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cuses, and empty professions, all contemptible; and offered in the face of treaty articles too plain to require a moment's hesitation as to their meaning. One of the articles stipulated the evacuation of the posts occupied by Spanish troops on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, within the known boundary of the United States. Of these the Spaniards still kept possession. All these occurrences are accounted for by the information next received, and stated by Mr. Ellicott"That the country either was or would be ceded to the Republic of France."* It will be recollected that Spain had concurred with the other most considerable European nations in warring against France, in the early years of her revolution; but meeting with defeats, and in danger of being over-run by the French arms, her prime minister, Godoy, made peace with France and for this act, at that time so auspicious to Spain, he had conferred on him the extraordinary title of Prince of Peace. This was in the year 1795. From this time the Spanish councils were under the influence of the French Republican Government; and, eventually, appear to have been in a state of complete. subjugation, in whatever materially concerned the interests of France. And to that controlling influence are to be ascribed, all the delays, difficulties and injuries experienced by the United States and their citizens, in every thing relating to their interests in the country in question.

So much for the friendship of France to the United States; which, according to the declarations and demands of her revolutionary rulers, and of many of our own citizens, imposed on the United States obligations of everlasting gratitude! That it was for the purpose of securing the independence of the United States that France rendered the aid we received from her, is true; but this was solely to weaken her old adversary, by lopping off an important limb. In justification of his treating with the Americans, Louis XVI said expressly, that he acted "with no other view than to put an

* Ellicott's Journal, p. 44..

"end to the predominant power which England abus "ed in every part of the globe;" and, "that the only "means of being secured from it, was to seize the op"portunity of diminishing it." That opportunity was the war in which we had engaged, to separate the United States from Great-Britain. The King said further, That he formed a connexion with the United States, 66 because HIS SAFETY, THE INTEREST OF HIS PEOPLE, invari"able policy, and above all, the secret projects of the "Court of London, imperiously laid him under the ne"cessity." The secret projects, of which the French government was so apprehensive, were doubtless the measures then contemplated by the British government to effect a reconciliation and re-union of the United States with Great-Britain; and to defeat them, and so to prevent a re-union, was the leading motive to the French alliance; while Americans fondly believed, that friendship for them was its basis. And Congress itself, from feeling or POLICY, pronounced Louis the Sixteenth," the PROTECTOR of the RIGHTS of MANKIND. Indeed the citizens of the United States, rejoiced at the assurance of the aid and co-operation of France, thought only of the benefit, without adverting to the motives in which it originated..

During our revolutionary war, and ever since, we have been taught to believe that Louis XVI, and his Queen, Maria Antoinette, entertained a personal regard to the United States and their cause. This was possible; and in the glow of our gratitude we cheerfully believed it. But it was unnatural that a monarchical power, whose will was law, should desire to promote the establishment of free republican governments. This idea, now so obvious, is shown to be correct, by the statement of the fact, in the interesting memoirs of Madame Campan, published at Paris since the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne of France. And we see it strikingly exemplified in the avowed principles of the emperors and kings who compose the so called "Holy Alliance."

* Resolve May 6, 1778, in the journals of Congress.

The sentiments of the persons who composed the court of Louis XVI were doubtless similar to those manifested by the King and Queen; but all sacrificed their feelings, in regard to republicanism, for the sake of humbling their great rival, England. Of all the French officers, of name, who served in the United States, and returned to France, la Fayette, I believe, stands alone, invincibly firm in his original principles, for the establishment and maintenance of free governments. We have seen the present monarch of France, his ministers and armies, by their operations in Spain, the last year, violating her independence, and overturning her free government: and who can doubt that his brother, Louis XVI, his ministers and armies, under like circumstances, would have acted the same part? And that their aid to the United States, in sup porting their independence, was rendered solely for the interest of France, I trust has been satisfactorily shown.*

In the face of all these clear and incontrovertible evidences, that the views of France in aiding us in our revolutionary contest were exclusively selfish, and that she aimed at doing serious injuries to the United States in its conclusion, Mr. Jefferson in his letter to Mazzeit charged them with "ingratitude and injustice towards France"! He charged the enlightened and eminent statesmen and patriots who formed the federal constitution, and who organized, and were then administering, the government under it, as "Anglican-Monarchi

