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LIFE

OF

JAMES SULLIVAN:

WITH

SHecti0its f r 0 nt jus SBritntgs.

BY

THOMAS C; AMORY.

VOLUME II.

V

^V ]} ; \\ . y O \'

BOSTON:
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY,

13 Winter Street.

1859.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by
THOMAS C. AMORY, Jr.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Stereotyped by

HOBART 4 ROBBINS,

New England Type and Stereotype Foundery,

BOSTON.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Early preparation — Character as a lawyer — Character as an advocate —
Case of Freeman — Case of Gordon vs. Gardner — Case of Mary Ford — Case
of Smith vs. Dalton — Case of Jason Fairbanks — Anecdotes — Argument in
case of Wheeler, 1

CHAPTER II.

A T T 0 R N E Y - G E N E It A L .

179G— 1801.

Candidate for governor — Municipal reform — Pejebscot claim — Case of
Abijah Adams — French war — Cockades — Canvass for presidency, . . 53

CHAPTER III.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL.
L801— 1804.
Early rising — New administration — Letters to William Eustis — Federal
judiciary — Plain Truth — Death of Samuel Adams — South Boston — Mill
Pond — Municipal reform, 85

CHAPTER IY.

POLITICAL SENTIMENTS.

Party spirit — Party creeds — Federalists — Republicans — Political opinions,

113,
"1

IV TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

CANVASS.

1804—1807.

Presidential election — Constitutional society — Western lands — Case of Con-
ner— Attorney-general — Case of Selfridge, 139

CHAPTER VI.

ADMINISTRATION.

Levi Lincoln — State governments — Address — Courts of sessions — County-
attorneys — Republican measures — Militia law — University,. . . .192

CHAPTER VII.

ADMINISTRATION.

International law — Decrees and orders — Case of the Chesapeake — Impress-
ment — Right of search — Proclamations — Canvass for president, . . 216

CHAPTER VIII.

ADMINISTRATION.

Embargo — Speech — Judiciary — Betterment law — Troubles in Maine —
Pickering correspondence — Proclamation, 255

CHAPTER IX.

ADMINISTRATION.

British influence — Embargo — Speech — Electoral colleges — Non-intercourse
— Last illness — Death 277

OBITUARY, BY JOHN Q. ADAMS, 320

FUNERAL SERMON, 328

EPITAPH, 349

LEGISLATIVE TRIBUTE, 350

SKETCH, BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP, 353

MEMOIR, BY JAMES WINTHROP, 365

CORRESPONDENCE,

Letter to Council, 7 November, 1775, 368

" " Samuel Freeman, 21 January, 1776, 370

" " " " 27 " 1776, 371

TABLE OF CONTENTS. V

Letter to Benjamin Lincoln, 31 January, 1776, 371

" 7 February, 1776, 372

" " Perez Morton, 8 February, 1776, 373

" " Samuel Freeman, 12 February, 1776, 374

" " James Warrkn, 4 June, 1776, 375

«« " Samuel Freeman, 19 June, 1776 375

" " ffoHN Sullivan, 30 August, 1779, 376

" " Elbridoe Gerry, 25 December, 1779, 378

" " Benjamin Lincoln, 4 August, 1781, 380

" 26 September, 1781, 382

« 16 January, 1782, 383

« " " «« 4 November, 1782, 384

" 18 November, 1782, 386

" " Henry Knox, 17 December, 1783, 389

«« Rufus King, 25 October, 1785, 389

" " " 25 February, 1787, 390

" " Richard Henry Lee, 11 April, 1789, 391

" " Elbridge Gerry, 13 August, 1789, 392

" " 30 August, 1789, 394

" " Sir William Jones, 7 February, 1795, 395

" " Timothy Pickering, 5 November, 1798, 396

" Mrs. Cutler, 30 March, 1800, 398

" James Madison, 20 May, 1802, 399

" " Joseph S. Buckminster, 2 April, 1806, 407

Reply, 3 April, 1806, 407

Letter to John L. Sullivan, 13 December, 1806, 411

APPENDIX C, 413

CHAPTER I.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE.

The life of a lawyer in full practice is necessarily one
of ceaseless toil, and, where the nature is not selfish or
hardened, one also of constant anxiety. The well-being,
the fame and fortune of his client in his keeping, he moves
on, in his honorable career, under a heavy burthen. With
his heart peculiarly sensitive to all the various shades of
human suffering and calamity, which constitute the field
of his daily experience, investigations of legal questions,
requiring analysis as patient, and reflection as profound, as
any in metaphysics or theology, are to be calmly prose-
cuted, often on the very verge of an embittered forensic
discussion, the more formidable from his inability to antic-
ipate the precise period of its approach. Numerous rules
and principles, a boundless range of precedents, and nice
distinctions in pleading and evidence, must be continu-
ally present to his mind, and his faculties kept fresh and
energetic for conflict, ready for attack, or to parry, accord-
ing to the position assumed by his subtle antagonists.

Burke well called the law the noblest of sciences, quick-
ening and invigorating the understanding more than all
other learning put together. His early life had been occu-
pied with its study ; but he had never been so identified
with the bar as to give his opinion a professional bias.
Indeed, when we consider the vast amount of knowledge,
and many noble qualities of our nature, in perfect training,
ii. 1

2 LIFE AND WRITINGS

essential to the performance of the higher professional
duties, we are disposed to concede full praise to those,
who, by arduous discipline, qualify themselves to render
to society services of such indispensable importance to
its welfare. In return the community has been always
disposed to recognize the practical tendencies of legal
culture to open and liberalize the mind, and, wherever the
system of government has been based upon principles of
human freedom, placed especial confidence, in all matters
of political interest or public concernment, in their legal
advisers.

The system of law prevailing in this commonwealth at
the time of its reorganization, eighty years ago, mate-
rially differed from that of the present day. FronKthe
mother country we had inherited various principles and
rules of practice, transmitted from a remote and less
enlightened period of history, and originating in a condition
of society very dissimilar from any existing in America.
We are prone to consider the progress of our own times
more rapid and considerable than that of previous eras.
In this we are probably mistaken. Among the numberless
blessings Providence has permitted human reason to devise,
now seemingly as essential to our comfortable existence as
the air we breathe, it is not easy to trace the exact order
of their original germination or development; yet their
regular succession has not been the less constant, because
not at all times perceptible. There have been epochs in
the history of nations when, in several respects, civilization
has been retrograde ; but, since the Reformation and the
general diffusion of knowledge through the press, the
march of improvement has been steadily onward. All the
sciences have shared in the movement, and, under the
benign influence of the great central principle of common
sense, the three-fold combination of justice, reason and truth,
the law, breaking free from its feudal trammels, has been
making more rapid strides towards perfection than at any

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 3

period since the days of Justinian. American legislation
inspired by the spirit of liberty, and aided by the general
intelligence of the people, has been particularly bold and
innovating ; and, while sufficiently conservative still to
draw its vitality through the ancient roots of the English
common law, justly regarded among our most valuable
heir-looms, marks are to be found everywhere throughout
our statutes of the influence of democratic principles.
The present relation of debtor and creditor, the simplifica-
tion of real titles and suits at law, the relaxation of the
law of libel, and abrogation of the death penalty for vari-
ous offences, and of infamous punishments, such as crop-
ping, branding and the pillory, are instances, among many,
of changes in a great measure resulting from our free
institutions. If our jurisprudence be not altogether as
symmetrical as if fashioned anew, it has been pruned of
many of its decayed branches and useless excrescences, is
hardy and healthy, and well suited to secure the peace of
society, and protect our rights and liberties. It has
commanded the respect of foreign jurists, and in some of
its more important developments has served as a model
for the most enlightened of nations, our own mother
country.

But, during the earlier portion of the forty years James
Sullivan was engaged in professional life, the ancient sys-
tem remained for the most part unimproved. Much of the
legal learning of the day was to be sought in a barbarous
language, locked up, from all uninitiated in its mysteries,
in uncouth black-letter. The few treatises and books of
reports in the country were not collected in any complete
library, either public or private, but scattered about
among the profession. Every lawyer possessed his manu-
script volume of forms, copied out when he was a student,
with the additions provided by his own practice; and
possibly, if particularly fortunate and provident, possessed
besides of some few notes of cases adjudged in the courts

4 LIFE AND WRITINGS

of the province. The first volume of Blackstone's Com-
mentaries was published in 1765, the year Sullivan became
a student, and by the time of his assuming his that on the
bench, some ten years later, had become well known on
both sides of the ocean. These Commentaries, Burrow's Re-
ports, Coke upon Littleton, Wood's Conveyancing, Hobart,
Saunders and the Year Books, were among the standard
authorities. Judge Sullivan made an effort to procure a
valuable collection of legal works from England ; but the
vessel bearing the precious burthen was lost or captured
on its passage. During the Revolution the law libraries of
the refugee lawyers were confiscated, and those of the
capital were deposited in the Province House. Instances
are found of legislative resolves permitting the judges to
purchase these volumes at a fair valuation, and one, in the
year 1779, authorizes the sale to Sullivan of the Modern
Entries, the Pleas of the Crown, Foster and Hawkins, and
the Reports of Strange, Keyling and Burrow, which had
belonged to Gridley.

The leading cases were generally familiar, but, often
based on facts rarely if ever occurring in American
experience, they demanded the nicest discrimination in
settling, by the feeble and uncertain light they afforded,
the new questions which arose. If, with these scanty aids
to professional learning, less time was consumed in the
study, the reasoning powers were called into more vigor-
ous exercise in the application of established principles ;
and, trained and strengthened by this discipline, the bar of
that period, in proportion to its numbers, would not, to say
the least, suffer by a comparison with that of later days,
notwithstanding the present greatly increased appliances
for professional excellence. Having no magazine of cases
in point to select from, for the government of the case
under advisement, the lawyer had more often than now to
arrive at his conclusions by the aid of abstract rules and
principles. One, who has left a colossal reputation for

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 5

reasoning and eloquence, is said to have prepared his
arguments pacing his office ; and, when requiring authori-
ties to sustain his positions, to have summoned one of his
students from the adjacent apartment, and, stating the
law, directed a search to be made in the books for the
appropriate citations.

Special pleading, which, through several centuries, had,
by the wisdom and experience of the great sages of Eng-
lish law, been gradually matured into a science, was adopted
generally in American practice before the Revolution, and
continued, down to a recent period, to prevail in the courts
of Massachusetts. The general issue might be pleaded by
agreement of parties, but the usage was to adhere to the
rules. Demurrers, with all the varieties of pleas, repli-
cations, rejoinders and rebutters, were in frequent requi-
sition; and, in case of error, the penalty, costs, or a
continuance, rigidly exacted and enforced. This admirable
system of professional logic for defining, elucidating and
determining, the precise points in litigation, had a twofold
advantage : it developed and strengthened the reasoning
faculties of the lawyer, while it economized the time of
the court by abbreviating his argument and confining it
more closely to the issue.

In endeavoring to present a just estimate of the profes-
sional character of Sullivan, some dependence must neces-
sarily be placed upon tradition. This is, fortunately, so
far corroborated by the recorded opinions of competent
judges, his cotemporaries, that there is little likelihood
of being betrayed, by partiality, into unmerited eulogium.
Many members of the Massachusetts bar still remember
him well, and have kindly contributed their recollections to
this present sketch. Their impressions were formed after
he had already somewhat passed the meridian of his power,
when the fertility of his imagination had been checked
and his health impaired by approaching age. They com-
pared his forensic efforts with those of his great compet-

6 LIFE AND WHITINGS

itors, the giants of the law ; with the extensive learning
and vast intellectual strength of Parsons, the majestic
grandeur of Dexter's rhetoric, and the honeyed flow and
brilliant sparkle of Harrison Gray Otis. Yet all unite in
conceding to him the merit of great sagacity in the man-
agement of his causes ; of unrivalled ascendency over the
minds of the juries, and of an eloquence the more effect-
ive, that it was rarely studied or premeditated. They
speak with profound respect of the extent and thorough-
ness of his legal attainments, and of the wise and generous
views he brought to bear upon the settlement of questions
not already decided. We all daily realize how much our
opinion of others is affected by party bias. Yet, neither
in his own day nor since, has the estimate of his abilities
been very sensibly prejudiced by reason of his political
sentiments ; although, as a republican and democrat, his
creed was deemed heretical and dangerous by the majority
of the community among whom he resided.

There were circumstances in his training peculiarly
favorable for professional success. With ardent aspirations
for distinction, and incited by the example of his elder
brother, whose judicious counsels directed his efforts, he
had devoted himself, during his legal apprenticeship, with
great assiduity to study. What books he could procure he
had thoroughly mastered. His mind, naturally philosophic
and comprehensive, readily grasped the great principles of
jurisprudence; and his memory, well disciplined and reten-
tive, accumulated as he went vast stores of points and prec-
edents. The early imposed necessity of earning subsistence
for his family stimulated his energies ; and, entering upon
practice in a scantily peopled district, he had few compet-
itors, to discourage, by their superior standing and experi-
ence, the free development of his natural powers, or check
that most essential requisite for efficient service at the bar,
confidence in himself.

The ancient landmarks being broken up by the Revolu-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. I

tion, and government, law and public sentiment, alike in a
state of transition, social rights and duties, the ground-
work of legal science, were resolved, as far as depended
upon human sanction, into their original elements. A
large share of the work of reconstruction, in harmony with
the more liberal notions introduced by our political eman-
cipation, devolved on the judges and the leading lawyers.
Sullivan was ambitious and industrious, and applied him-
self with zeal to his portion of this duty. His association
in the work with such profound lawyers as Gushing,
Paine and Sargent, afforded the best facilities for a deep
insight into the reasons and principles upon which all leg-
islation should be founded, and a high standard by which
to measure his own conclusions. He was no slavish fol-
lower of other men's opinions, but sufficiently independent
to think for himself. They were all too thoroughly prac-
tical and sensible to indulge in theoretical fallacies, and, at
the same time, too enlightened to be deterred from inno-
vation by any unreasoning respect for ancient doctrines.
Their task was accomplished with no violent changes, but
not without revising our whole body of laws, the organ-
ization of the tribunals, and their rules of practice. The
beneficial influence of these labors over the subsequent
professional career of our subject cannot be too highly
estimated.

For a long period prior to the adoption of the state
constitution the correspondence of Sullivan proves his
mind to have been much occupied upon the subject of
government. The liberalizing tendency of these studies
is distinctly perceptible in the broad and elevated views
presented in his controversial writings, and was probably
not without its effect upon his legal arguments. Some of
those reported or referred to fully justify this conclusion;
and cases, involving important questions of this nature,
were of constant occurrence in his practice.

It will possibly be remembered that, after the burning

8

LIFE AND WRITINGS

of Falmouth, in the autumn of 1775, Sullivan, while a
member of the Provincial Congress, in connection with
Gerry, drafted a bill, which John Adams pronounced the
most important document in our history, for the organiza-
tion of courts of admiralty. He was appointed judge of
one of the three districts into which the commonwealth
was divided. Questions, in the discussion of which he
took part, constantly arose during the war, under the law
of nations ; and, engaged afterwards in practice among a
people largely interested in navigation and commerce, his
knowledge of maritime law became necessarily extensive
and accurate. His writings prove him to have been famil-
iar with the works of Grotius, Valen, Puffendorf, Vattel
and Burlamaqui, and other standard authorities upon these
branches of his profession.

The appropriate discharge of his duties upon the su-
preme bench required incessant study; and the hearing
of cases must have served as the best of discipline for his
subsequent efforts at the bar. Nor could the two years he
held the office of judge of probate have failed to contribute
much valuable learning upon the important subjects within
the cognizance of that tribunal. His extensive investiga-
tion of the land-titles of New England, as commissioner to
establish our right to land west of the Hudson, peculiarly
qualified him for the management of the numerous contro-
versies, under Indian deeds and ancient charters, which
long occupied our courts. The documentary and tradi-
tional evidence, upon which such claims depended, was not
generally accessible, and any lawyer who was fortunate
enough to possess unusual facilities for the solution of
these intricate questions was sure of constant employ-
ment.

If his varied experience upon the bench and as a legisla-
tor, combined with unwearying powers of application, con-
duced to make him a learned lawyer, the incidents of his
life and his natural endowments eminently qualified him for

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 9

an able advocate. Brought up in the country, and familiar
from childhood with the customs, habits and employments,
of a rural community, and well skilled himself in its duties
and its sports, he thoroughly understood the sentiments
and prejudices of that portion of his countrymen from
among whom, out of the larger towns, juries were generally
selected. From constant intercourse with men of all con-
ditions and pursuits, he acquired a thorough knowledge of
their habits of thought, and his mode of argument instinct-
ively adapted itself to meet their peculiarities. His per-
sonal popularity was equal to that of any member of the
bar ; and when it is remembered that nearly one fifth of
the whole population of the commonwealth, during the
Revolution, were at different periods upon the army rolls,
it is not surprising that one who had been prominent in
the contest as he had should have been a favorite advo-
cate.

His manly frankness and cheerfulness of temper concili-
ated affection and esteem, which Avere never chilled by any
pride of opinion or manifestations of superiority. Gener-
ous and ardent in his impulses, and keenly alive to all that
is noble and elevated in character, he, at the same time,
made ample allowance for human infirmity, and seldom
indulged in harshness of censure. If, indeed, injustice
invoked denunciation, he did not hesitate to expose it in its
native deformity ; but avoided, where he might, all excess
of personal invective. His integrity and love of truth
condescended to no artifice or exaggeration, and saved
him from ever presenting the painful spectacle of one vainly
endeavoring, by transparent glosses, to cover facts too
stubborn for concealment. This sincerity inspired confi-
dence, and often was of itself persuasion. Directness of
purpose is more effective with juries than ingenuity of
argument ; and, rarely losing cases he should have gained,
he was frequent]}7 successful with tin; right against him.

One remarkable excellence in his forensic reasoning was

10 LIFE AND WKITINGS

the distinct and forcible enunciation of his leading propo-
sitions. His own ideas were clear and well defined, and,
clothed in expressions direct and to the point, were easily
understood and remembered. His illustrations were hap-
pily selected ; and an imagination fertile and glowing, yet
chastened by good taste, frequently relieved the sobriety
of a dull topic by its unexpected sparkle and warm color-
ing. He had great command of language ; and, if an occa-
sional disregard of some rule of rhetoric betrayed want of
early training, his style possessed vigor and animation. His
reasoning was close, without losing clearness ; and his
main subject rolled on smooth and strong, borrowing, in its
course, from every surrounding object, beauties to please
and to persuade.

He rarely aimed to play the orator. But his sensibilities
were easily aroused ; and when the subject justified, his
earnestness, kindling a responsive glow in the jury, and
even invading the grave precincts of the bench, poured
itself forth in resistless eloquence. His pathos is said to
have frequently drawn tears from those who heard him,
and often from eyes little given to such gentle effusions.
There is no school like the legal profession for the study
of human nature. The natural promptings of ambition
and of avarice, of envy, jealousy and revenge, the rivalries
of trade, the heart-burnings of political contention, and
the social and domestic affections that bind humanity to-
gether in one sensitive vibration, when diseased, build the
court-house and fill the jail. Sullivan had reflected much
upon the workings of the human heart, and it was natural
that, with the opportunities he possessed, he should have
become a master of its science. What abundant facilities
it must have yielded for the solution of intricate cases, how
greatly it must have contributed to his eloquence as a
jury advocate, is too obvious to dwell upon.

Our New England people, if not all diligent students of
the Bible, from constant attendance upon public worship

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 11

learn without effort its language and lessons. The influ-
ence over the popular intellectual training, new usurped
by the press, seventy years ago was exercised by the pul-
pit. The ministers meekly guided their flocks along the
paths of revelation, and the Scriptures, as the only ap-
proach to the presence of the Infinite, were regarded with
awe and reverence. By daily perusal and study, Sullivan
was familiar with the books both of the Old and New
Testaments. He had unshaken faith in the great truths of
religion, and was too constantly under their influence to
make irreverent use of biblical language. But when the
issues of life and death were suspended in the balance, and
the crowded court-room, hushed into profound attention by
overpowering emotion, hung spell-bound on his lips, his
fervid spirit, soaring above ordinary topics and illustra-
tions, is said to have drawn from the sacred chambers of
Scripture the glowing expressions of inspiration with elec-
trifying effect.

" His voice was clear, loud and musical, distinct and
emphatic, and his tones adapted to the subject and the
audience. He had very dignified manners, and a com-
manding person, which, when he spoke in court, did not
seem to be marred by his lameness. His features were
remarkably fine, and their expression intelligent and placid.
He was always composed and self-possessed in argument,
and too well versed in the science of the law, the techni-
calities of pleading, and the rules of evidence, ever to be
taken by surprise. The great traits of his mind were
force, comprehensiveness and ardor. Nothing of conse-
quence in a cause escaped the fulness and intensity of his
thoughts. His arguments were clear, close and strong ;
not calculated so much for parade as to secure conviction.
In important cases his addresses were well prepared and
digested, and embraced and illustrated all the topics of the
question. He had for his antagonists the greatest lawyers
then at the bar, — Dana, Lowell, Parsons, Sewall, Gore,

12 LIFE AND WRITINGS

Dexter, and Otis, — and, if not first, was in the very first
rank. His sagacity so justly adapted the course of his
argument to the persons whom he addressed, that it may
be questioned whether a public speaker had ever appeared,
before his death, in the state, whose ascendency over the
minds of the juries of the country was so general and
permanent as his."

The practitioners at our bar were then limited in num-
ber, well acquainted with each other, and generally distin-
guished for their liberality and gentlemanly bearing. Even
measured by the then existing standard, Sullivan is said to
have been remarkably courteous, and never betrayed, by
the ardor of forensic discussion, into forgetfulness of what
was due to the feelings of others. In the examination of
witnesses, he believed truth was more certainly elicited by
inspiring confidence than by any effort to intimidate. As
attorney-general, he was constantly engaged in causes
where life, liberty and reputation, were dependent upon
the issue. It is remembered to his credit, that, conscien-
tiously performing his duty to the state in bringing male-
factors to punishment, he was particularly tender of the
rights of prisoners, and never appeared eager to convict.

In another part of these volumes will be found the
memoir of Sullivan, by Mr. Knapp, which is particularly
full on his professional career. It has been our intention
to avoid as far as practicable the topics there presented,
in order that that interesting sketch, earlier in time, and
consequently derived from a wider field of information,
may be taken in connection with our own for a more com-
plete view of Sullivan's character as a lawyer.

It was not till after the commencement of the present
century that we had in Massachusetts any printed reports
of cases, except a few published by Sullivan himself in the
Collections of the Historical Society. Trials of unusual
interest at long intervals were imperfectly reported for the
newspapers ; and from these we propose to select, for some

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. li>

slight comment, a few of the more remarkable in which
Sullivan was engaged.

The earliest important case reported at length, in which
he acted as attorney-general, was the prosecution of Free-
man, editor of the Herald of Freedom, for a libel on Coun-
sellor Gardiner. As the first prosecution for libel in the
commonwealth, and indeed in the country, as also from the
standing of Gardiner, and the eminence of the counsel, it
attracted much attention. Gardiner, in carrying out his
projects of legal reform, spared no one who opposed him,
and provoked, in return, severe abuse from those who
disapproved of his proposed innovations. He defied the
newspapers, and, in the hearing of Freeman, promised
his speeches to Riissel, of the Centinel, if he- would publish
in full everything written against him by the black-birds,
as he termed the lawyers. Freeman soon after inserted in
the Herald a communication charging upon the counsellor
some faults of habit and temper, which could not, without
a forced construction, be made to signify anything to his
serious prejudice. The grand jury, at the instigation of
Mr. Gardiner, indicted the editor, who was defended by
Amory and Otis. Gardiner urged the propriety of his
being joined with the attorney-general; but to this neither
Sullivan nor the court would assent. In order to consti-
tute the publication a libel, the innuendoes of the indict-
ment gave to the language used a signification not sus-
tainable by the manifest intention or the evidence. Upon
the strength of Lord Mansfield's decision in the case of
Wood fall, the publisher of Junius, all the judges, except
Paine, instructed the jury that, unless the meaning found
corresponded with that charged in the indictment, they
were bound to acquit ; which they accordingly did. The
arguments of the counsel are given in full in the Herald.
That of Otis, who elaborately prepared and wrote out his
arguments, is brilliant and able ; and that of his senior
counsel, strong and sensible. Sullivan generally trusted to

14 LIFE AND WHITINGS

the inspiration of the moment for his language, though his
preparation had evidently been as thorough as the case
demanded. His address to the jury was taken down in
short-hand by reporters not as expert as those of the
present day ; but, even with this disadvantage, it is a
favorable specimen of his forensic power.

He sketched the history of the English law upon the
subject, and stated the rules existing in that country. The
Star Chamber had protected the rich and powerful from
the attacks of the poor and discontented, but had not inter-
posed to suppress slander from any conviction of its bad
tendency. The press had become free in England, in 1694,
under William and Mary. To support a civil action for
libel the defendant must be charged with crime or some
act affecting his person or liberty, or injuring him in his
trade or business. But, if true, and without malice, the
justification was sufficient. This was not so in criminal
prosecutions. The principle that the greater the truth,
where one was held up to scorn, contempt or ridicule,
the greater the libel, was the law of the state, based upon
the English common law. The law of Massachusetts on
this subject was altered in 1826; and, by the Revised
Statutes, chapter 133, section 6, the truth, upon prosecu-
tions for libels, may be given in evidence, and, if proved,
is sufficient justification, if the publication be shown to
have been with good motives and for justifiable ends.

Massachusetts had been the pioneer state in abolishing
within its borders slavery, and early active in suppressing
its abominable traffic. In 1770, two years before Lord
Mansfield decided the case of Somerset, the same enlight-
ened principles of justice and humanity had been recog-
nized here by our court in the province. Judge Lowell,
one of the wisest and most estimable of the patriots, had
caused the clause to be inserted in the first article of our
declaration of rights which secured the abolition of slavery
in the state ; and, shortly after, when our subject was on

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 15

its bench, the superior court of the province recognized
the right of the whole people, without distinction of color,
to equality before the law. In this we would boast no
invidious example. Slavery was not of any benefit what-
ever to our state, and obedience to conscience involved no
pecuniary sacrifice. There is little virtue in refraining
from what we do not wish to do ; and, perhaps, less in
censuring others for yielding to what to them is a strong
temptation, but none whatever to ourselves.

Rhode Island had passed a law prohibiting the traffic,
and affixing a penalty of two hundred pounds for fitting
out any vessel for the trade, and of fifty pounds for each
slave brought home. Massachusetts, as stated in our chap-
ter on the federal constitution, in March, 1788, passed a
similar law. The brigantine Hope, owned by Gardiner, in
the spring of that year, was rigged, victualled and manned,
at Newport ; and, coming round to Boston, cleared for the
Cape of Good Hope. Upon the African coast she took in
one hundred negroes, who, carried to the West Indies,
\\<re sold as slaves. Howell, president of the Rhode
I -land Abolition Society, and who, four years later, was
appointed by Washington upon the commission with Sulli-
van for settling the St. Croix controversy, acted with
Judge Dawes as counsel for Gordon, who sued the owner
in Massachusetts, on a qui tarn, for the penalty for the
fitting out at Boston. The defence made by Charming,
attorney-general of Rhode Island, and Governor Bradford,
was, that Gardiner was not a resident of. the common-
wealth. The verdict in the lower court was for the
plaintiff; and, in October, 1791, the cause came by appeal
to the supreme court at Taunton, Sullivan being retained
as senior counsel for the prosecutor.

The Boston Centinel, in reporting the outline of the
case, says," Sullivan, the attorney-general, closed in as able
and elegant a speech as was ever heard at the bar of the
supreme court. We cannot pretend to follow him through

16 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the vast variety of argument which his ingenuity and ardent
and prolific imagination led him. Suffice it to say, that he
refuted the arguments on the other side. We cannot, how-
ever, refrain from stating a few ideas, thrown out by that
great lawyer, who is an honor to his profession, and de-
serves the approbation of his country. He maintained
that if defendant, by fitting out the vessel at Boston, did
not gain sufficient residence to become liable to our penal
laws, the statute was nugatory. Penal statutes should
doubtless be strictly interpreted. But an act made to re-
strain the inordinate lusts of man, to prevent the reign of
havoc and destruction throughout one portion of the
globe, deserved a more liberal construction ; and mis-
creants, hardened to every feeling of humanity and com-
passion, who had thrown hundreds of their fellow-men
into perpetual bondage and wretchedness, were not
entitled to any particular mercy.'7 The verdict was
sustained.

The performance of his duties in various capital cases,
in several important impeachments, and also in civil cases,
is commented upon, with much encomium, in the journals.
The case of the Mary Ford, a French prize abandoned at
sea, and claimed by the English owner, gained for the cap-
tors by Sullivan in the federal court against Gore and Dane
for the libellee, attracted much attention at the time ; as
also the trials of Abbot, Burroughs, Wheeler, Blackburne,
Stewart, Wheeler, Hardy and numberless others, reports of
some of which were published separately, and others in
the newspapers.

The case of Smith and Dalton, at Lenox, tried in Octo-
ber, 1805, was of great interest, as establishing the liberal
interpretation of the third article of the state Declaration
of Rights, as to the right of religious worship. The tax-
collector of the town of Dalton collected of Whipple, who
attended the church of the plaintiff, a Baptist minister, a
church-rate for the support of an older parish in the town,

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 17

of a different persuasion. Smith sued tne town for the
tax, and the court decided in his favor. The argument of
Sullivan, his counsel, received high encomium for its noblo
exposition of the true principles of religious liberty.

Among his numerous criminal causes, of sufficient in-
terest to be reported in print, the most celebrated are
those of Fairbanks and Selfridge. The latter will be
mentioned, at length, in another connection ; but some
of the facts in the former case may prove interesting
here.

Upon the eighteenth day of May, 1801, the ancient town
of Dedham, ten miles from the capital, was thrown into a
state of consternation by a most startling tragedy. The
terrible tidings, that Elizabeth Fales, the most beautiful of
its maidens, had been murdered by her lover, were soon
■widely spread. The parties belonged to families of great
respectability in the place, and were themselves familiarly
known among the inhabitants. Miss Fales, at the age of
eighteen, was just blooming into womanhood, as lovely in
disposition as attractive for her personal graces. She had
had, somewhat earlier, a youthful fondness for a young
man, one of her neighbors, who went to New York, and
had faithlessly married another. Disappointment, for a
period, preyed upon her health, and she was slowly recover-
ing from her sorrows when Jason Fairbanks, three years
older than herself, but who from childhood had known her
intimately, completely fascinated by her growing charms,
became her wooer.

Unfitted for active pursuits by feeble health and the
stiffness of one of his arms, which had been crippled by
disease, Fairbanks had been at the Wrentham Academy, to
prepare himself for some employment better suited to his
bodily condition than life on a farm, his hereditary occupa-
tion, lb- was of a strong, but ill-regulated temper, fitful,
and occasionally depressed. His very eccentricity, how-
ever, served but to deepen the impressions which his de-
li. 2

18 LIFE AND WEITINGS

voted attentions made upon a heart naturally affectionate,
and somewhat tinged with romance. She realized the
defects of his character, and hesitated to confide her hap-
piness to his keeping. Still, a strong magnetic influence,
not to be controlled by her better judgment, drew her
towards him, and they were frequent companions. Some
ancient quarrel existed between their respective families,
and Jason could not visit her at home. They found abun-
dant opportunities for meeting, by appointment, at the
houses of her friends, and occasionally walked together,
when not likely to attract observation, in the woods or by
the Charles. Her parents knew something of their inti-
macy, and disapproved, but do not appear to have directly
interposed to influence her to give him up.

Their mutual attachment was well understood in the
neighborhood, and excited little comment. Possibly some
parental admonition, or else a doubt whether her senti-
ments would justify her committing herself by a promise
beyond recall, led her to discourage his addresses, and at
times even to excite his jealousy by receiving kindly the
attentions of others. Irritated by this seeming vacillation,
and restless under uncertainties insupportable to a lover,
he came madly to the conclusion to force her into a clan-
destine marriage, or terminate his earthly torments by her
destruction and his own. While brooding over his plans,
he chanced one day to find his niece engaged in writing,
and, without awakening her suspicions as to his object,
and pretending it merely for sport, induced her to draw up
a certificate of marriage, and insert in it the names of Miss
Fales and his own.

The day before the dreadful catastrophe was the Sab-
bath ; and the voice of the young woman, one of remark-
able sweetness, was heard mingling in the sacred music
of the sanctuary. When the afternoon services were
over, Jason was her companion on her way homewards,
and she was observed to be particularly happy and cheer-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 19

fill. The next day, about noon, after having performed her
household duties, she took for her dinner a tumbler of
milk, and, attired in a green skirt and calico frock, after the
prevailing fashion of the period, she went gayly away to a
neighbor's for a book, in which she was interested, and which
she had lent to one of her companions. The book was
Julia de Mandeville ; and her friend not having com-
pleted its perusal, she sat herself down for an hour, ab-
sorbed in the romantic story. About two she sprang up,
and, declining her friend's invitation to pass the rest of the
day there, as her family were that evening engaged out,
Bhe lingered for a few moments at the door, in play with a
beautiful child, then took her leave, and proceeded towards
home.

Home, however, was not her destination. Changing
her direction, she repaired to a solitary place, called
Mason's Pasture, partly overgrown with bushes and a small
growth of wood. Here she met her lover, in all probabil-
ity in accordance with an appointment made the preceding
afternoon when they parted. What occurred in that fatal
interview never transpired by his confession. An hour
later he was seen approaching her house, covered with
wounds, manifestly inflicted by himself with a view of
self-destruction. Apprised by his incoherent communi-
cations of the existence of some terrible calamity, her
father and mother hastened to the place that he indicated,
and there found the beautiful girl frightfully wounded in
the back and the bosom, her arms and her throat badly
bleeding. She made some faint sign as she recognized
the voice of her father, but, after a brief interval, ceased
to breathe.

In the early part of the following August, the meeting-
house of Dedham was densely thronged with the inhabit-
ants and large numbers of other persons, who had flocked
from the capital and neighboring villages. Many, unable
to find a vacant spot within the building, crowded the area

20 LIFE AND WRITINGS

without. An intense but subdued excitement pervaded
the vast assemblage. Chief Justice Dana, with his associ-
ates, Paine, Strong and Dawes, occupied the space below
the pulpit, and the jury the pews in its immediate neigh-
borhood. Jason Fairbanks, calm and free from any appear-
ance of emotion, though his life was depending on the issue,
was the central point of observation. His counsel, Lowell
and Otis, with more even than their wonted powers of per-
suasion, for six hours exhausted ingenuity in vain, in efforts
to avert the unhappy doom of their client. The closing
reply for the prosecution is described, by those who were
present, as one of almost unrivalled eloquence. It was, no
doubt, one of the most effective of Sullivan's forensic argu-
ments. It occupied more than two hours in its delivery, and
is only partially reported. We present some portions of
what has been preserved ; and its pathos, and its just and
profound views of human duty and moral responsibili-
ty, cannot fail to make a forcible impression upon the
reader: *

"To request your attention particularly to the impor-
tance of the issue, would be doing you injustice ; for, with-
out exaggeration, without any aid from fancy, this is one
of the most awful catastrophes ever exhibited in real life
in any age or country, or sketched by the most eccentric im-
agination upon the pages of romance. Nor will it be neces-
sary for me to repeat to you what constitutes the crime of
murder, with which the prisoner is charged, or that malice
aforethought which distinguishes this from other species of

* The report was prepared by Mr. Renaud, a French gentleman, then residing
in Boston, and an occasional contributor to the press. He afterwards returned
to Paris, and was tutor in the family of Fauchet, once minister to this
country. He published, under the name of Jay, a book, called " Le Glan-
eur," and also wrote a tale, founded on the Dedham tragedy. Judge Sullivan
was too busily occupied at the time to correct the copy of his argument, which
was taken down in short hand, and much abbreviated, his remarks on the
evidence being, for the most pai-t, omitted. A few slight alterations and trans-
positions have been made in the text where Renaud's report was evidently in-
complete.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 21

homicide. These distinctions have been already sufficiently
explained to you in the opening, and it is now your duty to
make their application to the facts which have been given in
evidence. That evidence is conclusive that the deceased, in
perfect health, with spirits uniformly cheerful, with every-
thing to make existence desirable, has been stricken down in
the bloom of her youth and beauty, and with a knife which
is proved to have been, shortly before her death, in the pos-
session of the prisoner, and again immediately afterwards.
He, and he alone, was with her when the deed was consum-
mated. The deduction is consequently irresistible that she
either destroyed herself, or that he was guilty of her murder.

" In her mind there could have existed no provocation to
suicide, even if she loved the prisoner ever so ardently ;
since, though he could not visit her under her father's roof,
she was frequently with him at other places. Nor does it
indeed appear that she had ever made up her mind to
become his wife ; or that he had, either directly or indirectly,
asked the consent of her parents, or that they had forbidden
his visits. If she had a fondness for him, she could have
gone away and been married to him when she pleased,
though, from the badness of his habits, it might have
involved her in ruin. To say that her passion was ardent,
and that she could be provoked to commit suicide because
the object of her affection was not a better man, or in
better circumstances, is a supposition too unnatural to be
allowed any serious consideration.

" Even in the most romantic pictures and visionary tales
we find the fair sex, when sick of life, generally avoiding
the ghastly wounds of the knife and dagger, and seeking
an avenue through the water, by poison, or strangling. We
always find this preceded by melancholy, distemper, or a
disposition to solitude and retirement.

" But the wounds found upon the deceased could not have
been given by herself. It is altogether impossible that that
in her back, directly in, should have been made by her own

22 LIFE AND WRITINGS

arm, even though a formed and deliberate arrangement had
been made for the attempt. And if she wished to die, why-
should she have thus cruelly lacerated and mangled her own
flesh? Why should she begin at the thumb, and continue the
process to the elbow, dividing the tendons of the arm, under
a torture of inexpressible anguish ? Why wound the other
arm, and by multiplied strokes pierce her own bosom ? Had
she at first cut her throat, she could not have retained
strength to have inflicted the other wounds. If the other
wounds were the first in time, she could not have had
strength to have made that in her throat. The knife was
small, and rather dull. What unexampled fortitude must
she not have possessed, to divide the thumb through the
sensible membrane of the nail? What part of this project
of death could lead her to lacerate her arms, in a manner
which could not fail to torture her beyond sufferance ? If
she meant to cause her life to issue through her breast,
why was not the wound there made effectual ?

" There is no charge against the deceased for want of pu-
rity. So far was she removed from a vice of that kind,
that the evidence exhibits the strongest proof of her dying
in defence of her honor. Yet it is to be lamented that a
want of discretion led her to this melancholy catastrophe.
Her particular acquaintance with the prisoner was con-
sidered by her parents as an unfortunate and disagreeable
circumstance ; but it appears, from their testimony, that
they had not absolutely interdicted an intercourse. It is
a painful thing to make any observation on their want of
firmness, or her want of prudence ; yet this trial ought
not to pass on without such observations being made as
naturally present themselves to all who hear it.

" The path of life opens upon the young full of flowers
and sweets. It appears direct, and on an easy ascent,
where nothing can annoy or interrupt. But, when we
have arrived at the further end, the view is changed. We,
from that point, look back upon the snares we have fallen

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 23

into, as well as the perils we have escaped, and become
astonished that we have had a progress so successful. The
hazardous journey is drawn in strong colors before our
children : but they proceed on, charmed by false appear-
ances, until they have suffered in their turn as we have
done before them. We have, however, great cause of
gratitude to a kind Providence, that our experience and
caution, when assiduously and timely exerted, do save the
far greater part of our posterity from those disgraceful
enormities which render the existence of a few completely
wretched and miserable, and load that of others with dis-
tress and calamity.

" Why, then, will not the young, the tender part of the
community, avail themselves of the Avisdom of those who
have gone on in the path of life before them? Why will
not the promising young man, in whose character the
hopes of his parents are fondly centred, and the blooming
beauty, whose countenance sheds the rays of cheerfulness
round the domicil of her family, watch the eye of experi-
ence, and hang on the lip of matured understanding? If
the overweening love of the parents unfortunately robs
them of that firmness which they ought to use in the gov-
ernment of their children, one ought to be led to conclude
that this alone would incline the child to search for their
wishes, and to perform them with alacrity. In a life filled
with temptations to errors fatal in their nature, in a path
through a wilderness full of dangers and evils, one would
suppose that young travellers would gladly avail them-
selves of the wisdom experience has given. Yet, too
many rush on heedlessly over the ruin of thousands who
have fallen a prey in the same ways they are pursuing.

" The counsel for the prisoner rely, with a great degree
of propriety, for his innocence, upon the circumstances of
his birth and education. It is true, indeed, that he was
bred in a country where there are as great advantages for
the rising generation as are found in any part of the world.

24 LIFE AND WRITINGS .

Our public schools maintained at the common expense, give
almost equal advantages to every class of people. The
poor and the rich man's sons meet there on a footing of per-
fect equality. Our public worship, fixed at public expense
in every parish, is rendered highly respectable by the
attendance and the devotion of the wise and good. The
public opinion is so firmly fixed, on national grounds, in
favor of this institution, that he who treats it with contempt,
or even with neglect, subverts his own character. But
these advantages do not, nor indeed can they be expected
to, have such an entire effect as to perfectly moralize the
whole community. The argument, therefore, if it proved
anything, would prove that no one, born and educated
where they exist, could commit wilful and malicious
murder, and would fall but little short of concluding that
murder could not be committed in the country. These
advantages can never be too highly appreciated ; but yet
they may be neglected ; and, had the prisoner made a due
and proper improvement of them, he would not have been
in the unfortunate situation where we see him ; nor should
we have been called to contemplate, in pain and anxiety,
the most distressing scene that our country has ever
exhibited. I cannot, in justice to the public, pass over this
point of the cause, without a few observations on what
I consider as great defects of education in this country.

"As the bird is taught the use and effect of its wings
and plumage while it is yet in the nest, so the morals of
the man are formed in or near the cradle. The parent
sometimes feels a kind of animal fondness for the infant ;
but yet he extends his views and wishes more to the point
where he shall be relieved from the trouble of guardianship
and the expense of education, than to that where he shall
view the child as beloved by the world, or, at least, by
the neighborhood, for the correctness of his morals, the
benevolence of his heart, and the chastity of his manners.
Hence the child observes the public opinion to be treated

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 25

with contempt, and gains an unalterable habit of despising
it himself. He who does not regard the opinion of the
public, places no "estimation upon his own character, and
soon becomes an unrestrained, licentious profligate, capa-
ble of the most atrocious enormities. It is true that a
sense of religion is a higher and stronger motive ; but this
necessarily involves a love of character. This is not the
only defect in the education of families. Parents are too
apt to indulge themselves, in the hearing of their children,
on such topics as convince young minds that they do not
hold vice and debauchery in abhorrence and detestation.
This is at once made a constructive license for the commis-
sion of vice and wickedness.

" The most prevailing error, however, is a false fondness
and misapplied tenderness towards children. The pas-
sions and propensities, which, when properly improved,
will render life agreeable and happy, and without which
life could not subsist, must, from the present state of
human nature, be subjected to error on the first opening
of the agency of the mind. It is the business, but never
ought to be considered as the task, of the parent, to
correct the heart, and to direct the tender mind into the
proper channel. This requires firmness, watchfulness and
perseverance ; but they who, from a criminal disposition
to ease, or from a false tenderness, neglect it, sow the
seeds of misfortune ;ind misery, and are sure to reap an
abundant harvest in the decline of years.

" Idleness is the most prolific source of human woe. It
is a rebellion against the mode of our existence. The idle
man is an interruption to the business of his neighborhood,
and a burden to society. Unless the mind is directed with
some degree of ardor to some laudable, or at least repu-
table pursuit, the imagination will not fail to attend to the
calls of animal propensities, and to cultivate unlawful
desires. Vices, at which we shudder on their first ap-

26 LIFE AND WRITINGS

pearance, lose all their deformity and turpitude as they
become familiar. It is in vain for any one to determine
that he will do wrong, and yet that he will not effect his
purpose by base and disgraceful means.

" The present case illustrates this hypothesis as fully as
any one within the reach of imagination. If the prisoner
had made up his mind; as the witnesses swear that he told
them he had, to dishonor the deceased, either from the
feelings of revenge, or his own propensities, he had given
up the powers of self-control, and was no longer a free
agent. The circumstances with which the crime would
be effected were entirely left to time and accident, while
all the means which these might render necessary to the
atrocious end were to be expected as of course. The
knife might have been borrowed for an innocent employ-
ment; and if any one present had forewarned the pris-
oner, that his habits were so depraved that he might be
reduced to a situation in which he would use it to commit
murder, he would, no doubt, have considered this kind
premonition as a slander. But, when men are carried
down on the tide of depravity, they are afraid to notice
the landmarks by which their progress might be known,
and they, therefore, can never be sensible of their own
situation.

"When the prisoner opened his plan, and produced the
false certificate, he had, no doubt, a hope of success ; but,
when the deceased tore the false papers with indignation,
disappointment urged him to other methods. He had
engaged with his friend to return in an hour, and relate
his success ; his pride would not allow him to go back
with a tale of defeat ; for there is, among idle and vicious
people, a kind of false pride, erroneously called honor,
which drives them on in their career of criminality. Idle
men, by an habitual association, seclude themselves from
the rest of the community, and have no interest in anything
but their own corrupted and depraved opinions of each

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 27

other. Their conversation turns on those subjects which
increase their depravity.

"When the prisoner exhibited the fatal knife, she could
by no means conceive that lie would carry his threats
into execution, and he, at that moment, perhaps had no
intention to murder her. But the imbecility of his strength,
and the defect in his arm, rendered her strength superior
to his efforts. When she turned on her face to avoid him,
he pierced her back to oblige her to alter her position.
When he threatened her throat, her arms were placed in
its defence, until repeated wounds had removed them.
She was then under his control, and, if we could suffer our
imagination to dwell on the horrid picture, we might ask
why he did not recede from his cruel purpose ? He had
gone too far ; his guilt raised itself up in full portrait
before him. His spirits being exhausted in the struggle,
gave him opportunity to view it, and he was then reduced,
in order to escape punishment, to give the fatal wound in
the throat.

" We are called on for evidence of the prisoner's
possessing a disposition of heart capable of so cruel a
murder; and yet the very position of the defence maintains
that he was a person of great depravity of morals, that he
had a heart void of social duty, and fatally bent on mischief.
The statement is, that they were in love with each other,
and, being crossed, they agreed to destroy themselves ;
that he induced her to begin ; delivered her the knife for
that purpose, and encouraged her to her own murder by
the persuasion that he would commit another, by killing
himself, as soon as hers was accomplished. But how
far will this deliver the prisoner from the charge in
the indictment? It admits that he was present, aiding,
abetting and encouraging, her to commit the felony. If
he was of a sound mind, and amenable for his conduct, he
was clearly a principal in the murder. For he who hands
a weapon to one to commit a murder, and stands by,

28 LIFE AND WRITINGS

encouraging it to be done, is a principal. The books do
not, that I recollect, furnish many examples where an
accessary to a suicide is considered as a principal. Yet it
is laid down as a rule that he who advises a person to
take poison is guilty of murder, though he is absent when
it is taken. I did not know but that a part of the defence
might be rested on the prisoner's insanity; yet his insanity
is not pretended.

" To dwell on this point is unnecessary, as the whole
defence is founded on conjectures, unnatural in themselves,
and in opposition to the tenor of the whole evidence. If
their affections were placed on each other, yet there is no
evidence that there were any adverse circumstances which
could induce them, at that time and place, to deprive
themselves of life ; nor is there any presumption that she
could have been induced to have effected her death in
that manner. The most extravagant fictions are recurred
to in order to bring this unnatural conjecture within the
lines of possibility; but they run away, and refuse to
recognize this scene as one of their family. When suicide
is the effect of disappointment, the victim is led on alter-
nately by hope and despair, resolved, yet reluctant, until
distraction expels the powers of free agency, and the
horrors of death are no longer felt. But that is a process
demanding length of time : moments or hours cannot be
sufficient for it. In the scene we contemplate, the tran-
sition is, in a moment, from cheerful ease and tranquillity
to despair and voluntary death, by a process of unexampled
torture.

" Observe the picture pressed upon you in the defence.
The ardent lover delivers the knife to her in whom his
joys and wishes are concentrated ; he calmly sits and sees
her cut herself in pieces. The blood flows from her
wounds to soothe his vexatious passion, while her groans
and agonies are music to his ears ! The herds bellow
around the drops of wasted blood ; the tiger mourns over

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 29

«

his groaning companion ; and the wolf licks the blood
from the wounds of its dying young; but the prisoner not
only endures for a long space of time, but enjoys the
agony and distress of her who shuns other company for
his, and whom he pretends to have loved with an ardent
passion. Is there anything more than this position, as
given to us in his defence, necessary to prove that he had
a heart void of social duty, and fatally bent on mischief,
the genuine and natural description of malice aforethought ?

" But this picture is drawn to exhibit the ardent but
unfortunate lover. God forbid that a passion so divine
should be thus wrapped in the savage robes of cruelty and
murder. I now again call your imagination to an image
from whence the eye turns with horror, and of which
language refuses a description. When he had produced
the false certificate, and she had, with a virtuous indigna-
tion, torn the imposition in pieces, he became enraged.
Perhaps the knife was first exhibited to obtain by terror
what he feared he could not obtain by force. She turned
on her face; the stab on her back altered her position;
her shoes and shawl were thrown off in the struggle.
"When her arms defended her throat, the wounds were
given in her bosom to remove the obstruction, and her
arms and hands mangled to gain access to the neck. Thus
far led on, ho found no retreat ; but gave the ghastly
wound which more immediately produced her death. But
I quit the horrid and distressing scene.

" Motives are called for, which could induce him to so
foul a deed. We have inquired for motives for her
conduct, if she murdered herself, and have found none.
Were men never adjudged guilty of crimes until sufficient
motives to the commission of them could be shown, no
one could ever be found guilty. When the crime is
proved there can no longer remain a question whether
there was an inducement. Perhaps, strictly speaking,
there can be no motive to criminality, or even to vice,

30 LIFE AND WRITINGS

because sin carries its own punishment, as virtue carries
its own reward.

" The indictment sets forth that the prisoner, not having
the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and
seduced by the instigation of the devil, committed the
murder. There is no scale by which the footsteps of
wicked men are regulated, nor are there any established
charts by which their courses are directed. It is in vain
to bring the weakness and folly of their conduct as an
argument that they would, if they had committed the fact,
have acted with more caution and circumspection; because
caution is the result of reflection, and circumspection the
habit of wisdom, and were they wise, and did they reflect,
they would avoid the evil. The idea that wicked, depraved
and abandoned men can form their plans with the same
wisdom and prudence as men of virtue and goodness do
theirs, is as absurd as it is to suppose that the tortoise
can soar like the eagle, or the wolf possess the benignity
of the elephant. Cunning and fraud never point men to
direct paths ; and when they are caught in the snares of
criminality, reflections on the way they might have gone
constitute their misery. The progress of vice in the
human heart is seen and lamented, in various forms, and
may, from the evidence in the present case, be traced as
perfectly as in any one which is seen in history.

" This unfortunate young man had no object to pursue.
Debilitated by sickness, he was unable to labor. The arts
and sciences did not excite his ambition, or offer him a
stimulus. The false fondness of parents, by undue indul-
gences, had fixed him in the habits of uncontrollable obsti-
nacy, and wrapped him in an insensibility commonly pro-
duced by an idle, unaspiring life. Yet, nevertheless, the
propensities of the heart might run to rank and poisonous
weeds ; and those lusts, which the want of employment
generally produces, became predominant in his inclinations.

" There is evidence that he entertained the idea of re-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 31

venge against the parents of the deceased; that he conceived,
linn endured, and finally cherished, the idea of their ruin,
by ruining her. There is evidence that he intended to
render her miserable, by engaging her to an undue and un-
lawful marriage ; and full proof that he intended to violate
her chastity by force, unless she would yield to the dis-
graceful proposal.

" He said to two witnesses, that unless she would agree
to go off to Wrentham and marry him, he would ruin her.
He could not mean to do this with her consent, for if she
would consent to so dishonorable a proposal, she certainly
would agree to become his wife; and, if he once overcame
her, she was then of course devoted to him. There can
be no doubt, then, that he intended to effect her dishonor
by violence, unless she would consent to her own ruin by
a clandestine marriage, or by a conduct far more dis-
graceful.

" It is warmly urged in the prisoner's favor, and as
evidence that he did not commit the fact, that he did not
flee, but went to her father's house immediately, when he
might have gone elsewhere and escaped. Flight is natur-
ally the evidence of guilt. He who fled from a house with
a bloody sword, when a man was found murdered, had his
flight used as evidence against him, as strong presumption
of his guilt. The flight of the guilty originates in the fear
of justice, and is urged by the hope of concealment. But
what hope could the prisoner have had ? The dead body
could not be concealed ; the blood would remain obvious ;
he had told two witnesses that he was going to meet
her then and in that place ; two witnesses saw him go to-
wards the pasture ; he intimated to both the wickedness
of his design, and suggested the same idea to one of them
in direct terms, and to another by his solicitous inquiries
whether anybody was to be near the place where he was
to meet her that afternoon. When the body Should be
found these circumstances must have appeared. Had he

32 LIFE AND WRITINGS

fled to the woods he must have been found, and his flight
would have been evidence against him. When it was seen
that she was murdered with a knife, and there had been
proof of his having borrowed a knife, if he could not pro-
duce it, this would have been against him. If he had
shunned her house and returned to his own, the blood on
his clothes would have been his accuser ; for, if he strug-
gled with and wounded her on the ground, he must have
had his garments stained with her blood before he shed
any of his own. If he had buried his clothes, he must
have gone home naked ; if he had washed them, he would
have been detected before they were dry. There was no
way then than this, that when he was thus surrounded with
difficulties, to rush on in the same path, fatal and bloody
as it was.

" There was a quantity of blood sprinkled on the shrub-
bery for several feet square, about two rods from her body,
and towards her father's house. He there, no doubt,
wounded himself; and whether he intended to kill himself,
or only to do as much as would maintain a story suddenly
formed from the distraction of his situation, is of no mo-
ment in the trial. If the former was his intention, he did
it because he found no way of escape. If he stood op-
pressed with the enormity of his crime, and wished to escape
through the horrid door of suicide, is it not strange that
this should be used as proof of his innocence ? If the
latter was the case, it was quite compatible with the sug-
gestions of low cunning, fixed by long habit, and strength-
ened by frequent use, under the emotions of guilty horrors.
Take it, therefore, either way, and it is a strong argument
of his guilt.

" If the conclusions I have drawn are maintained in your
minds by the evidence, your consciences engage you to
find the prisoner guilty ; but he is in your hands, indepen-
dently of my opinion. Much has been said, and often
repeated to you, of the inestimable value of human life.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 33

Too much cannot be said on that subject ; but the Authur
and Preserver of life has fixed a high estimation upon it by-
saying, that ' He who sheds man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed.' ' The murderer shall not be suffered to
live.' You are asked, in a torrent of pathos, to pity and
compassionate the prisoner's situation, and to suffer him to
live, that he may repent and make his peace with Heaven.
But you are to take care not to destroy your own peace,
or, by a mistaken pity, to lay a lasting foundation for
repentance in your own hearts. You are, in the melting
strains of eloquence, reminded of the keen anguish of the
parents and brethren of the prisoner, if you should pro-
nounce him guilty. Who can refrain from melting into
tears on this melancholy view of the issue ? But are you,
by a mistaken substitution of compassion in the room of
truth and justice, to violate your duty, and the oath of
God that is upon you, and thus to render yourselves miser-
able, in order to snatch the guilty man from the hand of
justice ? When you consider the high, the solemn and
sacred engagement you are under, and the awful conse-
quences of a violation of your duty; the concern, the
anguish, the resentment and the applause, of the whole
human race, are no more to you. than the motes which float
in the atmosphere, and are seen only in the sunbeams.

" You are told that the evidence is only presumptive,
and that it ought to be in proportion to the importance of
the cause. The importance of the trial ought to excite
attention, serious deliberation and great circumspection.
But as no mode of evidence is established by law, nor any
particular number of witnesses required, you cannot say
that the prisoner is innocent if you believe him to be
guilty. To say you believe him to be guilty, and yet have
no evidence of it, is a contradiction in language.

" Much has been said on the fallacy of circumstantial
evidence. But, believe me, a few moments' reflection will
convince you that those arguments are altogether falla-

it. 3

34 LIFE AND WRITINGS

cious. There is scarce a witness against the prisoner
whose testimony is not treated with distrust and jealousy
by his counsel. The witnesses are treated as if they were
mistaken, if not corrupt. What dependence is there, then,
on positive evidence ? And shall we, then, lay aside all
established rules, forsake the standards erected by expe-
rience and maintained by justice, from the feelings of pity
and compassion ? Embrace the same rules here which
govern all other cases, and in all the concerns of life, and
your task is easy.

" It is demonstrable that no man ever yet suffered for
murder but on presumptive evidence in a great measure.
I will state a few cases to illustrate this assertion. A ser-
vant purchases poison of an apothecary; he serves up his
master's chocolate ; his master dies, apparently under the
convulsions incident to death from poison of a corrosive
kind. The arsenic is found in his stomach ; the servant is
charged, and cannot exhibit the poison which he had in his
possession, or give any evidence of an innocent occasion
for buying it. Would a jury hesitate to find him guilty ?
Yet, here, how many doubts must be solved on presump-
tive evidence ? There is no positive proof that the death
was occasioned by the arsenic ; there is no positive evi-
dence that the servant administered it to his master, and
he might say that the master was sick of life, and took it
voluntarily.

" Again, a man is seen to present a fire-arm at, and dis-
charge it towards another; the other falls, shot through
the body, and dies of a gunshot wound. What proof is
there, besides that of presumptive evidence, that there was
lead in the gun ? or if there was, that it hit him ? And
how easy would it be to conjecture that another man, with
another gun, at a distance on the other side, discharged it
unseen and unheard by any witness, and effected the death?
One strikes another with a hedge-bill or stake ; he lives a
few days, and expires in an apoplexy. Who can say, from

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 35

presumptive evidence, that the apoplexy was brought on
by the blow? And yet who, acting as a rational man,
would doubt it? A man is charged with arson; it is
proved that he was seen Dear the house at midnight with a
firebrand; a few minutes after, the house is in flames.
Who could doubt of his guilt, unless he should maintain
his innocence by evidence ? And yet, what is there but
presumptive evidence to fix the charge upon him ? Could
it be insisted on that his brand might have gone out, and
the house might have been fired by accident, or by another
hind ? Goods are found on a person, who cannot account
for the manner in which he obtained them. The house
whence they were stolen was broken into in the night.
Has not this frequently been evidence sufficient to take
the life of a man ?

" The story of Lord Hale, concerning him who was exe-
cuted for theft on the evidence of his having the stolen
horse in his possession, put there by the real thief, ought
to excite great caution. But does it do anything more?
How many sorrowful tales could that great man have
given as, of men who had wrongfully suffered under direct
and positive testimony? But shall we, from thence, never
rely on the positive testimony of witnesses? Because the
truth of facts in all its forms can be perfectly known to no
other than Omniscience itself, are we to involve the world
in scepticism, and believe nothing? Are we never to open
our eyes, for fear we should see imperfectly? Are Ave
never to act, for fear we should act wrong? Shall we
become locally fixed, and cease to move, lest we should
fell ?

"The important duty of this trial has devolved upon
you; and He, who directs the hearts of all who trust in
him with upright intentions, will, undoubtedly, aid your
devout exertions to do right."

A few weeks after the trial the condemned effected his
escape from the prison. His unhappy fate had awakened

o

6 LIFE AND WRITINGS

a general sympathy, and successful arrangements bad been
planned for bis rescue. Among tbose who took a promi-
nent part in this, — according to tradition, which is not
always to be relied upon, — was a lady of beauty and much
literary reputation, the wife of one already eminent at the
bar, and who subsequently rose to its highest office.
With a faithful friend, Fairbanks rode rapidly the first day
to the Connecticut, one hundred miles distant, and, the fol-
lowing Sunday, reached the Canada frontier. The boat
was all ready to carry him across, and he was waiting merely
to breakfast, and take leave of his companions, when his
pursuers came up. Carried back under a strong guard to
Boston, he was escorted, on the tenth of September, by a
troop of horse to Dedham, and there expiated his crime
upon the scaffold. The Rev. Dr. Thacher, the amiable
pastor of Sullivan at Brattle-street, and who was already
in the decline which in a few months after terminated his
valuable labors, attended Fairbanks to the last, striving to
induce him, by prayer and penitence, to secure that par-
don in heaven, he could not claim, and indeed appears not
to have wished, upon earth. By a curious coincidence,
precisely a year even to the hour from the crime, Mason,
the owner of the pasture where it was committed, mur-
dered his brother-in-law, and was convicted and executed.

No excuse seems needed for this lengthy recital. The
incidents of the tragedy have been made the subject of
romance ; and persons, residing near the scene of its occur-
rence, relate the simple particulars of the story with a
pathos which requires no aid from the embellishments of
fiction. It is one of the legends of New England ; and
the fast hold it still retains upon popular sympathy has
not been probably the less enduring for the charm with
which the eloquence of the eminent counsel, Otis, Lowell
and Sullivan, have invested it.

The writer of the obituary notice of Sullivan, says that,
" During a period of nearly forty years, his practice at the

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 37

bar had been more various and extensive than that of any-
other man in the state ; and perhaps there was not in the
commonwealth a family but had witnessed, and, it might
be said, experienced, the ardent zeal and invariable fidelity
with which he espoused the interests committed to his
charge." In a letter to Mr. Pickering, under date of fifth
of November, 1798, he says, that, to attend to his duties
under the commission to settle the eastern boundary, he
had given up his practice in the common pleas of Middle-
sex and Suffolk, which had been equal to that of any one
of the profession in those counties ; and his practice in
the supreme court, which was then as extensive as that of
any other practitioner, suffered likewise for a time from
the same cause. But it subsequently returned to him, and
for the rest of his professional career the court records
show that the names of Parsons and Sullivan were entered
as opposing counsel in nearly all the important commer-
cial cases.

Moderate fees for consultation he early adopted for his
rule, and country clients came long distances for advice,
well assured that the best he had to give would cost but
two dollars. In his private office was only one chair
besides his own, so that their confidence might not be
carelessly betrayed. AVe have it from more than one
authority that his efforts were untiring to prevent litiga-
tion, and to effect, whenever the angry passions of the
parties would permit, an amicable settlement.

He had a kind heart, and took a sympathetic interest in
his clients. An instance is mentioned of the case of an aged
man, whose estate had been fraudulently conveyed away
by a deed, forged by his son. His action to recover was on
the docket standing ready for trial, and he was still unpro-
vided with counsel. Late at night he arrived at the country
tavern of the county town where the court was sitting, and
was soon directed to Mr. Sullivan, as a suitable lawyer to

38 LIFE AND WRITINGS

aid him. The old man had come far in the wet and cold,
and, as usual during the term, the house was crowded.
Probably for the reason that no other suitable place pre-
sented where they could confer without being overheard,
Sullivan said to the old man, "You are tired and cold;
come to my bed, and before we sleep you shall tell me
your case." In the morning the trial came on, and, by his
ingenuity and adroitness in cross-examining a witness, he
contrived to elicit the important truth; and, much to the joy
of both client and counsel, the verdict was in their favor.

Having the largest practice in the state, he was not
always, of course, equally successful ; and, when dining at
Gen. James Warren's, at Plymouth, in speaking of his
experiences, he mentioned having defended, in an obsti-
nately contested suit, the case of a man whose substance
and well-being were largely dependent upon the issue. He
did his best ; but, much to his grief, the jury would not see
the case as he represented it, and his client was cast. He
felt very sad, and, so far from asking a fee, dreaded to see
his unfortunate client, who he feared would be quite broken-
hearted. He hastened to leave the place, when, to his
great relief, as he was stepping into the carriage, the good
man, whom he supposed in the depths of despair, came
running towards him ; and, still full of the spirit of fight, and
the glory of being its hero, though unfortunate, with the
usual New England indifference to such calamities, cried
out in the most cheerful of tones, " Well, squire, we gave
them a terrible pull, anyhow !"

Injury is sometimes done to a good cause by excessive
argument, and prudence often counsels that the minds of
the jury should be left to work out their own conclusions
from the evidence. In one instance, where the case stood
in a very favorable position for a client suing for an aggra-
vated assault, which had rendered him deformed and a
cripple, the opposite counsel, in paying tribute to Sullivan's
powers as an orator, deprecated their effect upon the jury.

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 39

In rising to reply, Sullivan said his brother had not to fear
the influence of any eloquence of his on that occasion. He
should simply pray the jury to cast their eyes upon tho
unhappy plaintiff. It had been proved that he had been
reduced from a state of health and strength to this pitiable
condition by the unprovoked barbarity of his assailant.
They would consider what he had been, and what he was;
and with this he felt he could safely trust the case to their
sense of justice. The result proved his course judicious.
The verdict gave ample damages.

Much of his time was passed in court ; and, as attorney-
general, he diligently attended its sessions in Maine, on
the Cape, and indeed throughout the state. From long
habit, he had acquired unusual powers of concentration, and
pursued his literary labors and professional preparation in
court, surrounded by its bustle and excitement. Much of
his History of Maine was collected from persons in attend-
ance of the eastern circuits ; and he wrote a great part of
that work, his Land Titles, and Criminal Law, in the inter-
vals of official duty in the court-room ; often while cases in
which lie was counsel were on trial. One of his most
frequenl antagonists was Theophilus Parsons, afterwards,
in 1806, elevated to the chief justiceship. Between them
often occurred keen encounters of wit; not the less per-
sonal and bitter that they were the best of friends in pri-
vate. One of the most distinguished of the bar of the
period, who still survives, in the full vigor of his faculties,
after having gained laurels in nearly every path of honor,
remembers being in court when Parsons was in argu-
ment, and his opponent, Sullivan, seated, apparently quite
unconcerned in what was passing about him, was busily
occupied with some literary task. No hand, indeed, ever
moved more rapidly over his paper than Sullivan's.
Ever and anon, as Parsons started some new topic, or
reached some fresh branch of the case, full attention
was given for the moment, and a few notes rapidly

40 LIFE AND WRITINGS

taken. As the argument proceeded into particulars, Sulli-
van resumed his former labors, still keeping, as it would
seem, one ear on the alert to catch every essential state-
ment of his opponent. When his turn came to close, he
rose, calm and composed, to meet every point of his antag-
onist, and to present his own so clearly, as to make it evi-
dent nothing that had been said had escaped him. An
eminent lawyer says his father mentioned to him an anecdote
of Sullivan, which further illustrates the control over his
thoughts which he had acquired by living so constantly in
court. He was arguing a case, in a most earnest and fluent
manner, when his eye was attracted by a man waiting the
close of his address to the jury, for the payment of a bill,
whose time he well knew to be precious. Without inter-
rupting the course of his argument, or allowing the atten-
tion of the jury to be for one moment diverted from the
case, he beckoned the man to approach, took the money
from his pocket, made the exact change, and received the
receipt. The self-possession evinced in the incident must
have been remarkable, or it would hardly have been treas-
ured up by my informant.

For an experienced advocate, the power of discoursing,
without limit and without preparation, upon any suggesti-
ble topic, is attended with little embarrassment. This was
happily exemplified, when, on one occasion, Parsons and
Sullivan were opposed to Egbert Benson and Alexander
Hamilton, in a cause in the federal court at Hartford,
Connecticut. Much to his surprise, the gentlemen from
New York challenged the array or whole panel of jurors ;
a course so unusual that even Parsons was nonplussed.
Quietly requesting Sullivan to occupy the attention of the
court till his return, Parsons hastened to the office of Oliver
Ellsworth, and, after some time employed in examining the
authorities, returned with quite law enough to defeat the
manoeuvre. During his absence, Sullivan, keeping close
to the limited point open for discussion, poured forth such

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 41

a variety of legal learning, intermingled with appropriate
originalities of his own, as to prevent the slightest surmise,
on the part of his opponents, that his object was merely to
talk against time.

An anecdote, characteristic of Parsons, and also of the
war of wits that then occasionally enlivened the dulness
of forensic combats, as Sullivan was a party, though some-
what passive, may be appropriately introduced. It is
related by an eminent and brilliant member of the Suffolk
bar, who witnessed the scene. Sullivan and Parsons were
opposing counsel in an insurance case on trial, when
Parsons, from some inadvertence of expression, — to impute
confusion of ideas to an intellect so logical would be treason,
— in painting the horrors of the shipwreck, spoke of the
wind blowing off a lee-shore. Sullivan at first doubted the
accuracy of his hearing ; but when Parsons, in reiterating
his argument, to impress it more forcibly on the jury,
repeated the same unfortunate blunder, Sullivan quietly
asked what kind of wind that could be blowing off a lee-
shore. Parsons, always loud and impetuous, and much
excited in argument, quick as a flash, turned upon his
enemy, and, with the thunder of his stentorian voice
shaking the court-house, shouted out, " It was an Irish
hurricane, brother Sullivan!"

An incident evincing the respect entertained, by one
wdio was constantly opposed to him in court, for his fair-
ness and liberality, although not particularly relevant to his
professional character, has been related by one who was
well acquainted with the parties. A gentleman residing in
a country town borrowed a sum of money of Judge Sul-
livan, and placed personal property in his hands to a
greater amount, as collateral security. The money was
not paid, the collateral never redeemed, and the gentle-
man many years afterwards died, leaving his estate em-
barrassed. His son-in-law, in settling his affairs, became
acquainted with the transaction, and, consulting Samuel

42 LIFE AND WEITINGS

Dexter, stated to him the circumstances. The security
had long been forfeited, and Judge Sullivan was under no
legal obligation to make restitution. Mr. Dexter, after
some consideration, advised his client to call upon him, and
represent the embarrassed situation of the estate and the
large familv of the deceased ; saying, " Put him upon his
Irish honor." This was attended with entire success, the
judge immediately going to his desk and handing him the
difference between the original debt and the value of the
pledge.

One principal source of satisfaction to a conscientious
lawyer springs from the affectionate regard entertained
for him by his clients. The following tradition may serve
for an illustration. Towards the close of the last century
an elderly farmer' of Wilmington was met on the Boston
road, by his physician, to whose son we are indebted for
the anecdote, with a heavy sack slung across his saddle-
bow. Questioned as to the purpose of his journey, he
replied, he was carrying some of his best apples to Judge
Sullivan's boys ; expressing himself, at the same time,
towards his legal adviser, in terms of grateful warmth,
highly creditable to them both. The fruit had been
gathered from a tree, upon his farm, already celebrated
in that neighborhood, the parent stock of the Baldwin
apple, now greatly multiplied, and the most popular variety
of this staple luxury of New England.

He was fond of practical jokes, then more frequently
indulged than now among the lawyers, to judge of the
anecdotes that are told of them, and this even when
he came off himself second best. He occasionally men-
tioned one of his own experiences, which served to
show how rarely they can be practised with impunity.
One day, while residing on Bowdoin Square, he was
returning, deep in thought, to his house, when he was
accosted by a sooty vender of charcoal, who asked him
to purchase. He civilly declined, and passed on; but

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 43

the man, determined on having a customer, presently
rejoined him, and, with much more earnestness than pro-
priety warranted, urged upon him his wares. Provoked
at an importunity contented with no denial, the judge
bethought himself of an elderly woman, somewhat deaf,
and noted in the neighborhood as a termagant; and, to
punish his tormentor, told him that, though he did not
wish to purchase himself, there lived close by, at the
bottom of a court which he pointed out, a good woman,
who no doubt wanted coal, and, as she was somewhat
peculiar in her disposition, he must not mind if she said
she did n't, but leave his load all the same. Delighted at
last to find a market, the man, with infinite pains, backed
his cart down the long, narrow passage, and, not heeding
any expostulations, dumped a basketful in the shed. But
the woman's tongue soon proved too much for him; he
was obliged to reload and go off discomfited.

Many months after Judge Sullivan had forgotten the
incident, he was seated, busily engaged, in his office, writ-
ing, his moments particularly precious, when a well-dressed
countryman entered the room, and said he wished to consult
him. Begging him to be seated, the judge mended his pen,
arranged paper for his notes, and requested him to state the
facts of the case. Upon this his visitor commenced a long
story, in Yankee phrase and accent, about what had hap-
pened at a husking on the farm of one of his neighbors;
interspersing his account with a great variety of homely
detail and unimportant incidents, spinning out his recital
with a most tedious plausibility of circumstances some-
what connected yet altogether insignificant, now approach-
ing something which looked like question for litigation,
and then again rambling off into an endless rigmarole,
minute and full of particularity, of what somebody had
said and somebody else had done, but which seemed
to have no conceivable bearing upon any possible contro-
versy that could be manufactured into a lawsuit. When

44: LIFE AND WRITINGS

anything presented itself to his mind which might per-
haps prove important, the judge jotted it down; and,
his usual good nature sorely tried, though he could not
fail to be amused at the fragmentary pictures of country
life which at times assumed shape in this curious medley,
he at last implored his client to keep to the point, and
answer such questions as he should put. But, saying he
must tell his story his own way or not at all, the man
started off afresh, and continued steadily on for half-an-
hour more, with such sober seriousness, apparentness of
purpose, ceaseless flow and rapidity of utterance, that the
amazed counsellor listened in despair, fruitlessly endeavor-
ing to discover some clue to his meaning, while it seemed
easier to stop a mill-stream than his tongue. As his
patience finally was becoming exhausted, it suddenly
occurred to him there was more under all this than he
could understand ; and, excessively puzzled, he threw
himself back in his chair, and, fastening his eyes sharply
upon his visitor, exclaimed : " What on earth are you
driving at?" The other returned his gaze undaunted, and,
with a knowing look of triumph twinkling in his eye,
shouted out, with the twang peculiar to his vocation,
" Charcoal I" and when the judge, upon whose bewildered
faculties flashed instantly the whole affair, recovered from
his astonishment, his counterfeit client had disappeared.

A distinguished member of the profession, in a neighbor-
ing state, furnishes us with the following reminiscences :
"About the year 1802 or 3 I first saw the late Governor
Sullivan, on a circuit of the Supreme Judicial Court, at a
term at Barnstable. He was attending the court as
attorney-general, an office of much more dignity and
importance then, than it has been since, and this owing
partly to the uncertain tenure of the office. Being then a
student at law, I was interested in observing the appearance
of the highest law officer of the state. He was employed
in a cause involving a right of way ' from necessity.' He

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 45

took the affirmative, and defined the various kinds of
necessity, explained what constituted a natural, and what
a philosophical necessity, which did not apply; and then
defined a moral necessity, which he contended loan appli-
cable to his case. His manner was easy and graceful. His
reasoning was plausible and engaging. His eloquence was
like a full and copious stream. His illustrations were
striking and significant, and employed to enforce his main
object, in which he was successful. His manner was
engaging: and neither the jury nor the bystanders were
weary in hearing him.

" A year or two afterwards the writer of this note
frequently heard him at the Suffolk bar, where he was
more equally matched and opposed by such men as S.
Dexter, Parsons, Otis, and others. His addresses to the
jury were always marked by that vigorous display of
intellectual power and felicity of illustration which it is
the prerogative of genius to employ. He was, perhaps,
more successful in his addresses to the jury than to the
court, with whom he was at times far from being a favorite.
He remarked to the reporter, E. Williams, that he ' had
always been crowded by the court.' To which Williams
replied, that ' it might be so, but, if that was the case, he
believed the crowding had been mutual'

" It was understood that Mr. Sullivan was distinguished
for his generous hospitality, especially to strangers, and
for the absence of all penurious habits. His colloquial
powers were somewhat remarkable. The writer of this
note recollects passing an evening in his company, the
first time he saw him, where none were present but young
ladies and students. His manner was courteous, affable
and dignified. His conversation was free and easy, with
no disposition to dogmatize, or embarrass others. Assum-
ing no airs of superiority, which his position might
entitle him to claim, all were put at ease, by the frankness
with which his opinions and remarks were stated. All

46 LIFE AND WRITINGS

present were led to respect him without being in any
degree oppressed by his superiority."

In his criminal causes as public prosecutor, opportuni-
ties for inculcating important moral truths were frequently
presented, which, as we have seen in the case of Fairbanks,
his natural disposition and regard for the true interests of
his countrymen led him to improve. We may not have
selected the best of our materials to illustrate this or other
traits of his professional character. To include them all
would be unreasonably to extend this chapter. But, from
his many printed arguments in capital cases, we are tempted
to introduce some brief extracts from one of them taken
from a copy he presented to his voung friend and pastor,
Mr. Buekminster. On its fly-leaf, in his own hand-writing,
is the following passage from Quintilian : "Nam si regitur
provident ia mundus, administranda certe bonis viris erit
respublica. Si divina nostris animis origo, tenendum ad
virtutem, nee voluptatibus terreni corporis serviendum. An
hoc non frequenter tractabit orator ? "

" We are informed of instances, where men, possessed
of a well-grounded hope of happiness in another world,
and tortured with pains, or oppressed with persecution,
have been willing to change mortality for a state of exist-
ence beyond the grave. Others, who have been chagrined
with disappointments in their ambitious or avaricious pur-
suits, have, in a fit of frenzy, destroyed their lives ; nev-
ertheless the continuance of life is an object of the first
magnitude with us all.

" The human race is depraved, and man has become the
prey of man. Wherever we turn our eyes, we discover
the sad works of a general apostasy. We see our world
engaged in a contest against that truth and justice, by
which the great First Cause, who produced, is pleased
to govern it. AVe see mankind oppressing, and committing
depredations on each other. From these evils we fly to
the arms of civil society for protection. Civil society

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 47

must be maintained by laws; and laws, unless they are
sanctioned by adequate penalties, are inefficacious and idle.
As man by his nature, cannot act without a motive, and
the depravity of his passions and the corruptions of his
propensities urge him to the commission of crimes, penal-
ties must be provided equal to the temptations he may be
under. Hence it is that nearly all the civil governments
on the earth have annexed the punishment of death to
those high and aggravated offences, which either endanger
the existence of the community, or do irreparable injuries
to the individuals of which it is composed.

" It is, indeed, a solemn thing to pass on a question of
life and death ; and you ought to proceed with the utmost
caution and candor to the disagreeable task. The rhetoric
which has flowed from the prisoner's counsel cannot fail
to secure your attention to every material circumstance in
favor of their client. It will awaken all your rational pow-
ers in a cause so interesting to him, and give you a lively
sense of your own responsibility. Should it do more than
this, it would be an injury to the rules of justice, and tend
to a corruption of the laws of the land. I therefore con-
clude that the eloquence, with which we have all been
entertained and gratified, is intended for nothing else but
to gain that careful attention which the issue claims.

" It is true that our system of jurisprudence is a system
of justice mingled with mercy. Our laws delight in inno-
cence, and are tinctured with benevolence. Mercy is a
charming word, and it sounds with a soft delight in the
pure ear of impartial justice. Mercy is that attribute of
the Divine Being in which the sinful race of Adam have,
since the apostasy, felt the most interest. But, in this
trial, as well as in matters which concern our highest wel-
fare, we ought to be careful not to be led astray by mis-
taking the nature of this attribute in the Supreme Being,
or this affection of the heart in ourselves. The poet well
observes, that, ' A God all mercy, is a God unjust,' Could

48 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the great Judge of the universe be moved with what we
call pity, to pardon his offending creatures merely because
they suffer, the distinction between vice and virtue, be-
tween sin and holiness, could no longer exist. But, as his
mercy can be exercised only in favor of those whose real
character brings them within the rules he has established
for the exercise of his clemency, his rational creatures
know where to place their trust. There is nothing flexi-
ble, nothing deviating or uncertain, in his government.

" This affection of the human mind consists in the for-
giving men the injuries they have done us. This must be
done on proper motives and in a proper manner, or it can-
not be considered as such an exercise of the feelings of
the heart as is governed by reason, or deserves the name
of mercy. The feelings which produce this affection may
be extirpated or smothered by the vehemence of depraved
and wicked passions, by the indulgence of corrupt and
wicked propensities. Ambition hears not its voice while
cities are in flames, countries laid desolate, when millions
are hurled down to the gloomy regions of death, or other
millions, still more wretched, reserved in chains of slavery
to gratify the ambition of tyranny. The finer sensibilities
of the human heart, from whence it flows, may be extir-
pated by the claims of habitual avarice, and the wretched
victim of misfortune, for no crime but that of poverty, by
this disgraceful propensity, be immured from the light and
air. The undue gratification even of the softer passions,
which serve as the conductors of our lawful pleasures, at
intervals may render us deaf to its cry.

" On the other hand, if this affection is exercised from
no motive but from our animal feelings, it has no affinity
with mercy. We act not from a sense of duty, but to
deliver ourselves from that pain and uneasiness, in which
the sympathy of our nature has involved us, at the suffer-
ing of a fellow-creature. Could we drown the voice of
sympathy, or extinguish from the human breast that can-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 49

die which primarily carries our eyes to its objects, we
should lose the character of men. If, when prejudice or
personal interest balances its claims, we are not too prone
to yield to its persuasion ; if, where revenge, malice or
resentment, are opposed to pity, there is little danger of
too ready an exercise of this affection; whenever we
have nothing personally to gain or lose, and no passion to
gratify, Ave must beware lest it mislead us ; then we are
most in danger of sacrificing to it the rights of justice, by
acting without principle. We behold the awful spectacle
of one near the gibbet, ready to be launched into the
unknown world! What ought to be our wish and our
prayer on the solemn occasion ? That this awful example
may deter others, and that this may be the last victim to
the depravity of morals which has brought him to the
fatal tree. But should we, then, wish that it was in our
power to snatch him from the hand of justice by a repeal,
or a suspension of the laws, this would be no other than
sedition in its nature, and a dangerous propensity against
public justice.

" That our personal sensibilities might not render the
laws flexible and uncertain, government is established,
formed on general principles, and moved by general laws,
obligatory as well on the judge as on the criminal ; and
here, under certain known and fixed rules, our reason is
guided, and our feelings are controlled. We have no
other object to pursue than that of a faithful performance
of our duty in the execution of known and established
principles ; that, on the one hand, we may not be answer-
able for innocent blood, and, on the other, that we may not
make ourselves accountable for crimes, offences and dis-
tress, consequent upon our rendering the government
weaker by a flexibility in the administration of civil jus-
tice. When we govern our conduct by rules prescribed
by law, exercising all our faculties with diligence, though
we err, we are not criminal ; but, if we cast off this guide,
ii. 4

50 LIFE AND WRITINGS

and proceed without rule, though we should happen to do
right, yet the act is intrinsically wrong ; because the merit
and demerit of every action depend on the motive which
produces it. It is true that, should we err against the
prisoner's life, our constitution has made provision for a
remedy, in an exercise of power by the supreme execu-
tive. But this cannot influence this trial; because we act
as much in violation of our duty, if we condemn because
there is a chance for pardon, as if we acquit from pity, or
because the law is too severe, or from any other wrong or
unwarrantable motive. The pardon may never be granted,
and a man may suffer death when the jury ought to have
acquitted him.

" In the exercise of this power provided in the consti-
tution there are fixed and established rules, which cannot
be deviated from with propriety. Should the supreme
executive issue a charter of pardon because the law is too
severe, this would be the exercise of the legislative author-
ity, which is expressly provided against by the constitution.
Should it be exercised because the conviction is wrong,
while the judges and jury remain satisfied with it, this
would be exercising the judicial power, which is equally
against the constitution. A pardon for either of those
reasons is an attack on the other constitutional powers of
government, and tends to the subversion of the civil juris-
prudence of the state. When the pardon is granted to the
feelings of pity, it is yet more injurious to that inflexible,
impartial justice which is forever necessary to a free and
regular government. This measure of justice by mercy, if
it is such, can never be even and fit to be relied on. For
pity is often excited from unknown, and sometimes from
wrong, causes. The feelings of the number, which com-
pose the supreme executive, may not be the same to
different persons under the same circumstances ; nor are
they themselves always alike affected with the same sub-
ject. Nothing can be more uncertain in its nature, or

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 51

unequal in its exercise, than an authority to pardon
offences under the dominion and control of pity.

" It will then be asked, why this power exists, if it is
not to be exercised in this manner, for the causes to which
I object ? The answer is that it is not an arbitrary power
in its nature, but is a valuable part of the government, to
be exercised on occasions of state policy, and where an
innocent person is in danger of suffering from error, or
from surprise ; and where the exercise of it does not mil-
itate with the other powers of the state, or tend to sub-
vert the equality of the government, by an arbitrary exten-
sion of mercy to one, while it is denied to others having
an equal claim. But it is, however, easy to see that an
exercise of the power of pardoning crimes, Avithout the
direction of fixed and established principles, is as arbitrary
in its nature, though not as dangerous in its consequences,
as trials in courts without known and established rules of
law.

