This silence of Madison's is a most curious instance of his sagacious and adroit management. It was not his business to direct attention to this troublesome final issue and he did not. The "Note of Mr. Madison to the Plan of Charles Pinckney" would be published; the letters of Sparks to himself might never see the light. Indeed I can give this tribute to his adroitness—that this book was written in the belief that Madison, never knew of Pinckney's letter to the Secretary of State, and that his weakened mind had overlooked the draught of the Committee of Detail; and it was not till the book was finished that I found the letters of Sparks above quoted and was compelled thereby to supply this chapter, and modify what I had elsewhere written.
CHAPTER XI
THE WILSON AND RANDOLPH DRAUGHTS
Since Madison's time there have been uncovered four papers of which he knew nothing, and they bring us into an almost new field of inquiry. These papers are in the handwriting of James Wilson, Edmund Randolph and John Rutledge (all members of the Committee of Detail) and they are draughts (or sketches for draughts) of the Constitution.
The first paper, chronologically, is not a draught. It was discovered by Professor McLaughlin and was published by him in the Nation of April 28, 1904, and is among the Wilson papers in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It is in Wilson's hand and was found among his papers; but if it was drawn up by him, of which I do not feel sure, it is questionable whether it was prepared by him for the Convention of 1787; and it is unquestionable that it was prepared before the adoption of the 23 resolutions. A single article, or item of the paper will demonstrate this and its worthlessness.
"20. Means of enforcing and compelling the Payment of the Quota of each State."
This is all that there is concerning the rock upon which the Confederation was already wrecked—the dependence of the general government upon the voluntary action of the State governments for revenue. Wilson in 1787 was too intelligent a statesman to even think of retaining this condition of national dependency, and he was too wise a man to talk of "enforcing and compelling" the several States to contribute to the national treasury. He may have prepared the paper some time before the Convention was called, when amendments to the Articles of Confederation were all that was anticipated, but he did not draw up this memorandum after he had become a member of the Committee of Detail.
The second paper in Wilson's hand was discovered by Professor Jameson among the Wilson papers, and was published by him in the Annual Report of the Historical Association, 1902, Vol. I., p. 151. This paper contains the preamble of the Pinckney draught, and, consequently, of the draught of the Committee. Then follow the first three articles of the Committee's draught, with some slight variations of language; and then under the caption of what should be article 4, come 29 paragraphs containing provisions closely agreeing with provisions in the Committee's but unarranged and incoherent in their order. The second sheet of this draught is unfortunately missing; the third sheet contains various provisions, following closely the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st resolutions, and, near the end of the paper, the provision relating to the veto power taken from the constitution of Massachusetts with the term "Governour of the United States" twice used.