In 1774, a short time previous to the meeting of the Continental Congress, the provincial convention of Pennsylvania convened to concert plans for the redress of wrongs imposed by the mother country, of which Mr. Wilson was a bold and efficient member. So conspicuous were his talents and so pure his patriotism, that he was nominated by the same convention one of the delegates to the national assembly. His appointment was opposed by Mr. Galloway, who had long been his bitter enemy; but on the sixth of May, 1775, he was appointed a member of that august body. At the commencement of hostilities he was honoured with the commission of colonel, and was one of the commissioners to treat with the Indians. He was continued a member of Congress until 1777, when his enemies again succeeded in their machinations against him.
On the 4th of July, 1776, Mr. Wilson, with a bold and fearless hand, guided by love of country and motives pure as heaven, gave his vote in favour of independence, and subscribed his name to that matchless instrument which records the birth of our nation and liberty. That act alone was sufficient to confute the base slanders circulated against him, in the minds of all whose eyes were not covered by the baneful and deceptive film of party spirit. At the shrine of this dread Moloch, our country’s glory has been too often sacrificed. No purity of heart, no brilliancy of talent, no pre-eminence of worth, can save a man from the vile attacks of party spirit. Even Washington, the father of his country, often writhed under its withering lash. Some men seem born demagogues, and live under the influence of Gog and Magog during their whole lives.
As a member of the Continental Congress, Mr. Wilson acted well his part, and was esteemed as one of its most active and useful delegates. Coolness and consistency, marked characteristics of the Scotch nation, were the crimes of Mr. Wilson, on which his enemies based an accusation that he was not a pure patriot, and that he opposed the declaration of independence. But those who knew him well soon convinced the people of the falsity of the slander, and the character of this great and good man shone with renewed brightness.
On the twelfth of November, 1782, he was again elected to the national legislature, and the same year was appointed one of the counsellors and agents of Pennsylvania to attend the court of commissioners at Trenton, to which was referred the final determination of the protracted controversy between Connecticut and the Commonwealth relative to certain lands claimed by the latter within the limits of the former, situated in Wyoming valley.
The luminous and unanswerable arguments of Mr. Wilson, which lasted for several days, contributed, in no small degree, to influence that court to determine in favour of Pennsylvania, and put at rest for ever an angry litigation of years.
During the interim in which he was not a member of Congress he held the office of Advocate General for the French nation, which led him to the close investigation of national and maritime law. At the close of his services, the French king rewarded him with ten thousand livres. He was at the same time a director of the bank of North America, and had the full confidence of Robert Morris as a safe and able adviser in financial matters.
As an active, clear headed, and discreet member of the most important committees, Mr. Wilson stood in the front rank. He weighed every subject with a mathematical judgment, and traced all its bearings with the compass of wisdom.
He arrived at the desired goal with less parade but with more certainty than many others, whose zeal was more impetuous but not more pure than his. He sought more to bestow lasting benefits upon his bleeding country than to excite the huzzas and gaze of the multitude. Substantial usefulness is not always found in the foaming froth of popularity. It lives and is admired long after that transient vapour has disappeared and left its subject to repose in the peaceful shades of oblivion. Those who become inflated and rise by the power of party, vain pride and flattery, may soar aloft in the political atmosphere, followed by the eyes of thousands, but rely upon it, in a large majority of instances, their every action is dependent upon these subtile gases, and they will ultimately prove to be a mere bag of wind. Modest worth avoids etherial excursions; the terra firma of deep thought, calm reflection, and sound discretion, constitute its most congenial clime. It consents to launch into the revolving vortex of party with great reluctance, and nothing but a sense of duty to his country and fellow citizens, can induce a man of genuine merit to enter the vexatious arena of politics. How many such men are now in public stations, guarding the rights and directing the destiny of our nation, is a subject worthy of anxious and careful inquiry. If the people are not true to themselves, demagogues may easily ride into office who will not be true to them.
Mr. Wilson was one of the most useful members of the convention that formed our national constitution. He warmly opposed the appointment of delegates to Congress by the legislatures of the several states, and was powerfully instrumental in placing their election in the hands of the people. He was one of the committee which framed that important document, as first reported to the delegates. When this model of wisdom received its finishing stroke, Mr. Wilson warmly advocated its adoption. He was the only member from Pennsylvania of the national convention that framed the constitution who had a seat in the convention of that state convened to consider its provisions. His closing remarks in favour of its acceptance are worthy the attention of this enlightened age. They manifest a thorough acquaintance with human nature and with the circumstances that prompted many to dissent from its ratification.
“It is neither unexpected nor extraordinary, that the constitution offered to your consideration should meet with opposition. It is the nature of man to pursue his own interest in preference to the public good; and I do not mean to make any personal reflection when I add, that it is the interest of a very numerous, powerful, and respectable body, to counteract and destroy the excellent work produced by the late convention. All the officers of government and all the appointments for the administration of justice and the collection of the public revenue which are transferred from the individual to the aggregate sovereignty of the states, will necessarily turn the influence and emolument into a new channel. Every person, therefore, who either enjoys or expects to enjoy a place of profit under the present establishment, will object to the proposed innovation;—not in truth, because it is injurious to the liberties of his country, but because it affects his schemes of wealth and consequence. I will confess, indeed, that I am not a blind admirer of this plan of government, and that there are some parts of it which, if my wish had prevailed, would certainly have been altered. But when I reflect how widely men differ in their opinions, and that every man—and the observation applies likewise to every state—has an equal pretension to assert his own, I am satisfied that any thing nearer to perfection could not have been accomplished. If there are errors, it should be remembered that the seeds of reformation are sown in the work itself, and the concurrence of two-thirds of the Congress may, at any time, introduce alterations and amendments. Regarding it, then, in every point of view, with a candid, disinterested mind, I am bold to assert, that IT IS THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS EVER BEEN OFFERED TO THE WORLD.”