University of Virginia Library

TO THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Dear Sir,—Your two favours of the 1 &20 Sepr,
under the same cover by Mr. Fitzhugh did not come
to hand till the 24th. ult; and of course till it was too

late for any Legislative interposition with regard to
the Capitol. I have written to the Attorney on the
subject. A letter which I have from him dated prior
to his receipt of mine takes notice of the plan you had
promised and makes no doubt that it will arrive in
time for the purpose of the Commissioners. I do not
gather from his expressions however that he was
aware of the change which will become necessary in
the foundation already laid; a change which will not
be submitted to without reluctance for two reasons,
1. the appearance of caprice to which it may expose
the Commissioners. 2. which is the material one,
the danger of retarding the work till the next Session
of Assembly can interpose a vote for its suspension,
and possibly for a removal to Williamsburg. This
danger is not altogether imaginary. Not a Session
has passed since I became a member without one or
other or both of these attempts. At the late Session
a suspension was moved by the Williamsburg Interest,
which was within a few votes of being agreed
to. It is a great object therefore with the Richmond
Interest to get the building so far advanced before
the fall as to put an end to such experiments. The
circumstances which will weigh in the other scale, and
which it is to be hoped will preponderate, are, the
fear of being reproached with sacrificing public considerations
to a local policy, and a hope that the
substitution of a more economical plan, may better
reconcile the Assembly to a prosecution of the
Undertaking.

Since I have been at home I have had leisure to

review the literary cargo for which I am so much indebted
to your friendship. The collection is perfectly
to my mind. I must trouble you only to get two little
mistakes rectified. The number of Vol. in the Encyclopedia
corresponds with your list, but a duplicate
has been packed up of Tom. Iere. partie of Histoire
Naturelle, Quadrupedes, premiere livraison, and there
is left out the 2d part of the same Tom. which as appears
by the Avis to the Ist livraison makes the Ist
Tome of Histoire des oiseaux, as well as by the Histoire
des oiseaux sent, which begins with Tom. II Ire
partie, and with the letter F from the Avis to the
sixth livraison I infer that the vol. omitted made
part of the 5me livraison. The duplicate vol. seems
to have been a good deal handled and possibly belongs
to your own sett. Shall I keep it in my hands,
or send it back? The other mistake is an omission
of the 4th vol. of D'Albon sur l'interêt de plusieurs
nations, &c. The binding of the three vols which are
come is distinguished from that of most of the other
books by the circumstance of the figure on the back
numbering the vols. being on a black instead of a red
ground. The author's name above is on a red ground.
I mention these circumstances that the binder may
supply the omitted volume in proper uniform. I
annex a state of our account balanced. I had an
opportunity a few days after your letters were recd. of
remitting the balance to the hands of Mrs. Carr with
a request that it might be made use of as you direct
to prevent a loss of time to her sons from occasional
disappointments in the stated funds. I have not yet
heard from the Mr. Fitzhughs on the subject of your
advance to them. The advance to Le Maire had been
made a considerable time before I received your
countermanding instructions. I have no copying
press, but must postpone that conveniency to other
wants which will absorb my little resources. I am
fully apprized of the value of this machine and mean
to get one when I can better afford it, and may have
more use for it. I am led to think it wd be a very
economical acquisition to all our public offices which
are obliged to furnish copies of papers belonging to
them.

A Quorum of the deputies appointed by the Assembly
for a commercial convention had a meeting at Richmond
shortly after I left it, and the Attorney tells me,
it has been agreed to propose Annapolis, for the place,
and the first monday in Sepr. for the time of holding
the Convention. It was thought prudent to avoid the
neighborhood of Congress, and the large Com̃ercial
towns, in order to disarm the adversaries to the object,
of insinuations of influence from either of these quarters.
I have not heard what opinion is entertained
of this project at New York, nor what reception it
has found in any of the States. If it should come to
nothing, it will, I fear confirm G. B. and all the world
in the belief that we are not to be respected, nor apprehended
as a nation in matters of commerce. The
States are every day giving proofs that separate regulations
are more likely to set them by the ears, than
to attain the common object. When Massts set on
foot a retaliation of the policy of G. B. Connecticut

