TO GOVERNOR WILLIAMS.
Washington, November 1, 1807.
Sir,—I have duly received your letter of August 25th, in which you express a wish that the letters received from you may be acknowledged, in order to ascertain their safe transmission. Those received the present year have been of March 14, May 11, and 30, June 8, July 3, August 12, and 25. They have not been before acknowledged in conformity with a practice which the constant pressure of business has forced me to follow, of not answering letters which do not necessarily require it. I have seen with regret, the violence of the dissensions in your quarter. We have the same in the territories of Louisiana and Michigan. It seems that the smaller the society the bitterer the dissensions into which it breaks. Perhaps this observation answers all the objections drawn by Mr. Adams from the small republics of Italy. I believe ours is to owe its permanence to its great extent, and the smaller portion comparatively, which can ever be convulsed at one time by local passions. We expect shortly now to hear from England, and to know how the present cloud is to terminate. We are all pacifically inclined here, if anything comes from thence which will permit us to follow our inclinations. I salute you with esteem and respect.
TO MR. GALLATIN.
November 8, 1807.
I will sign a proclamation for the sale of the lands northwest of Ohio, whenever you think proper. I believe the form is in your office, and in the course of this week we will agree on the officers.
I am afraid we know too little as yet of the lead mines to establish a permanent system. I verily believe that of leasing will be far the best for the United States. But it will take time to find out what rent may be reserved, so as to enable the lessee to compete with those who work mines in their own right, and yet have an encouraging profit for themselves. Having on the spot two such men as Lewis and Bates, in whose integrity and prudence unlimited confidence may be placed, would it not be best to confide to them the whole business of leasing and regulating the management of our interests, recommending to them short leases, at first, till themselves shall become thoroughly acquainted with the subject, and shall be able to reduce the management to a system, which the government may then approve and adhere to. I think one article of it should be that the rent shall be paid in metal, not in mineral, so that we may have nothing to do with works which will always be mismanaged, and reduce our concern to a simple rent. We shall lose more by ill-managed smelting works than the digging the ore is worth. Then it would be better that our ore remained in the earth than in a storehouse, and consequently we give nine-tenths of the ore for nothing. These thoughts are merely for your consideration. Affectionate salutations.
TO MR. SHORT.
Washington, November 15, 1807.
Dear Sir,—Yours of the 6th has been duly received. On the subject of your location for the winter, it is impossible in my view of it, to doubt on the preference which should be given to this place. Under any circumstances it could not but be satisfactory to you to acquire an intimate knowledge of our political machine, not merely of its organization, but the individuals and characters composing it, their general mode of thinking, and of acting openly and secretly. Of all this you can learn no more at Philadelphia than of a diet of the empire. None but an eye-witness can really understand it, and it is quite as important to be known to them, and to obtain a certain degree of their confidence in your own right. In a government like ours, the standing of a man well with this portion of the public must weigh against a considerable difference of other qualifications. Your quarters here may not perhaps be quite as comfortable as at Philadelphia. There is a good house half-way between this and the Treasury, where General Dearborne, Mr. and Mrs. Cutts, board together. I do not know if there is a vacancy in it, but there are houses all along the avenue, convenient to the Capitol, and to this house also, to come and take your soup with us every day, when not otherwise engaged.