[62] Letter to Doctor Walter Jones, January 2, 1814.
[63] In allusion to the annual and special messages of Washington at this time, the eminent Charles James Fox made the following remarks in the British parliament on the thirty-first of January, 1794:—
“And here, sir, I can not help alluding to the president of the United States, General Washington, a character whose conduct has been so different from that which has been pursued by ministers of this country. How infinitely wiser must appear the spirit and principles manifested in his late addresses to Congress than the policy of modern European courts! Illustrious man! deriving honor less from the splendor of his situation than from the dignity of his mind; before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe (excepting the members of our own royal family) become little and contemptible! He has had no occasion to have recourse to any tricks of policy or arts of alarm; his authority has been sufficiently supported by the same means by which it was acquired, and his conduct has uniformly been characterized by wisdom, moderation, and firmness. Feeling gratitude to France for the assistance received from her in that great contest which secured the independence of America, he did not choose to give up the system of neutrality. Having once laid down that line of conduct, which both gratitude and policy pointed out as most proper to be pursued, not all the insults and provocations of the French minister, Genet, could turn him from his purpose. Intrusted with the welfare of a great people, he did not allow the misconduct of another with respect to himself, for one moment, to withdraw his attention from their interest. He had no fear of the Jacobins; he felt no alarm for their principles, and considered no precaution as necessary in order to stop their progress.
“The people over whom he presided he knew to be acquainted with their rights and their duties. He trusted to their own good sense to defeat the effect of those arts which might be employed to inflame or mislead their minds; and was sensible that a government could be in no danger while it retained the attachment and confidence of its subjects; attachment, in this instance, not blindly adopted—confidence not implicitly given, but arising from the conviction of its excellence, and the experience of its blessings. I can not, indeed, help admiring the wisdom and fortune of this great man. By the phrase 'fortune,' I mean not in the smallest degree to derogate from his merit. But, notwithstanding his extraordinary talent and exalted integrity, it must be considered as singularly fortunate that he should have experienced a lot which so seldom falls to the portion of humanity, and have passed through such a variety of scenes without stain and reproach. It must indeed create astonishment, that, placed in circumstances so critical, and filling for a series of years a station so conspicuous, his character should never once have been called in question; that he should in no one instance have been accused either of improper insolence or of mean submission in his transactions with foreign nations. For him it has been reserved to run the race of glory, without experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career.”
CHAPTER XXV.
debates on madison's resolutions—their fate—proceedings in regard to algerine corsairs—commencement of a navy—first committee of ways and means—frigates ordered to be built—naval officers appointed—genet recalled—arrival of his successor—genet marries and becomes an american citizen—excitement against great britain—appointment of a special envoy to the british court discussed—john jay appointed—belligerent action in congress—james monroe appointed morris's successor in france—adjournment of congress—washington visits mount vernon—rebellious movements in kentucky—washington's comments thereon.
1794