declared her ports free. N. Jersey served N. York
in the same way. And Delaware I am told has lately
followed the example, in opposition to the commercial
plans of Penna. A miscarriage of this attempt to
unite the States in some effectual plan, will have another
effect of a serious nature. It will dissipate
every prospect of drawing a steady revenue from our
imposts either directly into the federal treasury, or
indirectly thro' the treasuries of the Commercial
States, and of consequence the former must depend
for supplies solely on annual requisitions, and the
latter on direct taxes drawn from the property of the
Country. That these dependencies are in an alarming
degree fallacious is put by experience out of all
question. The payments from the States under the
calls of Congress have in no year borne any proportion
to the public wants. During the last year, that
is from Novr, 1784, to Novr 1785, the aggregate payments,
as stated to the late Assembly fell short of
400,000 dollrs, a sum neither equal to the interest due
on the foreign debts, nor even to the current expences
of the federal Government. The greatest part of
this sum too went from Virga, which will not supply
a single shilling the present year. Another unhappy
effect of a continuance of the present anarchy of our
commerces will be a continuance of the unfavorable
balance on it, which by draining us of our metals
furnishes pretexts for the pernicious substitution of
paper money, for indulgences to debtors, for postponements
of taxes. In fact most of our political evils
may be traced up to our commercial ones, as most of
our moral may to our political. The lessons which
the mercantile interests of Europe have received from
late experience will probably check their propensity
to credit us beyond our resources, and so far the evil
of an unfavorable balance will correct itself. But the
Merchants of G. B. if no others will continue to credit
us at least as far as our remittances can be strained,
and that is far enough to perpetuate our difficulties
unless the luxurious propensity of our own people can
be otherwise checked. This view of our situation
presents the proposed Convention as a remedial experiment
which ought to command every assent; but
if it be a just view it is one which assuredly will not
be taken by all even of those whose intentions are
good. I consider the event therefore as extremely
uncertain, or rather, considering that the States must
first agree to the proposition for sending deputies,
that these must agree in a plan to be sent back to the
States, and that these again must agree unanimously
in a ratification of it. I almost despair of success. It
is necessary however that something should be tried
& if this be not the best possible expedient, it is the
best that could possibly be carried thro' the Legislature
here. And if the present crisis cannot effect
unanimity, from what future concurrence of circumstances
is it to be expected? Two considerations
particularly remonstrate against delay. One is the
danger of having the same[59] game played on our Confederacy
by which Philip managed that of the Grecians.
I saw eno' during the late Assembly of the influence
of the desperate circumstances of individuals on their
public conduct to admonish me of the possibility of
finding in the council of some one of the States fit instruments
of foreign machinations. The other consideration
is the probability of an early increase of the
confederated States, which more than proportionally
impede measures which require unanimity, as the new
members, may bring sentiments and interests less congenial
with those of the Atlantic States than those of
the latter are one with another.

The price of our staple is down at 22s. at Richmond.
One argument for putting off the taxes was that it
would relieve the planters from the necessity of selling,
&. would enable them to make a better bargain
with the purchasers. The price has notwithstanding
been falling ever since. How far the event may have
proceeded from a change in the Market of Europe I
know not. That it has in part proceeded from the
practice of remitting and postponing the taxes may
I think be fairly deduced. The scarcity of money
must of necessity sink the price of every article, and
the relaxation in collecting the taxes, increases this
scarcity by diverting the money from the public
Treasury to the shops of Merchandize. In the former
case it would return into circulation. In the latter it
goes out of the Country to balance the increased consumption.
A vigorous and steady collection of taxes
would make the money necessary here and would
therefore be a mean of keeping it here. In our situation
it would have the salutary operation of a sumptuary
law. The price of Indian Corn in this part of

the Country which produced the best crops is not
higher than 2 dollrs. per barrl. It would have been
much higher but for the peculiar mildness of the winter.
December and Jany scarcely reminded us that it
was winter. February, though temperate, was less
unseasonable. Our deepest snow (about 7 inches)
was in the present month. I observe the tops of the
blue ridge still marked with its remains. My last was
dated January 22, and contained a narrative of the
proceedings of the Assembly. I shall write you again
as soon as the subject & opportunity occur, remaining
in the mean time