may be stated in theform of an axiom. Administrations should rely for continuation uponmeasures, not on patronage. Gallatin yielded with reluctance to thespirit of persecution which he did not hesitate to say disgraced theRepublican cause, and sank them to a level with their predecessors. Notwithstanding his aversion, he was compelled to follow the policy ofthe cabinet. Its first result was to divide the Republican party, and toalienate Burr, whose recommendation of Matthew L. Davis for the navaloffice at New York was disregarded. Had the new administration declinedto make removals except for cause, such a dispute would have beenavoided. As it was, the friends of Burr considered the refusal as adeclaration of war. Appointments became immediately a part of themachinery of Republican administration, as it had been part of that oftheir predecessors, and each was carefully weighed and considered inits reference to party quite as much as to public service. Already looking forward to the next presidential election, Gallatin wasanxious for an agreement upon Jefferson's successor, and even before themeeting of the first Congress of his term he advised the President onthis point, and he also proposed the division of every State intoelection districts by a general constitutional provision. Jefferson submitted the draft of his annual messages to the head of eachdepartment, and invited their comments. Gallatin was minute in hisobservations, and it is interesting to note the peculiar precision andcaution of his character in the nice criticisms of language and style, sometimes declaratory, sometimes non-committal, but always and obviouslyreasonable, and often presenting a brief argument for the changeproposed. In these days of woman's rights it is curious to read "Th. J. To Mr. Gallatin. The appointment of a woman to office is an innovationfor which the public is not prepared, nor am I. " Gallatin suggested a weekly general conference of the President and thesecretaries at what is now styled a cabinet meeting, and privateconferences of the President with each of the secretaries once or twicea week on certain days and at fixed hours. The business to come beforethe House was also to be considered, and the policy to be pursueddetermined upon. Unfortunately in this case again Jeffersonian theorydid not accord with Jeffersonian practice. Even erratic Randolphcomplained of the want of system at these cabinet meetings, where eachwas at liberty to do and say as he chose; a severe trial, this, toGallatin. In 1845 Mr. Gallatin wrote to Edward Coles that it was "quiteunusual to submit to the cabinet the manner in which the land or navalforces authorized by Congress, and for which appropriations had beenmade, should be employed, " and added that on no occasion, in or out ofcabinet, was he ever consulted on those subjects prior to the year 1812. In the difficulty which arose with the Barbary powers Mr. Gallatinearnestly urged the payment of an annuity to Tripoli, if necessary forpeace. He considered it a mere matter of calculation whether thepurchase of peace was not cheaper than the expense of a war. This policywas to be continued for eight years, at the end of which he hoped that adifferent tone might be assumed. In a note on the message of 1802, Gallatin expressed the hope to Jefferson that his administration would"afford but few materials for historians. " He would never sacrificepermanent prosperity to temporary glitter. Mr. Gallatin's counsel was sought, and his opinion deferred to, onsubjects which did not fall directly within the scope of administration. Even on questions of fundamental constitutional law his judgment was notinferior to that of Madison himself. In one notable instance he differedfrom Mr. Lincoln, the attorney-general, whom he held in high esteem asa good lawyer, a fine scholar, "a man of great discretion and soundjudgment. " This was in 1803, when the acquisition of East Louisiana andWest Florida was a cabinet question. Mr. Lincoln considered that therewas a difference between a power to acquire territory for the UnitedStates and the power to extend by treaty the territory of the UnitedStates, and held that the first was unconstitutional. Mr. Gallatin heldthat the United States as a nation have an inherent right to acquireterritory, and that, when acquisition is by treaty, the same constitutedauthorities in whom the treaty power is vested have a constitutionalright to sanction the acquisition, and that when the territory has beenacquired Congress has the power either of admitting into the Union as anew State or of annexing to a State, with the consent of that State, orof making regulations for the government of the territory. Mr. Jeffersonconcurred in this opinion, while at the same time he thought it safernot to permit the enlargement of the Union except by amendment of theConstitution. Mr. Gallatin's view was practically applied in the casesnamed, and later in the annexation of Texas, although he disapproved ofthe latter as contrary to good faith and the law of nations. He advisedJefferson, also, not to lay the treaty by which Louisiana was acquiredbefore the House until after its ratification by the Senate, taking theground that until then it was not a treaty, and urging that great careshould be taken to do nothing which might be represented as containingany idea of encroachment on the rights of the Senate. He personallyinterested himself in the arrangements for taking possession of NewOrleans, and, considering the expense as trifling compared with theobject, urged the dispatch of an imposing force of not less than fifteenthousand men, which would add to the opinion entertained abroad of ourpower, resources, and energy; five thousand of these to be activetroops; ten thousand an enrolled reserve. The acquisition of Louisianawas the grand popular feature of the foreign policy of the first term ofJefferson's administration. The internal management left much to bedesired. While his general views were exalted, and his principles would stand thenicest examination in their application, Mr. Jefferson was not fortunatein his choice of methods or men. It is not enough for an administrationto be pure; it should be above suspicion. This his was not. Time has notwashed out the stain of his intimacy with William Duane, the editor ofthe infamous "Aurora. " Citizen Duane, as he styled himself in the firstdays of the administration, quarreled with Gallatin because he would notapply the official guillotine, and thereafter pursued him withuncompromising hostility. Of favoritism in appointments Mr. Gallatincould not be accused. During his twelve years in the Treasury heprocured places for but two friends; one was given an obscure clerkshipin the department; the other, John Badollet, was made register in theland office at Vincennes, against whom Gallatin said in the applicationfor appointment which he reluctantly made, there was but one objection, "that of being his personal and college friend. " The dispositions for the sale of lands in the western territory, theextinguishment of titles, and the surveys fell under Mr. Gallatin'sgeneral supervision, and were the objects of his particular care. Soalso was the establishment of the authority of the United States in theLouisiana territory. In the course of these arrangements he was broughtinto contact with Mr. Pierre Chôteau of St. Louis, who controlled theIndian trade of a vast territory. The foundation of an intimateacquaintance was then laid. The influence of this remarkable man overthe Western Indians and the extent of his trading operations with themwas great, and has never since been equaled. About this period Mr. JohnJacob Astor informed the government that he had an opportunity, of whichhe intended to take advantage, to purchase one half of the interest ofthe Canadian Fur Company, which, notwithstanding the treaty of 1794, engrossed the trade by way of Michilimackinac with our own Indians. Before that period this lucrative traffic had been exclusively inBritish hands, and the hostility of the Indian tribes rendered anyinterference in it by Americans dangerous to life and property, andtheir participation since had been merely nominal. Jefferson's cabinetreceived the proposal with satisfaction, but, in their strictinterpretation of the Constitution, could find no way of giving any aidto the scheme beyond the _official_ promise of protection, which it fellto Mr. Gallatin to draft. Mr. Jefferson wrote to Mr. Astor a letter tothe same effect. Mr. Astor, however, was not deterred from hisenterprise, but, under the charter of the American Fur Company grantedby the State of New York, extended his project to the Indians west ofthe Rocky Mountains, and made of it an immense business, employingseveral vessels at the mouth of the Columbia River and a large landparty beyond the Rocky Mountains. He finally founded the establishmentof Astoria. This settlement fell into the hands of the British duringthe war of 1812. Mr. Astor sought to persuade the American government topermit him to renew the establishment at its close, only asking a flagand a lieutenant's command, but Mr. Madison would not commit himself tothe plan. Among Mr. Jefferson's pet schemes was that of a substitution of gunboatsfor fortifications, and for supporting the authority of the laws withinharbors. The mind of Mr. Jefferson had no doubt been favorably disposedto this mode of offensive defense by the experience of Lafayette atAnnapolis, in his southern expedition in the spring of 1781, when hisentire flotilla, ammunition of war, and even the city of Annapolis, were saved from destruction by two improvised gunboats, which, armedwith mortars and hot shot, drove the British blockading vessels out ofthe harbor. Jefferson first suggested the scheme in his annual messageof 1804, and Gallatin did not interfere; but when, in 1807, thePresident insisted, in a special message, on the building of two hundredvessels of this class, Mr. Gallatin objected, because of the expense inconstruction and maintenance, and secondly, of their infallible decay. Mr. Jefferson persisted, and Mr. Gallatin's judgment was vindicated bythe result. Two years later, of one hundred and seventy-six gunboatsconstructed, only twenty-four were in actual service. In his letter ofcriticism, Mr. Gallatin gave as his opinion, that "it would be aneconomical measure for every naval nation to burn their navy at the endof a war and to build a new one when again at war, if it was not thattime was necessary to build ships of war. " The principle was the same asto gunboats, and the objection of time necessary for building did notexist. This year he also laid before the President a memorandum of preparatorymeasures for defense against Great Britain, from whom an attack wasexpected by land and sea, and a second plan for offensive operations onthe northern frontier, which is complete in its geographical andtopographical information, and its estimate of resources in men, material, and money. At the same time he urged upon Mr. Jefferson tomoderate the tone of his message, so as not to widen the breach byhurting the pride of Great Britain. In connection with the land system, Mr. Jefferson favored, and Mr. Gallatin devised, an extensive plan of internal improvements. The routeof the Cumberland road from the Potomac to the Ohio was reported toCongress in 1807; a coast survey was ordered in the same year. The firstsuperintendent was Hassler, a Swiss, whom Mr. Gallatin brought to thenotice of Mr. Jefferson. In 1808 a general plan of improvement wassubmitted to the Senate. This included canals parallel with theseacoast, making a continuous line of inland navigation from the Hudsonto Cape Fear; a great turnpike from Maine to Georgia; the improvement ofthe Susquehanna, Potomac, James, and Santee rivers to serve the slopefrom the Alleghanies to the Atlantic; of the Alleghany, Monongahela, andKanawha, to serve the country westward to the Mississippi, the headwaters of these rivers to be connected by four roads across theAppalachian range; a canal at the falls of the Ohio; a connection of theHudson with Lake Champlain, and of the same river with Lake Ontario atOswego; and a canal around Niagara Falls. The entire expense heestimated at $20, 000, 000, to be met by an appropriation of $2, 000, 000 ayear for ten years; the stock created for turnpikes and canals to be apermanent fund for repairs and improvements. A national university for education in the higher sciences was alsorecommended by Jefferson in his message of 1806, but Mr. Gallatin hadlittle faith in the popularity of this scheme. After the convulsion of1794 in Geneva, Gallatin's old college mate, D'Yvernois, conceived theplan of transporting the entire University of Geneva to the UnitedStates, and wrote on the subject to Jefferson and Adams; but his ideawas based on the supposition that fifteen thousand dollars' income couldbe had from the United States in support of the institution, which was, of course, at the time impracticable. Jefferson believed that theseplans of national improvement could be carried into effect only by anamendment to the Constitution; but Mr. Gallatin, as in the bankquestion, was disturbed by no such scruples, and he recommended Mr. Jefferson to strike from his message the words "general welfare, " asquestionable in their nature, and because the proposition seemed toacknowledge that the words are susceptible of a very dangerous meaning. To a permanent embargo act Mr. Gallatin was from the beginning opposed. He recognized the mischief of government prohibitions, and thought thatstatesmen might well hesitate before they took the hazard of regulatingthe concerns of individuals. The sequel proved the correctness of thisjudgment. But Mr. Jefferson could not bring his mind to any moredecisive measure, indeed, it may justly be said, to any measurewhatever. Taking advantage of Mr. Madison's election to the presidency, he simply withdrew from the triumvirate, and, passing over the subjectin silence in his last message, he ignominiously left to Mr. Madison andMr. Gallatin the entire responsibility which the threatening state ofthe foreign relations of the country imposed on the Republican party. The question was now between the enforcement of the Embargo Act and war. To take off the embargo seemed a declaration of weakness. To add to it anon-importation clause was the only alternative. In November, 1808, Mr. Gallatin prepared for George W. Campbell, chairman of the Committee onForeign Relations of the House, the declaration known as Campbell'sreport, which recited, in clear, compact form, the injuries done to theUnited States by Great Britain, and closed with resolutions to theeffect that the United States could not submit to the edicts of GreatBritain and France, and with a recommendation of non-intercourse and forplacing of the country in a state of defense. After long debate theresolutions were adopted by large majorities, and the policy ofresistance was finally determined upon--resistance, not war. Thus theUnited States resorted, as the colonies had resorted in 1774, to apolicy of non-importation. But the condition of the States was not thatof the colonies. Then all the colonies were commercial, and the entirepopulation was on the seaboard; the prohibition fell with equal weightupon all. Now there were large interior communities whom restrictionsupon commerce would rather benefit than injure. Yet neither the Sons ofLiberty nor the non-importation associations had been able to enforcetheir voluntary agreements either before or after the Congress of 1774. If this were to be the mode of resistance, stringent measures must beadopted to make it effective. Mr. Gallatin accordingly called uponCongress for the necessary powers. They at once responded with theEnforcement Act, which Mr. Gallatin proceeded to apply withcharacteristic administrative vigor, and summoned Jefferson to authorizethe collectors of revenue to call the military force of the UnitedStates to support them in the exercise of their restrictive authority. There was to be no evasion under the systems which Hamilton devised andGallatin knew so well how to administer. His annual report made to Congress on December 10 had clearly set forththe situation, and, without recommending war, had pointed out how itmight be carried on. Macon wrote of him on December 4 to their mutualfriend, Joseph H. Nicholson, "Gallatin is decidedly for war. " After hisreport was sent in the situation became still more perplexing. Rumorscame of an intention to call a convention of the five New EnglandStates, with New York, if possible, to take ground against the embargo. As these indications of dissatisfaction became manifest, and thecontingency of the employment of force at home presented itself, Gallatin made a careful balance of the advantages and inconveniences ofembargo, non-intercourse, and letters of marque. This paper, datedFebruary, 1809, and entitled, "Notes on the Political Situation, " nodoubt served as a brief for consultation with Madison upon his inauguralmessage, it being then understood that Gallatin was to be secretary ofstate. As he states one of the advantages of letters of marque to be "agreater chance of unity at home, " this measure he probably preferred. The Senate had already, on January 4, passed a bill ordering out theentire naval force of the country, and on the 10th the House adopted thesame bill by a vote of 64 to 59. Mr. Gallatin opposed this actionstrenuously. On February 2 the House voted by a large majority to removethe embargo on March 4. Non-intercourse with Great Britain and Franceand trade everywhere else were now the conditions. This significantexpression of the feeling of Congress no doubt determined Mr. Gallatinto suggest letters of marque. Whether he pressed them upon Mr. Madisonor not is uncertain. Meanwhile Mr. Gallatin suffered the odium ofopposition to the will of Congress, and Mr. Madison's power was brokenbefore he took his seat. A few Republican senators inaugurated anopposition to their chief after the fashion of modern days, and Mr. Madison was given to understand that Mr. Gallatin would not be confirmedif nominated as secretary of state. Mr. Madison yielded to thisdictation, and from that day forward was, as he deserved to be, perplexed and harassed by a petty oligarchy. Mr. John Quincy Adams, in anote on this affair, says that, "had Mr. Gallatin been appointedsecretary of state, it is highly probable war with Great Britain wouldnot have taken place. " But it is improbable that any step in foreignintercourse was taken without Mr. Gallatin's knowledge and approbation. Such are the traditions of the triumvirate. The first term of Madison's administration was not eventful. There wasdiscord in the cabinet. In the Senate the "invisibles, " as the factionwhich supported Robert Smith, the secretary of state, was aptly termed, rejected Madison's nominations and opposed Gallatin's financial policyas their interests or whims prompted. Randolph said of Madison at thistime, that he was "President _de jure_ only. " Besides this domesticstrife, the cabinet was engaged in futile efforts to resist thegradually tightening cordon of British aggression. Erskine's amateurnegotiations, quickly disavowed by the British government, and the shortand impertinent mission of Jackson, who succeeded him and was dismissedfrom the United States, well served Canning's policy of delay. Madison, whose prejudices were as strongly with Englishmen and English ways asthose of Jefferson were with the men and manners of France, averse towar and withheld also by Gallatin's persistent objections, negotiatedand procrastinated until there was little left to argue about. InDecember, 1809, Macon made an effort to pass a stringent navigation actto meet the British Orders in Council and the French decrees. The billpassed the House but was emasculated in the Senate, the Republican cabalvoting with the Federalists to strike out the effective clauses. The actinterdicting commercial intercourse with Great Britain and Franceexpired in May, 1810, and was not revived. A new act was passed, whichwas a virtual surrender of every point in dispute. Resistance wasabandoned, and our ships and seamen were left to the mercy of bothbelligerents. Mr. Gallatin's entire energies were bent upon strengthening the Treasuryand opposing reckless expenditures. His most grievous disappointment, however, was in the refusal of Congress to renew the charter of the Bankof the United States. He used every possible effort to save thisinstitution, which, in the condition of the country, was indispensableto a sound currency and the maintenance of specie payment. But with thedead weight of Mr. Madison's silence, if not indifference, the strugglewas unequal and the bank fell. The course of Mr. Madison can hardly beexcused. Political history records few examples of a more crueldesertion of a cabinet minister by his chief. Mr. Gallatin felt itdeeply and tendered his resignation. The administration was going topieces by sheer incapacity. The leaders took alarm and the cabinet wasreconstructed, Monroe being called to the Department of State. But theenemies of Mr. Gallatin still clung to his skirts, determined to draghim to the dust. Duane attacked him in the most dangerous manner. Probably no man in America has ever been abused, vilified, maligned withsuch deliberate persistency as was Gallatin in the "Aurora" from thebeginning of 1811 until the cabinet crisis, when Mr. Madison wascompelled to choose between Smith and himself. Day after day leaderswere devoted to personal assault upon him and to indirect insinuationsof his superiority to Madison, by which the artful editor sought toarouse the jealousy of the President. The "Atlas at the side of thePresident, " the "Great Treasury Law Giver, " the "First Lord of theTreasury, " the "Dagon of the Philistines, " were favorite epithets. Hewas charged by turns with betraying cabinet secrets to Randolph, withamateur negotiation with Erskine, and with subserviency to British goldin the support of the Bank of the United States. Here is an instance ofDuane's style: "We can say with perfect conviction that, if Mr. Madisonsuffer this man to lord it over him, Mr. Gallatin will drag him down, for no honest man in the country can support an administration of whichhe is a member with consistency or a pure conscience. " It was chargedupon Gallatin that his friends considered him as the real, while Madisonwas the nominal, president. More than this, he was accused ofembezzlement and enormous speculations in the public lands. Gallatin'sparty pride must have been strong indeed to have induced him to stay anhour in an administration which granted its favors to the author of suchassaults upon one of its chosen leaders. Jefferson wrote to Mr. Wirt in May following, that, because of the bank, endeavors were made to drive from the administration (of Mr. Madison)the ablest man, except the President, who ever was in it, and to beatdown the President himself because he was unwilling to part with such acounselor. Monroe was appointed secretary of state in Smith's place in April, 1811. Other changes followed in the cabinet, but brought little relief to Mr. Gallatin. Financial affairs now occupied his entire attention; on theone hand was a diminishing treasury; on the other an expenditurereckless in itself and beyond the demands of the administration. Withoutthe sympathy of either the Senate or House, Mr. Gallatin's positionbecame daily more irksome, until at last he abandoned all attempt tocontrol the drift of party policy, took the war party at their word, andsent in to the House a war budget. Unfortunately for the country, the Republican party knew neither how toprepare for war, nor how to keep the peace. Mr. Madison had none of thequalifications of a war President; neither executive ability, decisionof character, nor yet that more important faculty, knowledge of men. Inhis attachment to Mr. Madison and in loyalty to what remained of theonce proud triumvirate of talent and power, Mr. Gallatin supplied thedeficiencies of his fellows as best he could, until an offer ofmediation between the United States and Great Britain on the part of theemperor of Russia presented an opportunity for honorable withdrawal andservice in another and perhaps more congenial field. In March, 1813, theRussian minister, in a note to the secretary of state, tendered thisoffer. Mr. Gallatin had completed his financial arrangements for theyear, and requested Mr. Madison to send him abroad on this mission. Unwilling to take the risk of new appointments, the President acceded tothis proposal, and gave him leave of absence from his post in theTreasury. Mr. Gallatin did not anticipate a long absence, and felt, ashe said to his old friend Badollet, that he could nowhere be moreusefully employed than in this negotiation. Certainly he could have noregret in leaving a cabinet which had so little regard to his ownfeelings and so little political decency as to confer the appointment ofadjutant-general in the United States army on his malignant assailant, William Duane of the "Aurora. " Mr. Gallatin's mission, followed by the resignation of his post in thecabinet, finally dissolved the political triumvirate, but not thepersonal friendship of the men. Numerous attempts were made to alienateboth Jefferson and Madison from Gallatin while he held the portfolio ofthe Treasury, but one and all they signally and ignominiously failed. For Mr. Jefferson Mr. Gallatin had a regard near akin to reverence. Aportrait of the venerable sage was always on his study table. When aboutsetting out for France in 1816 he tendered his services to his old chiefand wrote to him that 'in every country and in all times he should nevercease to feel gratitude, respect, and attachment for him. ' Jeffersonfully reciprocated this regard. From Monticello he wrote to Gallatin in1823: "A visit from you to this place would indeed be a day of jubilee, but your age and distance forbid the hope. Be this as it will, I shalllove you forever, and rejoice in your rejoicings and sympathize in yourails. God bless and have you ever in His holy keeping. " Nor does Mr. Gallatin seem to have allowed any feeling of disappointment ordissatisfaction at Mr. Madison's weakness to disturb their kindlyrelations. Their letters close with the reciprocal assurance ofaffection as well as of esteem. CHAPTER VIII IN DIPLOMACY _The Treaty of Ghent_ On May 9, 1813, the ship Neptune sailed from New Castle on the Delaware, having on board Albert Gallatin and James A. Bayard, ministers of theUnited States, with their four secretaries, of whom were Mr. Gallatin'sson James, and George M. Dallas, son of his old Pennsylvania friend. They were accompanied to sea by a revenue cutter. Off Cape Henlopen theywere overhauled by the British frigate on the station, and theirpassport was countersigned by the English captain. On June 20 theyreached the mouth of the river Gotha. Here the vessel lay at quarantinefor forty-eight hours, during which the gentlemen paid a flying visit toGottenburg. At dusk, on the 24th, the Neptune anchored in Copenhageninner roads, the scene of Nelson's attack in 1801. Mr. Gallatin's briefmemoranda of his voyage contain some crisp expressions. He found"despotism and no oppression. Poverty and no discontent. Civility and noservile obsequiousness amongst the people. Decency and sobriety. " St. Petersburg was reached on July 21. Here Gallatin and Bayard foundJohn Quincy Adams, then minister to Russia. He was one of the threecommissioners appointed to treat for peace under the mediation which theEmperor Alexander had offered to the United States. Bayard and Adamswere Federalists. To the moderate counsels of the former Jefferson owedhis peaceable election. Gallatin and Adams had the advantage of thoroughacquaintance with European politics. To Gallatin the study of historywas a passion. He was familiar with the facts and traditions ofdiplomacy. He knew the purpose, the tenor, and the result of everytreaty made for centuries between the great powers; even their dateswere at ready command in his wonderful memory. But, excepting the fewFrenchmen of distinction who in the exile which political revulsionsimposed upon them had crossed the sea, he had no acquaintance withEuropeans of high position, and none whatever with the diplomaticpersonnel of European courts. In this Adams was more fortunate. Educatedabroad, while his father was minister to the court of St. James, he wasfrom youth familiar with courts and their ways. To be the son of apresident of the United States was no small matter at that day. Theconjunction of these two men was rare. One of European birth and trainedto American politics, the other of American birth and brought up in theatmosphere of European diplomacy. In their natural characteristics theywere the opposite of one another. Adams was impetuous, overbearing, impatient of contradiction or opposition. Gallatin was calm, self-controlled, persistent; not jealous of his opinions, but ready toyield or abandon his own methods, if those of others promised bettersuccess; never blinded by passion or prejudice, but holding the endalways in view. That end was peace; "peace at all times desirable, " asMr. Gallatin said a few days before his departure on his mission, butmuch more so, 'because of the incapacity shown in the conduct of thewar, its inefficiency when compared with its expense, and the openhostility to it of a large number of the American people. ' In the faceof the disasters which had befallen the country Mr. Gallatin must havefelt some qualms of conscience for his persistent opposition to themilitary and naval establishments. Their reorganization had place in hisdesire for peace. He said, May 5, 1813: "Taught by experience, we willapply a part of our resources to such naval preparations andorganization of the public force as will, within less than five years, place us in a commanding situation. " With the particulars of the disputebetween the two countries he was perfectly familiar. His report preparedin 1808 for Mr. Campbell, chairman of the Committee on ForeignRelations, covered the whole ground of the American argument. At the outset there seemed good ground for hope of an early agreement. European politics were at a critical point, and England naturallywished to husband her resources for a sudden emergency. The mediation ofRussia Mr. Gallatin considered a salve to the pride of England. Thisreasoning seemed sound enough, but it had not taken account of oneimportant element: the jealousy of England of any outside interferencebetween herself and her ancient dependencies. Mr. Gallatin did not holdEnglish diplomacy in very high regard. Late in life he said that thehistory of the relations of England and France was a story of thetriumphs of English arms and of French diplomacy; that England wasalways victorious, but France had as often negotiated her out of thefruits of success. True as this remark was in general, it cannot be saidof the policy of England in American affairs. She pushed to the utmosther exclusion of France from the American continent when the States werecolonies, and now that they were free and independent she would listento no foreign intervention. Neither in peace nor war should any thirdgovernment stand between the two nations. This was and ever has been thetrue policy of Great Britain, and that it was not lost sight of in theheat of war is to the credit of her diplomacy. The offer of Russia tomediate was not welcome, and was set aside by Lord Castlereagh in a noteof discouragement. There was no ground for the commissioners to standupon; moreover the emperor and Count Nesselrode were absent from St. Petersburg, Count Romanzoff being left in charge of the foreignrelations. The offer of mediation had originated with him. His policywas to curb the maritime power of England, and to secure in thenegotiation a modification at least of the offensive practice of GreatBritain in her assumed police of the sea. The war was in fact a legacy of the necessarily incomplete diplomacy ofWashington's administration and the Jay treaty. The determining causewas the enforcement of the right of search and the impressment of seamenfrom American vessels; a practice at variance with the rights and thelaw of nations. Monroe, Madison's secretary of state, urged the clearand distinct forbearance of this British practice as the one object tobe obtained. An article in the treaty giving security in that respectwas by Gallatin, as well as by Monroe, considered a _sine qua non_condition; while Mr. Bayard viewed an informal arrangement as equallyefficient and more practicable than a solemn article. But there was nodoubt of Bayard's determination to reach the result prescribed in theirinstructions. Mr. Gallatin's first act after setting foot on European shores was towrite to Baring Brothers & Co. At London. This he did from Gottenburg, requesting a passport for the Neptune, which the commission proposed toretain at St. Petersburg until their return. At the same time heintimated that he wished the British government to be informed of theobject of the mission. For the expenses of the commission theambassadors had authority to draw on the Barings. The reply of Mr. Alexander Baring must at once have opened