[23] Intercepted letters were laid before the President, showing that this expedition had been communicated to some members of the national convention and approved. It was stated that Mr. Genet, with the rank of major general, was to be Commander-in-chief of all forces raised on the American continent, and to direct their movements.
[24] See note [No. IX.] at the end of the volume.
[25] An evasive answer having been returned to the pacific overture made from the Au Glaize, General Wayne was uncertain whether the Indians had decided for peace or war.
[26] The inspector had left the house and secreted himself. The demand of the papers was acceded to.
[27] This requisition was afterwards augmented to fifteen thousand.
[28] The spirit of disaffection was rapidly spreading, and had it not been checked by this vigorous exertion of the powers of the government, it would be difficult to say what might have been its extent. Even while the militia were assembling, it broke out in more than one county in Pennsylvania, and showed itself in a part of Maryland.
[29] The impression, he said, made by this moderation on the discontented, did not correspond with what it deserved. The acts of delusion were no longer confined to the efforts of designing individuals. The very forbearance to press prosecutions was misinterpreted into a fear of urging the execution of the laws, and associations of men began to denounce threats against the officers employed. From a belief that by a more formal concert their operations might be defeated, certain self-created societies assumed the tone of condemnation.
[30] The apprehensions entertained by the opposition that Colonel Hamilton would be appointed on the embassy to England were extreme. Among the letters to General Washington, are some from members of each branch of the legislature, advising against the mission generally, and dissuading him from the appointment of Colonel Hamilton particularly, in terms which manifest a real opinion that the best interests of the nation would be sacrificed by such an appointment. Colonel Hamilton himself recommended Mr. Jay.
[31] See note [No. X.] at the end of the volume.
[32] In a private letter to the President, of the same date with the signature of the treaty, Mr. Jay said "to do more was impossible. I ought not to conceal from you, that the confidence reposed in your personal character was visible and useful throughout the negotiation.