"This measure (with fome objections to the detail) was approved by all parties; by the Anti-federalifts, because they thought no evil fo great as the rupture with France; by the Federalifts, because it was their system to avoid war with every power, if it could be done without the facrifice of effential interefts or absolute humiliation.

"Even fuch of them who conceived that the infults of the French government, and the manifeftation of its ill will, had already gone far enough to call for measures of vigour; perceiving that the nation was not generally penetrated with the fame conviction, and would not support with zeal, mealures of that nature, unless their neceffity was rendered still more apparent, acquiefced in the expediency of another miffion. They hoped that it would ferve either to compofe the differences which exifted, or to make the neceffity of refiftance to the violence of France, palpable to every good citizen.

"The expediency of the ftep was fuggefted to Mr. Adams, through a federal channel, a confiderable time before he determined to take it. He hefitated whether it could be done after the rejection of General Pinckney, without national debasement. The doubt was an honourable one; it was afterwards very properly furrendered to the cogent reasons which pleaded for a further experiment.

"The event of this experiment is fresh in our recollection. Our envoys, like our minifter, were rejected. Tribute was demanded as a preliminary to negociation. To their immortal honour, though France at the time was proudly triumphant, they repelled the disgraceful pretenfion. Americans will never forget that General Pinckney was a member, and an efficient member, of this commiffion.

"This conduct of the French government, in which it is difficult to say, whether defpotic infolence or unblufhing corruption was most prominent, electrified the American people with a becoming indignation. In vain the partizans of France attempted to extenuate. The public voice was distinct and audible. The nation, difdaining fo foul an overture, was ready to encounter the worst confequences of resistance.

"Without imitating the flatterers of Mr. Adams, who, in derogation from the intrinfic force of circumftances, and from the magnanimity of the nation, alcribe to him the whole merits of producing the fpirit which appeared in the community, it fhall with cheerfulness be acknowledged, that he took upon the occafion a manly and courageous lead-that he did all in his power to rouse the pride of the nation-to inspire it with a juft sense of the injuries and outrages which it had experienced, and to difpofe it to a firm and magnanimous refiftance; and that his efforts contributed materi ally to the end.

"The friends of the government were not agreed as to ulterior measures. Some were for immediate and unqualified war; others for a more mitigated courfe; the diffolution of treaties, preparation of force by land and fea, partial hoftilities of a defenfive tendency; leaving to France the option of feeking accommodation, or proceeding to open war. The latter course prevailed.

"Though not as bold and energetic as the other; yet, confidering the profperous ftate of French affairs, when it was adopted, and how many nations had been apalled and proftrated by the French power-the conduct purfued bore fufficiently the marks of courage and elevation to raise the national character to an exalted height throughout Europe.

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"Much

"Much is it to be deplored that we should have been precipitated from this proud eminence without neceffity, without temptation.

"The latter conduct of the President forms a painful contraft to his commencement. Its effects have been directly the reverfe. It has funk the tone of the public mind-it has impaired the confidence of the friends of the government in the Executive Chief-it has distracted public opinionit has unnerved the public councils-it has fown the feeds of difcord at home, and lowered the reputation of the government abroad.—The circumftances which preceded, aggravate the difagreeableness of the refults. They prove that the injudicious things which have been acted, were not the effects of any regular plan, but the fortuitous emanations of momentary impulfes.

The feffion, which enfued the promulgation of the difpatches of our commillioners, was about to commence. Mr. Adams arrived at Philadelphia from his feat at Quincey. The tone of his mind feemed to have been raifed, rather than depreffed.

"It was fuggefted to him, that it might be expedient to infert in his Speech of Congrefs, a fentiment of this import: That after the repeatedly rejected advances of this country, its dignity required that it should be left with France in future to make the firft overture; that if, defirous of reconciliation, the should evince the difpofition by fending a minifter to this government, he would be received with the refpect due to his character, and treated with in the franknefs of a fincere defire of accommodation. "The fuggeftion was received in a manner both indignant and intemperate.

"Mr. Adams declared as a fentiment, which he had adopted on mature reflection:-That if France fhould fend a Minifter to-morrow, he would order him back the day after:

"So imprudent an idea was eafily refuted. Little argument was requifite to fhew that by a fimilar fyftem of retaliation, when one government in a particular inftance had refused the envoy of another, nations might entail upon each other perpetual hoftility; mutually barring the avenues of explanation.

