here this session? It would give me great pleasure. I am with sincere esteem dear sir, your friend &

servant.

P. S. The system of alarm manifestly flags; & the supplementary event of ambassador Logan has not had the expected effect. The public opinion in this state is rapidly coming round.

Even the German counties of York & Lancaster are changing sides.

TO JAMES MADISON.

MAD. MSS.

Feb. 12. 99.

I wrote you last on the 5th. which acknoleged yours of Jan. 25. the last at hand. Yesterday the bill for 6.74's and 6.18's passed the H. of R. by 54. against 42. And the bill for a new organization of the army (into regiments of about 1,000.) passed the Senate. The bill continuing the suspension of intercourse with France & her dependencies has passed both houses, but the Senate struck out the clauses. permitting the President to extend it to other powers. Toussaint's clause however was retained. Even South Carolinians in the H. of R. voted for it. We may expect therefore black crews, & supercargoes & missionaries thence into the southern states; & when that leven begins to work, I would gladly compound with a great part of our northern country, if they would honestly stand neuter. If this combustion can be introduced among us under any veil whatever, we have to fear it. We shall this day press the retaliation bill. It reaches & is expressly founded on the

French arret of Oct. 29. 98, communicated to us by the President. It came out from Sedgwick and Stockton in debate that they had had it from the Secy. of state that he had received a letter from mr. King informing him of the suspension of that arret. Yet tho' they knew we were legislating on it, the P. has not communicated it; & the retaliators insist on passing the bill. It is now acknoleged on all hands, denied on none, & declared by the insurance companies that during the last 6. months the British depredns. have far exceeded the French. King has been appointed to enter into a treaty with Russia at London & Phocion Smith was yesterday confirmed by the Senate as Envoy extray & M. P. to Constantinople to make a like treaty with the Turks. To change the moment of a coalition between the Turks, Russians & English against France to unite us by treaty with that body as openly as they intend to propose, cannot be misconstrued. I send you under a separate cover the French originals of Gerry's communcns, one of G: N.'s pamphlets & the Treasury statements of exports & imports of the last year. Adieu.

P. S. No letter you could write after your receipt of this will find me here.

TO ARCHIBALD STUART,'

PHILADELPHIA, Feb 13, 99.

DEAR SIR,-I avoid writing to my friends because the fidelity of the post office is very much doubted. I will give you briefly a statement of what we have

1 From the original in the possession of the Virginia Historical Society.

done and are doing.

dollars, the excise, cara million, the residuary

The following is a view of our finances in round numbers. The impost brings in the last year 7 millions of riages, auctions, & licenses, small articles of a million. It is expected that the stamp act may pay the expense of the direct tax, so that the two may be counted at 2. millions, making in the whole 10 millions. Our expenses for the civil list

of a million, foreign intercourse a million (this includes Indian & Algerine expenses, the Spanish & British treaties), interest of the public debt 4. millions, the existing navy 2 millions, the existing army, 5,000 men, 1. millions, making 94. millions, so that we have a surplus of near a million. But the additional army, 9,000 men, now raising, will add 24. millions annually, the additional navy proposed 3. millions, and the interest of the new loans a million, making 6 millions more, so that as soon as the army and navy shall be ready, our whole expenses will be 15. millions; consequently, there will be 5. millions annually more to be raised by taxes. Our present taxes of 10. M. are 2. dollars a head on our present population, and the future 5. M. will make it 3. D. Our whole exports (native) this year are 28 M., so that our taxes are now & will soon be of our whole exports; & when you add the expenses of the State Governments we shall be found to have got to the plenum of taxation in 10. short years of peace. Great Britain, after centuries of wars & revolutions, had at the commencement of the present war taxed only to the amount of of her exports. We have opened a loan for 5 M., @ 8. per cent. interest, & another is proposed of 2. M. These

are to build 6. 74's & 6. 18's, in part of additional navy, for which a bill passed the H of R 2 days ago, by 54. against 42. Beside the existing army of 5,000 & additional army of 9,000, an eventual army of 30,ooo is proposed to be raised by the President, in case of invasion by any European power, or danger of invasion, in his opinion, and the volunteer army, the amount of which we know not, is to be immediately called out & exercised at the public expense. For these purposes a bill has been twice read and committed in the Senate. You have seen by Gerry's communication that France is sincerely anxious for reconciliation, willing to give us a liberal treaty, and does not wish us to break the British treaty, but only to put her on an equal footing. A further proof of her sincerity turned up yesterday. We had taken an armed vessel from her, had refitted and sent her to cruise against them, under the name of the Retaliation, and they re-captured & sent her into Guadaloupe. The new commissioners arriving there from France, sent Victor Hughes off in irons, and said to our captain, that as they found him bearing a regular commission as an officer of the Ud S, with his vessel in their port, & his crew, they would inquire into no fact respecting the vessel preceding their arrival, but that he, his vessel & crew, were free to depart. They arrived here yesterday. The federal papers call her a cartel. It is whispered that the Executive mean to return an equal number of the French prisoners, and this may give a color to call her a cartel, but she was liberated freely & without condi

tion. The commissioners further said to the captain that, as to the differences with the Ud S, new commissioners were coming out from France to settle them, & in the meantime they should do us no injury. The President has appointed Rufus King to make a commercial treaty with the Russians in London, and Wm Smith, (of S C,) to go to Constantinople to make one with the Turks. Both appointments are confirmed by the Senate. A little dissatisfaction was expressed by some that we should never have treated with them till the moment when they had formed a coalition with the English against the French. You have seen that the Directory had published an arret declaring they would treat as pirates any neutrals they should take in the ships of their enemies. The President communicated this to Congress as soon as he received it. A bill was brought into Senate reciting that arret, and authorizing retaliation. Tho' the P received information almost in the same instant that the Directory had suspended the arret (which fact was privately declared by the Secretary of state to two of the Senate), and, tho' it was known we were passing an act founded on that arret, yet the P has never communicated the suspension. However the Senate, informed indirectly of the fact, still passed the act yesterday, an hour after we had heard of the return of our vessel & crew before mentioned. It is acknoleged on all hands, & declared by the insurance companies that the British depredations during the last 6. months have greatly exceeded the French, yet not a word is said about it officially. However, all

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