" There generally is, as there has been in this cause,
doubts raised as to the facts, because no adequate motive
to their commission can be conceived ; or because they
have not been committed with such caution as to avoid
detection. We know nothing of the numerous crimes
which have been hid from the eye of civil justice ; but we
cannot believe that he who is racked with passions, or
urged with unlawful propensities, can act with the circum-
spection which attends the man of conscious virtue, and
the footsteps of habitual integrity. Were we never to
believe the existence of a crime, without a perfect knowl-
edge of the motive, many atrocious deeds would pass
unpunished. Were we to believe no effects, without a
knowledge of their causes, we should be stoics indeed.
The facts most familiar to our understanding, and those
things urging themselves most strongly on our senses.
would be thrown into the dusky mirror of doubt and
uncertainty.

52 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

" Gentlemen of the jury, you are now in the possession
of the evidence, and the arguments for and against the
prisoner. I am happy in the confidence that no circum-
stance in his favor is left without attention by his counsel.
Their arguments have teemed with ingenuity, and have
been conducted with propriety. You will receive the direc-
tion of the judges as to the principles of law by which
you are to be governed. If anything I have said is erro-
neous, it will be corrected by the bench. If anything has
fallen from me colored with severity, it did not result from
the feelings of my heart. I seek the blood of no man ;
nor do I delight in the sufferings of the guilty ; but, as far
as the morals and the safety of my fellow-citizens are com-
mitted to my official concern, I realize the solemn obliga-
tion I am under to be faithful to my trust."

CHAPTER II.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

In the preceding chapters we have presented whatever
seemed of most interest in the private and professional
life of our subject, as also some general account of his
literary labors, and of the different associations for public
objects with which he was prominently connected. It is
necessarily but a sketch, and does not profess to be com-
plete. Much remains to be embraced in the general narra-
tive, now again to be resumed.

After his appointment, in June, 1796, upon the commis-
sion for the settlement of the eastern boundary, the sum-
mer and autumn were chiefly occupied by his visit to Hali-
fax, with the exploration of the Passamaquoddy Bay and its
rivers, and in historical studies and investigations for the
solution of the knotty questions in dispute. These duties
engrossed much time, and, not admitting of his devoting
the same attention as before to general practice, he aban-
doned his business in the common pleas to his son William,
then lately admitted to the bar. He also relinquished his
office on Court-street, and, erecting a building on his gar-
den for the accommodation of his library and papers, for
the remainder of his life occupied this for his professional
employments. His practice, which has been stated upon
good authority to have been the most extensive and lucra-
tive in the state, and which, in subsequent years, again
equalled that of any other practitioner, experienced a tern-

54 LIFE AND WRITINGS

porary decline. His official duties as attorney-general, if
we may judge by the cases mentioned in the newspapers,
continued unremitting and responsible ; and his reputation
as a commercial and insurance lawyer, and his familiarity
with the law of nations, in that period of maritime dis-
turbance, depredations and captures, soon crowded his
office, on Hawley-street, with clients.

The federalists, in the spring of 1796, endeavored,
through their journals, to induce Governor Adams, upon
the ground of his increasing age and infirmities, to decline
a reelection. He had reached the ripe age of seventy-five;
but his natural vigor was little abated, and his intellectual
powers and great sagacity still abundantly qualified him
for his post. Among other names suggested for the suc-
cession was that of Sullivan, who not only discouraged his
own nomination, but engaged actively in the canvass, de-
fending Mr. Adams from the attacks of his antagonists; and
the election again resulted in the choice of the veteran
patriot. At the commencement of 1797, however, when
the administration of Washington drew to its close, Gov-
ernor Adams determined to retire ; and the public mind in
Massachusetts was much exercised in selecting from the
leading politicians of the state the most suitable candidate
to fill his place. Judge Cushing, Judge Sumner, General
Knox, General Heath, Moses Gill and Stephen Higginson,
were among the more prominent. The canvass finally set-
tled down upon Sumner, Sullivan and Gill.

Various complimentary paragraphs, advocating the elec-
tion of Sullivan, appeared in the public prints, not only in
the capital, but throughout the commonwealth. His knowl-
edge of the constitution and laws of Massachusetts, and
of the federal government, his attention and indefatigable
industry in promoting the general prosperity, not only of
his own state, but of the country at large, his thorough in-
formation as to the sentiments and dispositions of the peo-
ple, and his familiarity with their agricultural and other

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 55

industrial interests, his uncommon activity, perspicuity and
facility, in transacting public business, with his known
republican principles, and ability to vindicate the rights of
the citizens, his distinguished revolutionary services, and
his unimpeached moral, private and political character, con-
stituted him, it was urged, the most eligible of the several
candidates. These flattering tributes to his merit were
echoed by the republican press in the southern and western
counties, as also in* the district ; his personal popularity in
Maine influencing a large vote in his favor. But the recent
triumph of federalism in the election of John Adams, one
of the most illustrious citizens of the state, as president ;
the discouraging prospects for the cause of liberty in
France, with her lawless violations of our commercial
rights, and the arrogant tone assumed by her government
in the diplomatic relations with this country, had greatly
strengthened the federal party, and secured it a decided
ascendency. Many republican votes were lost to Sullivan
in consequence of the ancient hostility of Honestus and
his friends to the lawyers, and which was now again
brought into play in favor of Gill. The clergy were gen-
erally strong federalists. They regarded the tendencies
of the French revolution as hostile; to the cause of true
religion ; and, distrusting its advocates, exerted their influ-
ence, as private citizens and in the pulpit, in favor of Judge
Sumner, who was elected by a handsome majority.

Immediately before and during the canvass appeared in
the Chronicle, and some of them in other journals, three
able series of articles, which were attributed to Sullivan.
The first, signed Aristobulus, upon the state of the country
and the power of opinion as the basis of government, has
less mark of being his composition than the rest. That
upon the liability of the states to suits of individuals seems
clearly his, and was apparently induced by an apprehension,
which fortunately proved groundless, that the constitu-
tional amendment he had so zealously advocated would not

56 LIFE AND WRITINGS

be adopted by the requisite number of states. The last
series, upon the proper construction of the treaty-making
power, urged that the right of the president and senate to
bind the country, by treaty compacts with foreign nations,
should be restricted to subjects not explicitly placed within
the control of Congress ; and that, as to all stipulations
falling within its province, the house of representatives
had full right to accept or reject at discretion. In prac-
tical operation the house must virtually exercise this con-
trol, as no money, for example, can be appropriated, or
duty laid or removed, without a direct vote of both
branches. To these last disquisitions was affixed the sig-
nature of A Federalist ; and a preface sets forth what that
term was intended to signify. The usual interpretation of
the constitutional clause is believed to be, that the house
must, in good faith, pass all laws necessary to carry into
effect treaties made by the president and ratified by two
thirds of the senate. This rule has not universally pre-
vailed under constitutional systems abroad. The French
chamber, in 1835, refused appropriations for the American
indemnities agreed upon by the government ; and it was
only when they had reason to suppose that persisting would
endanger the pacific relations between the two countries,
that the bill was passed. The proof of the authorship of
these articles is not direct. They were attributed to Sul-
livan by his antagonists, and various indications confirm
the correctness of the surmise. Prominently connected
with the canvass for governor, in which he was a leading
candidate, some notice of them seemed appropriate. From
the important nature of the questions discussed, and their
mode of treatment, they may prove of interest, should the
principles involved be ever again in agitation.

Not long before the vote was taken, Dr. Belknap, the
historian, the friend and associate of Sullivan in the His-
torical Society, but a zealous federalist and partisan of
Sumner, reflected, in a sermon at Hingham, upon the course

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 57

of the republican press, and inveighed, with especial sever-
ity, against the Chronicle, the paper to which Sullivan
most usually contributed his political essays. Soon after
the voting clay, but before the result of the election was
known, Sullivan, over the signature of A Well-wisher to
the Clergy, addressed Dr. Belknap, in the print so uncour-
teously denounced, urging upon him the impropriety of
introducing political and party topics into the pulpit. He
acknowledged the just claim of ministers to entertain and
express their opinions upon public affairs, but recommended
that, in the performance of their clerical duties, they should
study and explain the correspondence of passing events
with revelation ; and not, by becoming combatants, lend
their sanction to the virulence of party warfare. His in-
fluential position in the Congregational Charitable Society
depended upon annual elections. But no prudential con-
siderations ever abated his efforts to discourage the clergy
from preaching politics in the pulpit, which he deemed in-
consistent with their sacred calling, and detrimental to the
best interests of society. The address led to several
responses, and the controversy continued for some weeks,
in a sufficiently amicable spirit on his part, but with less
on that of his assailants, who insisted that they were as fully
entitled to preach politics and jurisprudence in the pulpit,
as he could be to write religion for the newspapers. In
the following autumn he again took occasion to express
his sentiments, with frankness, upon clerical interference
with political topics. His remonstrances were couched in
language perfectly respectful to the sacred order, and in
temper he still kept the advantage of his antagonists. The
controversy was protracted, increasing in bitterness ; and
when, in the ensuing spring, a political discourse of Pro-
fessor Tappan, advocating strong federal doctrine, was
partially reported in the Mercury, he again, over the sig-
nature of Brattle-street, expressed his sense of its impro-
priety. As Mr. Austin, and, it is believed, Samuel Adams,

58 LIFE AND WRITINGS

wrote also for the public press upon religious subjects, it
is not easy to pronounce with certainty upon the author-
ship of these contributions ; and we would not venture to
claim all that seem to have been contributed by Sullivan,
without more positive proof than we possess.

The vote for governor, in the capital, laid between Sum-
ner and Gill. That this indicated no want of personal
popularity in Sullivan, in the place of his residence, is
sufficiently manifest from his selection at this period as
chairman or member of various committees connected
with its municipal reform. At the annual town-meetings
in Faneuil Hall were elected some hundred and forty offi-
cers for various objects, whose mutual independence,
limited power and brief tenure of office, were wholly
inconsistent with any great degree of efficiency. If the
system was inadequate to the wants of a large commercial
metropolis, it involved little expense ; the annual tax levied
on the citizens ranging from fifty to eighty thousand dollars.
When, however, burglars, incendiaries and other miscre-
ants became numerous, and acts of violence of unusual
atrocity were, in various instances, perpetrated at night in
the streets with impunity, its economy ceased to recom-
mend it. Public meetings were called to devise some rem-
edy for these outrages, and Sullivan was appointed chair-
man of a committee to devise measures to remedy the evil.
The report drawn up by him, recommending a municipal
court, town-attorney and a more efficient grand jury, was
accepted, and, after some delay, carried into effect. He
also presided over a committee, consisting of Jones, Hill,
Minot, Austin, Welles and Lowell, to organize a proper
watch and ward for the town, establishing patrols, with
sufficient reliefs, for each ward. The same committee were
charged with procuring enactments from the legislature,
for the improvement of the municipal government. Several
acts, with a view to this object, were passed ; but how far
through his instrumentality can only be conjectured. From

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 59

his earliest settlement in Boston, he had been unremitting
in his efforts to introduce reform, wherever evils existed
to be corrected. Among other important improvements
suggested at this time, and afterwards adopted by law,
was the registry of voters.

After the destruction by fire of the rope-walks, near Fort
Hill, in 1794, he had been chairman of the relief committee
of the churches, and appointed to suggest modes of
protecting the town in future from similar disasters. New
England was still clothed with much of its original forest,
and most of the dwellings, even in Boston and the larger
towns, from the cheapness of this material, were built of
wood. Extensive conflagrations were consequently of
common occurrence, and attended often by sacrifice of
life as well as of much valuable property. Sullivan
endeavored to induce a more prudent mode of construc-
tion, and a speech of his upon the subject is still remem-
bered, by one who heard it, as eloquent and persuasive;
and, through his agency and that of others, statutes, oblig-
ing proprietors to build brick partition walls, and to guard
against fires by other precautions, were enacted. He was
appointed, in 1799, chairman of a committee, consisting of
Mr. Otis and Judges Minot, Dawes, Davis, Lowell and
Paine, to consider and report upon the will of Thomas
Boylston, by which a valuable estate was bequeathed to
Boston, for the support of public charities.

He was among the earliest to perceive the important
advantage to the world of Jenner's great discovery of
vaccination, which was brought before the American public
by Dr. Waterhouse, of Cambridge, in the fall of 1799. It
had occupied the attention of .Tenner for twenty-eight
years; when, the preceding year, through his work upon
the subject, he introduced it to general notice in England.
At first there was some controversy, among the learned,
as to its being a permanent safeguard against the natural

60 LIFE AND WRITINGS

disease, but before many years it grew into general
favor.*

His employment, under the federal government, did not
prevent the frank expression of his views, in the Chronicle
and other papers, upon the interesting topics of the day ;
and, while avoiding personalities, he did not hesitate to use
his influence as a citizen, wherever his opinions differed
from the policy of the administration. Disquisitions upon
various interesting political questions, bearing unmistaka-
ble indications of his authorship, appeared with equal fre-
quency as before his appointment. Among those attracting
most attention, was a series of three letters, over his well-
known signature of Tully, addressed, in August, 1797, to
President John Adams, upon the Jay treaty. He boldly
reprehended the passive indifference of Mr. Adams to
unconstitutional encroachments upon congressional rights
when presiding over the senate, and did not scruple to
question the propriety of Washington sending Jay to Eng-
land, without first obtaining the advice and consent of the
senate. He conceived it not merely his right, but his duty,
to promote, as far as his powers permitted, what seemed
to him the best interest of the country, alike indifferent to

* It is an interesting circumstance, connected with the introduction of vacci-
nation, and one not generally familiar, that, in the summer of 1802, in order to
remove the lingering prejudice among the people against its adoption, the fol-
lowing expedient was resorted to, with a view of testing and establishing its
merits : Nineteen persons, all boys, between the ages of eight and fifteen,
and sons of the selectmen and most respectable citizens, were sent down
to Noddle's Island, and lodged in an old barrack, a young man with an
experienced nurse being placed in charge of them, to regulate their diet,
keep them out of mischief, and provide them with amusement. After beinc
vaccinated they were subjected to infection and contagion in different forms,
sleeping in the same room with those who had the small-pox by inoculation,
and in the natural way; the principal physicians, Danforth, Warren and
others, making them frequent visits. The experiment was attended by complete
success, no one of them taking the disease. This is a little apart from our sub-
ject, but we venture to introduce it, as reflecting great credit on the parents
who had the courage and public spirit to permit their children to incur, what to
many seemed a great risk, for the general benefit.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 61

the hostility his freedom might provoke, and careless of the
prejudice it might work to his own popularity or chances
of preferment. What rendered this course the more inde-
pendent was the fact that he was the disbursing agent of
the boundary commission, and the payment of his accounts
depended upon the approval of the secretary, Colonel Pick-
ering. In the official correspondence, after the appearance
of some of the articles attributed to him, a slight coolness
is perceptible. Greatly, however, to the credit and mag-
nanimity of the parties in power, when they became satis-
fied he was actuated by a patriotic and not a factious spirit,
they respected his rights of free expression, and the offi-
cial intercourse continued friendly and harmonious. It
would have been more politic for Sullivan, and have saved
him from much misconstruction and annoyance, had he
been more reserved. It is easy to perceive that frequently
appointments to places of responsibility and distinction
were withheld, from jealousies engendered by the unre-
strained sincerity with which he commented upon the
measures of the government. But prudence, as far as it
regarded consequences purely personal to himself, formed
no part of his character ; and no one, impartially scanning
his career, can reasonably charge him with ambition of
office or popularity. Among the communications believed
to be his were several signed A Republican, and two
admirable articles, signed Union, upon the temper, views
and consequences of party, in the United States.

For the first thirty years of our national existence both
the great parties dividing the country professed an equal
distrust of foreign influence. The republicans reproached
the federalists with regarding rather the interests of Eng-
land than the honor and welfare of their own country,
while the latter imputed to their opponents undue partiality
for France and sympathy with Ireland, then greatly discon-
tented and on the verge of civil war. In a speech, in
Congress, upon taxing certificates of naturalization, Mr.

62 LIFE AND WRITINGS

Otis, the member from Boston, said he would place a bar
against a restless people, who could not be tranquil and
happy at home. He expressed his esteem for some emi-
grants who had already come over, but did not wish to
have let loose among us a horde of wild Irishmen, who had
unfurled the standard of rebellion, and were endeavoring
to effect a revolution. He would willingly fraternize with
those already admitted, but discourage further migrations,
and thought twenty dollars not too high a tax for the priv-
ilege of citizenship. Immediately after these remarks had
been reported, with some exaggeration, in the Aurora, of
Philadelphia, an article, signed A Republican, appeared in
that paper, and also in the Chronicle, of Boston, comment-
ing upon the want of due consideration evinced by these
expressions, and setting forth the important services ren-
dered by Irishmen in the American Revolution. This,
attributed to Austin, who disclaimed it, was probably writ-
ten by Sullivan. It was followed up by a statement, signed
An Independent American, enumerating the grievances of
Ireland for many centuries, and justifying her discontent
under such oppression. This last was evidently prepared
by a lawyer, and there can be little doubt of its authorship.
Another subject, which this year engaged his attention
and his pen, was the judiciary of the state. The conserva-
tive spirit in Massachusetts had prevented the commission-
ers for revising the laws, after the adoption of the state
constitution, from recommending any very radical depart-
ure from the judicial system to which the people had
become accustomed under the royal government. Under
the statutes of 1782, the judiciary consisted, in the first
instance, of justices of the peace, with jurisdiction in their
several counties, over civil cases, to an amount not exceed-
ing four pounds, and a few minor criminal offences. Courts
of sessions, consisting of all the justices of the peace for
the county, had criminal jurisdiction over misdemeanors
and felonies not capital, and other functions, as commis-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 63

sioners of highways, supervisors of jails and licensed
houses. In each county was a court of common pleas,
composed of four judges, who were rarely men of legal
training, and Sullivan says not more than three out of sixty
were competent to direct juries, as to law and evidence, in
making up their verdicts. Finally, in the last resort, the
supreme judicial court, with its five judges, had original
cognizance of cases of divorce, crimes and misdemeanors,
and appellate power over all cases brought up frtfm the
other courts. By one defect in the system, several judges
presided together at nisi prius, for trial of issues of fact ;
and their charges occasionally disagreeing, the jury then
were obliged to decide between them, thus becoming them-
selves as it were judges of the bench.

With an arrangement so costly and complicated, the dis-
contents, which broke out, in 1786, into rebellion against the
judicial tribunals, are no great matter of surprise. Among
others, striving to introduce a more simple and economical
system, was Sullivan, who, at this period, if the impression
of the defenders of the ancient system is to be depended
upon as to the authorship, wrote four articles, signed
Juridicus, in the Mercury, advocating important altera-
tions, especially as to the courts of common pleas, which
he proposed should be organized upon the plan now exist-
ing. The sixty judges, among the most influential men in
the state, made a vigorous resistance against this proposed
reform, and, for the time, succeeded in defeating it. Two
able articles, signed Justinian, in the Centinel, a few
months later, took the same side as Juridicus; but the
legislature refused to make any other modification than to
leave with the governor and council the appointment of
the chief justices of these tribunals, the judges previously
having had no other precedence than that of seniority,
from the dates of their respective commissions.

An incident, in the winter of 1708, growing out of a
slight misunderstanding between Chief Justice Dana and

64 LIFE AND WEITINGS

Judge Sullivan, occasioned the latter much pain. No one
was more generally courteous to the bench than himself;
no one more ready to acknowledge the just claim of the
judges to the profound respect of all good citizens. After
having been employed for many years in prosecuting a
suit, in behalf of the commonwealth, to a large tract of
land many miles square on the Androscoggin, called the
Pejebscot claim, he finally succeeded in obtaining a ver-
dict in full recognition of her rights. This verdict the
chief justice set aside as contrary to the evidence. The
tenants then proposed a compromise ; and a committee of
the legislature was appointed to make the negotiation.
The attorney-general, in communicating the merits of the
case, for their information in reference to the late trial,
expressed his opinion, as an inducement for settling the
controversy, that it was not to be expected that the state
would ever obtain a more satisfactory verdict than the
last.

The chief justice, placing upon this language an interpre-
tation which Sullivan promptly disclaimed, construed it
into a reflection upon the correctness of his decision. He
appealed to the General Court, and several long and inter-
esting communications from both parties are to be found
upon its files. While the judicial sensitiveness, which the
correspondence betrays, to any supposed reproach, how-
ever slight, upon his fairness and impartiality, does high
honor to the judge, the respectful deference to the supreme
tribunal, and dignified denial of any intentional irreverence,
is likewise creditable to Sullivan as a lawyer. Dana was
soon convinced of his mistake, and this contention left no
rankle. A few years after, Sullivan dedicated to him and
his associates his Land Titles ; but constant intercourse
upon the circuits had, of course, long before restored the
accustomed good-fellowship.

During this same spring he was engaged in procuring
several acts of the legislature for public objects. With

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 65

Mr. Elisha Ticknor, he obtained a charter for the Massa-
chusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the first upon
the mutual principle in the state, and under which are now
insured fourteen millions of property at about one third of
the average premium of stock companies. He also peti-
tioned the legislature, with Mr. Samuel Parkman, for a
charter to construct a canal across Cape Cod, at Buzzard's
Bay, an improvement by which our valuable coasting-trade
would have been saved the long distance and dangers of
the outward passage round the cape. Surveys were
made, but the necessary capital could not be procured ;
and, though some preliminary measures were again at-
tempted in 1824, it still remains unaccomplished. A
pamphlet, setting forth the history of the various enter-
prises from earliest times for the object, appears to have
been prepared probably by Sullivan, but is believed not to
have been printed.

The state of parties in Massachusetts, in 1798, prevented
any contest for the executive chair, although Sullivan, as
the republican nominee, received many votes. Governor
Sumner was rechosen, and, the new state-house on Beacon
Hill being now completed, he presided over its public ded-
ication. Upon his decease, in January, 1799, soon after
his reelection, Moses Gill, the lieutenant-governor, filled
his place, and died in office the following May. Early in
1800, a legislative caucus of the federalists nominated
Caleb Strong, of Northampton, at the suggestion of Judge
Lowell, who declined himself to stand ; and he was chosen
by a majority of twenty-five hundred votes over Elbridge
Gerry, the republican candidate. There is good reason to
believe that Sullivan not only voted for Gerry, but advo-
cated his election in the republican journals.

Sullivan was not again regularly in nomination for gov-
ernor till 1804. In his correspondence lie says that offers
of support were repeatedly made him by the republicans,
if he would pledge himself to their policy; but, this not

ii. 5

QQ LIFE AND WRITINGS

entirely coinciding with his views, that he had declined.
Indeed, had he been willing to give up his lucrative prac-
tice at the bar, and the office of attorney-general, which he
preferred to all others, the well-deserved popularity of
Governor Sumner precluded all chance of his being cho-
sen. Moreover, approving, as he did, the recent measures
of the national administration to prevent hostilities with
France, he was not sufficiently a partisan to keep up, for
the sake of political capital, a factious opposition. The
judges felt under no obligations to abstain from political
controversy, nor was this expected of him. But it cannot
be denied that, under elective institutions, neither the
bench nor the public prosecutor can, consistently with
their duties, take part in party contests. At this particular
period Sullivan seems to have been neutral. The papers
of the day a little later so describe him, enumerating the
parties as three : the federalists, the anti-federalists, and
Sullivan.

The impartial performance of his official duties occasion-
ally provoked the hostility against him, not only of individ-
uals, but of one or other of the political parties. A prosecu-
tion of Abijah Adams, the junior editor of the Chronicle,
for a libel upon the legislature, in the spring of 1799, alien-
ated from him several of his republican friends. No act of
the administration had been more censured by that party
than what was called the sedition law, enacted by Congress
the fourteenth of July, 1798. If in some measure justified
by the extent of the evil to be remedied, this statute was an
obvious violation of the freedom of the press guaranteed
by the constitution; and, associated in the public mind with
a suspicion of his loyalty to republican sentiments, it essen-
tially impaired the popularity of the president. Virginia,
forgetful that an act of similar purport remained unre-
pealed upon her own statute-book, denounced the law as
unconstitutional, and invited the other states to combine in
resisting it. The General Court of Massachusetts dis-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. G7

claimed all right of passing judgment upon acts of Congress,
whereupon the Chronicle pronounced this disclaimer in-
consistent with their oaths; thus, indirectly, charging the
members voting for it with perjury. Abijah Adams, one
of the editors indicted at common law for this libel, and
convicted of publishing, was condemned to imprisonment.
His counsel, Blake, argued that all crimes should be defined
by statute, and that it was inconsistent with the genius of
our free institutions that citizens should be liable to pros-
ecution under the common law of England. In the dis-
charge of his duty as public prosecutor, Sullivan urged,
with great zeal, that, if there was no statute against such
libels, the common law of the. country, which was common
reason, prohibited such outrages ; that the law, as practised
in England before our ancestors came over, did the same ;
and that the practice had been supported by our courts.
This case was not to be distinguished from other offences
which, for their description, depended upon the common
law, adopted here and established by the constitution
of the commonwealth. The party charged had liberty,
upon his trial, to give the truth contained in the libel
as evidence, but could not pretend that there was any
truth in it.

Soon after the indictment, Sullivan would seem to have
denounced it, in two aide articles, as a flagrant violation of
private rigid; but, as attorney-general, he was bound to
urge the law as recognized by the tribunals. The repub-
lican writers termed, in reproach, Judge Dana the apostle
of the common law, and Sullivan was likewise visited with
their censure. The prosecution reflected little credit
upon the federalists. The libel charged was but slightly
objectionable, while their own papers teemed with articles,
far more to be reprehended, of which no notice was taken
by the grand juries. The trial took place as the spring
elections were approaching, and his official duties placing
Sullivan in a somewhat hostile attitude towards the repub-

68 LIFE AND WRITINGS

lican party, their nomination for governor was given to
General Heath.

Another incident of this prosecution was the publication
of a parod}- of the debate between the fallen angels in Par-
adise Lost, entitled The Demos in Council, or Bijah in
Pandemonium ; a sweep of the lyre in close imitation of
Milton. This was generally attributed to William Sullivan,
son of the attorney-general. The writers for the Chronicle,
Honestus, Junius and Democritus, take part in the discus-
sion, of which the scene is laid in the prison of the
unfortunate editor. Without particular merit, it has its
value, like the Jacobiniad of Dr. Gardiner, in presenting
the federalist cotemporary view of some of the republican
writers. The death of Thomas Adams, the senior editor,
changed for a time the character of the Chronicle. For
many months, under the editorship of Mr. Rhoades, its
columns were thrown open to the writers of all parties.
Sullivan continued a contributor, but wrote also for the
Gazette and Mercury, both, with a slight distinction,
federal journals. In the latter, soon after the sentence of
Adams, appeared an article, signed A Republican, defend-
ing the course of the attorney-general at the trial.

One of his favorite signatures at this period was Plain
Truth. More than twenty years earlier it is to be found
affixed to his contributions to the press, and over it, in April,
1797, he thus enumerates twelve principal objections to
hostilities with Prance : " The following is an exact state-
ment of the inevitable effects which a war with the French
republic would produce in this, country. The people
must weigh them well ; on their decision depends the last-
ing prosperity of our infant establishments : and they, no
doubt, will prefer the calumet of peace to the war-whoop
of the Centinel. Imprimis, the immediate ruin of our
Newfoundland fishery ; the decay of Marblehead, Salem,
Newburyport, and all the ports at the eastward ; the failure
of the owners, and the distress and beggary of the

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. G9

fishermen and their dearest connections. 2d. The fall of
our navigation to one quarter of its present value, and our
seamen beating the streets for want of employment, with-
out even a hope from privateering; as the most profound
statesman the town of Dedham has produced has long
since deprived them even of this consolation in their
miseiy, by assuring the public, that the trade of France
was absolutely ' burnt to the water's edge.' 3d. The
inevitable destruction of our whale fishery, and of all who
are engaged in this manly occupation. 4th. The fall of
real estate in town and country; poverty among the trades-
men, and bankruptcy among the merchants in general.
5th. An increasing price to foreign commodities, and a
decline of value to our home productions. 6th. Fifty
thousand soldiers to guard our seaports ; idleness instead
of industry ; our religious duties neglected, our morals
impaired, and our taxes without limits. 7th. An alliance,
offensive and defensive, with royalty, against liberty; the
remaining trade of the country in the hands of British
factors; English habits and manners; perhaps even English
troops again quartered in our capitals ; our money ex-
ported in exchange for their baubles, and French crowns as
scarce in the country as an honest attorney or a penitent
aristocrat. 8th. The ruin of private and public credit; a
paper medium; old debts discharged with new emissions of
it ; the debtor enriched, and the creditor starved. 9th. The
funds at seventy-five per cent, discount, probably even at
less value, and a total check to all future discount at the
banks, state or federal. 10th. The suspension of our future
quarterly payments at the loan offices, and an appropriation
of the reduced product of the excise and import to pay
our soldiers, to build our frigates, to provide magazines,
and to defend our sea-coasts. 11th. The ruin of our
Liberties and rights. 12th. The grass growing in State-
street in Boston, in Broadway at New York, and the
superb market of our continental metropolis converted

70 LIFE AND WRITINGS

from its present use to be the receptacle of a half-starved
American soldiery, or an insolent band of British grena-
diers."

Provoked by the Jay treaty, regarded, with reason, as
a violation of the alliance of 1778 with that power to
which we owed, in a measure, our independence, her
cruisers molested our trade, confiscating our property to
the value of millions ; and the sufferers, and, ere long, the
community, became generally incensed and disposed to
retaliate. Elbridge Gerry, a republican, was sent in June
to Paris, in the hope that, through his cooperation with
Pinckney and Marshall, already there as our representa-
tives, the disputes might be adjusted. But the envoys
were long unable to obtain even an audience of Talleyrand,
then in charge of the foreign relations of the Directory ;
and, as there existed little prospect of any amicable settle-
ment, the two republics appeared rapidly drifting into a
state of actual hostilities.

From a conviction that less was to be gained by arms
than by negotiation, and that, in the existing condition of
the country, peace, if consistent with national honor, was
its true policy, the republican leaders endeavored to
assuage the angry spirit of resentment at these repeated
aggressions. Among many able articles deprecating war,
which appeared in their principal journals, was a long
letter by Sullivan, signed Grotius, addressed to Judge
Samuel Sewall, then a member of Congress, arguing that
the arming of private vessels for resistance or reprisal,
as recommended by the federal press, would inevitably
lead to hostilities. In articles of his, signed Junius and
Plain Truth, the claims of France to forbearance are set
forth, upon the ground of former friendly services, with
various reasons to prove the impolicy of assuming a war-
like attitude beyond our means to sustain. In others,
believed to be likewise from his pen, it was argued that
our interest was better consulted by joining France and

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 71

Spain in support of the modern principle of maritime law
that free ships make free goods, than by hazarding, through
a closer alliance with England, what we claimed as the
rights of neutrality. Her trade, flooding our markets with
her merchandise, discouraged tin1 industry and enterprise
of our own people, drained our specie, and deranged our
currency. It would be a foolish policy to wage an expen-
sive, and possibly a disastrous war, for the sole benefit of
her manufacturers.

A long letter to Mr. Otis followed up the argument in
that of Grotius to Sewall, against the policy of private arm-
ing. This elicited a response, addressed to General Heath,
whom Mr. Otis erroneously supposed, or affected to sup-
pose, his correspondent. To this Heath replied; and a wri-
ter in the Mercury, assuming the signature of Americanus,
well known as one of Sullivan's, commented, with some
severity, upon the general, for venturing a contest with so
formidable an antagonist. Sullivan, resenting the appro-
priation of his signature for such a purpose, the more that
Beath had become the favorite candidate with many of
the republicans, in opposition to himself, for governor,
defended Heath, and poured a broadside into the assailant,
who, under false colors, had thus treacherously attempted
to stir up strife between himself and his friend and com-
petitor for the suffrages of the republicans.

That, in his unremitting efforts to prevent a war with
Fiance, Sullivan may have been somewhat influenced by
an affectionate interest in the land of his fathers, then
engaged, with French assistance, in a struggle for her liber-
ties, there seems little reason to doubt; but he was too
loyal to advocate, from any motive whatever, a policy
which he could suppose detrimental to the honor or true
interest of his own country. There was, indeed, much in
the existing condition of Ireland to enlist his most active
sympathies. Vast numbers of her people were disaffected
with the government ; the country Avas kept in constant

72 LIFE AND WRITINGS

alarm and agitation, by Peep-of-day boys and other illegal
combinations ; and armed rebellion set law and authority
at defiance. Had not the winds and waves prevented
Hoche, with his fifteen thousand French troops, disembark-
ing in aid of the insurrection, the result, according to
the opinion of Eufus King, then commissioner in London,
would have been the severance of the British empire. It
proved a useless struggle ; and, after martial law had been
proclaimed, and twenty thousand royalists, and more than
double that number of insurgents, had been massacred, was
suppressed. Yet, while it lasted, it could not fail to foster
the liveliest hopes in the bosoms of American sympathizers
that it would terminate in the political regeneration of an
unhappy and kindred people, then suffering under every
social and political calamity.

"When the discreditable proposal, indirectly made to our
envoys at Paris, to place fifty thousand pounds in the
private pocket of Talleyrand as a preliminary to negotia-
tion, was known in this country, a profound and universal
burst of indignation at what public opinion was then virtu-
ous enough to consider a dishonoring and unpardonable
breach of diplomatic decorum, alike insulting to the envoys,
and disgraceful in the French minister, overpowered any
attempt at palliation. The friends of France were silenced
and disconcerted ; negotiations were broken off, and our
ministers received their passports. Gerry alone lingered
a while in Paris in the hope, doomed to disappointment, of
affecting some arrangement. In his June message the
president declared he would never send another minister
to France, without assurance that he would be honorably
received, and recommended to Congress immediate prepara-
tions for war.

Congress authorized the levy of twenty thousand men,
the issue of letters of marque and reprisal, ordered an in-
crease of the navy, imposed a land tax, declared the French
treaty of 1778 no longer binding, and passed the alien and

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 73

sedition laws. Three frigates, the Constitution, United
States and Constellation, were built, and three hundred and
sixty-five private vessels commissioned. Washington ac-
cepted the command of the army, and selected Hamilton,
Knox and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, for his subordi-
nates. The national spirit was aroused. Both press and
pulpit blew the clarion for battle. Capitalists built frigates,
fitted out privateers, and lent their money or their credit.
For one moment even party forgot its animosities, and the
republicans ceased to jeer at the war-hawks. But dangers
from without could not long repress the virulence of con-
tending factions, and the combat was soon again renewed,
and with redoubled ardor. The black cockade, with its
silver eagle, which Washington had devised for the army,
was assumed, in the larger towns, by the federalists, for
their special cognizance. Their opponents, unwilling to
adopt what they considered rather the badge of party than
of patriotism, were hooted at in the streets, and, in some
instances, subjected to violence.

When the feeling of indignation at ministerial turpitude
had partially subsided, the republicans argued that apart
from the corrupt proposition of Talleyrand, one not then
unusual in European diplomacy, the basis of negotiation
submitted to the envoys was far from objectionable ; that
the purchase of twelve million Dutch rescriptions, as pro-
posed, for the relief of the French treasury, ought not to be
considered a demand for tril>ut<>, especially on the {tart of
a republic to whom we had just paid the last instalment of
loans made to us under similar embarrassments. France
was willing to make amends for her depredations upon our
commerce, to the amount of twenty millions. What like-
lihood was there of our obtaining better terms by war?

These arguments, urged by the friends of peace, and
among others by Sullivan, coincided with the views of the
president, who had passed the summer at the north. Soon
after his return to Philadelphia, Mr. Adams received a

74 LIFE AND WEITINGS

letter from Murray, our minister at the Hague, enclosing
a dispatch from Talleyrand to Pichon, the French min-
ister in Holland, promising that should an envoy be sent by
us to France, he should be received "as the representative
of a great, free, powerful and independent nation." He forth-
with nominated Mr. Murray, and afterwards joined with him
Ellsworth and Davie, as commissioners to negotiate with the
directory. This measure received the approbation of most
of his federal friends, and, among them, of Dexter, Lincoln
and Knox, but created mortal offence in his cabinet, whom
he had omitted to consult. The secretaries, Pickering,
Wolcott and McHenry, became his enemies ; and, very
slightly disguising their resentment, not only thwarted his
policy, but leagued with Hamilton to oppose his reelection.
The cabinet was then regarded as far more independent of
the president than at present. The secretaries considered
themselves directly responsible alone to the people, and fully
justified, as far as their power and influence extended, in
carrying out their own ideas of public policy, without any
obligation to resign office when these chanced to differ
from the views of the chief. Apprehending a disposition,
on their part, to defeat all attempts at negotiation, upon the
arrival of Talleyrand's formal assurance of a kind recep-
tion for the envoys, Mr. Adams conferred with them as to
the instructions for the treaty ; but took care to dispatch
Ellsworth and Davie in the United States frigate to France,
without leaving them any time for opposition.

Upon their arrival in Paris, the envoys found Buona-
parte first consul. After long negotiation they accom-
plished their mission by a treaty, dated the thirtieth of Sep-
tember, 1800. It favored commerce in stipulating that free
ships should make free goods, and provided indemnities
for future depredations ; but satisfaction for those which had
provoked hostilities was to be assumed by our own gov-
ernment as an offset to violations of the treaty of alliance
of 1778, now abrogated by the war. To our great dis-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 75

grace as a nation, after nearly three-score years, notwith-
standing the favorable report of twenty-six committees of
Congress, and bills twice passed only to be vetoed, wo
have never satisfied those claims, which were released for
considerations common to the whole country, and the price
of our national independence as far as we were indebted
for it to Yorktown and to France.

In -May, as the cabinet was breaking up, and New York
becoming republican, the federalists at Philadelphia decided
to support Adams and Pinckney as their candidates for
president and vice-president. Hamilton preferred Pinck-
ney for president, and in June visited New England, it is
believed, with a vieAv to this result. Whether this were or
were not his object, the friends of Mr. Adams so apprehended
it ; and this belief, exciting jealousy and recrimination, cre-
ated a hopeless schism in the federal ranks. Hamilton,
provoked at some rumored expressions of Mr. Adams to
his prejudice, as one of the British faction, wrote to demand
an explanation, which not receiving, he prepared a circular
to his friends, reflecting upon the policy and measures of
the president. This, obtained surreptitiously by Burr, Avas
given to the public. Hamilton, in self-defence, was obliged
to publish it himself, with additional comments, and this
completed {lie federal overthrow.*

It may be thought that these historical details have too
slight a connection with our subject. But no correct judg-
ment can be formed of Sullivan's writings, or political career,
without taking them into view. In subsequent times it
was made a reproach to him that at this juncture he de-
serted the republicans, professed neutrality, and aimed,

* The hostility of his old friends to President Adams, for his conciliatory
policy towards France, was extremely bitter. At the Cambridge commence-
ment of 1800, the orator for the second degree, a student at the time in the
office of Fisher Ames, improved the occasion to express his sentiments very
frankly, against his reelection, and in favor of the views of Mr. Hamilton.
The audience were greatly startled at his boldness, and for a moment there was
an apprehension of some disturbance, but it passed away.

7G LIFE AND WEITINGS

obliterating the old party lines, at a new organization. He
never disguised his sentiments, and his correspondence
shows that he had never been in full fellowship with either
party. He chose to think for himself, advocating the
measures he deemed conducive to the public welfare, and
opposing whatever he conceived pernicious, without regard
to party policy. The power of a statesman over public
affairs is not always to be measured by his official rank.
Under republican institutions, where government rests upon
opinion, individuals in a private station have often a greater
influence than those in place. If Gen. Hamilton and the
federalist leaders were defeated in their efforts to control
the cabinet and the administration by the vigorous resist-
ance of the president, they were nevertheless able to pre-
vent his reelection.

Without any pretension that subsequent events were
materially affected either by his writings or influence, it is
simply intended to trace, as faithfully as our meagre mate-
rials permit, the public career of Sullivan, and the progress-
ive development of his political sentiments. There seems
no reason to doubt that his actuating motives were disin-
terested and patriotic. His views were entertained by
many among the most prudent and judicious. The rancor
of party warfare, which for many years had disturbed the
social peace, at first attractive from its novelty, had long
since lost much of its charm, and the sensible would have
gladly seen a truce to the ceaseless political contentions
serving no other end but to increase the consequence or
gratify the ambition of selfish demagogues. The respect of
foreign nations for our government had sensibly diminished,
and we were constantly exposed to their depredations and
insults. The friends of liberty among ourselves were losing
faith in the value and stability of representative institutions,
and there was ground for apprehension that these dissen-
sions, if continued, might eventually undermine the loyalty
of our citizens generally to the principles of the Revolution.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 77

If not blind to his faults, the preeminent abilities of the
president, his stern integrity and patriotic services, had
secured the esteem of Sullivan, who, now that their views
of public policy coincided, and Mr. Adams had been deserted
by his ancient supporters, would have willingly seen him
reelected. He had also much respect for Mr. Jefferson,
whose religious opinions he had defended from unfounded
aspersions and whom lie regarded as more standi than
the president in his principles of representative govern-
ment. If, by consolidation of the more moderate of both
parties, another could be formed, with the constitution for
its platform, supporting Adams and Jefferson, and leaving
it to the country to decide which of them should be
president, very serious dangers might be averted ; the
supreme power would be neither entrusted to a man utterly
unprincipled like Burr, nor confided to the keeping of Gen.
Pinckney, under the control of Gen. Hamilton and his
friends, who, however estimable and patriotic, seemed
determined to draw closer the alliance with England, and,
with their faith already shaken in the success of popular
institutions, were disposed to merge state rights, the bul-
wark of our liberties, in the expanding powers of the
general government. A party thus constituted, to which
it was proposed to give the name of Constitutionalists, it
was fondly imagined would attract the support of the great
mass of the people, the wise and patriotic of both parties,
and the country thus united become prosperous and
happy, and too formidable to be assailed. But, in the exist-
ing state of parties, this project was sufficiently Utopian.

Such were the views attributed to Sullivan at this time
by his enemies, and such were undoubtedly entertained
with favor by many eminent republicans. Whether the
imputation were or not well founded, it was believed and
long remembered to his prejudice. If deserved, it serves
to explain some subsequent allusions to his want of con-
sistency, on the part of the republicans. The charge

78 LIFE AND WRITINGS

certainly involves no want of loyalty to the only princi-
ple he recognized, consideration for the best good of his
country. He owed no allegiance to party, and was under
no obligation to adopt its nominations. It soon became
manifest that this plan had no chance of success, and Judge
Sullivan took an active part in the canvass. From his vari-
ous articles we select the following, published in September,
proving that he was at that time unequivocally disposed
to support the republican candidate :

"While the fair fabric of Mr. Jefferson's fame was exposed
only to the secret, undermining attacks of his whispering
enemies, his friends felt a momentary concern for the event ;
when the foul breath of calumny confided its course to the
care of a chosen band to circulate, the lovers of fair play
experienced a transient anxiety for the cause of truth j
but the instant his assailants appeared boldly in the news-
papers, and, with uncovered batteries, opened their fires
with so much violence as to arrest the peace of innocence,
and awaken a spirit of inquiry, the friends of virtue and
patriotism were at rest; they knew the triumph of this
great philosopher was at hand.

" Had the late revilers of Mr. Jefferson, in the Centinel,
taken counsel of the Jacobins, they could not have directed
their pens more effectually, to establish his great repu-
tation in the opinion of the public, than by provoking an
appeal to his writings and his conduct. This is the tribu-
nal to proclaim his virtues, and to confound his enemies.
Although the history of this uncommon man had impressed
my mind with a high degree of respect for his wisdom and
moderation, yet I profess the most unbounded attachment
to the liberty of the press ; and if the elements of Mr.
Jefferson's character could not have resisted the shocks of
these newspaper discussions, and the base upon which it
stood had not been too solid to be moved by these inces-
sant slanders, my confidence in the attainment of superior
perfection in this instance would have been shaken.

OF JAMES SULLIVAX. 79

"The people of America have now before them all the
evidence in the power of envy or party spirit to give ; they
can now judge whether Mr. Jefferson is a man of loose
morals, or religious sentiments. They can now determine
whether he wishes the downfall of all religion, or whether
he lias proved himself an able advocate for the rights of
conscience, and the cause of genuine, unaffected piety.

" With respect to the three last charges in the Centinel,
namely, that he will turn every federal man out of office ;
destroy the funding system, and with it public credit;
ami make war upon Great Britain; if these things can
be made probable, certainly such a warfare upon the
order and prosperity of the country ought to be guarded
against. Perhaps it may not be amiss to examine into
the prospect of these things being realized under the
administration of Mr. Jefferson.

" First, that he will turn every federal man out of office.
In judging of what men will do, a recurrence to what time
has already sealed with its sanctions dictates that a safer
calculation can be made from a course of action derived
from a uniform history of the passions, and from the never-
failing interest of situation, than from any beforehand
protestations or predictions. If the Jacobins are ignorant
of the springs of the human heart; if they had no knowl-
edge from an acquaintance of ancient or modern politics;
the folly of the federalists, the rocks upon which they have
i] shipwrecked, would teach them other conduct than
turning good men out of office. The political misfortunes
of the federalists must certainly have learnt the Jacobins,
by this time, that coercive or proscriptive measures will
never produce conviction in the mind of their fellow-
citizens. If the press is preserved free, and most assur-
edly the Jacobins, of all men, will not avail themselves of
the precedent displayed by the federalists to destroy it,
with the channels of information unobstructed, and sur-
rounded by the public vigilance, always awake and ever

80 LIFE AND WRITINGS

attentive, should the Jacobins anticipate a more perma-
nent duration than has marked the reign of their prede-
cessors, they must carefully avoid the prints of their foot-
steps.

" Clemency is the only effectual weapon for the Jacobins
to wield, if they expect to retain their influence. It is
true Cassar fell, but not by his clemency ; he disdained the
proscription of Sylla, and, I dare say if he could have had
his choice, his great soul would have preferred perishing,
even by the hand of Brutus, rather than have incurred the
meanness of Octavius, and have received the Roman Empire
upon the terms of a coat of mail. It is true the clemency of
Ccesar did not overcome the inveteracy of Cassius, and if
the hands of his assassins had been for that time stayed,
the deep wounds made in the hearts of Pompey's and Cato's
friends could never have been healed ; the blow might
have been suspended, but the sword of vengeance would
never have been satisfied without a victim.

" In America, though a great many vile passions have been
set in motion, the sword of civil war has not yet been drawn.
Time, events, intelligence, and the good temper of the
Jacobins, may yet dissipate the rancor of party. It is not
by retorting the little game played off by the federalists,
that the Jacobins can become esteemed. It is by show-
ing themselves superior to these little passions, that they
must gain an ascendency in the minds of their country-
men.

" The bitterness of the federal writers, in the Centinel,
against the most respectable characters in the United States,
arises more from a dread of receiving the same measure of
abuse they have heaped upon the Jacobins, than from any
faith in the charges they exhibit. They fear more from the
reaction of their own base passions, than from any convic-
tion that Mr. Jefferson will do wrong. The system of
proscription followed up by the anglo-federalists for these
four years past has been so mean and pitiful, that if I could

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 81

persuade myself the Jacobins would imitate their example,
I should not desire to see any change.

"Let us. for a moment, contemplate the littleness of carry-
ing this plan so far as to take away employ from a labor-
ing man : as to refuse discounting a man's note at a bank,
though the security was undoubted ; so far as to turn
Colonel Perkins, a veteran officer in the American Revo-
lution, shiftless, off Castle Island, and oblige him, after
beating the streets of Boston, from the necessities of his
family, to commence as tide-waiter in the customs ; in short,
so far as to take the bread from the mouth of every honest
man, who could neither be corrupted nor intimidated, who
had too much principle to subscribe to what he did not
believe, and too much honor to act where conscience could
not lead the way.

" The simple question at issue is, what will promote Mr.
Jefferson's interest when president of the United States?
Certainly not turning good men out of office. Mr. Lyman,
from the woods of Hampshire, acknowledges the Jacobins
have too much discretion to suffer their passions to super-
sede their interest.

" The second charge is, the destruction of the funding
system, and public credit as connected with it. The reason
given by Decius for supposing Mr. Jefferson will destroy
this system is, because he hates it. This I very much
question, in the sense Decius gives it. But suppose he
does hate the funding system, will it follow he must destroy
it? This rule of action, taken individually or nationally,
is very little practised upon with advantage ; for, if Decius
had been destroyed as often as his hypocrisy and ill-nature
had excited the hatred of his acquaintance, it would have
required a thousand lives, by this time, to have appeased
their wrath.

"The royalists in Great Britain hate the French republic,
and have been weak enough to act upon Decius' principle.
The event, probably, will reward their temerity. A few
it. 6

82 LIFE AND WRITINGS

leading men in America also hate the French republic, for
more reasons than Mr. Firm and Steady gave in his creed;
merely their refusing to receive our commissioners. These
men, in their turn, have endeavored to destroy what they
hate ; but they seem in a fair way to furnish a handsome
comment upon this doctrine of the Centinel. Let this
argument operate as it may, with regard to the destruction
of others, no man, of common sense, can be supposed to
carry it so far as to effect his own ruin.

" The Jacobins have been credited for courage and dis-
cipline ; and, if their predictions of the measures they
have protested against were to be reviewed, I believe they
would, upon a fair estimation, be entitled to some merit
upon the score of a clear understanding. They warned
their countrymen against a connection with the British.
Every day unfolds some transactions illustrative of the
perfidy and wickedness they had foretold. The Jacobins
always said the indemnification in Mr. Jay's treaty would
turn out a bubble. The Jacobins always called the British
treaty a trap. There is no man, of any information, that
will deny that this trap has caught America by the neck,
if not by the neck and heels ; for we may writhe and turn,
but there is no running away.

" The Jacobins would have it that it was not for the
political or commercial interest of their fellow-citizens to
quarrel with the French republic. The present loss of the
fisheries, and the great stagnation of business, clearly dem-
onstrate their foresight in relation to the commercial, and
the gigantic attitude of the French in Europe renders their
opinion of our political interest at least respectable. The
Jacobins contended that the sedition bill was unconstitu-
tional ; their fellow-citizens appear, by turning out the
advocates of this bill, to possess the same sentiment. The
Jacobins thought it ridiculous to raise armies, to create
heavy expenses, and thereby bring an enormous debt upon

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 83

the citizens. The good sense of their counhymen seems
at least to be of the same way of thinking.

"If the Jacobins have understanding enough to foresee
what would destroy their country, is it not likely they
have too much remaining good sense to entertain the de-
sign of committing suicide ? For certainly nothing would
more inevitably trip up the heels of Mr. Jefferson, than to
injure the funding system, or to destroy public credit,
which, in our view, is the same. If public credit can be
dear to any one man in the United States above all others
the president is that man. To him the public credit must
be more precious and interesting than to any other man,
or to any body of men, let the amount of their stocks or
shares be what it may, for by public credit the president-
lives, and moves, and has his being.

" Last of all, a war with Great Britain is announced as
part of Mr. Jefferson's operations. Certainly a war, whether
offensive or defensive, must require men, implements and
provisions. Now, if Decius has any secret by which he can
command either of these articles without money or credit,
he is more ingenious than his speculations forebode him
to be. Mr. Jefferson is to prostrate public credit, — the com-
mand of money follows, as a necessary consequence, more
especially as our currency is principally paper, — and then
he is to make war upon Great Britain. It is needless to
occupy the time of the reader further upon this head ; for
surely no man can execute these two projects, while money
and credit continue to be the sinews of war."

The vote of Massachusetts was cast by the legislature,
for the federal candidates ; that of South Carolina for Jef-
ferson and Burr, who were elected by a majority of eight
electoral votes. The two successful candidates having an
equal number of votes, according to the constitution as it
then stood, it devolved upon the house of representatives,
voting by states, to decide which of them should be presi-
dent, and which vice-president. Numerous ballotings con-

84 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

tinued for several days without adjournment, members
who were ill being brought with their beds into the capitol.
The federalists generally voted for Burr. When the in-
creasing agitation throughout the country menaced the
public peace, if not the stability of the government, some
patriotic members, and among them Bayard of Delaware,
and Lewis of Vermont, cast blank ballots ; and Jefferson,
obtaining the requisite number of states, was chosen presi-
dent.

Judging from the sequel, the federalists of Massachu-
setts, who, with Hamilton, had favored Pinckney, were
much incensed at their defeat. They expressed, with-
out disguise, their resentment; and, to judge from the
articles, signed Americanus and Federalis, in the Chron.
icle, written by Sullivan during the winter, there was
much warmth on both sides. He rebukes them for their
intolerance, party virulence, and love of power and of
place ; for their unrepublican admiration of English insti-
tutions, unreasonable apprehension of French influence,
and want of generous confidence in the capability of their
own countrymen for well regulated freedom.

During the last days of the session, which closed with
the administration of Mr. Adams, the proposed reenactment
of the sedition law, then about to expire, came up for dis-
cussion. To influence public opinion, against what he
deemed an unjust infringement of constitutional rights,
Sullivan published his Freedom of the Press. What in-
fluence it had, if any, can only be conjectured ; but the
objectionable law was not renewed.

CHAPTER III

ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

It has been frequent subject of remark that those most
industrious with their pens have made it a rule to be up
before the sun. Sullivan forms no exception to its truth.
Long before the dawn, in winter, he left his couch, and,
kindling his fire, applied himself for hours with energy to
his labors. First attempts at new habits have their dis-
couragements. The early riser dozes, becomes hungry or
chilled, and hastily concludes the practice well enough for
others, but ill suited to himself. By persevering, the dis-
comforts gradually disappear, and a new life, invaluable to
one with much to accomplish, is added to existence. But
there are laws of nature not to be disregarded. The
taper should not be lighted at both ends ; if the early hours
are to be improved for work, we must forego late vigils
over night.

Much away from home, and often in comfortless abodes,
our subject could not be always constant to this excellent
habit; and sometimes at his task reflection would subside
into revery, and slumber, taking by surprise his wandering
fancies, imprison them in dreams. On the morning of the
new-year, in shaking off the cobwebs which had gathered for
a while over his faculties, he indited the following verses,
which, if they possess no great poetic merit, give some
insight into the character of his mind. He sent them at

86 LIFE AND "WRITINGS

breakfast, with the accompanying note, to his widowed
daughter; and, in defiance of the discouraging rule of
Horace,

" Mediocribus esse poetis
Non homines, non Di, non concessere coluninas,"

unartistic as they are, we venture to insert them :

"THE CANDLE.— A NEW-YEAR'S GIFT.

" The dusk of evening had returned,
My cottage shut, my candle burned,
My wandering eye upon it gazed,
While unconsumed the taper blazed.
My eye discerned no melting waste,
Though minutes rolled, and hours passed,
When I the candle thus addressed :
• 0, could my life like yours endure !
0, could its light like yours be pure ! ' —
This wish expressed, I heaved a sigh,
The god of sleep was sitting by,
His lap has often been my bed,
His downy lap received my head.
Awakened Fancy's strong behest
In airy dreams her phantoms dressed ;
Now mirth, then grief ; here wealth, there power ;
And fear and hope, each had its hour.
Old Somnus shook his weary lap,
The charm dispelled, and broke my nap,
When, lo ! my candle quite consumed,
In dying blaze my cot illumed.
The wasted wick and doubtful flame
In glimmering rays this truth proclaim :
Though moments fleet unnoticed by,
Though days and years unheeded fly,
The fatal hour approaches fast,
One grain of sand must be the last.

" January 1st, 1801.

" Your father knows enough of poetry to know that he is
not a poet. But he sends you, as a new-year's gift, some
lines he wrote this morning, occasioned by dreaming of a
candle nearly burnt out."

Various are the pursuits of him the world calls idle ;

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 87

and the occupations of Sullivan, whom all his cotem-
poraries remember as incessantly at work, cannot be easily
enumerated. Our scanty materials would admit of no
attempt to follow closely his laborious footsteps, were such
our intention. Biographical fidelity furnishes no excuse
for the imposition of weariness, and we, therefore, shall
pass rapidly over many incidents of the next three years,
not calculated to interest the reader. Events forming part
of the history of the state cannot be too familiar to those
living within its borders. And, as this memoir has lit-
tle pretension to notice beyond his immediate theatre
of action, we continue our brief sketch of his busy life,
for the most part passed in public avocations, with the
hope of all reasonable indulgence for any unnecessary
dulncss.

The long and troubled reign of the federalists was at
length brought to a close, and their opponents, who had
spared no efforts for their overthrow, succeeded to the
control of national affairs. It was natural that, after a
warfare waged, on either side, with such extreme asperi-
ties, the republicans should have experienced much joy in
their triumph. Judge Sullivan, in his Signs of the Times,
addressed to the federalists, thus hails the commencement
of the new administration:

" This is the fourth of March. The day shines with
uncommon lustre ; the atmosphere is fine, soft, and salu-
brious. Would it be irrational to suppose that the people
of America are, on this day, restored to an assurance of
their rights as free, republican citizens? The snare of
your party has broken, and we have escaped. We are
now at peace with all the world. The dreadful and costly
preparations of war are vanished. Commerce sits smiling
on our shores, inviting all the world to a rich repast.
Agriculture lays aside the loaves she had purchased for
war, and spreads her ample table for Commerce and the
Arts. The steel, which was yesterday in moulding for the

88 LIFE AND WRITINGS

bloody bayonet, is now bent into the sickle for a luxuriant
harvest. The Arts throw by the measures for lines of
circumvallations, and are marking the path of Commerce
round the world. The funds and banks feel a sacred and
inviolable security, because they are erected on the same
basis of public faith. Industry returns, claiming her rights
as a lawful heir ; and is assured that no vile speculations,
filling the country with fictitious wealth, shall be ever
allowed to expatriate her.

11 Liberty of speech, freedom of opinion, riches to
industry, prudence and economy, security to persons and
property, public faith inviolate, rewards to learning and
merit, the equal execution of the laws, peace abroad and
happiness at home, attend Jefferson's administration."

In appointments to office, Jefferson did not forget his
northern supporters. General Dearborn was selected for
the war department ; Levi Lincoln made attorney-general.
Sullivan was offered the lucrative office of attorney for the
Massachusetts district, but declined, George Blake being
appointed to the place. His brother-in-law, Governor Lang-
don, who was solicited to accept the secretaryship of the
navy, also refused that office. Indeed, nothing but elevated
patriotism or an ambition without reflection and insensible
to discomfort, could have tempted any one to the city of
Washington in its embryo stage of existence. It was still,
for the most part, in the primeval forest, only relieved by the
capitol and presidential residence, and these, as yet, but par-
tially completed ; and, in the prevailing temper of politicians,
the attractions of public life were hardly sufficiently allur-
ing to reconcile any one to an abode so cheerless, who
could consistently avoid it.

During the summer Judge Sullivan was engaged in
preparing for the press his Land Titles of Massachusetts,
which was published in the following October. It was
dedicated to the judges of the supreme bench, and appears
to have been received with favor both by the profession

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 89

and the public. He was too much occupied to correct
the proof-sheets very carefully, and some typographical
errors escaped him. As one of the earliest, if not the
very earliest elementary work upon legal science in the
country, it attracted much attention. But the subject
being confined to our own land titles in the state, and
there being then among us few persons outside of the
profession who were interested in historical researches
in this direction, its circulation was limited, as a technical
work, very much to our own lawyers.

The organization of the common pleas crowding the
dockets of the supreme court, the supreme bench had
now been increased, through the exertions of Sullivan, as-
sisted by Theophilus Parsons; and the judges, dividing the
commonwealth into two circuits, were thus able to double
the number of their terms. As the attorney-general could
not attend them both, the office of solicitor-general was
created in 1800, and Daniel Davis, who performed its
duties for the next thirty years, was selected for the post.
The eastern circuit was allotted to his care, and Sullivan
relieved from this portion of his labors. How great this
relief must have been may be judged from the fact we find
recorded, that the judges on the eastern circuit were
occasionally, for ten weeks of the spring, every day in
court or on the road.

In a judicial system so complicated as that of Massa-
chusetts instances naturally occurred of abuse of power ;
and occasionally persons in office became obnoxious to
public censure for intemperance, or other disqualifications
for their duties. Impeachments, now rarely known, were
not then unfrequent. In June the attorney-general was
engaged in an important case of this nature, assisted by
John Lowell, and with Blake and Otis for his opponents.
In August took place, at Dedham, the celebrated trial of
Jason Fairbanks for murder, which has been noticed, at
some length, in another chapter. Other criminal trials of

90 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the year are remembered by members of the bar as
unusually interesting. His forensic labors in civil cases
continued unremitting. He is spoken of as constantly in
court upon all the most important causes ; Parsons, Otis
and Dexter being his usual antagonists. His practice was
not confined to the supreme court, or to Suffolk, but
extended throughout the commonwealth, except that he
now more rarely visited the eastern counties.

In August his official duties were called into requisition,
in the cause of humanity, under the following circum-
stances : The commander of a vessel from Ireland, laden
with emigrants, for reasons we do not find stated, possibly
from some malady prevailing among them which would
subject him to quarantine, landed his passengers, two
hundred and fifty in number, upon an uninhabited island in
the outer harbor of Boston. Interposing his authority as
attorney-general, Sullivan compelled the captain to reem-
bark them, and carry them into port. He is repeatedly
mentioned as zealously engaged in behalf of the swelling
tide of immigration ; and for some other friendly acts of ser-
vice rendered at this time to the Emigrant Society, an
institution of the state for the information and advice of
foreigners, his name is honorably associated with that of
Dr. Morse, the eminent geographer. This society was
entitled to distinguished praise, for the valuable aid they
rendered to vast numbers of the poor and uninformed, who
were leaving their homes in Europe, to brave the perils
and hardships attendant upon establishing themselves in
the New World.

His contributions to the press continued constant ; and
in the periodical works of the day are found essays on
political science, which may with safety be claimed as his
composition. Following his Signs for the Times, addressed
to the Essex Junto, was another series in the Chronicle,
entitled the True American, over the signature of Amer-
icanus. These discuss a variety of topics, some of a local

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 91

nature, and others, of more general interest, upon the
character of Jefferson, and the importance that the fed-
eral colleges for the choice of president should be chosen
directly by the people, and not by the legislatures. In
August appeared a tribute to the merits of Gallatin as
a financier, defending the propriety of his appointment,
although a foreigner, as secretary of the treasury. In the
columns of the Constitutional Telegraph, then recently
established in Boston, on the republican side, are also what
would seem the productions of his pen.

But lie did not confine his communications to the repub-
lican journals. In the early numbers of the Palladium are
five essays, believed to be his, upon the good cause of that
ancient rule of maritime law, that free ships should not
make free goods. One object of war being to compel the
adversary to reasonable terms of peace, by exhausting his
resources, this, he argued, could be most effectively ac-
complished by crippling his commerce upon the ocean. If
the flag was to prevent a search, belligerents, by hoisting
neutral colors, could protect their merchandise from molesta-
tion, and thus prolong their powers of resistance. lie
urged, besides, that the rule was more in accordance with
humanity, as on the ocean hostilities were confined to men;
while, in the destruction of seaports or invasion of territory,
the principal sufferers were the women and children. It
was especially beneficial to this country as neutrals; for our
merchants, in supplying the belligerents, would not only
earn freight as carriers, but also monopolize the profits of
the trade.

His last public duty of 1801 was the preparation of a
report to a town-meeting of his fellow-citizens, upon the
vagrants of the capital. His official experiences as public
prosecutor made him well acquainted with the dangerous
classes of society, who haunt crowded seaports, finding
there more frequent opportunity for crime, and less proba-

92 LIFE AND WRITINGS

bility of detection. His report was printed and circulated;
but no copy remains upon the city files.

His public services, abilities as a writer and in his pro-
fession, his attachment to the principles of liberty, his
defence of the freedom of the press, were frequent themes
of praise at this period, both with republican and federal-
ist writers. An able contributor to the Centinel, Verus
Honestus, introduces him, under the name of Federalis,
into his political disquisitions, as questioning the consist-
ency of the president. Always frank in expressing his
opinions, he, no doubt, in the confidence of friendly inter-
course, spoke often of Jefferson as he thought, and, all
characters having their blemishes, very probably at times
with reproach. But, as far as his influence extended, he
gave the administration his steady support, and, his associ-
ates at the bar and in social life being generally federalists,
he was often warmly engaged in its defence.

His letters, in the early months of 1802, to Dr. Eustis,
at that time representing the Suffolk district in Congress,
present some of the lights and shades of our political his-
tory ; and, though at some length, the faithful view they
exhibit of his opinions and sentiments upon federal affairs
will apologize for their introduction. On the thirteenth
of January, 1802, he writes : " We live in a crisis of vast
importance to our country, and involved in circumstances
which render it very difficult to determine which is the
most proper way to proceed. The evils we have to
encounter are not such as have recently or accidentally
fallen on the country. They are of long standing ; the
seeds were sown in the system ; and, though the branches
may be pruned away, the roots are yet in the soil, spread-
ing far and deep.

" When the constitution was formed I felt more than a
jealousy that there was an intention to make more of it than
was openly avowed. I knew what your views then were, and
wherever we differed there was no alteration in my opinion

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 93

as to the sentiments of your heart being founded in integ-
rity. You know that my suspicion at that time was, that a
certain party, by the suability of the states, and by other
strained constructions and heterogeneous measures of
administration, was intending to consolidate all the powers
of the various governments as the foundation of a civil
national system similar to that of Great Britain. The hope
of accomplishing a project so dear to some, so terrible to
others, and so interesting to all, was very faint at that time.
But the treaty with Great Britain, to which I had no objec-
tion, excepting the danger which it threw us under of being
involved in the wars of Europe, gave a revival of hope to
an expiring scheme, and raised into insolence a faction
which gave no quarter to any one, whatever his character
or former conduct or sentiments had been, who differed
from them in the most minute circumstance. A reign of
terror ensued, such as no nation ever experienced. No
one dared to have an opinion of his own ; for, though gov-
ornmental prosecutions could not be had, yet the corrod-
ing abuse that each one was liable to was worse than
legal tyranny.

" We have now changed the scene. We have a dawn-
ing hope that the true and substantial principles of the
constitution Avill be preserved, and administered according
to its original design. But how this can be insured is an
interesting inquiry. Let the present administration do
what it may, the party which is disappointed will be violent
in opposition to every measure. False construction, vile
and fraudulent informations, and even gross falsehoods,
will be the fuel of discord. Should that party again obtain
the ascendency of influence, and be fixed in the confidence
of the people, a change of constitution is inevitable. Some-
times I have almost agreed in my heart to their principal
maxim, that people are incapable of self-govenment, and
cannot maintain social order, unless, to use Ames' expres-
sion, the steel is in the hand of the civil magistrate, in

94 LIFE AND WRITINGS

form of the bayonet. When I see so many free citizens
dead to every idea of social happiness, provided they can
enrich themselves, I am almost ready for a moment to join
this party in their cry for a government of fraud and fear.

"Nil desperandum has hitherto been the motto of my
hilt ; but our case now is not agreeable. To overthrow
this party, which were subverting the constitution, a num-
ber of men have been brought into influence, whose prin-
ciples, or rather their feelings, are in opposition to all
regular, well-established governments. There is a confi-
dence in these men which is the occasional result of
a frenzy. Should the present administration refuse to
gratify their wishes, they immediately join the other party,
and become as violent on their side as they have been
against them. Having no idea of a solid, rational govern-
ment, they cannot be safely trusted with power. I believe
/that you have, by this time, the portraits of several in your
mind. To remove men from office, for their having their
own opinions, is a species of tyranny of which we have
loudly complained. To withhold offices from men who are
satisfied with their country's constitution, because they do
not love the present administration, when they are better
qualified than others, would be no less than a militation
with the principles of a free government. Should there
be vacancies, in the course of nature or things, there can
be no doubt but that the president will fill them with men
who believe the principles of the present administration
to be suitable to the country, if he can find men who are
otherwise well qualified.

" In regard to your proceedings in business, I can give
you very little aid in the investigation of what is right.
What is right in itself simply considered, and what is right
on political calculations, may be very different things.
The former I have some pretensions of knowledge in, but
the latter I know no data for. The public opinion, as far
as I know it, is in favor of the support of a competent

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 95

number of troops, as the seed of an army ; too great a
deduction will, therefore, be of prejudice to the adminis-
tration. The New England ideas of commerce are favora-
ble to an armed naval force. The revenue laws cannot be
executed without it ; and the pride of the people, conver-
sant on the ocean, is delighted with the idea. I am, there-
fore, of opinion that more ships than arc in fact necessary
are to be preferred to less. The expense is comparatively
nothing, national pride is gratified, and many clamorous
objections will be obviated. The idea suggested this way
is that the president is unfavorable in his sentiments to'
navigation. I wish him, therefore, as I believe they wrong
him on that point, to make some exhibitions to counteract
it, because the public have an interest in maintaining his
character and influence. In order to maintain the influ-
ence of the present government, I am of opinion that
every exertion ought to be made to destroy the lines of
party distinctions; and I am gratified when I see members
sometimes voting with one side and sometimes with the
other. The public wish is to have these practices annihi-
lated. The judiciary is, no doubt, intended to maintain the
faction now gone by, until they shall be again reinstated,
as an anchor to hold until the tide turns. What will be
done with them I do not know.

" There is no part of the president's speech which is
more liable to objections at the north than that which is in
favor of aliens. We do not comprehend the reason of it.
We art; full of people, and want no accession. We know
no way to open the door, without the admission of the
very dregs of Europe. You know that Dr. Morse,
Thomas Russell, John Lowell, and others, had a society
legally incorporated, in 1795, to introduce and accommo-
date strangers and emigrants. You were one. I refused.
They met last year, and committed civil suicide. They
voted never to meet again. I have explained that part of
the message in this way : that some strangers were here,

96 LIFE AND WRITINGS

under a former law, who had lost an inchoate privilege by
the last law, which was more severe ; and that justice had
urged Mr. Jefferson to propose a relief for that disappoint-
ment which the laws had been the cause of. I write no
more ; and you do not want to read any more at present.
Whenever I think of anything that I suppose worth your
labor in reading, I will swell the mail with it."

On the seventeenth of the same month he writes: "You
may depend upon it that a reduction of the navy will not
be agreeable this way. A commercial people claim a
dominion on the seas ; they pride themselves in the means
of vindicating their claim. The Tripolitan war has been a
lucky incident, and tends to show the necessity of a mari-
time force. The idea of a standing army has not been
agreeable ; but this is not carried so far among sober peo-
ple as to cause them to wish that there should not be such
arsenals, garrisons and parks of artillery, as will render the
nation respectable, and preserve the seeds of an army until
one shall be wanted, if that shall ever happen.

" The judiciary system has more difficulties attending it.
The judges of the supreme court cannot, in my opinion,
be removed by . an act of the legislature. The circuit
judges and district judges, being mere creatures of the
statute, die, of course, when the statute is repealed. The
only question is whether this can be done, and how it
can be best effected. Why should not the number of
the supreme judges be increased to nine, districts made,
and they be ordered to ride the circuit? If two are a
quorum, four circuits will answer. There is one idea not
yet suggested that I know of: if all the actions are
brought in the state courts, and one party lives in a
state where the other does not, the defendant in and by
his plea might state that he is of another state, and
therefore reserve the privilege of appealing to the court
of the national government ; or the plaintiff, in his writ,
if he sues one whom he wishes to meet in the federal

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 97

court, might give the style of residence of both parties
in his writ, in order to reserve an appeal to the circuit
court. A greater part of the suitors would be satisfied in
the state courts, and go no further ; and the judges of the
federal courts would have not more on their hands than
they could easily perform. The judges of the districts
must be continued on revenue and maritime concerns.
These appear to be the great matters before you at pres-
ent; and I wish you better aid than I can give you. There
is a general expectation of a change in this strange, intem-
perate and sudden system of judiciary business.

" My dear Eustis, we are not well off. There are men,
who have a seat in the front rank of republicanism, who
constantly express sentiments which are not congenial to
any form of government that can subsist among men.
Their sentiments are represented by the other party, who
hate a free government, as the standard of opinion with all
the republican party. Here we lose ground exceedingly,
and I am sometimes very much discouraged. Men will
have government to defend their persons and property.
A despotism is preferable to, and therefore always follows,
an anarchy. I need not mention the men who are under
this mistake. A dreadful propensity to triumph and re-
venge marks their sentiments. An undue and open disap-
probation of religious institutions, sacredly dear to the
New England states, is observable in all their speeches
and arguments ; and, what is very unfavorable to us is,
that these are considered the ideas of the president and
his friends. Farewell."

Again, on the seventh of February, he says : " The navy
and army bills, I believe, are very satisfactory. There is
no doubt, in my mind, of the constitutionality of repealing
the judiciary law. The idea of an act of legislation, irre-
pealable in its nature, is nonsense. The provision for sub-
ordinate jurisdictions was intended that Congress might

ii. 7

98 LIFE AND WRITINGS

new model the tribunals, as necessity or convenience might
require.

" If the president, under the idea of providing an asy-
lum for people oppressed in other nations, means no more
than what that language simply imports, the several states,
by allowing aliens to hold the fee of lands, may make all
the provision that is necessary; but, if he means to intro-
duce them suddenly to the right of electing and being-
elected, I doubt the propriety of his sentiments. I know
very well that his mind has, from a sense of the wrong ot
slavery practised where he lives, been long exercised on
the rights of human nature ; and that he has sorely depre-
cated the misery and degradation of one part of the human
race from the domination of the other. But we must take
our country, as well as our world, as we find it. The peo-
ple in Europe have not had, under their governments, the
education, or been fixed in the habits, suited to the form
of an elective republic ; and we are, from the nature of
things, under no obligation to hazard our own security for
their protection. There can be no such thing as a univer-
sal mundane community. Why should we contend with
the mode of our existence? There must be, from the
nature of man, separate persons, holding different interests
and possessions. There must be separate families, com-
munities and nations. The idea of equalizing the happi-
ness of all is as detrimental to human nature, and as absurd
in itself, as the common division of property, or a perfect
equality of power. We shall very soon, without importa-
tion, fill our territory with people. The middle states
have lands to sell, and land speculators wish for purchasers ;
but is it not much more pleasant to look forward into cen
turies, affording room, light and air for posterity, than to
anticipate the crowds which will render wars and pestilences
necessary ?

" You have seen, or will see before you see this, the
result of a motion for an address to the president. I have

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 99

heard that some of }Tour great men from this state, residing
in Washington, were zealons for this measure. I supposed
that you had not been sufficiently informed on the subject,
and did not expect that a motion would he made. J be-
lieve that the present administration has been gaining
ground in the public opinion ; and I have been rendered
happy under the expectation that, before the anniversary
of Mr. Jefferson's inauguration, he would have an approba-
tory address, on the motion of men in whom the public
have been in the habit of placing the first confidence, of
men who have been attentive to religion and morals. The
fate of the motion will not have any permanent effect,
yet may have an influence unfavorable to Mr. Jefferson's
administration, in our next annual state election. The
violent party, which had felt themselves nearly subdued,
Avill give this circumstance a construction favorable to their
own schemes. But the bulk of our people are republicans.
As Mr. Jefferson's election was violently opposed by this
state; as his administration has had no current on which
calculations can be made with a demonstration irresistible
by the monarchical faction, it certainly would have been
more prudent to have gone on without stirring any ques-
tion of the kind for the present. I am, however, no
politician, and I feel myself of but little consequence in
the world."

It is with diffidence that such frequent reference is made
to Sullivan's gazette articles; but these subjects were of
vital importance to the national existence, and possess
value as illustrating public opinion when our institutions
were commencing upon their tide of successful experiment.
They are essential to our object, since they best serve to
exhibit the growth of his own views, and constituted a
principal element of the influence he exerted over the
minds of his cotemporaries. Fifty years ago there was
no daily newspaper in Boston. The journals were pub-
lished twice a week ; the Chronicle, Mondays and Thurs-

100 LIFE AND WRITINGS

days ; the Gazette, Tuesdays and Fridays ; and the Cen-
tinel, Wednesdays and Saturdays. One who studied law
with Sullivan, says it was his habit, when he had finished
the perusal of the morning paper, to write off rapid com-
ments on what he had read, and despatch them to the
printers. His longer articles were more carefully weighed
and revised, but he rarely made a second draft. When his
office was on Court-street, the Chronicle office was on the
other corner of Franklin-avenue, and one of the compos-
itors remembers having often carried him across proofs to
be corrected. The most interesting article of his in 1802, of
whose authorship there can be no doubt, is one of many col-
umns in the Chronicle, signed Juridicus, on the federal judi-
ciary. One of the last acts of the administration of Mr.
Adams, had been the establishment, as already mentioned, of
a new system of circuit courts ; and, an hour before the
close of his term, the president had nominated sixty-eight
of his own friends to fill the new offices created. The
republicans were naturally indignant, and, having the
ascendency, upon the earliest opportunity repealed the
statute and restored the judiciary, with some few amend-
ments, to the ancient system ; one which, with slight modi-
fication, still exists. The federalists insisted that these
"midnight "judges, holding their commissions by the tenure
of good behavior, under the constitution, could not be
removed by any action of Congress, reorganizing these
tribunals, and Parsons filed a plea, in one of his cases,
to test its constitutionality. There was much excite-
ment throughout the Union, and, for a time, the fear of
an armed collision. Sullivan exposed the fallacy of this
view, and proved that the dictates of good sense, the
principles of law, and the recognized precedents, war-
ranted the reconstruction of the courts, according to the
wisdom of the legislature ; and that the judges might be
thus legally superseded. The conclusion of the article
upon social organization and social distinctions, though not

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 101

altogether relevant to the main topic of the discourse, is
philosophic and instructive :

u The election of Mr. Jefferson as president may have
been wrong, and he may be an unsuitable man for that
office. It is not the business of this production to defend
him. But he has been elected in the manner the constitu-
tion has pointed out, and the benches of justice or the
pulpits can by no means be made the theatres of political
disquisition on the subject. Instead of aiding and encourag-
ing the violence of the parties, they ought to be calmed
down and soothed into a spirit of candor. There is, in fact,
imminent danger of the country becoming involved in the
horrors of a civil war, unless public opinion can be raised,
and firmly opposed to their extravagance.

"A sober, judicious man would be led to inquire what
this violent contest, this dangerous controversy, is about ?
We have a good form of government of our own making.
"We cannot fail to be happy if we are moral, virtuous,
industrious, frugal and peaceable. The administration of
the government is so far in the hands of the people that
they can change it when it becomes corrupt or oppressive.
We can have no reason to believe that the people will
cease to love themselves, or neglect to appoint those,
generally speaking, who deserve their confidence.

" The idea of changing the government to that of a mon-
archy and nobility is idle and preposterous. It can never
be done but by a civil or a foreign war. It must be
effected by a total revolution in the manners, the habits,
the education, the opinions, and even in the propensities
of the people ; it will require the expense of much blood,
and the suffering of much calamity, to do all this. And
then who Avill be the nobles ? The men who are now for
a nobility will be then against it, unless they are them-
selves made nobles ; and they stand less chance for it than
others do.

" This thing, called a nobility, is very flattering to some

102 LIFE AND WRITINGS

men, but it has been a curse to the world, from the earliest
pages of history. The first we read of it is the aggran-
dizement of the friends, flatterers and sycophants of the
Assyrian and Asiatic monarchies.

" Those who read the histories of Greece and Rome will
find no nobilities there ; they will find men who had gained
a great influence, resulting from the public confidence, for
services faithfully and well performed. Though they some-
times abused that confidence, yet this could be no reason
against its existence, when deserved, or for creating a
standing hereditary order of nobles out of those who had
gained it.

" Whoever will read Richardson's preface to his Arabian
and Persian Dictionary, will find that the order of nobles,
in the ancient countries, was a military order, created on
feats of combat, and established on an obligation to bring
forces into the field. Dr. Russell, and the best historians
of Europe, all inform us that when the northern nations
overran and overthrew the Roman empire, they were com-
posed of weak and miserable monarchies, attended by a
number of nobles, leading slaves and vassals; and that,
after the conquest, these chiefs had the soil parcelled out
to them, on what was called the feudal system, they holding
the land on a fief to bring men into the field to attend the
monarch in his wars. They were forever at war between
themselves, and, whenever they could unite against their
monarch, they overthrew and subdued him. The people
were their property; and the nobles could kill their vassals
at their pleasure, and to gratify their revenge, whenever
the}' felt themselves offended or irritated.

" Those who choose to read, may turn their eyes upon
an elegant production, called Stuart's View of Society in
Europe, and they will there find that the order of nobility in
the Germanic States originated in a passion for arms ; and,
to use his own expression, ' the young men, to gratify them,
were educated amidst the scenes of death and bloodshed.'

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 103

But Stuart and the other writers inform us that debauchery
and a lust for women subdued the spirit of chivalry; and
that these were again opposed by that strange enthusiasm
which produced the crusades in the fourteenth century.
As the ideas of the rights of man were cultivated and
understood, the power of the nobles of course declined.
In Europe' their authority to kill the people, whom they
claimed as slaves, was taken from them ; and in Russia,
Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Prussia and Italy, the
name of a noble is a mere sound. When the people are
not slaves to an order of nobles, there can be no authority
in such an order to render the people miserable. How-
ever miserable the people may be in either of those coun-
tries, it is not from the tyranny of the nobles, otherwise
than as they are the feudal lords, and oppress the tillers of
the land with enormous rents. There is an order of nobles
in England, but they are, excepting a few new creations,
the remains of ancient families, originating in the feudal
government. The oldest son has the large landed estate,
and the younger branches of the families are a public
charge, maintained in the army or navy, or by pensions.
The people who thus maintain them are, many thousands
of them, from day to day without a morsel of bread. It
may be impracticable to extirpate the order of nobles in
that country, and from their habits and education, as well
as from the manners of the people there, it may be proper
and necessary to ' put them into a hole by themselves ; '
but it would be a strange, preposterous thing for us to
create such an order of beings, for the sake of ' putting
them into a hole by themselves.' It is true that we have
instances where men gain an influence with the people, but
it would be an endless task, in a country like this, to sepa-
rate and put 'into a hole by themselves ' all who should
thus gain influence and become important.

" On the tallest consideration we have nothing to quarrel
about, and we had better be content with the form of gov-

104 LIFE AND WRITINGS

eminent we have ; that is, we had better be all true feder-
alists, and lay aside this contention."

These sentiments would seem to have been suggested
by the republication, at this period, of a correspondence,
which took place in 1790, between John and Samuel Adams.
In this the former, in the confidence of friendship, proba-
bly more in badinage than in sober seriousness, had sug-
gested the probability, if not the actual expediency, of
privileged and titled classes in America. Speaking of the
more influential class of citizens, he used the expression,
frequently quoted to his prejudice, " that the only way to
satisfy them, God knew, was to put them in a hole by
themselves and set two wTatches upon them, a superior to
them all on one side and the people on the other." In
August appeared in the Chronicle a series of three articles,
addressed to the ex-president on the subject, which were,
perhaps without ground, attributed to Judge Sullivan,
though the signature was employed somewhat later in his
defence from the attacks of Francis Blake. His habit of
writing his essays in three numbers, a characteristic not
found, it is believed, in the productions of other newspaper
writers of the day, might have strengthened this surmise.
While severe in expression, as if resenting some provoca-
tion on the part of Mr. Adams, the imputations are chiefly
confined to a supposed disloyalty of that statesman to his
early sentiments as a patriot. Except that in the quotation
from the circular letter of Mr. Hamilton and various com-
ments thereupon, the writer charges Mr. Adams with too
much regard for self and too little for others, the impression
left upon the mind of the reader is generally favorable to
the character of the illustrious statesman, who Avas too
candid to disguise his opinions, too courageous to fear
misconstruction.

If written by Sullivan, and provoked by no private re-
sentment, but simply from the belief that the opinions of
Mr. Adams had been so far perverted by his residence in

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 105

England as to tolerate the idea of hereditary distinctions
in this country, an impression probably undeserved, they
are creditable to the writer's ardor in the cause of liberty ;
but it is to be regretted that his zeal betrayed him into in-
justice and ungenerous personality. If, on the other hand, it
was but part of a warfare commenced by Mr. Adams, lie
was doubtless sufficiently chivalric to respect his antagonist
the more for the hardness of his blows and the keenness
of his steel.

His favorite project, the Middlesex Canal, was now ap-
proaching completion; and, we find stated, among other
proofs of its utility, that, soon after the Avater had been
admitted this season, for the first time, as far as Wobura, a
single yoke of oxen drew in one raft one hundred tons of
lumber to that place from the Merrimac. The distance is
some sixteen miles, and the burthen would have required
at least eighty teams upon the road. In July the families
of the proprietors and invited guests, to the number of
one hundred and twenty, celebrated the approaching com-
pletion of the canal by an expedition upon its waters.
Such parties of pleasure, which in these days of rapid
locomotion would probably be deemed somewhat slow,
were subsequently of frequent recurrence, and are still
treasured up among the precious reminiscences of child-
hood by many who were permitted to participate in them.
The long, narrow boats, gayly decorated with flags and
streamers, gliding through the picturesque scenery of the
Brooks property and other highly cultivated grounds in
Mel ford, conveyed them to Woburn. There the moderate
revels were graced with music and the dance; and a row
or sail upon the lake, or a stroll through the surrounding
woods, filled up the swift-winged hours. The ripening of
the strawberry, or the filling of the moon, generally decided
the date of the festival ; and when, amid the dying splen-
dors of the day, the party gathered to reembark, number-
less small tables, covered with whitest damask, and laden

106 LIFE AND WHITINGS

with flowers and fruits, especially charming to youthful
imaginations, dotted the lawn. In the evening hours, as
they moved gently home, through the aromatic fields and
shades, a chorus of sweet voices, mingling with the plash
of the waters on the banks, left impressions upon the
memories of the delighted voyagers, only deepened by the
lapse of many years. In the following December, the
accomplishment of the undertaking was still further com-
memorated by a grand celebration and public dinner, at
which Col. Loammi Baldwin, the able engineer who had
superintended the work, received due tribute, both in verse
and prose. In another chapter are some particulars con-
nected with the enterprise, which it was thought worth
while to preserve.