Mr. Gallatin's eyes to thefutility of the errand of the commissioners. His words clearly state theBritish grounds of objection: "The mediation of Russia was offered, notsought, --it was fairly and frankly accepted, --I do not see how Americacould with any consistency refuse it; but to the eyes of a Europeanpolitician it was clear that such an interference could produce nopractical benefit. The only question now seriously at issue between usis one purely of a domestic nature in each country respectively; noforeign government can fairly judge of it. " Pointing out the difficultyof establishing any distinction between the great masses of theseafaring population of Great Britain and America, he finds that noother country can judge of the various positions of great delicacy andimportance which spring from such a state of things; and says: "This isnot the way for Great Britain and America really to settle theirdisputes; intelligent persons of the two countries might devise mutualsecurities and concessions which perhaps neither country would offer inthe presence of a third party. It is a sort of family quarrel whereforeign interference can only do harm and irritate at any time, but moreespecially in the present state of Europe, when attempts would be madeto make a tool of America. " These, he said he had good reason to know, were the sentiments of the British cabinet on the question of place ofnegotiation and foreign mediation. He also informed Mr. Gallatin thatthe mediation of Russia had been refused, and that the Britishgovernment would express its desire to treat separately and directlyeither at London or Gottenburg. He warned Mr. Gallatin that an opinionprevailed in the British public that the United States were engaged toFrance by a secret political connection, which belief, though perhapsnot shared by the government, would lead it to consider the perseveringof the American commission upon bringing the insulated question beforethe powers of the Continent as a touchstone of their sincerity. He hopedthat the American commissioners would come at once in contact with theBritish ministers, and pointed out the hesitation that every ministerwould feel at giving instructions on a matter so delicate as that"involving the rights and duties of sovereign and subject. " He thendeclared that there was in England a strong desire for peace and forending a contest in which the "two countries could only tease and weakeneach other without any practical result, " and at a time when Englanddesired to carry her resources into the "more important field ofEuropean contest. " He then gave Castlereagh's assurance, that thecartel-ship, the Neptune, should be respected, and expressed his ownpersonal hope that he should ere long be gratified by seeing it bring, with the commissioners, the hope of peace to the shores of England. Meanwhile Mr. Gallatin was engaged in explaining the American case toRomanzoff by conversation and by a written statement of the facts inthe form of an unofficial note to the emperor. On August 10 word wasreceived from the Emperor Alexander authorizing the renewal of the offerof mediation; and shortly after a letter from General Moreau, written toMr. Gallatin from the imperial headquarters at Hrushova, assured him ofhis sympathy and assistance. His relations with Gallatin were of longstanding and of an intimate nature. Moreau, after a long residence inAmerica, to which he was warmly attached, had lately crossed the oceanand tendered his able sword to the coalition against Bonaparte. Heinformed Gallatin that one of the British ministers had said to him inGermany that England would not treat of her maritime rights under anymediation. He feared that American vanity would hardly consent to treatdirectly with Great Britain, and foresaw that the political adversariesof Madison and Gallatin would blame the precipitation of the UnitedStates government in sending over the envoys before the adhesion ofEngland to the proposed arbitration was secured. He assured Gallatin ofthe interest of the Emperor Alexander in the Americans. On August 24 Count Romanzoff read to the envoys his dispatch to CountLieven, the Russian minister at London, renewing the offer of mediation. The commissioners considering their authority as limited to treatingunder the mediation of Russia, Mr. Gallatin wrote to Monroe, inclosinga copy of Baring's letter, which he looked upon as an informalcommunication of the views of the British government, and asked forcontingent powers and instructions. These they could not expect toreceive before February. Gallatin replied to Mr. Baring that noinformation of the refusal of Great Britain to the mediation had beenreceived, but, even if it had, the commission was not authorized tonegotiate in any other manner. They were, however, competent to treat ofcommerce without mediation. He declined to discuss the objection ofGreat Britain to the mediation of Russia, confining himself to anexpression of ignorance in America of any such feeling on the part ofthe British ministry, and of the confidence placed in the personalcharacter of the emperor, which was considered a sufficient pledge ofimpartiality; while the selection of a sovereign at war with France wasclear evidence that America neither had nor wished to have any politicalconnection with that power. That he himself believed an arrangement tobe practicable, he said to Mr. Baring, was evident from the fact that hehad given up his political existence, and separated himself from hisfamily. His opinion was, that while neither nation would be induced toabandon its rights or pretensions in the matter of impressment, anarrangement might be made by way of experiment which would reserve toboth their respective abstract rights, real or assumed. To Moreau he wrote stating his hope that, notwithstanding the firstobjections of Great Britain, the mediation of the emperor would beaccepted, and he asked the general for his personal interposition tothis end. France and England he held to be equally at fault in the greatEuropean contest; the one usurping and oppressing the land, the otherdominating and tyrannizing the sea. They alone, said he, have gained, ifnot happiness, at least power. Russia, he was firmly persuaded, was theonly power at heart friendly to America. History has shown the sagacityof this judgment. This letter was never answered. Moreau was at death'sdoor. Early in October Mr. Dallas was sent to London to open relations withthe British ministry. His presence there would save two months at leastin each correspondence which involved communication between Washington, London, and St. Petersburg. Count Romanzoff gave the necessary letter ofintroduction to Count Lieven. Gallatin's instructions to the youngsecretary were explicit as to the caution he should exercise in acountry where he could consider himself as only on sufferance. Hardlywere these preliminaries concluded, and Dallas had not started on hisjourney, when Mr. Gallatin received word from America that the Senatehad refused to confirm him in his position as commissioner. Mr. Gallatinhad not resigned his position of secretary of the treasury. The Senaterefused to sanction the cumulative appointment. Stripped of his official character, he now felt himself at liberty tofollow his own inclination. His first impulse was to go to London, wherehe was sure that Baring's friendship would open to him a means ofusefulness in the matter on which he was engaged. The death of Moreaucut off the medium of approach to the emperor. This event was of noconsequence, however, in the negotiation, as the emperor had beenpositively informed in July that England would not countenance even theappearance of foreign intervention in her dispute with America. But asyet no official information of his rejection had been received by Mr. Gallatin, nor did any reach him until March. Without it he could notwell leave St. Petersburg. Meanwhile a diplomatic imbroglio, caused bythe failure of the emperor to inform Romanzoff of Castlereagh's secondrefusal to accept the offer of mediation, embarrassed the commission allwinter. Nor yet were they aware that the British minister, driven to thewall by the second offer of the emperor, had made proposals to Monroe totreat directly with the United States government. The British note withthis offer was written on November 4. Mr. Gallatin was apprised of it byMr. Dallas in January, 1814. Mr. Baring urged him, if he should returnto America during the winter, to take his way through England, as goodeffects might result from even a passing visit. Gallatin was then, as heexpressed it, "chained for the winter to St. Petersburg, " nor had heany way of reaching home, except by a cartel from a British port. No word coming from the emperor, the envoys concluded to withdraw fromSt. Petersburg. Before leaving, Mr. Gallatin addressed a letter ofthanks to Count Romanzoff, and requested him to communicate anyinformation he might receive from the emperor. It was supposed that theoffer of England to treat directly with America might be inclosed inCastlereagh's letter of refusal to accept Russian mediation. On January25, 1814, Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Bayard left St. Petersburg and traveledby land to Amsterdam, which they reached after a tedious journey onMarch 4. The captain of the Neptune was ordered to bring his vessel to aport of Holland. At Amsterdam, where the envoys remained four weeks, they learned that Mr. Madison had at once accepted Castlereagh's offerand appointed a new commission, consisting of Messrs. Adams, Bayard, Henry Clay, and Jonathan Russell. Mr. Gallatin was not included, as hewas supposed to be on his way home to resume his post in the TreasuryDepartment, the duties of which had been performed in his absence by Mr. Jones, the secretary of the navy. When correct information did reach Mr. Madison, on February 8, he immediately added Mr. Gallatin to thecommission, and appointed Mr. G. W. Campbell to be secretary of thetreasury. Thus it happened that Mr. Gallatin, whom Mr. Madison intendedfor the head of the commission, was the last named of those whoconducted the negotiations. [Illustration: J. A. Bayard] On April 1, 1814, Mr. Gallatin concluded to pass through England on hisreturn, and leaving orders for the Neptune on its arrival to proceed toFalmouth, he took the packet to Harwich, whither he requested Mr. Baringto send him the requisite passports to enable him to reach London withhis suite without delay. In company with Mr. Bayard, Mr. Gallatin reached the English capital onApril 9, 1814. There they heard some days later of the arrival ofMessrs. Clay and Russell at Gottenburg. The situation of Great Britainhad greatly changed. Intoxicated with the success of their arms and theabdication of Napoleon, the English people were quite ready to undertakethe punishment of the United States, while the release of a large bodyof trained troops in France, Italy, Holland, and Portugal enabled theministry immediately to throw a large force into Canada for the summercampaign. In the British cabinet a belief was said to be entertainedthat a continuance of the war would bring about a separation of theAmerican Union, and perhaps a return of New England to the mothercountry. In this emergency Gallatin availed himself of the opportunitywhich presented itself of addressing Lafayette in sending to thatofficer the patents for the Louisiana land granted to him by theAmerican government, and urged the use of his influence to promote anaccommodation between England and the United States. To Clay he wrote on April 22, proposing that the place of negotiation bechanged from "that corner" Gottenburg, either to London, or some neutralplace more accessible to the friendly interference of those among theEuropean powers upon which they must greatly rely. The Emperor Alexanderwas expected in London, and Castlereagh, who had recently returned fromFrance where he had been in direct intercourse with him, was understoodto be of all the cabinet the best disposed to the United States. FromClay Gallatin heard in reply that the British _chargé d'affaires_ atStockholm had already asked the sanction of the Swedish government tothe negotiation at Gottenburg. While Clay was unwilling to go to Londonhe gave his consent to carry on the negotiations in Holland, if thearrangement could be made in such a manner as to avoid any ill feelingat the Swedish court by the change from Gottenburg. In May Gallatin andBayard asked of Monroe, who was then secretary of state, authority forthe commissioners to remove the negotiation to any place which theirjudgment should prefer. In May, also, the British government wasofficially notified by the American commissioners of their appointment. Lord Bathurst answered with an assurance that commissioners would beforthwith appointed for Great Britain, and with a proposal of Ghent asthe place for negotiation. This was at once acceded to. Meanwhile Mr. Crawford, the United States minister at Paris, wasendeavoring, at the instance of Mr. Gallatin, to secure the friendlyinterposition of the Emperor Alexander, not as a mediator, but as acommon friend and in the interest of peace to the civilized world. Crawford was unable to obtain an audience of the emperor, or even aninterview with Count Nesselrode, but Lafayette took up the cause withhis hearty zeal for everything that concerned the United States, and, ina long interview with the emperor at the house of Madame de Staël, submitted to him the view taken by the United States of the controversy, and obtained from him his promise to exert his personal influence withthe British government on his arrival at London. Baron von Humboldt, thePrussian minister at Paris, who had been influenced by Britishmisrepresentation, was also won over by Lafayette, and now tendered hisservices to Mr. Gallatin in any way in which he might be made useful. Lafayette's letter was brought by Humboldt in person. Gallatin andHumboldt had met in 1804, when the great traveler passed throughWashington on his return from Peru and Mexico. The Treaty of Paris having been signed, Lord Castlereagh reached Londonearly in June, and the emperor arrived a few days later. Mr. Gallatinhad an audience of the emperor on June 17, and on the 19th submitted anofficial statement of the American case and an appeal for theinterposition of his imperial majesty, "the liberator and pacifier ofEurope. " From the interview Mr. Gallatin learned that the emperor hadmade three attempts in the interest of peace, but that he had no hopethat his representations had been of any service. England would notadmit a third party to interfere, and he thought that, with respect tothe conditions of peace, the difficulty would be with England and notwith America. On June 13 Gallatin warned Monroe of the preparations England was makingwhich would enable her to land fifteen to twenty thousand men on theAtlantic coast; that the capture of Washington and New York would mostgratify the British people, and that no help need be expected from thecountries of Europe, all which were profoundly desirous of peace. The ministry informing Mr. Gallatin that the British commissioners wouldstart for Ghent on July 1, he improved the interval by a visit to Paris. He left London, where he had passed nearly three months in the uncertainpreliminaries of negotiation, and after a few days in the French capitalreached Ghent on July 6. The British commissioners only appeared onAugust 6. They were Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams, allsecond-rate men, but for this reason suited to the part they had toplay. After the overturn of Napoleon the British cabinet had no desirefor peace, or at least not until they had secured by war some materialadvantages in the United States, which a treaty would confirm. Thebusiness of their representatives at Ghent was to make exorbitantdemands of the Americans and delay negotiations pending the militaryoperations in progress. In June Gallatin was satisfied of the general hostile spirit of GreatBritain and of its wish to inflict serious injury on the United States. He notified Monroe of his opinion and warned him that the most favorableterms to be expected were the _status ante bellum_, and not certainlythat, unless the American people were united and the country able tostand the shock of the campaign. Mr. Madison's administration hadalready humbled itself to an abandonment, or at least to an adjournment, of the principle to establish which they had resorted to arms. But inthe first stages of the negotiation it was clear that the Britishcabinet had more serious and dangerous objects in view, and lookedbeyond aggression and temporary injury to permanent objects. At thefirst meeting on August 8, the British commissioners demanded, as apreliminary to any negotiation, that the United States should set apartto the Indian tribes the entire territory of the Northwest to be held bythem forever in sovereignty under the guaranty of Great Britain. Theabsurdity of such a demand is sufficient evidence that it was neverseriously entertained. There could have been no idea that the militarypower of Great Britain was able to enforce, or that the United Stateswould abjectly submit to, such a mutilation of its territory and such alimitation of its expansion. Behind this cover Mr. Gallatininstinctively detected the real design of the cabinet to be the conquestof New Orleans and the mouths of the Mississippi. If to the territorythus acquired that of Florida should be added by cession from Spain, which could hardly refuse any compensation asked of her by Great Britainin return for the liberation of the Peninsula, a second British dominionwould be set up on the American continent. These views Gallatincommunicated to Monroe in a private dispatch of August 20, 1814, by thehands of Mr. Dallas. To the _sine qua non_ of the British commissionersno answer was made by the Americans. The negotiation was abruptlysuspended, and only by informal conversation was Mr. Goulburn given tounderstand that reference had been had to America for instructions. Mr. Gallatin was of opinion that the negotiations were at an end, and in hisdespair of peace took consolation in the belief that the insolence ofthe demand would unite America from Maine to Georgia in defense of herrights, of her territory, and indeed of her independence. The Americancommissioners made no secret of their belief that their mission wasclosed. Two of the secretaries started from Ghent on a continental tour, and notice was given to the landlord of the house where thecommissioners resided of their intention to quit it on October 1. OnAugust 2, while matters were still at this deadlock, Lord Castlereaghpassed through Ghent on his way to the Congress at Vienna. Goulburn wasordered to change his tone and Lord Liverpool was advised to moderatehis demands; to use Castlereagh's words, to "a letting down of thequestion. " Lord Liverpool replied on September 2, that he had alreadygiven Goulburn to understand that the commission had taken a veryerroneous view of British policy. In this communication he betrays thehope, which the cabinet had entertained, of the outcome of Americandissensions, by his expression of the opinion that if the negotiationhad broken off on the notes already presented by the British commission, or the answer that the Americans were disposed to make, the war wouldhave become popular in America. Lord Bathurst reopened the negotiations, but his modification was oftone rather than of matter. The surrender of the control of the Lakes toGreat Britain, and of the Northwest Territory to the Indians, was stilladhered to. The reply of the American commissioners was drawn chiefly byMr. Gallatin. It absolutely rejected the proposals respecting theboundary and the military flag on the Lakes, and refused even to referthem to the American government, but offered to pursue the negotiationon the other points. To Monroe Mr. Gallatin explained his reason forassenting to discuss the Indian article, and therein his colleaguesconcurred with him, to be: that they had little hope of peace, butthought it desirable, if there were to be a breach, that it should be onother grounds than that of Indian pacification. The reply of thecommission on this point, also drafted by Mr. Gallatin, was sent in onSeptember 26. It merely guaranteed the Indians in all their old rights, privileges, and possessions. The destruction of the public buildings at Washington by the Britishtroops, known in London on October 1, caused a great sensation inEngland. As Gallatin said in a letter to Madame de Staël, it was "an actof vandalism to which no parallel could be found in the twenty years ofEuropean war from the frontiers of Russia to Paris, and from those ofDenmark to Naples. " "Was it (he asked), because, with the exception of afew cathedrals, England had no public buildings comparable to them, orwas it to console the London mob for their disappointment that Paris wasneither pillaged nor burned?" It can hardly be doubted that the flameswhich consumed the American capital lighted the way to peace. Theatrocity of war was again brought vividly to the view of nations whosesole yearning was for peace. Far from discouraging the Americancommissioners, it fortified their resolution. They knew that it wouldunite the people of the States as one man. It in no way disturbedGallatin's confidence either in the present or future of his adoptedcountry. To those who asked his opinion of the securities of the UnitedStates, he said: "If I have not wholly misunderstood America, itsresources and its political morality, I am not wrong in the belief thatits public funds are more secure than those of all European powers. " In spite of the protests of Mr. Goulburn, who felt the ground on whichhe stood daily less stable, and in his letters to his chief wasunsparing in his denunciations, Lord Liverpool accepted the proposedsettlement of the Indian question. Nothing remained but to incorporatein a treaty form the points agreed upon. Lord Bathurst, who seemsthroughout the negotiation to have forgotten the old adage, that "finewords butter no parsnips, " and with true British blindness never to haveappreciated how thoroughly he was overmatched by Mr. Gallatin, submitteda preliminary notification that the British terms would be based on theprinciple of _uti possidetis_, which involved a rectification of theboundaries on the Canadian frontier. To this the Americans returned aperemptory refusal. They would not go one step farther except on thebasis of the _status quo ante bellum_. Lord Liverpool considered this asconclusive. A vigorous prosecution of the war was resolved upon by thecabinet. Only for reasons of expediency was a show of negotiation stillkept up. But when the cabinet took a survey of the general field they felt littlecomplacency in the prospect of a struggle which sooner or later mustinterest the maritime powers. France, compelled by the peace of Viennato withdraw from what even Lafayette considered as her natural frontier, was restive, and there was a large party in Russia who would gladly seethe emperor take up the American cause. Moreover the chancellor of theexchequer saw before him an inevitable addition of ten millions ofpounds sterling to his budget, the only avowable reason for which wasthe rectification of the Canadian frontier. In their distress thecabinet proposed to Wellington to go to the United States with theolive-branch and the sword, to negotiate or conquer a peace. The desireof the cabinet to bring the war to an honorable conclusion was avowed. But Wellington, before accepting this proposal, gave Lord Liverpool avery frank opinion of the mistake made in exacting territorialconcessions, since the British held no territory of the United States inother than temporary possession, and had no right to make any suchdemand. Lord Liverpool was not tenacious. He was never, he wrote LordBathurst, much inclined to give way to the Americans, but the cabinetfelt itself compelled to withdraw from its extreme ground. He acceptedhis defeat and acknowledged it. The Americans meanwhile arranged a draft of a treaty. The articles onimpressment and other maritime rights, absolutely rejected by theBritish, were set aside. There only remained the question of theboundaries, the fisheries, and the navigation of the Mississippi. HereMr. Gallatin had as much difficulty in maintaining harmony between Adamsand Clay as in obtaining a peace from Liverpool and Bathurst. Adams wasdetermined to save the fisheries; Clay would not hear of opening theMississippi to British vessels. A compromise was effected by which itwas agreed that no allusion should be made to either subject. Mr. Gallatin terminated the dispute by adding a declaration that thecommissioners were willing to sign a treaty applying the principle ofthe _status quo ante bellum_ to _all_ the subjects of difference. Thiswas in strict conformity with the instructions from the home government. On November 10 the American draft was sent in. On the 25th the Britishreplied with a counter-draft which made no allusion to the fisheries, but stipulated for the free navigation of the Mississippi. The Americansreplied that they would give up the navigation of the river for asurrender of the fisheries. This proposal was at once refused by theBritish. The matter was settled by an offer of the Americans tonegotiate under a distinct reservation of all American rights. Allstipulations on either subject were in the end omitted, the Britishgovernment on December 22 withdrawing the article referring to thesepoints. In the course of the negotiation Mr. Gallatin proposed that incase of a future war both nations should engage never to employ thesavages as auxiliaries, but this article does not appear. To the creditof civilization, however, the last article contained a mutual engagementto put an end to the trade in slaves. An agreement entered into inperfect faith, but which the jealousy of the exercise of search in anyform rendered nugatory for half a century. On Christmas day the treatywas signed. Mr. Henry Adams[19] justly says, "Far more thancontemporaries ever supposed, or than is now imagined, the Treaty ofGhent was the special work and the peculiar triumph of Mr. Gallatin. "His own correspondence shows how admirably he was constituted for thenice work of diplomatic negotiation. In the self-poise which hemaintained in the most critical situations, the unerring sagacity withwhich he penetrated the purposes of his adversaries, the address withwhich he soothed the passions and guided the judgments of hiscolleagues, it is impossible to find a single fault. If he had a fault, says his biographer, it was that of using the razor when he would havedone better with the axe. But the axe is not a diplomatic weapon. Thesimulation of temper may serve an occasional purpose, but temper itselfis a mistake; and to Mr. Gallatin's credit be it said, it was a mistakenever committed by him in the course of this long and sometimes painfulnegotiation. Looking back upon its shifting scenes, it is clear thateven the pertinacity of Adams and the irascibility of Clay served toadvance the purpose of the mission. From the first to the last Mr. Gallatin had his own way, not because it was his own way, but because itwas the best way and was so recognized by the majority of the commissionat every turn of difference. Fortunately for the interests of peace thebattle of New Orleans had not yet been fought. There seems a justice inthis final act of the war. The British attack upon the Chesapeake[20]was committed before war had been declared. The battle of New Orleanswas fought a fortnight after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. The burningof Washington was avenged by the most complete defeat which the Britishhad ever encountered in their long career of military prowess. By his political life Mr. Gallatin acquired an American reputation; byhis management of the finances of the United States he placed himselfamong the first political economists of the day; but his masterlyconduct of the Treaty of Ghent showed him the equal of the best ofEuropean statesmen on their own peculiar ground of diplomacy. No one ofAmerican birth has ever rivaled him in this field. Europeans recognizedhis pre-eminent genius. Sismondi praised him in a public discourse. Humboldt addressed him as his illustrious friend. Madame de Staëlexpressed to him her admiration for his mind and character. AlexanderBaring gave him more than admiration, his friendship. * * * * * Upon the separation of the commissioners, Mr. Gallatin paid a flyingvisit to Geneva. His fame, or "glory, " to use the words of Humboldt, preceded him. Of his old intimates, Serre was under the sod in a WestIndian island; Badollet was leading a quiet life at Vincennes in theIndiana Territory, where Gallatin had obtained for him an appointment inthe land office; Dumont was in England. Of Gallatin's family fewremained. But he received the honors due to him as a Genevan who hadshed a lustre on his native city. On his way to England, where he hadmade an appointment with his colleagues to attempt a commercial treatywith Great Britain, he stopped at Paris. Here he saw Napoleon, returnedfrom Elba, his star in full blaze before its final extinction. Here heheard in April (1815) of his appointment by Madison as minister toFrance. His colleagues also had been honored by similar advancements. Adams was transferred from Russia to England. Bayard was named ministerto Russia, but illness prevented his taking possession of his post. In April, Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Clay opened negotiations with LordCastlereagh in London, where they were quickly joined by Adams. LordCastlereagh bore no malice against Mr. Gallatin for the treaty. On thecontrary, he wrote of it to Lord Liverpool as "a most auspicious andseasonable event, " and wished him joy at "being released from themillstone of an American war. " With Lord Castlereagh Mr. Gallatinarranged in the course of the summer a convention regulating commercialintercourse between the United States and Great Britain, the only trulyvaluable part of which was that which abolished all discriminatingduties. Mr. Gallatin considered this concession as an evidence offriendly disposition, and rightly judged that British antipathy andprejudice were modified, and that in the future friendly relations wouldbe preserved and a rupture avoided. Beyond this, there was littlegained. The old irritating questions of impressment and blockade and theexclusion of the United States from the West Indies trade remained. In July Mr. Gallatin parted from Mr. Baring and his London friends onhis homeward journey. From New York, on September 4, he wrote Madison, thanking him for the appointment of minister to France as an "evidenceof undiminished attachment and of public satisfaction for his services;"but he still held his acceptance in abeyance. To Jefferson, two dayslater, he had also the satisfaction to say with justice, that thecharacter of the United States stood as "high as ever it did on theEuropean continents, and higher than ever it did in Great Britain;" andthat the United States was considered "as the nation designed to checkthe naval despotism of England. " To Jefferson he naturally spoke of thatFrance from which they had drawn some of their inspirations and theirdoctrines. He thus describes the condition of the people:-- "The revolution (the political change of 1789) has not, however, been altogether useless. There is a visible improvement in the agriculture of the country and the situation of the peasantry. The new generation belonging to that class, freed from the petty despotism of nobles and priests, and made more easy in their circumstances by the abolition of tithes, and the equalization of taxes, have acquired an independent spirit, and are far superior to their fathers in intellect and information; they are not republicans and are still too much dazzled by military glory; but I think that no monarch or ex-nobles can hereafter oppress them long with impunity. " And again, "Exhausted, degraded, and oppressed as France now is, I donot despair of her ultimate success in establishing her independence anda free form of government. " But it was not till half a century laterthat Gambetta, the Mirabeau of the Republic, led France to the fullpossession of her material forces, and reëstablished in their originalvigor the principles of 1789. That Gallatin was not blinded bydemocratic prejudices appears in the letter he wrote to Lafayette afterNapoleon's abdication, in which he said: "My attachment to the form ofgovernment under which I was born and have ever lived never made medesirous that it should, by way of experiment, be applied to countrieswhich might be better fitted for a limited monarchy. " _Minister to France_ Strange as it appears, there is no doubt that Mr. Gallatin was at thistime heartily weary of political life, and seriously contemplated apermanent retirement to the banks of the Monongahela. He naturallyenough declined a nomination to Congress, which was tendered him by thePhiladelphia district. His tastes were not for the violence andturbulence of the popular house. Madison left him full time to decide whether he could arrange hisprivate affairs so as to accept the mission to Paris. In November hepositively declined. He considered the compensation as incompetent tothe support of a minister in the style in which he was expected to live. His private income was at this time about twenty-five hundred dollars ayear. Monroe pressed him earnestly not to quit the public service, butthe year closed and Mr. Gallatin had not made up his mind. In thesituation of France, which he considered "would under her presentdynasty be for some years a vassal of her great rival, " he did notconsider the mission important, and his private fortune was limited to anarrow competence. "I do not wish, " he wrote to Monroe, "to accumulateany property. I will not do my family the injury of impairing the littleI have. My health is frail; they may soon lose me, and I will not leavethem dependent on the bounty of others. " But being again earnestlypressed, he on January 2, 1816, accepted the appointment. To Jeffersonhe wrote that he would not conceal 'that he did not feel yet old enoughnor had philosophy enough to go into retirement and abstract himselfwholly from public affairs. ' In April, Madison notified Mr. Gallatin of Dallas's probable retirementfrom the Treasury, and offered him the post if he cared to return to it. He was perfectly aware of his supreme fitness for the direction of theTreasury, and he declined with reluctance, because he was disturbed bythe suspension of specie payments. Remembering Madison's weakness in1812 on the subject of the renewal of the bank charter, which Gallatinconsidered necessary in the situation of the finances, he could hardlyhave felt a desire to return to the cabinet in that or indeed in anyother capacity. He was perfectly conscious that as leader of the Houseof Representatives, as secretary of the treasury, and as negotiator ofthe Ghent treaty, he had brought into the triumvirate all its practicalstatesmanship. His short career abroad had opened to him a new source ofintellectual pleasure. He had earned a right to some hours of ease. Diplomacy at that period, when communication was uncertain anddifficult, was perforce less restricted than in these latter days, whenambassadors are little more than foreign clerks of the State Departmentwithout even the freedom of a chief of bureau. Gallatin felt entirely athome, and was happy in this peculiar sphere. There was no time in hislife when he would not have gladly surrendered all political power forthe enjoyment of intellectual ease, the pursuit of science, and theatmosphere of society of the higher order of culture in whatever field. And Paris was then, as it is still, the centre of intellectual andsocial civilization. Jefferson rejoiced in Gallatin's appointment to France, and rightlyjudged that he would be of great service there. Of Louis XVIII. , however, Jefferson had a poor opinion. He thought him 'a fool and abigot, but, bating a little duplicity, honest and meaning well. 