well as we can, letting that die away insensibly; but, in the meantime, agreeing informally, that both parties shall act on the principles of the treaty, so as to preserve that friendly understanding which we sincerely desire, until the one or the other may be deposed to yield the points which divide us. This will leave you to follow your desire of coming home, as soon as you see the amendment of the treaty is desperate. The power of continuing the negociations will pass over to Mr. Pinckney, who, by procrastinations, can let it die away, and give us time, the most precious of all things to us. The government of New Orleans is still without such a head as I wish. The salary of 5000 D. is too small; but I am assured the Orleans legislature would make it adequate, would you accept it. It is the 2 office in the US in importance, and I am still in hopes you will accept it. It is impossible to let you stay at home while the public has so much need of talents. I am writing under a severe indisposition of periodical headache, with scarcely command enough of my mind to know what I write. As a part of this letter concerns Mr. Pinckney as well as yourself, be so good as to communicate so much of it to him; and with my best respects to him, to Mrs. Monroe and your daughter, be assured yourself, in all cases, of my constant & affectionate friendship & attachment.'

1

1 Jefferson further wrote to Robert R. Livingston:

'WASHINGTON, March 24th, 1807. "DEAR SIR,-The two receipts of Paucin's have come safely to hand. The account had been settled without difficulty. The Federal papers appear desirous of making mischief between us & England, by putting speeches into my mouth which I never uttered. Perceiving, by a letter received in January, that our comrs were making up their mind to sign a treaty which contained no provision against impressment, we immediately instructed them not to do so; & if done, to consider the treaty as not accepted, & to resume their negociations to supply an article against impressment. We therefore hold the treaty in suspense, until we hear what is done in consequence of our last instructions. Probably we shall not hear till midsummer, & we reserve till that time the question of calling the Senate. In the meantime, to shew the continuance of a friendly spirit, we continue the suspension of the non-importation act by proclamation. Another cause for not accepting the treaty was a written declaration by the British commrs at the time of signing, reserving a right, if we did not oppose the French decree to their satisfaction, to retaliate in their own way,

TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.

(HENRY DEARBorn.)

J. MSS.

March 29, 1807.

Many officers of the army being involved in the offence of intending a military enterprise against a nation at peace with the United States, to remove the whole without trial, by the parahowever it might affect the treaty; so that, in fact, we were to be bound, & they left free. I think, upon the whole, the emperor cannot be dissatisfied at the present state of things between us & England, & that he must rather be satisfied at our unhesitating rejection of a proposition to make common cause against him, for such in amount it was. Burr has indeed made a most inglorious exhibition of his much over-rated talents. He is now on his way to Richmond for trial. Accept my friendly salutations, & assurances of constant esteem & respect."

He also wrote to Levi Lincoln, March 25, 1807:

"I expect you are at a loss to understand the situation of the British treaty, on which the newspapers make so many speeches for me which I never made. It is exactly this. By a letter received from our negociators in January, we found they were making up their minds to sign a treaty containing no provision against the impressment of our seamen. We instantly (Feb. 3) instructed them not to do so; and that if such a treaty had been forwarded, it could not be ratified; that therefore they must immediately resume the negociations to supply that defect, as a sine quâ non. Such a treaty having come to hand, we of course suspend it, until we know the result of the instructions of Feb. 3, which probably will not be till mid-summer. We reserve ourselves till then to decide the question of calling the Senate. In the meantime, I have, by proclamation, continued the suspension of the non-importation law, as a proof of the continuance of friendly dispositions. There was another circumstance which would have prevented the acceptance of the treaty. The British Commissioners, at the time of signing, gave in a written declaration, that until they knew what we meant to do in the subject of the French decree, the king reserved to himself the right of not ratifying, and of taking any measures retaliating on France which he should deem proper, notwithstanding the treaty. This made the treaty binding on us; while he was loose to regard it or not, and clearly squinted at the expectation that we should join in resistance to France, or they would not regard the treaty. We rejected this idea unhesitatingly.

"I expected to have paid a short visit to Monticello before this, but have been detained by the illness of my son in-law, Mr. Randolph, and now by an attack of periodical headache on myself. This leaves me but an hour & a half each morning capable of any business at all. A part of this I have devoted to write you this letter, and to assure you of my constant friendship and respect."

mount authority of the executive, would be a proceeding of unusual severity. Some line must therefore be drawn to separate the more from the less guilty. The only sound one which occurs to me is between those who believe the enterprise was with the approbation of the government, open or secret, & those who meant to proceed in defiance of the government. Concealment would be no line at all, because all concealed it. Applying the line of defiance to the case of L Mead, it does not appear by any testimony I have seen, that he meant to proceed in defiance of the government, but, on the contrary, that he was made to believe the government approved of the expedition. If it be objected that he concealed a part of what had taken place in his communications to the Secretary at War, yet if a concealment of the whole would not furnish a proper line of distinction, still less would the concealment of a part. This too would be a removal for prevarication not for unauthorized enterprise, & could not be a proper ground for exercising the extraordinary power of removal by the President. On the whole, I think Lieutn Meade's is not a case for its exercise. Affectionate salutations.

