They insisted, also, on war with England. In Congress, the war of words disclosed a state of feeling which the decorum of the place hardly restrained from full expression.

The conduct of the British government at this time added to the difficulties of the administration. The western forts on Lake Erie and its vicinity were still occupied by the British, contrary to the treaty of 1783. American vessels were seized on their way to French ports, and American seamen were impressed. The president, after many remonstrances with the British government, was sensible that a crisis was approaching which would involve the United States in a war with England, unless the calamity could be averted by negotiation. Washington, therefore, concluded to send a special envoy to England, and in April, 1794, selected John Jay, then chief justice of the supreme court, for that purpose. Mr. Jay arrived in England in June, 1794, and in November following a treaty with Great Britain was signed. It arrived in the United States on the 7th of March, 1795, and was ratified by the senate on the 24th of June, by precisely the constitutional majority (two thirds), after much opposition, and an investigation continued from the 9th of the same month. As this treaty was considered favorable to Great Britain, although it was the best that Mr. Jay could obtain, the publication of it in this country tended to heighten the asperity of political parties, and to increase the feelings of hostility toward England which were entertained by the opposition to the administration. The clamor against the treaty, however, gradually subsided, and addresses from all quarters poured in upon the president, principally from his political friends, congratulating him upon the fortunate issue of the mission.

In consequence of a decision of the supreme court, in a suit instituted by a citizen of South Carolina against the state of Georgia, and the action of the state of Massachusetts, on a suit being commenced against that state. an amendment was proposed, and carried at the first session of the third Congress, which was afterward ratified by three fourths of the several states, declaring that, "the judicial power of the United States should not" be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States, by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state." This forms the 11th article of the amendments to the constitution.

During the summer of 1794, a successful campaign was carried on against the Indians, by the American troops under General Wayne, who defeated a large body of Indian warriors in a battle, in August of that year, on the banks of the Maumee, in Ohio. General Wayne soon afterward negotiated a treaty with all the tribes of the northwest; and, in conformity to Mr. Jay's treaty, the surrender of the western posts which had been so long retained by the British, gave assurance of continued peace on the frontier.

In 1794, the French government requested the recall of Gouverneur Morris, the minister from the United States to France, which request Washington complied with, and appointed James Monroe his successor. Mr. Morris had expressed his disapprobation of the revolutionary proceedings in France. In September, 1796, the president recalled Mr. Monroe, and appointed Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to succeed him.

At the close of the year 1794, General Knox resigned his place as secretary of war, and retired to Boston. His successor was Timothy Pickering, who was appointed on the 2d of January, 1795; he was, previous to that time, postmaster-general.

Mr. Hamilton resigned, as secretary of the treasury, on the 31st of January, 1795, and was succeeded on the 2d of February, by Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut. In consequence of the death of Mr. Bradford, attorney-general, in August, 1795, the president appointed Charles Lee, of Virginia, his successor, December 10, 1795. At the same time, Timothy Pickering was appointed secretary of state, in place of Edmund Randolph, who had resigned the preceding August. James M'Henry was appointed secretary of war, January 27, 1796.

When the third Congress assembled, at their second session, in No vember, 1794, it appeared that, while the party in favor of the administration had been strengthened in the senate by recent events, in the house of representatives the opposition still continued to be the most powerful. In replying to the president's speech, the address of the house omitted to notice those parts which censured self-created societies, by which term the democratic clubs were supposed to be intended; also the victory of Gen. Wayne and the policy observed by the executive in its intercourse with foreign nations. An attempt to censure the "self-created societies," failed by the casting vote of the speaker. A bill, however, was passed, authorizing the president to station military force in the western counties of Pennsylvania, and an appropriation, exceeding one million of dollars, was made to defray the expenses of the insurrection.

The report of the secretary of the treasury, on the national finances, was the last official act of Colonel Hamilton; he soon after retired from office, as already stated. His report embraced the digest of a plan on the basis of the actual revenues for the further support of the public credit. In conformity with this plan, a bill was carried, notwithstanding a strenuous opposition, through both houses, establishing a sinking fund, composed of the surplus revenue, the bank dividends, and the proceeds of the public lands, for the redemption of the national debt. On the third of March, 1795, the constitutional term of the third Congress expired, and this important session was ended.

The senate was convened by the president, on the 8th of June following, for the purpose of considering Mr. Jay's treaty with Great Britain, which was ratified by that body, as already stated, on the 24th of the

same month. The president arrived in Philadelphia, from Mount Vernon, on the 11th of August, and on the next day the question of the immediate ratification of the treaty was brought before the cabinet. The resolution was adopted to ratify the treaty immediately, the secretary of state, Mr. Randolph, only, dissenting; and this opinion of the cabinet was confirmed by the president.

"If the ratification of the treaty," says Judge Marshall, "increased the number of its open advocates, by stimulating the friends of the administration to exert themselves in its defence, it seemed also to give increased acrimony to the opposition. Previous to the mission of Mr. Jay, charges against the chief magistrate, though frequently insinuated, had seldom been directly made. That mission visibly affected the decorum which had been usually observed toward him, and the ratification of the treaty brought into view sensations which had long been ill concealed. The calumnies with which he was assailed were not confined to his public conduct; even his qualities as a man were the subjects of detraction. That he had violated the constitution in negotiating a treaty without the previous advice of the senate, and that he had drawn from the treasury for his private use more than the salary annexed to his office, were unblushingly asserted.

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Though the secretary of the treasury denied that the appropriations made by the legislature had ever been exceeded, the atrocious charge was still confidently repeated. With the real public the confidence felt in the integrity of the chief magistrate remained unshaken.