'Jefferson could give Gallatin no letters. He had 'no acquaintances leftin France; some were guillotined, some fled, some died, some are exiled, and he knew of nobody left but Lafayette. ' With Destutt de Tracy, anintimate friend of Lafayette, Jefferson was in correspondence. Indeed, he was engaged on the translation of Tracy's work on political economy, the best, in Jefferson's opinion, that had ever appeared. [21] Gallatin reached Paris with his family on July 9, 1816, and had aninterview with the Duc de Richelieu, the minister of Louis XVIII. , twodays later. The conversation turned upon the sympathy for Bonaparte inthe United States, which Richelieu could not understand; but Gallatinexplained that it was not extended to him as the despot of France, butas the most formidable enemy of England. Richelieu warned him of theprejudices which might be aroused against the reigning family 'byex-kings and other emigrants of the same description' who had latelyremoved to the United States. This was an allusion to Jerome, who hadfled from the throne of Westphalia to the banks of the Delaware. Theking gave Gallatin an audience on the 11th, when he presented hiscredentials. His reception both by his majesty and the princes was, hewrote to Monroe, "what is called gracious. " Louis the Eighteenth was aBourbon to the ends of his fingers. He had the _bonhommie_ dashed withmalice which characterized the race. None could better appreciate thanhe the vein of good-natured satire, the acquired tone of French society, which was to Mr. Gallatin a natural gift. Mr. Gallatin was not onlykindly but familiarly received at court; and at the _petits soupers_, which were the delight of the epicurean king, his majesty on more thanone occasion shelled the crawfish for the youthful daughter of therepublican ambassador. An anecdote is preserved of the king's courteousmalice. To a compliment paid Mr. Gallatin on his French, the king added, "but I think my English is better than yours. " Gallatin's first negotiations were to obtain indemnity for the capturesunder the Berlin and Milan decrees; but although the Duc de Richelieunever for a moment hinted that the government of the Restoration was notresponsible for the acts of Napoleon, yet he stated that the mass ofinjuries for which compensation was demanded by other governments was sogreat that indemnity must be limited to the most flagrant cases. Theywould pay for vessels burnt at sea, but would go no farther. In spite ofMr. Gallatin's persistency no advance was made in the negotiation. Aminor matter gave him some annoyance. On July 4, 1816, at a publicdinner, the postmaster at Baltimore proposed a toast which, by itsdisrespect, gave umbrage to the king. Hyde de Neuville, the Frenchminister to the United States, demanded the dismissal of the offender. If our institutions and habits as well as public opinion had notforbidden compliance with this request, the dictatorial tone of DeNeuville was sufficient bar. Richelieu could not be made to understandthe reason for the refusal, and while disclaiming any idea of usingforce, said that the government would show its dissatisfaction in itsown way. This seemed to intimate an indefinite postponement of aconsideration of American demands, and would have rendered Mr. Gallatin's further residence useless as well as unpleasant; but Frenchdignity got the better of what Gallatin termed, "the sicklysentimentality which existed on the subject of personal abuse of theking, " and the insignificant incident was not allowed to interfere withfriendly intercourse. In 1817 Mr. Gallatin was engaged not only in advising Mr. Adams atLondon upon the points of a commercial treaty with Great Britain, butalso, together with Mr. William Eustis, minister to the Netherlands, ina negotiation with that government. The commission met at the Hague, Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Van der Kemprepresenting Holland. The subjects were the treaty of 1782 between theStates-general of the Netherlands and the United States, the repeal ofdiscriminating duties, and the participation of the United States in thetrade with the Dutch East Indies. The basis of a treaty could not beagreed upon, and the whole matter was referred back to the twogovernments, the American commissioners recommending to the President arepeal of duties discriminating against vessels of the Netherlands, which would no doubt prevent future exaction of extra tonnage dutiesimposed on American vessels by that government. These negotiationsoccupied the late summer months. At the end of September Mr. Gallatinwas again at his post in Paris. In June, 1818, Mr. Richard Rush, who owed his introduction into publiclife to Mr. Gallatin, was appointed minister to England, Adams returningto the United States to take the portfolio of State in PresidentMonroe's cabinet. Gallatin was joined to Rush, for the conduct ofnegotiations with Great Britain, rendered necessary by the approachingexpiration of the commercial convention of July 3, 1815, which had beenlimited to four years. The general field of disputed points was againentered. It included the questions of impressment, the fisheries, theboundaries, and indemnity for slaves. The commissioners were supportedby a temper of the American people different from that which prevailedwhen Jay and Gallatin respectively undertook the delicate work ofnegotiation in 1794 and 1814. A compromise was arrived at, which wassigned on October 20, 1818. The articles on maritime rights andimpressment were set aside. A convention was made for ten years inregard to the fisheries, the northwest boundary, and other points, andthe commercial convention of 1815 was renewed. The English claim to thenavigation of the Mississippi was finally disposed of, and the articleconcerning the West India trade was referred to the President. Thearrangement of the fishery question disturbed Mr. Gallatin, who foundhimself compelled to sign an agreement which left the United States in aworse situation in that respect than before the war of 1812. But as theBritish courts would certainly uphold the construction by theirgovernment of the treaty of 1783, our vessels, when seized, would becondemned and a collision would immediately ensue. This, and thecritical condition of our Spanish relations, left no choice betweenconcession and war. A short time afterward Lord Castlereagh and the Dukeof Wellington expressed friendly dispositions, and the mooted points ofimpressment and the West India trade were considered by them to be nearan arrangement. The right of British armed vessels to examine Americancrews was abandoned in the convention itself. In July, 1818, the capture of Fort St. Mark and the occupation ofPensacola in Florida by General Jackson made some stir in the quietwaters of our foreign diplomacy. Uncertain as to whether the act wouldbe disavowed or justified by the American government, Mr. Gallatinexplained to the European ministers that the forcible occupation of theSpanish province was an act of self-defence and protection against theIndians, but Richelieu replied that the United States "had adopted thegame laws and pursued in foreign ground what was started in its own. "Yet, to the astonishment of Mr. Gallatin, Richelieu was moderate andfriendly in language, and urged a speedy amicable arrangement ofdifferences with Spain, in whose affairs France took an interest, andwho had asked her good offices. But Gallatin at once rejected any ideathat the United States would join France in any mediation between Spainand her revolted colonies. It seems rather singular that, to thesuggestion that a Spanish prince might be sent over to America as anindependent monarch, Gallatin contented himself with expressing a doubtas to the efficacy of such a course to preserve their independence. Mr. Adams was informed that public recognition of the independence of theinsurgent colony of Buenos Ayres would shock the feelings and prejudicesof the French ministers, but that notwithstanding this displeasure, France would not join Spain in a war on this account. England, however, would see such a war without regret, and privateers under Spanishcommissions would instantly be fitted out, both in France and England. Under the existing convention with Great Britain three hundred Americanvessels arrived at Liverpool in the first nine months of 1818 from theUnited States and only thirty English, an advantage to the United Stateswhich war would at once destroy. Russia also was displeased with therecognition of the independence of the Spanish colonies. At the Congressof Aix la Chapelle various plans of mediation were proposed, but Englandrefusing to engage to break off all commercial relations with such ofthe insurgent colonies as should reject the proposals agreed to, thewhole project was abandoned. An agreement between the five great powersfor the suppression of the slave trade was also proposed at thisCongress, but France declined to recognize the right to visit Frenchvessels in time of peace, and Russia making a similar declaration, thisplan also fell to the ground, and even an association against theexactions of the Barbary powers was prevented by jealousy of the navalpreponderance of Great Britain. While Mr. Gallatin was still actively engaged in an endeavor to put ourcommercial relations with France on a satisfactory basis, andnegotiating with M. Pasquier, the new French minister for foreignaffairs, both with regard to indemnities for captures and the newSpanish relations involved in the cession of Florida to the UnitedStates, a serious trouble arose in which Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Adamswere at direct difference. In the spring of 1821 a French vessel, theApollon, was seized on the St. Mary's River, on the Spanish side, andcondemned for violation of the United States navigation laws. Mr. Adamssustained the seizure and Mr. Gallatin did his best to defend it, on theground that the place where the vessel was seized was embraced in theoccupation of the United States. To Adams he wrote that the doctrineassumed by the State Department with respect to the non-ratified treatywith Spain was not generally admitted in Europe, and that "he thought itequally dangerous and inconsistent with our general principles to assertthat we had a right to seize a vessel for any cause short of piracy in aplace where we did not previously claim jurisdiction. " Mr. Gallatinsucceeded in satisfying M. Pasquier that the seizure was not inviolation of the law of nations or an insult to the French flag, and thecaptain having instituted a suit for redress against the seizingofficers, the French minister allowed the matter to rest. Adams, however, was indignant at having his arguments set aside. He complainedof it to Calhoun, and asked what Mr. Gallatin meant. Calhoun answeredthat perhaps it was "the pride of opinion. " But when Adams got to hisdiary, which was the safety-valve of his ill-temper, he set a black markagainst Mr. Gallatin's name in these words: "Gallatin is a man offirst-rate talents, conscious and vain of them, and mortified in hisambition, checked as it has been, after attaining the last step to thesummit; timid in great perils, tortuous in his paths; born in Europe, disguising and yet betraying a superstitious prejudice of Europeansuperiority of intellect, and holding principles pliable tocircumstances, occasionally mistaking the left for the right handedwisdom. " Against this judgment, Gallatin's estimate of Adams may be hereset down. It was expressed to his intimate friend Badollet in 1824:"John Q. Adams is a virtuous man, whose temper, which is not the best, might be overlooked; he has very great and miscellaneous knowledge, andhe is with his pen a powerful debater; but he wants, to a deplorabledegree, that most essential quality, a sound and correct judgment. Ofthis I have had in my official connection and intercourse with himcomplete and repeated proofs; and although he may be useful whencontrolled and checked by others, he ought never to be trusted with aplace where, unrestrained, his errors might be fatal to the country. "Crawford complained of the difficulty he encountered in the cabinet ofsoftening the asperities which invariably predominated in the officialnotes of the State Department while under Adams's direction, and saidthat, had they been allowed to remain as originally drafted, thegovernment would have been "unembarrassed by diplomatic relations withmore than one power. " But it must be remembered that there was no lovelost between Adams and Crawford--political rivals and not personalfriends. The commercial negotiations, and the discussion of French pretensionsunder the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, opened with M. Pasquier, were continued with the Vicomte de Montmorenci, who succeededhim as minister of foreign affairs. In September, 1821, Mr. Gallatin hadcommunicated to Mr. Adams his intention of returning home in the spring;but there appearing a chance of success in the negotiation of a treaty, he wrote in February, 1822, to President Monroe that if no successor hadbeen appointed, he was desirous to remain some time longer. He was loathto return without having succeeded in any one subject intrusted to hiscare. Meanwhile Mr. Adams and M. De Neuville, the French minister, hadbeen busy in the United States. A commercial convention was signed atWashington on June 24, 1822. Concerning this agreement Mr. Gallatinwrote to Adams that the terms were much more favorable to France than hehad been led to presume would be acceded to, and more so than had beenhoped for by the French government. He nevertheless expressed the wishthat, as it had been signed, it should be ratified, in anticipation thatthe superior activity of our ship-owners and seamen would enable Americato stand the competition. In January, 1823, Montmorenci resigned and was succeeded by M. DeChateaubriand. The change of ministers made no change in the Frenchpersistence in connecting the discussion of the American claims withthat of the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, an arrangement towhich Mr. Gallatin would not consent. As a last resort he so informed M. De Chateaubriand, but receiving an unsatisfactory answer he concludedthat there was at that time no disposition in France to do us justice;and as his protracted stay could be of no service to the United States, he determined to return home in the course of the spring. In April hereceived leave of absence from the President. On May 13 he had a finalconference with Chateaubriand, in which he could get no promise of anyredress, but did obtain the explicit declaration that France would in nomanner interfere in American questions. Mr. Gallatin took passage at Havre, and arrived in New York on June 24, 1823. His political friends, especially Crawford, were eager for hisreturn. Crawford wished him to stand for vice-president in the comingpresidential campaign. After a short visit to Washington he went to hishome at New Geneva. The real value of perfect public service, or indeedof any service, is only appreciated when it ceases, and friction takesthe place of smooth and noiseless order. Hardly was Mr. Gallatin settledat Friendship Hill when a letter from President Monroe (October 15)arrived, urging him to return to Paris, if only for the winter, or untilthe crisis brought on by the rupture between France and Spain should beover. Mr. Gallatin replied, that the deranged state of his privateaffairs rendered his return to Europe extremely improbable. Goethe says in his "Elective Affinities" that we cannot escape theatmosphere we breathe. The natural atmosphere of Mr. Gallatin was publiclife. In November, 1825, Mr. Clay, Adams's secretary of state, offered, and, meeting a refusal, pressed upon Mr. Gallatin the post ofrepresentative of the United States at the proposed Congress of AmericanRepublics at Panama. Mr. Clay was right in considering it the mostimportant mission ever sent from the United States, and had Mr. Gallatinaccepted it, relations with these interesting countries might have beenimproved to an immeasurable degree of happiness to them, and of benefitto both continents. But his family would not hear of his exposure in thefatal climate of the American Isthmus. Moreover, he pleaded hisignorance of the Spanish language as a sufficient excuse for decliningthe mission, --an example which has not been followed in later days. _Minister to England_ In the spring of 1826 Mr. Rufus King, who had taken the place of Mr. Rush at London, that gentleman having been called to the Treasury byPresident Adams, fell ill, and requested the assistance of anextraordinary envoy. Mr. Gallatin accepted the mission. Before hisnomination reached the Senate Mr. King's resignation was received andaccepted. President Adams wishing to intrust Mr. Gallatin alone withthe pending negotiations, and unwilling to make the two nominations ofminister and envoy, proposed to Mr. Gallatin to take the post ofminister, with powers to negotiate, and liberty to return when thenegotiations should be finished. Personal expenses at London were sogreat that the post of resident minister was ruinous. Mr. Adams promisedMr. Gallatin _carte blanche_ as to his instructions. But instead oflatitude and discretionary power he received at New York voluminousdirections which he engaged faithfully to execute, while regretting thatthey had not been made known to him sooner. Nevertheless, in the threedays which intervened before his sailing, he wrote to Mr. Clay a lucidstatement of the points in issue, and mentioned the modifications hedesired. The points were: 1. The northeastern boundary. Upon this he wasonly authorized to obtain a reference of the subject to a directnegotiation at Washington. He asked consent, in case it should bedesirable, to open a negotiation on this point at London. Should GreatBritain refuse to open a negotiation at either place, or to agree to ajoint statement, then he was not to be bound to propose an immediatereference to a third power. 2. The boundary west of the Stony Mountains. The instructions limited British continuance on settlements south of the49th parallel to five years. Mr. Gallatin thought this insufficient, andproposed fifteen years. 3. The St. Lawrence navigation, and theintercourse with Canada, as to which he suggested alternate plans. 4. Colonial trade, on which he asked precise instructions as to what wasdesired. To the President he complained of his instructions as 'of themost peremptory nature, leaving no discretion on unimportant points, andmaking of him a mere machine, ' and he requested that it be officiallyannounced to him 'that the instructions were intended to guide but notabsolutely to bind him. ' He was not afraid of incurring responsibilitywhere discretion was allowed, but he would not do it in the face ofstrict and positive injunctions. Mr. Gallatin sailed from New York withhis wife and daughter July 1, 1826. Mr. William Beach Lawrence, then ayouth, accompanied him as his secretary. They reached London on August7. Canning was then at the head of the foreign office, and the temper ofthe ministry was not that of Castlereagh and Wellington. Mr. Gallatindid not like French diplomacy, nor did he admire that of England. Hewrote to his son: 'Some of the French statesmen occasionally say what isnot true; here (in London) they conceal the truth. ' But while indiplomacy he found strength and the opinion of that strength to be theonly weapons, he felt satisfaction that the country could support itsrights and pretensions by assuming a different attitude. In the courseof the negotiations Mr. Gallatin learned that one of the king'sministers had complained of the tone of United States diplomacy towardsEngland, and had added, that it was time to show that it was felt andresented. No such fault could attach to the correspondence of Mr. Rushand Mr. King, or to that of Mr. Clay, which Mr. Addington had foundquite acceptable; but it was ascribed to Mr. Adams's instructions to Mr. Rush, printed by order of the Senate. Mr. Gallatin later discovered thatthe offensive remarks were in Baylies's report on the territory west ofthe Stony Mountains. Mr. Gallatin explained the independence of theHouse committees in the United States, but as a diplomatist he felt theneed of a concert between the executive and the committees of Congressin all that concerns foreign relations. Government, after all, is acomplex science. The simple directness with which Mr. Gallatin dealt with Lord Liverpoolcould not serve with a man of Canning's disposition. Mr. Gallatin didnot fail to bring to bear the pressure of a possible change in therelations of the United States and Great Britain, which might arise fromthe war which seemed imminent between that power and Spain. The newquestions of Cuba, and the old habit of impressment, might at once bringthe United States into collision with England. But the war did not takeplace, and the close of the year found the negotiations not faradvanced. Only the convention of 1815 would no doubt be renewed. Heasked for further instructions on that subject, the joint occupancy ofwestern territory, and impressments, all of which he hoped to arrangein the spring and summer, and return home. Mr. Lawrence he found to be asecretary more capable in the current business of the legation than anyof his predecessors. Mr. Gallatin could safely leave him there as_chargé d'affaires_. In December, Chateaubriand used in the House of Peers the words whichMr. Gallatin had said to him, 'that England could not take Cuba withoutmaking war on the United States, and that she knew it. ' Mr. Gallatin soinformed Adams, and added, that France would no doubt agree, asChateaubriand would have agreed, to a tripartite instrument if Englandwere of the same opinion. In March, 1827, Adams warned Gallatin that the sudden and unexpecteddetermination of Great Britain to break off all negotiation concerningthe colonial trade, and the contemporaneous interdiction of the vesselsof the United States from all British ports in the West Indies, had puta new face on matters. A renewal of the convention of 1818 wouldprobably be agreed to by the Senate, but no concession in the form of atreaty would be acceptable. His words were emphatic. "One inch of groundyielded on the northwest coast, --one step backward from the claim to thenavigation of the St. Lawrence, --one hair's breadth of compromise uponthe article of impressment would be certain to meet the reprobation ofthe Senate. " In this temper of parties, Adams added, "All we can hope toaccomplish will be to adjourn controversies which we cannot adjust, andsay to Britain as the Abbé Bernis said to Cardinal Fleuri: 'Monseigneur, j'attendrai. '" But changes now occurred in the British ministry: Lord Liverpool died inFebruary, 1827--Mr. Canning in the following August. Lord Goderichbecame prime minister. The new administration returned from Canning'seccentric course to the old and quiet path. The commercial convention of1815 was renewed indefinitely, each party being at liberty to abrogateit at twelve months' notice. The joint occupancy of the OregonTerritory, agreed to in 1818, was continued in a similar manner. OnSeptember 29 a convention was signed, referring the northeast boundaryto the arbitration of a friendly sovereign. Mr. Gallatin believed that, had Canning lived, he would have opened a negotiation on the subject ofimpressment. Huskisson considered that 'the right, even if well founded, was one the exercise of which was intolerable, but that this was not thetime to take up the subject. ' The new British administration did notdare to encounter the clamor of the navy, the opposition of the Tories, and the pride of the nation on this question. Having accomplished all that was practicable, completed all the currentbusiness, and leaving the British government in a better temper than hefound it, Mr. Gallatin returned to the United States, reaching New Yorkon November 29, 1827. Nothing remained in foreign relations in respectto which Mr. Gallatin felt that he could be of much use except thenortheast boundary. In a letter of congratulation to Mr. Gallatin on hisarrival, President Adams made ample amends for all his harsh judgments, expressed or withheld. The three conventions were entirely satisfactoryto him. Of the negotiation he said, in words as graceful as warm, "Ishall feel most sensibly the loss of your presence at London, and canform no more earnest wish than that your successor may acquire the sameinfluence of reason and good temper which you did exercise, and that itmay be applied with as salutary effect to the future discussions betweenthe two governments. " During his visit to London Mr. Gallatin wasoverwhelmed with civilities. Canning was courteous to a degree, andrarely a day passed that the American ambassador had not to choosebetween half a dozen invitations to dinner. At the house of the Russianminister, the Count de Lieven, he was always welcome, and the Countessde Lieven, the autocrat of foreign society in London, without whose passno stranger could cross the sacred threshold of Almack's, was his fastfriend. To each circle he carried that which each most prized. Whetherthe conversation turned upon government or science, the dry figures offinance, or the more genial topic of diplomatic intrigue, Mr. Gallatinwas its easy master, and his words never fell on inattentive ears. With this mission to London Mr. Gallatin's diplomatic service closed. Hewould have accepted the French mission in 1834, and so informed VanBuren, but General Jackson, who was President, had his own plans, and'ran his machine' without consulting other than his own prejudices orwhims. But although Mr. Gallatin was no longer in the field ofdiplomacy, his counsels were eagerly sought. The northeastern boundarywas a troublesome question, indeed in the new phases of Americanpolitics an imminent danger. The extension of the commercial relationsof Great Britain and the United States rendered it imperative that nopoint of dispute should remain which could be determined. For two yearsafter his return from England, Mr. Gallatin was employed in thepreparation of an argument to be laid before the king of theNetherlands, who had been selected as the arbiter between the UnitedStates and Great Britain on the boundary. The king undertook to press aconventional line, which the United States, not being bound to accept, refused. In 1839 Mr. Gallatin prepared, and put before the world, astatement of the facts in the case. This, revised, together with thespeech of Mr. Webster, a copy of the Jay treaty, and eight maps, hepublished at his own expense in 1840. At this time conflicts on the Maine frontier brought the subject up in amanner not to be ignored. Popular feeling was at high pitch. In thiscondition of affairs Alexander Baring, who had been raised to thepeerage as Lord Ashburton, was sent to America on a mission offriendship and peace. As a young man he had listened to the debate onJay's treaty in 1795. He was now to be received by Webster in Washingtonin the same spirit in which Grenville received Jay in London, when itwas mutually understood that they should discuss the matter as friendsand not as diplomatists, and leave their articles as records ofagreement, not as compromises of discord. Gallatin eagerly awaited thearrival of his old friend, and was grievously disappointed when contrarywinds blew the frigate which carried him to Annapolis. Letters wereimmediately exchanged; Lord Ashburton engaging before he left thecountry to find Gallatin out, and, as he said, to "_draw a little wisdomfrom the best well_. " After the treaty was signed, Lord Ashburton wentfrom Washington to New York, and the old friends met once more: Mr. Gallatin was in his 82d year, but in the full possession of hisfaculties; Lord Ashburton in his 68th year: a memorable meeting of twogreat men, whose lives had much in common; the one the foremost bankerof England, the other the matchless financier of America; and to thissufficient honor was added for each the singular merit of havingnegotiated for his country the most important treaty in its relation tothe other since the separation of 1783, --Mr. Gallatin, the Treaty ofGhent, which gave peace to America; Lord Ashburton, that treaty whichis known by his name and which secured peace to Great Britain. In 1846 Mr. Gallatin rendered his last diplomatic service by thepublication of a pamphlet on the Oregon question, which was then asthreatening as that of the northeastern boundary had been. Thisadmirable exposition, which put before the people as well as thenegotiators the precise merits of the controversy, powerfullycontributed to the ultimate peaceful settlement. Still once more Mr. Gallatin threw his authoritative words into thescale of justice. His last appearance in public had been when hepresided on April 24, 1844, at a meeting in New York city to protestagainst the annexation of Texas. He then held that the resolution of theHouse declaring the treaty of annexation between the United States ofAmerica and the Republic of Texas to be the fundamental law of unionbetween them, without and against the consent of the Senate, was adirect and undisguised usurpation of power and a violation of theConstitution. In the storm of opposition he lifted his feeble voice incondemnation of the violation of treaties, and the disregard of thesacred obligations of mankind. "I am highly gratified, " were his finalwords, "I am highly gratified that the last public act of a long lifeshould have been that of bearing testimony against this outrageousattempt. It is indeed a consolation that my almost extinguished voicehas been on this occasion raised in defense of liberty, of justice, andof our country. " Of the war with Mexico, he was wont to say, "that itwas the only blot upon the escutcheon of the United States. " Aged as hewas, he would not rest until he had made his last appeal for peace withMexico. He also prepared supplementary essays on war expenses: the firstof these was published in 1847, the second in 1848. For months all hisfaculties, all his feelings were absorbed in this one subject. Thesepamphlets were widely circulated by the friends of peace. The venerablesage had the comfort of knowing that his words were not in vain. Peacewith Mexico was signed on February 2, 1848. * * * * * Mr. Gallatin was no believer in the doctrine of 'manifest destiny, '--thepolicy of bringing all North America into the occupation of a racespeaking the same language, and under a single government. On February16, 1848, before news of the signature of the treaty at GuadalupeHidalgo, by Mr. Trist, the American negotiator, was known in New York, Mr. Gallatin condemned this idea in a remarkable passage, in a letter toGarrett Davis:-- "What shall be said of the notion of an empire extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the North Pole to the Equator? Of the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon race, of its universal monarchy over the whole of North America? Now, I will ask, which is the portion of the globe that has attained the highest degree of civilization and even of power--Asia, with its vast empires of Turkey, India, and China, or Europe divided into near twenty independent sovereignties? Other powerful causes have undoubtedly largely contributed to that result; but this, the great division into ten or twelve distinct languages, must not be neglected. But all these allegations of superiority of race and destiny neither require nor deserve any answer. They are but pretences under which to disguise ambition, cupidity, or silly vanity. " The justice of these reflections was assuredly borne out by theexperience of history, but manifest destiny takes no account of pastlessons. Before these lines of Mr. Gallatin were penned, on January 19, 1848, gold was discovered in California. The announcement startled the worldand opened a new era, not only to Europe, but to mankind. Extending themetallic basis, which no man better than Mr. Gallatin recognized andheld to be the true solvent of money transactions, it postponed for ahalf century the inevitable conflict between capital and labor, thefirst outbreaks of which in Europe had been with difficulty suppressed, when the news of good tidings gave promise of unexpected relief. Creditrevived, new enterprises of colossal magnitude were undertaken, and thedemand for labor quickly exceeded the supply. Emigration to America roseto incredible proportions. Had Mr. Gallatin lived, he would have foundnew elements to be weighed in his nice balance of probabilities. Hewould no longer, as in 1839, have been compelled to say that "specie isa foreign product, " but would have given to us inestimable advice as tothe proper use to be made of the vast sums taken out from our own soil. He would have been also brought to face the ethnologic problem of acontinent inhabited by a single race, not Anglo-Saxon, nor Teutonic, noryet Latin, but a composite race in which all these will be merged andblended; a new American race which, springing from a broader surface, shall rise to higher summits of intellectual power and, with a greatervariety of natural qualities, achieve excellence in more numerous ways. This vision was denied to Mr. Gallatin. He died at the threshold of thenew era--of the golden age. A half century has not passed since hisdeath, and the United States has taken from her soil a value of overthree thousand millions of dollars, in gold and silver (gold twothousand millions, silver one thousand millions), more than two thirdsof the total amount estimated by Mr. Gallatin as the store of Europe in1839; and has also added to her population, by immigration alone, tenmillions of people, of whom but a small proportion are of theAnglo-Saxon race. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 19: _Life of Albert Gallatin_, p. 546. ] [Footnote 20: The frigate Chesapeake was captured by the Britishman-of-war Leopard in June, 1807. ] [Footnote 21: A translation of this work, _Economie Politique_, waspublished under Jefferson's supervision in 1818. ] CHAPTER IX CANDIDATE FOR THE VICE-PRESIDENCY During the twelve years that Mr. Gallatin was in the Treasury he wascontinually looking for some man who could take his place in thatoffice, and aid in the direction of national politics; to use his ownwords, "who could replace Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, and himself. "Breckenridge of Kentucky only appeared and died. The eccentricities ofJohn Randolph unfitted him for leadership. William H. Crawford ofGeorgia, Monroe's secretary of the treasury, alone filled Gallatin'sexpectations. To a powerful mind Crawford "united a most correctjudgment and an inflexible integrity. Unfortunately he was neitherindulgent nor civil, and, consequently, was unpopular. " Andrew Jackson, Gallatin said, "was an honest man, and the idol of the worshipers ofmilitary glory, but from incapacity, military habits, and habitualdisregard of laws and constitutional provisions, entirely unfit for theoffice of president. " John C. Calhoun he looked upon as "a smart fellow, one of the first amongst second-rate men, but of lax politicalprinciples and an inordinate ambition, not over-delicate in the means ofsatisfying itself. " Clay he considered to be a man of splendid talentsand a generous mind; John Quincy Adams to be 'wanting to a deplorabledegree in that most essential quality, a sound and correct judgment. ' The contest lay between Adams and Crawford. Crawford was the choice ofJefferson and Madison as well as of Gallatin. The principles of theRepublican party had so changed that Nathaniel Macon could say in 1824, in reply to a request from Mr. Gallatin to take part in a caucus for thepurpose of forwarding Mr. Crawford's nomination, that there were "notfive members of Congress who entertained the opinions which those didwho brought Mr. Jefferson into power. " But Macon was of the Brutus stampof politicians; of that stern cast of mind which does not 'alter when italteration finds or bend with the remover to remove, ' and held yieldingto the compulsion of circumstances to be an abandonment of principle. Jefferson still held the consolidation of power to be the chief dangerof the country, and the barrier of state rights, great and small, to beits only protection even against the Supreme Court. Gallatin tookbroader ground, and found encouragement in the excellent working ofuniversal suffrage in the choice of representatives to legislativebodies. But he was opposed to the extension of the principle tomunicipal officers having the application of the proceeds of taxes, forgetting that universal suffrage is the lever by which capital ismoved to educate labor and relieve it from the burdens of injury, disease, and physical incapacity at the expense of the whole. Withoutstopping to argue these debatable questions, Mr. Gallatin, withpractical statesmanship, determined to maintain in power the only agencyby which he could at all shape the political future, and he threwhimself into the canvass with zeal. Crawford had unfortunately been stricken with paralysis, and the choiceof a vice-president became a matter of grave concern. Mr. Gallatin wasselected to take this place on the ticket. To this tender he repliedthat he did not want the office, but would dislike to be proposed andnot elected, and he honestly felt that as a foreigner and a residuarylegatee of Federal hatred his name could not be of much service to thecause. Still, he followed the only course by which any party can be heldtogether, and surrendered his prejudices and fears to the wishes of hisfriends. The Republican caucus met on February 14, 1824, in the chamberof the House of Representatives. Of the 216 members of the party only 66attended. Martin Van Buren, then senator from New York, managed this, the last congressional caucus for the selection of candidates. The solemnity given to the congressional nominations, and the publicityof the answers of candidates, Mr. Gallatin held to be politicalblunders. In fact the plan was adroitly denounced as an attempt todictate to the people. Crawford was nominated for president by 64 votes, Gallatin forvice-president by 57. This nomination Mr. Gallatin accepted in a note toMr. Ruggles, United States senator, on May 10, 1824. But there wereelements of which party leaders of the old school had not takensufficient account. Macon was right when he said that "every generation, like a single person, has opinions of its own, as much so in politics asanything else, " and that 'the opinions of Jefferson and those who werewith him were forgotten. ' And Jefferson himself, in his complacentreflection that even the name of Federalist was "extinguished by thebattle of New Orleans, " did not see that the Republican party of the oldschool had been snuffed out by the same event. The new democracy, whoseclaims to rule were based, not on the policy of peace or restrictedpowers, but on the seductive glitter of military glory, was in theascendant, and General Jackson was the favorite of the hour. Newcombinations became necessary, and Mr. Gallatin was requested towithdraw from the ticket, and make room for Mr. Clay, whose greatwestern influence it was hoped would save it from defeat. This he gladlydid in a declaration of October 2, addressed to Martin Van Buren, datedat his Fayette home, and published in the "National Intelligencer. " Theresult of the election was singular. Calhoun was elected vice-presidentby the people. The presidential contest was decided in the House, Adamsbeing chosen over Jackson and Crawford, by the influence of Clay. Mr. Gallatin quickly discerned in the failure of the people to elect apresident the collapse of the Republican party. He considered it as"fairly defunct. " Jackson had already announced the startling doctrine that no regard wasto be had to party in the selection of the great officers of government, which Mr. Gallatin considered as tantamount to a declaration thatprinciples and opinions were of no importance in its administration. Tolose sight of this principle was to substitute men for measures. Jackson's idea of party, however, was personal fealty. He engrafted the_pouvoir personnel_ on the Democratic party as thoroughly as Napoleoncould have done in his place. Moreover, Gallatin considered Jackson'sassumption of power in his collisions with the judiciary at New Orleansand Pensacola, and his orders to take St. Augustine without theauthority of Congress, as dangerous assaults upon the Constitution ofthe country and the liberties of the people, and he dreaded thesubstitution of the worship of a military chieftain for the maintenanceof that liberty, the last hope of man. Ten years later he uttered thesame opinion in a conversation with Miss Martineau, and he expressed apreference for an annual president, a cipher, so that all would be doneby the ministry. But in the impossibility of this plan, he would havepreferred a four years' term without renewal or an extension of sixyears; an idea adopted by Davis in his plan of disintegration bysecession. The presidency, Mr. Gallatin thought, was "too much powerfor one man; therefore it fills all men's thoughts to the detriment ofbetter things. " When Mr. Gallatin visited Washington in 1829, he found a state ofsociety, political and social, widely at variance with his ownexperience. The ways of Federalist and Republican cabinets weretraditions of an irrevocable past. Jackson was political dictator, andtook counsel only from his prejudices. The old simplicity had given wayto elegance and luxury of adornment. The east room of the presidentialmansion was covered with Brussels carpeting. There were silk curtains atthe windows, French mirrors of unusual size, and three splendid Englishcrystal chandeliers. In the dining-room were a hundred candles andlamps, and silver plate of every description, and presiding over thismagnificence the strange successors of Washington and his stately dame, of Madison and his no less elegant wife, --the Tennessee backwoodsman andPeggy O'Neil. When, it is not too soon to ask, in the general reform of civil service, shall the possibility of such anomalies be entirely removed byrestricting the executive mansion to an executive bureau, and entirelyseparating social ceremony from official state, to the final suppressionof back stairs influence and kitchen cabinets? CHAPTER X SOCIETY--LITERATURE--SCIENCE Mr. Gallatin's land speculations were not profitable. His plan of Swisscolonization did not result in any pecuniary advantage to himself. Hislittle patrimony, received in 1786, he invested in a plantation of aboutfive hundred acres on the Monongahela. Twelve years later, in 1798, hewas neither richer nor poorer than at the time of his investment. Theentire amount of claims which he held with Savary he sold in 1794, without warranty of title, to Robert Morris, then the great speculatorin western lands, for four thousand dollars, Pennsylvania currency. Thissum, his little farm, and five or six hundred pounds cash were then hisentire fortune. In 1794, the revolution in Switzerland having driven outnumbers of his compatriots, he formed a plan of association consistingof one hundred and fifty shares of eight hundred dollars each, of whichthe Genevans in Philadelphia, Odier, Fazzi, the two Cazenove, Cheriot, Bourdillon, Duby, Couronne, Badollet, and himself took twenty-five each. Twenty-five were offered to Americans, which were nearly all taken up, and one hundred were sent to Geneva, Switzerland, to D'Yvernois and hisfriends. The project was to purchase land, and Mr. Gallatin had decidedupon a location in the northeast part of Pennsylvania, or in New York, on the border. In the summer Gallatin made a journey through New York toexamine lands with the idea of occupation. In July, 1795, he made asettlement with Mr. Morris, taking his notes for three thousand fivehundred dollars. Balancing his accounts, Mr. Gallatin then found himselfworth seven thousand dollars, in addition to which he had abouttwenty-five thousand acres of waste lands and the notes of Mr. Morris. In 1798 Mr. Morris failed, and, under the harsh operations of the oldlaw, was sent to jail. Mr. Gallatin never recovered the three thousanddollars owed to him in the final balance of his real estate operations. After Mr. Gallatin left the Treasury he located patents for seventeenhundred acres of Virginia military lands in the State of Ohio, onwarrants purchased in 1784. In 1815 he valued his entire estate, exclusive of his farm on the Monongahela, at less than twelve thousanddollars. Forty years later he complained of his investment as atroublesome and unproductive property, which had plagued him all hislife. Besides the purchase of lands, Mr. Gallatin invested part of hislittle capital in building houses on his farm, and in the country storewhich Badollet managed. The one yielded no return, and the sum put inthe other was lost through the incompetency of his honest butinexperienced friend. His wife brought him a small property, but at notime in his life was he possessed of more than a modest competency. Buthe had never any discontent with his fortune nor any desire to be rich. Mrs. Gallatin, who had always until her marriage lived in cities, wasentirely unfit for frontier life. In these days of railroads it is noteasy to measure the isolation of their country home. Pittsburgh wasnearly five days' journey from Philadelphia, and the crossing of theAlleghanies took a day and a half more. Before his marriage Mr. Gallatinhad seen very little of society. Though in early manhood he felt noembarrassment among men, he said 'that he never yet was able to divesthimself of an anti-Chesterfieldian awkwardness in mixed companies. ' Hedid not take advantage of his residence in Philadelphia to accustomhimself to the ways of the world. There he lived in lodgings and met theleading public characters of both parties. But when he took his seat inthe cabinet, he found it necessary to enter upon housekeeping and totake a prominent part in society, for which his wife was admirablysuited, both by temperament and education. Washington Irving wrote ofher in November, 1812, that she was 'the most stylish woman in thedrawing-room that session, and that she dressed with more splendor thanany other of the noblesse;' and again the same year compared her withthe wife of the President, whose courtly manners and consummate tactand grace are a tradition of the republican court. "Tell your goodlady, " mother Irving wrote to James Renwick, "that Mrs. Madison has beenmuch indisposed, and at last Wednesday's evening drawing-room Mrs. Gallatin presided in her place. I was not present, but those who wereassure me that she filled Mrs. Madison's chair to a miracle. " This is inthe sense of dignity, for Mrs. Gallatin was of small stature. Mr. Gallatin's house shared the fate of the public buildings and wasburned by the British when Washington was captured in 1814. He was thenabroad on the peace mission. On his return from France Mr. Gallatin madeone more attempt to realize his early idea of a country home, and withhis family went in the summer of 1823 to Friendship Hill. Here an Irishcarpenter built for him a house which he humorously described as beingin the 'Hyberno-teutonic style, --the outside, with its port-hole-lookingwindows, having the appearance of Irish barracks, while the insideornaments were similar to those of a Dutch tavern, and in singularcontrast to the French marble chimney-pieces, paper, mirrors, andbilliard-table. ' In the summer Friendship Hill was an agreeableresidence, but Mr. Gallatin found it in winter too isolated even for histaste. One exciting circumstance enlivened the spring of 1825. This was thepassage of Lafayette, the guest of the nation, through westernPennsylvania on his famous tour. Mr. Gallatin welcomed him in anaddress before the court-house of Uniontown, the capital of FayetteCounty, on May 26. In his speech Mr. Gallatin reviewed the condition ofthe liberal cause in Europe, and the emancipation of Greece, thenagitating both continents. In this all scholars as well as all liberalswere of one mind and heart. After the proceedings Lafayette drove withMr. Gallatin to Friendship Hill, where he passed the night; crowds ofpeople pouring down the valley from the mountain roads to see theadopted son of the United States, the friend of Washington, theliberator of France. The intimacy between these two great men, who hadalike devoted the flower of their youth to the interests of civilizationand the foundation of the new republic, was never broken. Mr. Gallatin passed only one winter at New Geneva. On his return fromhis last mission to England he settled permanently in New York, and in1828 took a house at No. 113 Bleecker Street, then in the suburbs of thecity. He wrote to Badollet in March, 1829, that "it was an ill-contrivedplan to think that the banks of the Monongahela, where he was perfectlysatisfied to live and die in retirement, could be borne by the femalepart of his family, or by children brought up at Washington and Paris. "The population of New York has always been migratory, and Mr. Gallatinwas no exception to the rule. In the ten years which followed his firstlocation he changed his residence on four May days, finally settling atNo. 57 Bleecker Street, nearly opposite to Crosby Street. His life inNew York is a complete period in his intellectual as in his physicalexistence, and the most interesting of his career. His last twenty yearswere in great measure devoted to scientific studies. The National Bank, over which he presided for the first ten years, tookbut a small part of his time. The remainder was given up to study andconversation, an art in which he had no superior in this country andprobably none abroad. Soon after his arrival in New York, Mr. Gallatinwas chosen a member of "The Club, " an association famous in its day. Asno correct account of this social organization has ever appeared, theletter of invitation to Mr. Gallatin is of some interest. It was writtenby Dr. John Augustine Smith, on November 2, 1829. An extract gives theorigin of the club. "Nearly two years ago some of the literary gentlemen of the city, feeling severely the almost total want of intercourse among themselves, determined to establish an association which should bring them more frequently into contact. Accordingly they founded the 'Club' as it is commonly called, and which I believe I mentioned to you when I had the pleasure of seeing you in Bond Street. Into this 'Club' twelve persons only are admitted, and there are at present three gentlemen of the Bar, Chancellor Kent, Messrs. Johnston and Jay, three professors of Columbia College, Messrs. McVickar, Moore, and Renwick, the Rev. Drs. Wainwright and Mathews, the former of the Episcopal Church, the latter of the Presbyterian Church, two merchants, Messrs. Brevoort and Goodhue, and I have the honor to represent the medical faculty. Our twelfth associate was Mr. Morse, of the National Academy of Design, of which he was president, and his departure for Europe has caused a vacancy. For agreeableness of conversation there is nothing in New York at all comparable to our institution. We meet once a week; no officers, no formalities; invitations, when in case of intelligent and distinguished strangers, and after a plain and light repast, retire about eleven o'clock. " At this club Mr. Gallatin, with his wonderful conversational powers, became at once the centre of interest. The club met at the houses ofmembers in the winter evenings. There was always a supper, but the rulewas absolute that there should be only one hot dish served, a regulationwhich the ladies endeavored to evade when the turn of their husbandsarrived to supply the feast. Among the later members were ProfessorAnderson, John A. Stevens, Mr. Gallatin's countryman De Rham, JohnWells, Samuel Ward, Gulian C. Verplanck, and Charles King. No literarysymposium in America was ever more delightful, more instructive, thanthese meetings. On these occasions Mr. Gallatin led the conversation, which usually covered a wide field. His memory was marvelous, and hispersonal acquaintance with the great men who were developed by theFrench Revolution, emperors and princes, heroes, statesmen, and men ofscience, gave to the easy flow of his speech the zest of anecdote andthe spice of epigram. Once heard he was never forgotten. And this rarefaculty he preserved undiminished to the close of his life. WashingtonIrving, himself the most genial of men, and the most graceful oftalkers, wrote of him, after meeting him at dinner, in 1841: "Mr. Gallatin was in fine spirits and full of conversation. He is upwards ofeighty, yet has all the activity and clearness of mind and gayety ofspirits of a young man. How delightful it is to see such intellectualand joyous old age: to see life running out clear and sparkling to thelast drop! With such a blessed temperament one would be content tolinger and spin out the last thread of existence. " At the close of the year 1829 Mr. Gallatin attempted to carry out hisold and favorite plan of the "establishment of a general system ofrational and practical education fitted for all, and gratuitously opento all. " The want of an institution for education, combining theadvantages of a European university with the recent improvements ininstruction, was seriously felt. New York, already a great city, andrapidly growing, offered the most promising field for the nationaluniversity on a broad and liberal foundation correspondent to the spiritof the age. The difficulty of obtaining competent teachers of even thelower branches of knowledge in the public schools, the system of whichwas in its infancy, was great. Persons could be found with learningenough, but they were generally deficient in the art of teaching. Governor Throop noticed this deficiency in his message of January, 1830, without, however, the recommendation of any remedy by legislation. Theexisting colleges could not supply the want. At this period religiousprejudice controlled the actions of men in every walk of life; for theold colonial jealousies of Episcopalian and Presbyterian survived theRevolution. The religious distrust of scientific investigation was alsoat its height. Columbia College, the successor of old King's College, was governed in the Episcopalian interest. Private zeal could alone berelied upon to establish the new enterprise on a foundation free fromthe influence of clergy; an indispensable condition of success. Thesewere the views of Mr. Jefferson in 1807. These were the views of Mr. Gallatin. In response to his request abundant subscriptions in money andmaterial were at once forthcoming. The project of a national university at New York was received by theliterary institutions of the United States with great enthusiasm. InOctober, 1830, a convention of more than a hundred literary andscientific gentlemen, delegates from different parts of the country, andof the highest distinction, was held in the common-council chamber. Theoutcome of their deliberations was the foundation of the New YorkUniversity. Mr. Gallatin was the president of the first council, buthis connection with the institution was of short continuance. Thereasons for his withdrawal were set forth in a letter to his old friend, John Badollet, written February 7, 1833. Beginning with an expression ofhis desire to devote what remained of his life "to the establishment inthis immense and growing city (New York) of a general system of rationaland practical education fitted for all and gratuitously opened to all, "he said, "but finding that the object was no longer the same, that acertain portion of the clergy had obtained the control, and that theirobject, though laudable, was special and quite distinct from mine, Iresigned at the end of one year rather than to struggle, probably invain for what was nearly unattainable. " The history of the universitythrough its precarious existence of half a century amply justifies Mr. Gallatin's previsions and retirement. Instead of an American Sorbonne, of which he dreamed, it has never been more than a local institution, struggling to hold a place in a crowded field. Mr. Gallatin followed the evolutions of French politics with interest. His friend Lafayette, who, during the Empire, lived in almost enforcedretirement at his estate of La Grange, was a voluntary exile from thecourt of Charles X. , whose autocratic principles and aggressive coursewere rapidly driving France into fresh revolution. In July, 1830, thecrisis was precipitated by the royal decrees published in the"Moniteur. " Lafayette, who was on his estate, hurried instantly toParis, where he became a rallying point, and himself signed the note tothe king, announcing that he had ceased to reign. In September followingit fell to him to write to Mr. Gallatin on the occasion of the marriageof Gallatin's daughter. In this union Lafayette had a triple interest. Besides his personal attachment for Mr. Gallatin, each of the youngcouple was descended from one of his old companions-in-arms. The groom, Mr. Byam Kerby Stevens, was a son of Colonel Ebenezer Stevens, of thecontinental service, who was Lafayette's chief of artillery in hisexpedition against Arnold in Virginia, in the spring of 1781; the bride, Frances Gallatin, was, on the mother's side, the granddaughter ofCommodore James Nicholson, who commanded the gunboats which, improvisedby Colonel Stevens, drove out the British vessels from Annapolis Bay andopened the route to the blockaded American flotilla. [22] "PARIS, _September_ 8, 1830. "MY DEAR FRIEND:--A long time has elapsed since I had the pleasure to hear from you. I need not, I hope, add, that my affectionate feelings have been continually with you, especially in what related to my young friend whose change of name has more deeply interested every member, and in a very particular manner, the younger part of the family. Let me hear of you all, and receive my tender regards and wishes, with those of my children and grandchildren. LAFAYETTE. " Both of the young people had the honor of Lafayette's acquaintance, --Mr. Stevens during a visit to Paris, and Miss Gallatin during her father'sresidence there as minister, when she was much admired, and was, in thewords of Madame Bonaparte (Miss Patterson), 'a beauty. ' In this letterLafayette gives a picturesque account of the three days' fighting at thebarricades, and of the departure of the ex-king and the royal army, accompanied by "some twenty thousand Parisians, in coaches, hacks, andomnibus. . . . The royal party, after returning the jewels of the crown, went slowly to Cherbourg with their own escort, under the protection ofthree commissioners, and were there permitted quietly to embark forEngland. " In 1834 Mr. Gallatin's sympathies were greatly excited by the arrival atNew York of a number of Poles, many of them educated men, and among themEtsko, a nephew of Kosciusko. A public committee was raised, called thePolish committee, of which Mr. Gallatin was chosen chairman. Besidessuperintending the collection of funds, he arranged and carried out inthe minutest details a plan to quarter the exiles upon the inhabitants. A list of names ending in _ski_ still remains among his papers; to eachwas assigned a number, and they were allotted by streets andnumbers, --number 182, one Szelesegynski, was taken by Mr. Gallatinhimself, to look after horses. These unfortunate men were thendistributed through the country, as occupations could be found. InOctober Mr. Gallatin's notes show that all had been provided for exceptfourteen boys, for whom a subscription was taken up. A tract of land inIllinois was assigned by Congress to these political exiles. Mr. Gallatin's first acquaintance with the American Indian was made atMachias. In the neighborhood of this frontier town, across the Canadianborder, there were still remnants of the Abenaki and Etchemin tribes. They were French in sympathy, and all converts to the Roman Catholicfaith. Mr. Lesdernier, with whom Gallatin lodged, had influence overthem from the trade he established with them in furs, and as theirreligious purveyor. He had paid a visit to Boston at the time the Frenchfleet was there in 1781, and brought home a Capuchin priest for theirservice. To the young Genevan, brought up in the restrictions ofEuropean civilization, the history of the savage was a favorite study. In the winter evenings, in the quiet of the log hut, with the aid of onefamiliar with the customs and traditions of the race, the foundationswere laid of a permanent interest in this almost untrodden branch ofhuman science. The Canadian Indians, however, hemmed in by French andEnglish settlements, were semi-civilized. The Miamis and Shawnees, whoranged the valley of the Ohio, were the tribes nearest to Gallatin'shome on the Monongahela. These, though for a long time under theinfluence of the French, retained their original wildness, and were, during the first years of his residence, the dread of the frontier. The interest aroused in the mind of Mr. Gallatin by personal observationwas quickened by his intimacy with Jefferson, whose "Notes on Virginia, "published in 1801, contained the first attempt at a classification andenumeration of American tribes. The earlier work of Colden was confinedto the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The arrangement of theLouisiana territory, ceded by France, brought Mr. Gallatin into contactwith Pierre Louis Chouteau, and an intimacy formed with John JacobAstor, who was largely concerned in the fur trade of the Northwest, widened the field of interest, which included the geography of theinterior and the customs of its inhabitants. Mr. Gallatin's examinationof the subject was general, however, and did not take a practicalscientific turn until the year 1823, when, at the request of BaronAlexander von Humboldt, he set forth the results of his studies in theform of a Synopsis of the Indian tribes. This essay, communicated byHumboldt to the Italian geographer Balbi, then engaged upon his "AtlasEthnographique du Globe, "--a classification by languages of ancient andmodern peoples, --was quoted by him in his volume introductory to thatremarkable work published in 1826, in a manner to attract the attentionof the scientific world. Vater, in his "Mithridates, " first attempted aclassification of the languages of the globe, but the work of Mr. Gallatin, though confined in subject, was original in its conception andtreatment. In the winter of 1825-26 a large gathering of southernIndians at Washington enabled him to obtain good vocabularies of severalof the tribes. Uniting these to those already acquired, he published atable of all the existing tribes, and at the same time, at his instance, the War Department circulated through its posts a vocabulary containingsix hundred words of verbal forms and of selected sentences, and aseries of grammatical queries, to which answers were invited. He alsoopened an elaborate correspondence with such persons as were bestacquainted with the Indian tribes in different sections of thecountry. [23] The replies to these various queries were few in number, but the practical plan, adhered to in substance, has resulted in thecollection by the Smithsonian Institution of a very large number ofIndian vocabularies. [24] This class of investigation, in its ample scope for original researchand the ascertainment of principles by analysis and analogic expression, was peculiarly agreeable to Mr. Gallatin. His friend, du Ponceau, [25]who served in the American war as the secretary of Steuben, and was nowestablished in Philadelphia, was likewise deeply engaged in philologicstudies; in 1819 he had published a memoir