* Of the expenditures of France, in the maintenance of troops and ships applied directly to our aid, I have no data on which to form an estimate; but the capture, plunder, and wanton destruction, of American ships and merchandise, by the French, have been estimated, by a well informed and judicious merchant, the late Thomas Fitzsimons of Philadelphia, at fifty millions of dollars; to wit-twenty millions under the orders of the Directory and their agents, and thirty millions during the imperial reign of Bonaparte. These fifty millions may fairly be set off against the expenditures of France directly made by her in the cause of the United States. The loans of money by France to the United States were all repaid. The estimates of Mr. Fitzsimons were made at my request, and communicated to me by a letter which I have not yet found; but I well remember their amount.

† Mazzei, an Italian gentleman, was in Virginia prior to our revolution; and then the apparently intimate acquaintance between him and Mr. Jefferson took place. Mazzei returned to Italy.

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"cal-Aristocratic; whose avowed object it was, to im 66 pose on the people the substance, as they had already "given them the forms, of the British government." And, after mentioning various measures of the federal government as political "heresies-established for the "purposes of corruption," he points his reproaches at the officers of our government and the members of Congress who had embraced them," the men," he says, "who were Solomons in counsel and Samsons in "combat, but whose hair had been cut off by the whore England." For this infamous slander, which embraced Washington, Hamilton, and all the eminent. men who had formed the Constitution, and established the measures referred to, Washington, when he became a private citizen, called Jefferson to account; requiring of him, in a tone of unusual severity, an explanation of that letter. In what manner the latter humbled himself, and appeased the just resentment of Washington, will never be known; as, some time after his death, this correspondence was not to be found; and a diary for an important period of his presidency was also missing. My information on this subject is derived from an authentic source. The late Dr. David Stuart, of Virginia, who married the widow of Mrs. Washington's son Custis, first mentioned the matter to me, twenty years ago; and five years afterwards, at my request, stated the circumstances in detail, in a letter, with a voluntary "permission to make what use “of it I should think proper." A train of occurrences within my knowledge would enable me to unravel what may seem mysterious in this affair; but I forbear.

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Prior to the appearance of Mr. Jefferson's letter to Mazzei, "there was," says Dr. Stuart, "a friendly "correspondence between him and Washington-since "then, none" and "before that letter, he used always “either to call on him, when passing by, or to send an "apology for not doing it."

Notwithstanding these lamentations of Mr. Jefferson to his friend Mazzei, of palpable deviations from repub

lican principles in the form of the Federal Constitution, and in the administration of the government, under Washington, Hamilton, and the eminent federalists of that period in Congress; yet, after he had gained the President's chair, I do not recollect a single amendment to that "Anglican-Monarchical-Aristocratic" Constitution to have been recommended by him; nor, that more than one was made, during his presidency; and that one should have been called an alteration, not an amendment. Its object was, by requiring the electors to designate the person to whom they gave their votes for President, and the one whom they voted for to be Vice President, to prevent the recurrence of a contest like that between him and Mr. Burr, when the states represented in the House were equally divided. And as to his measures, I know not any, that related to principles of government, which Mr. Jefferson could pretend were more republican than those of his predecessors. As to other principles, I will not say there was no difference; but in regard to them, I content myself with remarking, that, during Washington's administration, and a part of that of his immediate successor, there were no ostentatious professions of regard to the public welfare, nor similar declarations repeated and repeated of a desire of settling existing controversies, in an amicable and friendly manner, with any foreign nation.

Under Mr. Jefferson's administration, three treaties were negotiated with Great Britain. The object of the first (negotiated by Mr. King, pursuant to his instructions) was, an adjustment of the northwestern boundary; but, from an apprehension that its execution might derogate from a claim as to the northern boundary of Louisiana, it was ratified on the part of the United States with an exception which defeated the treaty. Another, a treaty of amity and commerce with Great-Britain, was negotiated by ministers of Mr. Jefferson's own selection-James Monroe and the late William Pinkney. These gentlemen, it must be presumed, well understood the interests of their country; and no one will question the diligence and faithfulness