Томас Джефферсон
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 5 (of 9)
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Monticello, July 12, 1809.
Dear Sir,—Your two letters of the 4th and 7th, were received by the last mail. I now enclose you the rough draught of the letter to the Emperor of Russia. I think there must be an exact fac simile of it in the office, from which Mr. Short's must have been copied; because, that the one now enclosed has never been out of my hands, appears by there being no fold in the paper till now, and it is evidently a polygraphical copy. I send, for your perusal, letters of W. Short, and of Warden; because, though private, they contain some things and views perhaps not in the public letters. Bonaparte's successes have been what we expected, although Warden appears to have supposed the contrary possible. It is fortunate for Bonaparte, that he has not caught his brother Emperor; that he has left an ostensible head to the government, who may sell it to him to secure a mess of pottage for himself. Had the government devolved on the people, as it did in Spain, they would resist his conquest as those of Spain do. I expect, within a week or ten days, to visit Bedford. My absence will be of about a fortnight. I know too well the pressure of business which will be on you at Montpelier, to count with certainty on the pleasure of seeing Mrs. Madison and yourself here; yet my wishes do not permit me to omit the expression of them. In any event, I shall certainly intrude a flying visit on you during your stay in Orange. With my respectful devoirs to Mrs. Madison, I salute you with constant friendship and respect.
TO SKELTON JONES
Monticello, July 28, 1809.
Dear Sir,—Your favor of June 19th, did not come to hand till the 29th, and I have not been able to take it up till now. I lent to Mr. Burke, my collection of newspapers from 1741 to 1760, and the further matter which I suggested I might be able to furnish him after my return to Monticello, was the collection of MS. laws of Virginia, which I expected would furnish some proper and authentic materials for history, not extant anywhere else. These I lent the last year to Mr. Hening, who is now in possession of them and is printing them. But though this was within Mr. Burke's period, it is entirely anterior to yours. The collection of newspapers which I lent to Mr. Burke, I have never been able to recover, nor to learn where they are. They were all well bound, and of course have not probably been destroyed. If you can aid me in the recovery, you will oblige me. I consider their preservation as a duty, because I believe certainly there does not exist another collection of the same period. I have examined the sequel of my collection of newspapers, and find that it has but one paper of 1778. That is one of Piordie's of the month of May. But my not having them is no evidence they were not printed; because I was so continually itinerant during the revolution, that I was rarely in a situation to preserve the papers I received. And although there were probably occasional suspensions for want of paper, yet I do not believe there was a total one at any time. I think, however, you might procure a file for that or any other year, in Philadelphia or Boston. These would furnish all the material occurrences of Virginia. You ask, what has the historian to do with the latter part of 1776, the whole of 1777 and 1778, and a part of 1779? This is precisely the period which was occupied in the reformation of the laws to the new organization and principles of our government. The committee was appointed in the latter part of 1776, and reported in the spring or summer of 1779. At the first and only meeting of the whole committee, (of five persons,) the question was discussed whether we would attempt to reduce the whole body of the law into a code, the text of which should become the law of the land? We decided against that, because every word and phrase in that text would become a new subject of criticism and litigation, until its sense should have been settled by numerous decisions, and that, in the meantime, the rights of property would be in the air. We concluded not to meddle with the common law, i. e., the law preceding the existence of the statutes, further than to accommodate it to our new principles and circumstances; but to take up the whole body of statutes and Virginia laws, to leave out everything obsolete or improper, insert what was wanting, and reduce the whole within as moderate a compass as it would bear, and to the plain language of common sense, divested of the verbiage, the barbarous tautologies and redundancies which render the British statutes unintelligible. From this, however, were excepted the ancient statutes, particularly those commented on by Lord Coke, the language of which is simple, and the meaning of every word so well settled by decisions, as so make it safest not to change words where the sense was to be retained. After setting our plan, Col. Mason declined undertaking the execution of any part of it, as not being sufficiently read in the law. Mr. Lee very soon afterwards died, and the work was distributed between Mr. Wythe, Mr. Pendleton and myself. To me was