of the construction of thelanguages of the North American Indians, which he followed later withother papers of a similar nature, among which were a "Grammar of theLanguages of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians, " and a memoir on thegrammatical system of the languages of the Indian tribes of NorthAmerica, a learned and highly instructive paper, which took the Volneyprize at Paris. In 1836 Mr. Gallatin's original paper, contributed to Balbi, amplifiedby subsequent acquisitions, was published by the American AntiquarianSociety of Worcester, in the first volume of its Transactions. It wasentitled "A Synopsis of the Indian Tribes, within the United States eastof the Rocky Mountains, and in the British and Russian Possessions inNorth America. " This elaborate inquiry, the foundation of the science inAmerica, was intended originally to embrace all the tribes north of theMexican semi-civilized nations. From the want of material, however, itwas confined at the southward to the territory of the United States, andeastward of the Rocky Mountains. It included eighty-one tribes, dividedinto twenty-eight families, and was accompanied by a colored map, withtribal indications. The result of the investigation Mr. Gallatin held tobe proof that all the languages, not only of our own Indian tribes, butof the nations inhabiting America from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn, have a distinct character common to all. This paper attracted greatattention in Europe. It was reviewed by the Count de Circourt, whoseinterest in the subject was heightened by personal acquaintance with theauthor. John C. Calhoun, acknowledging receipt of a copy of theSynopsis, said in striking phrase 'that he had long thought that theanalogy of languages is destined to recover much of the lost history ofnations just as geology has of the globe we inhabit. ' In 1838, Congress having accepted the trust of John Smithson of£100, 000, and pledged the faith of the United States for its purposes, Mr. Forsyth, the secretary of state, addressed Mr. Gallatin, at therequest of the President, requesting his views as to its properemployment; but Mr. Gallatin does not appear to have answered thecommunication. The programme of the Smithsonian Institution, inclosed tothe board of regents in its first report, stated its object to be theincrease and diffusion of knowledge, and bears marks of the generalviews which Mr. Gallatin had for many years urged on public attention. The first of the Smithsonian "Contributions to Knowledge" was the memoirof Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, by Squier and Davis. Before its publication was undertaken, however, it was submitted to theEthnological Society. Mr. Gallatin returned it, with the approval of thesociety, and some words of commendation of his own addressed toProfessor Henry, the learned superintendent of the SmithsonianInstitution. The period of temporary political repose, which followed the peace ofVienna and the establishment of the balance of power by the alliedsovereigns, was an era in human knowledge. Science made rapid progress, and in its turn showed the broad and liberal influence of the greatrevolution. In 1842 societies were founded in Paris and London topromote the study of ethnology. Mr. Gallatin would not be behindhand inthis important work for which America offered a virgin field. Drawingabout him a number of gentlemen of similar tastes with his own, hefounded in New York, in 1842, the American Ethnological Society. Amonghis associates were Dr. Robinson, the famous explorer of Palestine, Schoolcraft, Bartlett, and Professor Turner, noted for their researchesin the history and languages of the Indian races. Messrs. Atwater, Bradford, Hawks, Gibbs, Mayer, Dr. Morton, Pickering, Stephens, Ewbank, and Squier were also, either in the beginning or soon after, members ofthis select and learned institution, of which Mr. Gallatin was thecentral figure. One of its members said in 1871, 'Mr. Gallatin's housewas the true seat of the society, and Mr. Gallatin himself itscontrolling spirit. His name gave it character, and from his pursemainly was defrayed the cost of the two volumes of the "Transactions"which constitute about the only claim the society possesses to therespect of the scientific world. ' To the first of these volumes, published in 1845, Mr. Gallatin contributed an "Essay on thesemi-civilized nations of Mexico and Central America, embracingelaborate notes on their languages, numeration, calendars, history, andchronology, and an inquiry into the probable origin of theirsemi-civilization. " In this he included all existing certain knowledgeof the languages, history, astronomy, and progress in art of thesepeoples. A copy of this work he sent to General Scott, then in the cityof Mexico after his triumphant campaign, inclosing a memorandum which heurged the general to hand to civilians attached to the army. This was arequest to purchase books, copies of documents, printed grammars, andvocabularies of the Mexican languages, and he authorized the general tospend four hundred dollars in this purpose on his account. In the secondvolume, published in 1848, he printed the result of his continuedinvestigations on the subject which first interested him, as anintroduction to a republication of a work by Mr. Hale on the "Indians ofNorthwest America. " This consisted of geographical notices, an accountof Indian means of subsistence, the ancient semi-civilization of theNorthwest, Indian philology, and analogic comparisons with the Chineseand Polynesian languages. These papers Mr. Gallatin modestly describedto Chevalier as the 'fruits of his leisure, ' and to Sismondi he wrotethat he had not the requisite talent for success in literature orscience. They nevertheless entitle him to the honorable name of theFather of American Ethnography. In 1837 Mr. Wheaton, the American minister at Berlin, requested Mr. Gallatin to put the Baron von Humboldt in possession of authentic dataconcerning the production of gold in the United States. Humboldt hadvisited the Oural and Siberian regions in 1829, at the request of theEmperor of Russia, to make investigations as to their production of theprecious metals. Mr. Gallatin was the only authority in the UnitedStates on the subject. Later von Humboldt wrote to Mr. Gallatin of theinterest felt abroad, and by himself, in the gold of the mountains ofVirginia and Tennessee, a country which rivaled on a small scale theDorado of Siberia. The treasures of the Pacific coast were not yetdreamed of. Mr. Gallatin perfectly understood the range of his own powers. He saidof himself:-- "If I have met with any success, either in public bodies, as an executive officer, or in foreign negotiations, it has been exclusively through a patient and most thorough investigation of all the attainable facts, and a cautious application of these to the questions under discussion. . . . Long habit has given me great facility in collating, digesting, and extracting complex documents, but I am not hasty in drawing inferences; the arrangement of the facts and arguments is always to me a considerable labor, and though aiming at nothing more than perspicuity and brevity, I am a very slow writer. " Mr. Gallatin's manuscripts and drafts show long and minute labor intheir well considered and abundant alterations. Referring on oneoccasion to his habit of reasoning, Mr. Gallatin remarked, that of allprocesses that of analogy is the most dangerous, yet that which hehabitually used; that it required the greatest possible number of facts. This is the foundation of philology, and his understanding of its methodand its dangers is the reason of his success in this branch of science. The difficulty experienced in establishing any literary or scientificinstitutions in New York was very great. An effort made in 1830, whichMr. Gallatin favored, to establish a literary periodical failed, not onaccount of the pecuniary difficulties, but from the impossibility ofuniting a sufficient number of able coöperators. But Mr. Gallatin'sinterest in literature was not as great as in science. [26] In 1841 a national institution for the promotion of science wasorganized at Washington. The coöperation of Mr. Gallatin was invited, but the society had a short existence. In 1843 Mr. Gallatin was chosenpresident of the New York Historical Society. His inaugural address isan epitome of political wisdom. Pronounced at any crisis of our history, it would have become a text for the student. In this sketch he analyzedthe causes which contributed to form our national character and toestablish a government founded on justice and on equal rights. He showedhow, united by a common and imminent danger, the thirteen Statessucceeded in asserting and obtaining independence without the aid of acentral and efficient government, and the difficulties which wereencountered when a voluntary surrender of a part of their immensesovereignty became necessary as a condition of national existence. Hesaid that the doctrine that all powers should emanate from the people isnot a question of expediency. In this address he summed up the reasons why Washington exercised such abeneficial influence upon the destinies of his country. In aconfidential letter to his wife in 1797, he expressed an opinion thatthe father of his country was not a good-natured and amiable man, buttime had mellowed these recollections and softened the asperity of thisjudgment. Washington had not, he said (in 1843), 'an extraordinaryamount of acquired knowledge; he was neither a classical scholar nor aman of science, nor was he endowed with the powers of eloquence, norwith other qualities more strong than solid, which might be mentioned;but he had a profound and almost innate sense of justice, on all publicoccasions a perfect control of his strong passions, [27] above all a mostcomplete and extraordinary self-abnegation. Personal consequences andconsiderations were not even thought of, they never crossed his mind, they were altogether obliterated. ' Mr. Gallatin held that "the Americanshad a right to be proud of Washington, because he was selected andmaintained during his whole career by the people--never could he havebeen thus chosen and constantly supported had he not been the type andrepresentative of the American people. " The commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the foundation of theNew York Historical Society, November, 1844, was an occasion of unusualinterest. John Romeyn Brodhead, who had just returned from the Haguewith the treasures of New Netherland history gathered during hismission, was the orator of the day. The venerable John Quincy Adams, Mr. Gallatin's old associate at Ghent, was present. After the address, whichwas delivered at the Church of the Messiah on Broadway, the society andits guests crossed the street to the New York Hotel, where a banquetawaited them. Mr. Gallatin retired early, leaving the chair to the firstvice-president, Mr. Wm. Beach Lawrence. After he had left the room, Mr. Adams, speaking to a toast to the archæologists of America, said: "Mr. Gallatin, in sending to me the invitations of the society, added theexpression of his desire 'to shake hands with me once more in thisworld. '" Mr. Adams could not but respond to his request. In his remarkshe said: "I have lived long, sir, in this world, and I have been connected with all sorts of men, of all sects and descriptions. I have been in the public service for a great part of my life, and filled various offices of trust, in conjunction with that venerable gentleman, Albert Gallatin. I have known him half a century. In many things we differed; on many questions of public interest and policy we were divided, and in the history of parties in this country there is no man from whom I have so widely differed as from him. But in other things we have harmonized; and now there is no man with whom I more thoroughly agree on all points than I do with him. But one word more let me say, before I leave you and him, birds of passage as we are, bound to a warmer and more congenial clime, --that among all public men with whom I have been associated in the course of my political life, whether agreeing or differing in opinion from him, I have always found him to be an honest and honorable man. " In the road to harmony Mr. Adams had to do the traveling. Mr. Gallatinnever changed his political opinions. The political career of the twomen offered this singular contrast: Adams, dissatisfied with his party, passed into opposition; Gallatin, though at variance with the policy ofthe administration of which he made a part, held his fealty, andconfined himself to the operations of his own bureau. For a period far beyond the allotted years of man Mr. Gallatin retainedthe elasticity of his physical nature as well as his mentalperspicacity. In middle age he was slight of figure, his height aboutfive feet ten inches, his form compact and of nervous vigor. Hiscomplexion was Italian;[28] his expression keen; his nose long, prominent; his mouth small, fine cut, and mobile; his eyes hazel, andpenetrative; his skull a model for the sculptor. Thus he appears in theportrait painted by Gilbert Stuart about the time that he took charge ofthe Treasury Department; he was then about forty years of age. In thefine portrait by William H. Powell, taken from life in 1843, andpreserved in the gallery of the New York Historical Society, thesecharacteristics appear in stronger outline. Monsieur de Bacourt, [29] theliterary executor of Talleyrand, who was the French Ambassador to theUnited States in 1840, paid a visit to Mr. Gallatin in that year, anddescribes him as a "beau vieillard de quatre-vingt ans, " who has fullypreserved his faculties. Bacourt alludes to his remarkable face, withits clear, fine cut features, and his "physiognomie pleine de finesse;"and dwells also upon the ease and charm of his conversation. As his life slowly drew to its close, one after another of the few ofhis old friends who remained dropped from the road. Early in 1848 Adamsfell in harness, on the floor of the House of Representatives; LordAshburton died in May. Finally, nearest, dearest of all, the companionof his triumphs and disappointments, the sharer of his honors and hisjoys, his wife, was taken from him by the relentless hand. The summer of1849 found him crushed by this last affliction, and awaiting his ownsummons of release. He was taken to Mount Bonaparte, the country-seat ofhis son-in-law, at Astoria on Long Island, where he died in hisdaughter's arms on Sunday, August 12, 1849. The funeral services wereheld in Trinity Church on the Tuesday following, and his body was laidto rest in the Nicholson vault, [30] in the old graveyard adjoining. Theelegant monument erected during his lifetime is one of the attractivefeatures of this venerable cemetery, in whose dust mingle the remains ofthe temple of no more elevated spirit than his own. The season was aterrible one--the cholera was raging, the city was deserted. In thegeneral calamity private sorrow disappeared, or the occasion would havebeen marked by a demonstration of public grief and of public honor. Asthe tidings went from city to city, and country to country, the friendsof science, of that universal wisdom which knows neither language norrace, paused in their investigations to pay respectful homage to hischaracter, his intellect, and to that without which either or both incombination are inadequate to success--his labor in the field. On October 2, 1849, at the first meeting of the Historical Societyafter the death of Mr. Gallatin, Mr. Luther Bradish, the presidingofficer, spoke of him in impressive words, as the last link connectingthe present with the past. He dwelt upon the peculiar pleasure withwhich the presence of Mr. Gallatin was always hailed, and the peculiarinterest it gave to the proceedings of the society, and many an eye wasdimmed, as he recalled the venerable form, the beautifully classic head, the countenance ever beaming with intelligence, and summed up the longand useful career of the departed sage in these impressive words:-- "The name of Albert Gallatin is emphatically a name of history. Few men have lived in any age whose biographies have been so intimately connected with the history of their country. Living in one of the most interesting periods of the world, a period of great events, of the discussion of great principles and the settlement of great interests, almost the whole of his long and active life was passed in public service amidst those events and in those discussions. . . . For nearly half a century he was almost constantly employed in the public service; almost every department of that service has received the benefit of his extraordinary talents and his varied and extensive and accurate knowledge. Whether in legislation, in finance, or in diplomacy, he has been equally distinguished in all. In all or in either he has had few equals and still fewer superiors. " To Jeremy Bentham Mr. Gallatin acknowledged himself indebted, as hismaster in the art of legislation; but from whatever ground he drew hismaxims of government, they were reduced to harmony in the crucible ofhis own intelligence by the processes of that brain which Spurzheimpronounced capital, [31] and Dumont held to be the best head in America. In that massive and profound structure lay faculties of organization andadministration which mark the Latin and Italian mind in its highest formof intellectual development. His moral excellence was no less conspicuous than his intellectualpower. He had a profound sense of justice, a love of liberty, and anunfaltering belief in the capacity of the human race for self-rule. Versed in the learning of centuries, and familiar with every experimentof government, he was full of the liberal spirit of his age. To a higherdegree than any American, native or foreign born, unless Franklin, withwhose broad nature he had many traits in common, Albert Gallatindeserves the proud title, aimed at by many, reached by few, of Citizenof the World. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 22: An account of this expedition may be found in thepublications of the Maryland Historical Society. ] [Footnote 23: WASHINGTON, 29_th May_, 1826. SIR, --Mr. Stewart communicated to me your answer of 4th April last tothe letter which, at my request, he had addressed to you; and I returnyou my thanks for your kind offer to forward the object in view, --onewhich is not, however, of a private nature but connected with what isintended to be a National work; and I have delayed writing in order tobe able to send at the same time the papers herewith transmitted. It is at my suggestion that the Secretary of War has, with theapprobation of the President, taken measures to collect comparativevocabularies of all the languages and dialects of the Indian tribesstill existing within the United States. The circular is addressed toall the Indian superintendents and agents, and to the missionaries withwhom the Department corresponds. But they have no agent with theNottoways, and we are fortunate that you should have been disposed tolend your aid on this occasion. It is the intention of government that the result of these researchesshould be published, giving due credit to every individual who shallhave assisted in a work that has been long expected from us, and whichwill be equally honorable to the persons concerned and to the country. It had been my intention to contribute my share in its further progress:this my approaching departure for Europe forbids. The inclosed papers, attending to the Notes and to the circular, are so full that I need notadd any further explanation, and have only to request that you will havethe goodness to transmit whatever vocabulary and other information youmay obtain to Colonel Tho. L. McKinney, Office of Indian Affairs, undercover directed to the Secretary of War. Mr. McKinney will also be happyto answer any queries on the subject you may have to propose. I have the honor to be respectfully, sir, Your most obedient servant, ALBERT GALLATIN Mr. James Rochelle, Jerusalem, Southampton County, Virginia. _Communicated by J. H. Rochelle, Jerusalem, Virginia. _] [Footnote 24: Among the most distinguished of those who have followedthe pathway indicated by Mr. Gallatin was the late George Gibbs, anindefatigable student and an admirable ethnologist. His Chinook jargonwas published by the Smithsonian Institution. ] [Footnote 25: Mr. Du Ponceau became president of the learned societiesof Pennsylvania: the Historical Society and the American PhilosophicalSociety. ] [Footnote 26: His favorite novel was _The Antiquary_, which he read oncea year. Novels, he said, should be read, the last chapter first, inorder that appreciation of the style should not be lost in the interestexcited by the story. ] [Footnote 27: Mr. Gallatin's assertion, which corresponded with that ofJefferson, that Washington had naturally strong passions, but hadattained complete mastery over them, is quoted by the Earl of Stanhope(Lord Mahon) in his famous eulogy of Washington's attributes. ] [Footnote 28: The Gallatins claim to descend from one Callatinus, aRoman Consul. ] [Footnote 29: _Souvenirs d'un Diplomate. _ Paris, 1882. ] [Footnote 30: This was the vault of the Witter family, a daughter ofwhich Commodore Nicholson married. ] [Footnote 31: "In my youth the fashion was to decide in conformitywith Lavater's precepts; then came Camper's facial angle, which gave adecided superiority to the white man and monkey; and both have beensuperseded by the bumps of the skull. This criterion is that which suitsme best, for Spurzheim declared I had a _capital_ head, which he mightwithout flattery say to everybody. " _Gallatin to Lewis T. Cist ofCincinnati, November_ 21, 1837. ] INDEX Adams, Henry, calls treaty of Ghent the work of Gallatin, 324. Adams, John, announces election of Gallatin as senator, 60; convenes Congress to consider relations with France, 132; his message, 133; replies coolly to resolution of House, 136, 137; remarks of McClanachan to, 138; his message in 1797, 139; visited by House to present answer, 140; wishes to establish new foreign missions, 141; informs Congress of French outrages, 147; and of preparations for war, 147; sends in X Y Z dispatches, 149; sends message on French relations, 152, 153; urges preparation for war, 155; thanks House for support, 155; delighted with support of Congress in 1799, 158; congratulates Congress on settlement at Washington, 162; supported for President by New England, 163; in election of 1800, 165; attributes distresses of Confederation to financial ignorance, 174; his breach with Hamilton, 177. Adams, John Quincy, on results of Gallatin's proposed appointment as secretary of state, 295; meets Gallatin and Bayard at St. Petersburg, 302; his training, comparison with Gallatin, 302, 303; given new commission, 312; differs with Clay over fisheries and Mississippi navigation, 323; appointed minister to England, 326; advised by Gallatin concerning commercial treaty, 333; appointed secretary of state, 334; informed by Gallatin of disadvantages of a war with Spain, 336, 337; his arguments in Apollon case disregarded by Gallatin, 338; his indignation, 338; writes opinion of Gallatin in his diary, 333, 339; described by Gallatin to Badollet, 339, 356; his pugnacity complained of by Crawford, 339; negotiates treaty with De Neuville, 340; comments of Gallatin upon, 340; appoints Rush secretary of treasury, 342; offers mission to England to Gallatin, 342, 343; promises Gallatin _carte blanche_, but gives him full instructions, 343; his instructions to Rush printed, 345; warns Gallatin to yield nothing, 346; congratulates Gallatin on his success, 348; candidate for presidency, 356; elected by House of Representatives, 358; at meeting of New York Historical Society, 384; Gallatin's friendly greeting to, 384; eulogizes Gallatin, 384, 385; his changing party compared with Gallatin's steadiness, 385; death, 386. Adams, William, on English peace commission, 316. Addington, Henry, on Clay's tone as diplomat, 345. Adet, P. A. , French minister, imperils sympathy for France by impudence to Washington, 128; condemned by Federalists, 134; recommends tricolor, 153. Aix-la-Chapelle, Congress of, 337. Alexander, Emperor of Russia, authorizes renewal of mediation, 308; fails to inform Romanzoff of Castlereagh's refusal, 311, 312; vain efforts of Crawford to secure interview with, 315; promises Lafayette to use influence in behalf of United States, 315; has interview with Gallatin, 315; informs Gallatin that he can do nothing more, 316. Algiers, treaty with, 117, 118. Alien Bill, debate and passage in House, 152; petitions against, in Congress, 157. Allegheny County, its part in Whiskey Insurrection, 49, 68, 78, 96; elects Gallatin to Congress, 93, 127. Allègre, Sophie, marries Gallatin, her character and death, 30. Allègre, William, father-in-law of Gallatin, 30. Allen, ----, in debate on French relations, 136; attacks Gallatin as a French agent, 150. Allston, Joseph W. , at free trade convention, 1831, 241. American Ethnological Society, founded by Gallatin, 379; its transactions, 379, 380. Ames, Fisher, leading orator of Federalists, 99; his speech on the Jay treaty, 120, 121; reports answer to President's Message, 128; defends it against Giles, 129; leaves Congress, his oratory, 133. Anderson, Professor, member of "The Club, " 367. Anti-Federalists, call convention to organize in favor of amending Constitution, 37; adopt resolutions to organize throughout the State, 39, 40; recommend amendments by petition, 40. Apollon, seizure of, explained by Gallatin and Adams, 338. Army, reduction of, advocated by Gallatin, 108, 123, 129, 130, 186, 188; his course defended, 216. Arnold, Benedict, effect of his treason, 12; campaign of Lafayette against, 371. Ashburton, Lord. See Baring, Alexander. Astor, John Jacob, assists Gallatin to float loan, 214; wishes destruction of United States Bank, 259; subscribes capital of bank on condition that Gallatin manage its affairs, 269; his fur enterprise, 287; offered protection by Jefferson, 288; his settlement at Astoria, 288; unable to persuade Madison to support him, 288. Astoria, foundation and history of, 288. Atwater, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Bache, Franklin, educated at Geneva, 4; attacks Washington as a defaulter, in "Aurora, " 104. Bache, Richard, letter to, furnished by Franklin to Gallatin, 11. Bacourt, M. De, describes Gallatin in old age, 386. Badollet, Jean, college friend of Gallatin, 5; Arcadian schemes of, 9; letter of Gallatin to, 9; letters of Serre to, on life in Maine, 15, 25; informs Gallatin of troubles in Geneva, 25; at Gallatin's invitation, joins him in America, 25, 26; established at Greensburg, 27; letter of Gallatin to, 43; with Gallatin at anti-excise convention, 52; advised by Gallatin to avoid United States marshal, 55; letter of Gallatin to, on French Revolution, 56; letter of Gallatin to, on his wife, 59; instructed by Gallatin to secure reëlection of unseated members of legislature, 95; given an office by Gallatin, 287, 326; remark of Gallatin to, 299; letter of Gallatin to, on J. Q. Adams, 339; takes shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 361; manages store for Gallatin, 362; letters of Gallatin to, 365, 370. Balbi, quotes Gallatin in his Atlas, 374. Baldwin, Abraham, on committee on finance, 106. Bank of North America, established by Morris, 172, 248; its purpose, 248; organization, 248, 249; difficulties of starting, 249, 260; its services, 249; jealousy of Pennsylvania toward, 250. Bank of United States, established by Hamilton, 175, 250, 251; its organization, 251, 252; borrowed from, by Gallatin, 204; petitions for a re-charter, 252; Gallatin's report in favor of, 252-254; a re-charter refused, 231, 254; its value, 255; opinion of Gallatin on, 255; controls state banks, 259; desire of Astor to crush, 259; remits specie to foreign stockholders, 260; its dissolution causes panic, 262, 263; reincorporation proposed, 265; vetoed, then approved, by Madison, 265; its subsequent history, 266; helps resumption of specie payments, 267; presidency of, declined by Gallatin, 268; deposits removed from, by Taney, 269; accepts charter from Pennsylvania, 271; its subsequent career, 271; fails in 1839, 276; weakness of Madison in 1812 in allowing its dissolution, 296. Bank, National, of New York, connection of Gallatin with, 269-277. Banks, state, difficulty of controlling their issues, 256; their evil effects, 257; status in 1811, 258; increase after termination of Bank of United States, 261, 262; suspend payment in 1815, 262; agree to resume, 267; supported by second Bank of United States, 267; Gallatin's "Considerations on, " etc. , 268; connection of Gallatin with, 269-277; speculation craze of, in 1836, 271, 272; suspend payment in 1837, 272; conventions of, to prepare for resumption, 273-275; aided by Treasury, 275; "Suggestions" of Gallatin, 277. Barbour, Philip P. , presides over free trade convention in 1831, 241. Baring, Alexander, explains to Gallatin British reasons for refusing Russian mediation, 306, 307; reply of Gallatin, 309; urges Gallatin to visit England, 311; requested by Gallatin to send passports, 313; his mission to America, 349, 350; his manner of negotiation with Webster, 350; visits Gallatin, 350; comparison with Gallatin, 350; his death, 386. Barings, connection with Louisiana purchase, 193, 195; competition of Bank of United States with, 271; letter of Gallatin to, 305. Barras, Comte, encouraged by Napoleon's success to bold measures against United States, 132. Bartlett, John Russell, gives anecdotes of Gallatin, 13, 22. Bartlett, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Bathurst, Lord, promises to appoint peace commissioners, 314; reopens negotiations, 319; insists on possession of part of Maine, 321. Bayard, James A. , elected to Congress, 132; on legislative encroachments on executive, 143; on resolution to furnish foreign correspondence, 156; defends Sedition Law by a clever amendment, 159; moves committee to arrange for balloting in 1800, 166; accompanies Gallatin as peace commissioner, 301, 302; willing to accept an informal renunciation of impressment, 305; goes to Amsterdam, 312; on new commission to treat directly, 312; visits London, 313; asks Monroe for authority to negotiate anywhere, 314; appointed minister to Russia, 326. Baylies, ----, his report on Western territory complained of by England, 345. Bentham, Jeremy, works translated by Dumont, 5; influences Gallatin, 388. Bentson, ----, on Astor's hostility to United States Bank, 259. Berlin and Milan decrees, negotiations for compensation for seizures under, 333. Biddle, C. C. , at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Biddle, Nicholas, in panic of 1837, 275. Blount, William, on committee on finance, 107; impeached, 138. Bonaparte, Jerome, his flight to America, 332. Bonaparte, Napoleon, his precocity compared to that of Gallatin, 32; effect of his Italian successes on French policy, 132, 139; adopts conciliatory tone, 160; issues Milan decree, 229; seen by Gallatin during Hundred Days, 326; American sympathy for, explained by Gallatin, 331. Boorman, James, at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Borgo, Pozzo di, compared to Gallatin, 32. Boston, visit of Gallatin to, 12-14, 17; Puritanical society in, 13; prejudice against French, 13; Gallatin's opinion of, 18; protests against Jay treaty, 103. Botts, John M. , letter of Gallatin to, on bank, 256. Boundary, northeast, in treaty of Ghent, 321, 322; discussed in 1826, 343; referred to arbitration, 347; argument concerning, prepared by Gallatin, 349; decision of King of Netherlands rejected by United States, 349; documents concerning, published by Gallatin, 349; settled by Ashburton treaty, 350. Bourdillon, ----, takes share in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Bourne, Shearjashub, on committee on finance, 106. Brackenridge, Judge H. H. , on Gallatin's part in anti-excise agitation, 50; in Washington County, advises moderation, 69; an authority for history of insurrection, 71; his character and policy, 71; leads Pittsburgh committee to urge moderation upon rioters, 72; describes Bradford's behavior, 72; his estimate of numbers under arms, 72; compares excitement with that in 1765 and 1775, 74; at Parkinson's Ferry meeting, 78; supports Gallatin's efforts to prevent rebellion, 80, 82; on committee to confer with United States commissioners, 81; describes Gallatin's speech, 82; claims credit for preventing civil war, 84; on threats of secession, 86; defeated by Gallatin for Congress, 93. Bradford, David, represents Washington County in anti-excise proceedings, 51; elected to legislature, 54; low opinion of Gallatin concerning, 54; tries to shirk responsibility, 69; then determines on extreme measures, robs mail, 69; calls for armed resistance, 70; unable to countermand order, 70; assumes office of major-general, 72; his harangue to the insurgents, 73; at meeting at Parkinson's Ferry, 78; advocates armed resistance, 79; on committee on resolutions, 80; named to confer with United States commissioners, 81; urges rejection of their terms, 81, 82; excepted from amnesty, flies from the country, 84, 