In the city and state archives are numerous letters,
petitions and other papers, in the handwriting of Sullivan,
in behalf of the Boston aqueduct from Jamaica- Pond, which
was now already sufficiently advanced to afford supplies of
pure water to the inhabitants and navigation. He not only
continued, as its president, to give it his general super-
intendence, but devoted to the undertaking much time and
labor ; and to his unremitting efforts, in surmounting
numerous obstacles, and much selfish opposition on the
part of individuals, it was largely indebted for its success-
ful accomplishment.

A question, at this time, had arisen between the town of
Boston and the commonwealth, as to the ownership of the
old state-house, formerly called the town-house, at the head
of State-street. Commissioners were finally selected from
the distinguished citizens of neighboring states to adjudi-
cate between the claimants. The attorney-general, for the
state, and Parsons, for the town, argued the case, which
came to a hearing in June, and the dispute was finally
adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties.

In August the meeting-house at Dedham was again the
scene of an exciting trial for murder. The culprit was

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 107

Mason, proprietor of the field in which Fairbanks had
murdered Miss Fales. If the papers are to be credited,
there was the further remarkable coincidence that the
crime was perpetrated just one year from the first, even to
the hour. The prisoner was convicted and executed.
In the spring of 1803 another criminal trial in Boston
attracted much attention. Pierpoint and Story, the owner
and captain of the brigantine Hannah, conspired to defraud
the underwriters of thirty thousand dollars, by scuttling
the vessel, and sinking her at sea, three days out from
Boston. The plot was ingeniously planned, and a portion
of the insurance had been already paid when Southac, an
accomplice, betrayed the fraud. The report of the case
for the Chronicle seems clearly to have been prepared by
the attorney-general, as also, in all probability, the comment
upon it at the close.

Judge Sullivan estimated too highly the right of private
judgment to control the political sentiments of his children ;
and, while, no doubt, lamenting that their conclusions should
be at variance with his own, did not permit this to disturb
their friendly intercourse, or lessen his affection. His
eldest son, William, who had already gained distinction at
the bar, had joined the federalists, and been selected by
the authorities as the Boston orator for the fourth of July.
The oration was earnest and patriotic, but gave great
offence to the republicans. It was strongly tinctured
with federal doctrine, disclaimed all possibility of danger
to our institutions, either from monarchy or aristocracy;
but insisted that what the people had most to dread was
from themselves. " The informed and the opulent only
asked that the country might be saved from the horrors
of democracy." He inveighed with severity against the
aliens, whose calumnies had disgraced the press, and against
Virginia, for her disposition to exercise a dominion fetal
to the independence of the other states. The production
was condemned by republican writers, and, among others,

108 LIFE AND WRITINGS

by Austin, the author of a series of papers called the
Examiner, who was especially severe in his comments. At
the festival in honor of the day, Dr. Jarvis volunteered a
toast, borrowed from the sixth chapter of Jeremiah, to
the orator, as the degenerate branch of a strange vine.
That there might be no misapprehension of his own polit-
ical views, Judge Sullivan commenced, in the Chronicle
of the eighteenth of July, a series of articles on democ-
racy, signed Plain Truth, which were continued for some
months. As these able expositions of our forms of govern-
ment, party distinctions and relations to other powers,
attracted much attention from all parties, and are believed
to contain views still useful, most of them will be included
in a future publication. Their just estimates of political
duty ; the patriotic sentiments they inculcate ; their gener-
ous faith, that our people, by their intelligence and virtue,
would continue worthy of the blessings they enjoyed,
commend them to all who have, at heart, the future honor
and well-being of America.

That signature continued for some time a favorite with
Sullivan. Over it, in November, he defended the wisdom
of the Louisiana purchase, which had been negotiated
by Robert R. Livingston, at Paris, for fifteen millions
of dollars, one-fourth of which was to be paid by our
treasury to American citizens having claims on France for
spoliations. Some of the federal party had advocated its
seizure, when in the hands of Spain, by force of arms ; but
now that its peaceable acquisition redounded to the credit
of Jefferson, they affected, for political capital, to question
its policy. Plain Truth exposed their inconsistency, and
estimated justly the immense advantages which must result
from the purchase. In the following spring are to be also
found various comments, under the same sobriquet, upon
the impeachment of Judge Chase, Judge Pickering, and
upon other topics ; and a controversy with George Thacher
in the Portland papers is alluded to in his correspondence
with General Dearborn.

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 109

The year 1803 had commence'! with the tidings of the
loss of his heioved friend and pastor, Dr. Timelier, who,
having gone to the south for his health, had died at
Savannah. Sullivan wrote his obituary, and, before the
close of the year, was called to mourn over another of
his most respected revolutionary associates, the veteran
patriot, Samuel A dams, who died at his residence in Winter-
street, in Boston, on the second of October.

Among the great diversity of characters that throng our
revolutionary annals, each in its appropriate sphere brought
into lull development, and all cooperating for the great
result, none present more colossal proportions than that
of Samuel Adams, a name deservedly holding the highest
rank in national regard. He has been called the father of
the Revolution. It is not to be denied that there were
many others more prominent in the day of success, and
who, in later years, were distinguished by more substantial
marks of public acknowledgment; but no one, by his-
torical records, appears to have been more zealous or
efficient in the achievement of American independence. He
was the earliest to perceive how utterly irreconcilable
was every hope of constitutional liberty for the colonies
with their continued dependence on the English Parliament.
Like others, he at first indulged with reluctance opinions
savoring of treason ; and, so long as his good sense per-
mitted, clung to the hope that the mother country, realiz-
ing in season her true interest, would adopt a policy
which, in respecting colonial rights, might preserve to her
empire such essential elements of its power and grandeur.
But he was too sagacious to be long deceived; and, once
convinced of the necessity of separation, he directed all
his energies to its accomplishment. With remarkable
singleness of purpose, without any objects of personal
ambition, indifferent to every other consideration but the
freedom of his country, he pulled down the fabric of politi-
cal thraldom which held her in darkness and bondage ; fear-

HO LIFE AND WRITINGS

less, though he should become himself the victim of that terri-
ble retribution which exasperated governments visit on un-
successful rebellion. If an enthusiast, — and without enthu-
siasm he could not have kindled in other breasts the neces-
sary ardor, or effected his mission, — no fanaticism swerved
his judgment or dulled his sense of justice. With all his
aspirations fixed on political institutions essentially demo-
cratic, he was too sensible to lose sight of the great lesson
of experience, the character of the people, or the dictates
of reason and moderation. Were the taint of social subver-
sion, which later marked the French revolution, looked for
in any leader of our own, suspicion might turn to Mr.
Adams, but would in vain seek, either in his speeches or
writings, for any such visionary speculations or impracti-
cable theories. His manhood was one ceaseless struggle
to establish our free institutions on secure foundations ;
his old age employed in steady effort to preserve them in
their pristine purity, reasonably fearing some reactionary
movement. He lived long enough to see his favorite sys-
tem of self-government subjected with success to the test
of experiment ; and, after reaping a rich reward for all his
toil and anxieties, in being permitted to witness its results
in the rapidly developing prosperity of his country, he
went down to a cloudless sunset, full of glory and honor.

Amidst the heartless crush of the political arena, where
honor, truth and justice, are too often forgotten, and where
selfishness, under the mask of devotion to public good,
seeks, by flattering prejudice, defaming antagonists and
truckling to power, its own aggrandizement, we gladly
dwell on the steady course of this eminent patriot and
statesman, who, with unflinching courage and unbending
integrity, scorning alike the suggestions of fear and ambi-
tion, has richly earned, by self-consecration to the claims
of political duty, the priceless inheritance of a perpetual
gratitude.

The following extract from a letter of Judge Sullivan to

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. Ill

General Dearborn, the secretary of war, gives some interest-
ing particulars of his funeral: "I promised soon to forward
to you some anecdotes in regard to Samuel Adams' funeral.
But, on reflection, I find that I cannot do it without appear-
ing to estimate my own consequence and influence more
than, perhaps, either truth or modesty would allow of; and
I therefore inclose a funeral sermon preached by Thomas
Thacher, of Dedham. I arrived in town the day after the
governor died. Governor Strong was far in the country;
the lieutenant-governor had no authority; the adjutant-
general wished, but was afraid to act ; the major-general
would issue no order. Jarvis and a few others proposed
to form a procession of the school-boys, which I had
interest enough to prevent. If there could not be a proper
military procession, I wanted none. But the bier of Samuel
Adams, followed only by his widow, supported by two '75
men, who had never forsaken their old principles, I con-
sidered as enough. They were afraid of this, and found
power to order out a military corps, and there was the
usual parade. Before this was determined upon, Thacher
left the town, and, under his good and worthy feelings, com-
posed and delivered finally the excellent sermon inclosed.
The federalists have a sarcastic saying, that Adams and
his associates did very well to pull down an old govern-
ment, but not to maintain a new one. When the legisla-
ture came together, a resolve, for going into mourning was
offered ; but it was whittled down by Mason, Tudor and
others, from its original form, which was very honorary to
Samuel Adams, to the idea above expressed."

A few days after the funeral, appeared in the Centinel and
other journals at some length a memoir of the ancient pat-
riot, from the pen of Sullivan, which will be found among
the other obituary notices in a future volume. Panegyric
was not its object. The claim of Adams to the gratitude and
veneration of the then existing and all future generations
of his countrymen, was too universally recognized for this.

112 LIFE AND WRITINGS

The sketch simply presented an outline of the promi-
nent events of his life, and derives value from the fact that
it proceeded from one who had witnessed or been associated
with some of its most interesting incidents.

Other literaiy labors occupied some portion of this same
year, and, among them, his history of the Penobscots.
The volume of the Massachusetts Historical Collections,
which contained it, was published in 1804, and the account
is brought down nearly to the period of publication.

Descendants of the Pilgrims, some few years before, had
established an association in Boston, called the Feast of
Shells, for commemorating, by an annual dinner, generally
given at Concert Hall, the Plymouth landing. From its
locality, in the existing state of parties, the majority of its
members were federalists. Their toasts were strongly
tinctured with their peculiar doctrines, and at times excess-
ively bitter against the national administration and its
supporters. They were not invariably exact in their
historical statements, and the notices of their festivals, being
published, became fair subject of reasonable criticism. A
writer in the Chronicle, using .the nom de guerre of Cam-
den, and who, according to the opinion of his opponent,
was Sullivan, — a surmise somewhat confirmed by his private
correspondence, as also by the style and the acquaintance
manifested with our early history, — good-naturedly correct-
ed the errors, and denounced the spirit of hostility which
could make use of such an occasion to attack men, whose
shoe-latchets they were unworthy to unloose.

When the severe winter of 1804 closed in, various
■ circumstances were combining in Boston to create a state
of unusual ferment. Its citizens, generally sufficiently
submissive to authority, and loyal to law and order, have
been at all periods of their history somewhat noted for
their turbulence of opinion upon questions involving im-
portant political principles, or where their material prosper-
ity has been at stake. Several projects were now in agita-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 113

tion, engendering jealousies between different sections of
the town, and between different classes of its inhabitants.
The annexation of Dorchester Point and the war of the
bridges, the filling up the Mill Pond, and, more than all, the
proposed change of municipal organization, excited a war
of words, a tumult of angry feelings.

The peninsula then contained eleven hundred acres, of
which at least one fourth, on the neck towards Roxbury,
was still unoccupied. Dorchester Point, embracing an area
of about six hundred acres, and extending two miles down
the south shore of the harbor, by the travelled route, was
distant five miles from Boston, but less than half a mile
by water. Ten families comprised its whole population.
Wealthy capitalists, of much political influence, had pur-
chased one third of the area, and now endeavored to
connect it with the town by a bridge from South-street or
Wheeler's Point, and to procure its incorporation within the
municipal limits of the capital. Proprietors on the Neck,
and of wharves above the proposed bridge, opposed this as
prejudicial to their estates, and only of benefit to the specu-
lators. Opinion, dictated by self-interest, was about equally
divided. Town-meetings for successive days, too crowded
for Faneuil Hall, which had not yet been enlarged, occupied
one of the places of public worship. The lawyers were
generally in favor of the improvement, and the annexa-
tionists and their followers, well organized, gained an
ascendency in the assemblage. One of those present says
he remembers Sullivan, when the discussion was taking a
swerve in a wrong direction', stemming the current of
controversy and bringing it back to the point at issue. For
a moment the debate flamed into fury, and a general clamor
defeated his effort ; but his voice, clear and sonorous, rose
high above the storm, and, stilling the angry waves of
discord, compelled a hearing if not conviction.

By way of compromise, the project of a bridge from
Wheeler's Point was abandoned, and that from Dover-street

ii. 8

114 LIFE AND WRITINGS

erected in its stead. Vigorous efforts were made, from
time to time, to throw across another bridge from the point,
and the communication was once actually established, when
a band of rioters, disguised as Indians, cut it away and
floated it off. Many years elapsed before this second bridge
was finally accomplished. Town-meetings, paper warfare
and protracted negotiations were constantly in requisition ;
and Sullivan exerted himself in debate, with his pen and by
his influence, to bring about a peace.

Towards the other extremity of Boston, on what was
called the Mill Pond, were divers grist-mills and other
machinery worked by the tide. These had become of less
importance as the water power of the interior was made
available, and transportation more direct and e onomical.
The Middlesex Canal had already proved of service as a
valuable channel of supply ; and its proprietors, desirous, as
mentioned in a previous chapter, of completing their
communications with the wharves, by a tow-path over the
river, and a canal across the town, cooperated with Mr.
Peck, who had purchased the property of the various
owners in the land and mill rights, in procuring permission
to fill it up. Town-meetings were held, in which Sullivan
actively participated, and an agreement was finally adjusted,
by which three eighths of the area were apportioned to
the town for streets, and a canal constructed, which ter-
minated in the Mill Creek, near the market, and the space
is now covered with buildings.

For several successive years these enterprises engrossed
public attention, and with them Sullivan was in various
ways connected, as counsel or on committees. The South
Boston project provoked much bitterness of feelings, and
led to riots and criminal trials. Even in their infancy the
discords they created left little reason to hope that any
plan for municipal reform, a subject now again in agitation,
would be generally acceptable. With a view to report such
a plan, a committee had been chosen of two from each ward,

OF JAMES SULLIVAX. 115

selected from among the most influential citizens without
regard to party. Of this Sullivan was chairman, as also of a
sub-committee for putting it in form, of which Davis, Jarvis,
Otis, Blake. Amory and Prince, were the other members.

The committee, after long deliberations, agreed upon
their report. The selectmen were to be chosen in town-
meeting as before ; and, with two delegates from each ward,
were to constitute a town council. This council were to
choose annually, within ten days from their organization,
from their own body or from amongst the citizens at large,
an intendant, avIio was to preside over the council and the
school committee. This officer was to have a general super-
intendence of the police of the town, to receive a salary, and
to be r< . ovable by a vote of three fourths of the council.
All other officers were to be chosen by the council, except
the town clerk, overseers of the poor, board of health,
firewards, school committee and assessors, who were to be
chosen in public meeting as before, and the police officer,
who was to be appointed by the intendant. The council
were to submit to the general March meeting of the inhab-
itants the financial condition of the town, and the sum
requisite for the expenditures, which, if not objected to,
they were to assess.

The committee aimed to combine efficiency in the new
system with due regard to ancient prejudices. Their report,
signed by Sullivan as chairman, was submitted to the in-
habitants ; and he was chosen moderator of the meeting.
He used every exertion to secure the adoption of the
plan, although its most objectionable feature, and that which
was said to have led to its rejection, the choice of the chief
magistrate by the council, instead of by general election,
he had most zealously opposed in committee. The debate
was warm and somewhat tumultuous; the attachment of
the people to their old forms of self-government prevailed,
and the report was rejected by a decided majority. No
further effort was made to change the town organization

116 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

until 1815, and then again without success. In the revision
of the state constitution, in 1820, power was delegated
to the General Court to authorize city corporations ; and
Boston became a city in 1822.

In another public enterprise, during this same spring, he
took the prominent lead. With his associates he petitioned
the legislature for a charter for the purpose of constructing
a turnpike to Montreal, a distance of over three hundred
miles. The proposed line, which embraced turnpikes
already established in New Hampshire and Vermont, was
to shorten the distance fifty miles. He was also engaged,
with his friend General Knox, in a plan for uniting the
waters of the Connecticut with the Middlesex Canal. What
obstacle prevented the accomplishment of these projects
does not appear; but they were not carried out.

CHAPTER IV.

POLITICAL SENTIMENTS.

Animosities, not much less embittered than those grow-
ing out of the conflicting interests mentioned at the close
of the preceding chapter, were agitating other parts of
.Massachusetts, when, in February, 1804, the republican
leaders assembled at Boston to select their candidates for
the approaching spring elections. Gerry withdrawing from
the canvass, Judge Sullivan was nominated for governor,
and General Heath for lieutenant-governor.* An address
to the electors, said to be prepared by Bidwell, of Berk-
shire, afterwards attorney-general, was widely distributed
among the voters. It was chiefly confined to national
topics, and to a defence of the policy of President Jefferson's
administration. John Langdon, the brother-in-law of Sulli-
van, was at this same time in nomination for the chief
magistracy of New Hampshire, a post ho had already
repeatedly occupied, and to which he was again elected for

* William Heath had served through the Revolution with reputation as a
good general officer. He was a strict disciplinarian, and had carefully accom-
plished himself in the science of his profession. From the early stages of tho
struggle he had been zealous, through the press, in keeping in full glow the
military spirit of the people ; and, some years after its close, published to tho
worlil his memoirs, presenting a truthful narrative of his own experiences. A
zealous republican, from his farm at Roxbury he continued through life his
contributions to the Chronicle and other journals, over the signatures of Solon
and A Military Countryman; and, frequently a member of the legislature, was
active and efficient in promoting the public interests.

118 LIFE AXD WRITINGS

the three following years. Before going into the details of
the most bitterly contested election in the annals of the
commonwealth, a slight sketch of the existing state of
parties may not be out of place.

If the price of liberty be perpetual vigilance, party
antagonism, armed with the ballot, is its best security.
Healthy action in the physical world results from some
slight excess in one or other of opposing forces. In the body
politic, where, under institutions like our own, public senti-
ment is permitted free expression, in the numbers arrayed
on either side of political warfare experience indicates a
remarkable tendency towards an equipoise. Among an
enlightened community there must consequently ever exist
sufficient intelligence and patriotism to prevent any long-
continued mischief from the want of judgment or honesty
of those in power, the change of a few votes correcting
the evil. In the wisdom of former generations this safe-
guard was thought to be more complete, and less danger
to be apprehended from the intrigues of the ambitious or
unprincipled, where elections were decided by majorities,
than where pluralities controlled.

Party spirit thus constitutes a vital principle of represent-
ative government, and, however disagreeable its effects in
fever or delirium, without its invigorating action there can
be no health, corruption creeps in, and death ensues. When
a set of men, professing peculiar views of public policy,
obtain direction of affairs, they are watched with untiring
jealousy by their unsuccessful antagonists. Should their
measures be at variance with their professions, or prove
prejudicial to the general welfare, they lose their hold upon
public opinion, and in time disturb or destroy the allegiance
of many among their own partisans. If, availing them-
selves of the weakness of human nature, they strive by
patronage to perpetuate the power they have abused, on
the other hand avidity for place and official emoluments
steadily operates as a strong incentive to redoubled efforts

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 119

on the part of their opponents; and the only snre mode of
retaining the public confidence is to deserve it. External
influences have had, at all periods of its existence as a state,
much to do with the political character of Massachusetts,
but no one can fail to perceive in its annals the beneficent
operation of party in its government and Legislation.

To minds that take pleasure in historical research no field
presents a more interesting subject for investigation than
the origin and development of political parties in a free
country. But the great embarrassment is to find a starting-
point. The stream is incessantly onward, nor can we
detect, amidst its full and turbid waters, the particular
springs that have swollen its current. We grow into life
with such political preferences as we have derived from
our fathers confirmed and deepened by early associations.
As we proceed and enter upon the concerns of business, or
as candidates for office upon the public arena, our senti-
ments are insensibly modified by interest or ambition.
Some, from a wish to be or to appear consistent, cling long
to antiquated notions, while others, too indolent to use their
own judgment, capriciously veer about with every wind
of doctrine, or shape their creed by the conclusions of
the more decided. All feel quite assured of their entire
freedom from prejudice, and that they are induced to like
or dislike, advocate or oppose, from a conscientious regard
for the best interests of their country.

The political creeds of party associations, equally with
those of the individuals who compose them, have their
inheritance from the past. Yet, with change of time and
circumstance, the ground on which they rest is perpetually
shifting, and the most cherished principles come in time to
be superseded by others, their reverse. Another perplexity
in political science, defying all rule of reasonable explana-
tion, is of frequent experience ; one portion of the com-
munity is found to deem that extremely just and judi-

120 LIFE AND WRITINGS

cious, which the rest unite in condemning as morally wrong
and impolitic.

But, if it be puzzling to discover any sensible solution for
existing political antagonisms, it becomes doubly difficult
when we attempt to study those of former days. Would
wo gain even an imperfect idea of the condition of parties
at any particular epoch, we must carry ourselves back to the
scene of their contention, learn the sequence of events and
the character of the combatants, and amidst the din and
hurry of the conflict, without partiality or prejudice, ascer-
tain not only the more ostensible agencies, but, by the aid
of the accumulated evidence of subsequent times, the
secret springs and motives. Had we faith in our ability to
do justice to the subject, we should have been tempted so
far to encroach upon the province of history as to sketch
more at length the condition of parties in Massachusetts
during the period under review. But we have confined our-
selves simply to the suggestion of such elements of dis-
cord as, from time to time, lent additional vigor to the
spirit of party, or affected its combinations.

Many of these have been already adverted to, and are
generally familiar. From the organization of the state
government, in 1780, down to 1800, Hancock and Adams,
both stanch republicans, were at the bead of the govern-
ment fifteen years ; Bowdoin and Sumner, supported by
their opponents, five. Out of the first twenty-four years of
this century, Strong, Gore and Brooks, federalist candi-
dates, occupied the chief magistracy for sixteen terms of
office ; Sullivan, Gerry and Eustis, republicans, but eight.

It will be remembered that differences of political senti-
ments, not unmingled with personal jealousies, estranged
Samuel Adams and John Hancock in the earlier stages of
the revolutionary contest. Partially reconciled, towards its
close, during the Temple controversy, their former good
fellowship Avas not completely reestablished before the
adoption of the federal constitution. This alienation, while

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 121

it lasted, extended through wide circles of their respective
friends and adherents, embracing on either side the most
influential statesmen of the commonwealth.

For many years after the peace, animosities against the
patriots lurked in the breasts of tories and returned loy-
alists, and, at times growing virulent and vindictive, dis-
turbed the general harmony. Many among them were
sanguine that the commercial restrictions of Great Britain,
which sensibly interfered with the prosperity of the coun-
try, and were as grievous as any endured in colonial
days, would tempt us to return to our old allegiance.
Others indulged the belief that we should soon weary of
the turmoils and caprices of popular sovereignty, and
import a king from Europe. Frederick, the second son
of George the Third, then titular Bishop of Osnaburg, and
afterwards Duke of York, was openly indicated as the
appropriate personage to be selected.

Discordant views and clashing interests upon the subject
of the public obligations, the question whether imposts
should be levied by state officers or those of the confed-
eracy, resentment against the lawyers and discontent with
the judicial tribunals, further contributed to excite the
feverish temper of the community, loaded down with debt
and oppressed with taxes. Civil war brooded over Massa-
chusetts, and nothing but the wise moderation of her rulers,
and the sober second thought of an intelligent people, saved
our infant liberties from premature strangulation, the victims
of their own convulsions. Party spirit, acquiring fresh
strength amidst the passions and ferments of rebellion, found
vent and direction in the rivalry of Bowdoin and Hancock
for the chief executive office ; and contending factions
struggled for the mastery with a zeal, which, inflamed by
the press, degenerated into fixed and implacable hostility.

The acceptance of the federal constitution, by the state,
remained for a while suspended in the balance. Her con-
vention was nearly equally divided between those who

122 LIFE AND "WRITINGS

favored its unconditional ratification, and numbers who,
under the guidance of able leaders, not disposed to admit
its absolute perfection, sought to have its defects cor-
rected. The opulent, and many who from social position
were naturally conservative, disquieted by the possible
recurrence of the recent disorders, crowded the ranks
of its supporters, who, it cannot be denied, in point of
character, station and ability, had greatly the advantage of
its opponents. Had a more generous spirit of forbearance
permitted deliberation, even had no other valuable amend-
ments been suggested than those adopted, all parties
would have become more readily reconciled to submitting
it to the test of experiment. But the disposition to exclude
whoever ventured the open expression of their opinions
from offices under the new government, served only to
deepen the distinction between federalists, as the success-
ful party termed themselves, and anti-federalists, as in
reproach they styled their adversaries. The latter, how-
ever, were never disposed to acknowledge the propriety of
this designation, and among themselves were generally
known as republicans.

During the first term of Washington's administration
Hancock held in the state the reins of political power ; for
the principal part of the second, Governor Adams. Though
important changes were made, during this period, in the
laws, few questions of internal policy divided public senti-
ment ; but, on questions of national concern, such as the
bank, funding system, assumption of state debts and excise
on spirits, Washington's proclamation of neutrality, Madi-
son's resolutions for discrimination, and the British treaty,
decided differences of opinion arrayed one portion of
society against the other, and impassable lines, fixed and
not to be mistaken, separated the republican from the fed-
eralist. Between them yawned the gulf of the French
revolution, which presented to the affrighted vision of
the one the bulwarks of civilized society tottering and

OF JAMBS SULLIVAN. L23

blood-stained, law, religion and morality, subverted, gaunt
spectres of famine, vice and brutality, satiating their fiend-
ish appetites on human misery, polluting and destroying
all that was estimable, while over the scene of desolation
were hovering anarchy, civil war and eventual despotism:
to the other, exhibiting only pleasing pictures of beauty
and promise, the genius of liberty creating new worlds
out of chaos, with tyranny and contention chained to her
chariot-wheels, and surrounded by happy multitudes of
perfect men in a political paradise. Both alike grew giddy
with the intoxicating fumes that rose from the seething
caldron, and years rolled on before their senses recovered
their natural equipoise.

The federal chiefs of Massachusetts, for the most part
well educated and able, had been called to places of power
and trust not only within the state, but, during the admin-
istrations of Washington and Adams, had their full share
of official appointments under the general government
both at home and abroad. From their revolutionary ser-
vices in some instances, professional distinction in others,
and general respectability of character, they exercised
extensive influence throughout the country ; and their
memories still constitute an honorable part of its history.
An important element of their power in Massachusetts
was their mutual friendship and confidence ; and their
party, under united counsels, there continued paramount
long after it had become but a feeble minority in most of
the other states.

Several of the more distinguished, Jackson, Lowell and
Parsons, of Newburyport, Cabot and Dane, of Beverly,
Pickering and Goodhue, of Salem, in the county of Essex,
as friends of Bowdoin, had received from Hancock the
designation of the Essex Junto. Opon the same political

platform, and classed by their opponents in the same a

ciation, were Dana, Paine and Sumner, Higginson, Otis
and Dexter, the Phillipses, Quincy, Ames, Sedgwick and

124 LIFE AND WRITINGS

Strong, and many more who now occupied prominent posi-
tions in the federal party. The clergy, shocked at the
increasing infidelity in France, capitalists alarmed at the
disregard of the rights of property, merchants interested to
conciliate England as the mistress of the seas, and loyal-
ists, still cherishing a filial love for the land of their fath-
ers, added to the respectability of its ranks. As a party,
they defended the propriety of the English treaty, favored
the extension of the navy and a strong central govern-
ment, and, before the French mission of 1799, supported
President Adams to the full extent of his policy. Fore-
seeing that the French rule of terror and violence would
end in despotism, they gave their sympathy, and would will-
ingly have lent their aid, to the nations leagued for its
overthrow. Jefferson, the friend of France, they regarded
with aversion, as an infidel and anarchist ; and affected to
anticipate, as the consequence of his rule, the end of con-
stitutional government. They admitted no merit in their
adversaries, to whom they had first applied in reproach
the designation of anti-federalists, and whom they now
stigmatized as Jacobins and Democrats, — terms then ex-
pressive, in their vocabulary, of radical and subversive
doctrine, but of which the last, greatly modified in its
significance, was, after 1800, adopted by the republicans,
and has since become the most popular party name in
America.

From the retirement of Governor Adams, in 1797, to
the election of Judge Sullivan, in 1807, the federalists gen-
erally retained the ascendency ; but the republicans were
nearly as numerous as their more successful antagonists.
In their ceaseless struggles for supremacy, neither local
interests nor national concerns constituted the chief ele-
ments of political contention. The stirring events con-
vulsing the opposite hemisphere, and sensitively felt in
this country through its widely-extended commerce, still
continued materially to affect the contest. As the Euro-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 125

pean war proceeded, the great powers, recognizing that its
issues must be either victory or annihilation, broke loose
from all restraints imposed upon civilized warfare by the
law of nations, and contemptuously violated the rights
of neutrality. Provoked by constant spoliation and indig-
nities on the part of one or other of the belligerents, which
they had not the power to resist or retaliate, the people
expressed, through the press, and by diplomatic remon-
strance, their feelings of resentment, which were fre-
quently manifested in the feverish and fluctuating results
of the elections. As England grew overbearing, the re-
publicans gained in numbers, and eventually outnumbered
their opponents.

As long as General Washington continued at the head
of the government, the federalists, at peace among them-
selves, presented an unbroken front. Prom his superior
genius, practical ability and ancient friendly relations, Ham-
ilton enjoyed the implicit confidence of Washington, and.
both while in the cabinet and after his retirement, exerted
an important control over the national councils. Mr. Ad-
ams was both too honest and too fixed in his opinions to
be popular, and. when he succeeded to the presidency,
failed to command from his supporters that deference due
to his character as a man, and to his position as chief mag-
istrate. The leading federalists, not sufficiently considerate
of his just right to direct his own cabinet and shape the
policy of his own administration, thwarted his views and
lessened his influence. Hamilton, selected by Washington
as his second in command in the army of 1798, soon began
to be regarded as the actual head of the party ; and,
though too sagacious and high-minded to intrigue for
office for himself, it seemed probable that, in the fulness
of time, should his party retain its preponderance, he
would be called to the succession.

It would have been too much to expect of human nature,
even in characters as elevated as those of President Adams

126 LIFE AND WEITINGS

and General Hamilton, that this rivalry should not have
engendered suspicions and mutual distrust. Mr. Adams
was, probably with good reason, jealous of the ascendency
of Hamilton over the minds of his cabinet. He soon became
persuaded of his intention to prevent his reelection, and,
moreover, differed from him materially in points of public
policy. Rarely disguising his sentiments, this prejudice,
freely expressed in the confidence of friendly intercourse,
soon came to the knowledge of its object. The dismissal of
the secretaries, in the spring of 1800, arrayed also against
him in open hostility Wolcot and Pickering, Cabot and
Ames, all powerful with their party, and divided the feder-
alists into two sections, the friends of the president, and the
adherents of Hamilton. This division was fatal to federal
supremacy in the country, and, for the next twenty-five
years, threw the national government into the possession
of the republicans and Virginia presidents.

The republicans professed greater devotion to political
equality and other principles of civil liberty than their
opponents, whom they charged unjustly with being mon-
archists, and with a disposition to assimilate our institutions
to the English. The most absolute liberty of individual
action consistent with the public peace and respect for the
just rights of others, according to the republican platform
of that day, was the most precious attribute of freedom.
Its votaries would have limited the objects of government
control to such as operated equally throughout society ;
they were zealously opposed to monopolies and all special
legislation, and advocated the strictest economy in the pub-
lic expenditures. Power, the rightful inheritance of the
whole people, they deemed should be delegated with jeal-
ous caution through the ballot-box, by universal suffrage,
and those thus selected for its administration held to strict
responsibility. The further this power was removed from
the control of the constituent, the greater they thought
the likelihood of its being misused. Strenuous advocates

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 127

for state rights, and literal constructionists of the federal
constitution, they considered the general government as
clothed only with the limited functions expressly dele-
gated, and Buch few others incidental as were indispensa-
ble to its ellicient action.

Obliteration of state lines and concentration of all polit-
ical functions in the general government, or, to use another
expression, consolidation, was, in their eyes, the most preg-
nant source of peril to the public liberties. History has
since taught us that this sentiment of distrust is peculiar
to no party, but influences each and all while in opposi-
tion. It became greatly modified in the democratic creed
after that party gained the ascendency; and while their
purchase of Louisiana, and the embargo, must be admitted
wide departures from their principles, the federalists in
opposition became as earnest advocates of state rights and
strict construction as their opponents had been under the
two first administrations.

The republicans cherished a partiality for France long
after she had proved faithless to freedom. They slowly
recovered from their original rancor against the English
treaty, viewed ever with increasing prejudice the Essex
Junto, and reposed entire confidence in the wisdom and
patriotism of Jefferson. Among their leaders were many
eminent patriots of the Revolution, such as James Warren,
Elbridge (Jerry, Levi Lincoln, Generals Heath and Dear-
born, and with them the Austins, Blakes and Jarvises,
Eustis, Cooper and the younger Bowdoin. The venerated
shades of John Hancock and Samuel Adams still battled for
their cause, to which, in the sequel, several of the most
illustrious of their opponents, and among them John
Quincy Adams, transferred their allegiance.

The federalists, as the most conservative, numbered
among their adherents the wealthy and the educated of
the seaport s: and the press, naturally controlled by those
who supported it, arrayed itself in decided preponderance

128 LIFE AND WRITINGS

on their side. Of the papers of the capital, the Gazette,
Centinel and Mercury, were federalist ; while the only in-
fluential democratic organ was the Independent Chronicle.
The Constitutional Telegraph had a brief existence as a
republican print, and was followed by the Democrat ;
while, on the other side, the Palladium took the place of
the Mercury, in 1801, under the direction of Mr. Dutton;
and the Repertory, in 1802, was removed by Dr. Park to
Boston from Newburyport. Out of the capital were the
Worcester Spy, Salem, Hampshire, Portland and Kennebec
Gazettes, advocating the cause of the federalists; while the
Portland Argus, Pittsfield Sun, National -<Egis, Salem Reg-
ister, Republican Spy, and some others, energetically con-
tended on the side of the republicans. Many of these
journals were conducted with marked ability. The leading
statesmen contributed to their columns, and the essays of
Ames, Adams and Higginson, of Lincoln, Heath, Jarvis
and Austin, of Blake, Morton and Sullivan, furnish mate-
rials indispensable to a correct view of political history.

The character of a party is not to be estimated either by
the professions of its zealots, or by the accusations of its
antagonists. In high party times much is said and written
not entitled nor expected to be believed except by the
ignorant or credulous. We should not judge the federalists »
by the vehement invectives of Castigator or Sulpicius, or
by the brilliant essays of Ames, many of which were writ-
ten to effect an election, or accomplish a temporary pur-
pose. Nor, on the other hand, should the scurrilities of
the Aurora, which spared not even Washington himself, or
the angry recriminations under unmerited reproach, in
other journals of that day, be received to the prejudice of
the republicans. It cannot be denied that both parties
were guilty of excesses to be condemned. But the politi-
cal world was in a condition of unusual fever, and America,
young and impressible, particularly open to its infection.
The delirium and disorder of disease is no test of action when

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 129

in health ; like the maladies of childhood, these party heats
were only working the system clear from liability to their
recurrence, and leaving it sound and in a state of well-
regulated vigor.

Now, that the old political contentions are merged in new
issues, and, but for some few hereditary prejudices, we are
all republicans and all federalists, we can form a more
impartial estimate of the comparative soundness of these
conflicting opinions. They have been subjected to the
practical test of experiment; and history has happily
proved that most of the anxieties, then disturbing the
imaginations of sincere patriots with gloomy foreboding for
the future well-being of their country, were quite without
foundation. Our institutions were framed for a religious
ami educated people, one consequently moral and intelligent.
But, notwithstanding the vast accessions of population
from the Old World, the great extension of our territorial
limits over other tongues and races, the growth of cities,
increase of wealth, and slavery agitation, they apparently
work as well to-day as when first established; and wo
have neither " the nobles in a hole," as feared by the repub-
licans, nor the relapse, through Jacobin fury, into primi-
tive barbarism, as predicted by the federalists.

Party distinctions being an essential element of repre-
sentative government, it doubtless is the duty of individ-
uals to enlist, where they consistently can, according to
their convictions, on one side or the other of the political
conflict. Circumstances already enumerated had placed
Sullivan, at times, in a position of neutrality. But, if
opposed to some of the sentiments and measures of the
republicans, he still considered himself as one of that party,
and was so regarded, as well by its friends as by its ene-
mies. No one can read his writings and mark the develop-
ment of his political sentiments, and doubt his views to
have been the fruit of deliberate reflection and of pro-
found conviction. In the reasonable interpretation of the
II. 9

130 LIFE AND WRITINGS

term, he was a democrat. He had faith not only in the
right of the people to self-government, but in their ability
and disposition to govern themselves wisely. Brought up
as they were, with reverence for religious truth and
respect for moral obligations, -familiar from experience with
the evils they had escaped, and sufficiently educated to
understand their new institutions, he had little fear that
his countrymen would hazard liberties, purchased at the cost
of so much toil and treasure, and hallowed by the blood
of their best and bravest, from any unreasoning passion or
popular caprice. The easy suppression of one formidable
insurrection had proved their loyalty to law and order.
The anarchy and despotism, which had already crushed out
every hope of rational freedom in Europe, had quickened
their sensibility to dangers which might menace their own
constitutional system. Equality before the law and at the
ballot-box, as the rightful inheritance of all, formed, in
his view, the essential foundations of civil liberty ; but the
levelling spirit of French democracy, even when some
of his most respected friends were disposed to sympathize
with these Quixotic notions in their first flush of triumph,
he considered simply absurd and irrational. He thought
education and the spread of gospel truth would con-
stantly tend to equalize conditions ; but differences de-
pending upon character and cultivation, partly on oppor-
tunity and mainly on providence, he conceived beyond the
reach of legal enactments, and unavoidable in civilized
society.

In his different publications he had urged the impor-
tance, if we wished to preserve our liberties, of keeping
separate church and state, of strict construction of dele-
gated powers, of prohibiting monopolies, and of protecting
the freedom of the press. He was the steady advocate
of a sound specie currency. The funding system of Ham-
ilton he conceived established upon inequitable principles.
It had sacrificed the creditor states, who had advanced

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 131

more than their share of the revolutionary burthens, to the
debtor states, who had advanced less; and the original
holders of the state and federal paper, who had been com-
pelled by their necessities to part with it for a small por-
tion of its nominal value, he thought were entitled to some
indemnification, as well as the fortunate purchasers, who
had bought it upon speculation. Alike loyal to his own
state and the country at large, he testified himself and in-
culcated in others a profound respect for authority and
for the judicial tribunals; defended both bar and pulpit
from unmerited aspersions ; and, by his promotion of pub-
lic charities and useful enterprises, evinced a just appre-
ciation of these important elements of a well organized
community. It is not pretended that for this he was
entitled to greater praise than many other statesmen of
the clay. But, forming very decided opinions upon what-
ever concerned the public interest, he has left them on
record, and it would not have been possible to have
explained his position and influence at this particular
epoch without taking them into view.

Had the temper of the times permitted neutrality, he
would have gladly kept aloof from the political arena.
Forced to take a side, he became no bigoted partisan. He
neither shaped his opinions by those with whom he voted,
nor trimmed his creed to secure a wider popularity. In
contending for the right he was often exposed, in the public
prints, to the attacks of both friend and foe. Assaulted
with asperity, he rarely stooped to retaliate. He neither
used harsh epithets, nor impeached the motives of those
who disagreed with him. When the provocation was par-
ticularly pointed, and " foemen worthy of his steel " were
eager for the fray, both as Junius and Pederalis, he proved
that he possessed skill and vigor for these battles of the
quill; but they were not to his taste; and, when his antag-
onists, their arguments exhausted, resorted to vituperation
and abuse, he was both too chivalric and conscientious to

132 LIFE AND WRITINGS

employ the same weapons, and retired from the contest.
Harboring no malice, his antagonisms never degenerated
into personal bitterness. He argued for truth, and not for
victory, holding himself ever open to conviction. Notwith-
standing his strong party partialities, he associated, on
friendly terms, with quite as many federalists as democrats,
and was consequently often called upon to defend his
opinions. This he did without reserve ; and his straight-
forward sincerity and honesty of purpose, if they at times
lessened his influence, ultimately gained him the confi-
dence, not of his own party merely, but of the community.
That, even in a worldly point of view, it was his best policy,
is manifest from his nomination, by the republicans, for the
highest office in the state, and their steadily increasing
support, which eventually resulted in his election.

From early manhood, throughout the Revolution, and
during the subsequent period of our national existence, he
had been constantly in the public service. Possessing
great vigor of mind, sound views on all political questions,
and superior gifts of oratory, accompanied with a generous
disposition and pleasing and conciliating manners, he natu-
rally became favorably known throughout the common-
wealth, and regarded as one of its most prominent and
popular citizens. Panegyric on the dead is often exagger-
ated ; but the eloquent sketch of Sullivan, in the Centinel,
written, at the period of his decease, by John Quincy
Adams, has the additional claim to confidence that it was
prepared for readers who had long known him, and for a
community who, from political prejudice, would not have
listened with patience to praises undeserved. The high
estimate it presents of his character and usefulness is
confirmed by the view taken by Mr. Buckminster in the
funeral sermon, and by many other writers. Before com-
mencing on that stormy period of his life when, as the
leader of the democratic party, he was brought into antag-
onism with many of the most distinguished statesmen in

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 133

our early annals, a passage from the notice alluded to may
be quoted to advantage, to show the estimation in which
he was held by his fellow-citizens :

" The bare enumeration of the relations in which Mr.
Sullivan stood to his age and country almost fill the
measure to be allotted to the notice of his life. The
public offices which he held were all conferred by the free
and unembarrassed suffrages of his countrymen. As testi-
monials of his merit, they afford the clearest evidence of
the satisfaction which he gave to the community in the
discharge of his various duties. Supported by none of the
artificial props which mediocrity derives from opulence
or family connections, every mark of distinction bestowed
upon him was at once the proof and reward of his superior
endowments. The public stations which he held were not
merely places of profit or of honor; they Avere posts of
laborious and indefatigable duty. They were filled with
unquestionable ability ; and if, in the course of a long
political career, he did not always escape the common
tribute of reproach which accompanies all illustrious
talents, his strongest opponents could never deny that
his execution of every public trust was distinguished by
that peculiar quality which was most appropriate to its
nature. To all he applied the most unwearied and active
industry. As a judge, he was universally acknowledged
to have displayed, without a whisper of exception, that
first of all judicial virtues, impartiality. As the public
prosecutor of the state, he tempered the sternness of
official severity with the rare tenderness of humanity.

" Mr. Austin, in the life of Elbridge Gerry, says : ' Marks
of James Sullivan's astonishing industry and prolific genius,
qualities very rarely united, are seen in every department
of the public service ; in professional employments, where
he was crowded with clients; in municipal and political
discussions, which he never neglected ; in the Academy
of Arts and Sciences, of which he was an original asso-

134 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ciate ; in the Historical Society, over which he presided
till the pitiful malice of party deprived him of- that honor;
in the numerous charitable and humane societies of which
he was a member ; in the Middlesex Canal, a work of dar-
ing enterprise, which he mainly contributed to accomplish;
in his professional and historical works, either of which
would have given full employment to an ordinary mind.'

" Governor Sullivan was an instance, not uncommon in
our history, in which the native vigor of superior intellect
triumphs over the defects or the want of early education,
and, against opposition and rivalship, marches to profes-
sional distinction and political honor. It was not possible
for Governor Sullivan to escape the tax invariably levied
on eminent men. He lived in turbulent times ; and, as the
character and influence were powerful and imposing which
he brought to the aid of his party, so in proportion was
the violence of the hostility with which he was assailed.
The eminence of his station exposed him to the arrows of
obloquy and detraction ; but, though they might have
fretted him at the time, they never pierced the integrity
of his character."

He was made somewhat a martyr to his opinions, and
possibly the more that they did not always coincide with
those of his own party. Mr. Austin, in the work already
quoted, says of him, that, " in the course of the various
and novel subjects of political discussion in which he was
engaged, he found it necessary to differ from those with
whom he commonly concurred ; and this imputed vacil-
lation produced an occasional discord, which may be noticed
in some of the letters of his cotemporaries. He relied
much, and properly, on the energy of his own mind, and
had the manliness to avow any change of sentiments pro-
duced by calmer reflection, or better judgment."

" Mr. Sullivan," says Mr. Knapp, " was universally pop-
ular, until he opposed some measures which were adopted
soon after the national constitution was ratified. The

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 135

parties which have since divided the country arose at that
time, though they became more distinctly marked after-
wards. On these points he differed from some of his
old and esteemed associates. The separation grew wider
and wider, until what was at first an honest difference
of judgment grew into alienation and antipathy. These
things could not move him from his course. No man
was ever less intimidated by the storms of party rage.
It is believed he was so far from exasperating the passions
which were then roused, as to sacrifice much of his own
feelings to the interest of peace and moderation. He
gave the weight of his high standing and talents to the
side which he thought was right, and was regarded as
its most efficient leader in the state. This exposed
him to much virulence and abuse. And what eminent
man has not been subject to calumny? He was con-
sistent through his whole public life, and, when the
most provoking obloquy was heaped upon him, never
returned railing for railing. He had too much good sense,
philosophy and piety, to be thus guilty. Whoever reads
his productions, will be struck with their calmness, justness
and forbearance. His eve was fixed upon the truth, and
the everlasting welfare of his country; and he was too
elevated to Buffer by traducers who wished to ruin him.
This moderation, as was natural, only inflamed them the
more; but his firm and conciliatory conduct did not fail of
gaining the respect of liberal and fair opponents; and they
who were halting between the two parties were won by
it to his side. Never did any great man more completely
and honorably triumph over his enemies. Every year, to
the last, added strength and stability to his reputation,
and he died invested with the highest office in the gift of
his native state, and was universally mourned."

In a letter, dated the 11th of May, 1804, to General
Dearborn,* then secretary of war, he states, in the freedom

* General Dearborn, born in 1751, at Hampton, N. H., was distinguished at

136 LIFE AND WRITINGS

and frankness of private correspondence, some of the diffi-
culties he had to encounter in keeping himself within the
ranks of the republicans. He says: "I have thought
much on an idea, expressed in your letter, that you were
glad, for reasons you mention, that I had taken a decided
part with the republicans. It is true that I have, for
a number of years, refused to stand as candidate for
governor of Massachusetts. I never did wish to have the
office, nor do I now want it. It can never add to my
pecuniary interest, honor or happiness ; it may deprive me
of my ease, and injure my property. But, in the present
year, though I had no expectation of being elected, I
wished to exhibit to our tyrants a phalanx, which would
check their rage for domination ; and, knowing that there
could not be a strong union of the republicans in any other
person, I consented to be nominated, and do not mean ever
to withdraw my name, even if there should be no more
than five votes for it. The measure has had a great, a
wonderful effect, and has accomplished much towards
saving our national constitution under the present adminis-
tration.

"My principles have never been less decided, or less
concealed, than they now are. I have, in the day of the
cockade tyranny, suffered every abuse that Dana, Thacher,
Parsons and the greatest part of the bar, could give with-
out being called on fur personal satisfaction. I have been
several times driven to that disagreeable resource. When
Jefferson's administration, and personal character, were

Bunker Hill, before Quebec, and at Saratoga. He attracted the special atten-
tion of Washington at Monmouth, was on the Indian campaign, and at
Yorktown; and, before the latter engagement, had reached the rank of
colonel. He settled after the war on the Kennebec, and was twice elected to
Congress. He was a warm friend of Judge Sullivan, and their correspondence
was frequent and intimate. Retiring from the cabinet at the close of the
Jefferson administration, he succeeded General Lincoln as collector of Boston,
and, in the war of 1812, was selected for the command of the northern army.
His character was frank, generous and manly, and his address and manner,
though always dignified, both easy and affable.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 137

attacked, I came out openly, under the signature of Plain
Truth, and vindicated him. The effects of these produc-
tions have been everywhere acknowledged.

" But yet, sir, there is a great difficulty in taking a part
with (dl the men in Boston who call themselves republicans.
That accursed plot against public and private integrity,
called the funding system, has overthrown all the principles
of national politics in this town. The numerous banks,
and other speculating and oppressive corporations, have
exterminated all ideas of citizenship, and concentrated the
exertions and faculties of the people in the point of
avarice. In all the projects of public utility the repub-
licans have no concern, but in other speculations they are
much engaged. You will see that one man, lately chosen
a representative in Boston, had nineteen hundred votes;
while each one of the others had eleven hundred only. He
is at the head of a party which projected another bank, called
the Exchange Bank, upon the absurd principle of taking the
notes of all banks in payment. Both parties voted for him,
because his influence for the moment was above them all.
I was seriously informed that, if I would appear in the
caucus, and pledge myself to endeavor to procure a law
that each bank should be obliged to take the bills of all
others in payment, I should have a majority of votes for
governor. I need not detail to you the reasons why I
treated this overture with contempt.

" You could not raise in Boston five hundred dollars to
maintain a free press, or to preserve the republican interest.
But when the hope of gain, or the chagrin of disappoint-
ment, stimulates an individual, then he becomes violent and
noisy for democracy. If corruption is to become the vital
principle of a government, I believe that an elective democ-
racy will be infinitely worse for the people than a monarchy
can be. The corruption of a few tyrants will be more toler-
able than that of many ; and the further the seat of corruption
is from us the safer we are. I therefore believe we had

138 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

better have remained British colonies than to be in a state
of corrupted independence. You will, perhaps, laugh at
these ideas, as evidence of my want of acquaintance with
mankind. I wish I knew less of them ; but the great body
of the people in our country towns, who, by the way, have
vastly more understanding than the speculating tribe in
Boston, are in love with an elective democracy, and
will maintain it. They now begin to see that there are
men who, under the guise of federalism, are endeavoring
to introduce a mixed monarchy, or a dissolution of our
present national constitution. Indeed, their leaders openly
avow it, and say that the people are incapable of main-
taining a free government. Whatever evidence the town
of Boston may afford them, they are wrong on the whole."

CHAPTER V.

CANVASS FOR GOVERNOR.

Such is believed to have been the condition of parties in
Massachusetts, and such the political opinions and position
of Sullivan, when he was nominated, in 1804, for the chief
magistracy. Caleb Strong had been elected for the four
preceding years, and the federalists reluctantly relinquished
their hold on power. Supported by a highly respectable
array of ability and character on their side, they were long
able to make effectual resistance against every aggressive
effort of the republicans. Of the vote cast in the capital,
Strong received one thousand nine hundred and eighty,
and Sullivan but six hundred and fifty. The latter was
said to have lost three hundred votes by his report upon
municipal reform, of which the objectionable feature, the
election of the intendant by the town council, had been
adopted contrary to his judgment. Several others voted
against him for his well-known opposition to the existing
system of banking, established then, as now, upon an
inadequate specie basis. In the whole commonwealth,
the aggregate for the federal candidate was about thirty
thousand ; for the republican, twenty-four thousand.

The National -^Egis, of Worcester, had been lukewarm
during the canvass, and, when charged with recreancy to
the cause of democracy, the editor, Francis Blake, assigned
as a reason, his unwillingness to support the republican
candidate. Many years before, a misunderstanding had

140 LIFE AND WRITINGS

arisen between his father, Joseph Blake, and Sullivan, then
neighbors in Bowdoin Square, and the feeling of hostility
had been transmitted to the son. It does not appear to
have been shared by his brother, George Blake, a distin-
guished counsellor, established in Boston, who then held
the office of United States attorney for the district, and
who, over his signature of Agricola, zealously advocated
the republican nomination. In reply to the editor of the
^Egis, Mutius Scoevola defended Sullivan from this unex-
pected attack ; and the subsequent course of this journal
was more loyal to its colors.

The fifth presidential election was now approaching, and
the General Court of Massachusetts, in which the federalists
had the preponderance, under the impression that the vote
would be much the same as in the preceding spring, pro-
vided by law for the choice of electors by the people, and
by general ticket. Sullivan and Gerry were nominated by
their party, as electors at large, and the list, nineteen in
number, contained many other influential names ; and
among them those of James Warren and William Heath,
from among the old patriots. Greatly to the surprise of
both parties, the republicans succeeded by about four thou-
sand majority. The electoral college, over which Sullivan
presided, in December cast their votes for Jefferson and
George Clinton, whose aggregate vote in the country was
one hundred and sixty-two, to fourteen federal for Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney and Rufus King.

Connected with this election, we find, in the Centinel, a
well written but not very sensible address to James Sulli-
van, urging him to vote for the federal candidates, on the
ground that Jefferson was no Christian. The proposal was
altogether inappropriate. Electors chosen for a definite
purpose, the constitutionally appointed instruments for
expressing the will of their constituents, have no discre-
tion by custom, whatever may have been the original con-
stitutional intention. This address is mentioned merely for

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 141

the high respect it manifests for the character of our subject,
the more flattering that it came from a political opponent.
As the election approached, a question arose, whether
printed votes were equivalent to votes in writing, as pre-
scribed by the constitution. The selectmen of Boston
consulted the attorney-general, then at Worcester, upon
the subject, who gave it as his opinion that they were. In
the city archives are his letters, setting forth the reasons
for his conclusion, and expressing surprise that they should
hesitate in adopting the rule.

This republican triumph in Massachusetts, hitherto the
stronghold of their power, spread dismay through the
ranks of the federalists, and made them tremble for what
remained of their cherished supremacy. As the contest
became more doubtful, and the temper of the times more
violent, they resorted, as one means to discourage their
assailants, to the expedient of aspersing the character ol
the opposite candidate. Immediately after his nomination,
in the spring of 1805, they commenced this ungenerous
warfare. In addition to an able electioneering pamphlet,
entitled a Reply to Why should I be a Federalist? which
was conciliatory and moderate, and free from this re-
proach, various charges, quite unfounded, and easily
disproved, and which, in themselves, with one exception,
of no great moment, were made the most of, by strong
epithets, and gross exaggeration, appeared in the federal
prints. Coming unexpectedly, these attacks at first dis-
tressed Judge Sullivan ; but, conscious of his innocence,
he soon regained his equanimity. Injustice is apt to
defeat its own purpose, and a good reputation is often the
better for being unjustly maligned.

Preluding with the assertion, which does not seem to be
confirmed by a candid examination of his writings, that for
thirty years his pen had been against every one, and every
one's pen against him, the following passage from his
Freedom of the Press was quoted, in justification of their

142 LIFE AND "WRITINGS

intended assault : " In case of an election, the publisher of
anything against the candidate, which is, in itself, defama-
tory and scandalous, ought to be responsible, and heavy
and aggravated damages ought to be given, unless he can
justify himself in the truth of the publication. But, if he
publishes the truth only, he ought to be allowed to justify
his conduct upon the proof of the facts ; and, in such case,
the plaintiff in his action will only expose his own folly
and weakness, in attempting to gain an office to which his
misconduct and vices have rendered him incompetent."

It may, perhaps, serve in some measure to account for
the exasperated bitterness of this persecution, that, Sulli-
van not having been disturbed in his office by Governor
Strong and the federalists, his permitting himself to be set
up as a rival candidate savored of ingratitude. But the
tenure of the offices was quite dissimilar ; and, as the
performance of his official duties was universally acknowl-
edged to have been faithful and able, his removal upon
party considerations would have served only to lose them
political capital.

•The first ground of reproach taken against him was this :
When Sullivan was in the legislature, twenty years before,
an over-ardent patriot, fearing we might retrograde from
the principles of freedom just asserted and established,
proposed to him to organize a constitutional society to
watch over public sentiment, and keep it in the right path.
Thinking this a direct violation of the very rights its
object was professedly to sustain, in bringing to bear an
undue influence upon the liberty of private opinion, he
declined to cooperate, and was, in consequence, somewhat
berated, for his indifference to the great cause, by the dis-
appointed zealot, in the public prints. Under the crown
we had had caucuses and gatherings in sail-lofts, over
which Samuel Adams had presided; and the Revolution had
been accomplished by secret committees of safety, vig-
ilance and correspondence. But now that government was

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 143

firmly fixed upon the broad basis of popular representa-
tion, secret political societies seemed inappropriate. These
objections were less applicable to France, and, during the
early stages of the revolution, there was no other prac-
ticable mode of concentrating public action, but through
the clubs of the Jacobins. With a people as impulsive and
excitable as the French, free institutions soon proved as
much out of place as a powder-magazine in Vesuvius; and
these clubs became only instruments of evil.

When Genet came over as minister, these associations
were still at the height of their popularity with his
countrymen, and among their sympathizers in America.
Constitutional societies were organized at Pittsburg, Phil-
adelphia, and other places, and in September, 1793, one
also at Boston. This met some twenty times, at the Green
Dragon Tavern, on Hanover-street, the last meeting being
on the second of February, 1795. It was the subject of a
witty poem, called the Jacobiniad, attributed to Dr. Gardi-
ner, of Trinity Church, and published in the Federal Orrery.
The avowed objects of the society were to promote liberty,
fraternity and equality, at home and abroad, and its consti-
tution was preceded by a long preamble, full of the most
patriotic and unexceptionable sentiments. With other
respectable citizens, Sullivan joined the society; but soon
becoming dissatisfied with the tone and temper of its dis-
cussions, he took occasion to express his conviction of the
pernicious tendency of such institutions, and openly, in
full meeting, erased his name from its roll of members.

Rumor now began to whisper, what was soon broadly
asserted in the press, that, so far from disapproving, he had
actually drafted the constitution of the constitutional so-
ciety ; and yet, notwithstanding so open a manifestation,
that eight years before, when at Worcester, in company
with the judges, he had most solemnly denied this, express-
ing his disapprobation of all secret organizations. This
was entirely a mistake. Upon leaving the Jacobin Club, as

144 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the federalists termed it, he had requested Dr. Thacher, his
pastor, to make the fact known to his friends. Judge Oliver
Wendell, upon hearing it mentioned, went immediately to
his brother-in-law, William Cooper, one of its most zealous
members, and urged him to follow Sullivan's example.
Cooper, disturbed that his favorite society should be mis-
represented, drew from his pocket the articles written by
Sullivan upon the federal constitution, saying the society
could not be fit subject for reproach, since the preamble to
its constitution, setting forth its objects, had been reduced
from the writings of Sullivan himself. Judge Wendell
misunderstood Cooper to state that Sullivan had drafted
the constitution of the society; and having spoken of the
subject occasionally, in private intercourse, was now called
upon to certify the same to the public. Both Cooper and
Mr. Hewes, the secretary of the society, contradicted his
statement, and certified that Sullivan had taken no part
whatever in the preparation of its constitution, and the
federal papers soon dropped the accusation.

The second charge would have been of greater gravity
had it had any truth to rest upon. Mr. Blake, already
mentioned as at feud with Sullivan for some ancient ground
of controversy, the particulars of which are not fully
recorded, had stated, at a social gathering of federalists,
that he was acquainted with certain circumstances about
the republican candidate, which, if generally known, would
defeat his election. This was reported to Sullivan, who,
although for many years not on terms of intercourse with
his defamer, sought him, and requested him to state what
he referred to. Blake replied that at Suffield, in 1801, Oli-
ver Phelps had told him he had given Sullivan a note for
three thousand dollars, for facilities rendered himself and Mr.
Gorham in settling their accounts with the commonwealth.
Sullivan declared the story entirely without foundation ;
and, upon recourse being had by Mr. Blake to Mr. Phelps,
then at Washington, for a confirmation of his statement, the

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 145

reply, given at a future page of this volume, proved clearly
that Mr. Blake had been mistaken, and fully exonerated Sul-
livan from the charge.

From the statement of Mr. Phelps and other evidence, it
appeared that at the time of the sale of the Genesee terri-
tory by Massachusetts, in 1788, Sullivan, then judge of
probate for Suffolk, Governor Strong, who was in the sen-
ate, and Theodore Sedgwick, in the house, and other
persons of first respectability in the state, took a small
interest in the enterprise, out of regard to the principal
purchasers. After Sullivan's appointment as attorney-gen-
eral, a question arose as to the title of Presque-Isle, a part
of the premises ; and as it devolved officially upon him to
defend the interests of the commonwealth, he went to Mr.
Phelps, and relinquished all connection with the specula-
tion. It was not convenient for Phelps to repay, at the
moment, the advances made by Sullivan, and these re-
mained as a debt. When this controversy was settled, and
there was no likelihood of any other arising which would
set his private interests at variance with his official duty,
at the request of the other associates, Sullivan took a small
share in the lands; and, upon final settlement, the three
thousand dollar note was given. Phelps, furthermore, said
that he made settlements at the same time with Strong and
Sedgwick, and that the terms of agreement demanded by
Sullivan were more moderate and reasonable than those
insisted upon by either of the others.

Later, at the request of Phelps, fourteen large notes,
with securities to the amount of many thousand dollars,
were lodged with Sullivan, to meet the remaining payments
to the state. From his various engagements, and frequent
absence from home, it was not always practicable to make
immediate payments into the treasury ; and, had an interest
account been kept, a considerable sum, according to Mr.
Phelps, would have been his due. It was not pretended
that Sullivan had made any use of the money, or mingled

ii. 10

146 LIFE AND WRITINGS

it with his own ; nor does he appear to have been unrea-
sonably dilatory in paying it over. He considered himself,
consequently, under no obligation to allow interest ; and
this had created, for a time, considerable warmth of feel-
ing, under the influence of which Phelps made the remarks,
at Suffield, which Blake had misunderstood. Had facilities,
unsanctioned by official duty, been rendered the purchasers,
these must have been well known to Sedgwick and
Strong ; nor could they have escaped the observation of
the treasurer, of the land commissioner, or of the commit-
tees of both houses having the matter in charge. It was
within the power, and was the bounden duty, of every
member of the court to examine the files of the treasury,
and sift the charge to its foundation. Both branches were
still federalist. Respect for the public interest would have
made it incumbent on the house to institute an impeach-
ment, at least to appoint a committee of inquiry, had there
been reason to credit the accusation. Its best refutation
is Sullivan's own contradiction, given in the sequel. For
another year it was occasionally alluded to, but was soon
abandoned and died away.

Originating with a personal enemy, in the misapprehen-
sion of a remark made four years before by one who,
himself of unimpeachable integrity, denied that any ex-
pressions he had used could bear such a construction,
this accusation, unsupported by any evidence, disproved
by every negative testimony of which the case was sus-
ceptible, compromising, if true, not only the integrity of
Phelps, but of Nathaniel Gorham, president of the Conti-
nental Congress, and one of the purest patriots of the
state, and, moreover, inconsistent as it was with the whole
tenor of Sullivan's life, and his particular conduct in this
very transaction, may well be considered as never having
been made, for any blemish or shadow it leaves upon his
reputation.

The other charges require a briefer explanation. The

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 147

supreme court at Cambridge decided certain averments
to be material, in an indictment on trial before them for per-
jury, which were previously not held to be of importance.
The next case was of the same nature, and the attorney-
general, as then usual in matters of mere form, corrected
the bill, drawn originally, of course, by himself, by intro-
ducing the additional averment to correspond with the
new views of the bench. His political antagonists, in their
zealous researches for political capital against him, chanced
upon this; but, finding it not to his prejudice, soon let it drop.

A quarter of a century before, in 1780, while Sullivan
was on the supreme bench, he was compelled to travel on
Sunday to hold his court, at the time appointed, some-
where in Maine. In passing, on horseback, through Wells,
his horse fell lame, and, meeting an acquaintance, Deacon
Clark, on his way to church, he stated his misfortune, and
it was agreed that they should make an exchange. Three
pounds, in addition to the lame animal, were given to the
deacon ; but, out of respect for the day, no definite bargain
was made, Sullivan promising to do what was right. Clark
remaining discontented, through the agency of Colonel
Eben Sullivan the affair was soon after compromised, ap-
parently to the satisfaction of both parties, by the further
payment of four pounds. Sullivan had a small salary, and
many expenses, but usually was not only just but gen-
erous. The horse left at Wells was, in his judgment, of as
much value as that given in exchange for it. But the cir-
cumstance was an event in the life of the deacon, who
liked to tell of his being jockied by the judge ; and was now
improved, by the federal papers, as an instance of flagrant
wickedness in the candidate they were determined to defeat.

Besides these high charges, he was reproached with his
generous hospitalities, his handsome equipage, and ele-
gant liveries, with entertaining Jerome Bonaparte and
the Duke of Kent, with building the Middlesex Canal, of
receiving a retainer of ten dollars in the case of Dexter

148 LIFE AND WRITINGS

and Farwell, and not arguing the case, — an accusation not
correct ; and an absurder charge for not reconveying land
in the case of Mr. Stacy Read, when it would have been
highly unreasonable that he should.

No one- who knew Judge Sullivan attached the slightest
credit to these imputations. Yet, asserted and repeated
without contradiction, they might, in some minds, eager for
the success of the federalists, prove of prejudice to his
private or official character, and, besides, reflect upon the
party who had honored him with their nomination. The
vote cast in 1805, showing a gain over the previous year
of nine thousand in the state, and six hundred in the capi-
tal, afforded substantial proof that the calumnies were of
less service to the federalists than to the republicans. In-
deed, had not the federal scrutiny, without taking into
account sixty-two towns utterly disfranchised, adopted new
rules, in order to cast out many votes thrown for Sullivan,
on the ground of slight error in the name or other infor-
mality, Strong would not have had more than three hundred
majority, and, but for the federal merchants in Boston,
have lost his election. Such a result might well make
Sullivan indifferent to the political malice of his adver-
saries. During the canvass, in the insurance offices and
other places of public resort, he stated the injustice of
these accusations to his acquaintance, and, when the elec-
tion was over, addressed to the public the following ex-
plicit denial of their truth:

" Reputation of Calumny. — To the Public. — The late
charges against me may now be noticed without an imputa-
tion of indelicacy. My political principles have ever been,
since the adoption of the federal constitution, that the
union of the states is essential to the preservation of our
freedom and independence ; and that the maintenance of
the federal constitution, as it now exists, is the only means
of perpetuating that union. The administration of Mr.
Jefferson has, in my opinion, been uniformly consistent

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 149

with the spirit of that constitution ; and his measures, I
believe, are calculated to insure our individual felicity, and
establish our national honor.

" I did, indeed, leave the bench, after the independence
of my country was placed beyond danger. But. my resig-
nation was not induced by avarice, but necessity. I had
expended all my property during the discharge of that
office. My family was increasing, and it became my duty
to provide, by other means than a small salary, for their
sustenance and education.

" It is very probable that I was travelling in "Wells, in
the year 1780 ; but I have no recollection of the exchange
of horses with one Deacon Clark. I knew a Deacon Clark,
of Wells, but I do not remember to have seen or heard of
him within twenty years past, till he now comes forward
in the newspapers with his demand. I can only say, that
if the deacon did receive seven pounds for his horse, he
was amply compensated, at the rate for which horses were
at that time sold in Wells ; and, if he was not, he might
then have applied to a jury of his country for indemnifi-
cation.

" The amendment or alteration of an indictment may be
done at any time with the consent of parties, and without
that consent, while the grand jury remain in session. I
have no recollection of the alteration of that against Roger
Wheeler. I remember well there was such an indictment,
and that the prosecution was abandoned, for deficiency of
evidence. An error, of the nature charged, could have no
terrors for me ; nor could any advantage result to me by
amending it improperly ; nor from a secretion of it, if it
was erroneous. It is true the indictment is not on file.
On application to the clerk's ofliee, since this charge was
made, I find it is not there.

" The accusation of receiving a fraudulent note of hand
from Messrs. Gorham and Phelps is also unsupported. It
never was in my power to render facilities to those gentle-

150 LIFE AND WRITINGS

men, in any of their business with the commonwealth. I
never sold to them any of the commonwealth's lands. I
never commenced an action, nor had an execution against
them, or either of them, in behalf of the government. The
note of hand, which Messrs. Gorham and Phelps gave to me,
in 1794, was in payment for certain lands, which I re-leased
to them, as did those gentlemen who purchased with
me. This is the only note they ever made to me. Judge
Paine, when he was attorney-general, brought a suit against
them on their bond to the treasurer. This had been entered
in January, 1790, and was pending in the court of common
pleas of the Suffolk county when I was appointed in that
year. I was on the circuits from Boston, in April and
July following, and had no concern with the suit until the
October term, when it was agreed between them and the
treasurer to continue the cause, that the General Court
might settle it. It was settled by the General Court in the
course of the next winter, in which settlement I had no
agency or concern. Gorham and Phelps, pursuant to this
adjustment, then gave the treasurer another bond; and
notes against ten persons were delivered to me by Messrs.
Gorham and Phelps, with their power of attorney to col-
lect the money due upon them ; and they directed me to
pay it into the treasury on their bond. All that has been
collected has been paid; and there is now, including
charges, a balance due me from Phelps in that concern.
Gorham died some years ago, and my account of this
transaction was filed in the treasury, and also delivered to
Phelps in 1799, since which, as the present treasurer knows,
and his predecessor knew, I have constantly urged Mr.
Phelps to come to the treasury and effect a settlement.

"Before I was attorney-general, I had been, with Judge
Sedgwick and others, a purchaser, under Gorham and
Phelps, of the land for which their bond was given. This
was no secret. All knew it who knew anything of the
concern. The land was absolutely conveyed to Messrs.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 151

Gorham and Phelps, and my possession of a very small
part of it did not, in the smallest degree, connect me with
them in the bond, which was the only claim which the gov-
ernment had against them.

" The charge that I received a fee of ten dollars of one
Farwell, in a cause of Dr. Dexter against him, and after
argued for Dexter, is also groundless. There was one S.
Tarbell, in Groton, who went away in the time of the war,
and a note of Mr. Farwell to him was found, with Tarbell's
name endorsed upon it, in the possession of one Jonas
Cutler. It was sued, I think, before the peace ; and I
defended Farwell against that demand. When the treaty
of peace was made, and it was provided that the absentees
should recover their debts, Farwell gave Tarbell another
note for this, dated the fourteenth of April, 1787. Tarbell
or Dr. Dexter brought this last note to me to be put in
snit, and it was sued in Dr. Dexter's name, as an endorser.
The declaration was in my hand-writing, and I appeared
for Dexter in this case, and in the review of it afterwards.
Tarbell paid my fees, and I did not receive any money of
Farwell in this cause. I knew Mr. Farwell, and knew him
to be not only friendly, but attached to me ; nor did I ever
hear a word of this affair till it appeared in the papers.

" The accusation made for Stacy Reed is without founda-
tion. He had a deed in his possession, made in the year
1727, to his grandfather, James Reed, of one thousand
acres of land, to be laid out in a tract of eighty miles
square, in the county of York. He brought me that deed
in 1788, and gave me a deed of two hundred acres of the
one thousand to attend to it, and recover for him the land.
I gave him a promise, in writing, to re-convey one hundred
acres, if the land should be recovered without a lawsuit ;
and it was agreed that, if I should find it necessary to sue
therefor, the land that this deed conveyed to me should bo
all my compensation. The deed to James Reed was then
more than sixty years old; and if his grandfather, the

152 LIFE AND WRITINGS

grantee, had any right to land there by the deed, unless it
had been located in his lifetime, the deed to hirn was of
course void. My only inquiry, therefore, was, if the land
conveyed to James Reed was or was not located. I found
that it never had been ; and, on my arrival in Boston,
returned the deed of James Reed to this Joseph Stacy
Reed, and either burned his deed to me of two hundred
acres, in his presence, or returned it to him ; for that deed
is not now in my possession, nor was it ever recorded.
Here ended this business. Some years after, Mr. S. Dex-
ter commenced an action for Reed, against Deacon Phillips,
executor of Edward Bromfield, one of the grantors in the
deed. The action was brought by Reed, as administrator
of his grandfather's estate. The pretended ground of
action was, that Salter, Adams and Bromfield, the grantors
in the deed to James Reed, the grandfather, had cove-
nanted to lay out and set off the thousand acres, but had
never done it. Reed lost the case by the decision of the
supreme court. William Phillips applied to me to defend
the cause for his father, which is the only instance of my
being employed by Deacon Phillips or his son. Reed
never applied to me in this case, nor did he ever claim any
assistance from me in it.

"It may be true that I denied having drafted the consti-
tution of a certain political society ; for it is true that I
never wrote it, nor any part of it, nor was it ever, or any
part of it, in my hand-writing.

"These are the crimes of twenty-five years of a busy
life ! My political enemies may now print whatever their
foolish malignity prompts ; but I shall not again conde-
scend to answer them. James Sullivan.

" Tuesday, 2d April, 1805."

While thus vigorously pushing the war into the country
of the enemy, the federal party found, to their grief, that
their majorities, in both branches of the court, were sen-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 153

sibly undergoing a decline. For the purpose of retaining
their ascendency, it was determined that Boston, which
had previously sent seven members to the General Court,
should now choose twenty-six, nearly the full number
allowed her by the constitution. Had her example been
generally followed, the whole number would have been
over seven hundred.

During the following summer, on the western circuit,
Sullivan made two of his most elaborate arguments. One
in the case of Wheeler, an extract from which is presented
elsewhere, and the other in the suit of Smith vs. Dalton,
which produced the following panegyric in a Berkshire
paper. This, if rather extravagant, affords some criterion
of the impression that it made upon the public at the
time: " The cause was argued by the attorney-general with
a strength of reasoning and learned eloquence, which were
unanswerable and convincing, and manifested superiority
of genius, erudition and talents, which leave him without
a rival. He is truly a prodigy of knowledge and of every
mental endowment that can adorn human nature." This
argument lias been mentioned in another chapter; and, it
will be remembered, was an able vindication of the right
of religious freedom ; and, like that for the Universalista,
twenty years before, was occupied with topics in which he
was deeply interested, and with which, for a layman, he
was unusually familiar.

Nominations for the April elections were made in Feb-
ruary, and the excitements of the canvass were limited in
duration to a period of six weeks. In reference to the
rancor and virulence then marking political warfare, it was
said the season thawed out the snakes. The past year had
been busily improved by the federalists in hunting up fresh
grounds of reproach against the opposing candidate ; and,
as the election drew near, their prints reopened their bat-
teries, and continued to fulminate ungenerous calumnies
neither to be silenced by denial or refutation. Had there

154 LIFE AND WRITINGS

been any truth in the accusations, trifling as they were, the
federalists, who had been for many years in power, would
have removed Sullivan from his office. It is creditable to
him that, in the spirit of animosity which inflamed his
opponents, nothing more serious could be advanced to his
prejudice with any show of probability. The uncompro-
mising fearlessness with which he had repelled attacks,
vindicated right, or denounced error, however high in
place, were not, probably, without their influence in recon-
ciling the more magnanimous to a persecution which most
of them had abundant reason to know was entirely unwar-
ranted. Perhaps they were not yet reconciled to the re-
publican principle of rotation in office, and, considering
Governor Strong entitled, by prescription, resisted the
efforts of the republicans to oust him as an attempt at
usurpation. Possibly patriotism silenced the suggestions
of justice, and, in the belief that the country and its insti-
tutions were in jeopardy from the administration of Jeffer-
son, they were willing to countenance any course that
would keep the helm of their own state under more ortho-
dox guidance.

The fresh charges brought forward to defeat the repub-
lican candidate, in 1806, were sufficiently antiquated. The
first was for taking a retainer of thirty dollars in the case
of Pitts vs. Copps, at Augusta, in 1799, and not being dis-
posed to argue the cause. The fee had been sufficiently
earned by the time bestowed and the advice given. But
a bill was pending creating the office of solicitor-general,
to attend the eastern circuit, and Sullivan did not expect
to be, and of course would not engage to be, there when
the case should come on to be argued.

Patrick Conner, an innholder of Boston, about the year
1796, became liable, as bail, for an amount of nearly three
thousand dollars to Minturn and Chaplin, of New York, for
whom Sullivan was counsel. When the execution on the
bail-bond, having only a few days to run, was about to be

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 155

served, Conner, who had put his property out of his hands,
procured from Minturn, upon the plea of illness in his fam-
ily, a note to Sullivan authorizing an indulgence of ninety
days, if consistent with the security of the debt ; but leav-
ing it entirely to his discretion. Sullivan assented to the
delay, upon a responsible note being given for the debt
and payment of the costs, amounting to one hundred dol-
lars ; and so instructed the officer, who, when the time
fixed had passed without compliance with the condition,
committed Conner to jail. A few days later the daughter
of Conner died ; but, as a debtor cannot be arrested twice
on the same execution, permission to leave the prison to
attend the funeral would have involved the loss of the debt.
This was now brought up as proof of Sullivan's inhumanity.
He, no doubt, regretted deeply being instrumental in adding
to the affliction of a parent under such a dispensation ; but
there is no reason to believe he realized the exigency of the
case when he gave his orders, or could have doubted Con-
ner's full ability to give security or pay the costs. Within
thirty days a note, signed by Moore, to whom Conner had
conveyed his property, was given for the whole claim, and
Conner released from imprisonment.

A Danish gentleman, named Elias Norberg, having de-
ceased without relatives in this country, and leaving prop-
erty valued at eight thousand dollars, at the request of his
friends and the Danish consul, the attorney-general pro-
cured a resolve from the legislature, attended to the pro-
bate arrangements and to some litigation during the seven
terms in the supreme court, the whole affair engaging his
attention for five years, in order to place the estate in the
treasury for safe-keeping and benefit of the heirs. For
his trouble, under the sanction of the consul, he charged
two hundred dollars, the same fee Mr. Dexter received in
the same case on the other side for less labor. Such extra-
official duties were never intended to be recompensed by
his salary, which, indeed, was not much more than suffi-

156 LIFE AND WRITINGS

cient to pay his travelling expenses. Yet this was made a
reproach to him as an unjustifiable extortion.

Two other charges, — for that of Boson, the barber, has
not sufficient substance for comment, — close the catalogue
of his alleged delinquencies. One was for a defence, which
was not equitable, in the case of Whittemore, twenty years
before. The statement was contradicted by two sons of
the party interested, both zealous federalists, in their pub-
lished certificates. The other was for receiving a fee of
sixty dollars for drafting five deeds for two millions of
acres of land to Ogden and Morris, in the year 1790. The
conveyance was under certain conditions and provisos of
extinguishing the Indian title. Any one who chooses to
read the instruments will, no doubt, admit the fee moderate
for the time and labor bestowed.

To counteract the injury these calumnies might work to
the democratic cause, Sullivan published a special refuta-
tion of each of them in the Chronicle ; and, on the sixth
of March, 1806, also the following earnest appeal to the
justice of his countrymen :

" I have held, by your suffrages, offices of great impor-
tance for more than thirty years. You have seen my con-
duct as judge of the supreme judicial court, judge of
probate, counsellor and representative. The office of
attorney-general has been conducted by me for the last
sixteen years. The voices of sundry respectable and
learned societies have placed me at their heads. The
General Court, the governor and council, the supreme
judicial court, have had my public conduct always under
their eye. No distrust has been seen ; but the calls to
public duty have borne testimony of the opinion of all
these bodies in my favor. No want of confidence has
ever been expressed towards me. As to my private and
domestic life, judge of it by the men I have associated
with. A man is known by his company. I never had a
question before a court, jury or arbitrators. Where is

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 157

the man I have wronged ? Let him apply openly, and he
shall have justice done him. My fellow-citizens happen to
have had confidence in me ; they chose me elector of
president ; they approved my conduct so far as thirty-six
thousand votes for governor last year could be an appro-
hat ion. I am again, without my own solicitation, made a
candidate for that office. The federal papers are filled with
scurrility and abuse ; but no one has come forward with
his name to a charge. Am I to chase these shadows,
vested in falsehood and malice, and to explain, in a day,
pretended charges of wrong raked out of the dust of
twenty or thirty years? Let any man come forward with
a charge; 1 will meet him in the face of the world. I have
wronged no man, I have defrauded no man, and should
degrade myself, in your opinion, if I should condescend to
notice these anonymous slanders."

It is not easy for some minds, however generally candid
and generous, to withstand prejudice, when objects they
consider both important and laudable are to be promoted
by its encouragement. Whether credible or not, these
slanders offered an irresistible temptation to strike a blow,
which was now loudly called for by the federal prints, at
the influence of the republican candidate. On the twenty-
ninth of April, at a meeting at which were present only
nine members, and of these one was subsequently expelled,
Christopher Gore was elected president of the Historical
Society, a post which had been occupied by Sullivan since
1792, when the association originated. He does not appear
to have been again present at their meetings, though, after
his decease, expressions of regret are found upon their
records, and John Quincy Adams was appointed to prepare
his obituary for their collections ; an office performed by
James Winthrop, one who had ever been warmly attached
to him.

The vexatious depredations of Great Britain upon our
defenceless merchantmen, with the impressment of our sea-

158 LIFE AND WRITINGS

men, culminating in the murder of John Pierce, of the
sloop Richard, by one of three shots fired at that vessel
by the frigate Leander, off the Hook at New York, on the
twenty-seventh of April, had operated to the prejudice of
federalism. Memorials from all the great seaports urged
the president to vindicate our national rights. A series of
articles, signed Americanus, written by Sullivan, entitled
Proof Positive of British Influence, advocated the same
sentiments, and operated favorably upon the election.

When the votes for governor were cast, and returned to
the office of the secretary, it was long doubtful who had
been chosen. The republicans had a majority of one in
the senate, and chose Perez Morton speaker of the house
by two hundred and fifty-one out of four hundred and
sixty. The joint committee, to whom the election returns
were submitted, consisted of Enoch Titcomb, Aaron Hill,
Samuel Dana, of the senate, and Joseph Story, John Cod-
man, John Bacon and Col. Danforth, of the house. Of
these, Titcomb, the chairman, and Codman, were feder-
alist. On the fifth of June they reported that the whole
vote cast was seventy-five thousand two hundred and
seventeen, from which one thousand eight hundred and
seven had been deducted for various informalities. Twelve
returns, on which Sullivan had the majority, were entirely
thrown out. Twelve votes had been returned for Caleb
Stoon, thirty for Caleb Srong, and three hundred and fifty-
seven from Lynn for James Sulvan. After these deduc-
tions, thirty-six thousand seven hundred and ninety-six were
necessary to elect. Caleb Strong had thirty-six thousand
six hundred and ninety-two, James Sullivan, thirty-six
thousand and thirty-one, James Sulvan, three hundred and
fifty-seven, William Heath, eighty-five ; and, consequently,
there was no choice by the people. Gen. Heath had a
majority for lieutenant-governor, and was chosen.

If accepted, the effect of the report would have given
the choice to the legislature, then democratic in both

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 159

branches, the senate having to choose one of two selected
by the house from the four having the highest number.
The members of the committee stated that all had been
done fairly ; that, from an apprehension that whilst con-
sidering the sufficiency of the returns party partiality
might influence their decision, the numbers for the differ-
ent candidates were kept sedulously out of view. It was
further stated in debate upon accepting the report, that
the rules governing the committee were the same which,
for the first time, had been introduced by the federalists
the two preceding years, in order to swell the comparative
vote of their candidate. In 1804, votes for James Suller-
vorn, Sullervin, Sulephan or Solivain, had been, with this
object, carried to separate columns. In 1805, sixty-two
towns had been deprived of their votes for slight devia-
tions from the rules prescribed. The federalists, it was
argued, ought not to complain that principles of their own
adoption now operated to their disadvantage. The dis-
cussion, in both branches, occupied nearly a week, and
eloquent speeches were made by Otis, Bigelow and Gore,
for the federal view ; by Dana, Bacon and Story, for the
republican. In the senate a protest was introduced by one
of the minority at the moment that body were preparing
to attend the funeral obsequies of Treasurer Avery. It
did not receive much attention, and, withdrawn, was pub-
lished in the Centinel. Both sides were much excited, and
the republicans had full power to carry out their triumph)
had they not been restrained by a sense of its injustice.

The General Court were supreme arbiters of elections,
and, had they chosen Sullivan, he could not have consist-
ently refused to have served. But elevation to a post for
which another had received a fuller expression of the pop-
ular will would have afforded him no gratification, and been
at variance with all his political principles. As the party
most directly interested, he was undoubtedly consulted, in
respect to their course, by the republican leaders. It was

160 LIFE AND WRITINGS

at no moment of particular discouragement that they
abandoned the contest; but, on the contrary, when the
report seemed in course of most complete vindication the
papers speak of the sudden change of purpose ; and there
is greater probability of this having originated with the
candidate than with his supporters. Selecting from the
schedule of slightly defective, but accepted returns, that
of •Lincolnville, without date for the year, and that of Cam-
bridge, not sealed in town-meeting, making together six
hundred and twenty-six votes, of which two hundred and
fifty-nine were for the federal candidate, these defects were
suggested to the house, and the returns rejected. The
report was taken into a new draft, and passed almost
unanimously by both branches, declaring the number
necessary for a choice thirty-six thousand three hundred
and ninety-three ; and that Governor Strong, having thirty-
six thousand four hundred and thirty-three, had been
reelected. Heath, the lieutenant-governor elect, declined
to be qualified.