assigned the common law, (so far as we thought of altering it,) and the statutes down to the Reformation, or end of the reign of Elizabeth; to Mr. Wythe, the subsequent body of the statutes, and to Mr. Pendleton the Virginia laws. This distribution threw into my part the laws concerning crimes and punishments, the law of descents, and the laws concerning religion. After completing our work separately, we met, (Mr. W., Mr. P. and myself,) in Williamsburg, and held a long session, in which we went over the first and second parts in the order of time, weighing and correcting every word, and reducing them to the form in which they were afterwards reported. When we proceeded to the third part, we found that Mr. Pendleton had not exactly seized the intentions of the committee, which were to reform the language of the Virginia laws, and reduce the matter to a simple style and form. He had copied the acts verbatim, only omitting what was disapproved; and some family occurrence calling him indispensably home, he desired Mr. Wythe and myself to make it what we thought it ought to be, and authorized us to report him as concurring in the work. We accordingly divided the work, and re-executed it entirely, so as to assimilate its plan and execution to the other parts, as well as the shortness of the time would admit, and we brought the whole body of British statutes and laws of Virginia into 127 acts, most of them short. This is the history of that work as to its execution. Its matter and the nature of the changes made, will be a proper subject for the consideration of the historian. Experience has convinced me that the change in the style of the laws was for the better, and it has sensibly reformed the style of our laws from that time downwards, insomuch that they have obtained, in that respect, the approbation of men of consideration on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether the change in the style and form of the criminal law, as introduced by Mr. Taylor, was for the better, is not for me to judge. The digest of that act employed me longer than I believe all the rest of the work, for it rendered it necessary for me to go with great care over Bracton, Britton, the Saxon statutes, and the works of authority on criminal law; and it gave me great satisfaction to find that in general I had only to reduce the law to its ancient Saxon condition, stripping it of all the innovations and rigorisms of subsequent times, to make it what it should be. The substitution of the penitentiary, instead of labor on the high road and of some other punishments truly objectionable, is a just merit to be ascribed to Mr. Taylor's law. When our report was made, the idea of a penitentiary had never been suggested, the happy experiment of Pennsylvania we had not then the benefit of.
To assist in filling up those years of exemption from military invasion, an inquiry into the exertions of Virginia in the common cause during that period, would be proper for the patriotic historian, because her character has been very unjustly impeached by the writers of other States, as having used no equal exertions at that time. I know it to be false; because having all that time been a member of the legislature, I know that our whole occupation was in straining the resources of the State to the utmost, to furnish men, money, provisions and other necessaries to the common cause. The proofs of this will be found in the journals and acts of the legislature, in executive proceedings and papers, and in the auditor's accounts. Not that Virginia furnished her quota of requisitions of either men or money; but that she was always above par, in what was actually furnished by the other States. A letter of mine written in 1779 or '80, if still among the executive papers, will furnish full evidence of these facts. It was addressed to our delegates in answer to a formal complaint on the subject, and was founded in unquestionable vouchers.
The inquiries in your printed letter of August, 1808, would lead to the writing the history of my whole life, than which nothing could be more repugnant to my feelings. I have been connected, as many fellow laborers were, with the great events which happened to mark the epoch of our lives. But these belong to no one in particular, all of us did our parts, and no one can claim the transactions to himself. The most I could do would be to revise, correct or supply any statements which should be made respecting public transactions in which I had a part, or which may have otherwise come within my knowledge.
I have to apologize for the delay of this answer. The active hours of the day are all devoted to employments without doors, so that I have rarely an interval, and more rarely the inclination, to set down to my writing table, the divorce from which is among the greatest reliefs in my late change of life. Still, I will always answer with pleasure any particular inquiries you may wish to address to me, sincerely desiring for the public good as well as your own personal concern, to contribute to the perfection of a work from which I hope much to both; and I beg leave to tender you the assurances of my great esteem and respect.
TO M. DASHKOFF
Monticello, August 12, 1809.