"In less than forty-eight hours from this extraordinary fally, the mind of Mr. Adams underwent a total revolution-he refolved not only to infert in his fpeech the fentiment which had been proposed to him, but to go farther, and to declare, that if France would give oxplicit offurances of receiving & Minifter from this country, with due refpect, be would fend one.

In vain was this extension of the fentiment opposed by all his ministers, as being equally incompatible with good policy, and with the dignity of the nation-he obftinately perfifted, and the pernicious declaration was introduced."

But the ftill more inconfiftent conduct of Mr. Adams, in his fubfequent nomination of another fupplicating embaffy to the tyrants France is a fubject of feverer reprobation.

of

"The French minifter for foreign relations, through the French Diplomatic Agent at the Hague, had opened a communication with Mr. Murray, our Refident there, for the purpofe of reviving negociations between the two countries. In this manner, affurances were given that France was difpofed to treat, and that a. Minifter from us would be received and accredited. But they were accompanied with intimations of the characters

proper

proper to be employed, and who would be likely to fucceed; which was exceptionable, both as it favored of the pretenfion (justly cenfured by the President himself) of prefcribing to other Governments how they were to manage their own affairs; and as it might, according to circumftances, be construed into a tacit condition of the promile to receive a Minifter. Overtures fo circuitous and informal, through a perfon who wa uot the regular organ of the French government for making them, to a person who was not the regular organ of the American government for receiving them, might be a very fit mode of preparing the way for the like overtures in a more authentic and obligatory thape: but they were a very inadequate bafis for the inftitution of a new miffion.

"When the Prefident pledged himself in his speech to fend a minifter, if fatisfactory affurances of a proper reception were given, he must have been understood to mean fuch as were direct and official, not fuch as were both informal and deftitute of a competent fanction.

"Yet upon this loose and vague foundation, Mr. Adams precipitately nominated Mr. Murray as Envoy to the French Republic, without previous confultation with any of his minifters. The nomination itself was to each of them, even to the Secretary of State, his Conftitutional Counsellor, in fimilar affairs, the first notice of the project.

"Thus was the measure wrong, both as to mode and fubftance.

"A Prefident is not bound to conform to the advice of his Minifters. He is even under no pofitive injunction to atk or require it. But the constitution presumes that he will confult them; and the genius of our government and the public good recommend the practice.

"As the Prefident nominates his minifters, and may difplace them when he pleases, it must be his own fault if he be not furrounded by men, who for ability and integrity deserve his confidence. And if his minifters are of this character, the confulting of them will always be likely to be useful to him and to the ftate. Let it even be fuppofed that he is a man of talents fuperior to the collected talents of all his minifters (which can feldom happen, as the world has feen but few Fredericks), he may, nevertheless, often aflift his judgment by a comparifon and collifion of ideas. The greatest genius, hurried away by the rapidity of its own conceptions, will occafionally overlook obftacles which ordinary and more phlegmatic men will difcover, and which, when prefented to his confideration, will be thought by himfelf decifive objections to his plans.

"When, unhappily, an ordinary man dreams himself to be a Frederick, and through vanity refrains from counselling with his conftitutional advifers, he is very apt to fall into the hands of miferable intriguers, with whom his felf-love is more at eafe, and who without difficulty flide into his confidence, and, by flattery, govern him.

"The ableft men may profit by advice. Inferior men cannot difpence with it; and if they do not get it through legitimate channels, it will find its way to them, through fuch as are clandeftine and impure.

Very different from the practice of Mr. Adams was that of the modeft and fage Washington-He confulted much, pondered much, refolved flowly, refolved furely.

"And as furely, Mr. Adams might have benefitted by the advice of his minifters,

"The stately fyftem of not confulting minifters is likely to have a fur

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ther

ther difadvantage. It will tend to exclude from places of primary truft, the men moft fit to occupy them.

"Few and feeble are the interested inducements to accept a place in our administration. Far from being lucrative, there is not one which will not involve pecuniary facrifice to every boneft man of pre-eminent talents. And has not experience fhewn, that he must be fortunate indeed, if even the fuccefsful execution of his talk can fecure to him confideration and fame? Of a large harveft of obloque he is fure.

"If excluded from the counfels of the Executive Chief, his office muft become truly infignificant. What able and virtuous man will long consent to be fo miferable a pageant!

