537. ARMY, A standing.—[further continued] .
I sincerely rejoice at the
acceptance of our new Constitution by nine
States. It is a good canvas, on which some
strokes only want retouching. What these
are, I think are sufficiently manifested by the
general voice from north to south, which
calls for a bill of rights. It seems pretty
generally understood that this should go to
* * * standing armies. * * * If no
check can be found to keep the number of
standing troops within safe bounds, while
they are tolerated as far as necessary, abandon
them altogether, discipline well the militia,
and guard the magazines with them.
More than magazine guards will be useless if
few, and dangerous if many. No European
nation can ever send against us such a regular
army as we need fear, and it is hard if
our militia are not equal to those of Canada,
or Florida.—
To James Madison. Washington ed. ii, 445.
Ford ed., v, 45.
(P.
July. 1788)