While the committee were counting the votes, Mr. Par-
sons, of Chesterfield, moved an investigation of the accounts
of the attorney-general, and was appointed chairman of a
committee, of which King, Danforth, Upham, Bacon, Liver-
more and Story, were the other members, for this purpose.
At their request, Sullivan attended for examination, and
made the following statement. Prior to his appointment
to the office, in February, 1790, no salary had been attached
to it, the emoluments consisting of travel, attendance and
other fees, as in civil actions. When notified of his appoint-
ment, he informed Governor Hancock that the office would
be a disagreeable one without an established salary ; for,
though the emoluments would amount to more than any
salary he expected or wished, he was not inclined to act
under the temptation of having his income dependent upon
the multiplication of indictments or other criminal prose-
cutions. In consequence of a communication of Governor

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 161

Hancock, upon this subject, to the legislature, a committee
was appointed, who, after conference with Sullivan, reported
ii bill, passed on the twentieth of February, 1790, allowing
the attorney-general three hundred pounds per annum, the
same salary which the judges then had. Sul (sequent grants
bad been made to him, of five hundred dollars in 1707, and
of three hundred and fifty dollars in 1700, on account of the
increase of expenses, he being placed on the same footing
as the judges. But the committees reporting these grants
appeared to have made allowance for a fee of two dollars
and fifty cents, charged by him on writs of scire facias ;
a process consequent, certainly, on criminal prosecution,
but not a part of it. Sullivan had always received these
fees as the appropriate recompense for a labor incidental
to his office, but which did not constitute any portion
of his functions as the public prosecutor. When he
first entered upon his official duties there prevailed an
entire want of system in the accounts of the county
treasurers, and in 1702 he procured an act of the legis-
lature to correct this evil. After the election question
had been disposed of, the committee reported a balance in
his favor of twenty-four dollars and eleven cents, and a
further payment to be made to him of two hundred and forty
dollars, to be accounted for in the prosecution of civil suits.
This resolve passed to the senate, and was committed.
Brigham, a federalist, the chairman, was sufficiently zealous
in the cause to travel to Worcester, expressly to inquire of
the county treasurer what sums Sullivan had received from
1700 to 1795. lie had discovered fifty-eight dollars paid
during those five years, of the principal part of which it was,
fortunately, in the power of Sullivan to explain the lawful
appropriation. After some discussion, the roport passed
the senate, and was approved by the governor. The
subject subsided for a time, but was again agitated the
succeeding year, as will be seen in the sequel.

From the adoption of the state constitution, the inhabit-

II. 11

162 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ants of incorporated plantations had enjoyed the privilege
of voting in their senatorial districts for senators and
governor. Their sentiments were generally republican,
and their votes were cast for Sullivan. A question was now
raised, whether the wording of the constitution gave them
this right to vote. To prevent doubt, the legislature passed
an act recognizing the right and regulating its exercise,
which, sent to Governor Strong, was retained by him till
the following January, when he returned it with the
opinion of the supreme bench that this class of citizens
were not entitled to participate in the election of their chief
magistrate. Upon the ground that, from his having kept
the bill for five days without returning it, it became a law,
the house passed a vote to that effect. Without intend-
ing to impeach the motives of Governor Strong, or to
impugn the opinion of the judges, it is worthy of note that
a statute, passed in 1803, for regulating the exercise of
what was then unquestioned as the right of this class of
citizens, had passed without opposition or the slightest
objection, and been approved by Governor Strong ; there
then being no particular inducement for an opinion one
way or the other.

This eventful session, uninterrupted even by the great
total eclipse, which, during the forenoon of Monday, the
sixteenth of June, shrouded a large part of Massachusetts
in darkness, at last came to its close. Preparations were
made to celebrate the approaching national birth-day with
unusual festivities. Faneuil Hall had been enlarged to
double its former dimensions, and now, decorated with
Stuart's Washington, the gift of Mr. Samuel Parkman, was
occupied by the federalists for a grand banquet. Among
the honored guests were John Adams, Elbridge Gerry and
Robert Treat Paine, signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. The usual eloquence was poured forth from the
various pulpits throughout the commonwealth. In Boston
a long procession of republicans, with Benjamin Austin as

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 163

their president, marched under military escort from the
state-house to Copp's Hill. Here they feasted merrily
under a broad tent, "Hilarity, Philanthropy and Frater-
nity'' being their order of the day. The younger repub-
licans emulated their seniors, and, after an (nation from
Gleason, accompanied the march to the Green Dragon
Tavern, where they had an entertainment by tbemselves,
and the junior federalists dined at Concert Hall. The
weather was unusually propitious, and the republican
motto in general currency.

It happened that the Tunisian ambassador was, at that
time, in town, and accepted an invitation to attend the
celebration at Copp's Hill. His appearance in the proces-
sion, in his turban and long gray beard, with his showy
oriental cost nine, and a number of his attendants in rich
Turkish and Moorish dresses, attracted, to a high degree,
tin' curiosity of the public. From this eager curiosity to
see the foreigners, or some other cause, many persons, a
large number, it is believed, entered the dining tent,
through the frail enclosure, without having provided
themselves with tickets, in consequence of which the
money received fell short of the sum required to pay Mr.
Eager, the landlord of the Jelferson Tavern,* who had

* As a matter of curiosity, we have been furnished, by a friend, with some
interesting particulars, showing the origin of this Jefferson Tavern, kept by
Mr. Eager.

There was an old tavern in Back-street, now included in Salem-street, which
had long been the stage tavern, from which lines of stage-coaches took their
departure for New Hampshire and Vermont. About the time when .Mr. Eager
took a lease of this tavern, say in 1S03 or 1804, the effects of an old public
bouse, "ii Cambridge Common, about that time discontinued, were sold at
auction. That house, which a few persons connected with Cambridge may
perhaps still recollect, had stood a few years on the northerly side of I
bridge Common, near the road to West Cambridge, and, having been <
lished in the time of President Adams, the sign was, naturally enough, a very
good likeness of that distinguished person. When these effects were sold, Mr.
Kiger, being about establishing his new tavern in Boston, purchased thai sign,
still in good preservation, and carried it to his place in Back-street, to be
erected in the old-fashioned mode, that of a swinging sign, on a sign-post.

1G4 LIFE AND WKITINGS

provided the entertainment. The committee, having acted
in behalf of others, denied their personal liability beyond
the money they had received, and to this amount they
offered to pay. But this not satisfying Mr. Eager, he
applied to Mr. Selfridge, a lawyer of much ability, and in
good practice, to collect it. The question presented to
Mr. Selfridge was, whether, under the circumstances, the

It happened that there lived next door to the new tavern a well-known vio-
lent partisan and loud-talking politician, then recently removed from Marble-
head, who had before that time been a representative from that town. He had
been a seafaring man and master of a vessel, and was afterwards appointed
to the command of one of Mr. Jefferson's gunboats. He was in the habit of
attempting to give force and effect to his feelings by the frequent repetition of a
species of words, certainly not to be commended for their refinement, and not to
be literally repeated. Coming out of his house one morning, he observed his
neighbor Eager, with workmen, digging a hole to set his sign-post, and the sign
in question standing near. Said he, looking at it, and recognizing the likeness,
" What have you got there, — a head of old John Adams ? You are not going
to stick that up here ; we won't have it here. Do you think we are going to
have that old face stuck up, so that we can't look out of our windows without
seeing it? " — " But," said Mr. Eager, " it is a handsome picture. I have
bought it and paid for it ; it will answer my purpose very well as a sign, and
I must put it up." This only called down a new flood of vituperation upon the
picture and its counterpart, and a fiercer declaration that it should not be hung
up in that vicinity, to be the abhorrence of all beholders. But when this vio-
lence of passion and language had pai-tially subsided, and the captain came to
consider Mr. Eager's remark, that it was his, and he had a right to put it up,
that the sign was still a handsome picture, and its great counterpart, though
now out of power, still beloved and respected by a great portion of the com-
munity, the question naturally occurred to him, "What are you going to do
about it? " After a moment's pause, the answer to the question was obvious ;
he could do nothing to prevent it. The next step was to come to a parley, and
propose some terms of compromise. The captain then said to him, " We don't
want that head of old John Adams stuck up here before our eyes, to be seen
every time we look out ; but if you '11 go to some good painter, and have that
face brushed out, and have a good likeness of Tom Jefferson put in its place,
the neighbors here will make up a purse and pay for it." This was a proposal
worth considering. Jefferson was popular, and Jeffersonian politics decidedly
in the ascendant. He would have a new and fresh sign, without expense, and,
whatever were his own political propensities, he had no objection to a good run
of custom to his house, from whatever quarter it might come. He acceded to
the proposal; and this was the origin of the Jefferson Tavern, regarded for
some time as the head-quarters of the republican party.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 1G5

committee were legally liable, and whether an action
would lie against them personally for the whole amount.
This was a question of some difficulty. It is probable that
the committee had looked only to the sale of tickets as the
fund for the payment of Mr. Eager ; but, in the events
which had occurred, it was quite manifest that, if Mr.
Eager could not charge the committee as upon their per-
sonal contract, he was wholly without remedy. This de-
pended upon a careful consideration of the terms of their
engagement with him, and the various orders which they
had given him ; and it was not until after an investigation
of the circumstances, and some examination of the evi-
dence, that Mr. Selfridge came to the opinion that the
members of the committee were personally liable under
their contract. Mr. Eager then requested him to commence
a suit against them, which, after a few days, was done.

Shortly after the commencement of the action, Austin,
in the insurance office of Russell, when rallied upon the
subject, replied that the case had been instituted by a
federal lawyer, at his own solicitation. This remark
having come to the ears of the counsel, he demanded,
through his friend, Thomas Welsh, and also by correspond-
ence, that Austin should retract. Satisfied that he had been
mistaken in his statement, Austin contradicted the story
at the insurance office, and also to Colonel Gardner ; but
not so generally and fully as to content Mr. Selfridge.
After some days allowed for further concession, which
Mr. Austin showed no disposition to improve, Selfridge
posted him on Monday, the fourth of August, in the Gazette,
as a coward, liar and scoundrel. Austin, who had notice
of what was intended, put a counter statement, without
using any objectionable expression, into the Chronicle.
The publications produced great excitement throughout
the town, and general expectations of a personal conflict.

Charles Austin, son of the defamed, a young man of
remarkable promise, and a universal favorite among his

166 LIFE AND WRITINGS

friends and acquaintances, at the age of eighteen, was just
completing bis college course at Cambridge, but that morn-
ing chanced to be in town. For a moment, after reading the
offensive paragraph, he decided not to notice it ; but soon
after, changing his determination, purchased, about ten,
at the shop of Sheffer, a stout cane of hickory. The next
three hours were passed by him in social visits, and with
his young companions, not apparently preoccupied, but
calm and cheerful as usual. At one, we find him convers-
ing with a friend on the south side of State-street, by the
shop of Townsend, on the west corner of State and Con-
gress streets.

Meanwhile, Selfridge, having intimation of an intended
attack to be made, not by Mr. Austin himself, but by some
one in age and strength better suited for such a purpose,
prepared to defend himself as he best could. Residing at
Medford, and often late upon the road, he was accustomed
to ride armed, and going that day, about one o'clock, on the
exchange for some business avocation, he put a pistol in
his pocket. Passing down the north sidewalk of the old
state-house, in which he had his office, he proceeded
nearly in a direct line down the street. "When opposite
the centre of the present Merchants' Bank building, where
then stood the barber shop of Lane, Austin moved quickly
towards him from the sidewalk, with his cane uplifted, and
struck him a heavy blow, which, even through his hat, in-
flicted a severe contusion, of three inches by two in breadth
and nearly one in depth, including the inflammation that it
caused. Upon this Selfridge drew his pistol from his
pocket, cocked, and discharged it at Austin. The ball
entered below the left breast and in a course oblique and
diagonal with the trunk of the body, inclining towards
the left, and passing through the lungs, but not the heart.
Other blows were struck, which Selfridge warded off with
his pistol, which he finally threw at his assailant. Austin's
stick was wrested away from him for a moment, but imme-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 1G7

diately recovered ; his blows, however, soon grew weaker,
and he sank dying on the pavement.

It was high 'change, and State-street was thronged with
merchants ; yet, as the whole affair occupied but a single
moment, there was no chance to interpose. The dying
man was conveyed to the shop of Townsend, where he soon
expired, and lomewhat later Selfridge, surrendering himself
to an officer, was committed to prison.

The federalists and republicans needed not this additional
fuel to their hate. Mr. Austin, author of Ilonestus, Old
South, and the Examiner, had been long an active politician,
and, if disliked by the federalists for his censorious spirit
and bitter denunciations, was much esteemed by his own
party. The gallantry of Charles, in throwing away his
life to vindicate his lather's fame from aspersions, hardly
called for by the provocation, created prejudice on both
sides against the prisoner. But as the summer advanced
and the friends of Mr. Selfridge, with judicious moderation,
abstained from public discussion of the affair, whilst in the
columns of the Chronicle it was a constant subject of
bitter comment, there was a perceptible change in public
sentiment. Sullivan was accused of writing many of these
articles; but this would have been hardly consistent with
official propriety, and there seems little reason to believe
the imputation.

On Tuesday, the twenty-first day of November, the
supreme court held its term at Boston, and Parsons, who,
the preceding June, had been appointed the successor of
Dana as chief justice, charged the grand jury, of which
Colonel T. If. Perkins was chairman. In laying down the
law of murder and manslaughter, Judge Parsons omitted
certain maxims of general recognition, bearing on the case
of Selfridge, and which were suggested, a few days later,
in a Chronicle comment on the charge, probably written
by Sullivan. One of the rules thus omitted was that
the party justifying killing from necessity must be him-

168 LIFE AND WRITINGS

self wholly without fault ; another, that he had no other
possible, or at least probable, means of escape ; a third, that
the crime prevented by the killing would have been itself
capital ; and a fourth, that no provocation will avail if sought.
It had been usual, in similar cases, to find a bill of murder,
because, under such an indictment, the prisoner could be
convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter if there
appeared on the trial no proof of malice. The coroner's
verdict having been wilful murder, there seemed less reason
for the present departure from the precedent. But the
grand jury, without consulting the court or the attorney-
general, found a bill simply of manslaughter. The cause
came on for hearing on the twenty-third of December,
Colonel Paul Revere being the foreman of the panel, Gore
and Dexter counsel for the prisoner, the attorney and solic-
itor generals, Sullivan and Davis, for the commonwealth.

The first question between the counsel was as to the ex-
tent of evidence to be admitted. Proof of malice or of ver-
bal provocation was not considered competent, but whilst
the testimony was strictly confined to the immediate transac-
tion, the intentions of the party in entering into the con-
flict were allowed to be fair subjects for inquiry. The prin-
cipal point on which the controversy seemed to turn was
which happened earliest in point of time, the first blow with
the stick, or the shot. Lane, Howe and Frost, witnesses
for the prosecution, swore that the shot preceded any
blow, the two last adding that Selfriclge fired before Austin
left the sidewalk. The Avitnesses for the prisoner slightly
disagreed. Bailey said that the blow was descending
when the pistol was discharged ; Zadock French and
Erving, that they were simultaneous. Edwards saw the
whole affair, but could not say which occurred first. Lewis
Glover, who went into State-street expressly to witness
the affray, swore positively there was one blow before the
shot ; and his statement was corroborated by Wiggin, who,
hearing a blow, turned and saw the pistol fired.

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 1G9

The most remarkable discrepancy was as to the testi-
mony of Lane, the barber. He had two customers in his
shop at the time, Dudley Pickman, of Salem, and Major
Melville. The latter confirmed the statement made by
Lane himself, that he was standing at his door ; while the
former testified that Lane was so seated inside the shop
that he could not have seen the commencement of the con-
flict, but started up when the shot was fired. This impu-
tation upon his veracity was said to have impaired the
health of Lane, and has been also very gravely stated to
have caused his death.

Gore and Dexter made able arguments for the prisoner.
That of Dexter, on Christmas day, was unusually eloquent,
even for this great forensic orator. He did not, as the
others, trust to the stenographers for the report of his
speech, but copied it out himself, and consequently it
reads more smoothly than the rest. The openings on
either side, by Gore and Davis, were able ; and some of
their more striking passages, were it appropriate, it would
be agreeable to place before the reader. Sullivan had
been busily engaged in other cases at the same term ;
and, in the trial of Hardy, a few days before, for the mur-
der of his child, had been obliged to make great exertions.
On the sixth of December, a most atllicting calamity, in the
sudden death of his son Bant, in a moment of disappoint-
ment, under his own roof, overwhelmed him with affliction.
Yet, with all this to distress, and shattered health to en-
feeble, he took the lead in presenting the law and examining
the witnesses. Below will be found a portion of his argu-
ment, which will compare favorably with that of either of
his antagonists. Although it is not easy to convey any
adequate notion of a legal argument, extending over many
hours, by detached passages, these extracts afford some
imperfect idea of his address to the jury :

" It is my official duty to close this cause. If I can per-
form it by a simple, accurate and intelligible arrangement

170 LIFE AND WRITINGS

of the facts, and a just and pertinent application of the
legal principles by which they are to be governed, I shall
be satisfied. I will not play the orator before you, or pre-
tend to make a speech. If I were capable, I would not do
it on this occasion. Circumstanced as I am, nothing but
duty could induce me to undertake this task. No pecu-
niary reward could engage me in it. Nothing, I repeat,
but the sense I have of my official duty, and a wish to
comply with public expectation, could induce me this day
to appear before you. But I thank God that, through the
course of what may be called a long life, I have had firm-
ness to do my duty when I had a duty to do.

" When one of our fellow-citizens, in the open street, at
noon-day, undertook to destroy the life of another, it was
necessary to inquire by what authority he did it ; what
legal process or warrant of law he could have had for con-
duct of such consequence to the public, as well as to his
victim. Is there any cause for wonder that he should have
been apprehended and carried before a magistrate; that
that magistrate should have exercised the same power
which he would have been obliged to do had it been the
case of either of you, gentlemen of the jury, or of any
other member of this community ? When he found the
killing was voluntary, and not occasioned by any accident,
what was the magistrate to do ? Was it for him to decide
the difficulties you have to encounter in this cause, and
declare the act murder or manslaughter, justifiable or ex-
cusable homicide ? He was bound to commit the prisoner
to take his trial, who, if there were anything wrong in
this, had the remedy in his own power. The supreme
court, upon a habeas corpus, might have set him at liberty ;
that is a writ of right, and would have been granted, if by
law it ought, as of course, had he applied for it. If he
chose to decline the application, and lay in prison, he had
his reasons ; he is a lawyer, and must have known the con-
sequences. Every other man in the community would

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 171

havo suffered like inconvenience with that sustained by
the defendant under similar circumstances. Why, then,
this warm and eloquent address to the passions and feel-
ings ? Are they intended to influence you, gentlemen of
the jury, and divert your attention from the justice of the
case by an appeal to the feebleness of his health, and the
weakness of his person ? or is it aimed to injure the reputa-
tion of the officer who, ex-officio, moved the commitment
of the defendant to prison ? Be it so ; but 1 hope I shall
continue conscientiously to discharge the duties of my
public function, regardless of every other consideration
than that of the duties which I owe the commonwealth.

" We are asked why this great crowd has attended this
trial ? Many, no doubt, from curiosity. Is it to be won-
dered at that a crowd also attended at the exchange on
the day the defendant shot the young man in State-street?
The human mind naturally shudders at death ; and, when a
man destroys his fellow-citizen, the attention of all is drawn
to the fact. The insinuation respecting the croAvd in this
court-room glances at party spirit ; but had party spirit
anything to do with the crowd on the exchange ? When
one man has struck another out of being, so far as being
depends upon existence in this world, is it marvellous that
public attention should be on the tiptoe ? Is this agitation
anything more than the effect of nature's law ? Is it not
the uniform principle of our holy, revealed religion ?
Is it not the voice of God ?

" When, upon the fatal event, the crowd assembled in
State-street an inquiry was made, who was the man who
did this ? The defendant boldly stood forth and said, I
am the man ; and it appears that he raised himself in the
middle of the crowd to make the declaration. He had
courage, in the midst of this universal cry of who is the
man that has done this, to stand forth and avow himself the
perpetrator. But courage is not the criterion of truth.
This firmness of nerve, this unexampled boldness, has not

172 LIFE AND WRITINGS

changed the nature of the crime, nor can it give us the
law to govern the fact.

" The definition of offences, our rights in civil society,
depend not upon the character of individuals, or the differ-
ent constitutions of men ; and this cause is important
inasmuch as it presents to our discussion a question of
principle. It is of no consequence who are the parties, or
what the facts on which the issue rests, otherwise than to
call into examination the principles which are to guide you
in your verdict. It would be desirable to lay out of the
question the persons of the deceased and of the defendant,
and to consider the cause in the abstract, as if between
persons of whom you had never before heard. The prin-
ciples on which the cause is to be tried must stand or fall
by themselves, without any regard to the parties.

" Without fixed and permanent principles, religion itself
is a delusion, morality a cheat, politics a source of oppres-
sion, and the forms of law but the vehicles of corruption,
the mask of chicane and injustice. Principles are no other
than the primordial nature of things upon which systems
are predicated for the use and happiness of rational crea-
tures. Without them, all is insecurity and confusion, the
world a waste, society a curse, life itself but a dream of
misery. While religion, founded in the self-existence of
the Deity, and the relation of man to the divine nature ;
while morals, predicated upon the connection between
man and man, as brethren ; while stubborn nature, fixed on
eternal and unchangeable laws, deny to yield to us the
inflexibility of their principles, we are left to raise for
ourselves those systems of civil social government and
jurisprudence, which are best adapted to our situation and
circumstances.

" When the sovereign will of the civil community has
arranged these, the obligation of each member to submis-
sion becomes a moral obligation ; crimes result from diso-
bedience ; to disobedience penalties are attached.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 173

"Despotism is adapted to a state of savage barbarity,
where fear is the only motive to action or forbearance. Yet
even there the will of the people, let it be founded on what
it may, either on prudence or cowardice, is the foundation of
sovereignty. A monarchy and aristocracy, mixed together
to form a government, support a state of servile depend-
ence, where the hopes of favor and interest exclude the
idea of reward for merit, bring patriotism and public virtue
into base contempt, and render fraud, deceit and cunning,
the insolent claimants of the rights of truth, talents and
integrity. It is in a free government alone that principles,
founded in the nature of social virtue, can claim the decis-
ion of what is right between man and man, between the
individual and civil society, without the corruptions arising
from the destruction or irregularity of rights and privileges
from party distinctions, and from those frauds of chicanery
which are incident to factitious morals and cunningly
devised systems of religion and policy.

"I do not propose to occupy your time by such an appeal
as has been made by the counsel for the defendant. I will
not invoke you to put aside your prejudices, if you have
any ; an appeal on this head is altogether nugatory ; for if
you will not obey the obligation which devolves upon you,
from year situation, resting on your consciences by the
sacred solemnities of an oath, you are not to be reasoned
into it by any powers of rhetoric. To a jury acquainted
with the obligation of an oath, a caution against being led
astray by their prejudices is a caution against acting cor-
ruptly, against doing wilfully wrong. If their oath can-
not guide their consciences, I should despair of guiding
them by anything I could say. I should have spared myself
these observations as altogether irrelevant to the issue, had
not the opposite counsel gone largely and learnedly into
the subject, and urged you to do your duty, free from
the influence of party prejudices, regardless of the clam-

174 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ors of newspaper writers, or addresses to the people. In
this caution the counsel for the government heartily concur.

" The misconduct of newspapers, in publishing matters
relative to a trial while it is pending, is much to be depre-
cated ; so is all conversation tending to spread false reports.
Yet such is the universal feeling of mankind, that they will
talk, and also print, on such subjects, wherever the press
is free. It is one of the alloys which mingle with the
precious metals ; and it is better to enjoy the freedom of
the press, though attended with this inconvenience, than
to restrain it by laws, as is the case in other countries.
The impressions thus made are very inconsiderable ; and
the enlightened minds of this jury are above all considera-
tions flowing from such a source. Whatever you may
have heard out of doors is left at the threshold of this
sanctuary of justice, and passes by like the idle wind, no
more to be regarded than the whistling of a school-boy,
trudging along with his satchel in his hand. The report
of this cause will probably be published. The world will
judge how far your decision is made up from the testimony
given at the bar. They will know how to estimate the
various reports you have heard, the newspaper clamors
and artfully devised handbills. These, with the papers
themselves, will be consigned ultimately to the neglect
they deserve. What alone should occupy your attention
are the facts which have been given in evidence.

" One man has killed another. The laws of God and of
our government call upon you to inquire if he can excuse
himself. This is no light subject. There is an Omniscient
Judge, before whose seat we shall all appear, to answer
for our conduct on this solemn day. We must therefore
decide with purity and integrity, if we expect to avoid the
judgment pronounced against those who corrupt the tri-
bunals of public justice. I will place a mirror before your
eyes, by which each of you may compare the fairness and
justice of his intentions, and perceive how far he is mis-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 175

led by his prejudices or political principles. Suppose the
parties reversed, and the defendant had been the victim
of this unfortunate controversy. What would then have
been your verdict ? Doubtless, the same as you will give in
this cause. This is the standard of security, this the solid
tenure by which our fellow-citizens hold their equal right
to public justice, insured to us by our constitution and
our laws.

"The counsel for the defence has addressed you with
warmth and energy as a politician. He supposes you to
consist of two conflicting parties, and, with an elegance of
manner and strength of language peculiar to himself, has
conjured you to lay aside all political impressions, whether
they be favorable to the federal, republican or democratic
party. He particularly addressed himself to those who
agreed with him in political sentiments. I will imitate him
in some degree, but will address you as all entertaining
opinions similar to my own. None of you wish to sub-
vert the government, or infringe the law. If, then, you
mean to support our happy constitution, and obey the
dictates of our holy religion, you arc of the same party as
myself. Would you break up the foundation of the great
deep, and destroy the basis of the federal government, and
leave it to chance when or how we should obtain another?
You may think the present constitution might bo made
better; yet it might be worse. Like other human inven-
tions it has its imperfections. You would not unnecessarily
encounter the hazard. You are then all of my party. If
you prefer our democratic institutions to a monarchy, an
aristocracy, or a mixed government, we all think alike. Is
there one of you who would alter our system of jurispru-
dence or relinquish the inestimable right of trial by jury ?
If not, you all think as I do. Is there one of you who
thinks the millions expended at the city of Washington in
public buildings and improvements, for the accommodation
of the general government, as well expended in serving to

176 LIFE AND WRITINGS

tie the several states of this continent in the indissoluble
knot of perpetual union and amity ? Such, also, are my
sentiments. Is there one of you but believes the state-
house on Beacon Hill was intended for, and will produce,
the happy effect of combining the interests of the several
parts of the commonwealth, and that, although attended
with expense, this expense may prove a blessing ? You
all join in this belief. I also am of your opinion. Strangers
who are present will pardon me for being so local ; they
are not, perhaps, acquainted with our domestic politics ;
but I love and feel for my native state^^d','the circum-
stance I have alluded to has been important. If you think
of our union at home, and our foreign relations, as Washing-
ton, the great and good, thought, and as he has written in
his farewell address to the citizens of the United States,
you will engrave it on the tablet of your memory, teach it
to your children, and bind it as a talisman to your heart,
in order to perpetuate the freedom of our common country
to the end of time.

" Is there one of you who would engage your country in
foreign wars, in order to benefit a few great men who
would become the leaders, as they have been the agitators,
of such desperate measures ? The consequences of war
are known to many who hear me. Never more may I see
the parched earth of my country drenched with the blood
of my fellow-men ; its tender mothers, wives and children,
flying from their dwellings into the wilderness to escape
the foe. You, gentlemen of the jury, are friends to the
peace of your country, and therein I cordially join with
you. I address you as the lovers of your country, and
there is no difference in our opinions."

In his argument for the prisoner Mr. Dexter had said :
" We have taken a view of the facts and the positive rules
of law that apply to them ; and it is submitted to you with
great confidence, that the defendant has brought himself
within the strictest rules, and completely substantiated his

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 177

defence, by showing that he was under a terrible necessity
of doing the act ; and that by law he is excused. It must
have occurred to you, however, in the course of this inves-
tigation, that our law has not been abundant in its provis-
ions for protecting a man from gross insult and disgrace.
Indeed, it was hardly to be expected that the sturdy hunt-
ers, who laid the foundations of the common law, would be
very refined in their notions. There is, in truth, much
intrinsic difficulty in legislating on this subject. Laws
must be made to operate equally on all members of the
community ; and, such is the difference in the situations
and feelings of men, that no general rule on this subject
can properly apply to all. That, which is an irreparable
injury to one man, and which he would feel himself bound
to repel even by the instantaneous death of the aggressor,
or by his own, would be a very trivial misfortune to another.
There are men in every civilized community, whose happi-
ness and usefulness would be forever destroyed by a beat-
ing, which another member of the same community would
voluntarily receive for a five-dollar bill. Were the laws to
authorize a man of elevated mind and refined feelings of
honor, to defend himself from indignity by the death of
the aggressor, they must, at the same time, furnish an
excuse to the meanest chimney-sweeper in the country for
punishing his sooty companion, who should fillip him on
the cheek, by instantly thrusting his scraper into his belly.

" The greatest of all public calamities would be a pusillan-
imous spirit that would tamely surrender personal dignity
to every invader. Surely, I need not say to you that the
man who is daily beaten on the public exchange cannot
retain his standing in society by recurring to the laws. It
is a most serious calamity for a man of high qualifications
for usefulness, and delicate sense of honor, to be driven to
such a crisis ; yet, should it become inevitable, he is bound
to meet it like a man, to summon all the energies of the
soul, rise above ordinary maxims, poise himself on his

ii. 12

178 LIFE AND WRITINGS

own magnanimity, and hold himself responsible only to his
God. Whatever may be the consequences, he is bound to
bear them, and stand, like Mount Atlas,

• When storms and tempests thunder on its brow,
And oceans break their billows at his feet.'

u Do not believe that I am inculcating opinions tending
to disturb the peace of society. On the contrary, they are
the only principles that can preserve it. It is more dan-
gerous for the laws to give security to a man disposed to
commit outrages on the persons of his fellow-citizens, than
to authorize those, who must otherwise meet irreparable
injury, to defend themselves at every hazard. Men of emi-
nent talents and virtues, on whose exertions, in perilous
times, the honor and happiness of their country must de-
pend, will always be liable to be degraded by every daring
miscreant, if they cannot defend themselves from personal
insult and outrage. Men of this description must always
feel that to submit to degradation and dishonor is impos-
sible. Nor is this feeling confined to men of that eminent
grade. We have thousands in our country who possess
this spirit ; and without them we should soon deservedly
cease to exist as an independent nation. I respect the
laws of my country, and revere the precepts of our holy
religion ; I should shudder at shedding human blood ; I
would practise moderation and forbearance to avoid so
terrible a calamity ; yet, should I ever be driven to that
impassable point where degradation and disgrace begin,
may this arm shrink palsied from its socket, if I fail to
defend my own honor !

" Change situations, for a moment, and ask yourselves
what you would have done, if attacked as he was ; and,
instead of being necessitated to act at the moment, and
without reflection, take time to deliberate. Permit me to
state, for you, your train of thought. You would say,
This man, who attacks me, appears young, athletic, active

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 179

and violent. I am feeble and incapable of resisting- liim ;
he has a heavy cane, which is, undoubtedly, a strong one,
as he had leisure to select it for the purpose ; he may
intend to kill me ; he may, from the violence of his pas-
sion, destroy me, without intending it ; he may maim or
greatly injure me : by beating me he must disgrace me.
This alone destroys all my prospects, all my happiness, and
all nry usefulness. Where shall I fly when thus rendered
contemptible ? Shall I go abroad ? Every one will point
at me the finger of scorn. Shall I go home ? My chil-
dren— I have taught them to shrink from dishonor: will
they call me father? What is life to me, after suffering
this outrage ? Why should I endure this accumulated
wretchedness, which is worse than death, rather than put
in hazard the life of my enemy?"

The argument in this eloquent passage Sullivan refuted
as follows : " We must have some guide, some settled
rule, some law, some known established principles, or
society no longer exists. A confused state of nature
reigns. Every man's arm, his art, or his cunning, is his
own sality : every man is the avenger of his own wrongs.
Had I the sentiments expressed by my learned brother,
feeble as I am, I would go forth from day to day trusting
in mine own arm alone, with the aid of such weapons as
my strength would bear: magistrates should be avoided,
and the volumes of laws become the pavement for the soles
of my feet.

" Many things are said by professional men, in the
warmth of debate, which, in their cooler moments, they
would gladly retract. Upon the manner and measure of
resentment, or self-defence, is there no other law but the
ladings of men, the differences of their disposition and
temper? Are there men, nay, a multitude of men, who
have a natural light, from their feelings, from their high
sense of honor, to defend themselves when and where
others of less feeling may not? Is it the voice of nature

180 LIFE AND WEITINGS

which makes this distinction? Is this sense of honor, are
these feelings, a privileged exception to certain individuals
which raises them above the rules of the gospel? Is the rule,
to do to others as you would be done unto, reduced to this
standard, that a juror shall acquit the defendant, if he be-
lieves that he should have acted himself by the same
motives, or been seduced by the same temptation? Is
there any distinction between the would-be nobleman and
the chimney-sweep ? for we are to suppose, from the dis-
tinction taken by the defendant's counsel, that these are the
Alpha and Omega, the head and tail of the links that form
civilized society. Is there a distinction between them as
to their privilege of self-defence ? Is the push of the
sweep, or a stroke with his scraper at the head of his
comrade, to be murder in him, whilst the other shall be
allowed, with his gold-headed cane, or his elegantly-
mounted pistol, in defence of his honor, to play a secure
but mortal game, and be justified in killing, on a like
provocation, either his friend or his foe, or, as in this
case, a man he is hardly said to know? Yx)u are not,
then, to determine his case by the circumstances attend-
ing it, but by the nice sense of honor of the gentleman, or
the distinction and dignity of his station. What, then,
has become of that part of the constitution which declares
ours to be a government of laws, and not of men? If the
law does not apply equally to all, how then can it be said
that every man holds his life and fortune by the same tenure
as his fellow-citizens, whatever his rank, his condition or
standing in the community?

" We are told there are those amongst us who will, with
their own arms, vindicate their rights, and stand the guard-
ians of their own honors. There may be, but I do not
know them. I hope I shall not meet with any citizen who
does not rely for his safety on the laws of the government,
and the justice of civil society. We are told that the laws
of Christianity sanction self-defence ; and it is asked how then

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 181

can the laws of society regulate this matter? I do not
admit this position to be just. All men are bound to
surrender their natural rights upon entering into civil
society, and the law becomes the guardian of the rights
of all. Why are duels criminal, if the men who engage in
them have this privilege of maintaining their own honor ?

" It is said that the defendant was driven to such an
awful crisis that he could not extricate his honor but by
killing his assailant, and his counsel ask, ' What could he
do?' and my answer is, appeal to the laws. But, say
they, laws are ineffectual, suits slow of remedy, and their
end uncertain. Where would such reasoning lead us?
You have it, in testimony, that the defendant reasoned
in this way, and that mode of reasoning brought on this
sad event. You have heard his counsel, in a stream of
eloquence, advance the same idea, and make a personal
application of the principle. ' No man,' says he, ' is bound to
surrender his own honor. If I do, I wish my arm may
be shrivelled by the palsy, and drop from its socket. No ;
I will vindicate mine own honor to the death.' I would
rather he should retain the use of his limbs, as well as the
faculties of his mind, to employ them in the true field
of honor, the defence of his country, when necessity
may require their exertion. Is he obliged to adopt this
same erroneous course of reasoning in order to justify his
client? Have we, as a civil society, higher authorities
than our own law-books to appeal to on such an occasion
as this? Are they such as the counsel would not shrink
from on the penalty of his life ?

" We will not take up the glove ; we will rest our defence
both of the lives and honor of our fellow-citizens upon
the laws of the land. We will trust to them, and not to
deadly weapons, for protection. Such declarations would
countenance all the duels that have been fought in the
world, and render unavailing all laws that have been
enacted for the punishment of illegal and savage contests.

182 LIFE AND WRITINGS

The tardy steps of the law were too slow for the defend-
ant; they could not keep pace with his rapid strides to
obtain immediate vengeance. What if his fame and charac-
ter had been injured? Has he superior privileges ? Ought
he not to take the common lot of his countrymen ? What
excuse has he more than others ? Has he the excuse even
of an officer ? He is both a lawyer and a gentleman ; but
this does not give him a right beyond what all the individ-
uals of this society possess. Should he suffer, he will
suffer no more than every other person who perpetrates a
similar act while controlled by the laws of his country. If
he is innocent, he will be acquitted ; if guilty, he will take
the common lot of other men. I do not feel any interest
in what your verdict may be, further than that justice, in
the common way, and on general principles, should be
done.

" Is the measure of a man's conduct, when he leaps
the bounds of written established law, to receive a standard
from the feelings of his wife and children, from the notions
of honor in the congregations of fashionable men ? And
can a man appeal to Heaven in this way, and be a pious
Christian ? When I heard the doctrine advanced on this
occasion, by professional men, I shuddered at it. Not
being able to fathom this abyss of troubled waters, not
having courage and firmness to cast away the guardianship
of social protection and the laws, not having an imagination
that can show the lines of security beyond those of civil
government, I will yet believe the laws to be fully adequate
when we have time to apply to them, and I will fondly
suppose that I am, to every possible purpose, in a state of
civil society and social security. The laws may be imper-
fect, for so is human nature ; the remedy may be slow and
below my wishes, but I will not claim to be my own judge ;
I will not say that I have a right to appeal to this arm to
avenge an injury whilst the law affords me a complete
remedy. His counsel ask how the defendant could have

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 183

gone home to his wife and children with his honor stained
by blows received upon the public exchange. If a man
of great sensibility has received a blow, can he not appeal
to the law of his country without tarnishing his honor, or
injuring his family? If his wife is a virtuous woman, she
will applaud his moderation, and be gratified in teaching
her children to pursue a similar course through their future
lives; no one will deem him disgraced by the blow, though
he has not destroyed his adversary. If we are to return
to the barbarous times, so well described by Robertson in
his history of Charles the Fifth, when every great man
went armed with his trained bands to encounter whom he
might meet, without regard to law, either human or divine ;
if heroism and honor and chivalry are to return, we may
expect to see again those combats so happily described in
the well-known ballad of Chevy Chase, and this promised
land, flowing with milk and honey, turned into a field of
battle, and crimsoned with the blood of our fellow-citizens.
I trust we are now too far advanced in civilization to return
from the light of this day to the barbarisms of the thirteenth
century, when the interposition of the pope and his council
became necessary to prohibit these misadventures. What-
ever opinions we may have of the Roman Catholic religion,
wo are indebted to its influence for this good deed, which
all the potentates of Europe combined could never have
effected.

" There has been unnecessarily introduced into this cause
what I wish to lay out of the question before I proceed.
The gentleman on the other side is above personalities in
a cause of this importance ; but he draws a picture in the
darkest colors, and leaves you to point out the original.
He says that some one has been standing in the gutter for
the last twenty years, throwing mud at every well-dressed
gentleman that passed by, and that he has no reasonable
ground of complaint should he be a little spattered himself.
I ask whether, if it be true that a man has done this, that

184 LIFE AND WEITINGS

he is to be outlawed ? Are he and his family to be hunted
and shot down at noon-day? This is not the punishment
for libel. If he is to be condemned for libelling, let the
innocent man among his accusers cast the first stone. I
have had my share of such opprobrium, but it never came
into my mind to redress myself by shooting one of my
fellow-citizens. He wrote, they tell us, against Washing-
ton ; so did Hamilton against Adams, and others of his
administration ; but Austin authorizes me to deny the
charge of his writing against Washington. Who wrote
against Hancock, and Samuel Adams, and Washington, and
all the great men who produced the Revolution ? Are all
those writers outlawed? If any of them were punished, it
was in pursuance of the laws of their country. We have
no check beyond that. Who is there, of consequence
enough to deserve notice, but is the object of daily
slander? Where will these ideas carry us? Are they
compatible with the elegant expostulations of both my
brethren against political prejudice ? They would carry
us back to the barbarous ages, and make it necessary for
every man to become an expert combatant.

" But should we lower our notions of honor, and con-
descend to bring our feelings to the rules of law, we have
to inquire whether the defendant has proved, beyond a
reasonable doubt, that the fact of killing was committed in
such a manner as to render it lawful, and excuse him from
all blame. Was the death a voluntary killing ? That is to be
decided by the weapon and manner. Was it by justifiable
or legal warrant ? Was it an accident or sudden provoca-
tion ? In sudden combat, or in pursuance of a design un-
lawful in itself and unjustifiable by the established laws of
our government? Should you be satisfied, from the opin-
ion of the court, that it is of no consequence whether the
pistol was fired before a blow was given by the deceased,
you will be much relieved. But, if that fact be important
to the case, you will then have to consider whether the

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 185

assault was previous to, at the same time, or after, the mor-
tal stroke.

" In these inquiries what is to be your guide ? Are you
left to the nice feelings of a man of honor, to he decided
on his apprehensions at the moment, and to make a sepa-
rate law in each case, as it arises ; or are there established
laws to guide you ? The constitution has fixed a system by
which the courts of justice are to be governed. The books
which have been cited contain these laws, which are laws,
though not made by legislative authority. They were
made by the voice of the people ; and this, which is tho
highest authority, has said that these books shall be the
law of the land. For this I refer you to the constitution,
where it is declared that all the laws, rules and practices,
in the judiciary department, which have been heretofore
adopted, shall continue to be law until they shall be altered
by the General Court of the commonwealth. They were
brought by your ancestors from the land of slavery; they
have been wet with the mists of the Red Sea, washed in
the waters of Jordan, and are now our garments of com-
fort in the promised land; yes, in the promised land.
You, young men, who have only heard of the Revolution,
may smile at the simile ; but the venerable and aged mem-
bers of the community, many of whom I see around me,
know what it was to have passed through the wilderness,
through difficulties and dangers almost unparalleled. They
will not willingly relinquish their principles."

These extracts might be extended ; but, in the perform-
ance of his duties as public prosecutor, however much
disposed, like all other men, to make an agreeable impres-
sion, Sullivan was rarely tempted into any parade of lan-
guage, or efforts at oratory, from a wish to gain admiration.
Occasions for useful generalities, for the inculcation of
important truths, were constantly presented ; and, where
promising to conduce to the cause of justice, were readily
and sometimes very happily improved ; but the chief part

186 LIFE AND WEITINGS

of his jury addresses were occupied of course with his
comments on the evidence ; and in this, shrewdness and
method, knowledge of human nature and of character,
were more conspicuously displayed, than any graces of
rhetoric or felicities of expression. In this particular
case of Selfridge the witnesses were numerous, their tes-
timony conflicting, and the powers of his mind were con-
centrated rather upon eliciting the truth than gratifying the
taste of the audience.

Judge Parker instructed the jury that if the defendant
had no view but to defend his life and person from attack,
did not purposely throw himself in the way of the conflict,
but was merely pursuing his lawful vocations, and could
not have saved himself otherwise than by the death of his
assailant, then the killing was excusable homicide ; pro-
vided the circumstances of the attack would justify a
reasonable apprehension of the harm he had the right to
prevent. He thought the fact, that the blow was first
inflicted, was of importance to the defence. The jury
deliberated fifteen minutes, and then agreed upon a verdict
of acquittal.

"Whatever may have been the merits of the original con-
troversy, and, it is recorded, this was sincere subject of
regret both to Mr. Selfridge and his friends, the verdict
has been generally considered correct, according to estab-
lished principles of law and the particular evidence. Con-
fining himself strictly to the discharge of his duty as public
prosecutor, the attorney-general was, from the peculiar
circumstances of the trial, naturally regarded as the especial
advocate of the republicans, and it gained him additional
favor with that party.

Williams, who had been the active editor of the Chroni-
cle, having left the paper early in the summer, double duty
had devolved upon its contributors. It is believed Sul-
livan was among the most industrious in filling its columns.
The descriptions of federalism and true republicanism, the

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 187

duration and effects of monarchy, the essays on political
and social equality and the rights of jurors, bear strong
internal indications of his authorship ; and the comments
on the personal abuse and calumnies of the federal papers,
during the late election contests, appear to flow from the
wounded spirit of the party most aggrieved, and we are
tempted to insert the following, which was no doubt either
from his pen or that of Mr. Austin.

" Strange State of Things wherever it exists. — ' You
must stop this shooting about newspaper slanders,' says
the federalist, 'or we are an undone people.' — 'But,'
replies the republican, ' lay the axe at the root of the tree ;
stop these newspaper slanders ; let character and the peace
of families be regarded by the federalists, and there will
be no occasion for shooting.'

" There is something insolent and audaciously impudent
in this exclamation of federalists. Neither age, sex, char-
acter or standing in life, can be shielded from the out-
rageous and groundless calumnies, borne universally and
constantly on the gazettes they issue. When those in
whom their country has reposed the highest confidence,
and whose characters are unblemished, are placed in office,
or are candidates for office, the torrent of slander is opened
upon them ; they are openly charged with the highest and
most scandalous crimes ; the scandal is reprinted from
paper to paper throughout the nation, until it is spread
before every eye.

" What is the remedy ? There is none. The party injured
carries a clear refutation of the slander to the federal paper,
where it originated ; the editor refuses to publish it ; or, if
he does, he prints a remark under it to destroy its intended
effect ; the other federal printers will not publish the vindi-
cation, but leave the slander to have its force. If there is
a refutation in the republican papers, the federalists will
not read it. The leading federalists openly declare that
lies and slanders, for political purposes, are not immoral.

188 LIFE AND WRITINGS

But they have a very disagreeable and distressing effect
upon the subjects of them, and upon society. We must
either agree that our gazette information is below our
regard, and thus destroy the usefulness of the press, or we
must consider moral character of no consequence. What
will be said of these things by posterity? Forty years
hence, the young man, regarding his advantages arising
from family and education, visits the place where his ances-
tors were deposited ; he reads the inscriptions on the mar-
ble with the highest satisfaction. There he reads that his
grandfather was a patriot; had risked his life and fortune for
his country's freedom ; was a senator, a counsellor, a rep-
resentative, and a general officer. He steps into the parish
minister's house, to express the agreeable ardor of his sen-
sibility, but there he finds the Centinel, the Palladium, the
Gazette, the Repertory, bound up and carefully preserved ;
and there finds the name of his grandfather loaded with
opprobrious epithets by a man who signs his name to the
production ! Human nature will at once suggest the
question, if this was false, why did not my grandfather
vindicate his character, the inheritance of his posterity,
by the sacrifice of the calumniator ? Reason comes for-
ward with another question: If this was true, why did my
ancestor possess so much of the confidence of his coun-
try? Were all the people of his day destitute of char-
acter, as he is publicly posted to have been? Another
question still arises : Why did not my ancestor resort to
the laws of his country for redress, and publicly vindicate
himself in a court of justice, where I can find a record
of it? A man, white with age, consoles him by saying,
that he lived in that day when the country was divided
into political parties, and one party had the rule in gov-
ernment ; and that enmity, malice and revenge, against
the other, were indispensable qualifications for office.
Some of the judges, in most of the counties, were them-
selves principal calumniators, or the encouragers of those

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 189

that were. The clerks, who issued venires for grand and
petty jurors, were all on one side, of course, and knew
to what towns to send. Under these circumstances, an
appeal to the laws would have been in vain. If your
grandfather had killed the libeller, he must have been
hanged. If he had challenged or struck him, the damps
of a jail for years would have wasted his health and ended
his life. I am satisfied, says the young man ; but when
your dust is laid by the side of my ancestors, the volume
of newspapers will remain, and who will then thus rehearse
the melancholy state of society which existed in his day?
Who will then thus vindicate the character on which my
family is founded, and from whence my posterity shall
trace their origin ? "

At the end of September, before the supreme court,
then sitting at Northampton, the editor of the Republican
Spy had been indicted for libel upon Governor Strong.
To the same grand jury, generally federalist, were sub-
mitted proofs of the calumnious charges against Judge
Sullivan, which had been reprinted in the federal paper of
the place ; but they refused to indict. For reasons suffi-
ciently obvious, Sullivan declined to act as the prosecutor
in the suit against the Spy, and George Bliss appeared for
the commonwealth.

Early in February the republican leaders made their
nominations for 1807, and Sullivan was again their choice
for governor. Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, Avho had re-
cently resigned the office of attorney-general of the United
States, to which he had been appointed by Jefferson, and
who had long been distinguished in public life, was sub-
stituted for General Heath, as candidate for the second office.

A few days after the nomination, Parsons, of Chester-
field, moved the house for a committee to inquire further
" what moneys the attorney-general had received in virtue
or under color of his office, in times past, which belong to
the commonwealth, and which he has never accounted

190 LIFE AND WRITINGS

for," with authority to send for persons or papers. The
motion was prefaced by along preamble, which was stricken
out, and still further amended by extending the inquiry to
the accounts of the solicitor-general.

Mr. Parsons, as chairman, and Thacher, another federalist,
with King, Bangs and Bacon, republicans, were appointed
the committee. The federalist members, finding no other
ground of dispute remaining, confined their observations to
his right to the costs charged on scire facias, a process
following, as before stated, criminal prosecutions, but no
part of them. The duties of the office were sufficiently
onerous and responsible, in the existing criminal arrange-
ments, to earn the salary, which, indeed, was only suffi-
cient to meet its official expenses ; and for these more min-
isterial duties, the costs were the appropriate recompense.
The attorney-general had received them for sixteen years,
with the full knowledge of the bar, and the various legislative
committees who had settled his accounts, and the additional
grants had been made him with reference to this fact. The
majority of the committee refused very reasonably to discuss
this point, and, upon appeal to the house, were sustained
by a vote of one hundred and twenty-three to seventy-nine.
The committee elaborately investigated all his pecuniary
transactions with the commonwealth and county treasuries,
since his appointment in 1790; and, after examination of
all evidence brought before them, or which they could pro-
cure, Sullivan being allowed to explain whatever required
elucidation, and after the subject had been before them
from the twelfth to the twenty-fourth of February, decided
upon their report, which is too long for insertion here, but
will be found in the sequel. It was, substantially, that
there appeared no reason to suppose that any public moneys
have at any time, intentionally and improperly, been with-
held from the government, either by the attorney-general
or solicitor-general, since the acceptance of those offices ;
and that, if any errors had occurred, they were probably
of an inconsiderable amount, and as few as might reason-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 191

ably be expected in so long a period, and in relation to
accounts so various and extensive. The subject was taken
into deliberation by the house, and amply discussed. The
federalists clung tenaciously to the view that the scire
facias costs belonged to the state ; but it did not prevail,
and the report, exonerating Sullivan, was accepted, one
hundred and one to fifty-one.

The vote in April was unusually large, eighty-two thou-
sand, of which Sullivan had a majority of two thousand,
and a plurality over his competitor, Governor Strong, of
two thousand seven hundred.

Thus ended this memorable struggle. Had the federal-
ist-: recognized more fully the great principle of free insti-
tutions, that all parties and classes should in turn partici-
pate, by reasonable rules of rotation, in the direction of
affairs, they would have probably conducted the canvass
with greater generosity. Following an antiquated maxim,
that, being in possession of power, it was theirs by right,
they resorted to expedients to discourage and defeat their
assailants, which would not have been justified by their
better judgment. Vestiges of this savage warfare still
remain in public libraries, hid away in volumes of news-
papers, too ponderous to be often disturbed. Other
traces are to be found in the memories of survivors, or in
ancient tales already passed into tradition. When nearly
every voter in the commonwealth deposited his ballot,
when, year after year, the result was decided by a few hun-
dreds, on one side or the other, it was evident the battle
was not confined to politicians, but raged throughout the
community. A gentleman relates this incident, which goes
far to show the asperities of feeling mingling in the con-
test : His father was a zealous republican, and had for his
most intimate friend a federalist, equally ardent. They
quarrelled about this election, and, for forty years, had no
further intercourse. When the federalist lay upon his
death-bed, the ancient republican made a long journey to
make his peace with him before he died.

CHAPTER VI.

ADMINISTRATION.

It was not with any very sanguine expectations of deriv-
ing either pleasure or credit from their performance that
Judge Sullivan entered upon his new duties. In a letter
to his friend, General Dearborn, then secretary at war, he
writes, under date of the tenth May, 1807 : " The federalists
can never be reconciled to me ; they will treat me as they
do Mr. Jefferson ; they will abuse me in all I shall do. An
attempt to conciliate them may lose me the confidence of
the republicans, but can never gain me theirs. I should
prefer a private station, were it not that I cannot give the
country up to their control ; and my reputation is dear to
my feelings." Determined, nevertheless, to be governor of
the state, not leader of a party, and, following the dic-
tates of his conscience and good sense as the only rules of
his political guidance, by never compromising principle to
gain popularity, and proving himself as strictly impartial
as he was permitted to be by his council, he was agreeably
disappointed in the sequel in securing the good will of
both parties. Some of the more unreasonable on his own
side were, at times, vexed at his independence ; but, among
his moderate opponents, animosities, that would have gladly
defeated his election, were exchanged for friendly dispo-
sitions of respect and even of support.

He had an able coadjutor in the council in the lieutenant-
governor. Unwavering in his devotion to republican prin-

LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 193

ciples, and holding a distinguished position in its ranks, no
one had contributed more effectively to the ascendency
and strength of the republican party than Levi Lincoln.
Born in 1749 at Ilingham, the home for many generations
of a widely extended family of his name, his early exhibi-
tions of talent indicated the propriety of a liberal edu-
cation, and he graduated at Cambridge in 1772. His
original intention was preparation for the pulpit ; but, acci-
dentally entering a court-room, where John Adams was
engaged in argument with his accustomed eloquence, he
felt himself irresistibly attracted towar-ds the legal profes-
sion, and studied law with Joseph Hawley, at Northampton.
Establishing himself at Worcester, he gained distinction for
learning and ability, and, with few competitors, rapidly
commanded an extensive practice. The prominent part he
took in the cause, which put an end to slavery in Massa-
chusetts, as related in a previous chapter, will be remem-
bered. He attached himself early and without hesitation
to the cause of liberty, having joined the army before Boston
in April, 1775, and, on hi* return to Worcester, was chosen
one of its committee of correspondence. His animated
appeals to his countrymen, and readiness to improve every
occasion to inspire them with generous sentiments and
keep alive their ardor, placed him early among the patriot
leaders. He was a member of the convention for framing
the state constitution, and in February, 1781, elected a del-
egate to Congress, an honor he declined. In 1796 he
attended the General Court, and the year following was in
the senate. Chosen to Congress from his district in 1800,
he was, shortly after taking his seat, appointed by Presi-
dent Jefferson one of his cabinet, as attorney-general, and
performed, also, for a short period the duties of the state
department. Family considerations, in 1804, induced his
resignation ; but, in 1806, he had permitted himself to be
elected to the council.

One essential element of his political influence was his

II. 13

194 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ready pen ; and his contributions to tbe press were fre-
quent and varied ; tbose over tbe signature of Farmer
gaining bim most reputation. His professional career
bad ever been among the most distinguished ; and be
was particularly celebrated in ecclesiastical cases, then of
frequent occurrence in Massachusetts. President Madison,
in 1809, nominated him to a seat on the supreme federal
bench ; but bis health prevented its acceptance. Consci-
entious both in his public and private relations, and zealous
in the performance of every duty, the vigor of his mind
and the earnestness of his character gave him the lead
among the western and central republicans ; while his
steadfastness to principle, his loyalty to his friends, and
honorable but uncompromising opposition to his enemies,
secured him a general respect throughout the common-
wealth. Upon the decease of Governor Sullivan he was
called upon to administer the government ; and, twenty
years later, his sons, Levi and Enoch, were, at the same
time, respectively governors of Massachusetts and Maine,
which, in 1820, were formed into separate states. The
other members of the council, excepting General Timothy
Newell, who was now added, had served the preceding
year. They were Samuel Fowler, William Widgery, Na-
than Weston, Marshall Spring, Daniel Killam, William
Eustis, Benjamin J. Porter, and Thomas Hazard.

The administration of Governor Sullivan, though brief,
occurred at a period when various momentous events
combined to disturb the public tranquillity, and which
demanded, to meet them satisfactorily to himself and his
constituents, all his energy and prudence. The details of
his official career would have little claim to attention, and
we should hardly venture to present them to our readers
if we possessed other memoirs of our chief magistrates.
But, with the exception of the life of Vice-President
Gerry, chiefly dealing with political affairs upon a more
extended theatre of action, none of any length have been
given to the public.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 105

In contrast with that general system embracing the
whole confederacy, the practical working of the institu-
tions of a single state may seem unimportant ; yet the
functions of government most vital to the happiness and
prosperity of the individual have been reserved to the
separate state sovereignties. The constitution of Massa-
chusetts remains much as when established, and promises
for a long period to come to defy all attempts at material
innovation ; but its jurisprudence, keeping pace with the
progress of the age, has been constantly undergoing
changes. Many laws and usages, inherited from provin-
cial days, have been repealed or become obsolete ; while
others, more in unison with modern wants and sentiments,
have been gradually taking their place. These changes
constitute an important part of the state annals, and have
not been overlooked by its able historians. Still, from a
necessity of compressing the events of more than two
centuries into the limited space they have allowed them-
selves, many topics have been but lightly touched, and, in
some instances, wholly omitted, which, from their important
bearing on our present experiences, deserve particular
notice. Some Blight outline of an administration of state
a Hairs half a century ago, even should many of its inci-
dents appear either trivial or too familiar, may, therefore,
find readers, where all are, or should be, politicians.

The republicans now, for the first time since the retire-
ment of Governor Adams, in 1797, were in possession of
all branches of the state government. In the seriate they
chose Samuel Dana, of Groton, as their president, by a
majority of one ; Perez Morton, speaker of the house, by
two hundred and forty votes against one hundred and
ninety-one, and Charles P. Sumner, as clerk, by about the
same vote. Among the Boston delegation to the house,
twenty-seven in number, and all federalists, was William
Sullivan, eldest son of the governor. Jonathan L. Austin
was rechosen secretary of state, and Thompson J. Skinner,

196 LIFE AND WRITINGS

who had been long in public life, and Avho possessed much
influence in the western counties, was again chosen treas-
urer. Barnabas Bidwell, of Stockbridge, had done good
service in the recent campaign, and now, resigning his seat
in Congress, where he had taken a distinguished position,
was created attorney-general. The election sermon was
preached by Rev. William Bentley,* of Salem, editor of
the Essex Register, and a warm friend of Governor Sul-
livan.

* William Bentley, born in Boston, twenty-second June, 1795, and adopted
by his maternal grandfather, William Paine, graduated at Cambridge, in the
class of 1779. After holding the position of master of the North Latin School
in Boston, and that of tutor of Latin and Greek in the university, he was
chosen, in 1783, colleague pastor of the East Church in Salem. His prepara-
tion for the ministry was made under the direction of Dr. Samuel Cooper, who
preached his ordination sermon, and Dr. Ebenezer Pemberton, pastor of the
Old North, of whose church he had early become a member. At college Mr.
Bentley was distinguished as a Hebrew, Greek and Latin scholar, and to his
collegiate acquisitions he added a profound knowledge of Arabic and German,
and an excellent acquaintance with French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and
Dutch. He read Persian and Syriac, and had a better knowledge of Sanscrit
and Chinese than any scholar in the United States. He carried his inquiries
into the cognate languages, and had a larger library and better apparatus for
the prosecution of such studies than any other individual in the country.

Soon after his settlement at Salem he boarded in the family of a widow,
whose son, on whom she was dependent, was editor and proprietor of the
Salem Register. The son was struck down with illness, from which he never
recovered, though he lingered long ; and Mr. Bentley, through kindness, con-
ducted the paper from week to week, thus securing a support to the worthy
family. In the mean time he had received an application for assistance from
Professor Ebeling, of Hamburg, who was preparing a geography and history
of the United States, and needed materials. The temporary editorship of the
paper showed Bentley how useful it might be made in furnishing what was
needed by Mr. Ebeling ; and, on the death of Carleton, he continued to edit the
paper, and, for twenty years, furnished a summary of events, twice a week, to
its columns. The principal papers in the country were sent in exchange for
the Register, and these were regularly forwarded to Hamburg. This will
serve to explain the connection of Mr. Bentley with a political newspaper. He
was himself no politician, though zealously attached to the political institutions
of the country. The Register was a republican journal, and always defended
the policy of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.

As a pastor, Mr. Bentley was exemplary. The people were his family. He

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 197

After the late long and bitterly contested canvass, the
victors were naturally a little overjoyed at their success,
and some of the more zealous record their impressions of
the inauguration of the new magistrates, which took place
on Friday the twenty-ninth of May, with an enthusiasm
hardly to be understood, now that such ceremonials have
become more familiar. With a profound prejudice against
their opponents, they considered their present triumph
that of true republican principles ; and, several of the old

knew them all, even to the youngest. He was ready for every good work,
public or private ; and all the useful institutions of Salem found in him an
active and liberal supporter. With a small salary of six or eight hundred dol-
lars, and much of that surrendered to the poorer proprietors, he replenished his
library, fed and clothed the poor, aided his relatives, and supported his aged
father.

Mr. Bentley was a man of science as well as a scholar. He was the friend
of Bowditch, and one of the few who could appreciate the profound labors of
his great townsman. He kept, for thirty years preceding his death, a meteoro-
logical journal and a chronicle of the progress of science in all its departments.
He left three thousand three hundred manuscript sermons, four large volumes
of Biblical criticism, and more than fifty volumes of a diary, in which passing
events, and his remarks upon them, and upon books and men and science, are
recorded. He published six or eight occasional sermons, a small collection of
hymns, and the commencement of a history of Salem. He was a zealous anti-
quarian, and a great collector of facts ; and his industry was only equalled by
his readiness to communicate what he gathered to others. His colloquial powers
were remarkable, and his manners simple, courteous and graceful.

During the administration of Jefferson, the presidency of a national univer-
sity, to be established at Washington, was proposed to him ; but he declined.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity, from Cambridge, a few months
before his death, which took place suddenly, of disease of the heart, thirtieth
December, 1819. His funeral address was made by Hon. Edward Everett ; and
over his remains, in the Salem cemetery, has been erected a handsome monu-
ment. His classical and theological works he bequeathed to Alleghany Col-
lege, Pa. ; his oriental manuscripts, antiquarian books, with a collection of
portraits, he gave to the Antiquarian Society at Worcester ; and the valuable
materials for American history, which he collected for Professor Ebeling, have
found their way into the Cambridge library, through the generosity of Mr.
Thorndike, who purchased and presented to the university Ebeling's collection.
The residue of his books, manuscripts and papers, are in the possession of his
nephew, William Bentley Fowle, of Boston, to whom we are indebted for these
particulars.

198 LIFE AND WEITINGS

patriots being in attendance, whom they were accustomed
to identify with the revolutionary struggle, they looked
upon the occasion itself as one of more than ordinary in-
terest ; a scene, to use their expression, " of moral sub-
limity, deserving to be perpetuated by the pencil of West,
Copley or Trumbull."

The oaths of office were administered by the president
of the senate ; and, as the governor signed his name and
the secretary made proclamation, a salvo of artillery of
seventeen guns, unusual on previous occasions, and which
was thought, by the federalists, no great indication of
republican simplicity, was fired on the Common. The
cannon used for the purpose were the Hancock and
Adams, two brass pieces of ordnance well known for their
effective service in the Revolution. Soon after the termi-
nation of the war these guns had been presented to the
commonwealth by Congress, and are now honorably lodged
in the Bunker Hill Monument. Like salutes were fired also
from Copp's Hill and from Charlestown.

On the following Monday, upon first meeting his council,
the governor made them an appropriate speech ; which,
with their reply, through the lieutenant-governor, was
printed in the newspapers. The same day, being what is
still well known as the artillery election, he took part in its
accustomed ceremonial ; one nearly coeval with the settle-
ment of the colony, and dating back to 1638. The Ancient
and Honorable Artillery, a corps modelled on one long
before and yet existing in London, was composed chiefly
of commissioned officers ; and, in this particular pageant,
may perhaps be supposed to represent the military power of
the commonwealth. They escorted the state dignitaries,
with a numerous attendance of distinguished guests, civil and
military, to the old brick meeting-house. After a discourse
from Dr. Baldwin, — for religious observances then formed
as they do now a prominent part in all state celebrations, —
they proceeded to Faneuil Hall, and partook of an enter-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 199

tainment, of which patriotic speeches and toasts were an
essential element. A violent storm preventing their parade
upon the Common, commissions were presented in the hall
to the newly elected officers, with the customary formali-
ties by the governor; and, when this was over, the corps
attended hi in to his house, afterwards returning to resume
their festivities. The day following, with the council and
other officers of the executive department, he met the two
branches in convention, and delivered his inaugural address,
which received commendation from both parties, and which,
somewhat abbreviated, we present :

"The constitution is formed on principles to guard the
legislature from an interference of the executive depart-
ment; yet, in order to prevent those errors which might
otherwise happen from the hurry of business or a change
of members in either house, it is made a part of the gov-
ernor's duty carefully to revise the acts passed by the
legislature, and to propose such objections as he may have
to any bill they shall lay before him. In the performance
of this important duty, I shall always treat you with the
respect due to the legislature of the state ; and, as I can
have no object in view but the true interest of the com-
monwealth, you will receive my objections, should I make
any, as offered with an intention to preserve the happiness
of the state, and to promote the public welfare. Should
any question arise on the constitutionality of a bill, I must
submit myself explicitly to your candor and justice; for,
however we may differ in opinion in the application of the
constitution, in this we shall always agree, that, in an entire
preservation of the social compact by which we exist as a
commonwealth, and which is the supreme law of the legis-
lature itself, consists the safety and the prosperity of the
people.

" The judicial department will invariably claim the first
regard of patriotism. Upon its wisdom and purity free-
dom, property and all the valuable possessions in civil

200 LIFE AND WRITINGS

society depend. In all countries, the principles and feel-
ings of the magistrates and judges ought to be in a coinci-
dence with the nature of the government, since this is
its principal source of energy. The judiciary necessarily
is an expensive branch of administration ; in a state where
an inquiry by grand juries and trials by petit juries are
fixed by the constitution as the strong barriers of the
people's rights, the modes of punishing crimes, and of
obtaining justice on private demands, are more expensive
still. A cheap, ready and plain manner of obtaining rem-
edies for wrongs, and of compelling the execution of con-
tracts, by fixed, established rules, forms the strongest lines
of a good government. Under this impression, the people,
in forming the constitution, declared that all the judges
should hold their offices as long as they should behave
themselves well, and that the judges of the supreme judi-
cial court should have permanent and honorable salaries,
established by law. The office of jurors may be thought
by some to be a burden ; but if that institution should be
abolished, there would no longer be freedom or property.
It ought to be guarded by laws, not only against corruption,
but against all undue influences and party prejudices.
There is no doubt but that improvements may be effected
in the jurisprudence of the commonwealth ; and therefore
the attention of the legislature will not be withdrawn from
it. But in all alterations, a sacred regard will be had to
the constitution ; while the plans adopted shall have such
a degree of perfection as to render them respectable and
permanent.

"The governor, being commander-in-chief of the militia
when they are not in the actual service of the United
States, must have a duty devolved upon him, which is of
no less consequence to the other states in the nation than
it is to this commonwealth. When we contemplate the
immeasurable shores we give to the sea, the vast extent
of territory our national dominion spreads itself over, we

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 201

arc obliged to confess the error of a reliance on a standing
army for an effective defence against invasion. To preservo
the forms of war with the principles and feelings of mili-
tary discipline, some regular troops are necessary ; but
our defence must remain with the militia. They are a
perpetual guard against internal commotions, an invincible
power to shield a country against its external enemies.
The soil must be protected by its owners. This descrip-
tion includes all the people, because all have an equal right
to acquire and possess fee-simple estates. Impressed with
these sentiments, the militia shall have my unceasing atten-
tion throughout the year.

"Peace with all the world is the great object of our
national councils; yet, if we would maintain so invaluable
a blessing, we must be prepared to meet every hostile
aggression, to repel every invading insult. A dependence
on any other power for assistance will, finally, involve us
in difficulties from which Ave cannot extricate ourselves
without great expense and danger. A treaty of alliance
must open a wide door to the influence of a foreign nation,
and weaken the natural pillars of our national indepen-
dence. Europe, as the illustrious Washington has told us,
'has a set of primary interests, which, to us, have none, or
a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in
frequent controversies, the causes of which arc essentially
foreign to our concerns.' These cautious sentiments have
been carefully adopted by the present president. From
the wisdom, firmness and moderation of his measures,
under the favor of God, we remain the quiet spectators of
those wasting wars, which the situation of Europeans may
have rendered expedient or necessary amongst themselves,
but by which they are deluged in blood, and oppressed with
expenses. Should a suitable proportion of our militia, in the
United States, be trained to a proper degree of discipline,
and be properly armed, though the first column of an invad-
ing enemy might not be instantly repelled, yet the decisive

202 LIFE AND WRITINGS

appearance of victory would be soon exhibited on the
standard of our union. It is true that the art of war, like
other arts, is to be most perfectly learned from practice
and experience ; but this is a bloody and an expensive
method of acquiring knowledge. In a nation where it is
not received as an established truth that war is the natural
state of man; in a country where no invasion is to be
expected but from the error or rashness, not from the inter-
est, of a foreign power, the art of war may be sufficiently
cultivated, at moderate expense, by military schools and
otherwise, in time of peace. Each state in the nation has
the same interest in the discipline of the militia of the
others as it has in that of its own ; and, therefore, there
can be no impropriety in contemplating this as a subject
of national concernment. Whether you, gentlemen, will
conceive it to be your duty to use your influence with
Congress, on an affair of such magnitude, as far as it shall
comport with the national and state constitutions ; or
whether you will turn your attention to the militia of
your own state alone, I cheerfully submit to your wisdom ;
but this I venture to affirm, that neglect or delay in this
business is incompatible with the safety of the country.

"No foreign power will dare to invade us, in a project of
conquest, unless the United States, like the ancient republics,
by controversies and animosities among themselves, shall
furnish their enemies with the hopes as well as the means
of success. To preserve a union of interest and sentiment
so absolutely necessary to our existence as a nation, jeal-
ousies are to be laid aside, charity cherished, and a reci-
procity of affection and civility exhibited. All the states
must be the country of the citizens of each, and each state
the country of all. Our national union, glowing on the
public opinion, is the best defence of our sovereignty ; and
those who would shock it there, would sever the root from
whence the tree of liberty draws, in copious streams, its
principal nourishment. The chief magistrate of the nation,

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 203

being an elective officer, the voice of the majority, taken
according to the forms of the constitution, must be decisive
in the choice : it is the voice of all. To treat that election
with disrespect, is to treat the constitution with contempt.
Nothing can tend more to derogate from the respect due to
us as a nation, than an appearance of uneasiness and
dissatisfaction at the forms and principles of our own
government.

" The great improvement in agriculture, the increase of
commerce, and the encouragement of the arts in our
country, furnish the most satisfactory proofs of the perfec-
tion of our political institutions. But the path of public
as well as private prosperity is to be trodden with care.
Governments depending for their execution, in so great a
measure, upon the will of the governed, frequently expressed
by their suffrages, demand for their preservation great
intelligence in the body of the people. To maintain this
our institution of town schools is admirably adapted.
These, with the academies and colleges, are rendered indis-
pensable by the nature of our government, and claim the
constant attention of the legislature for their support and
encouragement. The sentiments in regard to public wor-
ship, piety, religion and morality, interwoven with the
constitution of the commonwealth, so far as we have a
right to decide, have had a great influence on the people.
We observe, with great pleasure, the erection of edifices
for public worship of various denominations in Christianity;
teachers everywhere settled and supported, and public
devotion generally attended upon. These circumstances,
under our established form of government, which excludes
all persecution and intolerance on principles of religion
and modes of worship, give to our state a very honorable
appearance in the view of the enlightened part of the
world. The principles and precepts of the gospel, if they
are attended to and improved for religious and moral
purposes only, will always make good men ; and good men

204 LIFE AND WEITINGS

can never be bad citizens. Upon the literary and religious
institutions of the state our happiness as a people essen-
tially depends ; and I shall rejoice in seeing the legislature
attentive to their encouragement and support, while, at the
same time, that freedom of opinion and those rights of
conscience, which are solemnly recognized in the constitu-
tion, are sacredly maintained.

" Government, in its nature, is a concentration of pub-
lic opinion to certain forms of public rule. This may be
maintained in a despotism by terror ; but in a republic it
must be supported by an attachment of the people to their
country by public virtue. To produce this attachment
the powers of the government must be exerted to give
equal advantage to all its subjects ; not to create wealth
or exclusive privileges to any, but in securing to all,
respectively, as far as it can be done by general laws well
executed, the enjoyment of the various gifts which God
bestows upon them. For, to use the language of our
declaration of rights, ' no man, or corporation, or associa-
tion of men, have any other title to obtain advantages
distinct from those of all the community, than what arises
from the consideration of services rendered to the public.'
Where the laws secure to every man the same privileges
to acquire and hold property, the wish to accumulate
wealth, by fair means and honest industry, is inseparable
from patriotism. Enterprise and industry are in the class
of public virtues, because they are the unfailing source of
wealth to a nation.

" A respect to the civil authority, a correct regard to
the rights of others, and a ready obedience to the laws,
confer on a people a dignity of character, which is inti-
mately blended with the social virtues, and habitually
becomes the strength of a civil community. Should any
one be daring enough to suggest the idea that the people
of Massachusetts are not, in the enlightened situation God
has bestowed upon them, under the advantages they are

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 205

favored with, and the habits acquired from the manner of
their education, competent to the support of a free govern-
ment, by their suffrages, frequently exercised, such person
ought to be restrained as a dangerous incendiary; because
it is as essentially wrong to speak as to act treason. Every
citizen has an unalienable right to express his opinion upon
the administration of the government and the conduct of
his rulers. But there are certain primary principles, which
constitute the leading, essential, distinguishing features of
an elective republic. These are to be treated with a sol-
emn reverence and supported by a religious respect.

" I embrace this opportunity to express the sense I have
of the honor done me by my fellow-citizens, and to assure
them of my firm attachment to the principles of the com-
monwealth. They may rely, with safety, that it is my
determination to exert myself, uniformly, to maintain the
dignity and faith of this state, and to strengthen and con-
solidate the national union, on the principles of the national
government. At the same time, I assure you, gentlemen,
that, on my part, nothing shall be omitted which will
render this session pleasant to you, and beneficial to your
constituents."

According to a custom, adopted from the parliamentary
usage of England, but which was abandoned in Massachu-
setts in 1825, after the death of Governor Eustis, the
senate replied to this address by Aaron Hill, the house by
Mr. Bacon. In the existing preponderance of republicans
in both branches, their responses simply echoed the topics
of the speech. In the former is this tribute to Judge Sul-
livan's past services : " The distinguished part which your
excellency was called to act on the great theatre of our
Revolution, the distinguished ability which you exhibited,
and the correctness with which you performed the duties
of the several stations in which you have been placed
under our government, as well as the assurances you now
make, leave us no reason to doubt that your administration

206 LIFE AND WRITINGS

will be calculated to maintain the dignity and honor of the
state, and to strengthen the Union on the principles of the
national compact."

Prior to 1831, the civil year for Massachusetts, as pro-
vided by its constitution, commenced not upon the first
Wednesday of January, as at present, but on the last
Wednesday of May. On that day the General Court assem-
bled to organize the government ; but usually postponed its
more important duties of legislation to its winter session.
But now, under the auspices of a new administration, they
remained together twenty days, and several important
measures were proposed, some of which were reported and
acted upon before its adjournment; others held under
advisement during the recess.

If the federalists, during their long control of state
affairs, had been obnoxious to reproach for their rigid
proscription of all unwilling to identify themselves with
their policy, it could not be denied that their legislation
had been generally judicious. It was still not unnatural
that the republicans, in succeeding to their power, should
entertain some notions of their own as to what should be
the law. Some of their projects, recognized by both par-
ties as improvements, were at once permanently adopted ;
others passed into laws, which were repealed under Gov-
ernor Gore, to be again reenacted under Governor Gerry.
The greater number, and among them the more important,
were defeated, as we find it subsequently alleged, by the
politic management of the minority. Several measures,
which at this time originated with the republicans, after
long intervals, commended themselves to general approba-
tion, and received the sanction of the federalists when
again in power ; while many more were adopted long after
both federalist and republican had ceased to designate
contending parties.

In a special message, on the fourth of June, the gov-
ernor suggested the expediency of restoring the law of

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 207

entails to the condition in which it had been first placed,
after the adoption of our republican institutions. By
the act of March, 1792, tenants-in-tail were enabled to
convey an absolute estate in fee-simple, and entailed
estates, taken in execution for debt, passed free from the
limitations. Under the federalist rule, in February, 1805,
it had been enacted that no deed of an estate, entailed,
should create a fee-simple, unless the tenant in remainder
should join in the conveyance. The latter being often a
feme covert or an infant, the free transfer of real property,
always of great importance in a commercial community,
was thus embarrassed. Accumulation of landed estates in
individuals or families, beyond what naturally results from
the adopted rule of inheritance, he considered, as had
indeed all the other commissioners for revising the juris-
prudence of the state, as incompatible with the constitution,
and inconsistent with the genius of republican principles.
His recommendation was not adopted at the time, but, by
the revised statutes, tenants-in-tail are now permitted to
convey in fee-simple.

In compliance with suggestions made in the address, the
general arrangements and powers of the state judiciary
were submitted to the consideration of a committee, of
which the eminent jurist, Joseph Story, then near the com-
mencement of his distinguished career, was chairman, and
Whitman and Bangs his associates. They were instructed
to report to the next session such alterations as they should
conclude " conducive to the interest and happiness of the
commonwealth." Equity powers, to be lodged in the exist-
ing tribunals, or vested in a separate court of chancery,
were also to be subject for their deliberations.

One great evil in our original judicial system was a
multiplication of courts and judges, far beyond the require-
ments of the community. And no part of it was more
obnoxious to complaint than the county courts of general
sessions, each composed of all the justices of the peace in

208 LIFE AND WRITINGS

their respective counties. These courts, a part of Eng-
lish polity derived to us by inheritance, but first estab-
lished under the state constitution by statute, in 1782,
had been, by that of 1803, shorn of all their criminal juris-
diction, and restricted in their functions to the supervis-
ion of public buildings, roads and other county interests.
This change had created discontent among an influential
class, who formed these tribunals and had been accustomed
to the ancient arrangement ; and one of the few acts of a
public nature, passed during the June session, restored
to them most of their former powers. It however limited
the number of judges to one chief, and from two to six
associates in the respective counties, according to their
population. The act, either in its original draft or from
amendments, was open to objections pointed out by the
governor in a message the ensuing session ; and another
act then changed the title of these courts to Courts of
Sessions ; and criminal and other cases entitled to jury
trials were again restored to the common pleas. Both
these acts were virtually repealed in June, 1809, under
Governor Gore, to be revived in 1811, under Governor
Gerry ; and the sessions were finally abolished, except
for Suffolk, Dukes and Nantucket, in 1813, and for Suffolk
in 1821 ; their duties at the present day being performed
by county commissioners.

By another special communication the governor sug-
gested that the attorneys of the commonwealth in the sev-
eral counties should be appointed by the executive instead
of according to the old practice annually, or oftener, by
the county courts. He thought there was an incongruity
in public advocates being selected by the courts before
which they were to act, and in their being dependent for
their offices upon the will of the judges. The state, he
urged, should appoint its own counsel, and have a control
over its own advocates. He also recommended that no
attorney or solicitor of the commonwealth should be per-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 209

mitted to receive either gratuity or reward from any
prosecutor or other persons in criminal prosecutions, or
directly or indirectly be of counsel for any party in a civil
action depending on the same facts, or connected with any
criminal process. The government, he said, had as great
an interest in the acquittal of the innocent as in the con-
viction of the guilty : and the attorney of the common-
wealth before the grand jury and in the court should be as
disinterested and impartial as the judge who tried tho
issue. A statute to tin's effed was passed in June, 1807,
but repealed in 1809 by the federalists ; and was again re-
enacted, in 1811, by the republicans. The principle recom-
mended has been since respected in the appointment of
county-attorneys.

It must be reluctantly confessed that the temper evinced
in these repeated vacillations was not to the credit of the
state; but it would be great injustice to consider them a
fair example of her legislation. If frequent changes in
the law would seem an essential characteristic of popular
institutions, they have resulted in the past experience of
Massachusetts far more from over-eagerness to perfect, than
from any spirit of party.

I! sides this renovation of the judiciary upon a more
economical and efficient basis, other important subjects
weic taken into deliberation; and among them that pro-
viding for the support of religious institutions and public
worship. By former laws all the inhabitants were taxed
in their several parishes for the maintenance of the settled
ministers. If there chanced to be none of their own per-
suasion in the town, many were compelled to contribute to
the support of clergymen with whose particular tenets
their own were often at variance. It was now proposed
that those who dissented from the faith of the church already
established in any town should be exempt from any liability
to contribution for its expenses. The religious liberty bill,
as it was called, was defeated by a vote of one hundred and

ii. 14

210 LIFE AND WKITINGS

twenty-seven to one hundred and two the succeeding ses-
sion, and the voluntary principle only adopted in 1833, by
an amendment to the constitution.

The probate laws ; the statutes for the settlement, main-
tenance and employment of the poor; a provision to secure
to mechanics a lien upon buildings for their bills of con-
struction ; general regulations for roads, turnpikes, canals,
banks, licensed houses, insurance offices and manufactur-
ing corporations; penalties on banks of five per cent, a day
for non-payment of specie on demand ; the discharge of
poor prisoners confined for costs after expiration of sen-
tence ; the salaries of public officers, and fee bill ; the pay-
ment of the members of the court out of the state treasury
for their attendance after twenty days, as previously regu-
lated; plans for a land office for the sale of the lands in the
district ; and a loan of five thousand dollars to Mr. Grout
for establishing lines of telegraphs throughout the com-
monwealth, by which he professed to be able to commu-
nicate messages eighty miles in two minutes, were all
discussed in debate, referred to the next court or other-
wise disposed of.

Familiar, from constantly traversing the district on his
circuits, with the wants of Maine, where he had been born
and long resided, and whose vote had largely contributed
to his election, the governor, according to tradition, pro-
posed, and eventually secured, the adoption of the Better-
ment Law, as it was called. William King, of Portland,
brother of Rufus King, is entitled to the credit of sug-
gesting some of its most valuable provisions, and of having
carried it through the legislature. A large portion of
the eastern country belonged to large proprietors under
ancient grants and Indian deeds ; and poor settlers, com-
monly called squatters, were, in many cases, ejected by
legal process from lands they had long occupied, and fre-
quently where they had made expensive improvements.
Many of these large tracts were in litigation, and numbers

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 211

of well-disposed inhabitants had purchased what were sup-
posed good titles, but which proved to be worthless. The
value, consisting of the expenses of clearing, fences and
buildings, this new law, of which more will he said in a
following chapter, compelled the actual owner to pay
for all improvements or betterments, where the tenant, or
those under whom he claimed, had been in possession for
six years, or else permit the tenant to retain the land upon
payment of its original value unimproved.

In another special communication, the governor recom-
mended to the legislature to urge upon the general gov-
ernment the importance of ascertaining and definitively
marking the north-eastern boundary of the state, from the
sources of the St. Croix, as fixed in 1798, to the Highlands,
mentioned in the treaty of peace. Provision had been made
in the rejected treaty of the preceding December, to settle
the question by commission, and it was now again subject
of negotiation in London. A resolve was passed at his
suggestion authorizing him to impress the necessity of
an early settlement of the controversy upon the national
administration ; but the disturbed relations between the
two countries prevented anything being accomplished.

A favorite scheme of the republicans was a bank of
twenty millions, to be called the State Bank, of which one
fourth was to be subscribed by the state, tin' rest by indi-
viduals, but upon a plan which should allow all the inhab-
itants to have the option of becoming interested in its
stock. The existing banks were to bo invited to merge
their capital in the new corporation, which, in time, it was
proposed should become, with its branches established in
the several principal centres of trade, the only banking
institution of the state This plan was frequently under
debate during this and the following sessions, but was
easily killed by amendments. In 1811 a bank of the same
name was chartered, with three millions of capital, and
restricted to the issue of bills over five dollars. This

212 LIFE AND WRITINGS

restriction -was subsequently taken off, and its capital
reduced.

Upon the petition of Benjamin Hitchburn and others,
directors of the Mississippi Land Company, a resolve
was passed requesting the governor to memorialize Con-
gress upon the subject of the Georgia lands. Accord-
ingly he transmitted to our delegation a memorial, which,
when read in Congress the following winter, provoked a
most angry debate. Nothing was at that time accom-
plished ; but several years later some slight indemnity was
granted by Congress to the claimants, who, however fraud-
ulent the original purchase from Georgia might have been,
had themselves purchased in good faith.