85. Bradford, James, in anti-excise convention, 52. Bradford, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Bradish, Luther, his eulogy of Gallatin, 388. Breading, Nicholas, in Pennsylvania ratifying convention, 35. Breckenridge, John, his brief career, 355. Brevoort, ----, member of "The Club, " 367. Brodhead, John Romeyn, orator at fortieth anniversary of New York Historical Society, 384. Buck, Daniel, on committee on finance, 107. Burke, Edmund, on place of revenue in the state, 218. Burr, Aaron, his connection with Dayton, 104; in presidential election of 1800, 163, 164, 166, 167; alienated from Jefferson by refusal to appoint Davis, 282. Cabinet, its lack of financial coöperation under Jefferson, 188; criticises Jefferson's messages, 283; weekly meetings of, suggested by Gallatin, 283; absence of system in, 284; dissensions and reorganization under Madison, 296, 297. Cabot, George, on committee to consider Gallatin's eligibility to senate, 61. Calhoun, John C. , reports plan for a national bank, 265; ascribes Gallatin's disregard of Adams's arguments in Apollon case to "pride, " 338; Gallatin's opinion of, 355; elected Vice-President, 358; on Gallatin's ethnological studies, 378. California, discovery of gold in, 353, 354. Campbell, George W. , furnished with report by Gallatin on injuries of Great Britain, 292, 303; secretary of treasury, 312. Canning, George, his policy toward United States, 225, 295, 344; attitude of Gallatin toward, in negotiation, 345; death, 347. Carnahan, Dr. , describes entry of Whiskey Rebellion prisoners into Cannonsburg, 91. Castlereagh, Lord, discourages offer of Russia to mediate, 304; gives assurance of safety to cartel-ship, 307; refuses second offer of mediation, 311; offers to deal directly, 312; member of cabinet most favorable to America, 314; advises English commissioners to moderate demands, 319; approves treaty of Ghent, 326; arranges commercial convention with Gallatin, 326; expresses friendly feelings, 335. Cazenove, ----, takes shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Charles X. , in Revolution of 1830, 370, 372. Chase, Salmon P. , negotiations with Treasury Note Committee, 196 and note; follows Gallatin's treasury-note plan, 209; organizes national banking system, 256. Chateaubriand, succeeds Montmorenci, 340; negotiates unsuccessfully with Gallatin, 341; quotes Gallatin's statement of Cuban question, 346. Cheriot, ----, takes share in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Chesapeake, captured by Leopard, 224. Chevalier, Michel, his studies on money, 278. Cheves, Langdon, at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Chôteau, Pierre Louis, meets Gallatin, his influence over Indians, 287, 374. Circourt, Count de, reviews Gallatin's "Synopsis of the Indian Tribes, " 378. Civil service, monopolized by Federalists, 280; demands of Republicans for a share in, 281; Gallatin's opinion of appointments to and conduct of, 281; intention of Jefferson to give one half of, to Republicans, 282. Clare, Thomas, his house the headquarters of Gallatin in 1784, 22, 24; rents Gallatin a house, 25. Clay, Henry, denounces Gallatin for advocating free trade, 242; apologizes, 242; on peace commission, 312; arrives at Gottenburg, 313; corresponds with Gallatin concerning place of negotiation, 314; differs with Adams over Mississippi navigation and fisheries, 323; joins Gallatin in England, 326; urges Gallatin to accept mission to Panama Congress, 342; letter of Gallatin to, on instructions as minister to England, 343; tone of his diplomatic correspondence, 345; Gallatin's opinion of, 356; resignation of Gallatin in his favor, 358; secures election of Adams, 358. Clinton, George, marriage of his daughter to Genet, 102. "Club, The, " in New York, Gallatin's membership of, 366, 367. Coast survey, established, 290. Coinage, debate concerning, in Congress, 140; regulated by Morris, 172. Coles, Edward, letter of Gallatin to, 284. Confederation, Articles of, political conditions under, 33, 34. Congress, adopts amendments to Constitution suggested by New York and Virginia, 40; passes excise law, 49; modifies it, 52; gives state courts jurisdiction in excise cases, 67; receives tricolor from France, 130; complained of by Jefferson as weak, 138; suspends commercial intercourse with France, 151; passes acts authorizing naval defense, 153; presence of Washington, Pinckney, and Hamilton at, in 1798, 155; speech of Adams to, 155; responsibility for war thrown upon, by Madison, 205; authorizes loan in 1812, 209, 212; damages Treasury by procrastination, 212; supports Gallatin's policy of extinguishing debt, 215; repeals internal revenue act, 221; passes embargo, 225; extends terms of credit on revenue bonds, 226; refuses to recharter the bank, 231, 254; declares war, imposes increased duties, 234; reimposes internal taxes, 236; adopts non-importation against England and France, 292; orders out naval force, 294; repeals embargo, 294. Constable, John, at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Constellation, defeats La Vengeance, 160. Constitution of Pennsylvania, convention called to revise, 40, 41; its membership and ability, 42, 43. Constitution of the United States, adopted, 35; struggle over ratification in Pennsylvania, 35; movement in favor of new convention to amend, 36-40; amended, 40; power of Representatives to appropriate, 109; debate in Congress on relation of treaty power to House of Representatives, 110-115; argument of Washington on treaty power, 114, 115; debate in House on relation of Executive to Congress, 142-147; power of Senate to require treasury reports, 161; in relation to state bills of credit, 257; question of power of United States to acquire territory, 285; in relation to National University, 291; to annexation of Texas, 351. Cook, Edward, presides over meeting of whiskey insurgents at Parkinson's Ferry, 79; indorses resolution to submit to terms of United States commissioners, 83. Cooper, Dr. Samuel, interested in Gallatin through Madame Pictet, 17. Couronne, ----, takes shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Crawford, William H. , follows Gallatin's treasury policy, 215; at Gallatin's suggestion, urges Emperor again to mediate, 315; complains of Adams's pugnacity, 339; wishes Gallatin to stand for Vice-President, 341; looked upon by Gallatin as strongest leader after the triumvirate, 355; supported by Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison against Adams, 356; stricken with paralysis, 357; nominated for President by caucus, 357; defeated by Adams, 358. Cuba, avowed intention of United States to prevent English seizure of, by war if necessary, 346. Cumberland Road, reported to Congress in 1807, 290. Dallas, Alexander J. , his career compared to that of Gallatin, 28, 58; his parentage, 58; secretary of state for Pennsylvania, 58; friendship with Gallatin, 58; excursion with Gallatin, 58, 59; describes to Gallatin his experiences with militia in suppressing Whiskey Rebellion, 92; follows Gallatin's loan policy, 215; regrets absence of internal taxes, 236; proposes a national bank, 265; resigns, 266. Dallas, Mrs. A. J. , on excursion with her husband and Gallatin, 58, 59. Dallas, George M. , accompanies Gallatin to Europe, 301; sent to London, his instructions, 310; informs Gallatin of English offer to treat directly, 311; takes dispatch to Monroe, 318. Davis, Garrett, letter of Gallatin to, on manifest destiny, 352. Davis, Matthew L. , quarrel between Jefferson and Burr over his appointment, 282. Dawson, John, on Sedition Law, 162. Dayton, Jonathan, elected speaker of House by Democrats, 98; anti-British in feeling, 104; not influenced by connection with Burr, 104; reëlected speaker, 132; introduces resolution on Adams's message, 134; joins Federalists after X Y Z affair, 149; refuses to answer Gallatin, 153; vote of thanks to, 158. Debt, public, payment by public lands urged by Gallatin, 122; its permanence condemned by Gallatin, 126; controversy between Gallatin and Smith as to increase of, 126; attempt of Continental Congress to investigate, 171; attempts of Morris to secure its funding, 172, 173; funded by Hamilton, 174, 175; increased under Wolcott, 178; creation of domestic loans, 178; Gallatin's subdivision of, 184, 185; its extinction Gallatin's main desire, 186, 188, 198, 203, 208; stated by Gallatin in 1801-2, 191; plan for its discharging, 191; actual reduction of, 192; increased through Louisiana purchase, 192, 193, 195; new funds, 195, 196; funding of debt in 1807, 198; statement regarding, in 1808, 202; its increase during war foreseen by Gallatin, 203; reduction in 1812, 205; loan of 1812, 209; declines below par, 210; revives, 211; loan of twenty-one millions, 212; increase in 1816, 215; Gallatin's policy toward, continued by Dallas and Crawford, 215; eventually extinguished, 215, 269, 271; absence regretted by Woodbury, 271. De Fersen, his correspondence proves guilt of Louis XVI. , 57. De Lolme, ----, school companion of Gallatin, 5. Democratic party. See Republican party especially, 358-360. De Neuville, Hyde, French minister, demands dismissal of insolent postmaster, 333; negotiates commercial convention with Adams, 340. De Rham, ----, member of "The Club, " 367. Dexter, Samuel, succeeds Wolcott in Treasury Department, 177; consents to hold over until appointment of successor, 181. Diplomatic history, mission of Genet to United States, 57, 102; Jay's treaty with England, 102, 103, 117; Fauchet's dealings with Randolph, 103; Wayne's treaty with Indians, 117; Pinckney's treaty with Spain, 117; expulsion of Pinckney from France, 132; X Y Z affair and consequences, 149, 152, 153; events leading up to war of 1812, 295; offer of Russia to mediate, 299; mission of Gallatin, Bayard, and Adams to Russia, 301, 303; correspondence of Gallatin with Baring, 305-307, 309; renewed offers by Russia, 308; again refused by England, 311; offer of England to treat directly, 311; appointment of a new commission, 312; place of negotiation, 314; futile appeal of Lafayette to Emperor to mediate, 315, 316; appointment of English commissioners, 316; exorbitant English demands, 317; suspension of negotiations, 318; alteration of British tone, 319; resumption of negotiations and refusal by Americans of English demands, 319; further English demands for cession of territory refused, 321; discussion over boundaries, fisheries, and Mississippi navigation, 322, 323; these points abandoned, 323; article against slave trade adopted, 323; conclusion of treaty, 324; part played by Gallatin, 324, 325; commercial convention with England, 326, 327; mission of Gallatin to France, 330-341; negotiations over French captures under Berlin and Milan decrees, 332, 333; over an impudent postmaster, 333; negotiations with Holland, 334; commercial convention with England, 334, 335; negotiations with France over Apollon case, 338; commercial convention with France, 340; failure to settle American claims, 341; Gallatin's mission to England, 343-347; instructions, 343; negotiations with Canning, 345, 346; conclusion of convention with Goderich's ministry, 347; Ashburton treaty negotiations, 349, 350. Disunion, threatened in 1795, 116; planned by New England in 1812, 213. Duane, William, intimate with Jefferson, 286; abuses Gallatin in "Aurora, " 286, 297; appointed adjutant-general by Madison, 299. Duby, ----, takes shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Dumont, Etienne, college friend of Gallatin, his subsequent career, 5; Gallatin's opinion of, 5; invited by Gallatin to come to America, 26; on shape of Gallatin's head, 389. Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, friend of Gallatin, his philological studies upon Indians, 376, 377. D'Yvernois, proposes to transport University of Geneva to United States, 291; receives shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 362. Edgar, James, on committee of whiskey insurgents to confer with United States commissioners, 81; supports Gallatin, 82; presides over last meeting at Parkinson's Ferry, 89. Elliott, ----, on controversy between Wolcott and Gallatin, as to surplus, 190, 191. Ellsworth, Oliver, on committee to consider Gallatin's eligibility to Senate, 61. Embargo, opposed by Gallatin, 201; its effect stated by him, 201, 202; adopted as answer to Orders in Council, 225; its enforcement or abandonment urged by Gallatin, 228, 229, 230, 291; enforced, 292; repealed, 294. Emlen, George, at free trade convention in 1831, 241. England, anger against, at time of Jay treaty, 103; renews provision order, 103; danger of war with, 116, 118, 120; hard pressed by France in 1797, 139; its friendship more dangerous than France's enmity, 163; adopts Orders in Council, 201, 225; commercial policy toward United States, 224, 225, 295; danger of war with, 224, 229; Madison's preference for, 295; events leading up to war with, 295, 296; mistaken view of Gallatin concerning its diplomacy, 304; unwilling to tolerate Russian mediation, 304, 306, 311; its policy explained by Baring, 306, 307; offers to treat directly, 311; willing to push on war after fall of Napoleon, 313, 316; hopes to divide United States, 313; appoints commissioners, 316; makes exorbitant demands, 317; its policy modified by Castlereagh, 319; demands cession of territory, 321; loses interest in war, 322; rejects article on impressment, 322; negotiation of convention with, in 1815, 334, 335; at Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, 337; mission of Gallatin to, 343-347; complains of tone of American diplomacy, 344, 345; negotiations with, 345, 346; agrees to renew commercial convention, 347; refuses to negotiate on impressment, 347; makes Ashburton treaty, 349, 350. Eppes, John W. , letter of Gallatin to, on public lands, 239. Erskine, D. M. , his negotiations, 295. Etsko, ----, Polish refugee, helped by Gallatin, 372. Eustis, William, advised by Gallatin concerning treaty with Netherlands, 333, 334. Ewbank, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Excise (see Whiskey Insurrection), recommended by Hamilton, 175. Fauchet, his dealings with Randolph, 103; condemned by Federalists, 134. Fayette County, settlement of Gallatin, 22, 26, 27; life in, 28, 43, 67; elects Gallatin to legislature, 44; in Whiskey Insurrection, 49, 51, 52, 68, 78, 85, 96; reëlects Gallatin, 93, 95; visited by Lafayette, 365. Fazzi, ----, takes share in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Federalist party, its origin, 57; prejudiced against Gallatin by his resolution demanding information from Hamilton, 64, 65; opposes his election to Congress, 95; reconstructs cabinet, 97, 98; its leaders in House, 98, 99; attitude toward France and England, 100, 101; charged with being bribed by England, 103; in debate on appropriating power, 108, 109; in debate on treaty power, 111-115; defends Jay treaty, 118; strengthened in fourth Congress, 128; retains nominal majority in fifth Congress, 133; in debate on French relations, 134-136; in debate on checks on executive, 143-147; strengthened by X Y Z affair, 149; commits mistakes, 151, 152; its badge, 153; controls sixth Congress, 158; refuses to repeal Sedition Law, 159; defeated in 1800, 163; forced to choose between Burr and Jefferson, 164; bargain with Jefferson, 164; its possible plans for defeating any choice, 165; and for nominating a president pro tempore, 165; allows Jefferson's election, 166, 167; its share in building country, 169; breach in, 177; enjoys Republican inconsistency, 237; monopolizes offices, 280; extinguished by battle of New Orleans, 358. Few, William, connected by marriage with Gallatin, 59. Finances, efforts of Gallatin to secure minute supervision of by Congress, 64, 106, 107; efforts to establish permanent appropriations, 107; appropriations, power of Congress over, 108, 109; their necessity to successful government, 170; finances of the Revolution under Morris, 170-174; under treasury board, 173, 174; under Hamilton, 174-176; under Wolcott, 176-178; under Gallatin, 186-215; sketch of, by Gallatin, 184; "View of, " by Gallatin, 185; preliminary sketch on Gallatin's assuming office, 186; estimate of sources of wealth, 187; estimate for 1801, 190; denial of a surplus, 190, 191; plan for discharging debt, 191, 192; its execution, 192, 194; report for 1803 on reduction of debt, 195; Louisiana purchase, 193, 195; place of payment of principal and interest, 195, 196; addition to sinking fund, 196; report for first four years, 197; estimates of revenue for Jefferson's second term, 198; conversion of debt, 198; full treasury in 1807, 198; Gallatin's consideration of military value of surplus, 199; on war revenue, 200, 201; effect of embargo, 201; sources of revenue, 204; deficiency in 1809, 204; report of 1811, 205; demand of Gallatin for internal revenue, 206; war estimates, 206-209; including "treasury notes, " 207, 210; loan of 1812, 209; estimates for 1812, 210; report for 1812, 211; success of loan, 210, 211; report of loan of twenty-one millions, 212; stock not taken by New England and Southern States, 213; saved by Parish, Girard, and Astor, 213, 214; review of Gallatin's influence, 215-216; table of revenue and expenditure, 217; revenue established by Hamilton, 217; its character, 218; and amount, 219; permanent estimate of, 220; internal revenue retained by Gallatin, 220; his proposed expenditures, 220; repeal of internal revenue, 221; increased income, 221; establishment of Mediterranean fund, 222; income during Jefferson's first term, 223; increased estimates of Gallatin, 223; internal improvements planned, 224; doubling of duties recommended as a war measure, 225; effect of embargo on revenue, 225, 227; review of revenue during Jefferson's administrations, 226, 227; surplus in 1808, 226; internal improvements advocated by Jefferson, 226, 227; estimates of receipts for 1809, 228; report of Gallatin to Congress on need for new revenues, 229; vagueness of Madison concerning, 229, 230; report for 1809, 230; refusal of Congress to re-charter bank, 231; report for 1810, 231; report of Gallatin in January, 1812, 232; proposal to impose internal taxes, 234; increased war duties, 234; war budget for 1813, 235; internal taxes, their history, 235; reimposed by Congress, 236; receipts from, 237; public lands, receipts from, 238, 239; administration of Treasury under Gallatin, 244-246; history of Bank of North America, 248-250; of Bank of United States, 250-255; panic of 1815, 262-264; second United States Bank, 265-268; resumption of specie payment, 267; report of Gallatin on ratio of gold and silver, 268; "Considerations on Currency and Banking, " 268; diminution of debt in 1832, 269; removal of deposits from Bank of United States, 269, 270; extinction of debt by Woodbury, 270, 271; distribution of surplus among States, 271; inflation in 1836, 272; panic of 1837, 272, 273. Findley, James, in Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 43; represents Fayette County in legislature, 44. Findley, William, describes Whiskey Insurrection, 71; at Parkinson's Ferry meeting, 78; describes Gallatin's speech, 83; on threats of secession, 86; takes resolutions to Washington urging him to stop march of troops, 89; describes seizure of prisoners, 90. Fish, Preserved, at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Fisheries, discussed in treaty of Ghent, 322, 323; unfavorable settlement of question in 1818, 335. Florida, question of its annexation, 285. Forsyth, John, asks Gallatin's advice as to Smithson's bequest, 378. Fox, C. J. , his precocity compared to Gallatin's, 32. France, sympathy of Republicans for, 116; sends tricolor to Congress, 130; its policy in Revolution, 131; situation in 1796, 131; endeavors to get aid of United States, 131; determines to coerce it, 132; refuses to receive Pinckney, 132; policy of Adams toward, 137; success in 1797, 139; danger of war with, in 1798, 147; question of war with, debated in Congress, 148-151; non-intercourse with, 151, 159, 160; adopts conciliatory measures, 160; commercial convention with, 162; adopts Milan decree, 229; mission of Gallatin to, 331-341; refuses to pay for seizures under Berlin and Milan decrees, 333; urges peace with Spain, 336; offers to mediate with United States between Spain and her colonies, 336; conduct at Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, 337; Apollon case, 338; commercial convention with, 340; fails to settle claims, 340, 341; Revolution of 1830 in, 370, 371, 372. Franklin, Benjamin, gives Gallatin letter to Richard Bache, 11; compared to Gallatin, 389. Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, friend of Madame Voltaire, 7; sends her a portrait, 7; sells troops to England in American war, 8; called a tyrant by Gallatin, 8. Free trade, advocated by Gallatin, 240; becomes a party question in 1832, 240; convention in favor of, 241; Gallatin's memorial in behalf of, 241, 242; subsequent history of, 242, 243. French Revolution, premonitions of, in Europe, 6; Gallatin's opinion of, in 1794, 56, 57; its reaction on America, 57, 100; attitude of parties toward, 101, 102; its effect described by Gallatin, 327, 328. Gallatin, Abraham, grandfather of Albert, 2; lives at Pregny, 7; friend of Voltaire, 7. Gallatin, Albert, his place in United States history, 1; birth and ancestry, 2; adopted by Mlle. Pictet, 2; his schooling and home training, 2, 3; benefits from cosmopolitan society of Geneva, 4; academic friendships, 4, 5; restless, although not ambitious, 5; discontented with political conditions, 6; visits Voltaire, 7, 8; refuses offer of commission in Hessian service, 8; quarrels with grandmother, 8; plans to find freedom in America, 9, 10; leaves Geneva secretly, 9; plans to rise by land speculation and commerce, 10; at Nantes receives letters from family, 10, 11; relations with guardian, 11; invests money in tea, 12; voyage to Boston, 12; finds difficulty in selling tea, 12; finds Boston bigoted and unfriendly, 13; his walk to Blue Hill, 13; encounter with inquisitive landlord, 13, 14; persuaded by Madame De Lesdernier, makes trading voyage to Machias, 14; frontier life there, 15, 16; commands earthwork at Passamaquoddy, 16; meets La Pérouse, 16; returns to Boston and teaches French, 17; recommended by Mlle. Pictet to Dr. Cooper, 17; teaches French successfully in Harvard College, 17, 18; glad to leave Boston at conclusion of war, 18; visits New York, 18; meets Savary, 19; dissolves partnership with Serre, 19; meets Pelatiah Webster at Philadelphia, 19; accompanies Savary to Richmond, 19; decides definitely not to return to Geneva, 20; joins Savary in land speculations in West Virginia, 20, 21; his aversion to debt, 21; returns to Philadelphia and leads exploring party down Ohio, 21; at George's Creek builds log-house and opens store, 22; encounters Washington, 22; declines Washington's offer to become land agent, 23; enjoys a winter in Richmond society, 23; his gratitude for hospitality and kindness, 24; commissioned by Henry, locates lands in Western Virginia, 24; interrupted by Indian troubles, 24; takes oath of allegiance to Virginia, 25; invites Badollet to join him from Geneva, 25, 26; purchases Friendship Hill, 26; rumor of his death causes inquiries from Geneva, 27; attains majority and calls for property, 28; difficulties of his life on frontier, 28; not to be blamed for his choice of location, 28, 29; offered place in office by Marshall, 29; advised by Patrick Henry to begin in West, 29; visits Richmond and Philadelphia, 29; journey to Maine, 29, 30; kindness towards Lesdernier, 30; marries Sophie Allègre, her sudden death, 30; disheartened, wishes to abandon Western lands, 30, 31; his maturity in political thought, 32; early an advocate of democracy, 32, 33; probably dislikes the Federal Constitution, 34, 36; an opponent of centralization, 34; influences arguments of Smilie in Pennsylvania ratifying convention, 36; represents Fayette County at convention of anti-Federalists, 37; friendship with Smilie, 38; drafts resolutions providing for vigorous organization against Constitution, 38, 39. _In Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. _ Elected a delegate from Fayette County, 40; his opposition to alteration of form of government, 41; advocates enlarged popular representation, manhood suffrage, easy naturalization, 42; takes minor part in convention, his high opinion of its ability, 42, 43; after convention, falls into melancholy, 43; wishes to leave America, 43; reproached by Genevese friends with indolence, 43, 44. _In Pennsylvania Legislature. _ Elected to represent Fayette County, 44; describes his legislative career, 45-47; his influence and activity, 45; advocates improved education, 45; supports turnpike, 45; gains reputation by report of Ways and Means Committee, 46; advocates redemption of paper money and financial reform, 46; reports a resolution for abolition of slavery, 47; at first dislikes Philadelphia, later prefers it to New York for democracy, 47, 48; drafts resolutions condemning Hamilton's excise bill, 48; takes part in public meeting in Washington County against the bill, 50; secretary of convention of western counties at Pittsburgh, 52; signs resolutions advocating resistance, 53; draws petition to Congress, 53; returns to Philadelphia to find cause damaged by action of counties, 54; advises evasion of federal writs to arrest, 55; in legislature proposes a township veto on taxation and popular education, 55; wishes to visit Geneva in 1793, 56, 57; views on French Revolution, 56, 57; elected senator in spite of insufficient residence, 58; acquaintance with Dallas, 58; on journey with him, meets Hannah Nicholson, 59; marriage, 59; his family connections by marriage, 59; later business connections with brother-in-law, J. W. Nicholson, 60; takes seat as United States senator, 60; his election protested on ground of insufficient residence, 60, 61; complains of membership of committee to consider case, 61; his exact status, 62; submits statement of facts to Senate, 62; is declared disqualified by narrow majority, 62, 63; his dignified conduct of case, 63; pending the decision, introduces resolution calling upon Hamilton to make a minutely itemized report, 64; probably causes his own expulsion by thus irritating Federalists, 64, 65; later obliged to answer a similar demand from Federalists, 65; not cast down by exclusion, 65; gains increased popularity in Pennsylvania, 65, 66. _In Whiskey Insurrection. _ Takes wife to Fayette County, 67; at outbreak of violence advises distillers to submit to law, 69; his estimate of numbers of insurgents in arms, 73; remains at first aloof from excitement, 75; determines to take control of movement, 75, 76; alarmed at probable excesses of mob and danger of repression, 76; delegate to convention at Parkinson's Ferry, 78; confers with Marshall, 78; chosen secretary, 79; opposes resolution to resist by force, and moves reference of resolutions to a committee, 80; succeeds in modifying resolutions not to obey excise and trial laws, 80; on committee on resolutions, 80; on committee to confer with government commissioners, 81; points out folly of resistance, 81; counsels submission, 81; his eloquent speech, 82, 83; prevents anarchy, 82; charged by J. C. Hamilton with cowardice, 84; his real courage, 84; hastens submission of Fayette County, 85; secures adoption of declaration defending county's action, 85; secretary of meeting at Parkinson's Ferry, which makes complete submission, 89; considered by Federalists to be chief instigator of the insurrection, 90; describes conversation with Dallas, 92; again chosen to legislature and also to Congress, 93; his election to Assembly contested and declared void, 93, 94; in his speech during debate admits error of his course, 94; urges Badollet to secure reëlection of all Western assemblymen, 95; re-elected to legislature, 95; witness before grand jury in trial of prisoners, 96; draws petition to Washington for pardon of offenders, 96; his loyalty to constituents, 96. _Member of Congress. _ Moves appointment of committee on finance to control Treasury, 106; appointed upon it, 106; wishes to put appropriations on permanent footing, 107, 108; refuses to devote military funds to establishing Indian trading posts, 108; opposes habit of appropriating without debate, even to objects already approved, 109; supports resolutions calling for papers in Jay treaty, 110; upholds power of House of Representatives, 111, 112; denies that treaties override discretion of House, 112, 113; appointed to carry call to Washington, 114; claims right of House to participate in treaties, 114; stands beside Madison as leader of debate, 115; insists on separate consideration of treaties, 118; objects to Federalists' threats of war with England, 118, 119; complains of abandonment of "free ships" principle in Jay's treaty, 119; low opinion of Indians, 122; urges resistance to impressment, 122; suggests plan for advantageous sale of public lands, 122; and their use to pay debt, 122; views on taxation, 123; opposes military establishment and navy, 123, 124; laments necessity of payment to United States Bank, 124; attacked for participation in Whiskey Insurrection, 124; makes no reply, 125; criticises conduct of Treasury Department, 125; opposes principle of a national debt, 125; asserts a great increase in public debt, 126; defends assertion against W. Smith, 126; objects to adjournment to pay respects to Washington on birthday, 126; recognized as leader of opposition by Federalists, 127; does not expect or desire renomination, 127; reëlected to Congress, 127; becomes leader of Republicans in House, 128; wishes House to compliment Washington personally on his retirement, but not his administration, 129; describes Andrew Jackson's appearance, 129 n. ; insists on payment of indebtedness of States to government, 129; chairman of conference committee, 129; opposes army and navy expenditure, 129, 130; secures passage of bill confining treasury expenditures, 130; in sympathy and confidence of Jefferson, 133; deprecates debating foreign relations, 134; wishes to treat France like other nations, 134; opposes threatening France, 135; joins moderate Republicans in voting with Federalists for address to President, 136; opposes appropriation for defense, 137; objects to employment of frigates, 137; favors defense of ports and harbors only, 137; opposes salt duty, 137; and excessive loans, 137; points out method of impeachment in Blount case, 138; describes his desire for moderation, 138; calls Federalists aristocrats, 139; votes against presenting answer to message in person, 140; now acknowledged leader of Republicans, 140; presents anti-slavery petitions from Pennsylvania, 140; his opinion of use of foreign coins, 140; estimate of specie in United States, 141; opposes proposal to expel Lyon, 141; on executive power of appointment, 142; wishes to abandon foreign political intercourse, 143; upholds power of House to check executive through appropriations, 143; makes elaborate speech on checks of legislature on executive, 144-146; and on necessity of abstention from European politics, 145; practical drawbacks to his theory, 147; his speech circulated by party, 147; opposes war measures against France, 148; supports call for papers of envoys to France, 148; presents petition against authorizing private citizens to arm vessels, 149; opposes bill to authorize President to arm convoys, 149; prefers submission to French outrages rather than war, 150, 151; attacked by Allen of Connecticut, his reply, 150, 151; opposes non-intercourse with France, 151; declares Sedition Bill unconstitutional, 152; high words with Harper over Alien Bill, 152; taunted by Harper, 152; opposes declaration of state of relations by Congress, 153; votes against abrogating treaty with France, 154; continues to harass Wolcott in the Treasury, 154; his even temper, 154; opposes bill to punish correspondence with foreign princes, 155, 156; opposes bill to incite French West Indies to revolt, 156, 157; opposes authorization of President to suspend commerce in certain cases, 157; opposes building ships of the line, 157; tries to defeat or ameliorate Alien and Sedition Laws, 157, 158; aided in sixth Congress by Nicholas and Macon, 159; votes with Federalists to suspend commercial intercourse with France, 159; opposes proposal to amend Foreign Intercourse Act, 160, 161; opposes bill requiring report from secretary of treasury, because originating in Senate, 161; opposes continuance of non-intercourse, 162; his position in presidential contest in 1800, 164; irritated by influence of S. Smith over Jefferson and Madison, 164; reasons that attempt of Federalists to defeat an election by the House is constitutional, 164, 165; but any president pro tempore would be unconstitutional, 165; suggests course of action for Republicans, 165; probably expects to use violence against Federalists, 166; review of his congressional career, 167; leader of party, yet not a partisan, 167, 168; one of Republican triumvirate, 168; his departure leaves party without a legislative leader, 168. _Secretary of the Treasury: Funding. _ His place as financier in United States history, 170; Jefferson's choice for secretary of treasury, 178, 179; hated by Federalists in Senate, 178; assigned to Treasury by public opinion, 179; doubts his abilities and