"When possessed of the entire fact, the public viewed with just indignation this attempt to defame a character which was the nation's pride. Americans felt themselves affected by this atrocious calumny on their most illustrious citizen, and its propagators were frowned into silence."

Many of those embarrassments in which the government, from its institution, had been involved, were now ended, or approaching their termination.

The opposition to the laws, which had so long been made in western Pennsylvania, existed no longer. Peace had been made with the Indian tribes at the west and the south. After the failure of several attempts to obtain a peace with the regency of Algiers, Colonel Humphreys, the minister of the United States to Portugal, to whom full powers were granted, appointed Mr. Donaldson to transact this business; and a treaty with Algiers was negotiated on terms which, though disadvantageous, were the best that could be obtained. The difficulties with Spain, which had been of long continuance, were adjusted by a treaty concluded by Mr. Pinckney, the United States minister, with his catholic majesty, in October, 1795, in which the claims of the United States on the important points of boundary and the navigation of the Mississippi were fully conceded.

The fourth Congress commenced their first session in December, 1795

While the majority in the senate in favor of the administration had increased, the result of the last elections had again placed a majority in the house of representatives in opposition. This was manifest from the answers returned by the respective houses to the president's speech. That of the senate, adopted fourteen to eight, expressed an entire approbation of the conduct of the executive. The answer reported by a committee of the house, contained expressions of undiminished confidence in the president. But a motion was made to strike out this part; and in the debate on this motion, some of the members did not hesitate to say, that their confidence in the chief magistrate had diminished; and it was evident that a majority were in favor of the motion. The answer was. therefore, recommitted, and so varied as to meet the unanimous assent of the house.*

Although in the minority on many questions, the friends of the administration succeeded in electing Jonathan Dayton, a distinguished federalist of New Jersey, speaker of the house of representatives.

Mr. Monroe, the United States minister to the French republic, having presented to that government the American colors, which were placed with those of France, in the hall of the national convention, in Paris, Mr. Adet, who was appointed minister to the United States to succeed Mr. Fauchet, was directed to present to the United States government the flag of the French republic. He arrived in the United States in June, 1795, but did not present the flag in a formal manner until the first of January, 1796, when he delivered it to the president, together with a letter to Congress from the committee of public safety in France. The speech of Mr. Adet on this occasion drew from Washington the memorable reply, commencing as follows: "Born, sir, in a land of liberty; having early learned its value; having engaged in a perilous conflict to defend it; having, in a word, devoted the best years of my life to secure its permanent establishment in my country; my anxious recollections, my sympathetic feelings, and my best wishes, are irresistibly attracted, whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom."t

The address of Mr. Adet, and the answer of the president, were transmitted to Congress, with the letter from the committee of safety, by the president, on the 4th of January. The colors of France he directed to be deposited among the archives of the United States. Both houses of Congress adopted resolutions expressive of their good will and friendship for the French republic.

In February, 1796, the treaty with Great Britain was returned, in the form advised by the senate, ratified by his Britannic majesty. The president, in pursuance of his duty, issued his proclamation on the last of Feb ruary, on the subject, and requiring from all persons its observance and

• Pitkin's History of United States.

See Marshall's Life of Washington.

execution. For the information of Congress, a copy of this proclamation was transmitted to each house on the first of March.

The republican or democratic party in the house of representatives, who had denied the right of the president to negotiate a treaty of commerce, expressed their dissatisfaction at his course in issuing this proclamation before the sense of the house had been declared on the obligation of the instrument. On the second of March, therefore, Mr. Livingston, of New York, laid upon the table a resolution requesting of the president a copy of the instructions to Mr. Jay, together with the correspondence and other documents relative to the treaty with Great Britain negotiated by him. This motion was vehemently debated, and, after some days, carried, by a majority of 57 to 35. The president answered, with his accustomed coolness and dignity, stating his reasons why the house of representatives, which has no part in the treaty-making power, can not be constitutionally entitled to the papers called for; and concluded with saying: "A just regard to the constitution and to the duty of my office, under all the circumstances of this case, forbid a compliance with your request."

This refusal of the president was received with an indignation which the majority were at no pains to conceal. The same spirit was widely disseminated through the country; but public opinion had undergone an important change. Popular meetings were held on the subject, and, though many of the provisions of the treaty were thought to be objectionable, it was believed that a majority, composed of the most intelligent citizens, were in favor of carrying the treaty into effect, in good faith. The popular sentiment was felt in the house of representatives. The debate in that body was very able and interesting. Among the most celebrated speeches made on the occasion, was that of Fisher Ames, in support of the treaty. Many other distinguished members took part in the debate, such as Roger Griswold, R. G. Harper, Theodore Sedgwick, and William Smith, on the side of the administration; and Edward Livingston, James Madison, Albert Gallatin, and William B. Giles, in opposition. The final question in the house, in favor of laws for carrying the treaty into effect, was carried by a majority of three only, 51 to 48.

The fourth Congress, after continuing their first session until the 1st of June, 1796, adjourned to the first Monday of December following. Besides the measures referred to, many other important acts were adopted; among others, agencies were established among the Indian tribes; provis ion was made for the sale of the public lands; and an act was passed for the protection and relief of American seamen. The state of Tennessee was admitted into the Union on the last day of the session.

In the spring of 1796, Rufus King was appointed minister to Great Britain, in the place of Thomas Pinckney, who, at his own request, was permitted to return home. During a residence of several years in London, Mr. King maintained the rights of the country with great ability and