Other matter under consideration during the session,
was the vote of the inhabitants of Maine against its
proposed separation from Massachusetts and erection into
a state by itself. The vote cast was not large, but of
twelve thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, nine
thousand four hundred and four were opposed to the
change.

A question, interesting to the military, and which for
several years occupied considerable space in the news-
papers, from its having directed attention to the importance
of revising the militia laws, deserves passing notice. The
federal constitution vested in Congress power to provide
'for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the
Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; for their
organization, arming and discipline ; and for their govern-
ment when employed for the above purposes ; but left to
the states the appointment of their officers, and of train-
ing them according to such regulations as Congress might
prescribe. Congress, in 1792, enacted that the militia
should be arranged in divisions, brigades, regiments, bat-
talions and companies, the three first to be numbered, the
officers to take rank according to the date of their res{ ac-
tive commissions.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 213

By the Massachusetts militia law of June, 1793, this
last rule had been qualified so that where two officers
of the same grade held commissions of equal date, and
no pretensions from any former commission decided their
relative rank, it was to he determined by lot. In long
periods of peace militia duties are apt to fall into disrepute,
and these laws had not been always very carefully regarded
at head-quarters, when the embarrassments arising from the
case of Captain Joseph Loring, Jr., proved the necessity
of their revision, and likewise of their more exact adminis-
tration. Prior to 1798 there had existed much contention
bit ween the troops of Norfolk and Suffolk for the post of
honor on the right. By a resolve of that year, Governor
Sumner was authorized to organize the Suffolk companies
into a legionary brigade, with various sub-legions. One of
these, organized by Governor Strong,in 1803, was composed
of the Washington Infantry, a volunteer company raised and
uniformed by Captain Loring, mainly at his own expense,
and whose commission bore date the fifteenth of August,
1803 ; of the Boston Light Infantry, raised by Captain Henry
Sargent, of which Captain Davis, chosen in June, 1804, re-
ceived at that time a commission as commander, but who
had previously hold one of the same rank, as captain of a
ward company; and of the Winslow Blues, Captain Messen-
ger, who had also held a commission of a ward company, but
now acted as major by appointment, but without election
or commission.

Loring was a good officer, but somewhat tenacious ; and
not content with some fancied neglect upon the part of
the quarter-master-general, petitioned for redress to the
governor and council. No other notice was taken of this
complaint than an order to take away his commission, and
substitute for it another, giving Davis precedence. Loring
declined to give up his commission, published his griev-
ances in a pamphlet, and was, in October, 1805, court-
martialled and acquitted. He then tendered his resigna-

214 LIFE AND WEITINGS

tion, but of this no notice was taken at head-quarters ; and,
considering himself a victim of persecution and political
favoritism, he refused to obey Captain Davis as his superior
officer, and was again arrested, in October, 1806, and by a
court selected, not detailed as prescribed by law, sentenced
to suspension for three years.

As he was a zealous republican, his wrongs were made
frequent topic of discussion in their prints, and, upon his
petition to the legislature, the committee advised the
reversal of his sentence, on the ground that the governor
had no right to change his commission without his consent,
and that the court which had tried and condemned him
was not properly detailed. Their report was accepted
in the house by a vote of ninety-four to thirty. Con-
sidering it a party triumph, on the twenty-fifth of June,
Loring marched his company to the house of the governor,
and, while paying their salute, seventeen guns were fired
from Copp's Hill.

On the twelfth of the month, by virtue of his office, the
governor presided over an interesting meeting of the over-
seers of the university. Some students displeased with the
commons had been turbulent and in consequence expelled.
A committee, of which Lincoln was chairman, reported a
change of system, and that the expelled, upon promise of
future obedience to the laws, should be restored. The
last recommendation led to a prolonged debate, in which
all the republican members argued for the recall of the
students, and the federalists took the part of the college
government. The vote was twenty-six to twenty-nine, and
if three of the trustees had not voted, the question must
have been decided by the casting vote of the governor.

As furnishing some insight into the political views of the
republicans, as manifested in these schemes of legislation,
we hope these particulars will not prove tedious. After
passing forty-six statutes, most of them of a private nature,
the court adjourned till the following January. The

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 215

journal of the house was printed for the year, as it had
been before and during the Revolution, and up to the
year 1785 ; but not since, until the four years prior to the
present, when that of each day's proceedings in the house
was printed for distribution to the members on the follow-
ing morning.

CHAPTER VII.

ADMINISTRATION.

Important as these proposed measures of domestic re-
form in reality were, public attention in Massachusetts
was too exclusively engrossed with the great events tran-
spiring in the cabinets and on the battle-fields of Europe,
to pay them much heed. The vast projects of Napoleon,
which appeared to aim at nothing less than universal
dominion, had aroused England, his only unconquered
antagonist, to stubborn resistance. Under the pressure
of a crisis threatening, not her maritime supremacy alone,
but her very existence as a sovereign state, she utterly
disregarded the neutral rights of America, with whom she
was still under professions of amity, and showed little
respect for international law, which her own tribunals had
greatly contributed to establish.

Often before, when war spread itself over Europe, this
great code of political ethics had shared in the general
disturbance. Designed to regulate the mutual obligations
of independent powers, upon the basis of justice and
Christian humanity, in war as well as in peace, it depended
for its interpretation upon a few standard authorities sus-
ceptible of many constructions, and was more often appealed
to by the weak than respected by the powerful. Continual
infractions of its most generally recognized principles pro-
voked the frequent reproach, discouraging to all who hoped
for progressive civilization in national intercourse, that

LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 217

its only constant rule was that might makes right. In
1704 the French government, finding it for its interest,
condemned as prize all merchandise, the growth of an
enemy's country, unless where carried by the neutral
owner directly to his own port; and, in 175G, England
introduced a new interpolation of her own, which she
now still continued to assert, excluding neutrals in war
from the ports not open to them in peace.

When France, by the execution of her unfortunate
monarch, not only shook the thrones, but endangered the
social order and security, of Europe, the other five great
powers, regarding her as an outlaw, determined to ex-
clude her from all friendly intercourse. They entered
into treaty stipulations to close their harbors to her ships ;
prohibited the exportation to her ports, from their respect-
ive countries, of all military and naval stores and provisions,
and agreed to prevent neutrals, where they could, from
protecting French property. From this period till the
Bourbons were restored, English orders and French de-
crees, with every form of arbitrary regulation that could
cripple the foe or distress the neutral, followed in quick
succession. As each party justified its deviations from
public law and the established rules of civilized warfare
upon plea of provocation from the other, it would be
difficult, and it is not important, to decide which was
most in fault.

The United States, for not inclining to unite with the one
belligerent in opposing the British claim to maritime suprem-
acy, with the other in what she deemed a sacred crusade
against the evident designs of France, first to consolidate
Europe and then the world into a single despotism,
received from either but little more forbearance than if
an open enemy. Napoleon, indeed, declared that there
should be no neutrals. It was from no more friendly sen-
timents towards this country, or higher standard of political
integrity, but that her marine was more limited, and her

218 LIFE AND WRITINGS

colonies unimportant, that we came less often in collision,
upon the high seas, with France than with her rival. When
opportunity offered, her cruisers were equally overbearing
and unscrupulous. But the vast naval power of England,
with its eight hundred ships, commanded all the great
thoroughfares of trade ; and, under irritation from the
supposed bias of President Jefferson and his cabinet for
her antagonists, American vessels were subjected by her
to incessant humiliations and outrage.

Placed, moreover, as we were, between the Canadas and
her West India colonies, of whose allegiance, in that period
of political convulsion, she could never feel entirely secure,
held, through our pernicious example, responsible for all
the existing calamities, and, more than all, in the enjoy-
ment of commercial advantages which excited her jealousy,
and were prejudicial to her trade, her antipathies, whether
measured by injuries or insults, savored of more than fra-
ternal bitterness, — were unforgetting, unrelenting. For
no benefit possibly to be derived from seizing American
sailors from defenceless merchantmen, under pretence that
they were her subjects, was it worth her while to pursue
a practice opposed to every maxim of justice and human-
ity. From identity of race and of language there was
nothing to indicate nationality, and many thousands of our
citizens, with families dependent upon their earnings for
support, were torn from beneath our flag, and melted away
in her devastating wars. Could she contemplate with
indifference vessels, thus crippled, going everywhere to
wreck, these men, forced reluctantly into her quarrels,
added no strength to her fleets. Not one in twenty of the
unfortunate victims could be proved British subjects, while,
after unquestionable proof of American citizenship of the
greater proportion of the rest, no redress nor reparation
was to be obtained. We were willing, for the sake of
peace and good-fellowship, to make every reasonable con-
cession ; indeed, the treaty of the preceding December,

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 219

rejected hy Jefferson, apart from its rider, had been satis-
factory in every point but this. Still, she continued obdu-
rate, and persisted in enforcing a groundless pretension,
alike unwise and inhuman, rather than submit to which
herself she would have sunk every ship in the ocean.

Blockades by proclamation, without effective fleets to
enforce, were directly at variance with the plainest maxims
of maritime law; yet, in the spring of 180G, Great Britain
had declared the continent, for nearly a thousand miles of
its shores, from Brest to the mouths of the Elbe, sealed to
neutrals by this paper pretension. With a view to retaliate,
Napoleon, after conquering Prussia at Jena, issued, on
the twenty-first of November, 1806, his celebrated Berlin
decree, in which, after enumerating seven distinct British
deviations from international law, he declared all her ports
blockaded, excluded from French mails all English letters,
ordered every Englishman in the French dominions to be
arrested as a prisoner of war* and pronounced all property
belonging to the English, or coming from their factories or
colonics, and all neutral vessels touching at their ports,
as lawful prize. Not to be outdone, upon the seventh of
January following, the King of England subjected to con-
demnation all neutrals trading between ports in possession
of France or her allies, or from which English vessels were
excluded.

* A relative of the writer, at that time in Lombardy, had expressed his
opinions freely upon political topics, and, while travelling near Milan, his
carriage was stopped by government officials, who arrested him as an English-
man, lie was sent to Paris, and imprisoned in the Temple. Here he remained
for some weeks, when, by a fortunate mistake, some of his clothes were put into
the wrong basket, by his laundress, and sent to his friend, Mr. Irving, by whom
she was also employed. Mr. Irving, observing the mark, learned, upon inquiry,
that they belonged to a prisoner in the Temple ; and, opening a correspondence
through the laundress, by his generous exertions, and his influence with the
proper authorities, was soon able to prove the prisoner an American, and to
procure his release. Meanwhile, his servant, who had been permitted to go
free, had returned to this country, and, by his account of the arrest, created
much anxiety and consternation among the friends and family of his master.

220 LIFE AND "WRITINGS

Notwithstanding these vexatious encroachments upon
the rights of neutrality, American vessels had been for
many years the carriers of Europe, and the community upon
the seaboard, enriched by enormous freights and profits,
patiently bore its occasional losses from illegal spoliations
and detentions. If not wholly insensible to wrong, the
national resources were supposed to be inadequate to
effectual resentment ; and, submitting to what they could
not prevent, but might aggravate by resistance, and what
experience taught them was the usual fate of the feeble,
they counted their gains and shut their eyes to the dis-
honor. Supineness but invited aggression, and, a warlike
spirit being the prevalent temper of the times, this back-
wardness to vindicate unquestionable rights lowered the
national character in the general estimation, and exposed
us to additional indignities.

Would we explain this degeneracy of a people naturally
courageous and warlike, their condition and relations to
other powers should not be overlooked. Without arma-
ments, with scanty revenues, and nearly seventy millions
of debt; easily assailed, from the ocean, along the Missis-
sippi or the lakes, by powerful fleets, veterans from Europe,
or Indian tribes ; with treason and lawless combinations,
defying authority, stalking abroad through the land/but
half revealed in the trial of Aaron Burr and his confeder-
ates then going on ; and with many among us who loved
England and would have gladly returned to her allegiance ;
five millions of people widely distributed over vast areas
of country could well, without loss of honor, decline a
single-handed contest either with the conqueror of the
European continent, or the mistress of the seas. Alone
republican, our institutions were an eyesore to monarchs.
The destinies of Napoleon it was impossible to predict.
A chance ball, an unexpected reverse, might shatter the
fabric created by his wonderful triumphs, and which pos-
sessed no elements of consolidation. Should we plunge

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 221

into hostilities with England, and his downfall come in
aid of our enemies, we might be worsted in the con-
flict, and, our means exhausted, our country overrun,
forced back into a state of colonial vassalage. These
were the views of Jefferson and his supporters, and were
Burely entitled to respect. . If combined Europe accom-
plished the imperial overthrow, when we had at last been
driven to war, England, on her part, had then become too
much exhausted, by her gigantic exertions, not to be dis-
posed to conciliate.

Notwithstanding, however, this meek and pacific policy,
the administration, in order that England, by its loss, might
realize the value of our trade, following to some extent
her own example, resorted to a system of commercial re-
strictions. Congress prohibited the importation of her
goods, and commercial intercourse generally with her and
with France. If detrimental to them, this was so also to
us, yet not without some good results ; for Virginia and
Pennsylvania began to make their own cloths. Connected
with the recent decrees and orders, these regulations struck.
a death-blow at important branches of American commerce.
They created consternation among the merchants, and a
growing sense that war, now that no advantages were
to be reaped from neutrality, was alike demanded by the
national honor and its true interests.

Public sentiment had already become sufficiently exas-
perated from these causes, when, at the end of May, arrived
the intelligence that Captain Whitby, of the Leander, court-
martialled at Plymouth for the outrage of the preceding
year, had been honorably acquitted. Ordered by Captain
Beresford, of the Cambrian, to cruise off New York to
procure the latest news from England, he had endeavored
to speak American vessels entering or leaving that port ;
but, from the frequent violation of their rights, and the
injurious treatment they had experienced in the impress-
ment of their seamen, our vessels naturally avoided all

222 LIFE AND WRITINGS

intercourse upon the seas with British cruisers. Irritated
by this unwillingness to obey his signal-gun, Whitby, on
the sixth of June, had fired into the sloop Richard, close
by the light, and killed John Pierce, brother of the captain
and owner, while standing at the wheel. Whitby, it was
rumored, had not only been acquitted, but promoted to the
command of a ship-of-the-line.

Thirty days later, tidings reached the north of an event,
in comparison with which all previous indignities offered
to our flag appeared unimportant. The frigate Chesapeake,
forty-four, had been fitting out at Norfolk for the Med-
iterranean. Orders were given to Commodore Barron, her
commander, to enlist no deserters. But, among those who
offered and were accepted for the cruise, were five men,
Richard Hubert, Henry Saunders, Jenkin Ratford, George
North and William Hill, who, on the preceding seventh of
March, while belonging to the British sloop-of-war Halifax,
had risen upon their officers, when engaged in weighing
anchor, and, seizing the boat, had gained the American shore.
Their commander, Lord James Townshend, demanded their
surrender from Lieutenant Sinclair, the recruiting officer;
the British consul applied to the mayor of Norfolk, and
the minister at Washington, Mr. Erskine, represented the
case to the president. Inquiries were instituted, but, no
satisfactory proof of their identity being offered, these
demands were all alike unavailing.

On the twenty-third of June the Chesapeake sailed, and,
approaching the English squadron, then at anchor in Lynn-
haven Bay, the Leopard, Captain Humphreys, came towards
her with the apparent design of making some communica-
tion. Under the impression that the object was to send
letters to Europe, the Chesapeake was hove to, when a
boat boarded her from the Leopard, with a written proposi-
tion, demanding, under orders from Admiral Berkeley,
permission to search for deserters, offering the same
privilege in return to the American commander. This he

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 223

declined on the ground that his instructions were not to

permit bis crew to be mustered by any one but himself.
No sooner had his answer reached the deck of the Leop-
ard, than successive broadsides were poured into the
American frigate, killing six men, and wounding twenty-
one. Barron had directed Captain Gordon to call his men
to quarters : but the ship was in no fighting condition, and
one gun alone was fired, and that with a coal from the gal-
ley. Finding resistance useless, as the Leopard was more
heavily armed and in lull preparation, the commodore struck
his flag, to the great indignation of his officers, and amid
the hisses of his crew. The English retained possession
of the Chesapeake from two to three hours. Four of the
five men demanded had previously deserted; but Ratford,
who had enlisted under the name of John Wilson, was
found concealed in the coal-hole. Three others, colored
seamen, all Americans, who, in February, 1806, had deserted
from the frigate Melampus, in Hampton Roads, and who,
according to their .statement, not fully borne out by the
evidence, had been impressed from the American vessel
Neptune, in the Bay of Biscay, were, with Ratford, taken
to Halifax. Ratford was subsequently executed ; but tho
deserters from the Melampus, Johu Strachan and William
Ware, of Maryland, and Daniel Martin, burn in Bonaire,
sentenced each to five hundred lashes, were pardoned on
condition of entering the English service.

Barron was tried for not fighting his ship by a court-
martial, over which Commodore Decatur presided, and was
suspended from the service for five years. In the excite-
ment whidi grew out of the affair there was much reproach
and recrimination. A duel between Captain Gordon and
the surgeon was without serious result; but, in another,
thirteen years afterwards, on the twenty-second of March,
1820, Barron killed Decatur, who had then recently made
animadversions upon his conduct. To prevent such out-
rages for the future, President Jefferson, on the second of

224 LIFE AND WRITINGS

July, issued a proclamation, interdicting British armed
vessels from the harbors and waters of the United States ;
prohibiting- the citizens from furnishing them with supplies,
or having any intercourse with them, under legal penalties ;
and all officers, civil and military, were required to aid in
executing these orders, except in the case of vessels in
distress or bearing dispatches. Under a law of Con-
gress, passed the twenty-fourth of February, 1807, he called
upon the states for their respective quotas of one hundred
thousand men; the proportion of Massachusetts being
eleven thousand and seventy-five.

The festivities of the national birthday, on the fourth
of July, which had been prepared in Boston upon a scale
of more than ordinary brilliancy, were deeply colored by
these startling events. Coming immediately after the rejec-
tion of the recent treaty, and the acquittal of Captain Whitby,
they seemed to indicate a settled purpose on the part of
Great Britain to provoke hostilities. The state authorities,
with a numerous military escort, the arrangement coinciding
in many particulars with those made by Sullivan himself, as
chairman of the legislative committee for the first celebration
in 1783, and as established by resolve of 1786, repaired to
Brattle-street meeting-house, where the youthful pastor, Mr.
Buckminster, " led their devotions in thanksgivings to the
great Ruler of all events for his goodness in establishing the
independence of the states, and in prayers, of great fervor
and earnestness, appropriate to the peculiar circumstances of
the occasion." A patriotic address was made by Dr. Bald-
win ; and, after returning to the state-house and jjartaking
of a collation, another procession of the civic authorities
was formed and proceeded to the Old South, to hear an
oration from Mr. Thacher. There were other orations and
the usual number of public dinners, the governor enter-
taining a distinguished company at his own house. A
general feeling of indignant resentment at the recent out-
rage pervaded all parties and classes ; and the toasts and

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 225

speeches, ardent and patriotic, testified a general readi-
ness to meet the emergency as the national honor and
independence might demand. When greatly excited the
popular mind rarely reasons accurately as to events,
and hope is apt to mislead the judgment. If many were
sanguine that amends would be prompt and ample, and the
calamities of war be averted, the general belief was that it
was inevitable, and would be immediate; yet the prospect
created no alarm.

On the tenth of the same month a numerous assemblage
of the citizens of Boston and the neighboring towns, over
which Elbridge Gerry presided, filled the Doric hall of the
state-house, and crowded about its approaches ; and, on
the sixteenth, another gathered at Faneuil Hall, of which
John C. Jones was the moderator. The speeches and reso-
lutions were animated by a commendable spirit, and ex-
pressed a resolute determination to resort to arms unless
reparation were made for the past and security given for the
future. Under menace of attack from without, party feel-
ings were laid aside, and federalists and republicans were
alike represented on the committees, and unanimous that
our maritime rights should be vindicated, whatever were
to be the cost.

The policy of Jefferson was rigid economy ; and, on the
faith that it required two to make a quarrel, he had endeav-
ored to keep free from hostile complication, by avoiding the
appearance of defence or even preparation. But it was
sufficiently understood that, if Great Britain secretly
determined to force us into a war, her attack would be
sudden and vigorous. Such a bombardment as that which,
two months later, laid Copenhagen in ruins, appeared then
more likely to be our fate than hers. As, in case of sur-
prise, the central administration had neither fleets, armies
nor fortifications, of any avail, to repel it, the requisite
arrangements for meeting the first brunt of the conflict
devolved on the state governments.
II. 1 5

226 LIFE AND WRITINGS

In Massachusetts the executive suffered no time to be
lost in taking due measures of precaution. The state
shores, seven hundred miles in extent, dotted with wealthy
seaports and fringed with a thriving population engaged in
the fisheries and in commerce, were without other defences
than some few scattered lines and batteries, thrown up
during the Revolution, and dismantled since the peace.
The military force of the state numbered sixty thousand
men, poorly equipped, and, with some inconsiderable ex-
ceptions, by no means efficiently disciplined. The artillery
consisted of about one hundred and seventy cannon, of
different calibre, and the cavalry were neither well mounted
nor well trained. The whole were divided into ten divis-
ions, but only once in the year had they any opportunity
of concerted action, and then but in brigades. Efforts
were immediately made to animate them, in view of the
impending crisis, with patriotic zeal to perfect themselves
in their drill and evolutions, and to acquire the necessary
qualifications of good soldiers.

After requesting the advice of his council as to what
measures should be taken to enforce the proclamation of
the president, on the fourteenth of July the governor
issued instructions to the major-generals along the sea-
board to keep three thousand men ready for immediate
action, in aid of the posse comitatus. By general orders
of the twenty-first, he directed that the respective quotas
of the one hundred thousand, which had been called for by
the president, should be detailed from the divisions. He
visited the points most exposed to attack ; and, on Wednes-
day the twenty-eighth, with Generals Lincoln, Eliot, Wins-
low and Donnison, Colonels Davis and Gardner, and
Captain Freeman and other gentlemen, made a visit of
inspection, in the revenue cutter, Captain Williams, to
the islands in the inner and outer harbor of Boston, to
ascertain the best sites for fortifications. On their passage
down salutes were fired from the fort, and again upon their

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 227

return, when they went ashore, and tlio garrison paraded
and wont through their various evolutions and firings.
On the thirty-first he addressed to General Dearborn, secre-
tary at war. the following report of his proceedings:

"The president's requisition upon the state of Massachu-
setts for eleven thousand and seventy-five men, as its quota
of one hundred thousand, to be drafted from the militia, on
the present emergency, is cheerfully complied with. The
militia are very far from considering it a burden. There
arc many oilers of entire independent companies; but I
allow the detachments to proceed, and have issued general
orders that the major-generals shall accept volunteer com-
panies, and relieve the drafts in those parts of their divis-
ions with which these companies are nearest in local
connection. The orders direct that the companies, officers
and privates, shall subscribe an enlistment, engaging to
hold themselves armed and equipped, ready to march at a
moment's warning, and to continue in the public service
six months, under the command of the president, after they
shall arrive at the place of general rendezvous.

" The militia of this state are under a good arrange-
ment : their organization may be considered as complete.
Our artillery is full and well disciplined. We have not a
competent number of cavalry, nor do we consider such
corps, in tin's part of the nation, so useful as the infantry
or artillery; besides, the expense, in our climate, is, in
fact, a great burden on the privates of such corps.

" Besides the detachment of our quota, 1 have made a
designation of four hundred men as a reenforcement of
Fort Independence, in Boston harbor, upon the approach
of an enemy. That, on a ship's approaching, in contraven-
tion of the president's proclamation, all confusion and dis-
order might be avoided, I have directed the major-generals
of the three divisions which include our principal harbors,
to have three thousand men designated, according to the
exposure and importance of the harbors, with anus in-

228 LIFE AND WEITINGS

spected, and ready to march, if called for, on an enemy's
approach. We have a magazine in a place much exposed ;
I have directed a guard for that.

" Our people here appear to be firm in defence of their
country. Some of them are too fond of war. Others are
as zealous on the part of Great Britain ; urging, in conver-
sation and in the federal papers, the necessity of our sub-
mitting to her claims on the sea without reserve. This
they do from consideration of her goodness and greatness ;
but, above all, from a dread they pretend to have of her
adorable irresistibility. How long they are to be suffered
in this way I know not. The federal papers, as their edit-
ors call them, are teeming, not only with productions in
justification of the English aggressions, but with dangerous
and abusive slander against our own government. What
the view of the writers is cannot at present be discerned ;
but their productions wear a very serious aspect, and are
totally incompatible with the independence of the country.
This may be, and I believe is, done by a few partisans, who
have always been inimical to our independence and devoted
to the domination of Great Britain. The great body of
the people, who are under the denomination of federalists,
appear well attached to their country's honor and interest
on the present interesting occasion.

" The public feelings are much agitated here, in regard to
the neglected state of our harbors, more especially the
important one of Boston. This town is situated on the
sea, and, should hostilities continue between England and
the United, States, must become a primary object for her
attention. The isthmus, on which the town stands, is
loaded with wealth, which, if Great Britain adds us to the
list of her enemies, must, in the present state of her finances,
be of consequence to her ; not only to support her own
expense from the war, but to deprive us of such immense
support, and to throw a helpless, destitute multitude on
the arm of public charity, to destroy our banks and sub-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 229

vert our medium of commerce. The danger to this town
may be the result of one of two projects :

" The first may be, not an expedition for conquest, but
for pillage and plunder. A small squadron, with a few
troops, are to be dreaded, in such a case, in our present
situation. The inner harbor is spread before the town,
extending about two miles and a half down to an island
which sustains Fort Independence, commonly called Castle
Island. That fort claims all the appearance of defence
which exists in the harbor. I made it a visit on the twenty-
eighth. It is well commanded; and we cannot but lament
that the assiduous and able gentleman who has the command,
had not four hundred, instead of fifty-four men, in a mili-
tary school where discipline is in so much perfection. The
work on that fort is handsome, and has, no doubt, been
very expensive ; but the small company stationed there
could not defend it against the force which might be landed
from a frigate. There are only a few cannon mounted;
they are of a calibre of thirty-two pounds and downwards.
The carriages are bad, having been made originally of shaken
bad wood, and they would ver}T soon be shattered into a state
of uselessness in a warm contest. This fort is on an island
which forms the west side of the main ship-channel. On the
other side is an eminence, called Governor's Island; per-
haps a line from the point of its height to the parade in
Fort Independence would be not far from a mile, say
seventeen hundred yards. The perpendicular from the
termination of the upper or level line to the parade is
forty-seven feet; this gives the eminence of Governor's
[sland a complete command of Fort Independence. An
enemy, having gained that height and formed a battery to
support two twelve-pounders, have the fort in possession
at once. Thus an expedition for pillage can be maintained
at a small expense of an invading force.

" Should an attack of any enemy be on an expedition of
conquest, their first object would be to gain possession of

230 LIFE AND "WRITINGS

these two islands, because that would give them the posses-
sion of the inner harbor for their ships, and of the town with
its property for their troops. The town being on an isthmus,
where the passage of entrance is very narrow and easily for-
tified, a few troops would answer for them to defend it with.
Should we hold the possession of those islands, their army
must disembark below, in the outer harbor, and march by
land, where we could meet them in narrow defiles and
critical passes, and finally oppose them from our fortifica-
tion on the narrow neck leading to the town.

" I have been attended down the harbor by the general
officers in and near the town of Boston, and was favored
with the company of General Lincoln, under whose care
fortifications were formerly raised in the harbor. There
is but one opinion as to defending the town. All agree on
Governor's Island for the principal fortress. A mere battery
will not do. The fort must be such as to stand a considerable
conflict against a reduction by assault; otherwise we sacrifice
our troops placed in it, to none or very little purpose.

" In my former letter I took the liberty to ask to have
some cannon, of eighteen pound calibre, which we have
here, mounted on travelling carriages, at the public expense,
and hinted that military gentlemen differed in their opinion
as to the utility of them thus mounted. I am now satisfied
that it is necessary to have them mounted in that way, to
play on ships in the inner harbor, either from Dorchester
Heights or from various parts of the town, where their shot
may meet the shot thrown from the islands. A battery of
two or three heavy guns at the navy-yard on Charlestown
Point, will be necessary for the same end. I am sensible
that the war department is crowned with applications of
this nature ; but Massachusetts is a principal limb of the
nation ; her capital pays a great revenue, and an attention
from the national government is so obviously due to it,
that no arguments are necessary."

Able writers, in the Centinel and other federal papers

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 231

of the commonwealth, as mentioned by Judge Sullivan in
the foregoing letter, were busily employed, during the
summer, in defence of the English government, Its viola-
tion of neutral rights was zealously vindicated ; and, before
it was known that the attack on the Chesapeake was with-
out its sanction, they even went so far as to justify the
search of armed vessels for deserters. The federal leaders
inclined to peace from an erroneous impression that war
was the settled purpose of the administration; a close alliance
with France, considered unavoidable in the event of hostili-
ties with England, they viewed with aversion; and, more-
over among the most influential, were many wealthy mer-
chants, who had ships upon the sea. If strenuous in their
efforts to keep the peace, it was, doubtless, the part of
wisdom. Little is gained by war but. heavy taxes for the
existing generation, burthensome debt for those that come
after, distress and anxiety for the great body of the people,
and glory undeserved for a few fortunate generals, which
often proves prejudicial to liberty. Such arguments had
been used by Sullivan himself in 1798, when the question
agitated was war with France, and, now that his sentiments
had apparently changed, extracts from his former writings
were very fairly retorted upon him.

The articles in the federal papers, among the best of
which were those signed Pacificus, were answered by Mar-
cellus and other republican writers. Governor Sullivan
did not consider himself precluded by his office from taking
part in a controversy of such serious importance to the
public interest. Frequent communications, under his well-
known signatures of Americanus and Plain Truth, and
others unmistakably from his pen, appeared in the Kssox
Register and Boston Chronicle, from which the following
extracts may be interesting, as throwing light upon the
existing state of public opinion. On the sixth appeared
the following article in the Register:

" A crisis has arrived when we must, most probably,

232 LIFE AND WRITINGS

submit to the insults of Britain, or be involved in the
horrors of war. No American can hesitate a moment
which to choose. War, with all its concomitant calamities,
must certainly be preferred to the repeated insults and
injuries we daily receive. At a period so interesting and
important, a vigilant and scrutinizing eye should be cast
on the vehicles of public information. It becomes us, at
all times, to hold up to public execration those Avho league
with the enemies of our country ; and we have seen, with
peculiar regret, sentiments avowed in the Eepertory and
Boston Gazette, vindicating measures which, we dare
assert, no British ministerial paper will attempt to main-
tain, and which their government has conceded to be
wrong. They repeatedly charge our government with
duplicity ; they assert that the president speaks peace, his
paper, war ; and we, with equal confidence, assert that the
president, in his official communication, speaks a language
perfectly coincident with the sentiments avowed in the
national paper. The language is peace on honorable
terms, but on no other. The ground on which the govern-
ment means to take a stand is evidently this : If the British
government yield the right of searching our vessels for
their own subjects, in all cases whatsoever, — that principle
from which all our injuries have been derived, — and make
honorable amends for the late insults, they offer them the
olive-branch ; if not, our connection must be dissolved.
All who read Mr. Madison's letter to Mr. Munroe must be
convinced that this is the decisive point, and no one who
reads the letter can doubt the correctness of the principle.
He says, explicitly, ' if it is not conceded, your negotiation
is at an end.' Should our government act as those papers
dictate, should they declare war inevitable, call Congress
immediately together and lay an embargo, the pirates of
the ocean would immediately bankrupt every merchant on
the continent, and drain the nation of the means of carry-
ing on hostilities; but, by previously sending a special

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 233

message to Great Britain, we gain time for our shipping
to return, we exhaust the cup of forbearance, and show to
the world how unwillingly we appeal from the decision
of reason to that of arms. Great Britain has seldom
been disposed to do us justice, and, as we do not think
that she is at present more than usually disposed to do it,
we believe that she will not concede the right of search
fur her subjects. War will be the probable result, and it
is the height of madness in our merchants to trust their
vessels at sea for the present."

On the twentieth he writes the following disquisition
upon the right of impressment, the actual issue between
the two countries, and this is followed in the Chronicle by
a satirical parallel between the arguments used by the revo-
lutionary tories and the apologists of the recent British
aggressions :

" The labors of Pacificus and his anglo-American asso-
ciates are of no consequence. The people of the United
States are not deceived by their sophistry and insincerity.
The United States are an independent, sovereign power ;
Great Britain is no more. To allow, for one dajr, that we
are a grade below any power on earth, would be a volun-
tary relinquishment of our independence ; it would give
further claims to such power against us ; and induce other
nations to make the same, or similar, and other claims
upon us. The question is, if it could consistently with
our national existence be made a question, whether any
power has a right, without our consent, to enter on board
our ships, either public or private, to search for men or
things? When such search is made, the vessel must be
infra prw.sUVia of the United States, that is, within our juris-
diction as a nation, as the Chesapeake was ; on the high
seas, the common highway of nations; in the port of a
neutral; or within the jurisdiction of the power claiming
such right. The two first only are necessary for our con-
sideration in the discussion of this subject.

231 LIFE AND WRITINGS

" As to the first, it is clear that Great Britain can have
no pretext, from the custom or usage, or from the law or
practice of nations, to enter our harbors against our con-
sent, for any purpose whatever. It is true that, if their
force is superior to ours, they can enter our ports, fire their
broadsides on our vessels, or on our cities ; but this will
be an act of open war, and must be treated as such. The
verbose gazette scribblers, in the English-Boston papers,
with a wordy, incoherent and noisy eloquence, are endeav-
oring to maintain the enormous claim of England to exer-
cise this right on the high seas. But, should they admit
as fact what everybody knows to be true, that Great
Britain has no greater right to the high seas than other
nations, the cause is decided against them, and their pens
must be still. The persons and property of the subjects of
independent sovereign powers are under the legal control
and under the protection of their governments. When the
subject leaves the land, and traverses the ocean, that con-
trol is not abrogated, and how then can the protection
cease ? Crimes committed by the subject a thousand
leagues from the land are punishable, according to the
laws enacted in the state to which he owes allegiance,
either by a capital or lesser punishment. Injuries done
to him there, by his fellow-subjects, are to be redressed
by the same power. From whom, then, shall he seek
protection for his person and property, but from the state
whose subject he is, to whom he owes allegiance and obedi-
ence?

" The question, then, is simply this : by what insignia,
mark or sign of national privilege, is he to claim this
important protection against the aggressions and insults
of foreign nations? The common voice, expressed by the
practice of nations, has established the principle that the
national flag is the primary evidence of a right to a national
protection. But this may be a false and deceitful sign ; so
may any other primary formal evidence, in any question

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 235

whatever, prove to be false or forged. But here the
ship's papers* are to be resorted to, and there can, on an
ordinary examination, be no room for a suspicion of fraud.
The papers and flag are genuine, or the master and crew
are pirates. But the claim here is for a right for a British
ship to enter and search an American ship, acknowledged
to be such, bearing the papers and flag of the American
sovereign independent power, on the high seas.

" The search is to be for men supposed to have deserted
from ships of the English navy; and the curious writers,
who compile columns for the English papers printed in
Boston, tell us that ' Admiral Berkeley is willing to allow
us the same privilege.' The English do not agree that this
right is reciprocal, but they exercise it by force on our
ships, without and against our consent, and they will
allow us to search their ships. The idea is not only de-
ceptive and fallacious, but it is hypocritical and insidious.
If we are both sovereign, independent nations, possessing
the same equal sovereign rights, where does the word
allow come from? "We are as much above asking favors
of them as they are of us.

" There is a controversy, and it must end in a war, or be
settled by a treaty. Should we wage war, yet, unless that
war shall be eternal, Ave must terminate it by a negotiation.
This can be done now as well as after a war has injured
both countries. We can never agree that the English
empire shall man its navy by impressment of our citizens.
They must promise to give no national power whatever to
impress American citizens, and that, where done by mis-
take, they shall be given up, on a demand made by our
ministers or consuls, on exhibition of proof. They must
further agree that the flag of the United States is to be
the prima facie evidence of a bottom of the United States,
and that the people and property on board shall be sacredly
protected from search and arrest. On our part, we ought

* During war.

236 LIFE AND WEITINGS

to agree that our merchants or masters shall not encourage
desertions from the British navy ; that we will make laws
and regulations, in order to prevent it ; and that when such
desertions shall happen we will, on the application of the
English ministers or consuls, with proof, order them to be
delivered up. This will contemplate both nations as sov-
ereign, independent countries, and preserve the honor
of both.

" The arguments used, under various signatures, in the
Boston-British papers, are peculiarly insidious and deceit-
ful. The argument of legality to search for an escaped
felon, or for stolen goods, is abominably wicked. It is
true that the house of a person, where a felon or stolen
goods are concealed, may be searched. But this is to
be done by what authority ? Under the authority, not
of the person who complains, but of the government
which has the control and protection of the house and
of its proprietor. This principle, by a plain analogy,
shows that if the persons, who are in possession of
American ships under American flags, shall injure the
English nation, that nation must condescend to demand
redress of us by its ministers and consuls, as of a sister
sovereign power, and claim no right over us that we have
not over them."

In the event of war with England, our sole means of
offence would have been confined to suspension of trade,
confiscation of debts, privateering, and invasion of her
colonies. It seemed more than probable that, as to the last,
England would be on the alert and invade us. Should this
be from the north-east, the point of attack would be within
the state limits. The duty of protecting the frontier con-
stitutionally devolved on the general government; but,
without an army, it was manifest that the militia of the
north would be its chief defenders. Governor Sullivan
gave full attention to all these considerations, and was as
active as his constitutional powers warranted in guarding

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 237

against every contingency. He well knew that whatever
he did would be subjected to rigid scrutiny by his
political opponents, but this had little influence in dis-
couraging him from the course he thought reasonable and
right.

With a view of concerting measures of cooperation in
case of attack, in the month of September, accompanied by
his wife and son, lie visited his brother-in-law, John Lang-
don, then governor of New 1 lampshire. As he approached
Portsmouth he was met bv a numerous cavalcade, and the
chief personages of the state and federal government,
who escorted him to the house of Governor Langdon ;
and, during his stay, other honors were paid him, appro-
priate to his official character.

The autumn months were actively employed in military
reviews and inspections. Field days were appointed for
the respective divisions and brigades, and so distributed
over the months of September, October and November,
that the adjutant-general, and governor as commander-in-
chief, might be present. As nearly all the male population
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were enrolled,
and festal occasions were not frequent, the muster-day
was an event, and attracted general attention. With the
except inn of the volunteer companies in the wealthier and
more crowded neighborhoods, the soldiers wore their usual
attire; but the uniform of the officers, field and staff,
Berved to relieve the sombre appearance of the ranks. It
being important that the troops should assemble and
return the same day, the number collected at any one
time rarely exceeded three thousand, and was usually
much less.

In times of profound peace military parades are apt to
be viewed but as idle and expensive pageants; but let the
probability of war and invasion darken the horizon, and
public opinion begins to appreciate the value of armed
organization. It had not been previously customary for

238 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the executive of the state to be present on the muster-
field. Once in each year, usually in March, Governor
Strong had addressed general orders, at some length, to
the troops, urging upon them the importance of subordina-
tion and discipline : but little care had been taken to perfect
either the officers or men in martial exercises. But, as a
large British force had been ordered to Halifax, and the
militia of the Canadas were being armed and organized, it
seemed quite possible that their services would soon be
in requisition to defend their firesides, and vigorous ex-
ertions were made to put them in a state of efficiency.
During the summer more than ordinary attention had been
paid to their drill, and the improvement displayed in the
fall parades was subject of general remark and appro-
bation.

With a natural taste and aptitude for everything con-
nected with military matters, Sullivan, during the earlier
stages of the Bevolution, had been much employed in
raising and organizing troops. After his services at Port-
land, in 1776, it will be perhaps remembered that the
officers of the regiments raised in Maine had requested
that he should be appointed their general. He had thus
become conversant with whatever appertained to mili-
tary life, when it was not a pomp or parade, but the path of
danger, difficulty and heavy responsibility ; and, now that
the troubled state of our relations with England made it pos-
sible that hostile armaments might a second time descend
upon our shores, he devoted himself with indefatigable ardor
to his functions as commander-in-chief. He attended as
many of the reviews as his other duties permitted, and took
a lively interest in the evolutions and sham-fights. He
strove to animate both soldiers and officers with patriotic
ardor to meet the emergency, should hostilities occur, and
to promote a proper pride and emulation to excel in all
soldierly accomplishments. His efforts were untiring to
render the adoption of some simple but inexpensive uni-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 230

form throughout the line, from a conviction that it would
generate more self-respect in the soldier, and a juster appre-
ciation in the community of military institutions.

As a school of tactics, not much was to be accomplished
by a single day's experience in the muster-field, and the
annual encampments under the modern law form a judicious
substitute. But the military reminiscences of actual service
in the Revolution were then widely diffused throughout the
land, and many ancient veterans, who had taken part in its
combats, held commissions under the state. A prominent
feature in the performances was an attempt to react famous
battles of the past ; and if the free use of gunpowder
in some degree obscured the field of vision, it perhaps
added to the value of these movements for a practical
purpose.

These energetic efforts to prepare for the possibilities
of war secured respect from all parties ; and men of char-
acter and distinction attended the reviews. 'Among those
present at Neponset was the ex-president, Mr. Adams, who,
with other gentlemen, dined with the governor in his tent
upon the field. Besides the addresses made to the officers
on these days of review, the general orders, dated from the
fields of West Cambridge, Wrentham, Neponset and other
places, though brief, were earnest and eloquent, mingling
praise with exhortation; and, appealing to generous senti-
ments, they were well calculated to inspire the men with
ambition to do their duty as good soldiers. They clearly
indicate a settled conviction that war was approaching, and
seem appropriate to the times, which by all might well be
considered critical, and to the character of those they were
intended to influence.

It had been always the habit of Judge Sullivan to be
much in the saddle, and his lameness made it important that
he should be mounted on parade. lie appeared on these
occasions in full uniform, upon a powerful and handsome

240 LIFE AND WRITINGS

charger, which he had used for two or three years for his
daily exercise.*

Without any very wide departure from just standards of
republican simplicity, or from that principle which lays at
the foundation of all puritan institutions, both in church
and state, of attaching importance to the inward sig-
nificance rather than to external semblances, the fore-
fathers of the commonwealth appreciated the propriety of
some form and ceremonial as an appendage to authority.
State anniversaries and festal occasions are for the general
pleasure and benefit, and derive a principal charm from
handsome uniforms and martial music. Where the magis-
tracy take part in such celebrations, military escorts serve
to lend dignity to official power, and to gratify spectators
seeking to be amused. On commencement days at the uni-
versity troops of cavalry escorted the governor to Cam-
bridge.

Under provincial rule the Boston Cadets had been
organized by Governor Shirley, in 1741, as a body-guard
to the executive in state solemnities, and for some years
before the Revolution they were commanded by Hancock.
Disbanded by Gage, in 1774, many of their old members
reorganized under Colonel Hitchburn, and did good service
on Rhode Island in the campaign of 1778. They were
re-chartered as a battalion, under Governor Bowdoin, in
1786, in the dark days of the insurrection, and have since

* Though spirited and full of action, this horse was gentle and docile ; and
one cold winter day, when Judge Sullivan was about to mount for his usual
ride, Dapple Gray put his foot upon the ice, and, taking it back, looked into his
master's face with an expression which intimated, very unmistakably, that he
wished to be corked. He was sent to the blacksmith, and, upon his return,
another look, equally significant, expressed his thanks. He long survived his
mimic battle-fields, in possession of a son of Judge Sullivan, and, several years
after, was again used for military duty. Upon journeys into the country, Dapple
often followed the carriage, and, a saddle being carried for the purpose, his
owner was thus able to vary the pleasures of the road. In his old age, when
he had ceased to be of value for saddle or for shafts, he was kindly cared for
in return for his past services.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 241

made themselves useful for escort duty at the capital. In
1807 their commander was Colonel Apthorp, and, upon
their anniversary, on the nineteenth of October, Governor
Sullivan, together with other guests, dined with the corps
at Conceri Hall.

On the twenty-sixth the Legionary Brigade, of seventeen
hundred men, chiefly belonging to the capital, assembled on
Boston Common, under command of General Winslow,
their brigadier, and were reviewed by the governor and
Major-General Eliot. As the troops were generally well
equipped, and in handsome uniforms, they made a brilliant
appearance ; and their exercises, including the defence by
the bayonet against cavalry, received much encomium. A
French officer, however, of some professional character,
who witnessed their manoeuvres from the state-house, mocks
a little, in the papers, at the absurdity "fa combat between
live-pound swords and fifteen-pound bayonets. The same
gentleman, professing to be a judge of military art, and
who, the preceding spring, through the same channel, had
been very severe upon the general want of proper knowl-
edge and discipline in the state militia, now admits their
superiority to any troops he had seen not making war their
vocation, lie says, however, that, surprised at the extreme
accuracy with which the Legion wheeled into line, he sub-
sequently examined the ground, and, from marks of wheels
upon the turf, was tempted to conjecture that this precau-
tion had been adopted to make a movement, difficult even
for veteran troops, more effective and imposing.

As nearly every civilized nation was then engaged in
hostilities, it would have been unreasonable to suppose that
this country would wholly escape participation. Any neg-
lect or delay of proper precautions, while Ave were liable
at any moment to attack, could not have been justified.
How entirely sincere Sullivan was himself, in his belief
of the importance of such preparation, is manifest from
the following letter, of the seventli of November, to John
ii. 1G

242 LIFE AND WRITINGS

Quincy Adams : " On Tuesday last I made a visit to
Quincy, and had a pleasant half-hour with President
Adams. He appears to be in good health and spirits.
I am of opinion that a war between the United States and
Great Britain is unavoidable. Their claim of superiority
over our ships and flag will not be relinquished. Should
we submit to it, we must yield on some principle. There
is none that can be suggested besides their supremacy on
the ocean. Should we accede to that, why should we not
become tributary for the privilege of traversing the sea ?
Should we yield to their claim of impressing our seamen,
upon what idea can it be done excepting that of our not
being entitled to that rank among the nations, and that
respect to our flag, which are enjoyed by other powers?
And why shall not the other powers maintain the same
superiority over us ? Tn short, there is no end to the mis-
chiefs consequent on the admission of a wrong principle.
The advocates for England, in this state, diminish in num-
ber, but increase proportionably in virulence. The greatest
calamity incident to a war will be internal. The friends
of Great Britain will not forsake her until they are com-
pelled to do it."

These details have been presented to the reader from a
belief that they will prove interesting. "Without them no
complete idea could be obtained of the state of political
affairs or military condition of Massachusetts at the time,
or the responsibilities devolving on the chief magistrate.
The office was certainly no sinecure. Besides the cares
and employments already mentioned, the list might be
almost indefinitely extended. Constant indications of his
conscientious devotion to official duty are to be found
in the public press of the day, and much was doubtless
accomplished of which no trace remains.

Among the subjects which claimed his attention was the
preservation of the timber on the state lands in Maine.
Contracts had been made, without even the pretension of

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 2 lo

right, between the lumbermen at the eastward and the
Penobscots, for this purpose ; and, on the first of October,
tlic governor issued his proclamation, drawn up by the
solicitor-general, Daniel Davis, to prevent it. On the six-
teenth he appointed the annual thanksgiving for the
twenty-sixth of November; and the proclamation, though
we have fresh ones every year, and often those that are
better, may be interesting, after so long a period, by way
of contrast :

" The almighty Creator and Governor of the universe is
to he worshipped and adored by his rational creatures.
The exercise of this duty is their highest privilege.

" Our pious ancestors, beholding with devotion and
gratitude the daily expressions of his mercy towards them
whilst they were surrounded with uncommon perils and
dangers, consecrated one day, at the end of each year, for
celebrating his praise and acknowledging his ordinary
support in the favorable course of the seasons, as well as
for rendering thanks for the extraordinary interpositions
of his providence in their favor. This has been handed
down as an ordinance from age to age, and our obligations,
at the present day, are as great as have existed in former
veins upon the generations we succeed. I have therefore
thought lit to appoint, and by and with the advice and con-
sent of the council do appoint, Thursday, the twenty-sixth
•lay of next November, to be observed as a day of public
Thanksgiving and Praise, throughout this commonwealth.

"And I do earnestly recommend' it to the ministers and
people of the state, according to the pious and laudable
example of their ancestors, to assemble themselves on that
day at their usual places of public worship, and there
devoutly and sincerely to acknowledge their dependence
on the most high God for his creating goodness and sus-
taining mercies; and there to thank and praise his high and
holy name for all his benefits. More particularly

"That he has marked out the place of our habitation

244 LIFE AND WRITINGS

where the gospel is enjoyed by all denominations of
Christians, in the most perfect freedom of conscience, with-
out persecution or restraint, every one having an equal
right to worship God according to the dictates of his own
reason.

" That he put it into the hearts of our ancestors, and
has continued the laudable emulation in their posterity,
to make literature and science the public concern, and the
encouragement of the arts the peculiar care of the civil
government.

" That he inspired a band of patriots, whose names will
be ever dear to their country, with wisdom and firmness
to declare the United States an independent nation ; and
the great body of the people with courage and magnanimity
to maintain the important declaration.

" That he has given these states wisdom and prudence,
not only to form a system of government for each state,
but discretion to all the states to establish a general gov-
ernment, by which they are firmly united and known as a
nation.

" That, under the wise and prudent administration of our
president and rulers, those constitutions have been pre-
served to us without destruction or corruption.

" That, while the calamities of war have afflicted Europe,
our president has been endowed with caution, wisdom and
prudence, by which, under the superintendence of a kind
providence, our neutral position has been preserved to us
in the blessings of peace.

" That no epidemic contagious diseases have been allowed
to distress or waste our country.

" That the earth has been made to yield her increase, by
which plenty has crowned the year from the field ; while
our commerce and navigation have been attended with
success and prosperity.

" I further exhort the good people of this commonwealth
to express their gratitude by their munificence to the poor,

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. . 245

on an idea that we arc all brethren, the children of one
Parent, even of our Father who is in heaven ; and from
whose unmerited bounty we derive all our enjoyments.

" That to their gratitude they unite a true and sincere
repentance for those sins by which we are rendered so
unworthy of the favors daily received from our Supreme
Benefactor.

" That they all unite ardently and sincerely to discourage
intemperance and wickedness, and to encourage and pro-
mote piety, virtue, morality and religion, amongst citizens
of every denomination.

" I recommend it to the people to refrain from all labor
and recreation incompatible with the solemnity of the day.

" Given at the council-chamber, this sixteenth day of
October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun-
dred and seven, and in the thirty-second year of the inde-
pendence of the United States of America."

Towards the close of the year his political friend and
associate, Dr. Charles Jarvis, whose eloquence and patriot-
ism were highly appreciated in Boston, as were also his
amiable disposition and social qualities, died, at the age of
fifty-nine; and, a few weeks later, another, with whom he
had been, for many years, on terms of intimacy and con-
stant intercourse, from their cooperation in the canal,
Colonel Loammi Baldwin. The latter, at the time of his
decease, was engaged in another project, for uniting Bos-
ton with Long Island Sound, by a canal from Weymouth
to Taunton River.

During the month of December are to be found three
lung articles, signed Americanus, on questions connected
with the points at issue between the two countries, in the
Essex Register and Chronicle. In one of these he says :

" The proclamation of the King of Great Britain is now
before the public. It is not in the least degree equivocal.
It is a most outrageous declaration of war against the rights
of all nations. After reading it no one can entertain an

246 LIFE AND WRITINGS

idea of any connection with England, but those who are
prepared to sacrifice the dearest rights of freemen, and
own themselves the willing subjects of their sovereign
lord, the defender of the faith.

" That man is born free, and has an undoubted right to
choose his own country, no one will deny but the blind
advocates of the divine rights of kings ; and no country,
that has any sense of national dignity, will sutler its citizens
to be enslaved, under the pretence of their being subjects
of Great Britain. The proclamation orders their cap-
tains to take all men who were born within the territories
of the United Kingdoms, leaving it to the discretion of
pirates and murderers, who are in want of men, to take all
the crews from our ships, when they, under such wants
and prejudices, may judge proper. Every man in the coun-
try must know that nature has placed no discriminating
marks between us and the subjects of Great Britain, and
that many of our native countrymen cannot be distin-
guished from the rudest inhabitants of Scotland and Ire-
land. Thus circumstanced, the wants of licentious com-
manders will be the measure of the safety of our sea-
men. If they have full crews, our fellow-citizens may
escape ; but,if they are in want of men, speaking the Eng-
lish language will be sufficient evidence to justify them in
taking whole crewrs from our ships ; and, when wTe add
to this the impunity with which they escape after the
most violent aggressions, with what safety can we navi-
gate the ocean ? Thus the British nation madly wages
war with universal nature. They are at actual war
writh all languages but the English, and this proclamation
is aimed exclusively at that. Any man on board our ves-
sels, who speaks any language but our own, is to be taken
as an enemy of war, and confined in their prison-ships ;
those who speak our language are to be presumed native
subjects of the United Kingdoms, to be obliged to assist
in plundering and enslaving their countrymen, and fighting

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 247

against their allies; in which latter case, if they are taken,
they are liable to lose their lives as pirates.

" If Britain claims the right of search for seamen as well
as property, a question naturally arises, why, in one case,
they are tried before condemnation, and in the other are
condemned by the captains of the ships, who are in want
of crews, without a hearing. Is the value of liberty, and
the preservation of our lives and limbs, of less value than
a little paltry property? No; that is not the answer. The
true reason is that the proportion of those that they can
prove English subjects in a court of judicature is so small
to the number taken, that it would defeat their object to go
through the solemnities of a trial. The only justifiable
manner of asserting this right, even allowing it to them,
would defeat its own object, and they would give it up.
But whilst they can confound Americans with Englishmen,
and have English captains to act as judges, our countrymen
must fill their fleets and fight their battles. Those who
have the best proofs possible of their citizenship can
hardly expect to return in less time than two years from
captivity. It has been proved that not one in ten whom
they have taken are British subjects.

"The most abominable principle in this proclamation is
that naturalization shall be no protection. Almost all nations
naturalize the subjects of others, and in no nation is natur-
alization so easy as in Great Britain. Yet, in the face of
all I his, they have ordered their captains to take our natur-
alized citizens who were born in the British dominions.
Our government, we trust, will properly resent this indig-
nity.

"We have admitted those who are naturalized to all the
rights of American citizens ; of which rights one of the
most important is security from foreign violence. Our
government cannot treat on such terms; if they do, our
constitution and laws are a dead letter; they are annulled
by a British proclamation, and we must submit to the new

248 LIFE AND WRITINGS

law of nations, 'that power gives right,' as has been illus-
trated in Denmark and in this proclamation. Such submis-
sion would be subversive of -every principle of our govern-
ment."

A few days later he says: "Every citizen who feels inter-
ested in the welfare of his country must be sensible that
we are verging to a very solemn crisis. The peace of a
nation is not to be sported with. A state of war will
always be deprecated by all wise and good men ; but, when
it becomes unavoidable, a patriotic mind will cheerfully
submit to all its calamities, rather than see the rights of
his country wantonly violated.

"It must always, however, be expected that there will be
some malcontents under the purest administration of the
most perfect human government. These, in times of pro-
found peace, may be allowed to riot in slander and vociferate
their malice without control. Although they constantly
aim their poisoned arrows at public virtue, it is too far
elevated to be endangered by their folly. But in times
like the present, when an anxious public are examining
every article in circulation, in order to learn the true state
of facts, then to deceive them is both cruel and treasonable.
Such we consider to be the tendency of numerous essays
in the federal papers at the present day.

" In order to establish the above charge, we ask such as
can recollect, or have read, the language held by the royal-
ists at the commencement of the late Revolution, were not
these the arguments on which they urged the necessity of
submission to every measure of the British cabinet, namely,
that we have no sufficient cause for war? They would
fain have made the world believe that the whole cause of
resistance was about a three-penny duty on tea; that John
Hancock and Samuel Adams were the principal cause of
the difficulty. But enlightened freemen could not be duped
by such base artifices. They knew it was not the mere
tax on tea, but the right which Britain claimed to tax us

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. lM9

without our consent in all cases whatsoever. That power
that could lay a tax of three-pence without our consent,
might lay one to any amount by the same principle.
Another argument was, that we had no prospect of success
We bad everything to lose, and nothing to gain. The
wealth and prowess of the parent state they never failed
to magnify ; while, on the other hand, our want of every
means necessary for successful resistance, as well as our
unskilfulness in anas, were constant topics of public decla-
mation. Resistance under these circumstances was deemed
madness. But the issue put the lie upon the whole.

" Is not the above an exact picture of our high-toned
federalists of the present day ? They call the present con-
templated war Mr. Jefferson's war ! And what, it may bo
asked, is the man whom they have heretofore represented
as a mere philosophic, pusillanimous creature, all at once
determined on going to war? And what has aroused his
resentment ? Why, if we may believe them, it is neither
right, nor honor, nor interest, but merely revenge 1 For
nothing else but to protect 'British renegades and desert-
ers ' ! A man must be contemptibly ignorant, or awfully
depraved, to make such a statement. Yet the reader has
only to consult the Gazette and Repertory to see this and
much more asserted.

"'It is simply a war of revenge/ says a writer in the
Gazette of Thursday last. 'It is pretended to be a vindi-
cation of our honor. It is a war of chivalry.' All this is
demonstrated as plain as the nose on your face by the
following very striking simile: 'My apprentice or my
servant,' says the writer, 'insults my neighbor's daughter
or wife ; my neighbor calls me a rascal and scoundrel, and
then demands satisfaction. I reply, Neighbor, I will givo
you all reasonable satisfaction for my servant's ill conduct.
Upon which he not only demands acknowledgment, but
requires that I should give him up a field directly before
my house, and to which he has no pretension.' This

250 LIFE AND WRITINGS

clumsy figure represents the United States as not only
demanding some acknowledgment for the murder of her
citizens, but the wicked Ahab demands Naboth's vineyard.
Had the writer made his statement in the following manner,
he would have given a much fairer representation of
the subject : l My servant, without knocking or waiting to
have the door opened, drives into my neighbor's house,
under pretence of looking for a runaway fellow-servant; he
abuses all the family, and takes by force one of the domes-
tics, which he claims as mine ; and also drags off one of the
children, which he swears is equally mine. My neighbor
calls me a rascal, and demands satisfaction. I reply,
Neighbor, I am willing to make you an acknowledgment,
such as I think proper, on account of my servant's abusing
your family, but I shall insist upon it that my servant shall
enter your house at all times without your leave, and take
from it whatever he claims as mine ; but I will caution him
to use you civilly while in it.' This is the degraded situ-
ation to which these writers say we must and ought to
come.

" It is not a fact that our government is going to war to
protect British renegades and deserters ; but they wish to
protect our own seamen. It is seen that it will be impos-
sible to do this, if their right to enter and search our
vessels is admitted. How many of our seamen, we ask,
who are American-born, are held in a state of unjust servi-
tude, but little inferior to Algerine slavery, into which they
were forced under the pretence that they were British
subjects ?

" Our government, we are bold to say, are so far from
wishing to involve the country in a war, that they are
ready to accommodate the subsisting differences in any
honorable way that would not affect our essential rights as
an independent nation. Whether these can be settled
without trying the hard pull of war, we know not ; but we
have the fullest confidence in the executive, that every-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 251

thing whirh justice,reason, humanity and honor, can demand
will be done.

" The federalists may congratulate themselves, in the mean
while, that they have unceasingly opposed every obstacle
in their power in the way of the executive ; so that if the
government is obliged to relinquish some of its well-founded
claims, or to go to war to support them, they may thank
themselves for it. If the British believe what they see in
the federal papers, as they undoubtedly do, as they consider
them as their exclusive friends, they will be deceived as
they were formerly by the tories. Ten regiments were
then said to be amply sufficient to conquer America. Our
situation is represented now as less favorable to successful
resistance than at that time. If this were in fact the case,
I should suppose the man guilty of treason who should
publish it to our enemies. Did General Washington, while
stationed in this vicinity, let the enemy know his real
weakness ? No ; his prudence concealed everything of
the kind, though his own reputation suffered at the time in
consequence of it. To keep up an appearance of real
strength, it is said that casks of sand instead of gunpowder
were supplied in the commissary's department. What
would have been thought of the man Avho should have
• Inclosed this secret? He would at least have been detested
as a perfidious traitor.

" It is remarkable to see how the views and feelings of
certain men have altered within a few years. This same
party, now so very anxious for peace, were the zealous advo-
cates for war under Mr. Adams' administration. Then Ave
were in no want either of men or money. Then the cry was,
'Millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute.' Some
have presumed to say, that it ' was the firm ground we took' —
I suppose they mean the formidable appearance that we made
with our navy and army — that brought the French govern-
ment to terms. What if we should try it again, and see
what effect it would have upon old England?

252 LIFE AND WRITINGS

" But, alas, we have one difficulty ! The clergy then were
enlisted in the federal cause ; of course the president was
never forgotten in their prayers. They not only petitioned
for a supply of wisdom for him, but especially for firmness.
No such petition is offered for our present chief magistrate.
Nothing is more dreaded than his firmness in the present
crisis of our affairs. Their only hope is that their clamor
will raise a party to intimidate the executive into their
measures. May God preserve him from error, and from
every degrading concession to our imperious foes! We
know that a ' vast responsibility rests upon him ; ' but
every virtuous American, whose patriotic feelings are alive,
will cheerfully bear a part with him in every lawful effort to
support our violated rights. Every man who would abandon
them, until everything was done within the reach of human
possibility, must be considered as a traitor or a coward."

In making these copious extracts from his gazette contri-
butions at this period, they have not been selected for
their merits of composition, since they were necessarily,
from the pressure of other engagements, very hastily pre-
pared. The object has been simply to show how earnest
was his solicitude to keep opinion in the right path, and to
counteract, as far as he was able, the effect produced upon
the public mind by the eloquent productions of the federal-
ists. He thought we were more likely to escape the calam-
ities of war by assuming a decided and somewhat defiant
tone towards our aggressor, than by any efforts to concil-
iate, or appearance of submission. We were her inferiors
in wealth, in numbers and in preparation ; but power, both
from prudence and magnanimity, respects the right that is
boldly asserted ; and events subsequently proved that our
readiness to respond with proper spirit, both in word and
deed, to the existing exigencies of our position, in a meas-
ure abated the pretensions of her cabinet, and rendered
occasions for complaint less frequent.

The administration of President Jefferson was now draw-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 253

ing to its close; and, notwithstanding the very general desire
of his party that he would suffer himself to be nominated
for a third term,he unequivocally declined. In the general
ascendency of the republicans throughout the country their
nominee was assured of success ; and their present selec-
tion appeared to be limited to Madison, Monroe and George
Clinton, the actual vice-president. At the five elections
which had already taken place since the organization of
the government, Washington and Jefferson, Virginians, had
won the field in four; the other resulting in the choice of
John Adams, of Massachusetts. The proposed selection
of yet another Virginian for the succession now created a
reasonable jealousy in the minds of many statesmen at the
north. It was, indeed, a palpable inconsistency with the
principles of justice and equality which should regulate the
distribution of federal honors among the states, and on a
due respect for which the stability of the Union must ever,
in some measure, be dependent.

Quite regardless of any such considerations, however,
Mr. Madison was now the prominent candidate. In one of
the political pamphlets of the day we find it stated that
the support of the party was tendered to Governor Sul-
livan for the viee-presidency, as also afterwards to John
Quincy Adams. As respected the former, his health Mas
already too much broken, and life become too precarious
for this distinction to tempt. Besides, he wholly disap-
proved of any such perpetuation of power in the "Old
Dominion/' and deemed Clinton, by character, wisdom
and long public services, the best entitled of all the candi-
dates I" the presidency. Towards the end of 1807, there
appeared in the Washington Expositor and other journals
several series of articles signed Nestor, Epaminondas,
Montgomery and Americanus, advocating Clinton's claims ;
and these were later printed in a pamphlet for popular cir-
culation. Without professing to decide conclusively as
to the authorship of the eight long and able articles over

254 LIFE AND WHITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

the signature of Americanus, they present much evidence
to confirm the belief that they were written by Governor
Sullivan, whilst containing no statement or expression to
shake such an hypothesis. There were, no doubt, other
writers who used the same signatures that he did ; but
there seems little probability that the internal marks of his
authorship, to be found in these essays, should apply to any
one else. They advocate a single presidential term ; that
no candidate, not sixty-four years of age, should be consid-
ered eligible ; that parties should respect the equitable
claims of different sections of the country in selecting
their candidates ; and offered many other suggestions
worthy to be considered by such as have at heart among
the people peace, and good-fellowship, and the perma-
nence of our institutions. The movement was without
effect. Madison was chosen ; and his successive elections,
and those of Monroe, both of them being pupils and per-
sonal friends of Jefferson, continued to Virginia for four
terms longer the supreme control of affairs ; and thus gave
her eight out of the first nine presidential periods.

CHAPTER VIII.

ADMINISTRATION.

Intelligence of the attack on the Chesapeake reached
London on the twenty-fifth of July, and was immediately
communicated by the foreign secretary, Mr. Canning, to
Mr. Monroe. Readily admitting the search of armed ves-
sels unjustified by public law, when the British government
learned that in consequence of the outrage our harbors
had been closed to its cruisers, conceiving this an un-
friendly measure of redress, it hesitated to make reparation.
Still the particular conjuncture favored pacific counsels.
The treaty of Tilsit, then recently signed, placed Napoleon
at the acme of his glory and greatness. Prussia was sub-
dued, Russia obsequious, Spain trembling before the fatal
fascination of her approaching despoiler. By force of his
genius, indomitable perseverance, freedom from scruple,
and indifference to human sufiering, the emperor, through
his vassal kings, from shore to shore controlled the conti-
nent, and wielded a power which no one ventured to dis-
pute. Confiding in her wooden walls and the bravery of
her people, England, alone undismayed, with the increasing
perils which surrounded her became but fiercer for the
conflict. In anticipation of the secret schemes of Tilsit,
she was already projecting her attack upon Copenhagen,
and cared little whether her revolted offspring in America
remained in suspected neutrality, or ranged themselves
without disguise among her avowed enemies.

256 LIFE AND WEITINGS

Having no armaments to inspire respect, and our valuable
commerce and exposed sea-boards, inviting depredation, war
with this country would have been popular in her army and
navy, among her East and West India merchants, and with
many of her most influential statesmen and politicians.
When, in October, her victorious squadrons returned from
the Baltic, leading captive the Danish fleet, neither consist-
ency of character nor public sentiment counselled any great
degree of condescension. On the sixteenth the king issued
the proclamation commented upon by Sullivan towards
the close of the previous chapter. In it he recalled his
seamen from foreign service, and authorized their seizure
from neutral merchantmen, extending his claim to all born
his subjects, who, by becoming naturalized citizens in other
countries, had abandoned his allegiance. An embargo on
American vessels in English ports was openly advocated.

Possibly from the allurements of trade, possibly from
party dissensions, either because we were deprived by Jef-
ferson of means to retaliate, or were wanting in gall to make
oppression sufficiently bitter, notwithstanding our ample
grounds for resentment we had submitted in meekness.
Finding no pretext for quarrel, England finally concluded
to send a special minister to Washington, and to tender to
our mortified pride amends, apology and reconciliation.
Mr. Rose, selected for the mission, reached Norfolk the
day after Christmas; his arrival preceded a few days only by
that of Monroe, who had returned home, leaving Pinckney,
the eloquent lawyer of Baltimore, as our representative in
London. Hampered by impracticable instructions demand-
ing the revocation of the interdict as a preliminary to nego-
tiation, while refusing to touch the one great subject at the
root of the whole controversy, that of impressment, the
diplomacy of Rose but complicated the entanglement, and
he went home in March, without having even divulged his
intended proposals of reparation.

On the fourteenth of December the president received

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 257

dispatches from Mr. Armstrong, at Paris, stating Napoleon's
determination to enforce the Berlin decree ; and other
arrivals brought tidings of the British orders in council of
the eleventh of November. These orders declared illegal,
for neutrals, all trade in the products or manufactures of
the enemy, unless when direct between the enemy's colo-
nies and the neutral country, or where bound to, or after
having touched at a British port, and subjected all vessels
purchased of the enemy, or having on board a French cer-
tificate of origin, as well as the goods covered by such
certificate, to condemnation.

These arbitrary regulations aimed a death-blow at Amer-
ican commerce, and indicated a settled purpose to provoke
hostilities. But Ave were not inclined or prepared for war.
Nor, had we been so disposed, would it indeed have been
easy to decide, having suffered aggressions from both
belligerents, which we ought to select for our foe. If we
entered into a triangular conflict with both, our inadequate
means and party divisions would have soon reduced us to
humiliation. Should we seek strength by alliance with
either, we should have had more to dread from our allies
than our antagonists. Congress adopted a middle course.
AVhen the president communicated the recent diplomatic
correspondence, on the eighteenth of December, it was
well understood, though not from official sources, that the
orders in council had been issued, and Congress passed,
almost without debate, an embargo, dated the twenty-sec-
ond, prohibiting all vessels quitting our harbors except
those of foreign nations with the cargoes they had actually
laden. The bill passed the house by a vote of eighty-two
to forty-four, the senate by twenty-two to six; Mr. John Q.
Adams, one of the senators of Massachusetts, and a major-
ity of her delegation, voting for, the other senator, Colonel
Timothy Pickering, against it.

This measure was defended at length, and with his usual
ability, by Mr. Madison, the secretary of state, in the gov-

ii. 17

258 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ernment organ, the National Intelligencer. He argued that
the embargo, though a customary precursor of hostilities,
was the only expedient we possessed to avert such a calam-
ity, and peaceably bring our aggressors to terms. Our
naval stores were indispensable to England, our breadstuff's
to her colonies. France would miss her colonial luxuries,
and the sale of her productions, the principal source of her
revenues. Spain would be cut off from supplies of im-
ported food, not making enough of her own for subsistence.
To neither nation could it afford just ground of complaint,
since it was simply a measure of precaution, not of aggres-
sion ; and Washington had sent Jay to negotiate, embargo
in hand. When, afterwards, the embargo was subject of
debate in the English Parliament, Mr. Brougham used the
following language : " If it be said this measure was
adopted suddenly, a charge which I think cannot be attrib-
uted to it, I answer, if it was done at all it behooved it
should be done with vigor and promptitude the very mo-
ment the government of the United States perceived it was
called for by the measures the British nation adopted. As
soon as this unexpected attack upon their navigation was
known, they were obliged to provide against its certain
effect by some measures of precaution."

England suffered in other ways than .in those mentioned by
Mr. Madison from the embargo. Already more than one half
of the sixty-one million pounds of cotton consumed in
her mills were of American production, and the annual
balance of our trade in her favor amounted to eight millions
sterling. Our markets were important to her manufac-
tures, our ports afforded a convenient shelter for her fleets.
Moreover, there was sensible ground for apprehension that,
under its continued pressure, distress would force us into a
French alliance ; and, if not very formidable by ourselves,
we should have greatly contributed to the strength of
Napoleon. It is well known that the embargo of April,
1812, induced a modification of her offensive regulations, a

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 259

concession not known in America till after war had been
declared, and hostilities commenced.

Plausible as these arguments were, in support of its
expediency, the embargo failed not to produce a profound
consternation. If not immediately followed by actual suf-
fering, and if the sanguine expected it to be limited in dura-
tion to sixty days, — as that under Washington had been, —
instead of about fifteen months, its actual continuance, those
whom it • endangered were quick to perceive its inevitable
consequences. Extraordinary profits had induced exten-
sion of trade, inflation of credit, expensive habits. A
check to commercial enterprise must bring ruin to the
merchants, and destitution to all who depended upon them
for a livelihood. Massachusetts owned over three hundred
thousand tons of shipping, one third of the whole national
tonnage. The bread of her people was on the waters, in
navigation and commerce. From her fisheries she derived
important staples of export. This sudden paralysis of all
her industrial pursuits threatened not merely distress but
destruction.

The merchants in Boston and of other seaports, encour-
aged by the belief that the treaty of the preceding De-
cfiuber would soon be ratified, had, in the spring, adven-
tured largely to India, on the expectation that the repeal
of the non-intercourse acts would be a part of the gen-
eral plan of conciliation. Tn this disappointed, some of
the more considerable now in vain memorialized Congress
for permission to enter their return cargoes. This addi-
tional blow to trade filled to overflowing the cup of
calamity.

Among the first to experience its ruinous consequences
were the sailors, who were thrown out of employment,
and, being naturally improvident, had no resources to rely
upon. On Thursday, the seventh of January, from eighty
to one hundred of them, carrying a flag at half-mast,
marched with martial music to the house of the gov-

2G0 LIFE AND WRITINGS

ernor, on Summer-street, vociferously demanding em-
ployment or bread. As soon as he could be heard, he
addressed them, " with a presence of mind which be-
came his exalted character, suggesting the impropriety
of their manner of seeking relief, and declaring he could
do nothing for them in his official capacity." He per-
suaded them to submit good-humoredly to what they
could not prevent, and, treating them with great kindness,
they soon marched away, well pleased with their recep-
tion.

The General Court assembled for its winter session in a
state of unusual ferment. Among all prevailed a mingled
sense of humiliation and resentment at the indignities
offered to our flag, and at the recent encroachments on
our rights of neutrality. This was directed, not simply
towards the aggressor, but, in the ranks of opposition,
expressed itself in vehement denunciation against the
president and his supporters for the measures adopted or
advised in vindication of national honor. All felt that the
country was approaching a crisis, with war for its probable
issue. In a letter to General Dearborn, dated on the
fifth, Sullivan writes : " Our apprehensions of a war grow
stronger. I am of opinion that Great Britain cannot
give up her claim to seamen, her native subjects; and that
we cannot agree to her enforcing that claim by searching
our ships and taking the people from under our flag.
But this will reduce the question to what we lawyers call
the modus in quo, the manner in which that claim shall be
maintained. If this is the only point the two nations
wage war upon, it must be finally settled by treaty,
unless the war is eternal ; and I do not know why it can-
not be as well settled now. But, if England means to
compel us to come into an alliance with her, we are to
stand and reflect on the situation of the Netherlands, Ger-
many, Prussia, Hanover and the other countries to which
she has pretended to reach the hand of protection."

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 2G1

In his opening speech on the eighth, after recommending
amendments to the act organizing the court of sessions, a
revision of the jury laws, and that all bills before the
General Court, after a second reading, should be printed,
the governor stated the militia force of the state to be, by
the last official returns, sixty thousand four hundred and
twenty-two men, and that our quota, ordered by the pres-
ident, was ready for service. He said that for twenty-seven
years, since the recognition of our independence, we had
enjoyed great political prosperity, and, following the advice
of Washington, been generally enabled to keep ourselves
strictly neutral. The existing convulsions of Europe had
led to peculiar embarrassments, and we could no longer
remain indifferent to events which agitated the world.

The two great maritime nations had violated our neutral
rights, and we were in danger of being forced into the
vortex of a general and expensive war. To escape, if
possible, this complication, resort had been had to an
embargo ; for why should our vessels go to sea, if all bound
to France were to be seized by Great Britain, all to
English ports by the French ? An embargo was certainly
a calamity, but it was all-important to have time to deliber-
ate, and, in the mean while, not to suffer the country to be
stripped of its seamen and naval resources. Were the war
to be with more than one power, we need not hurry to the
contest ; if with one only, as the incidental ally of the
other, we should proceed with caution, under compact of
alliance, and not rush with rashness, and without due
preparation, to the combat. Uninvited, to extend the
hand to either would only be to lay ourselves at her feet.

While in so many respects we were still the subject of
envy to other nations, we ought not to murmur at our
share of calamities common to them all. Had we been
still connected with England, her wars would have been
ours. Independent, and with rulers of our own choice,
we might remonstrate, but not resist that government,

262 LIFE AND WRITINGS

which, if in error, still represented the voice of the majority.
The crisis had been aggravated by an unsubstantial and
excessive paper currency, and all its evil consequences had
been ascribed, but with great injustice, to the administration.

Any division of the states would instantly dissolve the
nation, and annihilate every legal obligation to civil and
social duty. Our enemies knew that, if the present national
constitution were dissolved, the United States could never
again exist as a sovereign and independent power, but
must fall a victim to foreign despots, or, what was more
likely, become the abject dependents of petty tyrants
among ourselves. Were the prevailing disposition to dis-
credit the government when on the verge of war that of
our own people, it was highly criminal ; if of foreigners
who had gained a residence in this country, it was a base
misuse of the indulgence derived from their situation.

It was time we had become one people without invid-
ious distinctions, having no other appropriate appellation
but that of American citizens. An elective government
could never destroy a nation or overthrow its liberties ;
yet, we might be assured from the nature of things, as
well as from ancient and modern history, that a want of
union among ourselves must inevitably involve us in
slavery and ruin. But he was satisfied that Massachusetts
would still hold her important rank in supporting the fed-
eral government on the principles of the Revolution, and
that no circumstances however perilous, or appearances
however doubtful or gloomy, would cause this common-
wealth to shrink from a contest, where the honor and inde-
pendence of the United States was in question.

In order to satisfy public curiosity as to what would
probably be the issue of the entangled relations between
the two countries, the speech was published in the London
papers, and also received much encomium in our own.
The answers of both senate and house were in unison
with the general tone prevailing of alarm and irritation.

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 263

That of the latter, prepared by Joseph Story, is remark-
able for its warmth and vigor, for that combination of pro-
found wisdom and genius which for half a century distin-
guished all his intellectual efforts. When it was proposed
to substitute the words "of royal proclamations and impe-
rial decrees" for his own expression ■" of imperial man-
dates " in the answer, Story defended his draft in an
eloquent argument. Two days later, as chairman of the
judiciary, he presented his report upon the reorganization
of the tribunals, with an exposition at once learned and
lucid of chancery powers, which we give below. Three
bills accompanied his reports. The two first, for rearrang-
ing the terms and powers of the supreme court and com-
mon pleas, were adapted to the then extensive dimensions
of the commonwealth. The third was to create a court of
chancery for cognizance of cases in equity, divorce and
appeals in probate, with proper jury provisions. It will be
entitled to consideration, should existing prejudices against
such tribunals ever be conquered by the experimental
proof of their beneficial operation elsewhere. The season
A\as not propitious for so absolute a change in the judicial
system ; and all the bills were either rejected or referred.
The report is as follows :

" Tn the first bill they have availed themselves of the
learned labors of their predecessors, and cannot but rec-
ommend the system proposed by it, as combining very
great simplicity with very great advantages. In the sec-
ond bill they have proposed amendments to the courts of
common pleas, which, without impairing their general
structure, are calculated to produce salutary effects and
lasting benefits. The object of both these bills is to render
the administration of justice simple, prompt and cheap;
to settle principles of decision, which may stand the test
of future scrutiny ; to awaken the emulation of learned
men ; and to bring relief home to the doors of the oppressed
and the injured.

2G4 LIFE AND WRITINGS

" These bills comprehend all the amendments which the
committee deem essential in the courts of common law.
But there are various cases, claiming the attention of an
enlightened legislature, in which no remedy for wrongs
exists at common law, or the remedy provided is ineffectual
and incomplete. The courts established for the ordinary
administration of justice are bound by settled forms of
proceeding, and by a rigid adherence to rules of decision,
which, though wisely and admirably framed for the pur-!
poses of justice, are sometimes injurious in their application
to particular cases. This consideration has induced that
intelligent nation, from which we in a great measure derive
our laws and our usages, to institute courts of equity,
whose jurisdiction extends to all cases where natural jus-
tice gives a right, and the common law has provided no
means to enforce it. The same necessity, aided by the
same consideration, has induced several, and among these
two of the most intelligent, states in the Union to establish
courts of equity ; and, when the committee name the re-
spectable states of New York and Virginia, they presume
that the weight of such authority will not easily be shaken.
As the principles and the jurisdiction of courts of equity
are not familiarly understood among us, and the committee
have deemed it their duty to offer a bill on this subject, it
cannot be incorrect in them to submit the reasons which
led to the suggestion.

" Courts of equity, as contradistinguished from courts
of law, have jurisdiction in cases where the latter, from
their manner of proceeding, either cannot decide at all
upon the subject, or cannot decide conformably with the
principles of substantial justice. Whenever a complete,
certain and adequate remedy exists at law, courts of equity
have generally no jurisdiction. Their peculiar province is
to supply the defects of law in cases of frauds, accidents,
mistakes or trusts. In cases of fraud, where an instrument
is fraudulently suppressed or withheld from the party claim-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 265

ing under it ; where an unconscientious advantage has been
taken of the situation of a party; where a beneficial prop-
erty is injuriously misappropriated, equity interferes, and
compels complete restitution. In cases of accident or mis-
take, where a contract has been made respecting real or
personal estate, and by reason of death it cannot be com-
pleted; or where, by subsequent events, a strict perform-
ance has become impossible ; where, in consequence of a
defective instrument, the intention of the parties is in
danger of being defeated ; or where a want of specific
performance cannot be compensated in damages; equity
administers the proper and effectual relief. In cases of
trust, where real or personal estate, by deed, will, or other-
wise, is confided to one person for the benefit of another;
where creditors are improperly preferred or excluded ;
where numerous or discordant interests are created in the
same subject matter ; where testamentary dispositions, for
want of a proper trustee, are not fulfilled ; and where fidu-
ciary estates are, by connivance or obstinacy, directed to
partial or unjust purposes, equity applies the principles
of conscience, and enforces the express or implied trusts
according to good faith.

" Sometimes, by fraud or accident, a party has an advan-
tage in proceeding in a court of ordinary jurisdiction, which
must necessarily make that court an instrument of injus-
tice, if the suit be suffered ; and equity, to prevent such a
manifest wrong, will interpose, and restrain the party from
using his unfair advantage. Sometimes one party holds
completely at his mercy the rights of another, because
there is no witness to the transaction, or it lies in the
privity of an adverse interest ; equity, in such cases, will
compel a discovery of the facts, and measure substantial
justice to all. Sometimes the administration of justice is
obstructed by certain impediments to a fair decision of the
case in a court of law ; equity, in such cases, as auxiliary
to the law, removes the impediments. Sometimes, prop-

2G6 LIFE AND WRITINGS

erty is in danger of being lost or injured, pending a litiga-
tion ; equity there interposes to preserve it. Sometimes
oppressive and vexatious suits are wantonly pursued and
repeated by litigious parties ; for the preservation of peace
and of justice, equity interposes in such cases an injunc-
tion of forbearance.

" These are a few only of the numerous cases in which
universal justice requires a more effectual remedy than
the courts of common law can give. In proportion as our
commerce and manufactures flourish, and our population
increases, subjects of this nature must constantly accumu-
late ; and, unless the legislature interpose, dishonest and
obstinate men may evade the law, and entrench themselves
within its forms in security. One or two striking instances,
applicable to our present situation, will illustrate these
positions. In this commonwealth no adequate remedy
exists at law to unravel long and intricate accounts be-
tween merchants in general ; and between partners the
remedy is still less efficacious to adjust the partnership
accounts. A refractory or fraudulent partner may seize
the books, papers and effects, of the firm, and cannot, by
any process, be compelled to disclose or produce them.
In many instances, therefore, neither debts can be recov-
ered, nor accounts be adjusted by them, unless both parties
are equally honest and equally willing. Great evils have
already arisen from this cause, and still greater must arise,
unless equity be brought in aid of law. In cases of pecu-
niary and specific legacies, no complete remedy lies to
compel a marshalling of the assets, or an appropriation of
them according to the intention of the testator ; and, where
the interests of the parties are complicated, great injustice
must often ensue. In cases of trusts, created by last wills
and testaments, which are already numerous, no remedy
whatsoever exists to compel the person on whom the fidu-
ciary estate devolves, to carry them into operation. He
may take the devised property, and, if his conscience will

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 267

permit, may defy all the ingenuity and all the terror of the
law. Mortgages afford a great variety of questions of con-
flicting rights, which, when complicated, are beyond tho
redress of the ordinary courts ; nay more, may often be
the instruments of iniquity under their judgments. A dis-
covery on oath seems the only effectual means of breaking
down the barriers with which the cunning and the fraudu-
lent protect their injustice. The process, by which the
goods, effects and credits, of debtors are attached in the
hands of their trustees, is often inefficient, and sometimes
made the cover of crafty chicanery. Perhaps, too, in as-
signments of dower, and partition of estates, where the
titles of the parties are questionable and intricate, or the
tenants in possession are seized of particular estates only,
it will be found that courts of equity can administer the
only safe and permanent relief.

" The committee are not aware of any solid objection to
the establishment of a court of equity in this common-
wealth. The right to a trial by jury is preserved inviolate ;
and the decisions of the court must be governed as much
by settled principles as courts of law ; precedents govern
in each, and establish rules of proceeding. The relief
granted is precisely what a court of law would grant, if it
could ; for equity follows the law. The leading character-
istics of a court of equity are, the power to eviscerate tho
real truth by discovery of facts upon the oath of the party
charged ; the power to call all parties concerned in inter-
est, however remote, before it ; and the power to adapt
the form of its judgments to the various rights of the
parties, as justice and conscience may require.