Sir,—Your favor of July 5th has been duly received, and, in it, that of my friend Mr. Short. I congratulate you on your safe arrival in the American hemisphere, after a voyage which must have been lengthy in time, as it was in space. I hope you may experience no unfavorable change in your health on so great a change of climate, and that our fervid sun may be found as innocent as our cloudless skies must be agreeable. I hail you with particular pleasure, as the first harbinger of those friendly relations with your country, so desirable to ours. Both nations being in character and practice essentially pacific, a common interest in the rights of peaceable nations, gives us a common cause in their maintenance; and however your excellent Emperor may have been led from the ordinary policy of his government, I trust that the establishment of just principles will be the result, as I am sure it is the object, of his efforts.
When you shall have had time to accommodate yourself somewhat to our climate, our manners and mode of living, you will probably have a curiosity to see something of the country you have visited, something beyond the confines of our cities. These exhibit specimens of London only, our country is a different nation. Should your journeyings lead you into this quarter of it, I shall be happy to receive you at Monticello, and to renew to you in person the assurances I now tender of my great respect and consideration.
TO THE PRESIDENT
Monticello, August 17, 1809.
Dear Sir,
* * * * * * * *
I never doubted the chicanery of the Anglomen on whatsoever measures you should take in consequence of the disavowal of Erskine; yet I am satisfied that both the proclamations have been sound. The first has been sanctioned by universal approbation; and although it was not literally the case foreseen by the legislature, yet it was a proper extension of their provision to a case similar, though not the same. It proved to the whole world our desire of accommodation, and must have satisfied every candid federalist on that head. It was not only proper on the well-grounded confidence that the arrangement would be honestly executed, but ought to have taken place even had the perfidy of England been foreseen. Their dirty gain is richly remunerated to us by our placing them so shamefully in the wrong, and by the union it must produce among ourselves. The last proclamation admits of quibbles, of which advantage will doubtless be endeavored to be taken, by those for whom gain is their god, and their country nothing. But it is soundly defensible. The British minister assured us, that the orders of council would be revoked before the 10th of June. The executive, trusting in that assurance, declared by proclamation that the revocation was to take place, and that on that event the law was to be suspended. But the event did not take place, and the consequence, of course, could not follow. This view is derived from the former non-intercourse law only, having never read the latter one. I had doubted whether Congress must not be called; but that arose from another doubt, whether their second law had not changed the ground, so as to require their agency to give operation to the law. Should Bonaparte have the wisdom to correct his injustice towards us, I consider war with England as inevitable. Our ships will go to France and its dependencies, and they will take them. This will be war on their part, and leave no alternative but reprisal. I have no doubt you will think it safe to act on this hypothesis, and with energy. The moment that open war shall be apprehended from them, we should take possession of Baton Rouge. If we do not, they will, and New Orleans becomes irrecoverable, and the western country blockaded during the war. It would be justifiable towards Spain on this ground, and equally so on that of title to West Florida, and reprisal extended to East Florida. Whatever turn our present difficulty may take, I look upon all cordial conciliation with England as desperate during the life of the present king. I hope and doubt not that Erskine will justify himself. My confidence is founded in a belief of his integrity, and in the * * * * * of Canning. I consider the present as the most shameless ministry which ever disgraced England. Copenhagen will immortalize their infamy. In general, their administrations are so changeable, and they are obliged to descend to such tricks to keep themselves in place, that nothing like honor or morality can ever be counted on in transactions with them. I salute you with all possible affection.
TO MR. JOHN W. CAMPBELL
Monticello, September 3, 1809.
Sir,—Your letter of July 29th came to hand some time since, but I have not sooner been able to acknowledge it. In answer to your proposition for publishing a complete edition of my different writings, I must observe that no writings of mine, other than those merely official, have been published, except the Notes on Virginia and a small pamphlet under the title of a Summary View of the rights of British America. The Notes on Virginia, I have always intended to revise and enlarge, and have, from time to time, laid by materials for that purpose. It will be long yet before other occupations will permit me to digest them, and observations and inquiries are still to be made, which will be more correct in proportion to the length of time they are continued. It is not unlikely that this may be through my life. I could not, therefore, at present, offer anything new for that work.