TO THE U. S. MINISTER TO SPAIN.

(JAMES BOWDOIN.)

J. MSS.

WASHINGTON, Apr. 2. 07.

DEAR SIR,-I wrote you on the 10th of July last, but neither your letter of Oct. 20, nor that of Nov. 15 mentioning the receipt of it, I fear it has miscarried. I therefore now enclose a duplicate, as that was to go under cover of the Secretary of State's dispatches by any vessel going from our distant ports. I retained the Polygraph therein mentioned for a safer conveyance. None such has occurred till now that the U. S. armed brig the Wasp, on her way to the Mediterranean is to touch at Falmouth with dispatches for our ministers at London, & at Brest with others for yourself & Genl. Armstrong. I shall deliver the Polygraph to the commander of the brig to be forwarded to you with this letter. You will find it a most invaluable Secretary, doing it's work with

correctness, facility & secrecy. I repeat my request of your acceptance of it as a mark of my esteem & respect.

You heard in due time from London of the signature of a treaty there between Gr. Br. & the U. S. by a letter we received in January from our Minister at London. We found they were making up their minds to sign a treaty in which no provision was made against the impressment of our seamen, contenting themselves with a note received in the course of their correspondence from the British negociators, assuring them of the discretion with which impressments should be conducted, which could be construed into a covenant only by inferences, against which it's omission in the treaty was a strong inference, and it's terms totally unsatisfactory. By a letter of Feb. 3. they were immediately informed that no treaty not containing a satisfactory article on that head, would be ratified and desiring them to resume the negociations on that point. The treaty having come to us actually in the inadmissible shape apprehended, we of course hold it up until we know the result of the instructions of Feb. 3. I have but little expectation that the British government will retire from their habitual wrongs in the impressment of our seamen, and a certainty that without that we will never tie up our hands by treaty from the right of passing a non-importation or non-intercourse act to make it her interest to become just. This may bring on a war of commercial restrictions. To shew however the sincerity or our desire for conciliation I have suspended the importation act. This state of things should be understood at Paris and every effort used on your part to accommodate our differences with Spain, under the auspices of France, with whom it is all important that we should stand in terms of the strictest cordiality. In fact we are to depend on her & Russia for the establishment of Neutral rights by the treaty of peace, among which should be that of taking no person by a belligerent out of a Neutral ship, unless they be the souldiers of an enemy. Never did a nation act towards another with more perfidy and injustice than Spain has constantly practised against us. And if we have kept our hands off her till now, it has been purely out of respect for France, & from the value we set on the friendship of France. We expect therefore from the friendship of the emperor that he

will either compel Spain to do us justice, or abandon her to us. We ask but one month to be in possession of the city of Mexico. No better proof of the good faith of the U. S. could have been given, than the vigour with which we have acted, & the expence incurred in suppressing the enterprise meditated lately by Burr against Mexico. Altho at first he proposed a separation of the Western country, & on that ground received encouragement & aid from Yrujo, according to the usual spirit of his government towards us. Yet he very early saw that the fidelity of the Western country was not to be shaken, and turned himself wholly towards Mexico and so popular is an enterprise on that country in this, that we had only to be still, & he could have had followers enough to have been in the city of Mexico in 6. weeks. You have doubtless seen my several messages to Congress, which give a faithful narrative of that conspiracy. Burr himself, after being disarmed by our endeavours of all his followers, escaped from the custody of the court of Missipi, but was taken near fort Stoddert, making his way to Mobile, by some country people, who brought him on as a prisoner to Richmond, where he is now under a course for trial. Hitherto we have believed our law to be that suspicion on probable grounds was sufficient cause to commit a person for trial, allowing time to collect witnesses till the trial, but the judges here have decided that conclusive evidence of guilt must be ready in the moment of arrest, or they will discharge the malefactor. If this is still insisted on, Burr will be discharged, because his crimes having been sown from Maine thro' the whole line of the Western waters to N. Orleans, we cannot bring the witnesses here under 4. months. The fact is that the Federalists make Burr's cause their own, and exert their whole influence to shield him from punishment, as they did the adherents of Miranda. And it is unfortunate that federalism is still predominant in our judiciary department, which is consequently in opposition to the legislative & Executive branches, & is able to baffle their measures often. Accept my friendly salutations & assurances of great esteem & respect.