"Every thing that tends to banish from the administration able men, tends to diminish the chances of able counfels. The probable operation of a system of this kind, must be to confign places of the highest trust to incapable honest men, whose inducement will be a livelihood, or to capable difhoneft men, who will feek indirect indemnifications for the deficiency of direct and fair inducements.

"The precipitate nomination of Mr. Murray, brought Mr. Adams in an awkward predicament.

"He found it neceffary to change his plan in its progrefs, and instead of one to nominate three envoys, and to fuperadd a promife, that, though appointed, they should not leave the United State till further and more perfect affurances were given by the French government,

"This remodification of the meatures was a virtual acknowledgment that it had been premature. How unfeemly was this fluctuation in the Execu tive Chief. It argued either inftability of views, or want of fufficient confideration beforehand. The one or the other, in an affair of so great moment, is a serious reproach.

"Additional and more competent affurances were received; but before the envoys departed, intelligence arrived of a new revolution in the French government; which, in violation of the conftitution, had expelled two of the Directory,

"Another revolution: another conftitution overthrown furely here was reason for a pause, at least till it was afcertained that the new Directory would adhere to the engagement of its predeceffors, and would not fend back our envoys with difgrace

"In the then pofture of French affairs, which externally as well as internally, were unprofperous, a pause was every way prudent. The recent revolution was a valid motive for it,

"Definitive compacts between nations, called real treaties, are binding, notwithstanding revolutions of governments. But to apply the maxim to minifterial acts, preparatory only to negociation, is to extend it too far; to apply it to fuch acts of an untiable revolutionary government (like that of France at that time) is to abuse it.

"Had any policy of the moment demanded it, it would have been not at all furprising to have feen the new Directory difavowing the affurance which had been given, and imputing it as a crime to the Ex- Directors, on the pretence that they had proftrated the dignity of the republic by courting the renewal of negociation with a government, which had so grossly infulted it.

"Yet our envoys were dispatched without a ratification of the affurance

by

by the new Directory, at the hazard of the interefts and honour of the country.

Again, the dangerous and degrading fyftem of not confulting ministers, was acted upon.

"When the news of the revolution in the Directory arrived, Mr. Adams was at his feat in Maffachusetts. His minifters addreffed to him a joint letter, communicating the intelligence, and fubmitting to his confideration, whether that event ought not to fufpend the projected miffion. In a letter which he afterwards wrote from the fame place, he directed the preparation of a draft of inftructions for the envoys, and intimated that their departure would be suspended for some time.

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Shortly after he came to Trenton, where he adjusted with his minifters the tenor of the inftructions to be given; but he obferved a profound filence on the question, whether it was expedient that the miffion fhould proceed.The morning after the inftructions were fettled, he fignified to the Secretary of State that the envoys were immediately to depart."

Mr. Hamilton next adverts to the Prefident's difmiffion of Meffrs. Pickering and M'Henry, and mentions fome circumftances that are no less curious in themselves, than they are dishonourable to Mr. Adams.

"The difmiffion of the Secretary at War took place about the fame time. It was declared in the fequel of a long converfation between the Prefident and him, of a nature to excite alternately pain and laughter; pain, for the weak and exceffive indifcretions of a chief magiftrate of the United States; laughter, at the ludicrous topics which conftituted charges againft this officer.

"A prominent charge was, that the secretary, in a Report to the House of Representatives, had eulogized General Washington, and had attempted to eulogize General Hamilton, which was adduced as one proof of a combina tion, in which the Secretary was engaged, to depreciate and injure him the Prefident.

"Wonderful! paffing wonderful! that an eulogy of the dead patriot and hero, of the admired and beloved Washington, confecrated in the affections and reverence of his country, fhould, in any shape, be irkfome to the ears of his fucceffor!"

Wonderful, however, as it appears, at the first view, it will appear much more wonderful, when contrafted with Mr. Adams's public profeffions (as contained in his letters to the Houses of Congress, and to the army) at the time of Wathington's death. We fhall infert these letters here. Such teftimonials of republican fincerity are too often fuffered to pafs away with the diurnal publications, in which they generally make their appearance.

To the two Houses, Dec. 19, 1799.

The letter herewith tranfmitted will inform you, that it has "pleafed Divine Providence to remove from this life, our excellent "fellow-citizen George Washington, by the purity of his character and a long feries of fervices to his country, rendered illuftrious thro' the world. It remains for an affectionate and grateful people, in

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"whose