chances of confirmation by Senate, 180; plans to move to New York, 180; refuses to accept until confirmed by Senate, 181; finally agrees to serve, 181; brings family to Washington and enters on duties, 181, 182; his thoroughness, 182; exhausts himself by his energy, 182; sketch of his financial career in Pennsylvania and in Congress, 183, 184; his one principle the extinguishment of debt, 184; publishes sketch of the finances in 1796, 184; publishes in July, 1800, "Views of Public Debt, " etc. , 184, 185; ability of these essays, 185; outlines policy of expenditures and receipts to Jefferson, 186; endeavors to systematize treasury statements, 186; points out economic reasons for increase of revenue, 187; urges specific appropriations by Congress and absence of departmental discretion, 187; urges reduction, both of debt and of taxes, 188; unable to work with other departments because of Jefferson's habits, 188; lack of elasticity in his plans, 189; embarrassed by complications in department, 189; his first report to Congress, 190; denies existence of any surplus, 190; explains plan for extinction of debt by 1817, 191; given authority by Congress, 192; table showing success of his measures, 192; in spite of Louisiana purchase, reduces debt by one third, 192, 194; dissatisfied with financial terms of Louisiana purchase, 193; novelty of his distinction between place of payment of interest and principal, 195; arranges that Louisiana debt shall not retard payment of old debt, 196, 197; his report of 1805, 107; proposes funding of outstanding obligations in 1807, 198; reports a full Treasury on occasion of threatened war with England, 198; discusses application of surplus to war expenses, 199; suggests methods of war taxation, 200; prefers war to embargo, 201; draws the embargo bill, 201; discusses its financial effect, 201, 202; confident attitude as to war loans, 202; his policy supported by Jefferson, 203; realizes that war will prevent reduction of debt, 203, 204; relies on customs, tonnage dues, and land sales for revenue, 204; reports deficiency owing to embargo, 204; forced to borrow, 204; reviews situation in 1811 with satisfaction, 205, 206; asks for increase of revenue in case of war, 206; proposes war loans, 207; and interest-bearing treasury notes, 207; insists on actual increased receipts, not apparent measures, 207, 208; on necessity of upholding credit, 209; receives authority from Congress, 209; submits war budget, 209, 210; his last annual statement in 1812, 211; reports need of new loans, 212; his personal friends, Parish, Girard, and Astor, save government credit, 213, 214; fails to negotiate loan at par, 214; failure of his hopes to extinguish debt, 215; his policy vindicated by successors, 215; charged with sacrificing defenses of country to reduction of debt, 216; attempted defense of his course by "Democratic Review, " 216; his determination to follow financial principles and not a partisan course, 216, 218; does not invent new sources of revenue, 218; his estimates follow those of Hamilton, 219; estimates permanent revenue, 220; unable to abandon internal revenue, 220; does not protest against its abolition by Congress, 221; does not alter estimates in spite of increase of revenue, 221; proposes additional tax to meet war with Tripoli, 222; applies surplus as far as possible to Louisiana purchase, 222; political effect of his success during Jefferson's first term, 223; in 1805 raises estimate of permanent revenue, 223; impresses economy upon other departments, 223; prepares scheme of internal improvements, 224; after Chesapeake affair recommends borrowing, 224; and doubling duties in case of war, 225; receipts during his second term, 226; his warning of diminished resources in future ignored by Jefferson, 226; estimates for 1809, 228; points out necessity of submitting to war or loss of foreign trade, 228, 229; promises not to use internal taxes, 229; reports diminished income and deficiency in 1809, 230; declares for a strict enforcement or abandonment of embargo, 230; disgusted at refusal of Congress to recharter United States Bank, 231; tenders resignation to Madison, 231; obliged to remain for lack of possible successor, 231; continues to advocate increased customs, 232; points out that, had his recommendations been followed in 1809, there would have been a large surplus, 232, 233; forces Congress to choose between a bank or internal taxes, 233, 234; himself proposes internal taxes, 234; his last report predicts deficiency and asks a loan, 235; his recommendations of internal taxes disregarded, 235; his previous use of Hamilton's internal taxes, 235; his suggestions followed in 1813, 236; connection with sale of public lands, 238; unable fully to utilize this resource, 239; earliest public advocate of free trade, 240; later in career becomes leader of cause, 241; his part in convention of 1831, 241; draws memorial to Congress, 242; his views followed in tariff of 1846, 242; opposed to protection, 242; violently attacked by Clay, who apologizes, 242; introduces reforms in annual report, 245; tries to induce Congress and departments to adopt scheme of minute appropriations, 245, 246; carries system into his own household, 246; effects of his methods, 247; on Jefferson's dislike of banks, 251; his report of 1809 on Hamilton's bank, 252, 253; suggests its renewal, with modifications, 253, 254; his testimony as to its value, 255, 256; estimate as to state banks in 1811, 258; describes hostility of Astor to bank, 259; left, by failure to renew bank charter, at mercy of capitalists, 260; his opinion that absence of bank caused suspension of specie payments in 1815, 262; on Jefferson's proposal to issue paper money, 264; his success a vindication of Federalist finance, 266; opinion of services of second national bank, 266; declines offer of secretaryship in 1816, 266, 267; urges Madison to restore specie payment, 267; declines position as president of Bank of United States in 1822, 268; prepares statement of relative value of gold and silver, 268; writes "Considerations on Currency and Banking, " 268; advocates use of specie and limited use of paper money, 268; accepts presidency of National Bank of New York, 269; his opinion of Jackson, 270; his bank involved in panic of 1837, 272; conducts resumption, 273; chairman of committee of banks, 273; submits reports, 275; declines presidency of Bank of Commerce, 276; resigns presidency of National Bank, 277; publishes "Suggestions on Banks and Currency, " 277; condemns paper money, 277; declines offer of Treasury Department from Tyler, 278; in the cabinet, agrees with Republican leaders on all points except bank, 279, 280; prepares circular announcing disregard of party in appointments, 281; and condemning political influence of officials, 281; his policy opposed by Jefferson, 282; obliged to follow cabinet in policy of partisan appointments, 282; advises early preparation for campaign of 1804, 283; wishes States divided into election districts, 283; criticises annual messages of Jefferson, 283; his proposal to appoint a woman to office condemned by Jefferson, 283; suggests in vain regular cabinet consultations, 283, 284; urges payment of tribute to Tripoli rather than war, 284; opinion asked on points of constitutional law, 284; holds inherent right of United States to acquire territory, 285; disapproves of Texas annexation, 285; advises Jefferson concerning Louisiana treaty, 285, 286; attacked by Duane, for not turning out Federalists, 286; absence of favoritism in his appointments, 286, 287; supervises sale of lands, 287; acquaintance with Chôteau, 278; drafts promise of protection for Astor's fur trade, 288; opposes vainly Jefferson's gunboat scheme, 289; submits plan of defense against England, 289; urges moderate tone in message, 290; devises scheme of internal improvements, 290; doubts success of a National University, 291; opposes a permanent embargo, 291; prepares Campbell's report urging resistance, 292; receives authority from Congress to enforce non-intercourse, 293; favors war, 293; submits "Notes on Political Situation, " 294; opposes ordering out naval force in favor of letters of marque, 294; his appointment as secretary of state prevented by Republican opponents in Senate, 294, 295; continues to advise Madison, 295; his measures meet opposition in Senate, 295; deserted by Madison in his attempt to secure re-chartering of bank, 296; tenders resignation, 296; bitterly attacked in "Aurora, " 297; accused of dominating Madison and of corruption, 297, 298; considered by Jefferson ablest man in administration except Madison, 298; unable to command support in Congress, submits to war policy, 298, 299; asks leave of absence and appointment as minister to Russia, 299; attempts made to alienate him from Jefferson and Madison, 299; his high regard for Jefferson, 300; continued good terms with Madison, 300. _Minister to Russia; Treaty of Ghent. _ His voyage with Bayard, 301; visits Gottenburg and Copenhagen, 301; at St. Petersburg meets J. Q. Adams, 302; his knowledge of history, 302; lack of diplomatic experience as compared with Adams, 302; contrast in character with Adams, 303; considers peace necessary because of inefficiency in conduct of war, 303; abandons his former opposition to a navy, 303; low opinion of English diplomacy, 304; view of necessity of an English renunciation of impressment, 305; writes to Barings, 305; receives Baring's reply, 306, 307; explains case to Romanzoff, 307; assured by Moreau of imperial sympathy, 308; warned by him of England's purposes, 308; writes to Monroe asking instructions, 308, 309; informs Baring of inability to negotiate except through Russia, 309; writes to Moreau, 309, 310; instructs Dallas as to duties in London, 310; receives news of refusal of Senate to confirm his nomination, 310; contemplates visit to London, 311; hears that British government proposes to treat directly, 311; unable to return home, 312; journey to Amsterdam, 312; not at first included in second commission, but later added, 312; visits London, 313; learns of arrival of Clay and Russell, 313; urges Lafayette to mediate, 313; wishes to change place of negotiation from Gottenburg, 314; urges Crawford to secure interposition of emperor, 315; receives letter from Lafayette through Humboldt, promising aid, 315; makes official appeal to emperor, 315; learns of refusal of England to admit intervention, 316; warns Monroe of English preparations, 316; visits Paris, 316; meets British commissioners at Ghent, 316; notifies Monroe of determination of England to dismember United States and attack New Orleans, 317, 318; despairs of peace, 318; draws reply of commissioners rejecting British demands, 319; explains reasons for willingness to discuss Indian article, 319, 320; condemns burning of public buildings at Washington, 320; expresses confidence in American securities, 320; has difficulty in mediating between Clay and Adams on fisheries and Mississippi navigation, 322, 323; proposes engagement to abandon use of savages in future war, 323; the credit of treaty due to him, 324; his diplomatic skill, 324; wins European admiration, 325; visits Geneva, 325, 326; sees Napoleon during Hundred Days, 326; appointed minister to France, 326; with Clay and Adams negotiates commercial convention, 326, 327; friendly attitude of Castlereagh toward, 326; on value of abolition of discriminating duties, 327; returns to New York, 327; withholds acceptance of French mission, 327; describes to Jefferson European opinion of United States, 327; describes condition of France after Revolution, 327, 328; does not consider republican form of government suitable everywhere, 328; weary of politics, declines nomination to Congress, 329; declines French mission on ground of poverty, 329; finally yields to Monroe's requests, 329; refuses offer of Treasury Department, his reasons, 330; rejoicings of Jefferson over his appointment, 331. _Minister to France. _ Received by Richelieu, 331; discusses American sympathy for Bonaparte, 331, 332; received by Louis XVIII. , 332; familiar relations with royal family, 332; negotiates for indemnity for seizures, 332; annoyed by French demand for dismissal of a disrespectful American postmaster, 333; advises Adams and Eustis in negotiations, 333; returns to Paris, 334; with Rush conducts negotiations with England, 334, 335; tries to explain Jackson's occupation of Pensacola, 336; refuses to mediate with France between Spain and revolted colonies, 336; points out disadvantages of war with Spain, 337; succeeds in pacifying French indignation at seizure of Apollon, 338; does not adopt Adams's line of defense, 338; Adams's opinion of, in diary, 338, 339; his opinion of Adams, 329; continues to negotiate with regard to commerce, 340; loath to return without success, 340; criticises Adams's terms of French treaty as unfavorable, but advises signing, 340; fails to secure satisfaction and returns to America, 341; settles at Friendship Hill, 341; pressed by Monroe to return to France, 341, 342; declines mission to Panama Congress, 342. _Minister to England. _ Appointed envoy and minister, with liberty to return on completion of negotiations, 342, 343; secures modification of instructions, 343; complains of peremptory character of instructions, 344; his voyage, 344; dislike of English and French diplomacy, 344; learns of English resentment at tone of American ministers, 344, 345; negotiates with Canning, 345; asks for instructions as to renewal of convention of 1815, 345; pleased with ability of Lawrence as _chargé d'affaires_, 346; his threat of war quoted by Chateaubriand, 346; warned by Adams to yield nothing, 346; concludes negotiation with Goderich, 347; thinks Canning meant to discuss impressment, 247; returns to America, congratulated by Adams, 348; his social life in London, 348; ready to accept French mission in 1834, 349; prepares argument in Northeastern boundary arbitration, 349; publishes an account of facts in the case, 349; visited by Ashburton, 350; publishes pamphlet on Oregon question, 351; presides at meeting to protest against annexation of Texas, 351; condemns Mexican war, 352; publishes pamphlet concerning it, 352; condemns "manifest destiny" talk, 352, 353. _Republican Leader. _ His opinion of contemporary political leaders, 355, 356; prefers Crawford to Adams, 356; requests Macon to take part in caucus for Crawford, 356; thinks universal suffrage compensates for dangers of consolidation, 356; accepts reluctantly nomination for vice-president, 357; dislikes formality of nomination, 357; withdraws to help ticket, 358; considers the election to prove decease of Republican party, 359; condemns Jackson's violations of law, 359; favors an insignificant or weak executive, 359; visits Washington in 1829, notes disappearance of old régime, 330. _Society, Literature, Science. _ His land speculations not profitable, 351; plans Genevese Colonization Association, 361; loses money through Morris's failure, 362; speculates in Virginia military lands, 362; estimates value of estates, 362, 363; ill at ease in general society, 363; his establishment at Washington described by Irving, 363; house burned by British, 364; builds at Friendship Hill, finds it lonely in winter, 364; visited by Lafayette in 1825, 364, 365; settles permanently in New York, 365; frequent changes of residence, 365; devotes last years to scientific studies, 366; conversational ability, 366; chosen member of "The Club, " 366, 367; leads conversation, 367; described by Irving, 368; wishes to establish free university in New York, 368; presides over council of New York University, 369; resigns, owing to clerical opposition, 370; continued interest in French politics, 370; letter of Lafayette to, on marriage of his daughter, 371; assists Polish refugees, 372; interested in Indian customs, 373, 374; writes for Humboldt a synopsis of Indian tribes, 374; publishes Indian vocabularies, 375; issues circulars inviting information, 375; correspondence with individuals, 375, 376; republishes Synopsis, 377; scientific character of his results, 377, 378; his advice requested concerning Smithson's bequest, 378; its publications submitted to him, 378, 379; founds American Ethnological Society, 379; defrays cost of publishing its transactions, 379; essay on nations of Mexico and Central America, 380; authorizes General Scott to purchase documents in Mexico, 380; writes introduction to Hale's "Indians of Northwest America, " 380; gathers information regarding gold in America for Humboldt, 381; describes his reasons for success, 381; his caution in reasoning, 382; fails to establish a literary periodical, 382; chosen president of New York Historical Society, 382; his inaugural address on course of United States History, 382-384; opinion of Washington, 383, 384; friendly greeting to Adams in 1844, 384; eulogized by Adams, 384, 385; his party career contrasted with that of Adams, 385; personal appearance and portraits, 385, 386; crushed by loss of wife, 387; death, 387; eulogized by Bradish before Historical Society, 388; acknowledges indebtedness to Bentham, 388; his brain, 389; summary of character and services, 389. _Characteristics. _ General estimates, 1, 388, 389; unfriendly views of, 90, 297, 338; his own estimate, 381; ambition, 5, 10, 58, 127, 180, 328; business ability, 28, 60, 361, 362; cosmopolitanism, 7, 389; courage, 75, 76, 84; debt, aversion to, 21; diplomatic ability, 303, 324, 325, 330, 345; financial ability, 45, 179, 185, 215; friendliness, 24, 30, 300, 372; geography, love of, 16; history, love of, 3, 302; indolence, 43; leadership, 128, 133, 159, 167, 357; literary interest, 382; maturity, early, 31; partisanship, 140, 147, 167; personal appearance, 385, 386, 389; political shrewdness, 76, 95, 128, 357; social habits, 44, 348, 363, 367, 368; temper, evenness of, 65, 152, 154, 303, 324; thoroughness, 182, 381. _Political Opinions. _ Alien Bill, 152, 158; appointments to office, 281, 282, 286, 359; army, 108, 123, 129, 180, 303; Bank of United States, 231, 252-256, 262, 266, 296; banking, 256, 268, 273, 277; cabinet, 188, 222, 245, 283; coinage, 140, 268; Congress, powers of, 109, 110, 112, 143, 144, 153, 161; constitution of Pennsylvania, 41, 42; debt, public, 45, 125, 126, 191, 203, 205, 208, 222, 269; democracy, 6, 8, 10, 33, 34, 42, 48, 55, 126, 389; education, 45, 291, 368-370; election of 1800, 164-166; embargo, 201, 206, 230, 291; England, diplomacy of, 304, 344; England, policy toward, 228, 292, 310, 327, 337, 343-347; ethnology, 373-381; excise, 53, 80; executive, 144-146, 359; Federalist party, 119, 129, 139, 140, 164, 179; financial measures of Hamilton, 184, 185; foreign correspondence bill, 155; foreign ministers, 142, 143, 145, 147; France, diplomacy of, 304, 344; France, policy toward, 134, 135, 148, 149, 157, 159, 167, 310, 332, 333, 338, 340; free trade, 240-243; French Revolution, 56, 76, 139, 328; gunboat scheme, 289; impeachment, 138; Indians, 108, 122, 320, 323, 373-381; internal improvements, 45, 224, 290; Jacksonian democracy, 359; Jay treaty, 119, 136; manifest destiny, 352; Mexican war, 352; military matters, 137, 289; money, relation to wealth, 260; navy, 123, 124, 130, 137, 186, 303; northeastern boundary, 347-349; northwest boundary, 343, 347, 351; panic of 1815, 262; paper money, 46, 207, 264, 267, 268; party management, 38, 41, 95, 128, 164, 359; peace, 149, 150, 167, 284; public lands, 46, 122, 238, 239; Republican party, 355, 359; revenue, internal, 221, 233, 234; revenue, sources of, 187, 223, 232; Sedition Act, 152, 158, 159; slavery, 47, 140; Spain, policy toward, 336, 337; suffrage, 42; surplus, use of, 206, 216; taxation, 123, 199, 200; Texas annexation, 351; territory, constitutional power to acquire, 285; Treasury, administration of, 64, 106-108, 125, 130, 154, 189, 205, 208, 217, 245-247; treaty of Ghent, 317, 318, 319, 323; treaty power, 114; United States, history of, 382, 383; war of 1812, 320; war finances, 190, 200, 203, 207, 208, 222, 224, 229, 232, 234, 298; Whiskey Insurrection, 94. Gallatin family, 2; prominence in Geneva, 2; military reputation, 2; interest in all its members, 8; on oligarchic side in Genevese politics, 10; alarmed at report of Gallatin's death, 27; visited by Gallatin in 1814, 326; claims Roman descent, 386 n. Gallatin, Frances, marries B. K. Stevens, 371; Lafayette's letter of congratulation to, 371; considered "a beauty" at French court, 372. Gallatin, James, accompanies his father to Europe, 301. Gallatin, Jean, father of Albert Gallatin, 2; his death, 2. Gallatin, P. M. , guardian of Albert, 10; his kindness on Gallatin's departure for America, 11; promises to aid him, and forwards letters of recommendation, 11. Gallatin, Susanne Vaudenet, grandmother of Gallatin, her character, 7; friend of Frederick of Hesse-Cassel and of Voltaire, 7; controlling spirit of family, 8; quarrels with Albert over his refusal of a Hessian commission, 8. Gambier, Lord, on English peace commission, 316. Gardner, John L. , at free-trade convention, 241. Genet, Edmond C. , effect of his intemperance on parties, 57; marries daughter of George Clinton, 102; aids Democratic societies, 102; condemned by Federalists, 134. Geneva, place of Gallatin family in, 2; education in, 2, 3; religious spirit of, 3; a resort of foreigners, 4; political situation in, 6, 7, 10; parties in, 10; revolutions in, 20, 361; government of, 33; visited by Gallatin, 325, 326; colonization from, planned by Gallatin, 361. Geneva Academy, studies of Gallati in, 2, 3; his friends at, 4, 5. Germans, in Pennsylvania, oppose improvement of education, 45. Gerry, Elbridge, on French mission, 139; remains to negotiate loan, 152. Gibbs, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Gilbert, Ezekiel, on Committee on Finance, 107. Giles, William B. , Republican leader in debate, his character, 100, 133; bitterly opposes address to Washington, 128, 129; in debate on relations with France, 135; loses leadership to Gallatin, 140. Gilman, Nicholas, on Committee on Finance, 106. Girard, Stephen, assists Gallatin to float loan, 213, 214; his reasons, 259. Goderich, Lord, renews convention of 1815 with Gallatin, 347. Goldberg, ----, Dutch commissioner to make commercial treaty, 334. Goodhue, Jonathan, at free-trade convention of 1831, 241. Goodhue, ----, member of "The Club, " 367. Goodrich, Chauncy, in Congress, 99; in debate on foreign relations, 143; on resolution to punish foreign correspondence, 156. Goulburn, Henry, on English peace commission, 316; informed of American request for instructions, 318; told by Castlereagh and Liverpool to moderate his demands, 319; protests against acceptance of Indian article, 321. Grenville, Lord, sends Fauchet letter to Washington, 103; connection with Jay treaty, 117, 350; his proposition to Pinckney, 134. Griswold, Roger, attacks Gallatin's account of sinking fund, 65; leader of Federalists in House, 98, 133; replies to Gallatin in debate on treaty power, 113; his collision with Lyon, 141; on doctrine of checks, 143; on bill to punish foreign correspondence, 156; on Senate bill to require annual financial reports, 161. Gunboats, Jefferson's scheme for, 288; origin of his idea, 288; opposed by Gallatin, 289. Gurney, ----, in Pennsylvania legislature, 183. Hale, ----, introduction to his work on Indians written by Gallatin, 380. Hamilton, Alexander, his career compared to that of Gallatin, 28, 32; amends excise law, 52; demands punishment of Pittsburgh leaders of opposition, 53, 54; drafts proclamation against them, 54; attacked by Gallatin in Senate, 64; deprecates demand for minute information, 64, 65; submits plan for crushing insurgents, 76, 77; impatient at delay, writes as "Tully" advocating punishment, 87; accompanies army to Pittsburgh, 88; investigates insurrection, 90; fails to find indictment against Gallatin, 90; dissuades troops from violence, 92; resigns from Treasury, 97; continues to lead party, 99; stoned in defending Jay treaty, 103; letters of Wolcott to, complaining of Republican opposition, 126, 154; attends Congress as general, 155; his influence on government, 168, 169; review of his career in the Treasury, 174-176; his place in history, 176; his enmity to Gallatin, 179; attacks of Gallatin upon his system, 184, 185; his revenue system maintained by Gallatin, 218, 234; and reënacted by Democrats in 1813, 235; his report on public lands, 237, 238; his organization of Treasury Department, 243; his financial reports, 245; on Bank of North America, 249; his report on national bank, 250, 251. Hamilton, J. C. , accuses Gallatin of cowardice in Whiskey Rebellion, 84. Harper, Robert Goodloe, leader of Federalists in House, 98, 133; denounces call for Jay treaty papers as unconstitutional, 111, 112; closes argument on Federalist side, 114; recognizes Gallatin as leader of Republicans, 115; in debate on relations with France, 134, 135; called a "bungler" by Gallatin, 140; moves appropriation for foreign intercourse, 141; his share in debate, 142, 146; introduces bill to suspend intercourse with France, 151; altercation with Gallatin over Alien Bill, 152; on resolution to furnish foreign correspondence, 156; on Senate bill to require annual financial reports, 161. Harvard College, gives Gallatin permission to teach French, 17; his connection with, 18; gives Gallatin certificate, 18. Hassler, Ferdinand Rudolph, superintendent of coast survey, 290. Hawks, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Henry, Patrick, recommends Gallatin to county surveyor and commissions him to locate lands, 24; advises Gallatin to go West, predicts success, 29. Henry, Prof. Joseph, letter of Gallatin to, on Squier and Davis's "Ancient Monuments, " 379. Hillhouse, James, Federalist in Congress, 99; on committee on finance, 107. Holland, vain attempt to sign commercial treaty with, 334; arbitrates northeast boundary, 347, 349; its decision rejected, 349. House of Representatives, leaders of, in 1795, 98-100; debate in, over conduct of Washington's administration, 104-106; appoints Committee on Finance, 106, 107; debate in, on principle of appropriations, 108, 109; motion of Livingston to call for papers in Jay treaty brings on debate on treaty power, 109-114; asserts right to withhold appropriations, 115; considers foreign treaties separately, 118; debates Jay treaty, 118-121; votes to carry treaty into effect, 121; but condemns it, 121; refuses to adjourn on Washington's birthday, 126; adopts address complimentary to Washington, 129; new members in fifth Congress, 132; debates President's message on relations with France, 133-136; votes to support administration, 136; considers measures of defense, 137; impeaches Blount, 138; entertained by Adams, 140; encounter in, between Lyon and Griswold, 141; debate in, on foreign missions, 141, 142; on relation of executive to Congress, 142-147; rejects amendment to abolish foreign missions, 147; debates war with France, 148; requests President to furnish correspondence of envoys to France, 148; receives X Y Z dispatches, 149; altercation in, between Gallatin and Allen, 150; passes Alien Bill, 152; message of Adams to, on resumption of diplomatic intercourse with France, 152; passes bill abrogating treaty with France, 154; debates and passes bill to punish foreign correspondence, 155, 156; debates and passes bills to favor French West Indies, and punish Spanish and Dutch ports, 156, 157; refuses to repeal Sedition Act, 157; new members in sixth Congress, 158; replies to President's address, 158; refuses to repeal Sedition Law, 159; passes bill to suspend intercourse with France, 159, 160; votes a medal to Truxton, 160; refuses to amend Foreign Intercourse Act, 160, 161; debates and passes Senate bill to require annual Treasury reports, 161; refuses to continue non-intercourse, 162; again rejects bill to amend Sedition Act, 162; part played by Gallatin in, 167, 168; investigates Wolcott's management of Treasury, 177. Howell, Richard, leads New Jersey militia against Whiskey Rebellion, 88. Humboldt, Baron Alexander von, aided in study of precious metals in America by Gallatin, 278, 374, 381; brings Lafayette's letter to Gallatin, 315; meets Gallatin in Washington, 315; speaks of Gallatin's "glory, " 325; letter to Gallatin, 381. Husbands, Herman, on committee on resolutions of Parkinson's Ferry meeting, 80. Huskisson, William, on impressment, 347. Impressment, Gallatin's opinion of, 122; its abandonment by England insisted on by Monroe, 305; refused consideration by England, 322, 327, 335, 347. Indians, relations of Gallatin with, at Machias, 15; trading posts with, opposed by Gallatin, 108; Wayne's treaty with, 117, 118; danger of war with, in 1795, 120, 121; Gallatin's opinion of, 122; influence of Chôteau over, 287; fur trade of Astor with, 288; proposals of England concerning, in treaty of Ghent, 317, 319, 321; studies of Gallatin concerning, 373-378; the Canadian Indians, 373; tribes of, classified by Jefferson, 374; "Synopsis of Indian Tribes" by Gallatin, 374; vocabularies collected by Gallatin, 375, 376; studies of Du Ponceau concerning, 377; republication of Gallatin's "Synopsis, " 377; his essay on Indian civilization, 380; his introduction to Hale's work on, 380. Ingham, Samuel D. , report of Gallatin to, on gold and silver, 268. Internal improvements, Gallatin's scheme for, 224, 290; urged by Jefferson, 226, 227, 290; inconsistency of Jefferson, 227. Irish, petition against Sedition Act, 157. Irving, Washington, describes Mrs. Gallatin's manners and appearance, 363, 364; describes Gallatin in old age, 368. Jackson, Andrew, votes against complimentary address to Washington, 129; his appearance described by Gallatin, 129 n. ; orders removal of deposits, 270; Gallatin's opinion of, 270, 355; occupies Pensacola, 336; refuses to appoint Gallatin to French mission, 349; candidate for president in 1824, 358; defeated for president by Adams, 358; his idea of party, 359; Gallatin's opinion of, 359; character of his presidency, 360. Jackson, F. J. , his mission to United States, 295. Jay, John, asked by Jefferson for information concerning Gallatin, 27; drafts letter for New York Convention calling for a new convention, 37 n. ; burnt in effigy after his treaty, 103; his purpose in making treaty, 117; said by Sheffield to have duped Grenville, 117; his warning remark to Randolph during negotiations, 118; attacked by Gallatin, 119. Jay, William, member of "The Club, " 366. Jay treaty, ratified, 102; made public by Mason, 103; popular dissatisfaction with, 103, 116; sent to House, 109; condemned in England, 117; debate over, 118-121. Jefferson, Thomas, in behalf of Gallatin family writes to Jay for information concerning Albert Gallatin, 27; countersigns Washington's proclamation against excise rioters, 54; retires from cabinet, 97, 99; rupture with Hamilton, 99; imbued with French principles, 102; ridiculed as a sans-culotte, 104; influence complained of by Wolcott, 127; tries to moderate bitterness of Republicans, 128; Gallatin known to be in his confidence, 133; complains of weakness of Congress, 138; unable to influence Senate, 139; loses taste for French alliance, 139; thinks Sedition Bill aimed at Gallatin, 152; praises Gallatin's courage, 158; receives tie vote with Burr, 163; probably makes bargain with Federalists, 164; his inexplicable submission to Smith, 164; elected, 167; in triumvirate with Madison and Gallatin, 168; represents social equality, 169; his suggestions on coinage, 172; urges Gallatin to accept Treasury Department, 178-180; letter to Macon, 182; suggestions of Gallatin to, on financial policy, 186; not a practical statesman, 188; does not consult cabinet as a whole, 188; letters of Gallatin to, on finances, 189, 193, 201, 203, 216; summons Congress to ratify Louisiana purchase, 195; reëlection helped by finances and Louisiana treaty, 197, 198, 223; urges Gallatin to retain post until extinction of debt, 203; wishes reduction of army and navy, 220; advocates application of surplus to internal improvement, 226; in so doing abandons his principles, 227; detests bank, 233, 251, 280; proposes impracticable economies in Treasury Department, 244; suggests issue of paper money, 264; an abandonment of republican principles, 266; introduces new principles of administration into government, 279; opposes Gallatin's civil service circular, 281; proposes to fill one half of offices with partisans, 282; submits draft of annual message to cabinet, 283; objects to appointing a woman to office, 283; lack of system in his cabinet, 284; does not consult Gallatin on military matters, 284; agrees with Gallatin's view on acquisition of territory, 285 advised by Gallatin concerning Louisiana treaty, 285; unfortunate in choice of political methods, 286; friendly with Duane, 286; promises to protect Astor, 288; his gunboat scheme, 288, 289; origin of his views on gunboats, 288; his plan of internal improvements, 290; recommends national university, 291; wishes amendments to Constitution, 291; advised by Gallatin not to rely on "general welfare" clause of Constitution, 291; shirks responsibility of decision with regard to English policy, 291, 292; urged by Gallatin to enforce non-intercourse, 293; calls Gallatin ablest man in administration except Madison, 298; regard of Gallatin for, 300; his love for