The Summary View was not written for publication. It was a draught I had prepared for a petition to the king, which I meant to propose in my place as a member of the convention of 1774. Being stopped on the road by sickness, I sent it on to the Speaker, who laid it on the table for the perusal of the members. It was thought too strong for the times, and to become the act of the convention, but was printed by subscription of the members, with a short preface written by one of them. If it had any merit, it was that of first taking our true ground, and that which was afterwards assumed and maintained.
I do not mention the Parliamentary Manual, published for the use of the Senate of the United States, because it was a mere compilation, into which nothing entered of my own but the arrangement, and a few observations necessary to explain that and some of the cases.
I do not know whether your view extends to official papers of mine which have been published. Many of these would be like old newspapers, materials for future historians, but no longer interesting to the readers of the day. They would consist of reports, correspondences, messages, answers to addresses; a few of my reports while Secretary of State, might perhaps be read by some as essays on abstract subjects. Such as the report on measures, weights and coins, on the mint, on the fisheries, on commerce, on the use of distilled sea-water, &c. The correspondences with the British and French ministers, Hammond and Genet, were published by Congress. The messages to Congress, which might have been interesting at the moment, would scarcely be read a second time, and answers to addresses are hardly read a first time.
So that on a review of these various materials, I see nothing encouraging a printer to a re-publication of them. They would probably be bought by those only who are in the habit of preserving State papers, and who are not many.
I say nothing of numerous draughts of reports, resolutions, declarations, &c., drawn as a Member of Congress or of the Legislature of Virginia, such as the Declaration of Independence, Report on the Money Mint of the United States, the act of religious freedom, &c., &c.; these having become the acts of public bodies, there can be no personal claim to them, and they would no more find readers now, than the journals and statute books in which they are deposited.
I have presented this general view of the subjects which might have been within the scope of your contemplation, that they might be correctly estimated before any final decision. They belong mostly to a class of papers not calculated for popular reading, and not likely to offer profit, or even indemnification to the re-publisher. Submitting it to your consideration, I tender you my salutations and respects.
TO GEN. WM. CLARKE
Monticello, September 10, 1809.
Dear General,—Your favor of June 2d came duly to hand in July, and brought me a repetition of the proofs of your kindness to me. Mr. Fitzhugh delivered the skin of the sheep of the Rocky Mountains to the President, from whom I expect to receive it in a few days at his own house. For this, as well as the blanket of Indian manufacture of the same material, which you are so kind as to offer me, accept my friendly thanks. Your donations, and Governor Lewis', have given to my collection of Indian curiosities an importance much beyond what I had ever counted on. The three boxes of bones which you had been so kind as to send to New Orleans for me, as mentioned in your letter of June 2d arrived there safely, and were carefully shipped by the collector, and the bill of lading sent to me. But the vessel put into the Havana, under embargo distress, was there condemned as unseaworthy, and her enrollment surrendered at St. Mary's. What was done with my three boxes I have not learned, but have written to Mr. Brown, the collector, to have inquiry made after them. The bones of this animal are now in such a state of evanescence as to render it important to save what we can of them. Of those you had formerly sent me, I reserved a very few for myself; I got Dr. Wistar to select from the rest every piece which could be interesting to the Philosophical Society, and sent the residue to the National Institute of France. These have enabled them to decide that the animal was neither a mammoth nor an elephant, but of a distinct kind, to which they have given the name of Mastodont, from the protuberance of its teeth. These, from their forms, and the immense mass of their jaws, satisfy me this animal must have been arbonverous. Nature seems not to have provided other food sufficient for him, and the limb of a tree would be no more to him than a bough of a cotton tree to a horse. You mention in your letter that you are proceeding with your family to Fort Massac. This informs me that you have a family, and I sincerely congratulate you on it, while some may think it will render you less active in the service of the world, those who take a sincere interest in your personal happiness, and who know that, by a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family, will rejoice for your sake as I do. The world has, of right, no further claims on yourself and General Lewis, but such as you may voluntarily render according to your convenience, or as they may make it your interest. I wrote lately to the Governor, but be so good as to repeat my affectionate attachments to him, and to be assured of the same to yourself, with every sentiment of esteem and respect.