" If the admirable provision of the constitution be duly
enforced, that every citizen of the commonwealth ' ought
to obtain right and justice freely, and without being
obliged to purchase it, completely, and without any denial,
promptly, and without delay,' the committee feel somo
confidence that a system of jurisprudence, which points to

2G8 LIFE AND WRITINGS

all the objects of legal and equitable jurisdiction, will not
be thought unworthy of the deliberate and the earnest
attention of the legislature."

In debate, and as chairman of other important commit-
tees, Judge Story was, during this session, the prominent
member of the house. The responsible task was devolved
upon him to prepare amendments to the statutes, that they
might better correspond with the decisions of the supreme
bench. The universal deference felt throughout the state
for the wisdom and learning of Chief Justice Parsons,
induced a ready acquiescence in his fearless recognitions,
as common law in Massachusetts, of much which rested
upon immemorial usage, or was dictated by justice or com-
mon sense. But it may with confidence be asserted that a
characteristic principle of democratic faith would have
restricted the bench to an interpretation of the law, as
established by statute and precedent, and viewed with
jealousy all encroachments upon the legislative functions.
Story was also called upon to revise the whole system of
arrests and attachments ; and Dr. Mitchell introduced, in an
able speech, a system for the discharge of insolvent debtors
and a just distribution of their effects among their creditors,
a branch of jurisprudence then with us but in the embryo.

In order better to facilitate their reference to committees,
Judge Sullivan made his constitutional suggestions to the
legislature in separate messages.

On the first Monday of the session he sent in from the
council-chamber nine different communications, many of
them of considerable length. The first covered an amend-
ment, proposed by Vermont, to the federal constitution, for
the removal of federal judges on address ; the second
recommended the revision of the state militia laws ; the
third inclosed a letter from inhabitants on our eastern
border, stating the menacing appearance and conduct of
the British, who were erecting fortifications on the eastern
bank of the Schoodick; the fourth treated of the strength

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 2G9

and quality of the gunpowder manufactured in the Tinted
States, and the importance of establishing an inspection for
what should be manufactured or brought within the state;
the fifth proposed amendments in the sessions act passed
in June ; the sixth was on the subject of fortifications ;
the seventh on the Penobscot Indians; and the eighth on
the late draft of eleven thousand and seventy-five men at
the requisition of the president. The last was of a confi-
dential nature, and, while under consideration, the galle-
ries were cleared. It stated that though the militia were
generally in good discipline, their arms were very defec-
tive ; that twelve thousand were without muskets ; that
five thousand stand of small arms could be obtained at
Washington, and advised their purchase.

Neither space nor our subject warrant minute details of
all the measures of the session, or their fate ; but, were it
appropriate, we would gladly mention members of either
branch who took part in their discussion. Among the sen-
ators, Otis, Gore and Bigelow, led for opposition ; Hill,
King, Morton, Sprague and Spooner, were the principal
combatants for the administration. In the house, the most
conspicuous republicans were Crowninshield, of Salem, af-
terwards secretary of the navy under Madison, and brother
of Jacob, member of Congress from his district, whoso
death in Washington a few weeks later caused general
regret; Prince, of Marblehead; Bangs, of Worcester; Bacon,
of Stockbridge ; Smith, of Springfield; Ripley, of Winslow ;
while among the prominent federalists were Whitman,
.Mason, Lloyd, Sullivan, Wheaton and Bradbury, of Port-
land.

General William Eaton, of Brimfield, late consul at Tunis,
who, by his prowess at the battle of Derne, and his services
in rescuing some three hundred Americans from African
servitude, had gained distinction and a grant of ten thou-
sand acres of land from the state, had been occupied during
the summer as a principal witness against Aaron Burr.

270 LIFE AND WRITINGS

With less than his accustomed astuteness, Burr had made
him his .confidant ; but his treasonable projects were re-
vealed on different occasions, and so indirectly that, in
obtaining knowledge of their full extent, Eaton was neither
compromised in the crime nor committed to secrecy. His
deposition shows that Burr's ulterior object was not Mexico
or the Spanish possessions, but the erection of the western
states into a new empire, of which he modestly proposed
to become the dictator. Chosen to the house by federal-
ists, Eaton generally was a stanch supporter of republican
measures. Soon after taking his seat he made a forcible
speech, advocating resolutions to fortify the heights in the
vicinity of the capital, provide a train of flying artillery,
and for gradually putting the military into uniform. Another
speech of his upon the Vermont constitutional amendment,
for removing the federal judges on address, reported at
length, was ardent and characteristic.

Besides those which have been already enumerated, the
governor made several other communications to the court,
and among them four refusing his assent to bills or resolves
to which he found reason to object. One, for creating a
registry of deeds in the county of Washington, he returned,
on the ground that its provisions were not sufficiently
definite, and in some respects conflicting. A bill subject-
ing convicts, pardoned on condition, to the pains and pen-
alties of their original sentence, where they violated the
condition, he vetoed, on the ground that it encroached
upon the executive prerogative as established by the con-
stitution. He rejected a private resolve for leave to sell
real estate, for the reason that the law already made pro-
vision for such cases through the courts of probate; and,
where a resolve provided for the raising an independent
company of cavalry, he questioned its propriety, as inter-
fering with the general arrangements of the militia, which
ought, he thought, to be organized on fixed rules, not to
be disturbed without some important end was to be

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 271

answered. Both branches generally acquiesced in the pro-
priety of these vetoes, and, in some instances, unanimously.
On the conditional pardon bill, by a vote of twelve to
eighty-three, the house sustained the governor, while the
senate repassed the bill by a two-thirds majority. No
authorized effectual standard of military discipline having
been adopted, and the consequent want of system leading
to confusion and insubordination, the governor recom-
mended the preparation of a book of tactics for use in the
commonwealth. The cession of Governor's Island to the
United States for the erection of fortifications, the forma-
tion of the eleventh militia division, the troubles in the
county of Kennebec, and other matters of less interest,
formed the subjects of other messages.

Gallatin, secretary of the federal treasury, was now advo-
cating a modification of Hamilton's funding system, which
could be accomplished without infringing upon the rights
of actual holders, and by which one half the extra amount,
which was now promised to be paid, should be given to the
first recipient of the scrip, the other to the actual possessor.
The papers swarmed with articles upon the subject, and
Sullivan, among others, sustained the views of Mr. Gallatin.
Petition was made to the legislature of Massachusetts to
adopt the same rule in payment of the state debt, called
the new emission of 1780; but without result.

The most important measure of the administration, actu-
ally accomplished, was the betterment law, which had been
referred over from the June session. It was for the benefit
of the squatters ; or, to use another expression, that largo
number of people who, in new settlements, plant themselves
upon the land of others without first asking permission.
This law gave the settler, after six years, a right to the
value of his improvements, should the owner choose to
eject; to the latter the value of the land, if it were left to
the tenant. With a view to anticipate the operation of
this law, the large landed proprietors of Maine, and espec-

272

LIFE AND WEITINGS

ially the Plymouth Company, whose territories extended
over about two millions of acres, had been busily engaged
during the recess in suits for the recovery of their lands.
They offered terms of compromise, which were rejected as
unreasonably exorbitant by some of the settlers, by others
in the hope that their condition would be improved by the
passage of the law. Many of the individual proprietors
respected the necessities of their poorer compatriots, and
released for less than value ; but the agents of the com-
panies, from fidelity to what they conceived their duty to
their employers, were often harsh and oppressive. The
country was thrown into a state of great agitation ; the
more unseasonable, that war was impending, and might be
expected to make its first appearance from the eastern
border. Sheriffs' officers, attempting to serve process,
were insulted, and in two instances in November fired at
and wounded.

The principal scene of commotion was in the region
north-east from Augusta, the shire town of Kennebec, about
Unity and Fairfax; but the disaffection extended over
nearly the whole counties of Kennebec and Lincoln.
Several hundred men, adopting the Indian garb and imitat-
ing the Indian dialect, masked and armed, had been, during
the summer, observed in the woods and out-of-the-way
places ; and, during the winter, menacing letters were
received by the sheriffs, threatening resistance to legal
process. Some of those known to be implicated in these
outrages and threats were substantial farmers, whose whole
property was in jeopardy from these suits. Others were
lawless individuals, such as invariably were found about
the outskirts of civilization in the district, engaged in raft-
ing or in cutting timber, and often the latter without any
pretension to right. Both parties petitioned the legisla-
ture for what they respectively considered the justice of
their cause demanded, and the squatters gave the sheriffs

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 273

and their employers to understand that no service of pro-
cess would be submitted to till the matter was decided.

Probably in consequence of the severity of the winter,
which sets in early in that part of the country, or that this
was the season for their labor in the forests, as it advanced,
assemblages of any numbers became less frequent, and
gradually ceased. For some weeks before the meeting of
the legislature nothing had occurred looking like insurrec-
tion, or even amounting to resistance to the law, except
idle threats and anonymous letters.

Arthur Lithgow was sheriff of Kennebec. He had been
an ardent federalist, but had lately joined the republicans,
and warmly advocated the election of Governor Sullivan.
Of excellent character and good sense, energetic and
brave, he had provoked hostility among the inhabitants by
his uncompromising temper, yet had failed to make himself
respected by sufficient consistency of purpose. Early in
January he reported to head-quarters the state of affairs,
the troubles he had experienced, the apprehensions he
entertained, and was advised, in answer, to rely upon the
posse comltatus to enforce his precepts.

By the statute of the twenty-eighth of October, 1786,
abundant provision was made for the quieting of riots and
tumultuous assemblages, and by that of the twentieth of Feb-
ruary, 1787, for suppressing tumults and insurrections. Both
were passed at the time of the Shays rebellion, when pub-
lic attention was fully alive to the necessity of wise and
fixed rules for the preservation of peace when disturbed,
for the security of government when assailed. The former,
known as the riot act, devolved on justices and sheriffs the
duty of dispersing gatherings of more than twelve men
armed, or thirty unarmed, where unlawfully or riotously
assembled. These officers could call to their aid the posse
cornitatus, or, in other words, a sufficient number of the
inhabitants of the country in arms, if the rioters were
armed, to quell the disturbance. This, in the water-melon
it. 18

274 LIFE AND WRITINGS

rebellion, in 1796, in Boston, had been resorted to with
success. The other statute provided that, in case of dan-
gerous insurrections existing or apprehended, notice should
be given to the governor, who was requested to call out
military force adequate to the emergency. Where the
urgency of the case prevented notice, the sheriff, or any
two justices of the supreme court or common pleas, might
call upon the major-general or officers of the militia in the
vicinity, to act under the direction of the civil officer,
unless in case of rebellion declared by the legislature.

There had been no additional acts of violence since
November, and nothing but threats and occasional gather-
ings for consultation among the discontented to cause any
alarm. No call had been made upon the posse, no resistance
offered to process, when, without any fresh grounds for
apprehension, the sheriff, on the eighteenth of January,
required of Major-General Sewall a detachment of four
hundred men. He despatched an officer, Mr. Dillingham,
into the disaffected districts of his precinct, whose report,
dated the twenty-fifth, was sent to the governor. Mr. Dil-
lingham stated that he had found a strong insurrectionary
spirit, and that some of the better class had informed him
that the Plymouth Company and their agents had harassed
and vexed the people by unjust demands for their lands,
and that, when a compromise was agreed upon, no safe deed
was given. A general and serious combination had been
entered into by several thousands in the county to oppose
even by force the operation of the laws in favor of the
company, until the subject of their complaints had been
laid before the legislature, and some decision had. Many
men, of dissolute life, and destitute alike of morals and of
property, availing themselves of the general disturbance, had
seized it as a golden moment to rid themselves of debt, to
bid defiance to the laws and officers in every shape, and, by
anarchy and confusion, to make others as poor and wretched
as themselves. By this class of men the various acts of

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 275

violence had been committed, and those naturally of sober
habits and industrious, had looked on in silence, thinking
they were good dogs to hunt off the agents of the com-
pany. All those of property and information, and they
were by Car the greater part, gave assurance that they
would make every exertion to have matters quietly settled,
without the aid of military force.

On the twenty-fifth of January the sheriff wrote to the
governor that he was about to commence hostilities in a
few days with Spaulding's horse and some volunteers,
while the militia were preparing; but, on the twenty-
seventh, that the promptness of the government would
have the desired effect. Two agents of the insurgents now
assured him that tranquillity would be restored, and that
the next day a meeting of about seven hundred, part of
them masked and in Indian dress, and one half of them
completely armed and equipped, would assemble at Fairfax
to meet Mr. Dillingham, and choose a committee to wait on
the sheriff, for the purpose of reconciliation. He hoped
nothing would transpire to prevent a peaceable demeanor
of these deluded people. Upon consultation with his
council, upon this intelligence, the governor concluded that
nothing in the disturbances justified the further resort to
military force, and, on the first of February, he prepared
and despatched, by a special agent, a printed proclamation
for general distribution, with orders to General Sewall to
disband the troops.

The course adopted by General Lithgow was doubtless
actuated by a conscientious wish faithfully to meet the
exigencies of a difficult duty; but he had been misled by
his zeal into a mistaken sense of what that duty demanded.
Had blood been shed, endless animosities would have
rankled in the minds of the squatters, and probably roused
that very spirit of insurrection which this military array
was designed to prevent. In critical moments the respon-
sibilities of his office required the best of tact and temper,

276 LIFE AND WRITINGS

of prudence and circumspection, and with these a certain
degree of popularity. Identified in the minds of the great
masses of the people in Kennebec with these obnoxious
prosecutions, which, through his subordinates, had been
pressed, as the sufferers naturally thought, with unneces-
sary rigor, he had lost his influence, and was regarded with
dislike. With war knocking at the gate, and quiet among
ourselves indispensable for efficient action, public policy
demanded, as a peace-offering to these wide-extended dis-
contents, that he should be removed, and new men under a
new chief substituted in his place and that of his deputies.
Had his only error been a misapprehension of duty while
endeavoring to sustain the supremacy of the law, there
would have been some hesitation in sacrificing his personal
claims even to an object so desirable as the public tranquil-
lity. But he had informed the executive of the existing
difficulties, and a course pointed out explicitly by the law,
and adequate to the occasion, had been advised for his guid-
ance. In opposition to their judgment he chose to assume
responsibilities, not called for by the reality or appearance
of resistance, by recourse to extreme measures, only appli-
cable in the last resort, and, in the then grave posture of
affairs, especially objectionable. Satisfied that his conduct
had been indiscreet, and indeed, under all the circumstances,
open to positive censure, after hearing his defence, the
council advised his removal, and the governor, on the first
of March, nominated John Chandler, member of Congress
for Kennebec, as his successor.

A few days after, when it was too late to recall the nom-
ination, the lieutenant-governor and six of the council
entered upon their record-book a lengthy report upon the
subject of the propriety of removing political opponents
from office, which, when in the fall the federalists were in
power, was printed for public circulation. Its close, in
which the council declined to pass judgment upon the case
of the sheriff of Kennebec, placed the governor in an

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 277

awkward dilemma, inasmuch as he had already offered the
post to Mr. Chandler, then at Washington, and, laying
before them all the papers and documents, he requested
their opinion directly upon the question of Lithgow's re-
moval, stating that he should be governed by their decis-
ion; upon which, they immediately confirmed Mr. Chandler.
To prevent misconception, and to submit the propriety of
his course to public opinion, the governor was careful to
leave written records of every step in the proceeding, and
requested that they should be preserved in a separate file in
the state department. General Lithgow had advocated his
election, and it was not on party grounds that he was super-
seded. When repeatedly urged, by his republican friends, to
use his official patronage for their benefit, by removing
from office federalists, who were competent and faithful, he
declined, fearlessly braving the loss of his own influence,
rather than countenance a pernicious doctrine, which he
had at all times consistently reprobated; that the spoils
belong to the victors.

Meanwhile, the betterment bill, expected to prove a sov-
ereign remedy for all these difficulties, was winding its way
slowly through the court. Petitions poured in from the
squatters, earnest remonstrances from the great proprie-
taries. Traditions exist that powerful influence was made
in its behalf by holders of defective titles in the capital.
On the twenty-third the bill passed the senate, and on the
twenty-fourth the house, by a vote of one hundred and eigh-
teen to forty-four, and became a law on the second of March,
1808.* It is somewhat remarkable that though the bill was

* By this same law, writs of right upon the possession or seizin of an ances-
tor or predecessor, which, by that of 1786, were limited to sixty years, were
restricted to forty years ; and writs of entry upon disseizin of an ancestor or
predecessor, which, by the former act, could be brought within fifty years,
were now restricted to thirty ; any claim upon one's own seizin being still
confined, as by the act of 1786, to the same limitation. These periods have
again been reduced by the Revised Statutes, and now, with some qualification
for disabilities, are restricted to twenty years ; all writs of right being abolished.

278 LIFE AND WRITINGS

long under debate, an important and seemingly an uninten-
tional omission, corrected by statute, 1819, chapter 144,
escaped observation in both branches. The word " now "
confined the statute to possession titles acquired at the time
of its passage.

From a provision that the full value of the land should
be paid within the year, afterwards changed to a payment
by three annual instalments, by statute, 1809, chapter 84,
the act failed to produce immediately all the good effects
which were anticipated. When, on the fifteenth of March,
the county jail, at Augusta, was fired by one of its eight
inmates, it was, without reason, ascribed to lingering dis-
affection among the squatters. When the new sheriff, in the
middle of April, made a tour through his county, he found
some remnant of the former restlessness. Within a month
the settlers had collected to the number of fifty at a time,
at the sound of horns, in Indian garbs, well armed, equipped
and organized. Little benefit was expected among them
from the new law, owing to the difficulty, and in many
cases the impossibility, in a period of universal distress, of
raising sums equal to the value of the land. Moreover,
the successful claimant, in some few instances, did not pos-
sess a perfect title, and tenants might be compelled to pay
a second time. They had come poor into the county, and
had settled on land which they knew was not their own,
but which they believed the property of the commonwealth ;
in which case they had no doubt that they should be well
used. They had spent their best years in improving the
property, and were now liable to lose their all by pretended
claims, which, through the superior power and influence
of the claimants, were unjustly recognized in the courts.
The sheriff succeeded in tranquillizing their minds, and
the good sense and fairness of the Plymouth Company
soon induced a contented spirit throughout their terri-
tories.

This repose was not, of course, without its interruptions.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 279

In August, 1809, Paul Chad wick, an estimable young man,
in Malta, who bad been a schoolmaster, was engaged with
others in running out the farm of a friend, upon an agree-
ment di' settlement with the claimant of the land, when
several men, masked and dressed as Indians, came out
of the bushes, fired at and killed him. When seven of
those implicated were on trial, at Augusta, for the murder,
the threats of attempted rescue made it necessary to call
out an armed force to protect the jail and court-house. The
evidence was conclusive, the judge's charge direct and to the
point, yet the jury acquitted. When one of the jurymen
was asked how they could render such an unrighteous ver-
dict, he replied that they did not choose to hang seven men
for killing one. In order to put a stop to such outrages for
the future, by a statute passed soon afterwards, the adop-
tion of Indian dress or other disguise for the purpose of
intimidation or obstruction of legal process, was prohibited
under heavy penalties. There were disturbances in 1811
on the Waldo patent, but in no instance had blood been
shed in suppressing insurrections in Massachusetts since its
great rebellion in 1786.

However gloomy their anticipations, the public had
hardly commenced to experience all the bitter fruits of
the embargo. There was indeed already sufficient poverty
and want, and public soup-kitchens, a common indication
of distress, were opened in Boston, Portland and other
places. When the tidings arrived, in February, of the Milan
decree, in which Napoleon declared denationalized and
lawful prize vessels which had been stopped by English
cruisers, touched at their ports, or submitted to tribute,
the propriety of the embargo was more generally admitted;
but there were not wanting those who thought that navi-
gation would have suffered less from capture under the
regulations, than from the cessation of trade. Prom time
to time supplementary acts of the ninth of January, of
the twelfth of March, of the twenty-eighth of April, and of

2S0 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the ninth of June, were passed by Congress to enforce
its observance, and military force ordered, though not
actually put in requisition, to compel obedience. Towards
the end of January Mr. Ripley introduced into the Massa-
chusetts legislature resolutions expressive of confidence in
the administration, and in approbation of its measures.
They passed without delay both branches ; in the house
by a vote of one hundred and seventy-eight to eighty-one.'j
Notwithstanding this unequivocal expression of theirJ
sentiments, and the yet more decided majority by which the
original and supplementary act had passed Congress, our
senator, Colonel Pickering, on the sixteenth of February,
addressed Governor Sullivan a letter, setting forth his
own views of their impolicy, and denouncing, in unmeas-
ured terms, the judgment and motives of the administra-
tion. He rested his argument mainly on the ground that
the embargo had been adopted before official information
had been received of the orders in council, though no one
doubted at the time of their existence, and the next arrival
had confirmed it. While demanding, as his senatorial right,
that the governor should communicate his letter to the
court, he knew full well that so unreasonable a pretension
would not, in any probability, be acceded to, and sent a
duplicate to his friend, Mr. Cabot, for publication. Judge
Sullivan had not read far before fully realizing its objec-
tionable tone and character, and, not disposed to be made
the unwilling medium of communication to the court of
opinions at variance with theirs and his own, he closed it
without reading further, and returned it to the writer
at Washington. Letters of a courteous if not friendly
tenor, interchanged not long before, seem to prove that
there existed no unpleasant feeling on either side, and his
note explaining his reasons for declining to comply with
the request of Colonel Pickering appears sufficiently cour-
teous. Upon the return of his missive, which he seems
to intimate was not unexpected, Colonel Pickering affected

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 281

to consider himself injured, and replied with some asperity.
His original letter was printed at Northampton. Its preface,

signed -'Thousands," a signature well known at that period,
censured the governor for his course, and was in circula-
tion when the second was received. The whole affair bore
the suspicious semblance of having been indirectly designed
to affect the approaching elections, and the publication of
this second letter did not lessen the impression ; though wo
should now acquit the writer of any other intention than
that assigned by himself, considering the temper of the
times and the circumstances. Some allowance also must
be made for the misapprehension of motive indicated in
the rejoinder; for, displeased at what seemed both ungen-
erous and disrespectful to his official station, Sullivan
replied with some degree of temper.

Were it not too long for our limits, we should gladly
give the whole correspondence, including the third letter
of Colonel Pickering. In this he ably defended himself,
not merely from the charges actually made upon him,
but also from what he conceived, evidently without reason,
to have been intended as personalities. Neither combatant
was famed for gentleness of disposition when provoked;
their blows were heavy and their metal keen ; but, however
earnest or angry the encounter, they were not sufficiently
vulnerable for any great amount of harm to result to either
from the combat. The correspondence afforded Colonel
Pickering fitting occasion to refute the unfounded asper-
sions of partisan assailants, and to leave on record an
interesting sketch of his public services. A letter of Mr.
John Q. Adams, our other senator, to Harrison Gray Otis,
dated the thirty-first of March, in answer to Colonel Picker-
ing, forcibly sustained the policy of the embargo. It reviews
the whole controversy between the United States and
Great Britain, and proves the pretensions of the latter, to
impress our seamen and interfere with our trade, inconsis-
tent with the public law, the comity of nations and our

282 LIFE AND WRITINGS

own independence. Taken together, these letters of Pick-
ering and Adams present a most complete view of what
was to be said upon both sides of the subject.

The annual fast proclamation, to which Colonel Pickering
had alluded, as his correspondent appeared to think, with sar-
casm and irreverence, is inserted, not as particularly good,
when compared with the many eloquent productions of the
state executive on similar occasions since, but as charac-
teristic :

" The unchangeable nature of God assures to us seed-
time and harvest, and the exact returns of the seasons for-
ever. This cannot fail to excite in our hearts a sublime
devotion towards him.

" At the opening of the year, when the husbandmen
cast the seed into the earth, in hope of a plentiful harvest
through his goodness ; when the merchants spread their
commerce on the seas, with an anxious eye to his favor,
it especially becomes us, in a public and solemn manner, to
acknowledge our dependence, and to implore the blessing
of Him who maintains the sun in his place to warm the
ground ; who scatters plenty on the field from his clouds ;
of Him, who hath bound the waters in a garment, and
brings the winds from his treasuries.

" I have, therefore, thought fit to appoint and set apart,
and by and with the consent of the council, do appoint and
set apart, Thursday, the seventh day of next April, as a
day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, in the com-
monwealth ; and I do request the people of the same to
assemble themselves on that day, in their usual places of
public worship ; and there, among other acts of devotion,
to render thanks to almighty God for his mercies ; more
especially that he has created them rational creatures, with
capacities to discern his existence and power from his
works ; his wisdom and goodness from his government.
That he has been pleased yet more fully to reveal his benev-
olence to the human race, by a display of his attributes

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 283

and perfections in the Scriptures. That the invaluable
blessings of the gospel are freely enjoyed by the people
of this state, allowing them, while it opens to them the
highest privileges of religion and virtue, to worship God
according to the dictates of their own consciences, so that
no power can insert itself between them and the supreme
object of their worship, or impose upon them a confession
of faith which their hearts do not approve. That God has
been pleased, in the course of his providence, to unite and
to raise the United States to the rank of an independent
nation ; and has endowed them with wisdom to agree on
constitutions of civil government, with systems of jurispru-
dence, which, if wisely administered, and faithfully executed,
cannot fail to assure freedom and happiness to the country.
" Though we are instructed by our holy religion, that
our Father in heaven knows all our wants before Ave utter
them, yet we are also taught that he has seen fit to mako
our prayers the condition on which he will bestow his
favors, and the means to render us suitable subjects of
them. The people will, therefore, on that day unite their
sincere and ardent prayers for their country. That God
will be pleased to support us in our republican forms of
government, to continue and strengthen our national union
and respectability. That he will inspire our rulers to make
morality and virtue the care of the civil and legislative
authorities. That he will guard us from covetousness,
fraud, oppressions, envy and slanders, and all those crimes
which are a reproach to, and have a tendency to destroy, a
community. That he will smile on the labors of our hands,
and on our enterprises in business, prospering our naviga-
tion and fisheries, so that, at the close of the year, we may
come before him rejoicing in the continuance of his good-
ness, and uniting in the expressions of our gratitude for
his favors. That he will be pleased to guide our public
councils by his wisdom, in such a manner that our nation
may be relieved from its present embarrassments, and that

284 LIFE AND WRITINGS

our peace may be secured, and the independence and sov-
ereignty of our nation be maintained without the calamities
of war. That our success in business may induce us to
acts of compassion and charity ; so that, while the poor
are satisfied with bread, they may be encouraged, by laud-
able examples, to the practise of industry and frugality ;
and the pleasure of doing good be greatly increased. That
the arts may be encouraged, as having a tendency to dig-
nify the human character, as well as to ameliorate the con-
dition of human life. That our public schools, academies
and colleges, with all other literary and religious institu-
tions, may be faithfully and prudently conducted, and hon-
orably maintained ; so that knowledge in the sciences may
be cultivated under the laudable impression that they are
designed to raise man from earth towards heaven, and
to enable him to contemplate the divine perfections and
attributes in a more exalted strain of thought.

" I also recommend that, with their devotion, the peo-
ple shall unite true and sincere repentance for their sins ;
more especially that we have, in so many instances, mis-
improved our invaluable privileges, and disregarded those
rules of morality, charity and benevolence, which the
Author of our nature, our supreme Benefactor, requires of
us, as the foundation of our public happiness. That we
offer our fervent prayers to God, that he will, by his grace,
enable us to walk before him hereafter in integrity and
uprightness of heart ; in the exercise of that righteousness
by which alone a nation can be exalted, and in the practice
of those virtues which are the strength of a community.

" Under a train of solemn reflections of this nature, the
mind will be devoutly raised to the throne of the high and
holy One, whose prerogative it is to forgive our sins ; who
alone can crown the year with health, and fill it with plenty,
and by whose grace only we can be made fit subjects of
his mercy, and be blessed with public and private felicity.

"Unnecessary labor will, of course, cease ; recreations be

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 285

laid aside ; worldly mirth will l>o silent, and the day be
observed as ;i day consecrated to religion and piety.

" Given at the council-chamber, in Boston, this fourth day
of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and eight; and in the thirty-second year of tho
independence of the United States of America."

Agreeably to the custom of his predecessors, in March
he addressed general orders at some length to all the divis-
ions. He endeavored to preserve in full glow the patriotic
ardor and commendable spirit evinced by the soldiers the
preceding season. They needed no additional incitements
to their duty. During the year ten thousand had been
added to their ranks; and the Massachusetts contingent of
eleven thousand and seventy-live were completely organ-
ized, armed and equipped, ready to march at a moment's
notice. Of these, seven whole companies of cavalry, three
of infantry and two of artillery, had volunteered. At the
urgent request of the governor, twelve heavy guns of differ-
ent calibres had been mounted, horsed and manned, and
were distributed along the shore, to aid in beating off any
armed vessel that should venture within our waters in
disregard of the interdict.

Dull details of legislation must weary the most patient
reader; and wo forbear to dwell longer upon the proceed-
ings of this long and busy session, which, after the passage
of nearly one hundred acts and as many resolves, came to
a close on the twelfth of March. Expenses of government
in all departments of the public service were far less than
at present; tho whole expenses of the year being only one
hundred and thirty thousand dollars.

Few of the favorite projects of the republicans reached
a successful issue. Indeed, during their brief tenure of
power no time was permitted for bringing them to maturity.
The betterment law and the jury act, the latter diminishing
exemptions, and securing greater impartiality in selection,
were their most commendable achievements. The court

286 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF JAMES SULLIVAN.

of sessions, the enlargement of the jurisdiction of justices
of the peace to twenty dollars, the appointment of county
attorneys by the executive, the inspection of fish, regulation
of licensed houses, and the turnpike act, were respectively
the subjects of other useful enactments.

Among those defeated or deferred were the religious
liberty bill, land office, bank, institution for annuities, road
acts, indemnity to original holders of revolutionary scrip,
and a general revision of the poor laws. Their militia
law, revised at the suggestion of the governor, was not
carried through at this time ; but the following session
a committee of federalists, appointed to improve upon their
labors, reported the act of 1809, chapter 108. This long
continued in force, and furnished the ground-work of the
present system.

Reports upon the feasibility of connecting Boston and
Long Island Sound by a deep water canal from Weymouth
to Taunton River; asserting that conversation in the legis-
lature, on subjects under consideration, is equally privileged
with debate from legal prosecution for slander; and another,
reviewing Judge Parsons' charge to the grand jury, prior
to the Selfridge trial, form interesting portions of the
printed journal. Several other executive messages, besides
those enumerated, are to be also found in its pages ; some
of which are of interest. Solicitude that Massachusetts
should be in a state of becoming preparation, in the event
of war, then thought to be approaching, affords some ex-
planation for their frequency.

CHAPTER IX

ADMINISTRATION.

As the season approached for the annual election of
state officers, James Sullivan and Levi Lincoln were again
selected as the republican candidates. Under the date of
twenty-first of February, 1808, the former writes as fol-
lows to his friend, General Dearborn, at Washington:
" I am much obliged by your favors. To know that my
speech and my late proclamation are approved by you, by
my other friends at the seat of government, and the friends
of the present national administration, cannot fail to afford
me a singular pleasure. I have no interest to serve but
that of my country. I am now an old man. The office I
hold does me high honor, because the men whose approba-
tion I esteem approve of my administration at this very
important crisis. I am waited upon by a committee, con-
sisting of the president of the senate, the speaker of the
house and Mr. King, with the information that the republi-
cans have met, and unanimously agreed to request me to
stand a candidate for the chair another year. I have
answered them, that the support which I have had amidst
the cruel persecutions of the federalists has bound me to
be at their disposal. Yet, could it be done without haz-
arding the republican cause, I should rather retire into
obscurity, than to endure the conflict which daily occurs.
Was there nothing but the incidental occurrences of dif-
ferent opinions, all might be overcome ; but where there is

288 LIFE AND WEITINGS

an eternal speculation for offices, for the gratification of
resentment and revenge, the business is too perplexing for
a man of my size of mind."

On the eighth of May he thus reports the result of the
election : " You are no doubt anxious in regard to the elec-
tions of this state. The governor and lieutenant-governor
are chosen by about three thousand majority ; the federal
scrutiny may reduce this majority three or four hundred.
There are twenty senators chosen on the federal side ;
seventeen on the other. The twenty can make a scrutiny,
as has been done in other cases, to exclude the republican
candidates. This will be done so as to gain a majority of
one at least on the British side in the senate. The federal-
ists have strong hopes of a majority in the house ; but, if
they are disappointed, they can deceive and divide the
republicans, on a choice of officers, banks, canals, tvrn-
pikes, bridges and other favorite measures, by engaging to
aid them, by way of remuneration for their votes, so that
they will be able, as they did last year, to carry every point
that they choose.

" I inclose a letter written by me to Colonel Pickering,
on the eighteenth of March, which he published himself,
with notes. The pamphlet I send Mr. Madison, with a
request to show that and my letter to you. I have no
objection to your communicating this to him. We are
certainly on the verge of a revolution. Whether the fed-
eralists gain a majority or not, in our legislature, they will
pursue the complaints ostensibly made by Pickering, but
really made and published by them all, prevailing on the
people to believe that our government is making the United
States a province of France, and that an alliance, offensive
and defensive, with England, on her own generous and fair
terms, is our only safety. The English have ten thousand
troops and eight ships at Halifax. The ministry, in the
house of lords, and their party, old Mr. Rose especially,
openly avow their intentions to regain the United States,

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 289

or the northern part of them at least, as provinces. They
say we are corrupt, extravagant and luxurious ; that money
is our God ; that we are all to be bought with money ;
that a ship in each harbor would destroy our commerce;
and that a small land army would gain sufficient strength
from the opposers of the administration here to conquer a
country where there is no army, no fortress, and where
pecuniary speculation is the only concern."

Throughout this correspondence, and in other writings
of his at this period, may be observed profound distrust
of British influence, stern denunciations of federalist
writers who undertook to palliate British aggressions.
How much of this feeling was old revolutionary jealousy
against tories now again revived, how far party or national
bias warped his judgment, we do not profess to decide.
Similar sentiments extensively prevailed among men too
candid and generous to readily credit imputations upon
others without some degree of proof. Probably there
existed nowhere a class, sufficiently numerous and influen-
tial to be dangerous, who, upon sober second thought, would
have willingly returned under British allegiance. But
statesmen from Virginia had monopolized all control of
public affairs ; they would have had America self-depend-
ent, self-sustaining, confined to its fields and factories, rais-
ing its own food, weaving its own garments. They re-
spected little, perhaps envied much, those fertile farms
over all the seas, whence northern hardihood reaped its
plentiful harvests, and would have sacrificed the most
vital interests of commerce to what, in the keen perception
of the victims, were evident fallacies in political science.
Irritated beyond endurance by measures seemingly neither
called for nor rational, and which, through the ignorance
or suspected malice of their inventors, were considered
fraught with more mischief to ourselves than to those at
whom they were professedly aimed, there were not want-
ing many who began to calculate the value of our boasted
ii. 19

290 LIFE AND WRITINGS

institutions, or who thought they had been already suffi-
ciently tested, and that the experiment had failed.

Many worthy and highly respected citizens in Massachu-
setts, as elsewhere, while loyal to their own country, were
still warmly attached to the land of their fathers. The
customs and literature of Great Britain, her history and
fame, were their inheritance; their kindred were still among
her people ; their ancestors slumbered beneath the shadows
of her church. Political separation had not chilled the
sympathies growing out of community of race ; and com-
mercial intercourse, emulous and reciprocating, had long
since reunited the friendly ties which had been severed by
the mistaken policy of her ministers, or the injustice of
Parliament. With institutions as free as her position
towards the continent permitted, the best interests of soci-
ety, as far as they depended upon political liberty, seemed
alike the care of both nations ; and, engaged as she now
was, single-handed, in a struggle with all the rest of Europe,
many an American bosom glowed with affectionate pride at
her courage and achievements. If, forgetful of their new
obligations, some individuals among us were inclined to
extenuate injustice unavoidable in a situation so difficult as
hers, and which, upon our own part, might be considered
not wholly unprovoked ; if a few even went further, and
wished they might again become the subjects of Great
Britain, and share in its perils and its glory ; now that
such sentiments have ceased to be dangerous they are no
longer open to reproach.'

Nations, as individuals, are under the guidance of Provi-
dence, and it is idle to speculate as to what might have
been under different contingencies. Yet, had England
shown a more conciliatory spirit, and been disposed to
cultivate a good understanding, upon a footing of equal-
ity with America, it seems safe to assert that, the moment
Bonaparte set at naught all hopes of constitutional free-
dom in Europe, a large majority of our citizens would have

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 291

been responsive to her advances, and their friendly dis-
po8itiona contributed materially to her strength.

Such, unfortunately, were not the views of her govern-
ment, probably for the reason they were not the prevailing
sentiment of her people. Persisting in her aggressive
policy, and all efforts at negotiation having proved unavail-
ing, resistance had become for us the only alternative con-
sistent with national honor. At such a crisis, for American
citizens to palliate her conduct, might be justly regarded as
disloyalty to their own country. That, in some cases, this
disloyalty degenerated into designs bordering on treason,
was not merely matter of suspicion, but for actual belief.
The evidence on which it rested may not have been proof,
yd enough to command attention and to justify vigilance.
Although in reality groundless, jealousies dictated by solici-
tude for the general welfare, and not attended by injustice
to any individual, ought not to be condemned in those to
whom was entrusted the public security.

If, as retorted on Sullivan, he had himself been indefati-
gable, ten years before, in deprecating and preventing hos-
tilities with France, there was little inconsistency in this.
For aid granted to our Revolution by her king, because
such was the wish of his people, we had guaranteed to her
the possession of her colonies, and facilities in our ports
for her cruisers. This compact was with the nation, and
not with the monarch, and the treaty with England had vio-
lated, not merely its spirit, but express stipulations. War
would only aggravate the wrong, and negotiation, whenever
opening offered, coincided with the dictates of both justice
and honor. We could now be fairly chargeable with no in-
justice to either belligerent, but were ourselves the parties
aggrieved. He would have been the last to discourage
discussion of the subject within reasonable limits; but, in
censuring sentiments he thought disloyal, he hut exercised
a privilege liberally improved by his ancient opponents.
He simply did his duty, as they no doubt supposed they

292 LIFE AND WRITINGS

were doing theirs, according to their light, when they stig-
matized his opinions, and those of others as zealously patri-
otic as themselves, as disorganizing, radical and Jacobin.*

Not many months elapsed after the passage of the em-
bargo before New England began to experience all its
deplorable consequences. Her navigation for many years
had been greatly extended and lucrative. The carrying
trade of Europe had become tributary to her prosperity,
and whatever was touched by her commerce had turned
into gold. Extraordinary profits afforded heavy premiums
of insurance, and individuals of all classes, as underwriters,
were enabled to participate. Colossal fortunes were accu-
mulated almost without an effort, and, success stimulating a
speculating spirit, numbers deserted the walks of steady
toil to embark in adventure, where the result but rarely
disappointed expectation.

All this was now changed. Commercial adventure, care-
fully planned, and rich in promise, had been stayed in the

* When discontent at the cabinet measures had reached its height, a gentle-
man from Canada, of agreeable manners and pleasing address, visited Boston.
He was hospitably entertained by several of the principal federalists ; and, at
the festal board, when the nutty old Madeiras, for which Boston and Charleston
have both been ever with justice alike distinguished, had circulated freely, the
songs and toasts indicated much loyalty to England, but none at all to Mr.
Jefferson. To talk treason became the fashion ; and many influential mer-
chants, smarting under the commercial restrictions which had blighted their
full-grown prosperity to its very roots, naturally fell into the use of strong
expressions. The journals reflected the sentiments of their readers, and gave
abundant reason to the republicans for jealousy as to what was intended.
The gentleman alluded to was looked upon by them as an emissary of the Eng-
lish government, and his conduct was such as to justify some suspicion. But,
if any serious projects of disunion ever existed before dinner, they were greatly
exaggerated, and no evidence has since transpired to fasten the imputation upon
any one. The fifty thousand dollars, paid at a later day to Mr. Henry, proved
how little such appearances are to be relied upon, and the story told Mr. Jef-
ferson by Colonel Hitchburn, impeaching indirectly the loyalty of four of the
purest among the patriots, was too palpable an absurdity, to all familiar with
the irreproachable character the individuals alluded to bore where they were
known, for credulity itself to believe.

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 293

midst of preparation. The ships, which had whitened the
ocean, rotted at the wharves. Valuable merchandise, per-
ishable by nature, decayed in the store-house. Merchants,
who had grown old in successful enterprise, reduced to
the verge of bankruptcy, unexpectedly found the|r families
threatened with poverty, and their names with a discredit
which commercial honor dreaded more than impoverish-
ment. Before the embargo was raised, four fifths of our
commercial classes, according to tradition, became insol-
vent ; and many of them, no bankrupt law existing, were
unable to extricate themselves from their embarassments,
and passed the rest of their days in want and humiliation.

Those who relied upon the prosperity of trade for daily
labor and subsistence were thrown out of employment;
and charity, deprived of its ordinary resources, furnished
inadequate relief to its numerous applicants. Luxuries
from abroad, which from habit were indispensable to the
aged and feeble, rose rapidly above the straitened means
on which they depended. Real estate rapidly depreciated,
gra<s grew amid the pavements of populous seaports, and
the inhabitants, too disconsolate to be amused, passed their
idle days in profitless regrets, or in angry vituperation at
the originators of this wide-spread calamity.

Boston, which had largely shared in the preceding bene-
fits of neutrality, was now the especial victim of the em-
bargo ; and among the sufferers were those who had been
most extensively engaged in trade, and were the most in-
fluential in the community. Of these many were the familiar
associates and friends of Governor Sullivan ; but, fortu-
nately for his peace of mind, they could not hold him respon-
sible in any way for their distress. His son William, in
the Familiar Letters, says, and his remark is fully confirmed
by abundant other evidence, " It was not to be disputed his
father was much dissatisfied by the course of policy adopted
by the leaders of the party to which he belonged. He was

294 LIFE AND WRITINGS

so especially with the embargo, and with the measures to
enforce that system."

Under another act of Congress, in April, the president
was empowered to appoint agents, who should grant licenses
to transport along the coast flour from one American sea-
port to any other where it might be needed. These were
to be given to persons, not likely to misuse the privilege,
for purposes of exportation ; and it was supposed to
have been intended by the government that they should be
given only to the supporters of the administration. Soon
after, the president delegated this power to the governors
of New Orleans, Georgia, South Carolina, New Hampshire
and Massachusetts, and later to others, whom the federalists
styled " dispensers of favors, and masters of starvation."
The president estimated the number of persons in the
commonwealth, who were dependent upon flour from other
states, as one hundred thousand, and their consumption,
upon an average, at one pound each, daily. He was thus
willing to allow us about two hundred thousand barrels for
the year, and manifested some impatience when the amount
permitted during the first quarter had reached nearly half
that quantity. Governor Sullivan ordered permits to be
granted to all bringing evidence of honest intentions ; and
his impartiality in the discharge of this delicate trust
secured approbation from all parties. He hastened to dis-
charge himself from this invidious responsibility upon the
first favorable opportunity ; and, upon the plea of arrange-
ments he had made for visiting the western counties of the
state, wrote Mr. Jefferson, in August, to request him to
select another for the post.

The embargo received the assent of Congress as a
temporary expedient. It had failed to accomplish its
object in inducing the revocation of the offensive orders
and decrees ; yet the pride both of rulers and people for-
bade its immediate abandonment. " If abortive in its main
purpose, it had," as Jefferson wrote Langdon, "given time

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 295

to call home two thousand of our vessels, with thirty
thousand seamen, and eighty millions of property. It en-
couraged the hope," to use his expression, " that the whale
of the ocean would tire of the solitude he had made on that
element, and return to honest principles; and that his
brother robber on the land would see that as to us the
grapes were sour." Despatches from our ministers abroad
encouraged its continuance as already producing some
ellrci in Europe. Interruption of intercourse, preventing
remittances, had greatly embarrassed English merchants, to
whom our own were largely indebted. Cotton and tobacco
had enhanced in price, and, as summer advanced, short
wheat crops began to be apprehended, ('aiming had grown
cordial, almost conciliatory, and, though still tenacious on
the subject of impressment and the orders, gave Pinckney
some reason to hope accommodation. Armstrong, from
Paiis, reported Bonaparte inflexible, refusing all relaxation
of his decrees, unless pari passu with England. He
declared other nations must be his foes or his allies, and, in
proof of his sincerity, confiscated seventeen millions of
neutral property, most of which was American. Our con-
dition increased in embarrassment. War even, as a relief
from existing distress, seemed to have eluded our grasp;
and the event, irretrievably entangled amidst the meshes
of diplomacy, to defy all calculation. Measures of pre-
caution and preparation government owed to public secur-
ity; and some inadequate exertions were made to fortify
the principal seaports.

Discomfort seeks relief in change, and now, prevailing
generally among all classes, affected the elections. The
vote for governor, after a federal scrutiny had discarded
returns from plantations, and many besides to which objec-
tion could be made, was eighty-one thousand one hundred
and forty-seven, of which James Sullivan received an
unquestioned majority. This majority fell short about six
hundred of that of the preceding year ; though in Boston

29G LIFE AND WRITINGS

that in favor of his present antagonist, Christopher Gore,
was nearly that number less than Caleb Strong's in 1807.
His plurality was this year two thousand six hundred and
twenty-one; the last, two thousand seven hundred and
thirty. Levi Lincoln was re-chosen lieutenant-governor.

During the canvass the Repertory and other federal news-
papers confined their electioneering efforts to encomiums
upon their own candidates ; and when they mention Gov-
ernor Sullivan it is invariably with respect. This may not
have been equally true throughout the state, as, among the
multiplicity of newspapers published at the time, all have not
been preserved, and, of those that have, not more than
eight or ten have been carefully examined. The Pickering
correspondence occupied a prominent place in the canvass,
but the course taken by the governor does not appear to
have diminished his vote.

The legislature met on the twenty-fifth of May. In
consequence of the embargo, and some divisions among
their opponents, the federalists preponderated in both
branches. In the senate, Harrison Gray Otis was chosen
president by nineteen votes out of thirty-seven ; in the
house, Timothy Bigelow, speaker, by two hundred and
fifty-two votes out of four hundred and seventy-six. Gen-
eral Cobb, George Cabot, Artemas Ward, Benjamin Pick-
man, Prentiss Mellen, Oliver Fiske, Ephraim Spooner,
Thomas Dwight and Edward H. Robbins, were chosen
councillors. Josiah Dwight was made treasurer in the
place of General Skinner, and William Tudor succeeded
Jonathan L. Austin as secretary of state.

On the seventh of June the governor made his usual
speech to the court, which occupied nearly two hours in
its delivery. It was principally confined to the subject of
the embargo, and gave a full and detailed statement of the
various orders in council, and imperial decrees, which had
led to the measure. He said that, in the existing critical
condition of affairs, the people stood anxiously waiting for

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 297

that intelligence which a speech from the chair and tho
replies of the two houses would give them. Holding in
respect the morality and policy of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence as the foundation of our national and state con-
stitutions, he considered the farewell address of Washing-
ton as the perfect creed of American politics.

In their relations with other powers they had to complain,
not only of the infractions of treaty stipulations, but of tho
violation of international law, and both France and England
acknowledged paper blockades to be illegal. In this intri-
cate and perplexed situation, a false step, an erroneous
calculation, or a fallacious expectation of foreign aid, might
involve them and their posterity in irretrievable misery and
disgrace.

Independent sovereignty was the vital principle of na-
tional existence; and all nations, whatever might be the
advantages of one over another as to climate, numbers,
wealth or force, as respected their independence, must be
regarded as on the same grade of perfect equality. No
nation had ever placed the hopes of maintaining its inde-
pendence on another, but had been reduced to conquest
and misery. Our safety was in union. Washington had
experienced its benefits in the Revolution ; for, if the
smallest state had then withdrawn from the confedera-
tion, it would have deranged and probably defeated every
effort. The opposition of a state to the central govern-
ment would create a national anarchy, an evil far more
dangerous and distressing than that resulting from ordinary
commotions, because the states had already organized gov-
ernments of their own. The scenes of blood and carnage in
other countries admonished them to place their trust in the
national administration in all concerns delegated to its care,
and to restrict the state to those lines of power which were
designated when the federal government was carved out of
them.

The nations interrupting our trade were actuated, not

298 LIFE AND WRITINGS

by enmity, but by self-interest. Still they were to be
treated as enemies, for we could neither resign our com-
merce nor our neutral flag to their direction. No price
was too great to be paid for independence ; no calamity so
dreadful as subjection to a foreign power. The nations of
Europe had an excess of population maintained by manu-
factures they could not afford to consume themselves. The
United States exhibited a pleasing contrast. Spreading
themselves through every climate, including every soil,
and possessing every advantage of navigation, delighting
in that commerce which returned the gold and fabrics of
other nations for our raw materials, the energies of our
innate enterprise must still increase. Europe would not be
so incautious as to urge us to the habit of wearing our own
wool, or of weaving our own cotton and flax ; of opening the
bosom of the earth for the iron and coal with which she could
furnish us, or of feeding upon the sugar of our own cane,
or the milk of our own kine, instead of foreign luxuries.

Whilst wishing for peace, we must provide for war. Six
hundred thousand men were to be raised; our seaports
were to be fortified. If our enemies relied upon our own
factions and divisions, they would be deceived. Neither
the misuse of the press, nor party dissensions, nor the
opprobrious epithets adopted from the warm breath of
partisans, evinced any actual hostility to national free-
dom, and in case of war we should all be united. When
under the crown, complaints of violated charter rights
were without intermission ; but our independence had
rolled on the smiling anniversaries of more than thirty
years, and this country exhibited greater quiet, less com-
motion, more security to life and property, and less oppres-
sion by taxes, than any other on the globe.

The embargo was undoubtedly a great calamity ; but as
it was necessary to save our commerce from the unpro-
voked depredations of two mighty powers, and to preserve
the nation, if possible, from the calamity of a foreign war, it

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 299

was our duty to submit. The idea of a perpetual embargo
was inadmissible. If without result, the question would
remain whether our vessels should traverse the ocean
unprotected, or be defended by our artillery. The inter-
ruption of commerce had naturally created in this com-
monwealth great anxiety and jealousy of the administra-
tion. With seven hundred miles of seaboard, principally
full of inhabitants engaged in commerce and navigation,
it had nevertheless exhibited, under its pressure, a tran-
quillity and good order, that could flow from no other source
than an enlightened understanding, and pure love of liberty
conducted by law and government. If within the power
of legislation, he should gladly cooperate in any measures
that could be devised to ameliorate the condition of the
people during its continuance.

The act had been intended as an expedient to induce
other nations to leave our rights entire, and not involve
our trade in the depredations of their wars. It was easy
to conceive that the appearance of divisions amongst our-
selves on the propriety of the measure, if realized in
Europe, might prevent one of the valuable effects in-
tended to be produced by it; but if the belligerents,
misled by the press, should rely on appearances of this
nature, they would be disappointed. Our nation would
not yield its independence, or become tributary to any
other ] lower. In this solemn appeal to Heaven we would
rely, under God, upon our internal strength, and in our
own unconquerable situation, and defend ourselves with
that energy unanimity alone could produce.

Of the committee selected by the house to respond,
Colonel Thacher was chairman ; of that in the senate, James
Lloyd. Both replies were eloquent productions, alike ex-
pressing preference for Avar to a longer continuation of the
embargo. To evince their displeasure with John Quincy
Adams for sustaining the government, the court went into
the election of his successor somewhat earlier than usual.

300 LIFE AND WRITINGS

They chose James Lloyd senator in his place fo*r the six
years from the fourth of March, and, upon this Mr. Adams
resigning, for the remainder also of the current term.

The session was short, ending on the tenth. Resolu-
tions were introduced by Mr. "Wheaton expressive of
sentiments directly the reverse of those of Mr. Ripley, the
preceding session, upon the subject of the embargo, and
were passed by a vote of two hundred and forty-eight to
two hundred and nineteen. One hundred and sixty-eight
republicans entered on the journal their protest against
them. An act was passed repealing the late jury law ; but
this was vetoed by the governor. Many private acts re-
ceived his signature ; and one of general importance, pro-
viding that the, banks should not issue bills for less than
five dollars to an amount greater than fifteen per cent, of
their respective capitals. As this was not to affect any
vested right, it had a very restricted application. Finding
the court pressing to adjourn without taking order for the
choice of presidential electors, the governor sent them, on
the ninth of June, the following message, in which he says:
" I have just received your message by your committee,
informing me that you are not now detained by the public
concerns of the commonwealth, and request to be adjourned
to the second Thursday of November next.

" I have not observed amongst the acts and resolves of
this session, any order, bill or resolves, of the legislature,
directing the manner of appointing electors of president
and vice-president of the United States. The consti-
tution of the United States provides that ' Congress may
determine the time of choosing electors of president and
vice-president.' The act of Congress, passed on the first
day of March, 1792, provides that the electors shall meet
on the first Wednesday in December ; and shall have been
appointed within thirty-four days then next preceding.
The day you propose to be adjourned to appears to have
been fixed upon under an idea that the legislature will

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 301

direct that the manner of appointing the electors shall be
by the senate and house of representatives, and not by
the people; because there will not be time between the
day you propose to be adjourned to and the first Wednes-
day in December for provision to be made by law for it,
and for the people to choose, in either districts, or by a
general ticket. This mode of appointment has no other
authority but these words in the constitution: 'Each state
shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof
shall direct, a number of electors.' The legislature of
Massachusetts, in 1788, by a resolve in usual form, ordered
the appointment to be by the choice of the people in dis-
tricts. In 1792, the appointment was made in the same
manner ; and the same was again adopted by a formal
resolve in 1796. At the giving in the votes the selectmen
of the towns, and assessors of plantations, presided, and
counted and recorded the votes in open meetings. In
1800, a resolve was passed by the senate and house of
representatives, and approved and signed by the governor,
that the General Court, on the thirteenth of November
would, by joint ballot of the senate and house of repre-
sentatives, elect and choose sixteen persons as electors of
president and vice-president of the United States. The
election or appointment of electors, in the year 1804, was
by the votes of the people in a general ticket throughout
the state : in which the selectmen and assessors were to
warn the meetings and preside as before. This was done
by a formal resolve, taking force in five days, as the gov-
ernor negleeted it. Should I now accede to the adjourn-
ment you propose, of making any suggestions of difficulties
that may arise from the manner in which you may find
yourselves obliged to appoint electors, it might be consid-
ered that I ought then to be foreclosed; because that a
consent to the adjournment would, by fair implication, be
proof of my having previously consented to the mode.
" But, should you continue your request to be so

302 LIFE AND WRITINGS

adjourned, without having previously provided for the
appointment of electors, the way will be fairly open for
any objections which I shall then feel myself obliged to
make. I do not attempt to state any objection to the
appointment of electors by the two houses, or even to say
that I shall make any ; but, having been always an enthu-
siast in the principles of an elective republic, I have re-
garded with pleasure the barriers placed round the election
of our national chief magistrate by the constitution and
the law. The constitution provides that the electors shall
give in their votes on the same day throughout the United
States. The law provides that the day shall be the first
Wednesday in December, and within thirty-four days after
the electors are appointed. This is evidently intended to
prevent foreign influence, as well as combinations between
the electors of different states, and the parties under whose
influence they are. There can be no doubt in the mind of
any one acquainted with the present General Court, but
that the exercise .of the power to appoint electors them-
selves would be with great fairness and impartiality ; but
it is an old and useful observation that the doing of good
by incorrect or wrong means has a more dangerous ten-
dency than doing wrong. I can conceive that if we should
be continued under an elective republic, strong parties may
produce a senate and house of representatives, who, in
the month of June, may know the strength of each side,
and who may then, under a resolution to appoint the elec-
tors themselves, ascertain the names of the electors as
accurately as they shall be known after their appointment.
In this way the benefits intended by the constitution and
laws, for guarding the purity of the election of the first
national magistrate, will be subverted. There are many
towns and plantations which could not choose representa-
tives, and therefore are deprived of that privilege which
they would have according to the manner of appointing
electors in the four former elections. Nor is there, that 1

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 303

know of, any reason to believe that, when the present
senate and house were elected, their constituents had an
expectation that the General Court would appoint electors
themselves."

The court did not see fit to comply with the governor's
recommendation, and adhered to their conclusion to defer
the choice of electors to a session in November. Their
work apparently completed, many of the members returned
to their homes; and, on .Monday, the last morning of the
session, it chanced that, of those remaining, the republi-
cans had a majority. Rather, in all probability, with a view
of disturbing the equanimity of their opponents, than from
any serious intention of taking an unfair advantage of their
opportunity, it was proposed to nullify all the measures of
the federalists. No progress, however, had been made, if
any had been intended, when Judge Tudor, the secretary,
arrived from the council-chamber, with the governor's mes-
sage of adjournment. This was, of course, charged upon
the republicans by the other side as a plot, but very
obviously with entire injustice.

The weather had been for some weeks stormy and wet ;
and the Chronicle tells us that the only sunshine was while
the governor was taking his oath. His constitution already
began to show symptoms of a strong man failing ; and the
necessary exposure to the elements affected seriously his
health.* He took part, nevertheless, in the usual ceremo.

* As the exposure to cold and wet, incident to his office, undoubtedly acceler-
ated the effect of disease, we insert the following, as it serves to indicate one
principal cause of its rapid progress in breaking up his constitution : " Though
we do not incline to be superstitious, yet the circumstance of the peculiar state
of the weather, if it does not denote some remarkably unfavorable events, can-
not to the speculative observer but excite some notice. If the stars have been
favorable, in the opinion of lawyer Wheaton, to the success of federalism, the
sun and moon have shown a disgust at the event. Neither of them have shone
with lustre since the morning of the election, excepting during the intermediate
space of deciding on the choice of governor and lieutenant-governor, and of
the time of their being sworn into office. While the votes were counting, and

304: LIFE AND WRITINGS

nials, including that of the Ancient and Honorable dinner
and parade, which last was, according to custom, on the
Common, that of the previous year having been, on account
of the heavy rain, under cover. On the fourth of July
John Adams and Robert Treat Paine, signers of the Declar-
ation of Independence, participated with him in the state
celebration. But he was unable to join in the civic pro-
cession, or to hear the oration delivered by Andrew
Ritchie.

That same day, in the morning, Fisher Ames, the dis-
tinguished statesman, orator and writer, died at Ded-
ham. He was the first of the honored patriots, the
others being John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James
Monroe, whose lives, devoted to the service of their coun-
try, were permitted to terminate amidst the festal rejoic-
ings commemorating its political nativity. His remains,

the event hung doubtful, the sun, moon and stars, were clothed with sackcloth,
and the clouds shed tears like Rachel weeping for her firstborn. But, when
the choice was decided, and republicanism had passed the ordeal of federal
scrutiny, the whole planetary system resumed its wonted cheerfulness, and
nature put on her most beautiful attire. The republicans began to congratulate
each other on the restoration of the benign display of the joyous spring, and
anticipated the continuance of that pleasurable scene which usually enlivens
the enchanting prospect from the state-house. But, alas ! how soon was the
whole changed ! At four o'clock (the hour assigned to consider Wheaton's
resolutions) the heavens began to blacken, the clouds to thicken, the winds to
blow, and all nature seemed in one general convulsion. The resolutions were
ticcompanied with thunder and lightning, and the sky was covered with its
sable mantle during the continuance of the whole debate. The rain descended
in such torrents that all the members, on the adjournment, were embargoed for
many hours within the walls of the state-house. Even lawyer Wheaton himself
was seen amid the crowd, and seemed like ' Patience on a monument smiling at
grief.' The sun set with a gloomy aspect, and the moon did not show her light
in the evening. An uncommon cold morning ensued, and the weather of the
following day was more like the chilling blasts of December than the salubrious
air of June. If this is the effect of federalism, may we not next year suffer
ourselves to be exposed to such an inclemency ! May the republicans rally, not
only to restore the order of nature, but to gain their merited ascendency. The
sun will smile on our efforts, and all nature will welcome the return of republi-
canism, after the gloomy period of federalism."

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 305

brought to the capital and deposited at the house of Chris-
topher Gore, at the head of Park-street, were there visited
by his numerous admirers and friends. His obsequies
were solemnized on a scale appropriate to the place he hud
filled in the esteem and affection of the federalists, and Mr.
Dexter delivered the eulogy, which, being extemporaneous,
has only been partially preserved. His writings, prefaced
by a much-admired memoir, prepared by Dr. Kirkland,
were published at the time, and again, recently, with an
additional volume, containing his correspondence. Many
of his essays were strongly tinctured by party preju-
dice, and show a distrust of the working of our demo-
cratic institutions not justified by subsequent experience.
From their purity of style, general good sense and ele-
vated patriotism, they must continue long to be valued,
and will constitute the noblest monument of a name indis-
solubly linked with the national annals.

A few days later transpired an event causing the great-
est mortification and grief throughout the ranks of the
republicans. It had been discovered, by the committee
appointed to examine the account of the late treasurer,
that he could not make good his balance to the state by
some seventy thousand dollars. This officer, though chosen
annually, by law might be reelected for five successive
terms. The late incumbent had been in Congress, a prom-
inent candidate for the federal senate, a major-general, and
was possessed of large estates in the county of Berkshire.
When the republicans came into power, in 180G, they had
chosen him in the place of Jonathan Jackson. Tempted
into speculation, he had mingled the state moneys with his
own, and the general depreciation of property had made
him a bankrupt. His sureties, twelve in number, had given
bonds for his fidelity to the amount of one hundred thou-
sand dollars, and the principal portion of his deficiencies
was eventually made good to the state treasury. Over-
whelmed with disgrace, the unhappy man sank rapidly

ii. 20

306 LIFE AND WRITINGS

away, and, before two years, death had prematurely ended
his wretchedness, as also that of his son, who followed him
at a short interval, broken-hearted, to the grave.

In August, the discontents under the general stagnation
of trade becoming intolerable, meetings were held in Bos-
ton to deliberate upon some measures of relief. A com-
mittee was appointed to address the other towns of the
commonwealth upon the subject of their grievances, as in
the days of the Revolution and at subsequent periods of
trial and excitement, and numerous responses, expressive of
distress and resentment, poured in from all quarters. Forci-
ble resistance to the law was openly threatened, and, had it
not been for energetic demonstrations on the part of the
government, would probably have been attempted. Large
quantities of merchandise were smuggled across the frontier
from the British provinces, and three men were shot in con-
flict between the smugglers and the officers. The constitu-
tionality of the act was questioned, but in a trial at Salem
before the federal court, was ably vindicated by Dexter, in a
masterly argument, and sustained by Judge Davis.

When Congress met, in October, Josiah Quincy and other
federalists strove with glowing eloquence, but in vain, to
soften the stony hearts of Jefferson and his supporters, and in
January a more stringent act than those which had pre-
ceded filled to overflowing the cup of suffering and for-
bearance. It was only when convinced that to persist
would endanger the Union, without bending the obduracy
of the belligerents, that Congress decided to abandon the
system upon the close of Jefferson's administration, on the
fourth of March, and to try in its place a plan of noninter-
course with England and France, reopening the trade with
all other countries. For three years longer we submitted
with patience to every variety of annoyance, either bellig-
erent in turn tempting us by conciliatory measures to
abandon our neutrality, and enter into her alliance. Finally,

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 307

in 1812, another embargo, of sixty days, was what an em-
bargo should be, a precursor of war, and for two years we
contended with various fortune on land and sea. If not
successful in inducing England to relinquish her pretension
of taking seamen from our merchantmen, we proved we
were no longer degenerate from her parental example, and
that, when the occasion demanded, we were willing to
appeal to that last of all reasons, the arbitrament of arms,
in vindication of our national honor.

In the intercourse of Governor Sullivan with his new
council, all of whom, excepting the lieutenant-governor,
were his political opponents, the greatest harmony pre-
vailed. He observed to a friend that he had less contro-
versv with them than with that of the preceding year, all
of whom were democrats. They had urged him to remove
from office worthy incumbents, on the score of political
opinion, in order to make room for republicans, demand-
ing this as due to his party; and his unwillingness to
yield to their solicitations created much discontent. In
some instances, where there were no suitable persons in the
counties, he had even appointed federalists to responsible
posts, and from among them, where no suitable republican
lawyers were to be found, had taken several of the county-
attorneys. Indeed, in the exercise of all his duties, he strove
to be as impartial as due regard for party obligations permit-
ted ; and when he died his adversaries and friends alike were
ready to admit that he had been both just and generous in the
use of his official patronage. The former, in reply to Gov-
ernor Lincoln's speech, in the following January, bore
the following testimony to his course in this particular:
'■Elevated to the chair of state," it says, " in opposition to
the sentiments of a majority of the legislature, we are
happy to declare that Governor Sullivan, in the discharge
of its high an 1 important functions, appeared rather desir-
ous to be the governor of Massachusetts than the leader of
a party, or the vindictive champion of its cause."

308 LIFE AND WRITINGS

For many weeks of the summer he was confined by
illness to the house. On the commencement day of the
university, escorted by two troops of horse, one from Rox-
bury and the other from Boston, who had volunteered their
services, he went to Cambridge, but, unable to remain, soon
returned home. Occasionally he was able to drive out ;
but the malady, of which we presently shall give the par-
ticulars, had taken fast hold of his bodily frame, and dis-
abled him from any active exertion.

In the intervals of official duty his pen continued indefati-
gably at work, and frequent traces of his lucubrations, on
all the interesting topics of the day, are to be found in the
Chronicle and other republican prints, not only in Boston,
but in other places. One of his essays, filling several col-
umns, presents a very complete view of our political situa-
tion ; and another, in deprecating the consequences which
must attend the renewed ascendency of the federalists,
closes as follows : "It would be but deceiving ourselves to
suppose that a change in the administration is the only or
the chief object contemplated by these friends of order.
No, fellow-citizens, let this party but place themselves once
more in power, and you have every reason to fear that a
change more fatal to your liberties would take place. The
venerable names of Washington and Adams would then
afford but a feeble security to your republican systems.
Brethren, this is by far the most interesting and solemn crisis
which the nation has experienced since she commenced her
existence. You are by the God of nature placed as the
guardians of the liberty of posterity, and must be account,
able for the manner in which you discharge this sacred
trust. By all that is dear to the human heart, by the love
you bear to posterity, and, above all, by the sacred obliga-
tions of religion, you are called upon to exert yourselves
to save your country from threatened ruin. To contribute
in the smallest degree to the support of this good cause
will ever afford pleasure to Americanus." There is no doubt

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 309

he was sincere in his distrust of the federalists; but, from
our own more dispassionate point of view, we cannot but
think his apprehensions of either their disposition or power
to change the political institutions of the country were
without foundation.

On the ninth of November Governor Sullivan appointed
the first of the succeeding month for thanksgiving day,
by proclamation, as follows :

" It having ever been the laudable usage of the people
of this commonwealth to set apart one day annually, as a
day of thanksgiving and praise, to express by solemn acts
of devotion the sense they have of the Divine favor for
mercies received, and to supplicate the Author of every
good and perfect gift, for hearts and tempers of mind to
render them fit subjects of his needed blessings: I have
thought fit to appoint, and by and with the consent of the
council do hereby appoint and set apart, Thursday, the
first day of December next, to be observed by the people
of this commonwealth in solemn acts of devotion, as a day
of prayer, praise and thanksgiving. And I do invite and
exhort the good people, of every order and denomination of
religion, to assemble on that day, in their usual places of
public worship, and there, with holy fear and humble
recollection, to acknowledge their entire dependence on
the Almighty Sovereign of the universe for life and all its
blessings, and to express their gratitude for the demonstra-
tion of his being and attributes in the works of creation
and providence, and the more perfect revelation of himself
in his holy Word.

" That while they publicly and devoutly recognize their
entire dependence on him, they humbly implore of divine
goodness the supply of such things as are necessary for
their comfortable subsistence ; and especially that he would
grant them contented minds and resigned hearts, in what-
soever circumstances and situations his providence may
place them ; that he will always have them in his holy

310 LIFE AND WRITINGS

keeping and perfect protection, so that all their ways may
be directed by his wisdom ; that they may exhibit in their
lives such an obedience to the divine law as shall demon-
strate their sincere desire that a regard to this law may
become the governing principle of mankind ;

"That they earnestly beseech him to inspire the people
with such sentiments of national honor as shall cement
and strengthen the union of these states ; that his merci-
ful benediction may extend to all the labor of our hands;
that all illegal and unjust or undue restraints may be
removed from their commerce, so that agriculture and the
fisheries may prosper, and their navigation again traverse
the ocean in safety ; that a friendly intercourse with all
the nations of the world may be established and maintained
with fairness and integrity ;

"That he would bless their university, their colleges and
all their means of education, and that he would incline the
hearts of all the people to promote the cause of virtue and
religion, giving them zeal to exemplify and propagate the
sublime principles and doctrines of the gospel, so that this
divine religion may have its due influence and effect.

" I recommend it to the people to refrain from all labor
and recreation, which may be incompatible with the solem-
nities of the said day."

The legislature met on the tenth of November, accord-
ing to their adjournment. Unable to meet them in person,
the governor sent them this message : " The secretary of
the commonwealth has, by your direction, informed me that
a quorum of the senate and house of representatives have
assembled, and are ready to proceed to the public business
of the commonwealth, pursuant to the design of their ad.
journment. I congratulate the people of the state upon
the assembling in health and safety of so many of their
representatives. It would have given me inexpressible
pleasure if, when I had met you, I could have offered my
congratulations on a happy situation of our foreign rela-

OP JAMES SULLIVAN. 311

tions ; but as that cannot be in our present condition, I
shall leave the subject to the representatives of the people
in the national government.

"The adjournment, which took place on the eleventh day
of June last, was made from that day to this at your
request, for the special purpose of choosing electors of
president and vice-president, as well as for transacting any
other business which might become necessary at this time.
From this mode of expression it has been conceived by
many that the senate and house intended to proceed in
convention to the choice of electors themselves, in their
legislative capacity, as appears by the resolutions of the
inhabitants of many towns in the commonwealth ; with all,
or the greatest part of which, you are, no doubt, already
acquainted.

'•'I think it my duty to suggest to you that a choice by
the people at large, or in districts, might have a tendency
to obviate those objections, which otherwise may leave
the state involved in uneasiness and contention ; and, from
my acquaintance with the local situation of the common-
wealth, 1 think the time now remaining, if candidly and prop-
erly improved, will lie sufficient for that purpose. I there-
fore request your attention to a question of so much impor-
tance to the harmony of the government; and I shall make
every exertion in my powerto effect an object so desirable.

"The state of the treasury, with some unfortunate circum-
stances which have lately appeared to attach themselves to
it, shall be communicated to you by special message, and
explained by special documents. Other documents con-
cerning the government shall be laid before you as occa-
sion shall offer ; and my attention shall be devoted to ren-
der the session agreeable to your constituents and pleasant
to yourselves."

The federalists were determined to secure the vote of
Massac! msetts for their candidates, Charles Cotesworth
Pinckney and Rufus King. Having good reason to know

312 LIFE AND WRITINGS

the majority of the people were republican, and fearful the
governor would veto a resolve directing the choice of the
federal college by the legislature, they concluded to disre-
gard the evident intention of the constitution and all previ-
ous precedents, and provide for the election by an order,
a form of procedure not requiring his signature. This
departure from principle was alike injudicious and culpable,
for the most sanguine even could not hope that the republi-
can nominees could be defeated. Had they yielded to their
natural sense of fairness, and followed the usual course, they
would probably have found their apprehensions of a veto
groundless. Disregard for the just claim of the people
to express their preference in an affair of such magni-
tude as the selection of a national ruler, was unquestiona-
bly a grievous dereliction of principle. Yet, as he was but
one of the coordinate branches of the legislature, to have
assumed the control over the other two, in such a respon-
sibility, would have been an unreasonable stretch of pre-
rogative, and the governor would probably have remained
passive and allowed the resolve to take effect without his
signature, following the course of Governor Strong in 1804.

On the fourteenth, nineteen electors were chosen on joint
ballot, the republicans entering their protest on the journals
against the propriety of this mode of election. General
Pinckney received of all the electoral votes but forty-seven ;
George Clinton, who was chosen vice-president, receiving
six for the first office, and Mr. Madison, the successful can-
didate, one hundred and twenty-two.

In other instances, in the course of the session, the leg-
islature deviated from the customary modes of proceeding
by the substitution of orders for resolves, and in one case
after a resolve had been vetoed. They passed resolves for
repealing that of the last court on the subject of the
embargo ; and another at the same time assenting to the
Vermont amendment for removing federal judges on ad-
dress. Many acts of a private nature received his signa-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 313

ture, and one of tho last which lie signed was to incor-
porate an academy at Limerick, a town of which ho was
one of the early proprietors, which he had personally
engaged in clearing for settlement, and for which, at the
request of his associates, he had selected the name. In
returning them to the court he made the following commu-
nication :

" The several acts and resolves which, after having
passed the two houses, have been laid before me, have all
received my approbation, except a resolve for repealing a
resolve passed on the second of March last, entitled a
resolve instructing the senators and representatives of this
state in Congress to endeavor to procure an amendment of
the constitution of the United States, and for revoking
and annulling the instructions therein contained ; a resolve
on the petition of Nathan Palmer and Eben Clifford, and
another on the petition of Joseph Stone. One other resolve
was laid before me at noon to-day, being a resolve for caus-
ing to be printed, for the uses and purposes therein men-
tioned, three thousand copies of the report of a committee,
and resolutions thereon, adopted and passed by the house
of representatives on the fifteenth instant. When I camo
to attend to this resolve, I found no such resolutions, either
in manuscript or print, as those referred to by this resolve,
and, upon application at the secretary's office, none such
are to be found there. A respect I feel for your honorable
houses urges me to make this communication. On tho
other resolves, before described, I shall not be able to
determine till to-morrow or the next day. If I should return
either of these with objections it might be the means of
prolonging your session beyond the time convenient for
you. I therefore submit it to your consideration whether,
as the intermediate recess must be short, you will not send
for and refer them over to the next session."

The candle was already near the socket, but burnt
brightly on to the last. Judge Sullivan had been quick to

314 LIFE AND WRITINGS

discern the stealthy footsteps of coming dissolution, and its
nearer approach created no dismay. Endowed by nature
with most vigorous bodily powers, the preservation of his
health had never been permitted to interfere with his
employments. At the age of sixteen, as mentioned in the
earlier part of this narrative, he had been attacked by
epilepsy, arising from sudden fright, and as he advanced in
life its attacks became more frequent, and were induced by
indigestion, fatigue, affections of the mind, dreams, and
even by the sight of the reptile which originally produced
the convulsions. In the beginning of 1807, he first experi-
enced the indications of organic disease of the heart, which
was now about to prove fatal. In November of that year
the palpitations became frequent, and again towards the
spring, increasing with the warm weather of the following
summer. Occupation seemed to lessen the complaint, and
render less frequent the attacks of epilepsy. In the inter-
vals of relief his strength was good, and accompanied by a
great flow of spirits and an aptitude or rather ardor for his
business.

The paroxysms in August were particularly severe; but,
relieved by medical treatment, the natural functions resumed
their ordinary course, his appetite returned, and his enjoy-
ment of social intercourse was unusually great. " He amused
and instructed his friends by the immense treasures of
information his talents and observation had afforded him, and
which he seemed to feel would soon be lost," By the end
of September the unfavorable symptoms returned, and for
several weeks his distress and suffering were almost inces-
sant, but again yielded upon the use of powerful remedies.

When the legislature assembled in November the call of
business roused like magic the vigor of his mind, and the
symptoms of disease almost disappeared. During the
session he made little complaint, dictated many important
communications, and attended to all the duties of his office
without neglecting the most minute. Towards its close he

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 315

took final leave of his council, in a meeting of some hours
at his house, and from their tearful eyes and saddened
countenances, as they went away, it must have been one of
more than ordinary interest. To all whom official business
or the promptings of friendship or civility brought to his
sick chamber, he manifested the same courteousness and
warm cordiality of manner that had marked him when in
health. Nor was he insensible, however great might be his
bodily pain or debility, to other demonstrations of respect
and kindness. On one occasion, when his sufferings were
unusually poignant, a military corps, passing his house,
stopped to pay their salute. Immediately leaving the couch,
and hastily making the necessary preparations, he went out
upon the balcony over his porch to testify his acknowledg-
ment for this last attention to their commander-in-chief.

" When the legislature adjourned, he declared his work
was finished, and that he had no desire to remain longer in
the world. lie requested no further means might be used
to prolong his existence, and immediately yielded to the
grasp of disease, which appeared waiting with impatience
to inflict its agonies. From this moment the distressing
difficulty of breathing had very slight remissions, and the
animal powers grew sluggish and torpid. Yet once or
twice the expiring faculties brightened, and on the thir-
tieth of November he aroused as if from death, conversed
very pleasantly for two or three hours, and humorously
described scenes witnessed in his youth."

During all this long and protracted illness he was patient
and uncomplaining. Unable to rest in a horizontal posture,
his slumbers disturbed by sudden starts and distressing
dreams, and his waking hours one long struggle for breath,
and suffering only varied in form, he was submissive and
affectionate to those about him, and strove to beguile the
tediousness of his sleepless nights and the depression of
his family and attendants by his own cheerfulness and
agreeable conversation. With unfaltering faith in the good-

316 LIFE AND WKITINGS

ness and mercy of his Creator, and that he would not be
called upon to suffer more than he was well able to bear,
death had no terrors for him.

"In all his relations with others his conduct had been
exemplary. From his early youth he had been a believer
in Christianity. He had felt the obligations of its duties,
and participated in the enjoyment of its hopes. Its prin-
ciples, operating upon a warm and affectionate heart, and
manifested through life in filial piety, conjugal and parental
affection, in his liberal charities and general benevolence,
were also a staff and support to him in the last dread hour.
Persuaded his disease was beyond the reach of medicine
or human skill, he suffered with resignation and calmness,
and often spoke with fervent gratitude of the consola-
tions which he experienced ; above all that his illness had
not bereft him of his mind, and that he was permitted to
close his long and laborious life in the bosom of his family
with the unshaken assurance of renewing his existence in
another and better world."

In one of his letters, written at a period of affliction, he
says : " I know that God has formed, that he guides and
governs, this great universe, holding innumerable worlds in
their orbs. I know that not one atom, from the worm that
creeps in the dust, up to the highest created intelligence,
can be out of his view, or committed for one moment to
fortuitous events. Why this earth is the repository of
pain and sorrow I know not. But I know that it is so, and
that Jesus Christ is the great Physician, who mingles the
draught, prescribes the regimen and pours the balm of com-
fort on the wounded soul. Blessed Redeemer, when he
said, The cup my heavenly Father giveth me, shall I not
drink of it ? shall I, a sinner, say that I will refuse what
he offers me ? I will go in and out as when the candle
of the Lord shined on my tabernacle. I will attempt to
do the duties of a citizen, of a husband, of a Christian.
Though he slay me I will trust in him, trying to say from
my heart, ' Father, not my will, but thine be done.' "

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 317

The Rev. Dr. Lowell, who, at his request, visited him in
his last sickness, says: "I found him in his bed, apparently
in possession of his mental faculties, and with a clear sense
of his condition. What effect may have been produced on
his mind by his physical state, or by any opiates that may
have been exhibited by his medical attendants, I cannot
say. He signified his entire submission to the will of God,
and lii's humble hope of acceptance through the mediation
of Jesus Christ. In reference to his past life, if he did
not use the language, he expressed the sentiment, of the
apostle, that he had the testimony of his conscience that
in godly sincerity he had his conversation in the world.
In the many instances in which, during my long ministry,
I have stood by the bed where ' parting life was laid/ I
know not where I have witnessed the exhibition of feel-
ings more grateful to me than in the case of Governor
Sullivan."

The scene was now drawing to a close. On the fourth of
December he became again delirious ; and this was followed
by insensibility or great prostration, with periods, at less
frequent intervals, of relief, and even of cheerfulness. The
evening before his death, as his sons John and George
were supporting his feeble frame from his chair to the bed,
he spoke to them words of affection and encouragement.
They left the chamber to seek some repose, as they
had become exhausted by their constant attendance, and
Colonel Welles, one of his aids, watched with him during
the night. He did not again speak ; but, on the following
morning, Saturday, the tenth of December, breathed his
last, at the age of sixty-four.

His medical attendant, Dr. John C. Warren, from whose
valuable and most interesting work on Organic Diseases of
the Heart, published in 1809, many of the foregoing partic-
ulars, and often in his own words, of Governor Sullivan's
last illness have been taken, made a post mortem examina-

318 LIFE AND WRITINGS

tion of the body, which entirely confirmed his previous
diagnosis. He preserved the heart and brain, which, after
nearly half a century, promise to endure for a very long
period. Some slight attempt was made to embalm the
body, but not so thoroughly as to warrant the belief in its
present preservation.

His funeral took place on Friday, the sixteenth of Decem-
ber, with all the ceremonies usual where the chief magis-
trate of the state dies in office. Prayers were offered at
the house in Summer-street, and the procession, attended
by a numerous military escort, moved, at one o'clock,
through the streets to the Granary Burial-ground. The
pall-bearers were President Webber, of the university at
Cambridge, General Elliot, Judge Parker, Artemas Ward,
president of the council, Harrison G. Otis, president of
the senate, and Timothy Bigelow, speaker of the house.
The day was bright and cold, the streets thronged, and,
those who remember the occasion speak of it as one of
the most impressive solemnity. Whatever might have
been the violence of party rancor, it ceased at the portals
of the tomb ; and all parties united in sincere mourning for
the loss of one whose life had been spent in the public
service, and marked by distinguished virtue.

His obituaiy, prepared by John Quincy Adams, appeared
in the Chronicle oh the day of the funeral ; and, on the fol-
lowing Sunday, Mr. Buckminster delivered a most eloquent
funeral discourse, which will be found in this volume.

This sketch of the public and private life of James Sul-
livan does not profess to be very complete. The desire
has been simply to present a more full view of his career
than has been presented in any previous notice, and to
preserve from oblivion, for his descendants and any others
who may feel interested, facts and circumstances which, if
not recorded in print or collected together, might be easily
forgotten. He was too much occupied in engrossing em-
ployments to take much care of his papers or correspond-

OF JAMES SULLIVAN. 319

ence, and few materials for biography have escaped the
dispersion and destruction of half a century. Should these
volumes in some slight degree convey a knowledge of his
useful and blameless career, and make his countrymen more
familiar with a character which is believed to have many
claims to their affectionate reverence, it will have answered
its purpose.

Governor Sullivan was not insensible to the noblest
weakness of the human heart, a wish to live in the grateful
remembrance of posterity. It may be that, in the throng
of able and virtuous patriots whose memories must be
ever bright amidst the rising glories of our infant repub-
lic, his services will appear less conspicuous than those of
many of his distinguished associates. Yet, as a principal
leader with Hancock and Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry
and James Warren, of early democracy in Massachusetts,
whose interpretation of its principles and consistency of
action will stand the most rigorous tests of reason and of
patriotism, his desire may yet be gratified of holding an
honorable place in her annals.

lie writes : " Self-love attaches itself to, and places an
undue estimate on, the things we possess, and we do not
indulge with pleasure the reflection of being separated
from them forever. As a balm to ease our feelings we
pursue measures to render our names immortal, and to
print the lines of our existence here as deep as possible,
that generations far distant on the wheel of time, as they
roll near and pass on, may recognize where we once have
been."

OBITUARY.

BY JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

To the number of citizens distinguished by their services
to their country, who, having terminated their earthly
career, no longer live but in the memory of their talents
and virtues, must now be added the name of James Sullivan,
late governor and commander-in-chief of this common-
wealth; whose obsequies are this day to be attended with
the usual solemnities, which have been observed on the
decease of the chief magistrate, and with that manifestation
of personal respect and attachment, which his character
had inspired in all classes of his fellow-citizens.

He was the fourth son of Mr. John Sullivan, who, about
the year 1723, came from Ireland to this country, and set-
tled at Berwick in the district of Maine. This gentleman
was descended from a respectable family, and had received
a liberal education. By his personal care and tenderness the
late Governor Sullivan was himself educated ; and, having
lived to the age of upwards of one hundred and five years,
he enjoyed the most precious of all rewards to the heart
of a father, the satisfaction of witnessing the fruits of his
cares in the most affectionate return of filial gratitude, and
in the usefulness and public eminence of his son.

Governor Sullivan was born at Berwick, on the twenty-
second of April, 1744. After pursuing the study of the
law under his brother, the late General John Sullivan, a
name which also stands recorded with honor in the annals

OBITUARY. 321

of our Revolution, and as governor of the sister state of
New Hampshire, he was admitted to the bar at twenty-one
years of age. In a profession prolific of able men, he soon
rose to celebrity, and, before the dissolution of the colonial
government, he bad been advanced to the rank of a barrister
in the then superior court, and appointed king's attorney for
the county in which he resided.

On the approach of the Revolution, which established the
independence of tins nation, he took an early, active and
decided part on the side of his country. Being, in tho
year 1775, a member of the provincial Congress assembled
at Watertown, he was, together with the late Hon. W.
Spooner and J. Foster, entrusted with a difficult commission
to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, for the execution of
which that assembly manifested their satisfaction by a
public vote of thanks to the commissioners.