Gallatin, 300; letters of Gallatin to, on reputation of United States in Europe, 327; on France, 327, 328; letter of Gallatin to, on difficulty of withdrawal from public service, 329; rejoices in Gallatin's acceptance of French mission, 331; his opinion of Louis XVIII. , 331; relations with de Tracy, 331; supports Crawford for presidency, 356; favors state rights, 356; does not appreciate decay of his party, 358; on non-sectarian education, 369; his remarks on Indians in "Notes on Virginia, " 374; on Washington's strong passions, 383 n. Johannot, ----, educated at Geneva, 4, 17. Johnston, ----, member of "The Club, " 366. Jones, William, secretary of navy, 312. Kent, Chancellor James, member of "The Club, " 366. King, Charles, member of "The Club, " 367. King, Rufus, resigns mission to England, 342; tone of his correspondence, 345. Kinloch, Francis, educated at Geneva, 4; letter to, given by Mlle. Pictet to Gallatin, 11. Kirkpatrick, Major, defends United States marshal in Whiskey Insurrection, 68; his farm burnt by rioters, 73. Kittera, Thomas, moves hostile amendment to pro-French resolution, 135. Knox, Henry, resigns from War Department, 97. Kosciusko, his nephew helped by Gallatin, 372. Kramer brothers, in business with Gallatin, 60. Lands, public, in Pennsylvania, 46; suggestions of Gallatin as to improved methods of sale, 122, 123; how acquired, 237; sales under Hamilton and successors, 238; organization of sales by Gallatin, 238, 239, 287. Land speculation, in Virginia, 20, 21, 24, 361; in Ohio, 362. Lafayette, Marquis de, his motives for aiding colonies, 9; his imprisonment, 102; saved by gunboats in 1781, 288, 289, 371; urged by Gallatin to help mediate between England and United States, 313; urges emperor of Russia to exert personal influence with England, 315; sends letter to Gallatin, 315; letter of Gallatin to, on French government, 328; visits Pennsylvania, 364; entertained by Lafayette at Friendship Hill, 365; his part in Revolution of 1830, 370, 371, 372; interested in marriage of Gallatin's daughter, 371; letter to Gallatin, 371, 372. La Pérouse, meets Gallatin at Machias, 16; later meets him in Boston, 16. Laurens, John, educated at Geneva, 4. La Vengeance, captured by Constellation, 160. Lawrence, William B. , gives anecdote of Washington and Gallatin, 22; accompanies Gallatin to England, 344; his ability as secretary, 346; presides at anniversary meeting of New York Historical Society, 384. Lee, Henry, commands militia against Whiskey Rebellion, 88; requires oath of allegiance, 89; orders seizure of leaders, 90. Lee, Thomas, founder of Ohio company, 20. Legislature of Pennsylvania, calls Constitutional Convention, 40; Gallatin's career in, 45-47, 55, 60; rejects bill to improve education, 45; discharges paper money and other debt, 46; elects Gallatin senator, 47, 58; adopts resolutions condemning excise, 48, 49; protests against authorizing vessels to arm, 149; divides electoral vote between Adams and Jefferson, 163; Gallatin's financial report to, 183, 184; offers to take two millions of United States bonds, 214; interferes to regulate Bank of North America, 250; charters Bank of United States, 271. Leopard, captures Chesapeake, 224. Lesdernier, M. De, flies from Nova Scotia to Machias, 14; welcomes Gallatin, 14; on good terms with Indians, 16; attempt of Gallatin to obtain a pension for, 30; letter of Gallatin to, 154; introduces Gallatin to Indians, 373. Lesdernier, Madame de, persuades Gallatin to visit Machias, 14. Lieven, Count, Russian minister at London, 308; his friendship with Gallatin, 348. Lincoln, Levi, views on unconstitutionality of acquiring territory, 285. Livermore, E. S. , on committee to consider Gallatin's eligibility to Senate, 61. Liverpool, Lord, advised by Castlereagh to moderate his demands, 319; does so for fear of healing American dissensions, 319; accepts settlement of Indian question, 321; resolves to prosecute war vigorously, 321; abandons claim to territory and admits defeats, 322; letter of Castlereagh to, 326; death, 347. Livingston, Edward, prominent Republican in Congress, 100; his precocity, 100; calls for instructions for Jay, 109, 110; votes against complimentary address to Washington, 129; attacks Adams's foreign policy, 135, 136; presents petitions against Alien and Sedition Laws, 157. Livingston, Robert R. , arranges terms of Louisiana purchase, 193. Lorillard, Jacob, at free trade convention, 1831, 241. Loring, Captain, takes Gallatin to America, 11. Louis XVI. , executed, 56. Louis XVIII. , Jefferson's opinion of, 331; gives audience to Gallatin, 332; his intimacy with Gallatin and his sarcasm, 332. Louisiana, financial effect of its purchase, 192, 193, 195, 196, 222; effect of its acquisition on England, 224; constitutional question involved, 285, 286; occupation of, arranged by Gallatin, 286, 287. Lynn, Mary, keeps boarding-house in Philadelphia, 19. Lyon, Matthew, his collision with Griswold, 141; defended by Gallatin, 141. Machias, expedition of Gallatin to, 14, 15; life at, 15, 16, 17. Macon, Nathanael, votes against complimentary address to Washington, 129; aids Gallatin in sixth Congress, 159; moves repeal of Sedition Law, 159; opposes non-intercourse with France, 159, 160; letter of Jefferson to, 182; letter to Nicholson, 293; tries to pass Navigation Act against English and French decrees, 296; on decay of democratic principles in 1824, 356, 358. Madison, James, secures adoption of ten amendments, 40; abandons Federalists through Jefferson's influence, 99; leads Republicans in House, 100; weakness in debate, 100; drafts address to Washington, 105; on Committee on Finance, 106; advocates bill to establish trading posts with Indians, 108; moves to amend call for Jay papers, 111; interprets treaty power in Constitution in Jay treaty debate, 113, 115; attacks Jay treaty, 118; influence complained of by Wolcott, 127; not reëlected to Congress, 133; his inexplicable submission to Smith, 164; in triumvirate with Jefferson and Gallatin, 168; his weakness as financier, 179; summons Congress, 205; anxious to evade responsibility for peace or war, 205; communications on finance from Gallatin, 212, 259; his indecision as to financial situation, 230; does not accept Gallatin's resignation, 231; realizes indispensableness of Gallatin to him, 231; agrees with Gallatin as to minute appropriations, 245; vetoes bill to incorporate national bank, 265; signs a second bill, 265; his inconsistency, 266; urged by Gallatin to restore specie payment, 267; opposes Gallatin's civil service circular, 281; not superior on constitutional points to Gallatin, 284; refuses to support Astor's plans, 288; consults with Gallatin on inaugural address, 294; forced by senators to abandon plan to make Gallatin secretary of state, 294, 295; unable to control party, 295; favors England as against France, 295; fails to support Gallatin, his inexcusable weakness, 296; compelled to choose between Smith and Gallatin, 297; efforts of Duane to poison his mind against Gallatin, 297; not qualified to be a war president, 298, 299; sends Gallatin on Russian mission with leave of absence, 299; appoints Duane adjutant-general, 299; continues on good terms with Gallatin, 300; accepts English offer of direct negotiation, 312; appoints a new commission, 312; intends Gallatin for head of commission, 312; names Gallatin minister to France, 326; thanked by Gallatin, 327; leaves him at liberty to decide, 329; offers Gallatin secretaryship of treasury, 330; favors Crawford for presidency, 356. Malesherbes, C. G. De L. De, his courage compared to that of Gallatin, 84. "Manifest Destiny, " Gallatin's opinion of, 352, 353. Marie Antoinette, executed, 56. Marshall, James, represents Fayette County in anti-excise proceedings, 51, 52, 69; joins Bradford in calling out militia, 70; his resolutions at Parkinson's Ferry meeting disapproved by Gallatin, 78, 79; withdraws them, 80; on committee to confer with United States commissioners, 81. Marshall, John, offers Gallatin a place in his office, 29; on French mission, 139, 152; elected to Congress, 158; announces death of Washington, 158; draws reply to Adams's address, 158. Mason, S. T. , makes Jay treaty public, 103. Mathews, Rev. Mr. , member of "The Club, " 367. Mayer, member of Ethnological Society, 379. McClanachan, Blair, chairman of anti-Federalist Conference, 38; his ultra-democratic remarks to Adams, 138. McDuffie, George, estimates profits of bankers on state bank circulation, 263. McKean, Thomas, in Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 43; suggests sending a commission to confer with Whiskey insurgents, 77; asked to prevent civil war in 1800, 166. McLane, Louis, reports extinction of national debt, 269. McVickar, ----, member of "The Club, " 366. Mexico, war with, Gallatin's opinion of, 352. Middleton, Henry, at free trade convention of 1831, 241. Mifflin, Thomas, in Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 43; deprecates use of force against Whiskey Rebellion, 77; summons legislature and obtains authority to employ militia, 88; succeeds by personal influence in filling ranks, 88. Mirabeau, Vicomte de, friend of Dumont, 5. Mississippi navigation, discussed in treaty of Ghent, 322, 323; in 1818, 335. Mitchell, S. L. , on committee to consider Gallatin's eligibility to Senate, 61. Monroe, James, presents flag to French Convention, 132; arranges terms of Louisiana purchase, 193; supplants Smith as secretary of state, 296, 298; on necessity of renunciation of impressment in treaty of peace, 305; asked by Gallatin for further instructions, 308; receives proposals from England for direct negotiation, 311; asked by commissioners for authority to treat in any place, 314; warned by Gallatin of English war plans, 316, 317, 318; communications of Gallatin to, during negotiations, 319; urges Gallatin not to withdraw from public service, 329; appoints Adams secretary of state, 334; gives Gallatin leave of absence, 341; urges him to return to France, 341. Montgomery, John, connected by marriage with Gallatin, 59, 60. Montmorenci, Vicomte, negotiates with Gallatin, 340; succeeded by Chateaubriand, 340. Moore, ----, member of "The Club, " 366. Moreau, General Jean Victor, career in America and France, 308; assures Gallatin of emperor's friendliness and warns him of British obstinacy, 308; reply of Gallatin, 309; his death, 310, 311. Morgan, Daniel, leads militia against Whiskey Rebellion, 88, 93. Morris, Gouverneur, snubbed by Washington for familiarity, 23; his precocity compared to Gallatin's, 32; suggests decimal system, 172. Morris, Robert, receives drafts for Gallatin, 28; in United States Senate announces intention of neutrality on question of Gallatin's eligibility, 61; but votes against it, 63 n. ; his rank as financier, 170-173; plans Bank of North America, 248, 249; buys land of Gallatin, 361; settles with Gallatin, 362; fails and is imprisoned, 362. Morse, ----, member of "The Club, " 367. Morton, Dr. , member of Ethnological Society, 379. Muhlenberg, Frederick A. , defeated for speaker by Dayton, 98; gives casting vote in favor of Jay treaty appropriations, 121. Müller, Johann von, teaches Gallatin history, 3. Murray, William Vans, prominent Federalist in House, 99; on finance committee, 106; denies discretionary power of House over Jay treaty, 110. Navy, opposed by Gallatin, 123, 124, 130, 137, 157, 186, 188; his course defended, 216; gunboat scheme, 288, 289. Nesselrode, Count, leaves Russian foreign affairs in charge of Romanzoff, 304; inability of Crawford to secure audience with, 315. New England, supports Adams in 1800, 163; refuses to support popular loan, 212, 213; plans disunion, 213; hoards specie, 260, 261; opposes embargo, 293; its secession hoped for by England, 313. New York, calls for a second Federal Convention, 36, 37; Republican in 1800, 163. New York city, first visit of Gallatin to, 18; abandoned by Congress for Philadelphia, 47; protests against Jay treaty, 103; settlement of Gallatin in, 365, 366; social life in, 366-368; attempt of Gallatin to establish a university in, 368, 369. New York Historical Society, presidency of Gallatin, 382; his inaugural address to, 382-384; celebration of its fortieth anniversary, 384; honors Gallatin's memory, 388. Nicholas, John, Republican leader in House, 100; on treaty power, 111; supports Gallatin in advocating specific appropriations, 130; moves amendment to Adams's message, 134; in debate on French relations, 135; desires to limit executive through power over appropriations, 143; aids Gallatin in sixth Congress, 159; opposes non-intercourse with France, 159; resists supposed encroachment of Senate on House, 161; confers with Jefferson and Gallatin on election of 1800, 164. Nicholson family, connected by marriage with Gallatin, 59. Nicholson, Hannah, marries Gallatin, 59; described by him, 59; her relations to her husband, 59; letters of Gallatin to, 138, 180; unhappy in Fayette County, 180; her property, 363; unfit for frontier life, 363; her success in Washington society, 363, 364; her death, 386, 387. Nicholson, Commodore James, father-in-law of Gallatin, his family, 59; visited by Gallatin after marriage, 60; on Gallatin's political moderation, 138; commands gunboats in Lafayette's campaign of 1781, 371. Nicholson, James Witter, in business with Gallatin, 60. Nicholson, Joseph H. , letter of Gallatin to, on war revenue, 224; furnished by Gallatin with questions to ask himself, 246; letter of Macon to, 293. Non-importation, difficulty of enforcement in 1774, 293; enforced by Gallatin in 1808, 293. Norris, Isaac W. , at free trade convention, 241. Odier, ----, takes shares in Gallatin's land scheme, 361. Ohio Company, its formation and lands, 20. Oregon question, discussion over, in 1818, 335; discussed in 1826, 343; determination of Adams not to give way in, 346; joint occupation of, continued, 347; views of Gallatin on, 351. Otis, Harrison Gray, elected to Congress, 132; denounces Gallatin for attacking Federalist administration, 136; on resolution to punish foreign correspondence, 156; reports investigation of Wolcott's management of Treasury, 177. Panama Congress, its importance, 342; mission to, declined by Gallatin, 342. Paper money, its issue suggested by Jefferson, 264; Gallatin's opinion of, 268, 277. Parish, David, assists Gallatin to float loan, 213, 214; his reasons, 259, 260. Parker, Josiah, amends resolution to punish foreign correspondence, 156; offers resolution to amend non-intercourse, 160. Pasquier, M. , negotiates with Gallatin, 337; pacified by Gallatin after seizure of Apollon, 338. Patton, John, on Committee on Finance, 107. Peabody, George, at free trade convention of 1831, 241. Pendleton Society of Virginia, adopts secession resolutions, 116. Penn, John, letter to, given Gallatin by Lady Penn, 11. Penn, Lady Juliana, gives Gallatin letter to John Penn, 11. Penns, proprietors of Pennsylvania, educated at Geneva, 4. Pennsylvania, ratifies federal Constitution, 35; movement in, to call a second convention, 37-40; education in, efforts of Gallatin to improve, 45; opposition to excise in, 48-55; Whiskey Rebellion in, 67-96; popularity of Gallatin in, 65; its law regarding slavery, 140; petitions against Alien and Sedition Acts, 157. Pensacola, its seizure by Jackson, 336. Philadelphia, visit of Gallatin to, 19, 21; removal of Congress to, 47; society in, 47, 48; angry feeling in, against Whiskey Insurrection, 92; protests against Jay treaty, 103; petitions legislature to repeal charter of Bank of North America, 250; nominates Gallatin for Congress, 329. Pickering, Timothy, in Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 43; secretary of war and postmaster-general under Washington, 97. Pickering, ---- member of Ethnological Society, 379. Pictet, Mademoiselle, adopts Gallatin, her kindness, 2; her nephew taught by Gallatin, 5; regard of Gallatin for, 9; pained at Gallatin's departure, 11; gives him letter to Kinloch, 11; sends him money and secures interest of Dr. Cooper, 17; his ingratitude toward, regretted by Gallatin, 20; supposes his failure to write due to misfortune, 27; accuses Gallatin of indolence and ennui, 43, 44. Pictet, ----, naturalist, relative of Gallatin, 5. Pinckney, Charles C. , refused reception as minister by France, 132; on second mission, 139; returns, 152; attends Congress as general, 155. Pinckney, Thomas, makes treaty with Spain, 117. Pitt, William, his precocity compared to Gallatin's, 32. Poles, in New York, befriended by Gallatin, 372. Powell, William H. , his portrait of Gallatin, 386. Preston, William C. , at free trade convention in 1831, 241. Quakers, in Pennsylvania, oppose general education, 45; petition against seizure of fugitive slaves, 140. Randolph, Edmund, deprecates force against Whiskey Rebellion, on ground that only Washington's influence prevents civil war, 77; retires from cabinet, 97; damages reputation by dealings with Fauchet, 103; remark of Jay to, during negotiations with England, 118. Randolph, John, elected to Congress, 158; opposes non-intercourse with France, 159; opposes giving a gold medal to Truxton, 160; advocates abolition of internal duties, 221; complains of want of system in Jefferson's cabinet, 284; on Madison's weakness, 295; unfitted to lead a party, 355. Renwick, James, letter of Mrs. Irving to, on Mrs. Gallatin, 364; member of "The Club, " 366. Republican party, its origin, 57; its leaders in House of Representatives in 1795, 99, 100; its attitude toward France and Revolution, 101, 102; imitates Jacobins, 102; opposes resolution complimenting Washington's administration, 104-106; attacks administration of Treasury, 106; asserts right of House to share in treaty power, 110-114; leadership of Gallatin in, 115, 128, 133, 159; attacks Jay treaty, 118-121; objects to adjournment on Washington's birthday, 126; attacks Washington, 128; reluctant to affront France, 133-136; opposes increase of foreign missions, 141-147; attacks Alien and Sedition Laws, 159; profits by popular dislike of England and of Alien and Sedition Laws, 163; gives equal vote to Jefferson and Burr, 163; its policy to resist any Federalist usurpation by force, 166; success due to Gallatin's leadership, 167, 168; its share in building country, 169; opposes internal revenue, 221; its principles violated by Jefferson in suggesting internal improvements, 227; refuses to renew charter of bank, 231, 254; violates principles in chartering second bank, 265; introduces new principles of administration into government, 279; demands share of offices, 281, 282; refuses to confirm Gallatin for secretary of state, 294; factions in, under Madison, 295; incompetent to manage war, 298; lacks leaders after Gallatin, 355; its condition in 1824, 356; its caucus nominates Crawford and Gallatin, 357, 358; new developments of, under Jackson, 358, 359, 360. Revenue, 218-238. See Finances. Richelieu, Duc de, seeks explanation from Gallatin of American sympathy for Bonaparte, 331; declares impossibility of making full compensation for captures under Berlin and Milan decrees, 332; angered at American refusal to dismiss an impudent postmaster, 333; on Jackson's seizure of Pensacola, 336; urges peace with Spain, 336. Richmond, society in, 23, 24. Robinson, Dr. , associate of Gallatin in founding American Ethnological Society, 379. Rochefoucauld, D'Enville, Duc de, obtains letters for Gallatin from Franklin, 11. Rollaz, Sophie Albertine, mother of Gallatin, 2; assumes husband's share in business, 2; death, 2. Romanzoff, Count, originates plan of Russian mediation, 304; dealings of Gallatin with, 307; renews offer of mediation, 308; gives Dallas letter to Count Lieven, 310; thanked by Gallatin, 312. Ross, James, appeals to Whiskey insurgents not to use violence, 70; on commission to confer with insurgents, 85. Rousseau, J. J. , Gallatin's opinion of, 6. Ruggles, Benjamin, letter of Gallatin to, accepting nomination for vice-president, 358. Rush, Richard, introduced to public life by Gallatin, 334; named minister to England, 334; joined with Gallatin to negotiate concerning convention of 1815, 334, 335; secretary of Treasury, 342; tone of his correspondence, 345. Russell, Jonathan, on peace commission, 312; arrives at Gottenburg, 313. Russia, offers to mediate between England and United States, 299; mission of Gallatin and Bayard to, 299, 301-312; refusal of England to accept its mediation, 306, 307; dealings of Gallatin with Romanzoff, 307, 308; renews its offer, 308, 315; displeased with recognition of Spanish colonies, 337. Rutherford, John, on committee to consider Gallatin's eligibility to Senate, 61. Rutledge, John, Jr. , elected to Congress, 133. Savary de Valcoulon, has claims against Virginia, 19; meets Gallatin at Philadelphia and uses him as interpreter, 19; goes with Gallatin to Richmond, 19; interests him in land speculation, 21; joins Gallatin in locating claims, 24. Schoolcraft, Henry R. , member of Ethnological Society, 379. Scott, General Winfield, requested by Gallatin to aid in collecting ethnological data in Mexico, 380. Scott, Thomas, appeals to Whiskey insurgents, 70. Sedgwick, Theodore, leader of Federalists in House, 98; on committee to draft address to Washington, 105; on Committee on Finance, 106; offers resolution to execute four treaties, 118; taunts Gallatin with instigating Whiskey Rebellion, 124; elected speaker, 158; at free trade convention of 1831, 241. Sedition Law, condemned by Gallatin, 152; petitions against, 157. Senate of United States, election of Gallatin to, 58; appoints committees to consider his eligibility, 61, 62; votes to exclude him, 62, 63; prejudiced against him by his actions, 64, 65; ratifies Jay treaty, 102, 103; yields to House regarding specific appropriations, 130; controlled by Federalists, 139; passes bill authorizing convoys, 149; passes bill abrogating treaty with France, 154; amends House Bill to suspend intercourse with France, 160; debate over its bill to require annual treasury reports, 161; ratifies commercial convention with France, 162; still controlled by Federalists, 178; its hostility to Gallatin, 181; refuses to confirm his appointment as peace commissioner, 310. Seney, Joshua, connected by marriage with Gallatin, 59. Serre, Henri, friendship with Gallatin, 5; sails with him for America, 9; doings in Boston with Gallatin, 12-14; at Machias, 14; enjoys life in wilderness, 15, 17; returns to Boston, 17; teaches there, 19; joins Gallatin and dissolves partnership, 19; goes to Jamaica and dies, 19; his debt subsequently paid, 19; his letters to Badollet, 25. Sewall, Samuel, elected to Congress, 132. Shays's Rebellion, an argument for Federalist party, 101. Sheffield, Lord, says Jay duped Grenville, 117. Sherman, John, on accounting in Treasury Department, 247. Sismondi, J. C. L. Simonde de, on paper money, 277; praises Gallatin, 325; letter of Gallatin to, 380. Sitgreaves, Samuel, Federalist in Congress, 99; on committee to draft address to Washington, 105. Slavery, resolutions concerning, in Pennsylvania legislature, 47; petitions concerning, in Congress, 140; negotiations concerning slave trade in treaty of Ghent, 323; at Congress of Aix la Chapelle, 337. Smilie, John, represents Fayette County in Pennsylvania ratification convention, 35; leads opposition to Constitution, 36; in anti-Federalist convention, 37; his career and friendship with Gallatin, 37, 38; in Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, 43; member of state Senate, 44, 54; at anti-excise convention, 52; advises submission to law, 69. Smith, Isaac, on Committee on Finance, 107. Smith, John Augustine, invites Gallatin to join "The Club, " 366. Smith, Robert, head of faction of "invisibles, " 295; leaves cabinet, 296, 297. Smith, Samuel, leads Maryland troops against Whiskey Insurrection, 88; moves to continue non-intercourse, 162; probably makes bargain to secure election of Jefferson, 164; his inexplicable power over Jefferson and Madison, 164. Smith, William, educated at Geneva, 4; Federalist in Congress, 99; on Committee on Finance, 106; controversy with Gallatin over increase of public debt, 126. Smithson, John, his bequest to United States, 378. Smithsonian Institution, connection of Gallatin with, 378, 379. Southern States, Republican in 1800, 163; refuse to support loan of 1813, 213. Spain, Pinckney's treaty with, 117; danger of war with, 335; peace with, urged by France, 336; negotiations over its revolted colonies, 336, 337; rupture with France in 1823, 341. Spurzheim, on Gallatin's brain, 389. Squier, E. G. , member of Ethnological Society, 379. Staël, Madame de, interview of Lafayette with emperor at her house, 315; letter of Gallatin to, 320; expresses admiration for Gallatin, 325. Stephens, ----, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Stevens, Byam Kerby, marries Frances Gallatin, 371; interest of Lafayette in, 371; meets Lafayette, 372. Stevens, Colonel Ebenezer, Lafayette's chief of staff, 371. Stevens, John A. , at free trade convention of 1831, 241; member of "The Club, " 367. Stokely, ----, appeals to Whiskey insurgents, 70. Stuart, Gilbert, his portrait of Gallatin, 386. Swanwick, John, on Jay treaty debate, 111. Szelesegynski, ----, Polish refugee, helped by Gallatin, 372. Tahon, ----, keeps French café in Boston, 12. Talleyrand, Prince, demands bribe in X Y Z affair, 149; makes overtures for reconciliation, 152, 153. Taney, Roger B. , removes deposits from bank, 269, 270; appointed chief justice, 270; his reasons for the removal, 270. Texas, annexation of, protested against by Gallatin, 351. Throop, Governor, recommends University for training teachers, 369. Tracy, Destutt, his "Economie Politique" translated by Jefferson, 331. Tracy, Uriah, leader of Federalists in House, 98; taunts Gallatin with connection with Whiskey Rebellion, 119; obliged to apologize, 120. Treasury Department, Hamilton's management of, attacked by Gallatin, 64; resigned by Hamilton, taken by Wolcott, 97; management of, supervised by Committee of Finance, 106-108, 130; condition of, deplored by Gallatin, 125; charged with arbitrary action, 130, 154; annual reports from, required by Congress, 161; Morris's connection with, 171-173; organization under Hamilton, 174, 243; management by Wolcott, 176-178; appointment of Gallatin to, 179, 181; exalted idea of, held by Gallatin, 189; difficulty of learning management of, 189, 190; relieved of responsibility for other departments' expenditure, 223; administration of, by Gallatin, 244-246; reports from, 245; efforts of Gallatin to secure precision in, 245, 246; subsequent management of, 247; damaged by failure to re-charter bank, 259; in panic of 1815, 263; declined by Gallatin in 1816, 266, 330; in panic of 1837, 272-276; sub-treasury system invented, 273; aids resumption, 276; declined by Gallatin in 1843, 278; absence of partisanship in Gallatin's appointments to, 281, 282, 286, 287. Treaty of Ghent, 316-325. See Diplomatic History. Tripoli, war with, 222; tribute to, preferred by Gallatin to war with, 284. Trist, N. P. , negotiates treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 352. Truxton, Captain, voted a medal by Congress, 160. Turner, Professor, member of Ethnological Society, 379. Tyler, John, as president, offers Treasury portfolio to Gallatin, 278. University, National, proposed by Jefferson, 291; attempt to start one in New York, 368, 369; success prevented by clerical influence, 370. Van Buren, Martin, told by Gallatin of willingness to accept French mission, 349; manages caucus of Republican Congresssmen, 357; letter of Gallatin to, withdrawing from nomination, 358. Van der Kemp, ----, Dutch commissioner to make commercial treaty, 334. Verplanck, Gulian C. , member of "The Club, " 367. Virginia, claims of Savary against, 19; Gallatin's opinion of society in, 24; movement in, to secure amendment of Constitution, 36; disunion threats in, 116; ready to attack Federalists by force in 1801, 166. Voltaire, friendship with Gallatin family, 7; writes verses for Madame Gallatin, 7; influence over Albert Gallatin, 7, 8. Wainwright, Rev. Dr. , member of "The Club, " 367. War of 1812, estimates of Gallatin as to cost of operations in, 289, 290; preparation for, advocated by Gallatin, 292; events leading to, 295; questions at issue in, 305; English hopes in, 313, 316; sack of Washington, 320. Ward, Samuel, member of "The Club, " 367. Washington, Augustine, founder of Ohio Company, 20. Washington, George, his military inactivity in 1780, 12; meets Gallatin in 1784, 22; snubs him for forwardness, 23; later wishes him to be his land agent, 23; his election as president disconcerts anti-Federalists, 40; unwilling to go to extremes against Whiskey Rebellion, 54; issues proclamation, 54; Randolph's opinion of his influence, 77; combines conciliation with force, 77; issues proclamation, calls out militia, and appoints commission to confer, 77, 78; accompanies army as far as Bedford, 88; refuses to stop march of troops, 89; dissuades troops from violence, 92; pardons convicted offenders, 96; reconstructs his cabinet, 97, 98; his influence, 102; convenes Senate to ratify Jay treaty, 102; attacked by Bache, 104; addresses Congress, 104; his administration criticised in debate over reply in House, 104-106; refuses call of House for Jay treaty papers, 114; refusal of House to adjourn on his birthday, 126; obtains surrender of Western posts, 128; issues Farewell Address, 128; attacked by Giles, 128; proposal of Gallatin concerning reply to his message, 129; sends tricolor to Congress, 130, 132; attends Congress as lieutenant-general, 155; his death announced by Marshall, 158; invites Wolcott to succeed Hamilton, 176; Gallatin's opinion of his character, 383, 384; and of his strong passions, 383 n. Washington, Lawrence, founder of Ohio Company, 20. Washington city, removal of Congress to, 161, 162; sack of, by English, 320. Washington County, Pennsylvania, in Whiskey Insurrection, 49, 50, 51, 70, 71, 78, 94, 96; elects Gallatin to Congress, 93, 127. Wayne, Anthony, makes treaty with Indians, 117. Webster, Daniel, his speech on northeastern boundary published by Gallatin, 349; his manner of negotiating with Ashburton, 350. Webster, Pelatiah, describes Gallatin at Philadelphia in 1783, 19. Wellington, Lord, asked by cabinet to conquer a peace, 322; advises cabinet not to insist on cession of territory, 322; expresses friendly feelings, 335. Wells, John, member of "The Club, " 367. Westmoreland County, in Whiskey Insurrection, 49, 51, 74, 78, 96. Wheaton, Henry, requests Gallatin to furnish Humboldt with data on gold in United States, 381. Whiskey Insurrection, opposition to excise in Pennsylvania, 48, 49; reasons for opposition, 49, 50; first meetings against excise in Washington County, 50, 51; combined meeting of four counties at Pittsburgh, 51; violence against inspectors, 51; modification of law, 52; second convention at Pittsburgh, 52; resolutions against collectors, 52, 53; petition to Congress, 53; proclamation issued by Washington and cabinet, 54; arrests and riots, 55; attempts to serve writs, 67, 68; rioting, burning of Marshall's house, 68, 69; flight of officers, 68; meetings of distillers, 69; efforts of Gallatin and others to prevent violence, 69, 70; stoppage of mails, 69; call for meeting of militia, 70; leaders of, 70, 71; meeting of militia at Parkinson's Ferry, 72, 73; estimates of numbers, 72; violence of feeling, 73, 74; renewed outrages, 74; use of liberty poles, 74; attitude of Gallatin toward, 75, 76; plans of Washington and Hamilton to suppress, 77; proclamation against carrying arms, 77; commissioners appointed, 77; convention of distillers at Parkinson's Ferry, 78, 79; proposals to raise troops, 79; efforts of moderates, 80, 81; committee of sixty appointed, 80; arrival of commissioners, their offer, 81; conference of committee at Red Stone Old Fort, 81, 82; vote to accept terms, 83; influence of Gallatin, 84; meetings for submission in counties, 85; apparent failure of terms of amnesty, 86; threats of secession, 86; Hamilton writes "Tully" letter, 87; report of commissioners, 87; proclamation calls out troops, 87; march of militia, 88; committee of sixty passes conciliatory resolutions, 88, 89; refusal of Washington to turn back, 89; final meeting at Parkinson's Ferry votes entire submission, 89; occupation of western counties by troops, 89, 90; arrest of rebels, 90, 91; journey of prisoners to Philadelphia, 91, 92; end of disturbances, 93; return of army, 93; confession of Gallatin, 94; trial of prisoners, 96; its effect on Federalist party, 101; Gallatin taunted with participation in, 119, 124. Wirt, William, letter of Jefferson to, 298. Wolcott, Oliver, succeeds Hamilton in Treasury Department, 97; his situation deplored by Gallatin, 125; complains to Hamilton of Republican opposition, 126; complains of Gallatin's purpose to break down department, 154; his career as Hamilton's successor, 176-178; his statement of a surplus denied by Gallatin, 190, 191. Woodbury, Levi, reports extinction of debt, 270, 271; then deplores its absence, 271; alarmed at increase of circulation in 1836, 272; begins sub-treasury system, 273; promises to support resumption of payment by banks, 275. X Y Z dispatches, 149. The Riverside Press CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U. S. A. ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO.