The writings of James Madison, comprising his public papers and his private correspondence, including numerous letters and documents now for the first time printed. |
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TUESDAY APRIL 1. |
 | The writings of James Madison, |  |
TUESDAY APRIL 1.
Mr. Ghorham called for the order of the day to wit the Report
on Revenue &c and observed as a cogent reason for hastening
that business that the Eastern States at the invitation of the Legislature
of Mass.ts, were with N. Y. about to form a convention for
regulating matters of common concern, & that if any plan should
be sent out by Congs. during their session, they would probably
co-operate with Congs. in giving effect to it.
Mr. Mercer expressed great disquietude at this information,
considered it as a dangerous precedent, & that it behoved the
Gentleman to explain fully the objects of the Convention, as it
would be necessary for the S. States to be otherwise very circumspect
in agreeing to any plans on a supposition that the general
confederacy was to continue.
Mr. Osgood said that the sole object was to guard agst. an interference
of taxes among States, whose local situation required such
precautions; and that if nothing was definitively concluded without
the previous communication to & sanction of Congs., the Confederation
could not be said to be in any manner departed from;
but that in fact nothing was intended that could be drawn within
the purview of the federal articles.
Mr. Bland said he had always considered those Conventions as
improper & contravening the spirit of the federal Governmt. He
said they had the appearance of young Congresses.
Mr. Ghorham explains as Mr. Osgood.
Mr. Madison & Mr. Hamilton disapproved of these partial conventions,
not as absolute violations of the Confederacy, but as
ultimately leading to them & in the mean time exciting pernicious
to see a General Convention take place & that he sd. soon in pursuance
of instructions from his Constituents propose to Congs. a
plan for that purpose, the object wd. be to strengthen the federal
Constitution.
Mr. White informed Congs. that N. Hampshire had declined to
accede to a plan of a Convention on foot.
Mr. Higginson said that no Gentleman need be alarmed at any
rate for it was pretty certain that the Convention would not take
place. He wished with Mr. Hamilton to see a General Convention
for the purpose of revising and amending the federal
Government.
These observations having put an end to the subject, Congs. resumed
the Report on Revenue &c. Mr. Hamilton who had been
absent when the last question was taken for substituting numbers
in place of the value of land, moved to reconsider that vote. He
was 2ded. by Mr. Osgood. (See the Journal.) Those who voted
differently from their former votes were influenced by the conviction
of the necessity of the change & despair on both sides of
a more favorable rate of the slaves. The rate of 3/5 was agreed to
without opposition. On a preliminary question, the apportionmt.
of the sum & revision of the same refd. to Grand Come.[85]
The Report as to the Resignation of Foreign Ministers was
taken up & in the case of Mr. Jefferson see Journal.[86]
The Eastern
delegates were averse to doing anything as to Mr. Adams
until further advices sd be received. Mr. Laurens was indulged
not without some opposition. The acceptance of his resignation
was particularly enforced by Mr. Izard.
Madison had for some time past been urging Randolph to go into the State
Legislature where his influence on the side of adequate provisions for general
funds would be most efficacious. He wrote to him April 1, 1783:
"My Dear Friend: Your favor of the 22 Ult° verifies my fears that some
disappointment would defeat your plan of going into the Legislature. I regret
it the more, as every day teaches me more & more the necessity of such
measures as I know you would have patronized; and as are losing ground so
fast in the temper of the States as to require every possible support. Unless
some speedy & adequate provision be made beyond that of the Confederation,
the most dismal alternative stares me in the face. And yesterday's post brought
us information that a bill repealing the impost had passed the lower house of
Massts. and one of a like import had made equal progress in the Legislature of
S. Carolina. These defections are alarming but if a few enlightened & disinterested
members would step forward in each Legislature to advocate for the
necessary plans, I see with so much force the considerations that might be
urged, that my hopes would still prevail. If advantage should be taken of
popular prepossessions on one side without counter-efforts there is, to be sure,
room for nothing but despair.
"The extract from [OMITTED]'s [Adams'?] letter recited in yours astonishes
me more than it would do you, because I must be more sensible of its
contrast to truth. High as my opinion of the object [Franklin] of it was the
judgment, acuteness & patriotism displayed in the last despatches from him
have really enhanced it. So far are they in particular from studiously leaving
us in the dark, that some of them are of as late date as any if not later than
those from several & perhaps as voluminous as all the rest put together.
"The zeal of Congs to hasten the effect of the general preliminaries led
them (precipitately as I conceive) to authorize the Secy of F. A. to notify to Sir
G. Carleton & Adml Digby the intelligence received by the French Cuter on
that subject, with their recall of American Cruizers, in order that correspondent
measures might be taken at N. Y. The answers from these Commanders were
addressed to Robt R. Livingston, Esq, &c &c &c, and imported that they
could not suspend hostilities at sea without proper authority from their Sovereign;
but as Congress placed full reliance on the authenticity of the intelligence
they supposed no objection cd lie on their part agst releasing all prisoners
&c. A letter from Digby to the French Minister is I am told remarkably surly
& indecent even for a British Admiral. We have received no official report
of the signing of the General Preliminaries, nor any further particulars relative
to them. Your surmise as to the dangerous phraseology which may be used in
designating our limits, may be realized, if our Ministers are not cautious, or
sd yield to improper considerations. But I trust that no such defaults will
happen on that side: & that even if they should, the language used by Congress
in all their own acts on that head Will overpower any arguments that
may be drawn from acts of their Ministers."—Mad. MSS.
| The writings of James Madison, | |