He was in the same year appointed judge of the court
of admiralty erected for the counties in the district of
Maine ; but never entered on the duties of this office,
having been appointed early in the following year judge of
the su|MTior court.

After the adoption of our present state constitution, to
the formation of which he contributed as a member of the
convention which presented it to the people, he continued
a judge of the supreme judicial court until February, 1782,
when he resigned, and with a spirit of honorable indepen-
dence returned to the practice of the bar.

In 1783 he was chosen by the General Court a delegate
to represent the state of Massachusetts in Congress ; and
in the ensuing year served, with the late Judge Lowell and
the present chief justice of the commonwealth, as a com-
missioner in the settlement of the controversy then exist-
ing between the states of Massachusetts and New York
concerning their respective claims to the western lands.

ne was repeatedly chosen to represent the town of
Boston in the legislature in 1787, was a member of tho

II. 21

322 OBITUARY.

executive council; the same year judge of probate for the
county of Suffolk; and in 1700 attorney-general, in which
office he continued until June, 1807, when he was called to
the chief magistracy of the commonwealth.

In 1706, he was appointed, by President Washington,
agent under the fifth article of the British treaty for settling
the boundaries between the United States and the British
Provinces.

Such were the public stations, in which, during the course
of his active life, he was placed by the steady and uninter-
rupted confidence of his country. Nor was he less con-
spicuous by the number of learned, charitable and public-
spirited institutions, to which he gave his support, and from
which he received marks of honorable notice. From the
University at Cambridge he successively received an hon-
orary degree and doctorate of laws. Of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences he was one of the members
from its first institution ; a principal founder and many
years president of the Massachusetts Historical Society ;
president of the Massachusetts Congregational Charitable
Society; and a member of the Humane Society. He was
the projector of the Middlesex Canal, devoted to that
object a great portion of his time and labor, and, from its
first commencement until his decease, was president of the
corporation.

The bare enumeration of the various relations in which
Mr. Sullivan stood to his age and country has almost filled
the measure which can here be allotted to the notice of
his life. The public offices in which he served were all
conferred by the free and unbiassed suffrages of his coun-
trymen. As testimonials of his merit, they afford the
clearest evidence of the satisfaction which he gave to the
community in the discharge of their various duties. Sup-
ported by none of those artificial props which mediocrity
derives from opulence, or family connections, every mark
of distinction bestowed upon him was at once the proof

OBITUARY. 323

and reward of his superior endowments. The public sta-
tions which lie held were not merely offices of profit or of
honor; they were posts of laborious and indefatigable duty.
They were filled with unquestionable ability, and if, in tho
course of a long political career, in times of turbulence
and party bitterness, he did not always escape the common
tribute of reproach, which accompanies all illustrious tal-
ents, his strongest opponents could never deny that his
execution of every public trust was as distinguished by
that peculiar quality which was most appropriate to its
nature. To all he applied the most unwearied and active
industry. As a judge, he was universally acknowledged
to have displayed, without a whisper of exception, that
first of all judicial virtues, impartiality. As the public
prosecutor of the state, he tempered the sternness of official
severity with the rarer tenderness of humanity. During
a period of nearly forty years his practice at the bar was
more various and extensive than that of any other man in
the state, and there is, perhaps, not a family in the common-
wealth but has witnessed, and we might almost say expe-
rienced, the ardent zeal and invariable fidelity with which
he espoused the interests committed to his charge.

His style of eloquence was original, and adapted, with
judicious discrimination, to the occasion, the subject, and
to the tribunal before which it was called forth. Deeply
versed in the general science of the law, and equally well
acquainted with the sources of persuasion in the human
mind, he was alike qualified for the investigation of the
most intricate and complicated questions of legal discus-
sion, and for the development of the tissues of fact before
juries. The sagacity of his mind so justly adapted the
course of his argument to the persons whom he addressed,
that it may be questioned whether a public speaker has
ever appeared in this state whose ascendency over the
minds of the juries of the country was so general and so
permanent as his.

324 OBITUAKY.

Amidst the great and constant pressure of business, pub-
lic and private, which occupied him, by the discharge of
his official duties, and by his practice at the bar, he still
found time for the pursuits of literature and science.
Various publications, relating to his profession, and to
other objects which interested his affections, successively
issued from his pen. The history of Land Titles set the first
example of legal disquisition, tending to form a basis of a
common law of our own ; an example which, though neces-
sarily imperfect in its execution, as must ever be the
fortune of attempts to explore new and untrodden paths,
by its prospective usefulness deserves to be mentioned
with honor, and is highly worthy of imitation. The history
of the District of Maine resulted from that affection for
the land of his nativity, which prompted the ardent curi-
osity of his researches, and which ever impelled him to
communicate as well as to do good. His treatises on the
question relating to the suability of the states, on the
constitutional liberty of the press, and on various other
topics of political concernment, uniformly discovered his
attachment to the principles of social order, and well regu-
lated freedom ; an attachment not satisfied with barren
approbation, and the good wishes of indolence, but active,
energetic, ever ready to contribute the effort of the mind
and the labor of the pen to the purpose of public utility.

During the period while he presided over the govern-
ment of the commonwealth, his administration was distin-
guished by the peculiar attention which he bestowed on
the military institutions of the state, and the zeal with
which he invigorated the spirit and improved the discipline
of the militia. It was, also, remarkable by the moderation
and equanimity with which he used his influence to temper
the political divisions among the people. Considering him-
self as the delegated officer not of a party, but of the whole
people, in the discharge of his duties he forgot all dis-
tinctions of political sects, and, without impairing the just

OBITUARY. 325

rights of any, earnestly exerted his powers to promote the
interests, and to conciliate the dispositions, of all his fellow-
citizens. In this honorable endeavor he was not without
success, and among the sincere mourners at his departure
will l>e numbered many of those who were the strenuous
opponents of his elevation.

As an individual member of society, his character shines
with milder, yet with an undiminished lustre. In all the
relations of social life his conduct was exemplary. From
his early youth ho had been a sincere believer of Chris-
tianity. He felt the obligations of its duties ; he partici-
pated in the enjoyment of its hopes; and its principles,
operating upon a warm and affectionate heart, were mani-
fested in that display of filial piety, of conjugal and
parental affection, of active friendship, of liberal charity,
of general benevolence, which circulates and diffuses
throughout the circle of human society the choicest bless-
ings of human existence.

In the long and distressing confinement which preceded
his decease, though always aware that his disease was
beyond the reach of medicine, or of human skill, he suffered
with resignation and calmness, and scarcely ever was a
complaint heard to escape from him. He often beguiled
the tediousness of his sleepless nights with instructive and
pleasant conversation. He often spoke with fervent grat-
itude of the consolations which he experienced ; above all
that his illness had not bereft him of his mind, and that he
was permitted to close his long and laborious life in the
bosom of his family, with the unshaken assurance of renew-
ing his existence in another and a better world.

•

LETTER OF LIEUT.-GOV. LINCOLN TO MRS. SULLIVAN,
WITH HER REPLY.

Council-Chamber, December 12, 1808.

Madam : The sorrowful event which has called the citi-
zens of this commonwealth to mourn the death of their
chief magistrate, having drawn together the surviving
members of the supreme executive, they employ their first
moment to express their deepest sympathies towards a
bereaved family lamenting the loss of their dearest con-
nexion and friend. Permit us, madam, officially and indi-
vidually, to offer you our most respectful and cordial con-
dolence on so melancholy and trying an occasion, and to
tender for your comfort, your health and your happiness,
our prayers and "best wishes.

It being in a high degree proper that public honors
should be paid to his remains, as chief magistrate, it is re-
quested that the family of the deceased will assign to the
executive the disposal of those remains, for the purpose
of being interred with such respectful ceremonies as the
dignity of the commonwealth requires.

Levi Lincoln,
In behalf of the supreme executive.

To his Honor Levi Lincoln^Esq., Lieutenant-Governor, and
the honorable the Members of the Council of the supreme
executive.

Gentlemen: Under the bereavement which has called
myself and my children into the most afflictive mourning,
your condolence and sympathy are received with the deep-

REPLY. 327

est emotions ; and I offer you our cordial thanks for your
kind and most acceptable expressions of the interest which
yon take in our sorrows.

It will be grateful to the feelings of myself and family
to acquiesce in whatever testimonials of respect you may
think proper to show in the interment of the remains of
the late chief magistrate.

With sentiments of the highest respect,

and with the sincerest wishes for

your welfare and happiness,

Martha Sullivan.

December 12, 1808.

FUNERAL SERMON.

BY EEV. MR. BUCKMINSTER.
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. — Rom. xiv. 7.

Whenever the providence of God, in what is called the
course of nature, removes from the society of mortals one
whom we have long known, the chasm, which is thus left
in the compass of our accustomed business, pleasures or
acquaintance, suggests to every mind near enough to
observe it, some of its most serious contemplations. We
know that no creature, from the seraph, that stands forever
in the light of God's countenance, down to the insect, that
glitters only for an hour, was made without purpose, or has
lived without effect. We know that throughout creation
there is always some end, beyond the mere enjoyment of
animal life, which every living creature is destined to ac-
complish; and we soon find, with relation to ourselves,
that God has so wisely established the conditions of human
happiness, that the highest felicity of every individual can
be attained only by living for others, and losing sight of
his own personal gratification in the general service. In
proportion to the space which any man fills in the eye of
the public, is the circle of his obligations carried out ; the
more ample his gifts, the more extensive should be his com-
munications of good; the more busy his life, the more
blameless should be his engagements; the longer his

FUNERAL SERMON. 329

period of activity, the more various and remote should be
his influence ; and the loftier his elevation in society, the
wider grows the horizon which his views of usefulness
should embrace. The loss of a single mind out of the
living ranks of rational creatures may affect the circum-
stances of innumerable beings. The extinction of one
poor life may reduce, far beyond our estimate, the intellect-
ual light of the world ; and if any man, however low and
narrow his compass of action, could even faintly discern
the most remote and feeble influences of his conduct in
life, as they are propagated through the whole range of
mortal existence, he would sink, with inexpressible humilia-
tion, at the feet of God's mercy, and cry, Overrule, 0 God,
the undiscerned influence of my ill-desert and inactiv-
ity; and, if it be but for an hour, let me not have lived in
vain !

If such, then, upon the quenching of the faintest light
of a human understanding, would be the meditations of a
serious mind, which had considered the mutual connection
and influences of God's works, when a man leaves the
world, whose name has been long mentioned with interest,
whose employments have been numerous, whose labors
have been indefatigable, whose influence has been felt at
the remotest border of our community, and whose station
was at last the most elevated they had to bestow ; — when
such a place is left empty, every serious mind asks, with
profound concern, has he lived for himself only, or for
others?

In the decease of the chief magistrate of this common-
wealth, God, my friends, has blotted out a life of no ordi-
nary rank. That life, which has been so long quivering on
the point of extinction, has at last lost its hold forever.
The eye that saw him sees him no more ; the voices which
blessed him are henceforth silent ; the prayers which were
made for him ascend no more forever. His days are past ;

330 FUNERAL SERMON.

his purposes are broken off; his breath has gone forth; in
that very hour his thoughts perish, and his spirit returns
to thee, 0 God, with whom alone it remains to estimate,
with unerring truth, the value of that mind which thine
inspiration enkindled, and that activity which thine energy
sustained.

I need not ask for your indulgence, my hearers, nor that
of the mourning family, if, from the words chosen for the
text of my discourse, I devote the first portion to illustrate
the great Christian obligation of neither living nor dying
to ourselves. The memory of our late chief magistrate
authorizes this topic ; and still further, the selfish and luxu-
rious security of our country, the consequence of past
prosperity, ought to awaken our solicitude, as the gather-
ing trials of our times may, ere long, call upon us for
active, liberal, conscientious and magnanimous exertions.
It is time, my friends, to look beyond ourselves, and feel
the weight of our social obligations.

I. No man liveth to himself. The apostle's meaning
in this clause cannot be mistaken. No man, in any period
of his life, has a right to consult his own private interests,
either solely or supremely. The reason is assigned in the
following verse : " For whether we live, we live unto the
Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord ; whether
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's" — that is,
God is the spontaneous bestower of man's time, talents,
opportunities and means ; therefore, man remains, at his
first and best and last estate, the property of God alone,
whose grand purpose he ought always to accomplish within
his sphere of knowledge and of action. This grand pur-
pose is the glory of God in the multiplying happiness of
creation ; an object which nothing so effectually counter-
acts as the gross self-interest and inactivity of rational
man. Nay, more ; God himself, if I may be allowed to say
it, God, the all-embracing and controlling power, lives not,
and cannot live, for himself alone ; but his unremitted

FUNERAL SERMON. 331

activity is nothing but the unremitted agency of almighty
power, prompted by benevolence, and directed by wisdom
and truth.

1. 0, that I could write upon your hearts with the pen
of a diamond this supreme law of human nature ! Study
the system, which you see all around you, of material, animal
and rational existence, in its minutest or in its grandest
portions. Nothing you see is insulated ; nothing existing
for itself alone. Every part of creation bears perpetually
on some other part, and they must subsist together. In-
deed, the whole universe, as far as we have penetrated it,
seems to be a mighty and complex system of mutual sub-
serviency. Do you suppose that bright sun has been shin-
ing now six thousand years to accommodate us only ? No :
it has warmed into life and joy innumerable millions, of
which we know nothing; and it moves also to diffuse a
wider influence, and to hold together the unknown globes
and systems of globes, which are balanced around it.
Descend as low as you can pierce, through the basest
transformations of matter, living and lifeless, and you find
everything has its use, and accomplishes its purpose. The
very refuse, which man casts out and loathes, returns in all
the beauty of vegetation, and brings him sustenance and
gladness. The barren waste of ocean itself is the great
medium of benevolent communication ; its recesses teem
with life, and its waters purify themselves by perpetual
motion. Even the eternal ices of the poles are continually
melting to supply the waste of fluid, and accommodate the
wants of other regions. Beneficent activity is the primary
law of creation ; and inactive uselessness the eternal crime
of human nature.

2. Again, no man liveth to himself, because it is utterly
irreconcilable with the spirit of Christianity; for it is the
gospel, and the gospel alone, which makes it an indispen-
sable law to every Christian to be willing to sacrifice his
highest terrestrial good, when God demands it for the ben-

332 FUNERAL SERMON.

efit of others. For, as Jesus is true, a man who makes this
sacrifice cannot ultimately lose so much as a hair of his
head. If you doubt this, look at the life of the Author
and Finisher of our faith, which is at once the law and the
example of his religion. It is the history of the most
patient, wonderful, immeasurable sacrifices, which any
being could make for the good of the worthless and un-
grateful. If you except that prayer, which was extorted
by excessive anguish, " Father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me," the idea of self seems not for a moment
to have held possession of his thoughts. It appears to
have been as foreign to them as the idea of guilt. He
lived in the hopes and fears, the pleasures and pains, of
others, swallowed up in the future good of the race of
men. It was for you, Christians, he ate, and drank, and
rested, and slept, and prayed, and retired, and wept, and
suffered, and died. Not a breath escaped him which did
not bear on it a wish of good-will for the world that he-
came to save. This is the great law of Christianity, and
Jesus fulfilled it. He is the first and worthiest example of
the spirit and recompense of the gospel. For were all
his sacrifices to no purpose ? Was his the philanthropy of
a fanatic or a cosmopolite, rewarded only by its own enthu-
siasm ? No, Christians, we believe that the grave did not,
and could not, imprison such a spirit. The tomb could
not forever shut up a soul which had never been shut up
within its own little sphere. It soon burst the bands, and
dispersed the terrors of death. God could not suffer such
a life to be lost; but we see this same Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death, crowned with glory and with honor. Wherefore,
God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, and every tongue confess him Lord, to the glory of
God the Father ; for all live unto him. Such, my friends,
was the first and destined reward of benevolence under

FUNERAL SERMON. 333

the Christian dispensation; and as Christ has risen, and as
God is faithful, tills soil, now full of mouldering remains,
shall not hold forever insensible one pure, active, benev-
olent spirit, as long as the world shall endure.
. 3. Again, no man. liveth to himself, because no such
man can be happy. It is an eternal and immutable law of
God, that the direct pursuit of our own interest should
infallibly defeat itself. Then only do we enjoy the full
measure of satisfaction, of which our natures are here sus-
ceptible, when self is forgotten, and our faculties are all
actively engaged in the generous pursuit of some worthy
and benevolent object. Where, my hearers, do you find
most of the wretchedness of the world? Confess to me
it is not among the poor, the busy, the laborious, but
among those who, left without anything to stimulate their
exertions, have sunk into the selfish and sensual enjoyment
of themselves. Where do you find most of the irritation,
dissatisfaction, fretfulness and painful anxiety in the world?
Is it not among those whose wants are all supplied, except
those indefinite desires which fix on nothing? Is it not
among those whose time is perpetually thrown back upon
their hands ; men who have not the resolution nor the in-
clination to employ themselves ; men whose lives are frit-
tered away in expedients to kill time, without a wish to
gratify, or a pursuit to engage them, which does not bring
with it doubt or remorse? The prospect of the hours
which are to come oppresses them with anticipated evils,
and the ghosts of the days which have departed, unim-
proved, rise to haunt their unoccupied fancies. Pursuit,
ami not attainment, is the law of human happiness. God
has irrevocably determined that man to bo unhappy who
sits down only to enjoy ; and still further has he provided
that we shall find our highest satisfactions only when we
most completely forget ourselves in the pursuit. The man
who has been living only for himself wonders that he is not

334: FUNERAL SERMON.

happy ; while the blissful and beneficent God looks down
and compassionates the short-sighted selfishness of mortals.
If such, then, is the great law of nature and of Christian-
ity, that no man liveth to himself, I call on you, whom God
has distinguished with talents, whom he has prospered with
good fortune, whom he has crowned with honors, whom he
has elevated to stations of activity and trust, — I call on
you for unrelaxed and generous exertions. The more
extended is your influence, the more intimately do you
depend upon others, and the more solemn are your obliga-
tions. The more various or exalted are your enjoyments,
the more are your wants multiplied, and the demands of
society increase in return. Have ye ever thought, ye rich
and great, have ye ever thought how brief is the whole
life of man, and how much shorter is the period of his
activity ? Have you ever subtracted the clays of helpless
infancy, the years of childhood, when you lived on the
care of others, the period of youth, in which you did little
for others or yourselves, one third of life always sunk in
sleep, as much more consumed in the indulgences of appe-
tite, and an indefinite length lost in absolute inaction, and
do you know what is left ? A very few months or years,
perhaps, in which you have lived for the highest purpose
of your being. And how long do you think the period of
vigor and exertion will last? Have you calculated the
future waste of sickness, the palsying influence of pain ?
Have you thought of the inroads of old age, the days when
you will live only to burden, and not to benefit society ?
0, you who are now in the vigor of health and usefulness,
consider, I beseech you, that, of threescore years and ten,
you may not have ten, perhaps you may not have one more,
to give to society and to God. And will this discharge
your incalculable obligations? One year to gain a title to
the blessing of future generations, and the glory of eter-
nity ! If this is the treasury of human merits, then, indeed,
pride was not made for man !

FUNERAL SERMON. 335

II. Xo man dieth TO himself. This is a proposition
which most men hear with more surprise and reluctance
than the former. They have accustomed themselves to
look forward to death only as the termination of life. They
regard it simply as an event which dissolves their connec-
tion with the world, and which, as it closes forever the
common inlets of suffering and enjoyment, effaces at the
same moment their obligations and their powers. They
flatter themselves that they have nothing to do in that last
ami dreaded hour but to compose their limbs for the
moment of dissolution, and, with quiet insensibility, submit
to be extinguished. But, I again repeat, not only is it
appointed unto all men once to die, but, as the apostle
says, " no man dieth to himself."

1. Because, in the first place, of all the changes to
which our nature is subjected by the ordinance of God,
this is that which is least within our power. " No man hath
power over the spirit to retain the spirit in the day of
death." We have neither influence to retard, nor right to
accelerate this consummation. It is an event which the
most sordid creature finds it impossible to convert to his
purposes of self-interest. Then, if ever, the commission
which God has granted us of life is thrown up into his
omnipotent hand. Then, if ever, we are not our own, but
God remains the only and uncontrolled sovereign of the
human soul, and it is for him alone to say that it shall live
again. Everything is annihilated but the consciousness
that we are God's, with whom rests the destination of the
living principle. For when the frame of clay is falling, and
our last connections with the external world are in a mo-
ment to be rent asunder, with whom is man left but with
his God?

2. Again, no man dieth to himself, because most of the
attachments, satisfactions, obligations, habits, hopes and
fears, which have hitherto constituted that complex object
we call ourself, are dissevered by this last and greatest

336 FUNERAL SERMON.

transition, and, if we should continue to exist, we can
hardly be said to live for the same self to which we have
hitherto been attached. The act of expiring seems to
leave the soul nothing of all which before engrossed it, but
its moral bias and its God. Our habitual anxieties for
health and support, our concern for those who remain last
and nearest to us, our favorite pursuits and daily duties,
our apprehensions and expectations from the world, and all
the petty passions and prejudices which have so long in-
terested and agitated the mortal dwelling in flesh, are on
the point of vanishing, like the spectres and visions of a
midnight dream, and man wakes a new creature in the
morning of an unknown region and an eternal day. As
that last crisis approaches, the care of the surrounding
attendants diminishes ; the anxious expression of the ob-
servers grows less distinct; the half-audible lamentations
of our friends die away upon the ear to return no more ;
the pageantry of the sick chamber evanishes, with all the
show and circumstance of life; and God, God alone remains
the all-engrossing object of the soul's new perception. No
man dieth to himself, for death leaves him not a moment to
himself, but he is ushered into the nearer presence of his
God, around whose throne the din of this nether world can
no longer be distinguished, and the former idea of self-
interest is lost in a throng of more intellectual conceptions.
Surely, in this last hour, on which so much is suspended,
self is the most empty of words, and God the most momen-
tous. For this consummation the longest life is but a pre-
vious ceremony. Let the soul find herself, then, commun-
ing only with the omnipresent Spirit.

3. Again, no man dieth to himself, because, as soon as
the interest of the inhabitants of this world is terminated
by our death, the interest of a new world of spiritual
beings is awakened. For we are hastening to add to the
life and joy of heaven, or to enhance and propagate the
miseries of hell. The world in which we have been living

FUNERAL SERMON. 337

was not more interested in our natural birth, than is the
future world in our transition by death. Wo are encour-
aged to believe that the spirits, which minister to the heirs
of salvation, wait to see us die in peace; and we may
indulge the hope that joy is hea.d in heaven on the recep-
tion of a pure spirit to the region of everlasting life. No
man, then, dieth to himself; for the consequences of his
dissolution reach even to the throne of God, and swell the
triumphs of the saints, or the terrors of the realm of darkness.

4. Lastly, no man dieth to himself, because no event,
in the lives of most men, has a more extensive influence
upon others. There is in almost every one an inexpressible
curiosity to see how another dies. Let us all remember
that we can give but one example of it, and a fault com-
mitted in the hour of our departure is not to be retrieved.

When we press around a dying creature, watching the
last changes of his countenance, and the last accents of
his voice, vainly hoping to gain some insight into that dark
event, and curious to learn something of what it is to die,
let us seriously consider that no man dieth to himself. Far
be it from me to intimate that the manner of our death is a
test of the character or an atonement for the faults of our
lives ; but every good man would wish to have it said of
him that " nothing in life became him like the leaving it;"
for the tongue will tell its last story without equivocation.
The features will often retain the final and unalterable im-
press of the spirit, as it rushes forth to meet its God. It
is possible, then, by God's blessing, to leave with the world
the features of our religion. Remember that every good
man, dying in his bed, is clothed with something of tho
authority of God. The language of the dying has some-
thing of the solemnity of a voice from the region of spirits.
In the presence of the expiring, too, every heart is tender,
every ear is listening, every breast is anxious, every noise
is still ; and men wait to receive from the lips of tin' depart-
ing a last message of God, which may not be repeated.

II. 22

338 FUNERAL SERMON.

Our words, my friends, may then reach some heart which
never before was touched. It may believe us when we tell
it how the objects of mortal pursuit appear to us, as they
are retiring in the twilight of life, when the light dawns
from beyond the grave. After many of the events of our
history are lost in forgetfulness, some may remember how
we died ; and it must be to a Christian an inexpressible
consolation to hope that his last breath shall not be lost;
that even the composure of his countenance shall not be
seen in vain ; that he shall teach his family and friends a
more interesting lesson by his death than by any single
action of his life ; in a word, that in his death Jesus will
have gained more than one conquest, and death have lost a
triumph. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let
my last end be like his !

You have no doubt observed, my hearers, in the topic
which I have chosen, and the manner in which I have
treated it, occasional recollections of our departed chief
magistrate. He lives now only in our remembrance ; and
I can hold up to you the history only, and not the man.
The tomb has closed upon his excellences and his imperfec-
tions. He has gone to appear before God, and his char-
acter only accompanies him ! I stand not here to praise
the dead, or flatter the living. I only pay the debt of
private friendship and public expectation in what I shall
now say of the life and character of Governor Sullivan.*

God, who disposes the lot of the undistinguished as well
as of the eminent, marked him out in an obscure region to
accomplish, by his indefatigable employments, purposes
important in a young community. The history of his life
would be the history of a mind which no exertion wearied,

* Governor Sullivan was born at Berwick, in the District of Maine, on the
twenty-second of April, 1744. His father, a man of liberal education, came
from Ireland to this country and settled at Berwick about the year 1723. He
took the sole charge of the education of his son James, and lived to witness his
rapid elevation. He died at the age of one hundred and five years.

FUNERAL SERMON. 339

and no obstacle permanently checked. We should see in
him a man rising above all the impediments of fortune, and
the default of a regular education, to fill successively the
most busy and responsible trusts, where the greatest exer-
tions of mind were demanded. "We should discern his
faculties expanding themselves, as his sphere in life enlarged,
and growing more versatile as his opportunities multiplied,
leaving, in every part of his course, traces of a powerful
and original mind. Had it not been for one of those un-
foreseen misfortunes, on which the after-series of the most
important lives sometimes depends, Governor Sullivan,
instead of leaving a professional reputation, would have
lived perhaps to be remembered only by his courage and an
iron constitution. But the fracture of a limb in his early
years saved him from the hardships of a military life,
to which he was destined, and gave him to his country
for a singular example of the eternal superiority of mind
over matter.

This is not the place to detail to you minutely the prog-
ress of his elevation, from the time when he first drew
the observation of his country. Every step is marked with
labor and with vigor ; with increasing confidence in the pub-
lic, and with unabated zeal and activity in the man. There is
hardly a station of trust, of toil, or of dignity, in the common-
wealth, where his name does not appear, though now only as
a part of former records ; and, in the regions of science and
literature, where we should least expect them, we find the
most frequent traces of his efforts, and of his indefatigable
industry.- Two years only of his life, after he once be-

*The following is a list of some of the principal works of Governor
Sullivan :

History of the District of Maine, 8vo. 1795.

History of Land Titles in Massachusetts, 8vo. 1801.

Dissertation on the Constitutional Liberty of the Press in the United States,
1801.

Dissertation on the Suability of the States.

The Path to Riches, or Dissertation on Banks. 1702.

340 FUNERAL SERMON.

came a public man, seem to have been left him for private
employments. He was almost forty years the incessant
servant of the public, passing through the responsible
offices of a judge of the maritime, probate and superior
courts, of a representative in the provincial Congress, and
in the state convention, of commissioner for his own state,
and agent for the United States, of public prosecutor
president of more than one learned and charitable institu-
tion, projector and member of others, till he sat down in
that station, which, if most honorable, he did not suffer to
be the most easy, the chief magistracy of this commonwealth.
You, who remember the various offices which he has filled,
who know the prodigious labor attached to some of them,
and the satisfaction which his exertions have given, will
acknowledge with me that God raised him up to encourage
the vigorous application of our powers to purposes of pub-
lic utility. His voice, if it could now be heard, would call
on every young man to repair, without fainting, the dis-
advantages of birth and education, to disdain the discour-
agements of poverty and the decay of years, of health and
of fortune, and to live for others ; for the service of our
fellow-creatures is the service of God, and never did he
yet suffer a service to be lost.

It is grateful to me to turn from the tumult and occupa-
tion of his public life, to see him reposing without an in-
quietude on the bosom of that family, which God allowed
him to rear up to preserve his name, and administer to his
increasing infirmities. It is peculiarly grateful to find, that,
after discharging Avith exemplary filial piety the duties of a
son to an aged parent, whom God permitted to hear of
almost all his honors, except those paid to his lifeless
remains, he should live to receive from his own children a
correspondent recompense. His name promises to live in

History of the Penobscot Indians, in Historical Collections, vol. ix.
His fugitive pieces and occasional communications to the public prints were
very numerous.

FUNERAL SERMON. 341

his offspring; and all that was excellent in his character
will be transmitted, I trust, to posterity in their minds,
long after the frail remembrance of his person shall have
disappeared. They may learn from him to blend the filial
piety of a son, the solicitude of a lather, the fondness of a
husband, and the generosity of a friend, with the para-
mount duties of a public character. May it not be said,
without fear of contradiction, as long as they live, this
father did not live for himself?

The portion of his life and character which I have been
permitted most intimately to observe, it is my peculiar
duty and satisfaction to record. His mind, if I may be
allowed the comparison, was like a native forest, which
had never been entirely cleared or carefully divided;
where the light gained admission at every opening, and
not through any regular avenue; where the growth was
rapid and thick, and though occasionally irregular, yet
always strong; where new seeds were successively shoot-
ing up, and the materials never seemed likely to be ex-
hausted. I know that men of original thinking, whose
minds are at all of a philosophical cast, are tempted, espe-
cially when deprived of the discipline of regular education,
to speculate too curiously on the subject of Christianity,
and to indulge the conceits of a barren scepticism. But, to
the honor of our departed chief magistrate I mention it,
his faith was never wrested from him by subtlety, nor
thrown away, to pursue, with more freedom, purposes of
interest or passion. His early profession of Christianity,
his attachment to its ministers, his connection with several
of its churches, and his interest in a rising family, came in
aid of one another, and of religion in his mind. And
when his frame was evidently shattered, his compass of
ability contracting, the honors of his station fading away
in his sight, and he had reason to think that God was call-
ing him to his great account, the faith of Jesus was ever
gaining new ascendency in his views. Here death could

342 FUNERAL SERMON.

gain no triumphs as lie advanced ; for so familiar had been
his belief, that, when his mind could grasp no other sub-
ject, theological ideas seemed entirely at his command ;
and I can appeal to his family, and my own conversations
with him during his sickness, that he seemed as familiar
with death as with life. His thoughts expatiated with
singular clearness on the scenes which awaited him, on the
mercy of his God, his own unworthiness, and the worth of
his Redeemer. I shall not be misunderstood in saying that
he seemed during his last weeks of decay to be making
frequent excursions into eternity, and to bring back with
him instruction for his friends, and hope and quiet for his
own spirit. I cannot forbear to add that his religion,
which had been so fixed in his understanding, sometimes
discovered itself in devotional exercises of extraordinary
emotion. Those who have been with him in times of
severe trial, know that, if he had passions, they were not
all given to the world. God has seen him at the foot of
his throne, pouring out both the joy and the anguish of his
feelings. His domestic devotions as well as private prayers
have reached, I hope, the ear of mercy. May God have
accepted them, and may they be the last of his services
which shall be forgotten !

It cannot be supposeoVthat a life so various, so busy, and
so much exposed to public and private scrutiny, should
escape without animadversion. But, whatever opinions
may have been entertained of his public character by
those who differed in important maxims of political con-
duct, the salutary effect of many of his labors will, I think,
hardly be disputed. The poor often found him an unrecom-
pensed advocate, the distressed a willing benefactor, the
clergy an active and hospitable patron, and the public a
servant, continually engaged in some project of utility, who
has at last left behind him only the small remains of a for-
tune, which, in many other hands, would have been greatly
accumulated. He died at a period when his enfeebled

FUNERAL SERMON. 343

powers of public service were most industriously em-
ployed, and in a station where he had never lost sight of
that hopeless conciliation of parties, with which lie ven-
tured to flatter himself and his friends. The extreme
placability of his temper will not be denied by those who
have been brought into the most frequent collision with
him; and it must be acknowledged that he endeavored to
mitigate the asperity of our dissensions, and offered a
resistance, not always ineffectual, to the violence of party.
His family and friends have reason to bless God, that, as
his life was prolonged, the hostility of his opponents was
in a great degree disarmed ; and perhaps at no period of
his public career would the wishes for his continuance
have been more general or fervent, than at the moment
when God chose to take him from the world, and transfer
our empty honors from the living to the dead. I look
around, and the place which knew him knows him no
more ! In this temple where he worshipped he is no longer
seen ! 0, God, may he have found a seat in the vast con-
gregation of thy people !

His afflicted widow, who knew his most secret thoughts
and domestic virtues, will bear me witness that I appear
not here a partisan for the dead. If I have brought back
the image of her departed husband to her thoughts, God
knows I would now bring it back only as a messenger of
peace and consolation. And you, dear children, your
father's voice cries to you from his tomb, live not for
yourselves ! The last whispers of his breath taught you
this lesson, and you have much to do to supply his place in
all its activity and influence. May God consecrate your
talents, your means, and your example, to the cause of
truth, probity, peace and public happiness ! Place God con-
tinually before you, for he only can completely supply tho
absence of a human father ; and, when you find the charm of
this world's attractions sensibly diminishing, do not forget
that your father died not for himself, but for you ; if, in-

344 FUNERAL SERMON.

structed by his example, you should have the happiness to
die in the faith of Jesus.

My hearers, you have come up hither to listen to the
praises of the dead ! I have gained my purpose if you
retire with the conviction, how empty are the praises of a
mortal. The ear is deaf which once heard me ; the tongue
of the orator is motionless ; the lips cold and rigid on
which persuasion hung ; and the hand, which held the pen
and bore the sword and staff of office, fast clenched in
death ! And, having seen all this, can you go away and
think of anything but God ? Can you forget in an instant
the inexpressible vanity of this world's honors ? They
have only dressed up another victim for the tomb ! "We have
bestowed upon the departed all that man had to bestow ;
the pomp of procession, the spectacle of numbers, the
solemn knell of departed dignity, the noise of military
honors, the pageant of a funeral, tears, prayers, condolence,
the decorated coffin, the long inviolated tomb, — all, all
was to be found but he on whom these honors were
bestowed ! Every eye and ear was sensible to this respect
but his to whom it was paid !

And now the noise of the crowd has ceased, the pageantry
of office has vanished, and the tomb is still, is there noth-
ing left of the loftiest officer of a commonwealth ? Noth-
ing, my friends, of all his honors, but the services which he
has rendered to society. What he did for himself is no
longer heard of; what he did for others only can embalm
him. The governor is forgotten, the show of public
respect has vanished ; but the least remembrance of real
usefulness and piety is eternally fresh. " Be wise now ye
rulers, and be instructed, 0 ye judges of the earth ! " You
see what remains of the common objects of human ambition ;
a public funeral, and a quiet grave ! and even these are left
for your insensible remains. Live then for God and for
society while you live, for God and goodness only are
eternal.

FUNERAL SERMON. 345

When I look back upon the successive generations of
men, and see how painfully they have been climbing to the
heights of temporal grandeur; when I examine the empty
decorations of mortal greatness, and observe the little brief
authority, the panting ambition, the pitiable pride, the
wreaths withered as soon as plucked, and the grave open-
ing under the very chair of supreme authority; I am ready
to cry, God have mercy upon the great, and forgive the
pride of short-lived man, in that hour when the naked
spirit shall stand trembling in thy presence, and it is no
longer remembered whether it expired on a scaffold or on
a throne !

I think, when you have been standing around the open
tombs of the eminent, you must have asked yourselves, is
this dust of their coffins all that remains of the dignity we
remember? In such moments, surely you cannot have
found the gospel as barren of all truth and consolation, as
the splendor you have witnessed is barren of all real satis-
faction. You cannot have turned your eyes away from
the glory which breaks from the region beyond the grave,
to let them rest again on the shadows, the retreating shad-
ows of this unsubstantial world. 0, no ! hearers, friends,
mourners, Christians let me call you ! If, when you sur-
rounded the grave of the departed, a ray reached your
mind from the seat of eternal day, 0, let it never be extin-
guished ! " For the day is coming, and every eye shall see
it, when they that are in their graves shall hear the voice
of the Son of God, and shall come forth ; they that have
dune good to the resurrection of life, and they that have
done evil to the resurrection of damnation. And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and I heard
a voice saying unto me, write : Blessed are the dead that
die in the Lord ! for they rest from their labors, and their
works do follow them." Amen.

The prayer at the funeral, earnest and eloquent, and
glowing with the most elevated sentiments that the human
heart, under circumstances of unusual emotion, ever ad-
dresses to the throne of the Infinite, had been prepared
for insertion at this place. It is filled with interesting allu-
sions to the character of the deceased, to the place he had
occupied in the hearts of his countrymen, and fully con-
firms the views, presented in other portions of this work,
of his untiring and consistent efforts to meet the divine
requisitions in his walk through life. Upon the eve of
publication it has been concluded to omit this, from a per-
suasion that to some minds it might appear irreverent to
introduce into volumes chiefly occupied with secular topics
the devotional language of the sanctuary. The arrange-
ments made for the obsequies have been consequently sub-
stituted ; and, as the usages at the present day, upon such
occasions, differ in some particulars from those customary
half a century ago, it may be useful, if not to the general
reader, to all who are charged with the conduct of similar
solemnities, to know in what that difference consisted.

GENERAL ORDERS.

Head-Quarters at Boston, >
12 December, 1808. 3

His excellency James Sullivan, governor and com-
mander-in-chief of this commonwealth, having deceased on
the tenth instant, his honor the lieutenant-governor directs
that the deceased be buried with military honors.

THE FUNERAL. 347

The funeral escort will consist of the Boston Cadets,
three battalions, of four companies each, of uniformed in-
fantry, and three companies of cavalry, to be commanded
by Brigadier-General Winslow. The escort will assemble
on the Common, in Boston, on the day of the burial, pre-
cisely at eleven o'clock in the forenoon; and the brigadier-
general commanding will give all the necessary orders
relating to the disposition, ceremonies and conduct, of the
troops, which will be under his command.

The major-general of the first division will order two com-
panies of artillery to fire minute guns, one on the common
and the other on Copp's Hill, in Boston ; and the brigadier-
general of the first brigade, third division, who will detach
from his brigade the troops herein required from that divi-
sion, will also order one company of artillery to fire min-
ute guns from Bunker's Hill, in Charlestown, during the
passing of the funeral; the whole to be under the direction
of the brigadier-general of the day commanding the escort.
The quarter-master-general will furnish the troops ordered
on duty, with powder, cartridges and ammunition for the
artillery. The military officers in the vicinity are invited
to attend the funeral in uniform, with the usual badges of
mourning ; and Major Thayer is requested to arrange in
order in the procession the military officers not on duty.
All militia officers in the state are desired to wear badges,
on suitable occasions, for one month. The funeral pro-
cession will proceed from the dwelling-house of his lato
excellency, in Summer-street, in Boston, on Friday next,
at one o'clock in the afternoon. The route and manner will
be announced in printed bills.

By order of his honor Levi Lincoln, Esq., lieutenant-
governor and commander-in-chief.

William Donnison, Adjutant- General.

Colonel May acted as marshal, and, after the published
order of procession, directs that the public characters and

348 THE FUNERAL.

societies designated to .precede the corpse should assem-
ble in Trinity Church, and that the public characters, socie-
ties, citizens and strangers, who were to follow it, should
assemble in the First Church, on Chauncy-place. The mem-
bers of the legislature were invited to meet in the senate-
chamber.

At sunrise the flags at Fort Independence, at the United
States navy-yard, at the gun-house on the Common, at the
gun-house on Copp's Hill, and on board all the vessels in
the harbor, were ordered to be hoisted half-mast, and for
half an hour two-minute guns were to be fired. At eleven
o'clock the bells were to toll during fifteen minutes, to
suggest a suspension of ordinary business, by shutting the
stores and shops, and removing carriages from the streets;
and at twelve o'clock again to toll, when the supreme
executive would attend prayers, with the family of his late
excellency, at the Mansion House, in Summer-street, from
whence the procession was directed to move, at one
o'clock.

EPITAPHS. 349

Here lies

Richard Belli ngiiam, Esquire,

late Governor in the Colony of Massachusetts,

who departed this life on the seventh day of December, 1G72.

The eighty-first year of his age.

Virtue's fast friend within this tomb doth lye,
A foe to bribes, but rich in charity.

The Bellingham family being extinct,

the Selectmen of Boston, in the year 1782,

assigned this tomb to

James Sullivan, Esq.

The remains of Governor Bellingham

are here preserved,

and the above inscription is restored

from the ancient monument.

The family tomb of

James Sullivan, Esq.,

late Governor and Commander-in-chief of the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who departed this lifo

on the 10th day of Bec'r., a. d. 1808,

aged G4 years. Ills remains are here deposited.

During a life of remarkable industry, activity, and usefulness,
amidst public and private contemporaneous avocations,

uncommonly various,

he was distinguished for zeal, intelligence and fidelity.

Public-spirited, benevolent and social,

he was eminently beloved as a man, eminently esteemed as a

citizen, and eminently respected as a magistrate.

Huic versatile ingenium sic

pariter ad omnia fuit, ut, ad id unum diceres

quod cum que ageret.

TRIBUTE OF RESPECT

FROM THE LEGISLATURE.

The following resolve was reported in the senate, and
accepted and concurred in by the house :

Whereas it has pleased the Almighty Ruler of the Uni-
verse to remove from this life His Excellency James Sulli-
van, Esq., late Governor of this Commonwealth, Resolved,
That the members of the legislature recognize with lively
sensibility his patriotism and his talents ; and, in testimony
of their regret for the loss of him, their chief magistrate,
will wear a black crape on the left arm the remainder of
the present session ; and that the Hon. the President of
the Senate and the Hon. Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatives address a respectful letter to Mrs. Martha Sul-
livan, widow of the deceased, in behalf of the legislature,
expressive of their sympathy with her and the bereaved
family, and that they enclose therein a copy of this resolve.

ADDRESS ENCLOSING THE ABOVE RESOLVE.

Boston, 2 February, 1809.
Madam : In compliance with the order of the legislature
of Massachusetts, we have the honor to enclose a resolu-
tion expressive of their respect for the memory of their
chief magistrate. While the legislature are impressed with
a grateful recollection of the ability and fidelity exhibited
by his excellency in the series of important relations to the
public, which he sustained with honor to himself and advan-
tage to his country, they are also sensible of the high

TRIBUTE OP LEGISLATURE. 351

character of his domestic virtues. His example as a hus-
band and a father was a pledge of the sincerity and ardor
of his attachment to the state ; and the place he occupied
in the hearts of his family afforded the highest ground to
anticipate a constant increase of the love and esteem of the
great political family over which he was called to preside.

In behalf of the legislature we offer to you, madam,
with sentiments of respectful sympathy, all the consolation
which can be derived from a testimony of public approba-
tion of departed merit ; and we implore, from the only
Source of perfect consolation, from the Father of the fath-
erless and the widow's God, for you and your family, that
peace which this world can neither give nor take away.
Permit us, madam, to unite with this act of duty the assur-
ances of our high personal consideration and respect.

H. G. Otis,
President of the Senate.

Timothy Bigelow,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

REPLY.

Gentlemen: Your acceptable letter, enclosing the re-
solve of the legislature in honor of the memory of the late
chief magistrate, has been received. Permit me to offer
you my thanks for the very polite and graceful manner in
which you have made this communication.

The testimonial which that honorable body has given of
the patriotism and talents of the late governor, and the
honorable mention you have been pleased to make of his
private virtues in furnishing to myself and my family the
dearest memories of his worth, enhance to us the precious-
ness of his memory ; and, while we derive from them the
best of human consolations, we must ever cherish the sin-
cerest gratitude for the sympathy expressed for us in our
affliction.

352 TRIBUTE OF LEGISLATURE.

To you, gentlemen, I beg leave to render the assurance
of the highest respect, and to express my fervent wishes
that, when the hour of calamity occurs to you, such con-
solations may be experienced as you have so feelingly
offered on this occasion to myself and family.

Martha Sullivan.

SKETCH OF SULLIVAN.

BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP.

The name of Sullivan is famous in our history. Gov-
ernor Sullivan was a distinguished civilian ; his brother,
General Sullivan, a celebrated warrior in the American
Revolution.

In the cause of their country, when the prospect was
dark and uncertain, and the hearts of many wise and virtu-
ous men failed, these two brothers, in the often perverted
but emphatical language of the Declaration of Independence,
"pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor."
They continued true to the holy determination, and their
sacred honor is contained in the history of their patriotic
labors.

It is not in our power to give any new particulars of
the general. Of the governor we will endeavor to give
an account which, however imperfect, shall not be discred-
itable to his memory.

James Sullivan was born the twenty-second of April, 1744,
and was the fourth son of John Sullivan, who, about the
year 1723, came from Ireland, and settled at Berwick, in
Maine, and died at the extraordinary age of more than one
hundred and five years. He educated his son, who owed
to him all the instruction which he had, except in profes-
sional science, and the father lived to see his brilliant suc-
cess in the world. Sullivan was not in his youth devoted
to learned pursuits, but resided at home, engaged in tho

II. 23

354 SKETCH OP SULLIVAN,

happy but obscure life of agriculture. In a state of society
moral and informed, but not polished, his ambition had
probably never aimed at that celebrity which he after-
wards attained. Here he imbibed republican lessons, which
he never forgot. He learned that there was virtue and
merit where there was little wealth or splendor; and was
ever after attached to the yeomanry of the country, and
regarded them as citizens on whom the welfare of the
community mainly depended. He was deservedly their
favorite, and never deceived their confidence. In some
states the people of the humbler order are averse to the
elevation of those of their own number, and prefer others
born of more eminent families. It is not so in New Eng-
land. A large proportion of our influential men proceed
from the common walks of life, and feel for their old friends
a respect, which those who have always lived in another
sphere are not so likely to entertain.

An accident, which at first foreboded the greatest evil,
was the cause of Sullivan's adopting the profession of the
law. While felling a tree in the woods he accidentally
received a serious injury in one of his limbs, from which a
long and painful illness ensued. The consequence of this
was lameness during the remainder of his life. This mis-
fortune kept him from the army, in which he had determined
to enter, and directed his attention to the profession of the
law. His talents fitted him for the army, and he would
probably have been promoted to high military distinction,
had Providence not defeated his purposes ; but he could
not have been more useful in military, than he was in civil
life. His advantages for study in early life were small ; he
was not stimulated by the competition of a large seminary,
nor introduced by the counsel and assistance of learned
friends to that fruitful field of knowledge which is opened
in a regular classical education. It may in consequence
be lamented that the early studies of this man of genius
were not differently conducted, but how far our regret is

BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP. 355

well founded cannot easily be ascertained. There is a sort
of culture -which acts unpropitiously on the native powers.
Invention is sometimes retarded by the necessity of plod-
ding over what is known, and remembering subjects dis-
agreeable to the taste of the scholar. Fancy, broken and
tamed by rules, often loses in boldness and sublimity of
flight what she acquires in artificial correctness. Public
education is frequently ill adapted to practical usefulness,
and unsuited to the character of the student. Sullivan
escaped the dangers of servile imitation ; his mode of
speaking was his own, not an awkward, unnatural mimicry
of a dull pattern. In youth his head was not encumbered
with obsolete lore, nor clouded with those thick mists of
polemical divinity, which envelop many of our colleges,
and are so unprofitable mixed with their whole manage-
ment. He had a philosophical turn of mind, which he
improved by exercise ; yet his remote situation denied him
the best means of furnishing his mind, and the courage and
success with which he met and overcame all obstacles can-
not be sufficiently admired.

In the study and practice of the law, at that period
there were difficulties which must have severely tried the
fortitude of a beginner, particularly of one who came for-
ward under so many disadvantages. The elements were in
no fairer shape than Wood's Institutes, and Coke's Com-
mentary on Littleton. The wheat was hid in the chaff.
Blackstone's Lectures were first published in England, in
17G5, and could not have been much known in this country
until some years after Sullivan commenced practice. There
wire then no reports, no books of forms appropriate to our
peculiar laws and practice; which gave the elder lawyers,
who recollected decisions, and had precedents at command,
a greater superiority over the younger than they now
hav>'. Sullivan was then remote from the metropolis; but
the splendor of his talents shone through the darkness of
the wilderness. He was indebted for no part of hia fame

356 SKETCH OF SULLIVAN,

to adventitious helps. He was not, like Parsons and Dana,
trained by the lessons of Trowbridge, that ancient sage of
the law ; yet Providence smiled on the unaided efforts of
his genius, and so rapid was his rise that before the Revo-
lution he was advanced to the rank of a barrister in the
superior court, and appointed king's counsel for the county
in which he resided. He was destined to act a higher part ;
and, though thus noticed by men in power, was ready to
oppose their tyrannical measures. The people of America
were too wise to permit the operation of a principle of
government radically wrong and slavish. They would not
endure an attempt to take away their property without
their consent.

Since the primitive days of Greece and Rome there have
been no such instances of patriotism and self-devotion as
appeared in the ensuing war. The people rose in their
strength, and did not rest until they could repose in inde-
pendence. Their resistance was founded on an enlightened
understanding of their rights, and was not the ebullition
of transient heat or blind resentment, The lawyers of
those days, generally, are entitled to distinguished praise
for the disinterested part which they acted. Many of them
stood so high that their course was readily copied ; and,
had they been on the side of the crown and colonial gov-
ernor, who had heaped on them personally flattering dis-
tinctions and lucrative offices, the opposition would proba-
bly have been little more than nerveless and disastrous
sedition. It will be admitted by every one, who reflects,
that they lost more than they gained, in a private view, by
the change of government. They were in the first ranks
of the community ; and it has always been the policy of
the British executive to patronize liberally all men whose
influence may be serviceable, and to reward them out of
the spoils of the people with posts of honor and emolu-
ment. Notwithstanding these prospects before their eyes,
they labored at every hazard to establish an equal, eco-

BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP. l',~>1

nomical and frugal republic. Sullivan's expectations of
preferment were great and alluring in their nature, but his
lofty principles were not affected by this temptation, and
he determined to fall, or rise only in the cause of liberty.

Our government being representative, and all measures
decided by the deliberations of many, the civil policy of
the country cannot be attributed to the wisdom of one or
two individuals alone. What any one proposes is consid-
ered and modified by the counsels of others, and often
goes into effect in quite a different shape from that in
which it first originated. In military affairs, unity of plan
is essential to success, and if the general .advises with his
officers, his counsel is at his own risk, and to be selected
by his own judgment. The credit of success in war is
therefore almost exclusively attributed to the commander.
The responsibility of conducting our armies and preserv-
ing them from destruction, in the war of independence,
devolved on Washington, and the praise of victory is with
justice ascribed mostly to his personal energy and pru-
dence. So absolute princes receive the honor of reforming
civil institutions by their own efforts, or by directing the
labors of statesmen and jurists to the same end. For this
reason Justinian and Alfred have been celebrated as re-
formers of law. No one man in this country can claim for
himself alone the merit of framing our constitutions and
amending our laws. But Sullivan had a large share in the
proceedings of the government of Massachusetts, at the
period of the Revolution. Before he had reached the
thirty-second year of his age he was reckoned among the
first men. He was a member of the provincial Congress;
and while he belonged to that body, in 1775, was sent on a
difficult commission to Ticonderoga, in company with the
Hon. W. Spooner and J. Foster, for which a vote of thanks
was passed. In 1776 he was appointed a judge of the
superioi court, with John Adams, William Cushing and
others. He had before been appointed judge of the court

358 SKETCH OF SULLIVAN,

of admiralty erected for the counties in the district of
Maine, but never entered on the duties of that office. He
assisted as a member of the convention to form the state
constitution, and continued a judge of the supreme judicial
court until February, 1782, when he resigned and returned
to the practice of the bar. In 1783 he was chosen by the
General Court a delegate to represent the state of Massa-
chusetts in Congress ; and, in the ensuing year, acted with
John Lowell and Theophilus Parsons as a commissioner in
the settlement of the controversy, then existing between
the states of Massachusetts and New York, concerning
their respective claims to the western lands.

He was repeatedly chosen to represent the town of Bos-
ton in the legislature ; in 1787 was a member of the execu-
tive council; the same year was made judge of probate for
the county of Suffolk, and in 1790 attorney-general.

In 179G he was appointed by President Washington a
commissioner, under the fifth article of the British treaty,
for settling the boundaries between the United States and
the British Provinces. In June, 1807, he was called to the
chief magistracy of the commonwealth.

Whoever considers the acknowledged eminence of the
commonwealth of Massachusetts, must be convinced that a
lawyer who was called to such high trusts, when offices
were not given by favoritism or party motives, must have
had unquestionable talents, and been an able and success-
ful advocate.

The power of description never fails more than in the
attempt to convey an adequate conception of the eloquence
for which a departed orator was applauded. Comparing
able speeches to torrents, rivers, cataracts, fire and light-
ning, or to any grand objects of nature, by any analogy
whatever, rather displays the aspiring language of eulogium
than does justice to the dead. Who that had never read
the works of ancient orators could receive any competent
idea of them from the representations made by their ad-

BY SAMUEL L. KN'APP. 359

mirers? All that is possible to be told, may be expressed
in a few epithets that have a definite meaning in the science
of rhetoric; and by relating the time, the circumstances,
and, as it were, the scenery, which gave effect to what was
uttered. The grace of action irretrievably perishes, and
the beauty of the style can only be known by reading what
was delivered. The eloquence of a great man is seen,
through any description, dim, faint, and shorn of its beams.

All our people read their native language, and are accus-
tomed on all occasions to thinking, inquiry and delibera-
tion. Their judgments are commonly formed patiently and
slowly. From theological books, to which they are gener-
ally much devoted, they acquire habits of investigation
and argument which they apply to other subjects. They
pay more attention to the sound reasoner, however dry,
than to the glowing images of the charming orator, charm-
ing never so wisely. Ornament, to suit them, must be more
after the Athenian than the Asiatic models. Mansfield
would please them more than Curran or Burke. Sullivan
and Parsons made more impression than Ames. To have
a powerful sway witli juries of this description, Sullivan
was obliged to stud}- their taste, and to adopt a style of
speaking according to their standard. Thence it happened
that his oratory, like that which prevails in New England,
was solid, logical and correct, though sometimes he could
be figurative, dazzling and brilliant.

He had very dignified manners and a commanding per-
son, which, when he spoke in court, did not appear to be
marred by his lameness. His features were remarkably
fine, and the expression intelligent and placid. He was
always composed and self-possessed in argument, for his
powers were not only great, but ready for every trial. The
greatest lawyers were his antagonists at the bar, — Dana,
Lowell, Parsons, Sewall, Gore, Dexter and Otis. Still he
sustained his rank, and, if not first, was in the first class.
He was as well versed in special pleading and all the forms

360 SKETCH OF SULLIVAN,

of practice, as in the science of the law. In one of his
works he thus expresses his opinion on the importance of
forms : " There is more of the substantial principles of jus-
tice depending on forms, than men are generally willing to
acknowledge. When forms are done away, the substances
may remain ; but, when the forms are no longer discerned,
the difference between the nature of substances is soon
lost. The dust of man, when his form ceases to appear, is
not known from the dust of other animals. Established
forms of procedure, in the distribution of civil justice,
serve to bind the judge and the magistrate to the path of
their duty, and to chain the man, exercising civil authority,
to the line of his jurisdiction ; because that through these
the people are enabled to discover each deviation from
right, as colors serve to give the first intimation of the
nature of the substance on which they appear."

The great traits of his mind were force, comprehensive-
ness and ardor. Nothing of consequence in any cause
escaped the fulness and intensity of his thoughts. His
arguments were clear, close and strong, not calculated so
much for parade as to secure conviction. His voice was
clear and loud ; his enunciation, articulate and emphatical.
His tones were adapted to the subject and the audience.
His pathos sometimes drew tears from those who heard
him. In important cases, his addresses to juries were well
prepared and digested, and embraced and illustrated all
the topics of the question. He acted as attorney-general
in two very interesting capital trials which have been
reported. His management of each would do honor to
any lawyer. One was the case of Jason Fairbanks, who,
in the year 1801, was convicted, on circumstantial evidence,
of the murder of Miss Fales. The public were violently
agitated at the transaction; most were strongly impressed
against the prisoner, but some in his favor. The defence
was conducted by Harrison Gray Otis and J. Lowell, junior.
Perhaps facts were never more adroitly argued than they

BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP. 301

were on this occasion. The prisoner's counsel commented
on the testimony with wonderful ingenuity. Sullivan the
attorney-general's reply was masterly and conclusive. He
remarked on all the facts with great ability, and met every
doubt and objection with fairness and success. In his
speech were some excellent moral touches, and the whole
trial is, even at this day, worthy of being read by every
student of law who loves his profession, and would wish
to see in how many different lights the same facts may be
presented. The accused was a young man of good family
and education, and twenty-one years of age. The deceased
was a reputable young lady of eighteen.

The other was the celebrated case of Selfridge, who was
tried for killing Austin, which, from party excitement at
the time, and the important questions of homicide raised
and settled in it, was known throughout the United States.
The report of the trial has circulated so extensively and
been so much read, that it is sufficient to refer to it. It
was considered a specimen of the greatest legal skill and
learning on both sides, and Sullivan was thought to have
encountered the exceeding subtlety and deep research of
the defendant's counsel, Gore and Dexter, with a power of
argument and illustration no way inferior to theirs.

Sullivan was universally popular until he opposed some
measures which were adopted soon after the national con-
stitution was ratified. The parties which have since divided
the country rose at that time, though they became more
distinctly marked afterwards. lie disliked the national
bank, and was friendly to the republic of France, until the
excesses of the demagogues there disappointed his cher-
ished hopes for its rational liberty. In these opinions he
differed from some of his old and esteemed associates.
The separation grew wider and wider, until what was at
first an honest difference of judgment, grew into alienation
and antipathy. These things could not move him from his
course. No man was ever less intimidated by the storms

362 SKETCH OF SULLIVAN,

of party rage. What particular share he had in the party
transactions of that day is not known to the writer. It is
believed, however, that he was so far from exasperating
the passions which were then roused, as to sacrifice much
of his own feelings to the interests of peace and modera-
tion. He gave the weight of his high standing and talents
to the side which he thought was right, and was regarded
as its most efficient leader in the state. This exposed him
to much virulence and abuse. And what eminent man has
not been subject to calumny ? He was consistent through
his whole public life, and, when the most provoking obloquy
was heaped upon him, never returned railing for railing.
He had too much good sense, philosophy and piety, to be
thus guilty. Whoever reads his productions will be struck
with their calmness, justness and forbearance. His eye was
fixed upon truth and the everlasting welfare of his country;
and he was too elevated to suffer by the traducers who
wished to ruin him. This moderation, as was natural, only
inflamed them the more ; but his firm and conciliatory con-
duct did not fail of gaining the respect of liberal and fair
opponents ; and they who were halting between the two
parties were won by it to his side. Never did any great
man more completely and honorably triumph over his ene-
mies. Every year, to the last, added strength and stability
to his reputation, and he died invested with the badges
of the highest office in the gift of his native state, and was
universally mourned.

In his administration he was wise, upright and impartial.
WThen solicited by some violent men to remove from office
some worthy incumbents, for no other reason than their
being of the opposite party, he declared that he would be
the governor of the people, and not of a party. The object
of his administration was to conciliate parties, and was in
some degree successful. But after he died the olive-
branch withered, and the political storm raged more than
ever. Everything is now calm, the state is safe and free,

BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP. 3G3

and be Bleeps in peace with others, who, with equal patriot-
ism, took another course. We now recollect with admira-
tion that he sustained a greater number of important offices,
and for a longer term, than any other man in the common-
wealth ever did, and that he never shrunk from his duty or
proved unequal to it. Every step of his career was labo-
rious and responsible, but his energy and faithfulness
supported him through every part, in the practice of the

most arduous virtue and constant usefulness.

******

Political and professional pursuits did not wholly engross
ln's care. Letters and science received his aid and encour-
agement. He was one of the first members of the Ameri-
can Academy of Arts and Sciences ; one of the founders,
and many years president, of the Massachusetts Historical
Society. In the life of Sir William Jones may be found a
letter which was addressed by Sullivan, when president of
that society, to inform him of his election as an honorary
member. lie was actively concerned in several religious
and benevolent associations. His public spirit was never
weary in its exertions ; and, since public works have justly
obtained so much estimation, and reflected on their project-
ors so much honor, it should not be forgotten by the citi-
zens of Massachusetts, that, besides his other claims to
their gratitude, they are indebted to Governor Sullivan for
the Middlesex Canal. He planned that great work, and
devoted to it much time and labor. From its commence-
ment until his death he was president of the corporation.
Some of his writings have been published. They seem to
have been intended by him rather to be of service to the
world than to build up a literary reputation. He was too
much engaged in business to have leisure for very elaborate
composition. The subjects of which he has treated aro
all interesting, and he did not feel himself at liberty to
withhold the light which he could bestow on them. The
History of Land Titles contains the most prominent facts

364 SKETCH OF SULLIVAN, BY MR. KNAPP.

in our legal annals, and many just and excellent remarks
on our laws and constitutions. It would be more read
and better esteemed, had not our Reports, which were soon
after published, gone more fully and conclusively into the
same researches. The reasonings of one man cannot stand
in competition with the opinions which are spoken by
authority. The History of the District of Maine does
credit to his industry, and preserves from oblivion much
traditionary narrative. His Treatise on the Suability of
the States is a sound and judicious piece. The Path to
Riches, or an Essay on Banks, contains perhaps as good
principles on that topic as can anywhere be found, and,
in point of style, is one of his neatest and most finished
performances. I have never seen his Treatise on the
Constitutional Liberty of the Press. He proposed to
write a history of the criminal law of the state, but it was
never printed. Every one of his works glows with the
fervor of true patriotism and benevolence. His conversa-
tion was enriched with the stores of various reading, for
there was no department of learning with which he did not

seek an acquaintance.

******

Our country has a property in the characters of its great
men. They shed a glory over its annals, and are bright
examples for future citizens. Other nations, too, may enjoy
their light. The flame of liberty has been caught from
the patriots of Greece and Rome by men who were not
born in those lands, while the descendants of those patriots
have forgotten the fame of their ancestors. And should it
happen, contrary to all our prayers and all our trust, that
the inhabitants of this country, at some period hereafter,
should lose the freedom and the spirit of their fathers, the
history of our Adamses, our Warrens and our Sullivans,
shall wake the courage of patriots on distant shores, and
teach them to triumph over oppression.

MEMOIR OFJAMES SULLIVAN.

BY JAMES WINTHROP.

The late Governor Sullivan, one of our original asso-
ciates in the Historical Society, and our first president, was
born at Berwick, in the District of Maine, on the twen-
ty-second of April, 1744, and is said to be fourth son to his
father, who came from Europe and settled in that town as
a farmer. The son having met with a hurt, which proved
a lasting injury to him in walking, turned his attention to
the study of the law, under his brother, John Sullivan, who
afterwards became eminent as one of our revolutionary
generals, and as governor of the state of New Hampshire.
When the term of study expired he opened his office at
Biddeford, on Saco river, and continued there until after
the commencement of our revolutionary war. He had,
even at that early period of life, attracted the attention of
the government, who appointed him attorney-general for the
county of York. Our dispute with Great Britain was then
growing serious. Mr. Sullivan was able at once to appre-
ciate the advantages to the community from a vigorous
assertion of our rights, and we find him uniformly joining
the band of patriots who nobly defeated the claims of
Great Britain, and at length obliged her to recognize our
independence. During almost the whole of the contest,
we find his name in situations both honorable and respon-
sible. He represented the town of Biddeford in the pro-
vincial Congress in 1774 and 1775, and in the legislature,

366 MEMOIR BY JAMES WINTHROP.

which was regularly formed upon the model of the charter,
in 1776. In the first set of officers for the civil depart-
ment, he was appointed judge of the maritime court in the
district in which he resided. The next year he was called
to the superior court, as the supreme judiciary was then
denominated. Soon after this promotion he removed his
family to Groton, where he purchased a farm.

Necessity had obliged the government to defray the
expenses of war by the medium of an unfunded paper
currency. Toward the end of 1777 the depreciation
became visible, and to those who were limited in their
resources, as public officers and literary men generally
were, it became distressing. Mr. Sullivan, however, far
from being discouraged, continued his official exertions,
until it had become evidently necessary for the enemy to
accede to our claims. He then, in 1782, resigned his office
as judge, and removed his family to Cambridge, and soon
afterward to Boston, which became the place of his stated
residence till his death. He was appointed a delegate to
Congress in 1783, and was continually in some station of
public employment during the remainder of his life. The
times of his different promotions, or occasional employ-
ment in public service, are particularly detailed in an ele-
gant memoir, written, on the occasion of his death, by one
of the most accomplished literati of our country, and pub-
lished in the periodical productions of that time.

His mind was not only uncommon^ comprehensive, but
always on the stretch. He published a learned work in his
profession, and wrote a history of that part of the state in
which he began life. Both of these works are esteemed
in the different departments to which they relate, and
though neither of them is supposed to be perfect, yet the
imperfections are such as would hardly be noticed in
writers of the common stamp. He published a number of
smaller tracts, which have not yet been collected into a vol-
ume, though, generally speaking, the same vigorous intellect

MEMOIR BY JAMES WINTHROP. 367

appeared in all his writings ; yet, from several of them
being written on special occasions, they have not acquired
the permanent form.

In every department in which he served, strict fidelity,
due attention to the rights of all with whom he transacted
business, and unremitting industry, united to friendly man-
ners, gained the esteem and affection of the community,
which they expressed by electing him governor of Massa-
chusetts in 1807, and reelecting him in 1808. During this
period, overburdened with public cares, and worn out by a
continual succession of difficult and arduous employments,
his ci institution began to fail, and, before the expiration of
the second year of his administration, he sunk into his
grave. He continued, however, notwithstanding the decline
of his health, to do business till within a few davs ot his
death, and transacted it with the same regularity in the
near views of his dissolution, as when he was in health.
His mind was supported by the Christian hope and faith
that death was to those who had done their duty here only
a change of abode, and an entrance on a more permanent
state of enjoyment.

As governor lie was remarkably successful in mitigating
the severity of the political parties which divided the
state, and their leaders generally and sincerely regretted
his death. He died on the tenth of December, 1808, in
the sixty-fifth year of his age, and was buried with the
honors conferred on his exalted station, and which were
acknowledged to belong to his distinguished merit.

CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE COUNCIL.

Faimouth, 7 November, 1775.

I not long ago took the liberty to submit to your honors
the very alarming state of this part of the colony ; and now
again, presuming on your candor, trouble you further. As
the public good is my only inducement, I trust, however
assuming it may be, I shall be pardoned.

In my former letter I mentioned that an army raised to
defend us at the public expense would defeat its very end.
Since that time, being invited by the people of the county of
Cumberland to assist in fortifying Falmouth Neck, I find the
ground here to be so advantageous, that, should the regular
army get possession of it with one thousand men, there
would be no way to force their lines. All the province of
Maine must fall a sacrifice, and be obliged to take arms
against their brethren, as the inhabitants of Boston now are,
or flee from their habitations to the old colony, for subsis-
tence and protection ; an alternative cruel to our brethren,
but infinitely more so to us. If the English troops should get
footing here, beef, wood and other necessaries, would be
supplied to their army, wherever on the continent it may
be encamped, and a full supply of lumber sent to the West
Indies. This I apprehend to be well worthy the attention
of the guardians of this colony, as well as of those of the
continent.

The militia of the county of Cumberland, and the eastern
part of the county of York, have been for several days,

CORRESPONDENCE. 3G0

and now are, cheerfully entrenching and fortifying, to pre-
vent so great a calamity. But as a fleet can at any hour
after night come into the harbor, which is, undoubtedly, at
all seasons of the year the best in America, and suddenly
land a party on the hill, which forms one of its banks, and
is much better adapted for defence than Bunker Hill, there
must be a constant garrison to hold possession. One thou-
sand men, with a good organization of the militia, will be
sufficient to keep the town, and hold the key of all this
territory.

This would be more eligible than the keeping an army
of several thousand men, next spring or summer, to watch
the motions of an army encamped within lines by no means
to be forced.

There are a number of fine cannon here, but no powder
worth consideration, and I must beg leave to suggest, for
the public good, that the powder in several towns behind
the continental army might be ordered here immediately.
There is no probability of its being needed this winter
where it is, and, as several vessels are now gone from this
place to procure a supply, and advice this day has been
received from the West Indies that powder is plenty there,
it may be repaid before spring. The distress of this un-
happy town serves to unite the people in the most vigor-
ous measures they are capable of, and many of those who
addressed Governor Hutchinson are now the most zealous
in their country's cause.

I would beg leave to suggest the expediency of having
the sea-coast men in this county, and those in Wells, Arrun-
del, Biddeford, Pepperelborough, in the county of York,
ordered here. These will make one good regiment, and,
as they must be on much fatigue, their wages may be raised
to the establishment of the army at Cambridge, and field
officers appointed over them. These can serve until the
last of December, with such regiments as may be ordered
here from Cambridge, or raised by this colony, and by the
II. 24

370 CORRESPONDENCE.

expiration of that time it may be determined whether five
hundred men, during the residue of the winter, will be suffi-
cient. There must also be some person appointed as com-
missary and quarter-master.

In the above suggestion for garrisoning this place, I
have no selfish views ; for, if the ministerial army should
come here to ravage and destroy, it would be but little out
of my way to find an asylum on the westward of Merrimac
River ; but I tremble at the consequence of not holding
this advantageous ground. I would just mention that the
general officer who commands this garrison ought also to
command the militia of the province of Maine.

TO SAMUEL FREEMAN.

Falmouth, 21 January, 1776.

Sir : I am obliged by your several letters. I am
surprised the militia bill is where you mention in your
last. I fear our country will owe its destruction to the
squeamishness of our General Court. Bold and manly
strides are necessary in war. What is done amiss may be
set right in time of peace. If the court would have a
recess, and see how much the country is distressed for want
of the bill, they would pass it, or some one, immediately.
Shire has been at Falmouth engaging men, and has never
refused serving there. How Mr. Morton came to be ap-
pointed in his room, when he had never resigned, I do not
conceive.

Mr. Morton's delivering the orders of rice and crackers
has been a great injury to us. General Washington's
taking the guns from the eastern soldiers is also a serious
evil. A petition is on foot on that subject. No news here.
Frye expects the command.

CORRESPONDENCE. 371

TO SAMUEL FREEMAN.

Biddeford, 27 January, 1776.

I this moment received yours, dated the twenty-third
instant. I am glad that the militia bill is passed. Whatever
the amendments or alterations may be, I shall rejoice to
see our militia on foot, for in them is my hope. The ad-
miralty fees, let them be as they may, will not be disagree-
able to me. I find there are orders to have one hundred
and eighty men from your county to head-quarters. I wish
the province would not depend on them, and then there
will be no disappointment. As to a company of our sea-
coast men to join the army, the general need not depend
on them, for there is no company raised, or likely to be
raised. The people cannot comply with the establishment;
their guns have been taken from them by order of Con-
gress. There are yet a few arms, but they are owned by
those who will not dispose of them, because by the militia
bill they are compelled to be equipped with them. I wish
our General Court would send a committee down. They
might then understand the situation of this part of the
colony. This will prevent their governing us in such a
manner as to disaffect the people with the government. I
should be glad to know why the present temporary recruits
cannot be raised in the interior part of the province, and
not from the sea-coast, where we expect daily ravages.
If I thought the court would sit long, or any time hereafter,
I would set off immediately. I should be glad you would
write me, as soon as you can, your opinion how long they
will sit.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

31 January, 1770.

While the honorable board are so much troubled with
business of the greatest importance, I am sorry to trouble
you on the affairs of the eastern parts of the colony. Five
or six weeks have passed since the officers at Falmouth

372 CORRESPONDENCE.

were appointed by the whole court, and no commission
is yet made for them. Captain Morton tells General Frye
that he waited long, but could not obtain them. We are
in a poor situation here for want of them, and beg the
favor of your procuring and delivering them to Mr. Free-
man, that he may send them. I want matters here so set-
tled that I may be with you.

I lately received an order of court, by which I find that
I am to assist in the raising of two hundred and thirty-
eight men in the county of York to go to Cambridge.
They shall be raised, and then I dare aver that more than
one half of the men in the town and district which I repre-
sent are at head-quarters ; and should the guns of those
be stopped, as those of the men were who went up in the
summer, we shall be entirely disarmed. Government is as
tender as it is necessary ; and was it not that entire obedi-
ence alone can strengthen it, I should have been far from
encouraging our men to leave this place at this time.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Falmouth, 7 February, 1776.

I heartily congratulate the county of Suffolk on your
appointment ; but, when I left the court, understood it to
be agreed upon that you were to be one of the major-gen-
erals. However, let you be in what station you will, you
will be the public's faithful servant.

They are thrown into distractions, in the county of
Cumberland, on the appointment of a brigadier. It is
rather worse than the sheriff's appointment. It throws
them all into confusion ; and there can be no militia formed,
and the country must go for it. A vessel was just upon sail-
ing in ballast, for powder, with a large sum of bard cash ;
she is now hauled up. The sea-coast officers say they will
resign, and the men say they will not serve. The gentle-
men of the county are affronted ; each one has his party ;
they all curse the government; say they are abused more

CORRESPONDENCE. 373

by the General Court than the Parliament. Some are for
calling town-meetings, some are collecting the town com-
mittees to petition against him. I need say no more.
You may picture to yourself the emotion of a spir-
ited people when they are put under the command of a
man of no education, character, estate, breeding or family.
It is unhappy for us ; but, while the court will, to please
their Don, appoint him in opposition to the sense of the
people, signified by their representatives, I have no need to
be there. Farewell, dear friend. I wish you a happy gov-
ernment.*

TO PEREZ MORTON.

Biddeford, 8 February, 1776.

The resolve of court for reenforcing General Washing-
ton's army with four thousand three hundred and seventy-
eight men, was sent me on the twenty-ninth ult., accom-
panied by a letter from Colonel Sayer, chairman of the
committee of the county of York, wherein he gave me
notice that he and Major Goodwin had ordered that I
should assist in raising and forming those in the towns of
liiddeford, Buxton, Arrundel and Pepperelboro'. I then
thought that, as so many were already gone in the service,
and three of these towns were on the seashore, the
raising them would be impracticable. However, I have
accomplished it; and, after giving Colonel Sayer notice to
the intent that Wells might join us, I this clay called them
together to choose their officers, and march to head-
quarters. While waiting for the people of Wells, I learned
from Colonel Sayer that he and Major Goodwin had agreed
that the four towns before mentioned should join with
York and make up a company, and that Wells should have

* It is not known who was the unpopular candidate ; but, public opinion
being capricious, it is no disparagement to him that another was preferred.
The letter seems to have been effective. General Frye was appointed, and
generally esteemed.

374 COEEESPONDENCE.

one of their own, with four officers, and ninety men, instead
of thirty-five, while five towns in the county should be but
equal to Wells in privileges in this matter. Our people
living remote from, and being unacquainted with, York, and
humbly conceiving, notwithstanding the wise determina-
tion of the committee for that county, that our town might
presume to hope for privileges equal to the town of Wells,
I have filled up the company, excepting a few who will be en-
listed to-morrow. They have chosen for their captain John
Elder, who has been at the head of the militia in Buxton
seven years, Amos Towns, of Arrundel, and Samuel Scam-
mon, of Pepperelborough, for their lieutenants, and Jeremy
Cole, of Biddeford, for their ensign ; and they, to-morrow,
lead off a company of brave men, with good fire-arms.
These officers are men of repute and estate, and go in
reliance of being commissioned by the honorable board.

TO SAMUEL FEEEMAN.

Falmouth, 12 February, 1776.
Deae Sie : Since this noxious animal, called the county
of Cumberland, when raised to view, gives the house so
much uneasiness, and, since she is now, by your late pro-
ceedings, bound hand and foot, and laid on the altar of
destruction, trembling in expectation of the reeking knife
which has once been plunged into her side ; and, since
Bowers, that stable patriot, and the good Mr. Cooper, have
undertaken to whet the knife, it is best to mention her no
more. I mentioned in a former letter Mason Ilsley as
having some powder, which he possessed not so much
to his own credit ; but the judgment was made up
against him on the evidence of slander only, without at-
tending to the great rule audlre alteram partem. His
character stands fair, and I wish this story may not injure
him.

CORRESPONDENCE. 375

TO JAMES WARREN.

Biddefokd, 4 June, 1776.
Since I left the court, I have recollected that there is no
triickmaster at Penobscot to supply the Indians on the
Bay of Fundy, and the St. John's tribe. When their
chiefs were up, in the last summer, they informed the court
that they had six hundred fighting men. Brigadier Preble
was appointed the truckmaster for them ; but I believe ho
never accepted the office. One Lewder was nominated by
the Indians, but nothing has been done. As the country
of these Indians is within Nova Scotia, and contiguous
to Halifax, there is great danger of their being enticed to
take part with the more savage British troops ; in which
case our settlements in Machias, and others at the east-
ward, will be broken up, and a very great number of per-
sons become a public charge. As the Indians are ready
to pay for all their supplies in furs, and, as the present is
the time for bringing them in, I think that this matter
deserves immediate attention. You will, therefore, be kind
enough to mention it to the house.

TO SAMUEL FREEMAN.

Ipswicn, 19 June, 1776.
The court have received the resolve directing the jus-
tices of the same to take cognizance of all actions here-
tofore appealed and not determined by them. As this
extends ;is well to Cumberland as other counties, I tako
it to be necessary for the clerk of the pleas to be in
his office, in order to give out copies. Great inconvenience
must arise to the subject unless he is. You will, therefore,
take it under consideration whether it is not best to have
the court adjourned by order of assembly, if you cannot
attend. If it is adjourned or not, I depend that this letter
will not be communicated. If the court is adjourned, the
resolution therefor ought to overtake us at York ; and the
adjournment, considering the state of the country, should
be into the next term.

376 CORRESPONDENCE.

TO JOHN SULLIVAN.

Boston, 30 August, 1779.

Your family are well, and wish ardently to see you once
more, which they almost despair of. The continental ships,
Providence and Ranger, with one other, have taken ten
Jamaica men, eight whereof have arrived, and the others
are expected. You have, undoubtedly, heard of an expedi-
tion of this state against eight hundred of the enemy, who,
on the ninth of June last, took possession of Penobscot
Point. It has turned out to be an unhappy affair, as you
will see by the following narration :

The very uncommon scarcity of bread in New England,
the last winter, made it impossible for this government to
supply the eastern people as they had done during the
war ; and it is said that some of them died of hunger. In
this situation the tories of the district, headed by Calef
and Goldthwaite, induced some of the cooler whigs, as it
is said, to join in a petition to the enemy to come and take
possession of the place ; which they did at the time above
mentioned. The whigs there, and all who held offices
under this state, were obliged, of course, to retire. Bos-
ton and the seaports became alarmed at the prospect of a
scarcity of wood, and men who have made their fortunes by
the war, for once, and for one moment, felt a public spirit.
Those who had ships of war offered to send them upon
their own risk, which stimulated the general assembly to
an expedition ; and Brigadier Lovell was appointed to
command the land forces, consisting of about nine hun-
dred, falling three hundred short of the proposed number.
The naval board ordered Saltonstall, in the Warren frigate,
and also the Providence sloop, belonging to the continent,
to join the fleet. But the merchants, ever wise for this
world, thought it most prudent to have their ships ap-
praised and insured by this state, excepting the Hampden,
a twenty-gun ship, belonging to, and insured by, New
Hampshire. Six weeks was this secret expedition in hand

CORRESPONDENCE. 377

before the fleet or array was ready ; in which interim a
number of prisoners escaped from tho prison-ship, carried
a schooner by assault, and went to New York with the
secret intelligence.

At length sailed thirteen fine ships, six brigs and one
sloop, besides more than twenty transports, bearing on
their sides and in their holds three hundred and sixty
pieces of cannon, with all else necessary ; the continental
commodore having orders, as one of the navy board says,
not to stay in Penobscot river more than twenty-four
hours. He had the command of the fleet. The council
gave General Lovell orders to attack immediately. When
they arrived, they dislodged some of the enemy, who were
posted upon Bagaduce island, and drove them to a point,
where they had thrown up a fort and two miserable re-
doubts. Our people landed with the loss of about thirty
men, and took the outposts or redoubts ; the last of which
they took in the night. In these assaults they were thrown
into some confusion by two columns meeting and firing
upon each other, whereby some lives were lost. The main
fort, miserably built, now remained in the hands of the
enemy. A council was called to determine whether they
would attack or not. Whereupon it was agreed that the
want of discipline was the cause of the confusion in tho
last assault, and that another could not be made without
regular troops; and thereupon an express was despatched,
and Jackson's regiment embarked.

Meanwhile the council forwarded orders to Lovell to
attack immediately; but, before the orders arrived, there
appeared in the offing a sixty-gun ship and five frigates.
A twenty-eight and twenty gun ship of the enemy had laid
in the neighborhood of our fleet all this while without
being attacked. When the ships appeared, the command-
ers of our ships called upon the commodore to know
whether he would receive them or get away. This point
was never settled. The English ships came in ; ours ran

378 CORRESPONDENCE.

up the river as far as they could ; the Hampden and a brig
were taken ; the Pallas, a brig, ran away. The commodore
set his ship on fire, and the others followed the example ;
stores and all were consumed. The land forces, terrified
at the prospect of starving, every one ran his own way.
More than forty miles of pathless woods they had to cross,
and no doubt many of them perished. Neither general
nor commodore have arrived. The former engaged some
Indians to pilot him to Kennebec ; but whether he has got
there we know not. This has involved this state in a debt
of full seven millions of dollars, which is not so distressing
as the disgrace we suffer. Jackson's regiment heard of
the catastrophe, put into Portsmouth, and moved to Fal-
mouth.

P. S. 31 August. — Commodore Saltonstall has come to
town.

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Boston, 25 December, 1779.
Being very sensible that your attention to the forming
of alliances, raising armies and managing finances, most
solemnly forbids your devoting any part of your time to
private friendship, I can forgive the neglect you have
shown me in breaking our former correspondence. But
you will, nevertheless, let me intrude one thought upon
you respecting our maritime jurisprudence ; for it is at
this time such a motley mixture of the civil law, common
law, and of the law of nations, together with our munici-
pal laws, and so very expensive to the subject, that I most
ardently wish a reformation of the whole into a systemat-
ical and homogeneous plan ; and, as I had the honor and
advantage of jointly laboring with you in the first attempt
of maritime laws in this state, there may be the less impro-
priety in addressing you upon the subject.

When our law was made for erecting the maritime courts,
the temper of the people was such, and so greatly were they

CORRESPONDENCE. 379

enraged at the corruption of former admiralty courts, that
courts of this species without a jury would have met their
universal disapprobation. But they are now fully satisfied
with the wisdom of all civilized nations in appointing one
judge to try facts as well as law, which certainly, if he is
an honest and able man, will give greater despatch and do
more justice than can be done in the present mode of trials.

Our yeomanry in New England, from the mode of their
education as well as from their common and ordinary busi-
ness, are good judges of the common law of the land ; but,
when they are called to try causes upon the multifarious
principles I have before mentioned, they are lost in mys-
tery. Nor, indeed, can any one have adequate ideas of
right in these causes, but he who is able with the closest
reasoning to apply the circumstances to the principles of
law. I hope, therefore, that Congress will recommend it
to the states to drop the idle trial by jury in these causes,
and to adopt a system similar to that of some other nation,
or form a new system by improving upon those of all
nations ; and then the intolerable burden of appeals to
Congress or their committee may be done away. In the
room thereof we shall have a supreme court of admiralty
in the several districts, into which the continent may be
divided for that purpose ; and, as the decisions of these
courts will be of the greatest importance, it will be neces-
sary that there should be more than one judge to each; for
one is more liable to corruption than more ; and the skill
and ability of tliree may be wanted. But it may not be
necessary to have appeals in matters of small consequence,
such as seamen's wages and the like.

I would further suggest that, as the courts before men-
tioned must be supported at the public expense, it may be
prudent to order a small sum per cent, of all goods that
are adjudged prize into the public treasury, to defray the
charges.

I am sensible that it is impossible to form a new system,

380 CORRESPONDENCE.

which at its birth will be perfect. Nor is there any one of
another nation, perhaps, that will so aptly apply to our genius
and circumstances as to admit of no improvement ; but if
your supreme courts consist of men of industry, ability,
and enterprising minds, they will from time to time adopt
such rules as may tend to the perfection of the practice.
But these rules should all be submitted to Congress, to
meet their approbation, that the practice may be uniform
throughout the whole republic. In cases of property claimed
by the subjects of neutral powers, a complaint ought to lay
to Congress. I will not give you further trouble on this
matter ; the importance of it must before now have engaged
the notice of Congress, and so great is my confidence in
their ability and uprightness, that I think they can stand in
no need of my assistance.

Be kind enough to present my respectful compliments to
the honorable Messrs. Holton and Partridge, and believe
me to be, with the most perfect esteem, your most obedi-
ent and very humble servant.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Groton, 4 August, 1781.
Yours of the fourteenth of July I received but yester-
day. I am much obliged by your information respecting
the position of the army, and very sorry that the Massa-
chusetts line is so thin, and badly found. I am certain that
if all the effective men raised by this government had
reached the camp, the first complaint wouid not have been
founded altogether in fact ; as I am much deceived unless
full two thirds of our quota have been levied and sent on.
But there appears to be a strange remissness in the execu-
tive part of our government, which even the new consti-
tution does not remedy. The governor issues his orders
well, as did the supreme executive under the former
mode of administration ; but these orders are a dead letter
to the subjects, for the smaller officers do by no means

CORRESPONDENCE. 381

regard them. Nor do I hear of any one being drawn into
question for liis contempt of authority, or breach of duty.
The towns have been lately called upon for thirty-two
hundred men for three months ; a great many of them
levied at the enormous expense of sixty hard dollars upon
an average ; but I hear of no one who is to march them.
Perhaps many of them, as others have done, will become
inhabitants of Vermont, whore fugitive villains are privi-
leged as they once were in Rome. The clothing for the
army has been ordered, as well as promised, but perhaps
never can be provided ; for our general assembly in the
last session at one blow killed the money and the credit
of government. The act which they passed you have
undoubtedly seen. Had they agreed to pay the interest, it
might have been well ; but, by resolving that the treasurer
should pay the new money out at one and seven eighths
exchange, they renewed the old idea of the dishonesty of
the government, and raised such a distrust in the minds of
the people, that they even despaired of having the interest
paid ; and the money is now no more a currency than the
ragged remains of a kite. There is not hard money enough
to carry on commerce, and a tax is ordered, which will call
in all the new emission. But when this is in the treasury,
it will be of no avail to the support of the army. And
the authors of this distressing measure do not pretend that
there will 1m- any other fruit of it than the sinking of the
new emission. So that, while our army are disbanding
themselves for want of necessaries, Ave are loading the
people with taxes to redeem bills of credit that were not
to be redeemed until the end of six years ; and exhausting
our treasury of hard money to support the credit of a cur-
rency which is dead as an almanac of the last century ;
dead beyond all the powers of resuscitation. And in this
way alone you are, my dear general, to expect to thicken
and clothe your lines. You tell me to arouse the people
to a sense of duty. I can assure you, sir, that I believe

382 CORRESPONDENCE.

that there Avas never a better people than we have ; but all
their exertions are marred and crossed by having bad meas-
ures often adopted and carried into execution with vigor
and attention, while good ones are rarely planned, and but
badly managed.

I will do all that I can, and, notwithstanding the dolorous
strain of this hurried letter, I have no doubt but that we
shall do well ; but our remissness may nevertheless pro-
tract the war yet further ; and besides it does not seem as
if our assistance on the other side of the waters were
in a hurry about peace.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Springfield, 26 September, 1781.

Having received one letter from you since I saw you
last, I did myself the honor to forward you a line, which
from the mode of conveyance, I have no doubt came safe
to hand ; but having received none from you since, I was
rather suspicious that it contained something which met
your disapprobation. I have consoled myself, from reflec-
tions on your temper and character, that you would, with
the sincerity you always profess, have let me know if
I had done anything which affected you disagreeably. I
have a peculiar pleasure and satisfaction in receiving and
reading a letter from you, and therefore beg that when you
have a minute in which nothing else shall claim your atten-
tion, you will think of me.

Seneca says that it is idle to tell our friend that we
do not write because we have no news; but I can assure
you, as there is nothing novel here, I am straitened to find
anything which would be interesting. Should I descend
to the divine doctrine of morality, you were deeply there
before I was born ; should I go into the uneasy field of
politics, there you are my father, and both of us limited
by the lines of constitution. To write to you of the art of
war would be the altissimnm of arrogance. To talk to you

CORRESPONDENCE. 383

of judiciary matters within my own department would be
as uninteresting to you as foppish in me. And, therefore,
having nothing to write, you may impure why 1 do not
stop my pen ? or rather why I took it up to trouble you
with that which is of no importance, or nothing at all? I
can only answer, you know that when I am with you I love
to be in conversation, and thus writing in a familiar way
is the best substitute I can find.

The people here are preparing fireworks for a day of
rejoicing on the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. God grant
they may be needed; but I now rejoice with fear and trem-
bling. Should he be taken, I hope that Washington will
not suffer him to come into his presence, but follow Clin-
ton's Charleston example with exact precision. Let the
expedition end as it may, I beg for an early account of
anecdotes and incidents from your hand. There is nothing
new here. Paper money is not even mentioned in trade ;
but one is given for four, in order to pay the present state
tax. There is, however, a scarcity of silver that reduces
the price of goods very fast, and it seems the general
opinion that there shall be no more paper currency.
However, the treasurer pays it out as fast as it comes in,
and unless the general assembly puts a stop to that, it will
again be in circulation, and again depreciate. Somehow
or other the people and their representatives always think
differently upon these matters; but all will be well. Take
Cornwallis, and we shall have peace.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Boston, 16 January, 1782.
Yours of the twentieth ultimo I this day received, and
cannot but have the highest satisfaction in the notice you
take of me, and feel a peculiar pleasure to see one, on whose
singular abilities and more than common integrity I have
so much relied in public measures both in the field and in
the cabinet, raised by the voice of America to an office of

384 CORRESPONDENCE.

such infinite importance as that of secretary of war. I
thank you for accepting it, and can never entertain a doubt
of your improving each of the many talents Heaven hath
given you, to the advantage of the world in general, and
this country in particular. The command is, " Occupy till
I come;" and you are far from being unmindful of this
command, or the great Author of it, and hence arises my
great confidence in you.

I am very sorry that a loan in Europe has failed, because
I can see no way to comply with the requisitions of Con-
gress for the million of dollars. A tax of three hundred
thousand pounds has been out some time, and very little
collected. There is another, lately assessed, of a like sum,
and these I am confident cannot be collected till mid-
summer ; and really, sir, the farms where I live would by
no means rent for as much as they have been taxed the
year past, if taxes were as moderate as they were in 1774.
Thirty per cent, is made on the purchase of French bills,
when money at lawful interest cannot be hired by public
or private bodies. I am fully sensible of the necessity of
spirited measures, and would not have Congress rely too
much upon assistance from us. We have lately passed an
excise act ; but the measure is so universally condemned,
that it will, I believe, be repealed this session. It would
raise perhaps twenty thousand pounds.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Boston, 4 November, 1782.
Being quite in private life, I cannot but conceive myself
somewhat below the notice of men in high office ; but I
will, however, assume to address you on the score of former
friendship ; and, having nothing to communicate, you may
be assured that I write only for the satisfaction I feel
while I am driving the quill. We have nothing new here.
Our government seems rather more out of tone than I

CORRESPONDENCE. 385

wished ever to see it; but who is to blame I know not.
Those who have no hand in it cannot be to blame. I could
write you very freely, and would wish to communicate my
feelings to you for one moment ; but you know the mails
arc often robbed. Can anything induce you to leave the
endearing smiles of a Washington, and reside in your
native state ?

"We are in a great turmoil here about the impost. A
writer, who, by the way, I think can have no pretensions
to even considerable abilities, fills the Providence papers
with noise against it. A certain doctor of divinity, who is
busy, if not industrious, in some matters which he hath
nothing to do with, republishes them in Gill's paper ; and
those who laugh at our independence call them fine pro-
ductions. During the summer there was much excitement
about illicit trade, and more than seventy associated to sup-
port the law against it ; but a seizure being made of good3
imported from England, via Amsterdam, the associates have
petitioned that " all goods coming from England through
the country of a power at war with Britain, and in amity
with us, should be deemed legally imported." As there is
opposition, and the bill is non-concurred in the senate, a
committee of conference is now out. The opposition will
agree that British manufactures, cleared out in proper
offices of our allies as British goods, should come; for they
say that there is a difference between bringing British
goods through the territory of our allies, and bringing
them with the knowledge of the government of our allies.
This distinction is by some people thought quite a whim-
sical one ; and then the question is agitated Avhether a trade
with Britain will not be of advantage to us. Those who
are for it say, that, it being known in Europe that we have
a predilection for British goods, the merchants in France
and Holland will purchase them, and sell them to us at an
advance of thirty per cent. This is opposed by saying
that motives of interest, as well commercial as political,
II. 25

386 CORRESPONDENCE.

bid those nations to join us, and that nothing but an absti-
nence from the consumption of British goods will retain
their necessary affection. How the matter will issue I
know not.

In the midst of these debates appeared one Burges, a
member of the house of Champion and Dickenson. He
was said to be a clever fellow, and was received as such.
I spoke against his appearance, but soon found it unpop-
ular, and to no purpose. The governor and council gave
him leave to petition for an act of naturalization ; and a
vote passed in the house to have his petition committed,
before the senate took it up. A resolution of Congress
put an end to it. He gave bonds to go away in fifteen
days, but is yet in town.

Your son I hear is going to Mendon. I think his genius
too good for a place so remote. Mr. Osgood receives a
letter from me by this post on Nantucket affairs. I wish
you to see it. Perhaps I feel too much for them ; let your
cooler judgment decide on what is fit and necessary to be
done. I have referred Mr. Osgood to this letter. If he
chooses to see it, you will do what you please on the subject.

I hope to see you in Boston this winter ; but wish you
to take the trouble to communicate your ideas, respect-
ing trade with Britain, as soon as you conveniently can.
I have no wish to make myself the mark of interested
men, unless their measures are wrong; but at present I
am against importing any other than prize goods which
are of British manufacture. But we are told that Phila-
delphia is not so cautious ; and some hint the Congress do
not view matters as I do.

TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN.

Boston, 18 November, 1782.
About two posts ago I wrote you, and therein referred
you to a letter by the same post, to my friend Osgood,
relating to the situation of Nantucket. I am afraid that I

CORRESPONDENCE. 387

Lave in that letter been too warm in favor of those suf-
ferers. If there is anything that maybe in the least in-
compatible with our general welfare, I wish that my feel-
ings may be my apology. I am by no means afraid of my
letter's having an undue influence upon you, but thought it
necessary to say thus much on the subject.

Our General Court rose last week. The continental tax-
bill is put over to the next session. The court passed an
excise act, but the governor, I am told, did not approve of
it. The two houses requested a recess ; he gave them one.
They say the bill has hecome a law, because it laid before
him five days before the court was prorogued, and was not
disapproved of. He says the recess commenced before the
five days were up. It comes to the old question, which was
agitated upon the impost, whether the Sabbath is a day
included in the five mentioned in the constitution. These
debates are very unhappy, and weaken our government
exceedingly. Would the General Court have contented
themselves to have sat one day longer, it would have
cli aily settled the dispute. Or had the governor sent his
disapprobation in writing, two thirds of the house would
nnt have voted for the bill; or, if they had, it would have
<ii' led the controversy.

I rather think the five days included the Sabbath, and
that his excellency is wrong; for in our law way, though a
Sabbath is no day for business, yet it has always been a
day of preparation for business. All writs are to be served
fourteen days before court, which fourteen days, as our
courts sit, always include two Sabbaths. I have never
given the governor my opinion upon the matter, because
he never asked it. A law that burthens commerce is very
difficult to execute, at best; but, when it is a question
whether it is a law or not, must be very inoperative. Had
we no parties in the state, perhaps these difficulties would
not arise. You may, by attention to the Boston news-
papers, perceive that I am accused of being in a party on

388 CORRESPONDENCE.

the side of the governor; but the suggestion is entirely
false. I labored to have the dispute subside, but it will
never be settled. However, I rather think, from present
appearances, that death will in the course of this winter
turn the attention of the partisans to a new object. Who
he will be I am by no means able to say.

You have, my dear general, undoubtedly observed in
the papers a controversy between me and Mr. Temple.
As I know that you are a great enemy to all party matters,
I therefore am uneasy lest this dispute should lessen me
in your opinion ; for I can say with sincerity, that, from
the first hour of our acquaintance, your professions of
esteem and friendship yielded me very great and singular
happiness. I do not know but I may, from the personal
abuse I have had, have been betrayed into some impru-
dences; but I have in this matter acted from the same mo-
tive which induced me to be on the side of my country in
the day of her danger. I believed Temple to be a man
in the employ of our enemies, and therefore opposed
his having given him, by the General Court, the character
of a first patriot. He saw fit to load me with personal
abuse. I, however, persevered, and, as he petitioned
to the Court to have his character investigated, I informed
the speaker that I was ready to offer evidence of his being
a dangerous man. The court ordered me to state the
grounds and facts in writing, which I did. Whereupon,
those, who before had urged an inquiry, now began to
suggest that they had nothing to do with it, and procured
an order to have it referred over to the attorney-general.
There it rests. My apprehensions from him now appear
to be just. He is a kind of idol to the tories, gives
dark hints against our allies, &c. The politics of this
town are quite altered from what they were. The ben-
efits of British trade are openly avowed ; a law lately
passed opens a full door, in my opinion, for its encour-

CORRESPONDENCE. 389

agement, and British subjects are admitted. I hope to see
you in town in the course of the winter.

TO HENRY KNOX.

Boston, 17 December, 1783.
I commit the enclosed letter to your particular care. Dr.
Cooper's character is so well known, and his person so
well beloved, that I need make no apology to you for this
trouble. Should his grandson be either in New York,
Philadelphia, Annapolis, or anywhere in America, it is of
importance that he should be here soon. Any expense that
may be necessary to his coming I will defray. Should he
be anywhere to the southward, your exertions to forward
him will be acknowledged by his friends, and this letter
will stand sponsor for the expense.

TO RUFUS KING.

Boston, 25 October, 1785.

I have been honored with yours of the seventeenth
instant. You do me great honor in placing any confidence
in me. But as there was nothing in your letter but was
quite within the rules of decency and decorum, you did
not commit yourself by it ; and should you ever commit
yourself to me, which you can never be under a neces-
sity to do, you cannot do it to one who regards you more.
Mr. Parsons is nominated Professor of Law at our Uni-
versity. Mr. Adams, in his letter to me, dated sixteenth
of August, says " The ministry are very reserved. I can
get no answer to anything." He speaks highly of our
navigation act ; and is of opinion that we ought to con-
tinue it, even though the other states should not follow
us. Yet the General Court will repeal or suspend it this
session. The consul de France has memorialized against
it, and the French agent here does not like it.

The rage is now against exorbitant interest, and they are

390 CORRESPONDENCE.

making a law that no man shall have a commission or hold
an office till he swears he has not taken more than six per
cent.

Our friend, Governor Hancock, has been very sick at his
country-seat. He came into town last evening. I called
upon him. He will soon be better. He has not yet given
his answer respecting going to Congress ; but I believe he
will go. I told him I thought he would be president if he
went. He smiled, and said that it would give him great
pleasure to meet his old compatriots after the completion
of all their wishes ; and should be glad to serve his country
where he should be most useful, or so far as his health will
admit of. By the by, I think the president's chair the
easiest in the Union for an invalid ; and told him so. You
may expect him before Congress shall have a representa-
tion of all the states.

TO EUFUS KING.

Boston, 25 February, 1787.

The General Court is sitting to-day. The danger the
state is in claims holy time for exertion. The more they
do, the more the danger increases. The business of to-
day is to determine whether the supreme judicial court
shall go up to Berkshire to string up some of the rebels in
the rear of the army. This measure Governor Lincoln
presses vehemently ; but the judges do not love to go.
By letters last night from the general, who has three hun-
dred men with him, the rebels are in York state, on Black
Creek and White Creek, about three hundred strong, threat-
ening blood and slaughter on the friends to government in
Berkshire, as soon as the forces shall be withdrawn. The
people in the state are exceeding soured. Boston has its
usual prudence. Every countryman who comes in, and
offers to apologize for his son or brother deluded, is railed
at and called a rebel.

The General Court goes on with remarkable and astonish-

CORRESPONDENCE. 391

ing unanimity. As there is no opposition, it would be a
wonder if the constitution was strictly adhered to. And
yet the critical situation of the commonwealth requires
circumspection, in order that good men may not be made
enemies to the government. The powers of government
are so united in the metropolis that it is dangerous even
to be silent. A man is accused of rebellion if he does not
loudly approve every measure as prudent, necessary, wise
and constitutional. God knows where all will end. I have
no materials to calculate from, have little to do with politics,
and min 1 my own business.

You may depend upon my taking the same care of your
fees as of my own. Our report is in the hand of a com-
mittee. Oliver Phelps, I hear, opposes it, as giving New
York land they had no right to. There is no money in the
treasury. Root drew on Lowell and myself for twenty-
three pounds ; but we are as yet unable to procure it.

The people think the disqualifying act to be a measure to
keep in office those who are now in. The effect will be
known in the spring.

TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.

Boston, 11 April, 1789.

Your arrival in Congress gives great satisfaction to the
old revolutionists in this state. AVhile I presume to con-
gratulate you on the subject, I wish to indulge myself in
the pleasure of mentioning the success of the supporters
of your old friend ami compatriot, the Hon. Samuel Ad-
ams. He has been exceedingly maltreated, or you would
have now had him by the hand in the senate of the United
States; but the votes in our late elections, a sample
whereof is exhibited in the Gazette enclosed, will evince
how much he lives in the esteem of his fellow-citizens.

We have a very uneasy party in this commonwealth,
composed of the seekers of emoluments under govern-

392 CORRESPONDENCE.

ment, and of the old anti-revolutionists ; they hate democ-
racy on different principles.

Their imprudence was the sad cause of the disgrace of
our people in the year 1786. The measures their influence
obtained produced that discontent which ended in an insur-
rection. They now pant for a rebellion, because they think
it would end in a standing army, and finally produce a
monarchy. But our people are disposed to live quietly ;
and, when Congress shall pay a proper attention to the
amendments proposed to the general constitution, all will
be easy ; unless a particular partiality is shown by the
general government to those who have affected to be its
champions. Our people have good sense enough to know
that anarchy must end in despotism ; they have all prop-
erty, and they want laws and government to support and
protect it ; they feel as freemen, and they act in that char-
acter. However they may be despised and scandalized by
men who cannot gain their confidence, they will cheerfully
support a good government. I send you some testimo-
nials in favor of General Leonard Jarvis. He is an honest
man, and useful to his country.

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Boston, 13 August, 1789.

The appointments made for the collection of the revenue
are generally agreeable. Mr. Jarvis' friends are sorry he
has no notice taken of him; but they are candid enough to
consider the measure as flowing more from a wish to sup-
port General Lincoln, whose circumstances call for aid, than
from any disregard to the other. We all know the merit
of Mr. Jarvis ; and this commonwealth is under great obli-
gation to his talents in the business of finance. Some
future opportunity will, we hope, bring him forward to
exert his abilities under the general government ; and his
friends will feel themselves much obliged by the contin-

CORRESPONDENCE. 393

nance of your good ofHces towards him as occasion may
offer.

As to the success of another matter, I can assure you I
am much at ease about it. If the objection should arise
from the principles you suggest, I shall be very easy ; for,
if offices are set at the price of sacrifice of principles and
friends, they are not to be coveted. I consider the name
of Hancock the centre of union with the people, and there-
fore he must be supported; for, whenever the idea of the
necessity of three estates in government shall bring for-
ward that of three different orders of citizens, either jure
dlvino, or by hereditary succession, there will be a stand
made. I am of very little consequence in the drama ; but
I have risked an unimportant life and my little all in the
defence of freedom. I love her, and I love that equality in
which she dwells ; and, whether in place or not, I will be
an honest man.

Your grants are very liberal ; the wages I hear nothing
about lately. Fenno's paper, which is here considered as
the voice of Congress, gives us a solution for some giants.
He says that the people arc to be bribed to yield obedience
to government, and to carry the laws into execution ; and,
when there is no money, titles and honors may answer the
same purpose ; but yet, as they only exist upon paper,
they may sadly depreciate if they should be too much mul-
tiplied. As you go on now, I believe you will not have
money enough to buy us all; and the purchase by titles,
unless you make a nobility, will not be effectual.

The governor wrote a letter, and the lieutenant-governor
wrote another to you on a certain subject. I should be
glad to know if you received it. I believe nearly half tho
council, without any suggestions from me, wrote on tho
same.

Mrs. Sullivan wishes me to present her regards to Mrs.
Gerry, the young ladies, and yourself.

o

94 COREESPONDENCE,

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Boston, 30 August, 1789.

I am well convinced, for myself, that six dollars is by no
means too much for the wages of senators and representa-
tives ; and, had your colleagues been ostensibly in favor of
the bill, I should have been sorry to have seen you against
it. But I did not want to see you ensnared ; and, with all
your friends, am sincerely glad to see you among the nays.
Your sentiments with regard to the support of members, I
consider as perfectly just, but as too refined for the taste
of the present age. We must take the world as it is, and
make the best of it we can in its present state. Your ene-
mies wish to find you in an unpopular singularity, that they
may the more completely foil you. They represent you as
speaking often, and in opposition to all measures ; but the
people have confidence in you, and I wish you, for your
country's sake, to guard against the loss of it. It would
be very idle in me to point you to the numerous instances
in past ages where men of integrity and wisdom have been
injured by urging measures which, in the succeeding age,
have been embraced as the highest refinement of political
sagacity.

I am very sensible, with you, that many are driving for
a monarchy ; but they never can obtain it for many ages
yet to come. They injure the new government exceed-
ingly by their clamor on this point; they make the people
jealous and uneasy ; and, should the attempt be made to
encircle the brows of an American with a diadem, a civil
war would be the consequence. But, short of that, I think
they injure the government, because, by such injudicious
and impracticable ideas, they alarm the apprehensions of
the people, and prevent their being thoroughly fixed in the
support of it.

There are a few here who boast of having everything in
their own hands, and who, to keep an influence at court,
make false and injurious representations against others.

CORRESPONDENCE. 395

This will do no good to the governor, and, if the president
is deceived by them, he will feel an essential injury from it.

TO SIR WILLIAM JONES.

[On the twenty-seventh of January, 17'J5, Sir William Jones was unani-
mously elected a corresponding member of the Historical Society of Massachu-
setts. The society had soon the mortification to learn that, nine months before
the date of their vote, the object of their intended distinction was no more.
The following letter, notifying the resolution of the society, was addressed to
him by the president.]

Boston, 7 February, 1795.

As president, and by the direction, of the Massachusetts
Historical Society, I have the honor to inclose you a vote
of that corporation, by which you are elected a member
of it. You have, also, by this conveyance, a few publica-
tions, and a copy of our charter. By the latter you will
see as well the legal date as the design of our institution.
We possess a large hall, in the centre of Boston, where
we deposit those books, publications and other matters,
which may have a tendency to fix and illustrate the politi-
cal, civil and natural history of this continent ; and wo
have been very successful in our attempts to collect mate-
rials for that purpose.

Your character, and the attention which the world allows
you to have paid to learning of this kind, have induced us
to pursue such measures as we hope will obtain your good
wishes and friendly regard ; and we shall have great pleas-
ure in forwarding to you, from time to time, such other
books and publications as we may suppose to be acceptable
to you. Any observations from you, or any member of
the society in which you preside, illustrating those facts
which compose the natural history of America, or of any
other part of the world, will be received as valuable marks
of your attention. As the correspondence of literary and
philosophical societies, established in different nations, is
an intercourse of true philanthropy, and has a manifest

396 CORRESPONDENCE.

tendency to increase that friendship and to support that
harmony in the great family of mankind, on which the
happiness of the world so much depends, it can never
solicit your aid without success.

TO TIMOTHY PICKERING.

Boston, 5 November, 1798.

Justice to my family urges me to trouble you with a
private letter on the subject of my compensation. I have
expressed to you, in my public letter of this date, what I
expected when I was honored with a commission as agent.
In your communication of the fifteenth of April, 1797, in dis-
cussing the reasonableness of Judge Howell's claim, you say:
" The services of the agents I view in a different point of
light. The labor of investigating facts in books, documents
and living witnesses, and forming a statement of the ques-
tion to be considered, with lengthy arguments to illustrate
and enforce the respective claims, will necessarily demand
much time and close application, and require a correspond-
ing compensation." I have before me a copy of my letter
on that subject to which I refer. I had not then seen the
reply of the English agent, and consequently was ignorant
of the field I had to be employed in. I have, since my
appointment, devoted myself to the business, but could
never have completed, or rather accomplished, what has
been done, without the aid of my sons and clerks, none of
which, excepting ten dollars to one, was ever charged. I
gave up my business in the common pleas, in Middlesex
and in Suffolk counties, which was equal to that of any
one of my profession in those counties. My son derived
some advantage from the circumstance, in Suffolk ; but the
greater part there, and all in Middlesex, is gone entirely.
My absence from the supreme courts has lost me the run
of my clients there.

These advantages will never be restored to me. The

CORRESPONDENCE. 397

judges of the circuit court are settled for life in their
offices ; but I have to return to my profession, under great
disadvantages, in an advanced stage of life. More injury
has been done my health by this than by all my profes-
sional busiuess; uncomfortable days and sleepless nights
have been my experience for these two years and more. I
enclose you a statement of my cash account, which will con-
vince you that any deduction from the sum stipulated will
injure me essentially. 1 ask no more than the sum agreed
upon ; with that I shall be a loser by the business.

I intended to have kept an account of time and expenses ;
but this was soon rendered impracticable, forasmuch as
all my time was taken up in a perpetual round of read-
ing, writing and thinking. The room in my own house
was appropriated, and I was generally there. Great ex-
penses occurred in collecting evidence and documents,
and would run very high were they all in account. The
pain of mind and anxious hours I have had cannot be com-
pensated with money ; the reflection that I have done well
will lie a reward for these. There appeared to be no end
to the researches. The arguments were compiled, decom-
piled and made over again, at various times. The volumes
are witnesses of the labor, and I feel assured that I shall
not, from any treatment I shall receive from the govern-
ment, regret it.

Resting assured that, in addition to the inexpressible
pleasure of having a good and agreeable termination to
this important business, I shall have the satisfaction of the
government's approbation, and a ready allowance of my
compensation, I remain, with the greatest respect to you,
sir, and with many thanks for the aid you have afforded
me in the agency.

398 CORRESPONDENCE.

TO MRS. CUTLER.

Boston, 30 March, 1800.

My dear Child : The same weakness, which I am about
to reprove, has prevented my doing that which I have long
been convinced was my duty towards you. The feelings
of the heart are ever at war with the rational powers of
the head ; the perfection of our nature is the coincidence
of our duty and affections.

Your children are healthy, beautiful, and bear the marks
of a strong understanding and extensive capacity. Upon
your exertions, in the present moment, depend their hap-
piness, and your future comfort. To speak to you of them
is to open on a tender and delicate subject. The two
oldest are of an age to come in and go out of a room with
propriety, and to sit in company with the appearance of
attention and respect. They ought now to exhibit a per-
fect and absolute obedience to the command of their
mother's eye. In a few months more their habits will
become obstinately fixed, and you never can gain an habit-
ual submission in their minds to your authority.

You may be grieved at the caution intended in this
letter, and mav consider it as severe. But it is much better
for you to Aveep at the intrusion of your father, than to
waste your tears hereafter at the ill-conduct of your chil-
dren. He cannot long trouble you, but they may furnish a
lasting sorrow.

I advise you to keep your purpose to yourself; but, as
soon as the weather becomes warm, to take your children
into your chamber, and by degrees, not suddenly, in a res-
olute and persevering manner, to convince them that they
have no rule of conduct but your will ; that there can
be no dispensation for an absolute obedience to it, and that
every act of disregard to your authority will certainly be
punished. The idea of whipping may not be necessary ;
but, if they cannot be absolutely governed without it, then
there is evidence that it is necessary. This is a painful

CORRESPONDENCE. 399

task, I know from experience ; but, painful as it is, it is
infinitely below the grief and anguish resulting from irreg-
ular conduct in our children.

Four weeks' perseverance in the above, or in a similar
mode of conduct, will fix in their minds a growing pleasure
in the observance of your commands ; will afford them a
conviction that your will is their only rule of conduct;
and will render them emulous to receive your approbation
as their highest reward.

There is no circumstance in education which has so
pernicious an effect as that of promising children a reward
for doing well. They never ought to be required to do
more than their duty ; and that ought to be exacted because
it is their duty to perform it. By way of punishment, and
under that idea, it may be proper to deprive them of usual
gratifications because they have done wrong; but it will
never do to engage to them an extra gratification because
they do right. This is to create in them a mercenary pro-
pensity, and encourages debasing motives for their conduct.
Children bred up in this way will easily lie induced to do
wrong to obtain the same gratification to which they have
been habituated as a reward for doing right,

Your children are too young to embrace a system of
reasoning which will point them to the sublime advantages
of virtue. They, therefore, must be led, without knowing
where they arc going, by parental authority, until their
riper years shall open their eyes upon those advantages
which the\- shall have been made to achieve when their
feelings were in opposition to the pursuit.

TO JAMES MADISON.

Boston, 20 May, 1802.

Having the honor of receiving your letter of the tenth
instant, I hasten to communicate to you my ideas of the
subject-matter of its contents. When I was under a com-

400 CORRESPONDENCE.

mission, as agent of the United States, on the controversy
with Great Britain regarding the river St. Croix, I for-
warded to the office of secretary of state a map of the Bay
of Passamaquoddy, of the Schoodiac, and of the lines of
the whole dispute. That map was accurately and elegantly
composed from astronomical observations and actual sur-
veys. As that map is under your eye, there is no need of
my sending a fac-simile ; but I refer you to that for an
explanation of this letter. The treaty of 1783 with Great
Britain evidently contemplates a river, as the St. Croix,
which has its mouth in the Bay of Fundy.

Both rivers claimed by the parties empty their waters
into the Bay of Passamaquoddy. The agent of the United
States urged the commissioners to settle the boundary
through that bay to the sea ; because the treaty expressly
recognized the mouth of the river as in the Bay of Fundy,
which is a limb of the ocean ; and the other bay united
with it might be considered as the river's mouth. But
they declined, on an idea that their commission extended
no further than to an authority to find the mouth and
source of the river ; and that, let whichever be the river,
it had its mouth three leagues from the sea, in Passa-
maquoddy Bay ; they, therefore, limited their decision, on
its southerly line, to a point between St. Andrews and the
shore of the United States. The whole of the waters
of Passamaquoddy eastward and northward of Moose
Island, and of the Island of Campobello, are navigable for
vessels of any burden. The channel between Moose and
Deer Islands is the best. That between Moose Island
and the continent of the United States is shoal, narrow
and not navigable for vessels of consequence. The west
passage, between Campobello and the main, is rendered
hazardous and dangerous by a bar of rocks, and is so
narrow and shoal that no vessel of considerable size
will be risked there, excepting on a fair wind, and at the
top of high water. The tides are exceedingly rapid,

CORRESPONDENCE. 401

and rise near about forty feet ; therefore, any settlement
which would deprive the United States of a free naviga-
tion as far to the eastward and northward as the channel
you propose, that is, to the one between Moose and Deer
Islands, and north of Campobello, would ultimately destroy
the important commerce and valuable navigation of an
extensive territory within the United States ; for, as you
may observe on the maps, there is no river of consequence
between the Schoodiac and the Penobscot ; and the waters
which issue from numerous and extensive lakes in the
interior parts of the country, and run into the sea, like
tlie Schoodiac, give an advantageous and invaluable trans-
portation to the articles of commerce.

Your construction of the treaty of 1783, which renders the
waters dividing the nations common to both where they are
navigable, must be reasonable and just. The English people
have, in many instances, practised upon the treaty under
such a construction. There has been no interruption to
American navigation in any part of Passamaquoddy Bay ;
but our vessels have proceeded through that bay to
the shore of the United States, at and near Moose Island,
and have gone into the Schoodiac above St. Andrews
Point, and anchored on the western side of the channel,
where they have discharged their cargoes. There have
been some seizures where goods have been carried from
these vessels over to the English side ; but the goods have
been condemned, and the vessels discharged. Seizures,
made within the jurisdiction of the United States, as to
the vessels, would be clearly infractions of the law of
nations. There was a seizure lately made of a vessel of
Mr. Goddard, of Boston. She was taken from her anchor
on the American side of the channel, in the river estab-
lished by the commissioners as the St. Croix, and carried
over to New Brunswick; but she was acquitted by tho
court of admiralty, with damages and cost. Campbell, who
made the seizure, appealed to England, merely to avoid tho

II. 2G

402 CORRESPONDENCE.

costs and damages, where the cause is now depending,
under the attention of Robert Slade, a proctor, who is the
advocate of Mr. Goddard.

There is a clause in the treaty, that the United States
shall comprehend the islands within twenty leagues of any
pf the shores of the United States, and lying between lines
drawn due east from the aforesaid boundaries between Nova
Scotia on the one part, and East Florida on the other, as they
shall respectively reach the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic
Ocean. This circumstance, that the mouth of the St. Croix is
settled to be between St. Andrews Point on the east, and the
American shore on the west, three leagues within the Island
of Campobello, draws this consequence to the treaty, that
nearly all the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay are within the
United States by the above provision in the treaty, unless
they are taken out by an exception which I shall presently
notice. A line due east, as you will see on the plan, from
the Schoodiac mouth at St. Andrews Point, takes in nearly
all the bay. A line south 67° east, will go to the north of
Campobello, and take two thirds of Deer Island on the
west. A south-east line from the middle of the Schoodiac
mouth passes on the channel between Moose and Deer
Islands, and through the centre of Campobello. The con-
sequences attached to this provision may be, in some meas-
ure, controlled by an exception annexed to it in these
words : " excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore
have been, within the limits of the province of Nova
Scotia."

The island of Campobello is confessedly within the
exception ; and, therefore, it may be said that the princi-
ple of common privilege to navigable waters will not give
our nation a right to a navigation northward of, and be-
tween that and the other islands in the bay ; because that
they, being all within the same exception, the right of com-
mon navigation in both nations may not extend to the
waters between that and them. But the answer to this is,

CORRESPONDENCE. 403

that the clause establishes the jurisdiction of the United
States, by lines which clearly include all the islands in the
Bay of Passamaquoddy, and all within the Bay of Fundy
comprehended to the south of the east line drawn from
St. Croix; -while the exception can extend only to the
islands now or formerly within the jurisdiction of Nova
Scotia, inclusive of the privileges necessary to their occu-
pancy. The principle, therefore, of the common right to
navigation on navigable waters which divide two nations,
cannot apply here: because, in that case, the line of na-
tional jurisdiction settled on the channel; but here the
jurisdiction is definite, express and ceded according to
the lines agreed on as above described.

The ancient charter of Nova Scotia to Sir William
Alexander, in 1638, included all the country from the
Kennebec to the Bay of Chaleurs. The treaty cannot
mean, by the expression, "heretofore within Nova Scotia,"
all the islands in that charter. If it means the islands
Which were within a more recent description of it, where
the boundary westward was the St. Croix, excluding the
territory of Acadia, which was placed under the jurisdic-
tion of Massachusetts by the charter of that province, in
1G92, and bounded on that river, the river Schoodiac
being now the established St. Croix, there can be no ques-
tion in regard to Massachusetts extending to the channel',
where it joins that river. But Moose Island, which I have
described before, lies two leagues below what the commis-
sioners made the mouth of the St. Croix, and very near the
American shore. This was never granted by the crown
of England, or by the government of Nova Scotia, before
the treaty of peace; nor was there ever an occupancy of
it by subjects acknowledging the authority of Nova Scotia,
nor did that province ever attempt to exercise authority
there. Long before the revolutionary war, it was in tlie
occupancy of people of, and from, the late province of
Massachusetts Bay. The soil has, I believe, been granted

404 CORRESPONDENCE.

by that province, or by the state, since the Revolution, to
the people who had it in possession. I do not know the
date of the grant. There have been, as I am informed,
recent grants by the province of New Brunswick, of that
island ; but no formal claim on the part of the English
nation has been made to it. The grantees of that prov-
ince, who have speculated on the pretended right of the
English nation, have excited civil officers, under the author-
ity of the province of New Brunswick, to attempt to exe-
cute precepts there ; but these attempts were repelled ; and
I have not heard that they have been recently renewed.
Should the jurisdiction of that island be found within the
English authority, there can be no doubt how the right of
property would be settled. This renders the dispute of
consequence to the commonwealth of Massachusetts in a
pecuniary point of view.

If the argument above stated does not prove that
the jurisdiction of the United States is extended to all
the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay, but that the treaty
leaves the navigable waters of the same the national
boundaries common to both, it is of great consequence
that any claim, made under the crown, of the English
empire to Moose Island, should be subverted. But, if
their having the island under the reservatory exception,
•does not deprive the United States of the jurisdiction on
all the waters southward of the east line drawn from the
mouth of the Schoodiac, the consideration of the property
alone gives .consequence to the question. The channel,
where the waters more directly issue from the Schoodiac
to the Bay of Fundy, between Moose and Deer Islands,
and between Deer Island and Campobello, as described in
your letter of instructions to the minister, is quite ade-
quate to all the navigation of our country. You mention
a resolve of the legislature wherein the subject of the
navigation in Passamaquoddy Bay is mentioned. I have
attended to a resolve of the tenth of March, which pro-

CORRESPONDENCE. 405

poses that the governor should request the president of
the United States to take measures for settling the dis-
puted jurisdiction to certain islands in Passamaquoddy
Bay ; but I do not know of any dispute in that bay, as to
islands, excepting what I have stated as to Moose Island.

The settlement and plain establishment of a line from
the head or source of the Chaputnaticook, which is the
source of the St. Croix, and empties its waters through
a long chain of lakes into the Schoodiac, has become
necessary, because that Massachusetts is making grants
of the lands in that quarter, and the province of New
Brunswick is in the same practice. Controversies may
be created by interfering locations in pursuance of, or
under pretence of, these grants. Such controversies can
have no guide to their adjustment, excepting lines drawn
through a vast extent of wilderness, where many known
and unknown causes will affect the magnetic variations.
These disputes on national, or even colonial or state juris-
dictions, are not easily settled when they are connected
with private claims.

By the treaty of peace it is provided that the bounda-
ries shall be "from the north-west angle of Nova Scotia,
namely, that angle, which is formed by a line drawn due
north from the source of the St. Croix to the highlands,
along the highlands which divide those rivers that empty
themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which
fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westernmost
head of Connecticut River." You will see, by the maps
of that part of the country, that the line which runs north
from the source of the St. Croix, crosses the river St.
John, a great way south of any place which could be sup-
posed to be the highlands ; but, where that line will come
to the north-west angle of Nova Scotia and find its termina-
tion, is not easy to discover. The boundary between Nova
Scotia and Canada was described by the king's proclama-
tion in the same mode of expression as that used in the

40G CORRESPONDENCE.

treaty of peace. Commissioners, who were appointed to
settle that line, have traversed the country in vain to find
the highlands designated as a boundary. I have seen one
of them, who agrees with the account I have had from the
natives and others, that there are no mountains or high-
lands on the southerly side of the St. Lawrence, and north-
eastward of the river Chaudiere ; that, from the mouth of
the St. Lawrence to that river, there is a vast extent of
high, flat country, thousands of feet above the level of the
sea in perpendicular height, being a morass of millions of
acres, from whence issue numerous streams and rivers,
and from which a great number of lakes are filled by drains;
and that the rivers, originating in this elevated swamp,
pass each other, wide asunder, many miles in opposite
courses, some to the St. Lawrence, and some to the
Atlantic Ocean.

Should this description be founded in fact, nothing can
be effectively done, as to the Canada line, without a com-
mission to ascertain and settle the place of the north-west
angle of Nova Scotia. Wherever that may be agreed to
be, if there is no mountain or natural monument, an artifi-
cial one may be raised ; from thence the line westward to
Connecticut River may be established by artificial monu-
ments erected at certain distances from each other ; and
the points of compass from the one to the other may be
taken ; and the ascertaining the degree of latitude, which
each is placed on, from actual observation, may be very
useful. Though there is no such chain of mountains as
the plans or maps of the country represent under the
appellation of the highlands, yet there are eminences from
whence an horizon may be made to fix the latitude from
common quadrant observations. In the description of the
morass, which is said to crown the heights between the
United States and Lower Canada, it ought to have been
noticed that, though those swamps are vastly extensive,
yet, in the acclivity from the Atlantic to their highest ele-

CORRESPONDENCE. 407

vation, as well as in their declivity to the St. Lawrence,
great tracts of valuable country are interspersed. On the
banks of the river Chaudiere, and, perhaps, on the banks of
other rivers running to the St. Lawrence, the settlements
are fasi approaching towards those of the United States.
This circumstance will soon render an established line of
national jurisdiction absolutely necessary.

TO JOSEPH S. BUCKMINSTER.

Boston, 2 April, 1806.

The sunbeam glances horizontally on my table. I am
amused at the recollection of our loose conversation last
evening. In the urgent chat of the supper-table men
may guard their actions, but words fly at random. When
you said that, if a man should insult you in the street by
words, you would knock him down, you only meant to
express that deep resentment which the human heart must
feel from a gross insult. And when I said that, if a man of
Colonel Welles' rank and character should insult me on
'change, I would not live in one world with him without sat-
isfaction, I meant rio more than to express the vast injury
which open, gross insults, given by men of character, may
do to a mind of sensibility. I believe you will never
become a striker, or involve your interesting character in
the difficulties of a rencontre. As to myself, my plan is
fixed, that it' I injure any man, I will make him satisfaction;
if any one injures me, the circumstances of the insult must
determine the event.

We attempted last evening to decide, in a desultory man-
ner, what would employ the powers of moralists lor days.
Duelling ought to be reprobated; but the apologists for it
ask what are the wars of nations but duels on a larger scale ?
One side or the other is wrong; but great and good men
are engaged on both. What manner of hearts have they
who contemplate, with satisfaction, the battles of Trafalgar

408 CORRESPONDENCE.

or Austerlitz? Murder is the only species of homicide
punished with death. That is defined to be a homicide with
malice aforethought. Judge Blackstone says that this
malice aforethought consists in a heart void of social duty,
and fatally bent on mischief. How far modern duellists,
who think they are fighting to regain a lost reputation, are
within the description, I do not know. The trial by battle
was a trial of a legal issue within three centuries past ; and
-the laws against challenges were no doubt made to eradi-
cate the barbarous process. There are species of homicide,
which, from the nature of the provocation, are justifiable
and excusable ; and yet the eye of the severest moralist
must allow that this is the result of a regard to public
opinion. I admired your elegant sermon against the
love of human applause ; but, while there shall be two of
our race on the earth, it will be here. It prevails as much
in the monastic retreat as in the field of battle. A man
slays him who demands his purse on the highway, or the
thief who breaks his house in the night. Why should
this be justified? Would you kill a man to save your
paltry purse, or an idle, useless piece of plate? A man
spits in another's face, or fillips his nose ; the man assaulted
draws his sword and kills him. This is no more than man-
slaughter, and would have but a slight degree of punish-
ment. " But," says Lord Hale, " it is an insult which few
spirits can bear. Where a man can appeal to the social com-
pact for defence and remuneration, he has no apology for
becoming his own defender or avenger; but when local cir-
cumstances or public opinion places him beyond the reach
of social security, he may be embarrassed ; but with what
degree of guilt, the exigences of each case must determine.
The public sensibility has a great influence in society.
Should our governor and council send a request to New
York for Miller, should he be delivered up and condemned,
do you believe that the public mind in this vicinity would
not be greatly agitated on the process of his execution?

CORRESPONDENCE. 409

Or, should Rhode Island demand our young duellists, whose
case introduced our conversation, would the people of
Boston go with satisfaction to see them carted, with halters
on their necks? Subvert the cause, and the effed will
cease. Provide penalties to prevent insult ; cause the ear
to cease from delighting in slander, and the cruel calamities
of duelling will not be seen in society. But you are
relieved by Edward's approach with the dressing-board to
your friend and servant.

J. S. RUCKMINSTER IN REPLY.

Boston, 3 April, 1806.

I know not whether you expected a reply to the letter
with which you favored me yesterday morning; but, upon
reading it, I was strongly tempted to put down a few
thoughts on paper, and should have done it yesterday, but
all my time was taken up in preparation for to-day. By
sending these lines, however, I have no intention of draw-
ing you into a troublesome discussion of the question of
duelling.

I thank you for your explanation of what I uttered, per-
haps too hastily, that I would knock a man down who should
insult me in the streets. How far it would be consistent
with the spirit of a Christian, I dare not say; but, at any
rate, I meant only to express the probable effect of strong
passion, irresistibly excited in a mind so imperfectly regu-
lated as mine. I do not think, however, that this affords
any parallel to the revenge taken in a duel, because the
first is done in a passion, the last in cold blood.

'Allow me also to say that I am too sensible of my igno-
ance of law to question whether the cases you have stated,
where murder in defence of one's reputation is softened
by our laws into homicide, are parallel to that of the duel-
list, who deliberately kills his enemy out of regard to his
own character. Though it is permitted to kill an adulterer,
the action is justified, I conceive, not because it is done out

410 CORRESPONDENCE.

of regard to reputation, but because it is a provocation *
which unavoidably excites immediate resentment. In the
other instance, too, in which a man is killed in the act of
breaking into a house in the night, or of taking your purse
on the highway, the murder is palliated, not because it is
committed in defence of our property ; for, if this were the
reason, it would be equally justifiable to kill the one in the
daytime, and the other when he offered no violence, or
craftily picked your pocket.

If duelling were any redress of the supposed injury, —
which it plainly is not, because the chance of being killed
is equal to the injurer and the injured, and, even if the
offender were always to fall, the other's character is not
cleared in the sight of God or man, — yet I conceive
nothing can authorize us deliberately to seek satisfaction
in the blood of a fellow-creature, in cases where we our-
selves are the unauthorized judges of the injury received,
and where there is no standard but our own feelings, or
the fickle opinions of the world, by which the injury can
be estimated. If the unauthorized laws of honor may be
allowed to create exceptions to express commands of God,
there is an end of all laws, human and divine. If a man
may redress his own wrongs by killing his neighbor, when
he cannot appeal to the social compact for defence and
remuneration, I see not why he may not challenge him for
not taking off his hat to him in the street, as well as for
insulting him more grossly. I see not why a man may not
make his own notions of honor the standard, as well as the
opinion of the world. My dear sir, the only question on this
subject is this : whether a regard for our reputation is suffi-
cient to justify us in deliberately taking away the life of
another. When, after these secular reasons, if I may so
call them, I turn to the spirit of Christian morality, I can
hardly forgive myself for proposing the question.

Excuse the haste and inaccuracy with which these lines
are written. Having a few moments to spare, I thought I

CORRESPONDENCE. 411

would venture to suggest these remarks, which, however,
I presume are already familiar to your own mind, since the
subject of duelling is common topic of discussion.

TO JOHN L. SULLIVAN.

Boston, 13 December, 180G.

I wrote you yesterday by the Olive Branch, for Rochelle,
and shall not weary you with a distressing repetition of the
sudden death of your brother. You will have the melan-
choly tidings by numerous channels. Distressing as this
catastrophe was, my reflections very soon alarmed my fears
on your account ; but the goodness of your brothers,
William and Mr. Amory, eased my mind very soon, by
assuring me that the company's books were completely
regular, and their credit and circumstances well.

This opportunity is improved merely to give you sup-
port, and to proffer that advice which cannot be unseason-
able now, and which 1 may not live to give you verbally.
Life and all its enjoyments are uncertain ; we know not
what a day may bring forth. On the twenty-seventh of
November, thanksgiving-day, my children and grandchil-
dren surrounded my table ; the pictures of those absent sup-
plied their places. The next Thursday, that family, which
had the day week before been the most happy in the world,
was the most distressed. This was the will of God.
" Father, not my will, but thine be done."

There are circumstances in your situation severely try-
ing. Yet others have their lot. We do not feel the
weight of other people's afflictions, while our own sit
heavy on us. If you return with resolution, claiming your
rank as a merchant, your uncommon advantages will sup-
port that respectability which will make you comfortable,
and bring your children, who are uncommonly promising,
into life with credit and advantage. But if you suffer
your adversities to depress you, you bereave the dear

412 CORRESPONDENCE.

creatures of their only natural hope, and are guilty of a
rebellion against your Maker, who governs the world in
righteousness.

My dear John, I have a claim upon you. It is founded in
natural morality, and you cannot reject it. I was at a very
early stage of my life elevated to the first councils of my
country, and exalted to the first seat of justice. The paper-
money system reduced me to the necessity of abandoning
the idea of giving you and your brothers an education
which would bring you into the world under the first
advantages, or to descend from the bench to the bar, endur-
ing again the toils of a professional life. There was not
one moment's hesitation in choosing the latter. How
could I hesitate when I glanced my eye on my beloved fam-
ily ? Your mother I saw, in the full possession of life,
vigor, beauty and goodness, at breakfast in the morning ;
as the shades of evening thickened, she expired in my arms.

My charge was increased with the pleasure of perform-
ing it. No family in Boston has come into life with more
reputation. I have been amply rewarded by their uniform
obedience and duty. Yet you are, from these considera-
tions, laid under an indispensable obligation to do for your
children what I have done for mine. You have the means
at hand, and nothing to discourage you. I will not rend
your heart by suggesting that my time will be too short
for you to make me the returns of filial duty. My health
is remarkably good, and we may yet rejoice together as a
happy family.

APPENDIX C.

When Judge Sullivan was candidate for the chief magistracy, hid
political opponents, doubtless from a belief that the general welfare
depended upon their continuance in power, spared no pains to defeat his
election. To shake his hold upon the public confidence, they subjected
his whole career to the most rigid scrutiny, that they might find some
ground for censure which would tell to his disadvantage. They were
completely unsuccessful, for every charge alleged against him was easily
disproved. In the fifth chapter of this volume these charges are all men-N
tioned, and all but two or three abundantly refuted; but, from a wish
not tn burthen the text with what might weary the reader, a few explan-
atory statements and documents have been reserved for this place. His
freedom of comment upon the measures and motives of the federalists, in
his Federalia ami other contributions to the press, in high party times,
sufficiently accounts for the exasperated feeling which actuated this bitter
warfare ; and while it is to lie taken for granted the charges would not
have been made if believed to be false, the same amicable spirit demands
that, as they were shown to be without foundation, they should not be
remembered to his discredit. His memory is dear to his defendants,
and should be also of some value to the commonwealth, of which he was
for nearly forty years a faithful officer ; and as the gazettes in which the
allegations appeared are preserwd in public libraries, it seems right to
place at hand, in a form easily accessible and sufficiently explicit to satisfy
every candid reader, their full refutation. Few public characters ha\ i
ever passed a more searching ordeal ; and, as he was found to be hi imeless,
he is fairly entitled to the benefit. In the case of Bosson the barber, a\ ho
had bought an estate of the commonwealth to which the title had failed,
arid claimed indemnity, the allegation against Judge Sullivan was that
he charged to the state a fee of twenty dollars, which ought to have been
paid him by Bosson. His explanation is as follows :

" Bosson was sued by Martin in the circuit court, Oct »ber, 1801, for
a house and land. I believe he might bo induced to apply to me because
1 was attorney-general. Be said he had purchased the estate of a com-

414 APPENDIX.

mittee of the commonwealth, in 1782. I told him I had no official con-
cern in the business, until the legislature directed it ; that he had better
go to an attorney and obtain a continuance of his cause, and petition the
government to defend him, if the general court should choose to do it.
He desired me to obtain the continuance and draw him a petition, which
I did on the twenty-eighth January, 1802. The general court passed a
resolve that the attorney-general should defend the suit at the expense
of the government. I supposed the government did not mean the expense
which had taken place before the resolve was passed. However, I gave
credit in my account for the twenty dollars, as paid by Bosson, that if
the court assumed the expense which had arisen before the resolve of the
twenty-eighth, he might have the money back again, and my fees before
the resolve be charged to the one hundred and fifty dollars I had received
on the twenty-second (by resolve of the legislature for the expenses of
civil suits). This is mentioned because those malicious fishers for mis-
chief are looking that case up to form it into a slander. The tenor of the
resolve of the twenty-second shows that the general court do not con-
sider the salaries of the attorney and solicitor generals as a compensa-
tion for their services in civil suits, but for their official duty in criminal
prosecutions, and my accounts have always been allowed. I have no
public money but that one hundred and fifty dollars to account for. I
have received none but what I have receipts for.

" Boston, March 24, 1806. James Sullivan."

CASE OF WHITTEMOEE.
Vol. II., p. 156.

Being well acquainted with the history of the case exhibited in the
Sentinel of Saturday last, charging Judge Sullivan with aiding Samuel
Whittemore, late of Cambridge, deceased, in crimes which the writer
calls worse than robbery, I deem it a duty not only to the character of
the living, but to the dead, to make the following statement :

Samuel Whittemore purchased of the late Col. Goff a right of land in
Hollis, formerly a part of Dunstable, in New Hampshire. Goff pur-
chased said right of one Parker, a proprietor in said Dunstable. This
right was purchased in a state of nature, one lot of w,hich lay near the
centre of the toAvn of Hollis. Said Whittemore made a demand of the
land prior to the revolutionary war ; but by reason thereof was prevented
from adjusting his claim until the peace. Soon after that period, said
Whittemore, being then upwards of ninety years old, employed his
sons, Samuel, Thomas and William, to prosecute his claim. Before any
suit was commenced, one David Wright, who said he lived on or near
said land, called on said Whitteinores, and informed them he was well
acquainted with the circumstances of their claim, offered his assistance,

APPENDIX. 415

and entered into a written contract to pay all the cost of prosecuting the
panic. The action was brought by Mr. Atherton, of Amherst, and when
the trial was coming on, in the superior court, Judge Sullivan was en-
gaged to plead the cause for fifty dollars. But not being acquainted
with said Wright, the said Whittemorea became sureties to him for pay-
ment of Wright's note. Judge Sullivan plead the cause to the satisfac-
tion of said Whittemoivs, and this was all he had to do with the busi-
ness, except to receive his payment, which 1 made about three years since.
Goif bought the land at two different times, and had two deeds thereof.
The action was brought for the whole; one deed, however", was mislaid,
and could not be produced in court ; therefore the jury gave a verdict in
favor of the defendants. An action was brought before a justice of the
peace, at Groton, for the recovery of costs. Thomas Whittemore defended,
and the cause was carried to the common pleas at Concord. Samuel Whit-
temore, Jun., found the said Wright there, and demanded of him the
discharge of the bill of costs, according to his contract, and he did dis-
charge it accordingly.

The above-stated facts I know to be true, having acted in this business
in behalf of Thomas Whittemore.

William Wuittemore, Jun.

Cambridge, March 25lh, 1806.

LETTER OF OLIVER PHELPS.
Vol. II., p. 144.

Your favor of the fourth is received. The subject is of a very delicate
nature. It seems the object is to affect the election of Judge Sullivan for
governor. What office Mr. Sullivan now holds, or what he may have in
contemplation, is not, as you will easily conceive, a subject in winch I
am personally intercst<-d. There has some difference in sentiments taken
place between Mr. Sullivan and myself, respecting the statement of his
accounts with me and the commonwealth, principally arising from the
manner of stating the interest account or the difference in time between

his r iving the money and paying of it over to the treasurer, as the

heirs of Mr. Gorham and myself are only allowed at the time it was de-
livered to the treasurer, which makes a difference of about two thousand
dollars.* With respect to the note you mention, I did give Mr. Sullivan

* This Bum may seem large, and to prove want of becoming promptness in mak-
ing his payments into the treasury. ISut, as by reference to page 1 II ol this volume
will be found, the notes were fourteen in number, against ten different indi-
viduals, and in all more than two hundred thousand dollars in amount, and the
interest and principal were paid in instalments and driblets at different periods
through the course of several years. Much of his time away from home, and his
thoughts always employed in complicated and engrossing affairs, that there should

416 APPENDIX.

eucli a note, though not from compulsion, but by a fair agreement
between him, Mr. Gorham and myself, namely : After we had com-
pleted our agreement with the commonwealth for the purchase of the
Genesee country, Mr. Sullivan, Gov. Strong and Mr. Sedgwick, applied
to us for a small interest in our purchase ; or I believe it was understood
before we made the purchase that Mr. Sedgwick was to have a small
interest. "We agreed that each of them should have a small share, and
they made us some small advance. Some time after this, a dispute took
place respecting Presqu' Isle, and a suit was brought against Mr. Gorham
and myself. Mr. Sullivan soon after came to me, and, as a dispute had
taken place which would make it improper for him to hold his concern in
the purchase, he told me that I might consider him as not concerned, and
that the small sum he had advanced I might repay at any time when con-
venient. The business lay in that situation till the whole business be-
tween Mr. Gorham, myself and the commonwealth, was all settled.
Some time after this, being in Boston, in conversation with Mr. Sullivan,
I told him that notwithstanding he had, under certain circumstances,
declined taking the Genesee lands, yet, if he chose to continue the con-
cern, he might do it. He thanked me for the offer, and told me that he
would, as the business was then settled with the commonwealth, wish to
continue the concern. Some considerable time after, I settled with him,
and he agreed to give up his concern in the land. I then gave him the
note you mention, which has since been paid. That on the whole, what-
ever I might in some warmth have said on the other subject respecting
Mr. Sullivan's conduct, I must now, as an honest man, say that the note
was, by a fair agreement between Mr. Gorham and myself, justly due ;
and I have no right to accuse him of dishonesty, or anything dishonor-
able, as it respects the note.

I am, with esteem, your humble servant,

Oliver Phelps.
Washington, February 18th, 1805.

REPORT ON ACCOUNTS OF ATTORNEY AND SOLICITOR GENERALS.

Vol. n., p. 190.

The Hon. James Sullivan was appointed to the office of attorney-
general, on the 12th day of February, A. D. 1790; the Hon. Daniel
Davis was appointed to the office of solicitor-general on the 29th day of

have been unavoidably some delay of payment was to be expected. As it was not
an official duty, but a mere matter of accommodation to the parties, as he did not
use the money, and charged no commission for collecting it, no allowance of interest
could be fairly demanded.

APPENDIX. 417

January A. D., 1801, and they have respectively continued to hold
said offices from the aforesaid periods until the present time. Dur-
ing these periods various grants of money, in addition to their Btated
Balaries, have been made to them by order of the general court, in con-
sideration of special services, and for the executing of various agencies,
not appertaining to the ordinary duties of their offices ; all of which, so
far as these agencies have been completed, have been satisfactorily ac-
counted for in the course of settlements which have from time to time
been made with committees of the general court for that purpose ap-
pointed, and whose doings have been sanctioned by the two branches of
the legislature. In various instances, in which moneys belonging to
the commonwealth have been received and collected by the attorney-
general as their agent, the same have been in like manner faithfully ac-
counted for, either in his settlements, as above mentioned, or by paying
them over to those officers who were entrusted to rei eive them.

Previous to the enaction of the law on the twentieth day of February,
A. D. 1790, no stated salary was allowed to the attorney-general for his
services in that capacity, but his compensation consisted of the occasional
• which were taxed for attorney's fees, travel and attendance in both
criminal and civil suits in behalf of the commonwealth. By a law
passed on the said twentieth day of February, it was provided " that the
said attorney-general should be allowed and paid the sum of three hundred
pounds, in full compensation of his services, and that, in all bills of cost
in criminal prosecutions before the supreme judicial court, the sum of
fifteen shillings should be taxed for the fees of the attorney -g ineral, with-
out any allowance of travel, and all fees thus received by him should be
accounted for annually with the treasurer of this commonwealth."

As this law provides that the attorney-general shall account for costs
thus taxed " in criminal prosecutions " only, he has ever supposed him-
self entitled to the amount of all fees which have arisen from costs taxed
in civil suits in behalf of the commonwealth, of which nature are actions
of scire facias upon recognizances forfeited to the government. This
construction appears to have been sanctioned at various times by the
general court, in the repeated allowance which has in oast been

made to the attorney-general for costs thus accruing, on the settlement
of his accounts. The same construction of this law, and the same

practice under it, has 1 a adopted by the solicitor-general, whose -alary

and official emoluments are placed on the same footing by law since his
acceptance of that office, and it does not appear until of late to have beon
brought in question; and your committee are, for these reasons, of
opinion, that such construction and practice is reasonable and proper,
and ought not now to be questioned or disturbed.

In relation to the attorney's fees, which by the before mentioned law
II. 27

418 APPENDIX.

are taxed on bills of cost in criminal prosecutions, it does not appear,
from all the evidence exhibited to your committee, that any considerable
sums have been received by the attorney-general, during the long period
in which he has exercised that office, from the sherifl's of the respective
counties, or the several county treasurers, who have at different periods
been charged with the receipt and disbursement of these costs ; and it
does not appear that any such sums have been received by the solicitor-
general since his accession to that office ; various small sums, amount-
ing to two hundred and forty-six dollars forty-five cents in the whole,
so received by the attorney-general, have however at different times
been accounted for by him with the government in the course of settle-
ments, as above mentioned. They have examined fully into all the cases
wherein any competent evidence has been adduced of particular sums
po received, and which it was suggested had not been accounted for.
Upon such examination it appears that all such sums have been credited
to the commonwealth, and accounted for by the attorney-general, except-
ing a sum of eighteen dollars, which, by a statement from the treasurer
of the county of Worcester, appears to have been received from him
before the year 1795. From the short period which the attorney-general
has now had to investigate all his pecuniary concerns with the govern-
ment, as well as from the length of time which has elapsed since the
receipt of the aforesaid sum, your committee doubt whether justice
requires that the attorney-general should be put to the burthen of revising
concerns of so long standing for the sake of correcting a supposed error of
so trifling an amount. If, however, upon more leisurely investigation, no
evidence should be found of the manner in which that particular sum was
accounted for, the attorney-general has at this time no objection to cor-
recting this or any other error which shall appear to have occurred in the
course of his settlements, should such investigation be thought by the
legislature an object of sufficient importance. Your committee further
find that the sums which have been received from the treasurer of the
county of Hampshire by the attorney-general, for fees taxed on criminal
prosecutions as aforesaid, exceed the amount which he has paid to the
government, by a sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents, but which, in
justice to the attorney-general, it ought to be observed, has arisen alto-
gether from a former error committed by said treasurer. In the year
1802, the attorney-general had accredited to and accounted with the
government for the sum of sixteen dollars and twenty-five cents, as received
of said treasurer. In June, 1806, he exhibited to the committee of this
house, appointed to adjust and settle his accounts, a further credit of one
hundred and ninety-eight dollars and ninety cents, as received from said
treasurer, which added to the sum so before credited, amounted to two
hundred fifteen dollars and fifteen cents in the whole ; which he con-

APPENDIX. 419

eidered himself liable to account for with the government. At the time
of the last mentioned settlement, a detailed statement of all sums said to
have been received from said treasurer, on that account, was laid before
the committee by one of its members ; which statement was certified as a
just and true one, under the hand of said treasurer, and amounting to
only the sum of two hundred and two dollars ; an amount less than that
which had been credited to the government by the attorney-general by
the sum of thirteen dollars and fifty cents. Upon a view of this certificate,
and relying upon the superior accuracy of its details, the attorney-gen-
eral, at the suggestion of the committee, varied and reduced the sum
which lie had thus credited, so as to conform the same to the amount
certified by said treasurer. By a subsequent statement, said to be taken
from the books of said treasurer, it now appears that his former state-
ment was incorrect ; and that the credit which had been at first given by
the attorney-general was correct, and conformable to the statement now
exhibited from the office of Siii<l treasurer. It therefore results that if any
error has intervened in the premises, it has been occasioned solely by the
erroneous certificate of said treasurer, as above mentioned, and not from
the error of the attorney -general. By the certificate of the treasurer of
the commonwealth, it appears that there is no account remaining in the
office of said treasurer of any sums there paid by the attorney-general,
in his 6aid capacity, between the years 1790 and 1795.

There is one further transaction, which has been made a subject of
inquiry by your committee, and which it is deemed material to state and
explain, as, from the form which it assumes on the records of the govern-
ment, it has been exposed to much misconstruction.

In the month of June, 1801, John C. Hauff, consul from the king of
Sweden, resident in the United States, preferred his petition to the legis-
lature of this common weal tli, stating that one Elias Norberg, a native of
Sweden, had deceased in this state, leaving personal estate to a large
amount in the hands of Ebenezer Dorr, of Boston, who had administered
thereon; and that said Norberg had heirs in his native country legally
entitled thereto, but who were unable at that time to pursue and estab-
lish their said claim ; and praying the aid of government for the purpi se
of compelling the said Dorr to pay the same into the treasury of the com-
monwealth, there to be kept for the benefit and use of said heirs, when-
ever they should so establish their claims. Upon which petition a resolve
of the general court passed, authorizing the attorney general to take such
measures as he might think proper to procure the amount of such > state,
to be paid into the treasury, and there retained until some person should
appear, legally entitled to receive the same. Pursuant to this resolve, it
appears that the attorney-general did. after a | rotracted series of trials in
the inferior and superior courts of probate, procure a decree that the

420 APPENDIX.

proceeds of said estate, amounting to more than eight thousand dollars,
should be paid into said treasury, deducting first the expenses of adminis-
tration, together with the costs of said attorney -general, amounting to
two hundred and three dollars, in the procuring of said decree, as the
same were allowed by said judge of probate, with the consent of said
consul. The aforesaid sum has since been paid into said treasury, accord-
ingly, and by a- subsequent resolve of the general court is ordered to be
paid to the heirs of said Norberg, whenever they shall establish their
claims thereto in the manner pointed out by said resolve. So that this
commonwealth can have no interest at all therein, except through a total
failure of heirs on the part of said Norberg, who, as appears by official
documents, have already established their title in the judicial courts of
Sweden , and the necessary evidence to confirm it here is soon expected by
said consul. It appears, therefore, that this commonwealth have ever
been considered as only the trustees for the heirs of the said Norberg, for
the sake of affording them a safe deposit for their property ; that
although said process was conducted in the name of the government, yet
that name was permitted to be used merely from motives of courtesy to
the agent of a foreign government, and was conducted entirely under his
direction and advice; and that, as the attorney-general received said
two hundred dollars by the express allowance of said consul, acting as
the agent for those who are alone eventually interested therein, his receipt
thereof was strictly proper, and his right to retain if cannot with propri-
ety be questioned.

Upon a view of the whole subject, your committee ask leave to report,
as the result of their inquiries, that there does not appear to be any
reason for supposing that any public moneys have at any time been inten-
tionally or improperly withheld from the government, either by the attor-
ney or solicitor general, since their acceptance of these offices ; and that,
if any errors have occurred in the course of their accounting with the
various departments of government, they are probably of inconsiderable
amount, and as few as might reasonably be expected in so long a period,
and in relation to concerns so vai'ious and extensive.

All which is respectfully submitted.

Wm. King, per order.

The investigating committee had the above subject before them from
the twelfth to the twenty-fourth of February, when they offered their
report. It was then read and laid on the table for inspection. On the
twenty-sixth its consideration was entered on by the house, and, after
mature discussion, was accepted, one hundred and one being for, and
fifty-one against it.

INDEX.

A.
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 109, 355.
Accidents of Childhood, 22.
Adam-, Abijah, II. 66.

1!

« John, 24, 33, 62, 75, 79,81, 107, 229,
. n. 7,60,73,104,119,
304.
« John Q., 288; [I. 122, 127, 157, 241,

281, l 19, 318,
» Matthew, 28.

« Bamuel,39, 107,131,145,149,162,196,
202, 221, 231 283, 299;

II. 54, 104, 109, 116, 122, 319.
Addresses. 44, 4-, 88 ■ II. 199.

Addi tng Men, 4u4.

Admiralty, 62 i U. 378.
Allen, Ethan, 51.
Altar of Baal, 297, :J89.
Amendm-M • institution, 222.

Ames.Fisher, 239 ; 11. 119, 304.
Amory, Rufus G., 11. 13, 114.

t and Honorabl .11. 198.

; II. 106.
Arnold, Benedict, 51, 53, 84,
Alter: tl, 259 ; II. 159,189,410.

Austin, Benjamin, 188, 291 ; II. 58, 122, 161.
» Jam* - T., II. 127.
« J L., II. Ill, 296.

Authorship, 377.

B.
1 m, John, II. 205.
Baldwin, J 71.

1. i , n. 106,245.

B ngs, Edward, II.

i , 307.

Barrel, Joseph, 1 it.

Bamuel, 11. 141.
Barron, Comm d re, II. .
: .. \\ illiam, 356.

litrlk i k, j ., J i mi ib, II. o56.
J

hard, 202 ; II. 349.
. 321 ; II. 39.
Bentley, WilUai
Bi rlin D iree, II. 219, 267.
Ben '17.

B tterment Law, II. 210, 2
Berwick, 1".
B 1)1 . II L0.

Biddeford, 30, I, 1 3, 60, i
Bidwell, Barnaby, 11. 112,
Bigelo ii. 159, 269, 290,318,351.

Blak< . Pram is, ii L22,

« '. i u. 67, 88, 122.
Bli

Bosson, II. 166.
Bom 114

Bo> I I

Bowdoin. J 07. 124, 162,216,221,260

i II. 116.

Bowdoin, James, 122.
Bradbury, Qei rge, II. 209.

" i ophilus, 34.

Bradford, William,
Brattle, Thomas,
Brattle-St. Church
Breck, Samui I, II. 1 IT.
i i '.', . i. 212,

Brissol de Warville, 296.
British Influence, II. 289.
Brooks, John, II. I IT.
Brougham, Henry, II. 258.
Brown, Maj ir, 52.

minster, Joseph S., 341 ; II. 46, 318, 328,
407.
Bulflnch, Charles, 140.

ii "357.

Butterl r, 84.

Burr, Aaron, 11. 81, 269.

Cabot, George, II. 119, 131, 260, 296.
" John and - 150.

cj of the Castle,
1

; ■: id.

Case of v rk w alki r, 11 1.
" Freeman, II. 13.
« Mary Ford, II. 16.
« Fairbanks, II. IT.
« Abijah Adams, II.
« ] Ifridge, 11. 104.

" John .Murray, L81.
" Gordon vs. Gardner, II. 15.
" Smith and Di II in, II. 10
« A\ heeler, 1 1

" Pierpoint and Story, II. 107.
Castine,121 ; II.
Cedai

irick, Paul, II. 279.
sery, II. 264.

1 1 . 274.
I i . 222.
hi, \\ ard, U21.
Church, Benjamin, 56.
i, 1 1. 147.
11.112, 140,26

" |h V

i. II. 296.
1 1. T2.
an, John, 1 1. 158.
er, 238.

i tv, 49.
« War, -1.

L64.

■

Conflagrations, 1 1 69.

P

. ' ontlnental, 180.

I'rm incial, In.
Constitution, Mass., 100.

422

INDEX.

Constitution, U. S., 218.
Constitutional Society, 275 ; H. 114.
Cooke, Kev. Mr., 105.
Coolidge, Joseph, 361.
Cooper, Dr. S., 145, 338.
" Samuel, 122.
" William, 122.
Council, 238.

County Attorneys, II. 208.
Court, Superior, 78.

" Supreme, 114, 124, 261.

" Common Pleas,

" of Sessions, 207.

" Probate, 238.

" Admiralty, 62, 378.

" Federal, 100.
Craigie, Andrew, 369.
Criminal Law, 295, 393.
Crowninshield, Benjamin, 269.

" Jacob, 269.

Currency, 121.
Cushing, Nathan, 63.

" Thomas, 109, 202, 242.
" William, 79, 124 239 ; II. 7-
Cushman, Robert, 154.
Cutler, James, 266.

D.

Dalton, Tristram, 130.

Dana, Francis, 130, 162, 184. 218, 350 ; II. 63,
67, 119.

" Samuel, II. 195.
Dane, Nathan, 146.
Danielson, Timothy, 130.
Davis, Caleb, 147.

" Daniel, II. 89, 168, 243, 287.

" Ezra, II. 213.
Dawes, Thomas, 145.

" Thomas, 202, 372.
Dearborn, Henry, II. 88, 110, 122, 130, 192,

227, 260.
Demos in Council, II. 68.
De la Tombe, 275.
De Mont, 314.
Dexter, Aaron, 361, 372.

" Samuel, 290 ; II. 6, 39, 119, 168, 305.
Dillingham, Pitt, II. 274.
Donnison, William, II. 226.
Duelling, II. 407.
Duer, Judge, 53.
Duplaine, 286.
Durant, 373.
Durham, 25.
Dwight, Josiah, II. 296.
" Thomas, II. 296.

E.

Easton, Major, 52.

Eaton, William, II. 269.

Eddy, Caleb, 371.

Edwards, Jonathan, 93.

Eliot, John, 356.

Eliott, Simon, II. 226, 318.

Embargo, 291 ; II. 257, 292, 306.

Endicott, Gov., 156.

Entails, II. 206.

Epitaph, II. 349.

Essex Junto, II. 119.

Eustis, William, II. 92, 122, 194.

Excise, II. 387.

F.

Fairbanks, Jason, II. 17.
Falmouth, 59, 70, II. 368.

Feast of Shells, II. 112.
Federalists, II. 116.
Fiske, Oliver, II. 296.
Ford, Timothy, 232.
Foster, Capt., 85.

" Jedediah, 50, 79.
Fowle, William B., 11. 197.
Fowler, Samuel, II. 194.
Franklin, Benjamin, 59, 95, 310.
Freedom of the Press, 390 ; II. 14, 66, 81.
Freeman, Samuel, 71 ; II. 370.
French Claims, II. 74.

" Mission, II. 74.

" Revolution, 274, 284.

" War, II. 74.
Frye, Gen. 70.

G.

Gallatin, Albert, II. 271.

Gardiner, John, 138, 18S, 270 ; II. 13.

" JohnS. J. 275.

" Sylvester, 30.

Genet, 286.
Georgetown, 29.

Gerry, Elbridge, 62, 76, 130, 218, 379 ; II. 7,
66, 70, 112, 122, 140, 161, 225, 319, 378.
Gilbert, Humphrey, 150.
Gill, Moses, II. 54.
Glover, General, 69.
Goodhue, Benjamin, II. 119.
Gordon, William, ]36, 258.
Gore, Christopher, 356, 361 ; II. 157, 168, 269,

305.
Gorges, Ferdinando, 156.

" Robert, 156.
Gorham, Nathaniel, 131, 173, 218 ; II. 146.
Gray, John, 19S.
Great Patent. 151.
Greene, Nathaniel, 56.
Groton, 103.

Hancock, John, 40, 110, 124, 136, 221, 231, 243,

267, 276, 318, 357, 379 ; II. 115, 122,

319, 390.
Hall, Joseph, 371.

Hamilton, Alexander, 226, 387 ; II. 39, 75, 120.
Hawley, Joseph, 50, 92.
Hawley-Street, 267.
Hazard, Thomas, II. 194.
Heath, William, 147 ; II. 54, 71, 112, 122, 140,

158.
Higginson, Stephen, 131, 147, 221, 291 ; II. 54,

119.
Hill, Aaron, II. 205, 259.
Hinman, Col., 52.
History of Maine, 292, 358, 3S8.

" " Penobscots, 358, 395 ; II. 112.
Hitohburne, Benjamin, 147, 184, 198, 212.
Holland Company, 174.
Howell, Joseph, 307 ; II. 15.
Humane Society, 360.
Humanity, 294.

Impost, 385.
Impressment, II. 233.
Independence, Declaration of, 75, 87.

" Day, 145.

Indians, 375.

International Law, II. 216.
Ireland. II. 62. 72.

INDEX.

423

Jackson, Jonathan, 249 ; H. 119, 305.
Jacobiniad, '275.

Jarvis, Charles, 147, 231, 291 ; II. 108, 114,
122, 246.
" Leonard, 131 ; II. 122, 392.
Jay, John, 310.

" Treaty, 300.
Jefferson Tavern, II. 162.

" Thomas, 310 ; II. 77, 83, 119, 192, 252.
Jones, John ('.. 2M ; II 58, 225.

" Blr William, II. 395.
Judicial Dress, 35.
Judiciary, II. 62, 99,263.
Junius, 202.

K.
Kilham, Daniel, TI. 194.

King, RufuB, 130, L36, 178, 183, 202, 218, 220 ;
II. 140,310.
" William, II. 210, 260.
Kirkland, John T., 1 1
Knapp, Samuel I.., II 363.
Knox, Henry, 226, 318 ; II. 54, 116.

Laco, 202. 242.

Laconia, 157.

Land 1 -. 252, 398 ; II. 88.

Langdou, John, 226, 251 ; II. 112, 230.

w and! an . - >2
i as, Henry, 310.
Lee, Charles, 56, 101.

" Bichard Henry, II. 391.
Letters, 61, 66, 75, 78, 81, 82, 95, 96, 100, 136,
178, 183, 196, 202, 218, 220, 229, 299, 326,
394; II. 92, 110, 130, 192,227,241,
287, 288,368, ..
Liancourt, 2
Limerick, 31 ; II. 313.

Lincoln, Benjamin, 40, 81, 198, 243, 249, 318 ;
II. 22<;. 371.
" Enoch, 11. 1 ■!.
" Lev i, 114, 202 ; II. 88, 122, 193, 287,

« Levi

" William. 41.
Livermore, Matthew, 23.
i . K ibei i.
Lithgow, Arthur, II. 273.
Lloyd, James, 11 269, 300.
Lord '• 12.

i II. 2 12.

L luisiana, 1 1 101

Lowell. I ^,11. 317.

U—^nh.,, 34, ISO, 162,238 ; 11.14, 58,119.

« John, Jr., IL 20.
Lunar Months, 66.
Lygonia, 158.

M.

Mad i II 2.53, 258, 287, 312, 398,

Ma- 'ii, .liniathau, II. 269.

Manly, John, 62.

Man

Mass. I - . 293, 359.

"II .,266,356.

" Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 370 ; II. 65.
Mi Ben, PrentiBS, [I. 296.
Mil -.11 169,

Menotomy, 105, 129.
Messages, 207, 208, 211,268,270,280,300,310,

818.
Messinger, Daniel, II. 213.
Middlesex Canal, 293, 361 ; II. 105.

Militia, 147 ; II. 212,237.

Mlnot, . II. 68.

Mint, Mass , 238,
Mississippi I. an 1 i '.I., II. 212.
Monroe, James, 1 1. 25 I.
Montreal Turnpike, 376 ; II. 116.

M ly. Samuel, lo.

Morse, Jedi diah, II. 90.
Morrill, Rev. Mr . 38,
Morris, Robert, 174 ; II. 156.
Morton, I'erez, 132, 275 ; II. 123, 168, 195,
373
" Murcus, H. 269.
Mowatt, Capt. 59.
Municipal liefbrin, II. 58, 114.
Murray, John, 181.

N.
Nantucket, II. 386.
Naturalization, II. 62, 245.

Neutral Rights, II. 216.

Newell, Timothy, 14o.
" " II. 194.

apers, 111, 242, 396 ; 11.90,122,230.
Nobility, II. 101.
N !i i course, II. 306.

. Klii-, 1 1. 155.
North-astern Boundary, 313, 333 ; II. 398.
Nowell, 10.

0.
Obituaries, 394 ; II. 320.

Observations. I . s. Government, 231, 264, 386.
Odiorne, Jotham, 27.
" William, 27

Osg I, Samuel, 2. '7. 389.

Otis, I ■ . 198, 273, 291 ; II. 6, 13, 20,

62, 71, 119, 269, 281, 296,318,351.
" James, 145.
" S. Alleyue, 141.

Paine, Robert T., 147,259,356,379 ; II. 7,119,

161,
Parental Discipline, 349 ; II. 398.
Parker, Isaac, II. 170, 318.

Parkman, Samuel, II. 65, 161.
er, .ii- m, 204.
, Eli, 196.
« I tai I . II. 189.

" TI philus, 184, 223, 239, 292, 326;

II. 6,37,89,100, 167, 268, 286, 389
Parties, 241, 284 ; 11. 113.

;' , 130.

Path to Rich -. 264, 386.
Payne, Edward, I IT.
Pejebscot Claim, II. 63.
Perkins, Thome II.. II. 167.
« William, II 61.

Phelps, Oliver, 172; II. 144,391,415.
Phillips, William, 131, 145 ; II. 119.
Pickering, John, 124.

" Timothy, 63, 305; H. 37, 60, 119,
280,
Pickman. \' hi on. ii. 296.
" in. ||i v, II. 169.
, John, II. 158, 222.

Pinckm v, Chai 0,11. 76, 140, 310.
Plantation . 1 1 161.
Plj mouth I oloi ■• , 15 I.
Plymouth Company, 1620, 161.
Plymouth Company, 1666, 154.
r -. . 108.

lential Elections, II. 301,310.
Prince, John, 11. 209.

424

INDEX.

Privateering, 131.
Porter, Benjamin J., IT. 194.
Proclamations, 213, 245, 2S2, 309.
Propagation of the Gospel, 360.
Proviucial Assembly, 55.
" Congress, 40.
Putnam, Israel, 56.
" Rufus, 318.

Q.
Quincy, Josiah, 371 ; II. 119, 306.

E.

Raleigh, "Walter, 150.
Read, Stacy, II. 148.
Rebellion, 186.
Religious Liberty, II. 16, 209.

" Sentiments, 334.
Republicans, II. 121.
Rhode Island, 104.
Riot, 300.

Ripley, Eleazer W., II. 269, 2S0.
Ritchie, Andrew, II. 304.
Robbins, Edward H., II. 296.
Ropes, Nathaniel, 35.
Ropewalks, 294.
Rose, II. 255.
Round Towers, 412.
Russell, Thomas, 198.

" Thomas G., 198.

S.
Sailors, II. 258.
Sargent, Henry, II. 213.

" Nathaniel P., 79, 124 ; II. 7.
Schuyler, Phillip, 362.
Scollay, William, 357.
Search, Right of, II. 249.
Sedgewick, Theodore, 146 ; II. 119, 145.
Selfridge, Thomas, II. 164.
Sewall, David, 3S, 79, 124.
" Gen., II. 274.
" Jonathan, 32.
" Samuel, II. 70.
Shays, Daniel, 196.
Shattuck, Job, 198.
Shelburue, Lord, 312.
Sherburne, Major, 84.
Skinner, Thompson J., II. 195, 296.
Slavery, 114, 226 ; II. 14.
Small-Pox, lu4.
Smith, Jonathan, II. 269.
Speeches, 199, 261, 296.
Special Pleading, II. 5.
Spooner, Ephraim, II. 269, 296.

" Walter, 50, 54.
Sprague, Joseph, II. 269.
Spring, Marshall, II. 194.
Squatters, II. 210, 272.
State Bank, II. 211.

State-House, New, II. 65 ; Old, II. 106.
Story, Joseph, II. 207, 263, 268.
Strong, Caleb, 218 ; II. 119, 139, 145, 158.
Sullivan, Ancient Sept of, 1, 405.

" Daniel, 6, 121.

" Eben, 43, 69, 84.

" George, 178 ; II. 317.

" James, 177, 198, 209.

" John, of Berwick, 7, 351, 376.

" General, 21, 43, 56, 64, 69, 82, 100,
109, 122, 191, 226, 251, 305, 351.

" J. Langdon, 369 ; II. 317, 411.

" Margery, 10, 353,

I Sullivan, Martha, 253, 350 ; II. 326, 352.

" Mehitable, 28, 178.

" Philip, the Historian, 6.

" " Major, 8.

" Richard, 371.

« William, 371 ; II. 68, 107, 269, 411.
Sumner, Charles P., II. 195.

" Increase, 126 ; II. 54, 119.
Sunday Law, II. 261.

T.

Temple, John, 134 ; II. 388.
Thatcher, George, II. 299.

" Oxenbridge, 269.

" Peter, 195, 339, 356, 385 ; II. 36, 109,

222.

" Thomas, II. 111.
Theatre, 268.
Tickuor, Elisha, II. 65.
Ticonderoga, 49.
Tucker, Prof. 119.
Tudor, William, 147, 273, 356 ; II. 296.

TTnitarianism, 342.
Universalism, 181.
University, II. 214.

U.

Vaccination, II. 59.
Vaughan, Charles, 357.
Vergennes, 312.
Yiosmenil, 141.

w.

Walcut, Thomas, 356.
Ward, Artemas, 56, 191, 381.
" " II. 296, 318.

Warren, James, 39, 50, 79, 96, 122 ; II. 140,
319.

" John, 145.

" John C, II. 317.

" Joseph, 41, 74.

" Richard, 212.
Washburn, Emory, 114.
Washington, George, 53, 55, 64, 69, 253, 305 ;

II. 54, 120.
Watson, Elkanah, 362.
Webber, President, II. 318.
Welles, Benjamin, II. 317.

" Arnold, II. 58.
Wendell, Oliver, 144.
Western Lands, 147 ; II. 144.
Western, Samuel, 365.
Weston, Nathan, II. 194.
Wheaton, Laban, II. 269.
Whitby, Captain, II. 221.
White, John, 154.
Whitetield, George, 32.
Whitman, Jonas, II. 207, 269.
Whittemore, Thomas, II. 156, 414.
Widgery, William, II. 194.
Willard, Joseph, 359.
Willicut, Gov., 317.
Winslow, Edward, 323.

" John, 226, 241, 300.
Winthrop, Gov., 156, 213.
« John, 381.

" James, 356, 361 ; II. 157, 365.

Wolcott, Oliver, II. 120.
Wyer, David, 34.

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