JAMES RENWICK, LL.D.

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APPENDIX.

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De Witt Clinton to Governor George Clinton.

Washington, January 11^th, 1803.

DEAR SIR:

The public mind is much agitated, and the public interests are deeply implicated, by the infraction of the treaty by the Spanish intendant of New-Orleans in withdrawing that place as a depositary for American produce coming down the Mississippi, without assigning any equivalent establishment. I shall present you with a brief statement of this transaction so far as it is interesting, and so far as I have obtained correct information. Independently of other inducements for making this communication, you must be apprized that the city of New-York now actually commands, and will, according to every calculation of probability, continue to command, the greatest part of the New-Orleans, or, rather, the Mississippi trade; that during the last year two hundred and thirty American vessels were employed in it; that this commerce will accumulate more with the extension of our western settlements, and that, therefore, the Spanish proceedings are calculated to inflict an injury upon our trade, the magnitude of which is at present beyond calculation.

The following facts, connected with and respecting this business, are, I believe, accurate.

1^st. That the act of the intendant was contrary to the wishes of the governor.

2^d. That the authority of the intendant, in relation to the fiscal and commercial concerns of the colony, is independent of that of the governor.

3^d. That the intendant is a man of no influence at court, and has grown rich from a very low origin; and that his proceedings are, in all probability, intended to increase his wealth by their subserviency to a commercial speculation.

4^th. That the court of Madrid has not, in any shape, authorized his conduct.

5^th. That Louisiana, in the Spanish as well as the French acceptation, comprehends not only the country on the west side of the Mississippi as far as Mexico, but New-Orleans and the Floridas.

6^th. That this country is comprised in one government and one intendancy under the denomination of Louisiana.

7^th. That, by the treaty of Amiens, Louisiana was ceded to France. That the British minister gave to Mr. King a copy of the treaty which contained this cession; but that, in the whole course of the negotiation for peace, the British abstained from putting a direct interrogatory on this subject.

8^th. That it is not ascertained whether the French mean to take possession of the ceded country; and, if they intend it, the time when is of course a profound secret.

9^th. That the Spanish minister here immediately sent an express by water to New-Orleans, remonstrating against the proceedings of the intendant, and advising their discontinuance; that, although he has no control over the intendant, there is a very great probability that his advice will be attended to; that, if it is not, the minister will enforce it emphatically upon his own responsibility, and that our government also sent an express by land charged to the same effect.

10^th. That it is the prevalent opinion here, that it is essential to the prevention of future interruption of our western commerce, and the preservation of the peace of the Union, that the country on the left bank of the Mississippi and east of that should belong to us, and that there are two modes of accomplishing this object – purchase and force, and that the former ought to be tried first.

11^th. Under this impression the president has this day nominated R.R. Livingston minister plenipotentiary, and James Monroe, late governor of Virginia, minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary, to treat with the First Consul conjointly "for the purpose of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights and interests in the river Mississippi and the territories eastward of it;" but as Spain is still in possession of the country, the like powers, in the same capacity and for the same objects, are intrusted, in case it should be necessary to exercise them, to Mr. Monroe, in conjunction with our present minister at Madrid. By the rules of the Senate, these nominations cannot be considered until to-morrow. They will undoubtedly be confirmed.

The Legislature of Maryland have passed spirited resolutions upon the subject of the shutting up of the Mississippi, which will probably be followed by the other states. You will at once perceive that part of this communication is intended to be private; but I thought it best to give you a view of the whole ground, so that you may judge of the expediency of drawing the attention of our Legislature to this subject, as our citizens are greatly interested in it, and I am certain that this measure will be very acceptable to the republican interests of the Union. You have no doubt witnessed the attempts made in the Morning Chronicle and federal papers, under the appearance of exclusive zeal for our national rights, to produce a war immediately with a view to embarrass our financial arrangements and overthrow the administration. A suitable mention of this subject, in a general view of the affairs of the nation, will therefore have a great tendency to confound these insidious attempts.

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De Witt Clinton to James Madison.

New-York, July 1^st, 1804.

DEAR SIR:

I have the honour of acknowledging your letter of the 25^th of June and its enclosure. I should have answered it immediately, but I was anxious to obtain some documents which would throw further light on the subject of it, and these I could not procure until yesterday.

The attorney of the district will in a few days inform you of the proceedings which have taken place on account of the violation of the revenue laws. No coercive process has been issued under the authority of the state, for reasons arising from a defect of jurisdiction, which I shall hereafter explain to you.

In my communication of the 19^th, I gave you the general outlines of the proceedings in relation to the rule of twenty-four hours. In order to evince the frivolous nature of Mr. Merry’s complaint on that subject, and to demonstrate that his charge of partiality is totally groundless and unjustifiable, I shall now present to you a more detailed statement of facts, and make a few remarks which naturally arise from them.

The French frigates had been in this port about two weeks, and it was well known and understood that they intended to proceed without delay to the place of their destination. The British vessels of war arrived here on the 16^th of June, and on the 17^th (subsequent to the aggressions, but previous to my knowledge of them) I addressed the letter relative to the usage of twenty-four hours to the British consul-general. It could not have been supposed that the British vessels intended, for any legitimate object, to depart from the port almost as soon as they had entered it. If this had been their design, they certainly would not have approached so near to the city. The probable supposition was, that information had been sent from this place to Halifax of the arrival of the French frigates; that the British vessels had hastened here to reconnoitre them; to watch their movements, and to follow them out of our jurisdiction for hostile purposes. As my letter to Colonel Barclay was in consequence of a communication from General Rey recognising the rule, it could not have been necessary to notify the latter of it, especially as there was not the remotest reason to suspect that the French vessels would follow the British ones out of this port.

The next morning I received an official account of the outrages committed at the Quarantine Ground. In the afternoon of that day I received Colonel Barclay’s letter, of which I sent you a copy, marked No. 5. By referring to it, you will find that it is extremely disingenuous and evasive. It does not appear from it that he had communicated my request to the British commanders. It did not announce any views or intentions of theirs in consequence of that request. It did not take the ground now assumed by Mr. Merry. Nor did it stipulate that the British vessels should not pursue the French ones within twenty-four hours after their departure, or recognise any obligation on their part to comply with the rule in any sense whatever. On the contrary, it appeared from it that the intentions of the British admiral were to be paramount to the law of nations. Nor could it well escape my observation, that the declared object of the visit of the British vessels was not the real one; that if it had been the delivery of despatches, as pretended, it could have been fully effected by their remaining out of the port, and sending a boat up to the city; that it was not reasonable to suppose two vessels of war would be sent for the purpose of conveying communications to a consular agent; and the mention of taking directions from Mr. Merry on the subject could be contemplated in no other light than as an implied refusal to comply with my request in any shape, because, in all probability, his answer could not arrive in season.

Combining Colonel Barclay’s answer with the considerations which I have mentioned, and more particularly with the aggressions at the Quarantine Ground, I had no doubt but that the British commander would proceed in his career of atrocity, and I considered it my duty to deprive him of the means as far as lay in my power. Under these impressions, I wrote the letter heretofore transmitted, and marked No. 8, to the wardens of the port. It is predicated upon, and distinctly states the belief, "that the Cambrian and Driver, vessels of war of Great Britain, will endeavour to violate the laws of nations by sailing from this port shortly after the French frigates," &c. Although it does not expressly mention the outrages at the Quarantine Ground as an inducement to the direction, yet the words having reason to believe will sufficiently indicate that they were present to my mind; and I can truly declare, that if those aggressions had not been committed, the order would not have been issued. I also thought it expedient to obtain from Colonel Barclay a more explicit declaration of the views of the British commander, and I accordingly wrote to him the letter marked No. 6, heretofore forwarded. If the British commander really contemplated to observe the rule, by not pursuing the French frigates out of our jurisdiction, Colonel Barclay would certainly have declared that intention in his answer to which I refer you. It will appear from it that he was satisfied with the propriety of my request, for he states that he desired Captain Bradley to comply if in his power: and I had no reason to suppose from it that the British vessels intended to leave the port prior to the French. It says, indeed, "I take it for granted, the ships are now on their way to the Hook." As the Hook is that part of our jurisdiction nearest to the ocean, all I could infer from this information was, that the British vessels have repaired there in order to facilitate their egress in pursuit of the French. The letter from Captain Bradley, said to be enveloped in Colonel Barclay’s, was never received by me. Supposing this, at the time, to be a mistake, I mentioned it to him, and he promised to send me a copy, which he as not complied with, for reasons best known to himself.

The principal ground of complaint appears to be, that the British intended to depart from this port immediately; that they were entitled to depart, if they could gain the ocean previous to the French; and that they were prevented from departing by the recall of the pilots. The pilots left the vessel on the 19^th; on the next day they were permitted to rejoin them, which they accordingly did; and yet the Cambrian and Boston have not sailed, but continue stationed near the mouth of the port, while the Driver is cruising off the Hook. The allegation, then, upon which this pretended grievance is founded, is completely falsified. The affidavit of Rowland R. Crocher, No. 1, will indicate new aggressions committed on a vessel coming in to this port; and that of Robert Bennett, No. 2, will show that the Boston endeavoured to intercept an American brig, name the Pallas, in her egress from this port, with the probable design of capturing certain distinguished French citizens who were supposed to have taken their passage in her. The fact is, our port is completely blockaded against the admission or departure of French vessels. There can be no doubt but the British frigates will pursue and capture all French vessels leaving the port, without any regard to the law of nations or our neutral rights. Instead, therefore, of complaining that they have been deprived of pilots for two days, they ought to be thankful for our forbearance in allowing them any, after the daring outrages which they have committed and continue to commit.

On the 26^th of December last, an application was made to me by Richard J. Tucker, at the instance of the British consul-general, to detain in this port the French armed schooner L’Ocean, upon account of the intended departure of two British merchantmen; and, on the 19^th of January, a similar application was made by the consul-general in behalf of another. The papers marked from No. 3 to No. 8 inclusive, contain the applications and subsequent proceedings; and in demonstrating that a similar conduct was adopted at the request of British agents, and in favour of British vessels in respect to the rule of twenty-four hours, as has been pursued in the case now complained of, they abundantly refute the charge of impartiality. Any measures in these cases to enforce the rule, were rendered unnecessary by the annunciation of a determination to comply with it.

I also transmit an affidavit of John White, marked No. 9, which proves that the captain of the Cambrian was made acquainted with our Quarantine law, and that he knowingly violated it.

Since writing the above, I am told the Boston went out of port yesterday, and probably on a cruise off the Hook.

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De Witt Clinton to Thomas Willing.

New-York, August 4^th, 1804.

DEAR SIR:

I avail myself of an early opportunity since my return to this city, of acknowledging the communication subscribed by you in behalf of the citizens of Philadelphia, Southwark, and the Northern Liberties, in relation to the melancholy death of General Hamilton.

The unsullied integrity, transcendant talents, and eminent services of this great man, are universally acknowledged and duly appreciated by all descriptions of persons here; and although a large majority of the citizens of this place are decidedly attached to the wise and patriotic administration which so happily presides over the affairs of the Union, and were, of course, opposed to General Hamilton in political opinions, yet on this occasion we all cordially unite in deploring an event which has deprived our country of one of the most distinguished of her citizens, and which, although at all times a public misfortune, must be considered peculiarly so at the present crisis, when we reflect on his zealous and honourable attachment to the union of the states, and consider the disorganizing schemes which, there is too much reason to apprehend, are in agitation to destroy this palladium of our national safety, this guarantee of our national glory.

The virtuous sensibility manifested by the citizens of Philadelphia, Southwark, and the Northern Liberties is highly honourable to them, as well as to the memory of the deceased, and has had a deep impression upon our minds. In presenting you and them the warmest acknowledgement for your sincere and heartfelt condolence, I am persuaded that I faithfully communicate the sense of my fellow-citizens, as well as my own upon this occasion.

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The Trustees of the Free School to the Vestry of Trinity Church.

New-York, May 10^th, 1815.

GENTLEMEN:

The trustees of the Free School Society of New-York would do injustice to their feelings were they not to, in addition to their public acknowledgement, to express to you, in a more direct form, their high sense of your liberality, charity, and public spirit, in appropriating the valuable grounds in Christopher, Columbia and Hudson streets, for the purpose of dispensing education to the poor of this city.

As long as benevolence shall be considered a virtue and knowledge blessing, this act will command the approbation of all good men.

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De Witt Clinton to J. Ellicott.

Albany, April 4^th, 1816.

DEAR SIR:

Accompanying this, you will receive an interesting map relative to the country affected by the proposed canal. It is to be regretted that the scale is too small. I think that the canal is in a favourable train, and I hope that it will receive the sanction of the Legislature in a few days. Your suggestions relative to the ways and means are interesting, and will, I have no doubt, be adopted either on this or a future occasion.

Having, ever since Governor ________ has unhinged the executive power by shrinking from responsibility, considered the council of appointment as a deleterious and disgraceful body, I have paid little or no attention to their proceedings, and I had not learned, until I received your letter, their doings relative to Geneva. These proceedings are similar (if not more aggravated) to those which have taken place in other respects.

The truth is, that the whole of the appointing power is in the hands of four irresponsible individuals, whose ephemeral importance is succeeded by an exit into obscurity; and the state is disgraced, and the republican party divided and diminished, to gratify a hunter after popularity, who had not the nerve to do right, but whose system is a system of every-varying shifts and petty expedients, without an intellect sufficiently enlarged to comprehend the great interests of the state.

The present council, at least three of them, are totally free from the influence of which you suspect them; of ________ I cannot speak in other respects, but I presume he is also. Those I know rely very much on the advice of ________.

I believe that there are strong objections to ________, not only on account of the republican principle of rotation, but upon account of the condition of the republican party, which is divided, disgraced, and nearly ruined; but our affairs are brought to a crisis, and from the political character of ________, and the probable results of his success, I shall support T_______, not as a positive good, but as a less evil.

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De Witt Clinton to the Governor of Pennsylvania.

Albany, September 20^th, 1817.

DEAR SIR:

My absence from this place has prevented an earlier reply to your excellency’s communication of the 3^d instant.

The measures adopted by Pennsylvania to connect the waters of the Seneca Lake and Tioga River, exhibit an intelligent, enterprising, and patriotic spirit; and the benefits which will arise from the execution of the plan will be experienced in the creation of an extensive inland trade, and in the consequent encouragement of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. The obvious tendency of this measure is to facilitate the transportation of commodities from this to the neighbouring states.

From a full persuasion that our country will be best advanced by multiplying the markets for her productions, and by an intimate and beneficial connexion between the different members of the confederacy, I consider it a sacred duty to overlook local considerations, and to promote, to the utmost of my power, every plan which may be subservient to these important objects; and I cherish with confidence the opinion, that the state over which you preside will, under the influence of an enlightened public spirit, co-operate with this state in promoting our contemplated navigable communications between the Northern and Western lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.

Under this impression I now transmit to your excellency the official reports of the canal commissioners, and the acts of the Legislature of this state on that subject.

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De Witt Clinton to Rufus King.

Albany, December 13^th, 1817.

DEAR SIR:

I feel greatly obliged by your letter of the 5^th. I have taken measures to ascertain the state of our claims vs. the United States; but I am apprehensive that they have been greatly, if not totally, neglected. As soon as I obtain the necessary information, it is probable I shall write to you and your colleague at large on this subject.

The canal commissioners have recently had a meeting at this place. The Northern canal will be contracted for in toto before spring, and some work has already been done on it. Sixty miles of the Western have been contracted for, to be finished by the first of December, 1818; and work to the extent of twenty miles has already been effected, and all these arrangements have been made within the estimates of the commissioners.

My great regard for the president, and my anxiety to extend our navigable communication, induces me to regret exceedingly his scruples about the right of Congress to promote internal improvements; and I perceive a total interruption of the interposition of the national government in favour of roads and canals. The probability is, that no amendment removing the difficulty will be sanctioned by the states. Some will oppose, because they believe that the power is already vested in Congress; and others will object, because they believe that it ought not to be deposited in that body. After swallowing the National Bank and the Cumberland Road, &c., it was not supposed that Mr. Madison would strain at canals; but so it is; and the gallantry of his successor, in protecting him with his Telamonian shield, is more to be admired for its spirit that its prudence. We shall go on without any expectation of extraneous aid; and in the course of ten years, I hope, if Providence spares our lives, to have the pleasure of a canal voyage with you from Lake Erie to Albany.

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De Witt Clinton to Thomas Eddy.

Albany, December 23^d, 1822.

DEAR SIR:

Mr. S. Burling lately solicited me to recommend the introduction of a plan for laying an excise on spirituous liquors, and I partly promised that I would; but, on farther reflection, I consider it most suitable that the overture should emanate from his constituents, and with this view I now write to you.

In some well-written essays published on this subject in Walsh’s paper, it was estimated that fifty million gallons of spirituous liquors are annually consumed in the United States, at an expense of thirty millions of dollars, and with the sacrifice of thirty thousand lives. If this be only an approximation to the truth, what a field for reflection does it present to the moralist and statesman.

After deducting foreign importations of spirits, say to the amount of six millions of gallons, and allowing for four millions produced from foreign molasses, there would still remain forty millions manufactured from our own materials. Does not this astound us with its enormity and alarm, as with its terrific aspect?

An excise of one shilling a gallon would produce a revenue of five millions a year. Double the duty, and you will raise a fund that will pay off the national debt, and line and intersect the country in all directions with canals and roads.

Every considerable increase of the price of an article tends to check its consumption; and here the revenue of a country would be auxiliary to its morality – a noble union in the eye of a great statesman.

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De Witt Clinton to Henry Eagan.

Albany, October 1^st, 1823.

SIR:

I had the honour of receiving your letter of the 16^th ultimo, and, greatly respecting the honourable feelings which have prompted that communication, I hasten to reply to it. A general answer will, I presume, embrace the material points on which you wish to be satisfied.

Your duties as a Knight Templar are subordinate to the duties which you owe to yourself, your family, and your country, and your natural and social rights cannot be destroyed by masonic communion; you have a right, therefore, to withdraw from the encampment of Knights Templar whenever you may consider it necessary, on discharging your pecuniary obligations to the institution; and no presiding officer has any right to interrupt you in the exercise of this right.

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De Witt Clinton to Joseph Sabine.

Albany, October 10^th, 1823.

SIR:

I have received, at different times, all the transactions of the Horticultural Society of London, as far as the second part of the fifth volume inclusive, and I need not say how highly gratified I am at this splendid specimen of the arts, combined with so much useful information.

I have also received your zoological appendix to Captain Franklin’s journey, for which I thank you. The accurate and important information which in contains renders it an acquisition to natural history.

I see that you have noticed the "Columba Migratoria;" as this is one of our most interesting birds, I have sent by Mr. Douglass six living ones, which I hope will reach you in good order. I have enclosed a paper which contains some observations on this bird. You will also receive specimens of preserved birds for your collection.

I am much obliged to you for the Nepaul rice, and I have made such a distribution of it as I hope will produce good results.

I have afforded Mr. Douglass all the facilities in my power, by letters of recommendation, written directions, and verbal advice. The notice of the Horticultural Society which I transmit by this conveyance, was written by me with a view to propitiate the public mind in favour of his mission. I consider your selection a judicious one: he unites enthusiasm, intelligence, and persevering activity.

I have sent by him a box of minerals for your cabinet. They were collected in the excavation of secondary limestone, about thirty miles from Lake Erie, in the course of our canal operations. I have not inspected the box; but, if they are put up according to my directions, you will find some specimens not a little interesting.

You will also receive the Memoirs of our Board of Agriculture, in two volumes, and the transactions of a society for Useful Information, in three volumes. They are intended for the library of the Horticultural Society.

Mr. Douglass will deliver a box containing some specimens of fruit, which, if they reach you without decay, may interest you by their size, if not by their flavor.

The deerskin socks, or moccasins as they are called by the Indians, were manufactured among the Cayugas, and they, together with the pamphlets and other articles in the same box, are intended for you, with the exception of the seeds that you may consider useful for the society.

I think it would be beneficial for your institution to have two additional corresponding members in this country, one for the North and one for the South. Jesse Buel, Esq., of Albany, secretary of the Board of Agriculture of New-York, and John S. Skinner, Esq., postmaster of Baltimore, are particularly well qualified, and their admission as corresponding members will, I am persuaded, be the means of procuring intelligence and contributions of various kinds and of the most interesting character.

Mr. Skinner will forward a bushel of the famous white wheat of Maryland, and several volumes of the American Farmer, published by him, and Mr. Buel will also make a communication to you.

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De Witt Clinton to Micajah S. Williams.

New-York, November 18^th, 1823.

SIR:

Your communication of this day covers a wide field of inquiry, and embraces many important considerations; therefore I shall endeavour to give a prompt and explicit, and I hope satisfactory, reply.

The projected canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio river, in connexion with the New-York canals, will form a navigable communication between the Bay of New-York, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; of course it will embrace within its influence, the greater part of the United States and of the Canadas. The advantages of a canal of this description are so obvious, so striking, so numerous, and so extensive, that it is a work of supererogation to bring them into view. The state of Ohio, from the fertility of its soil, the benignity of its climate, and its geographical position, must always contain a dense population, and the products and consumptions of its inhabitants must for ever form a lucrative and extensive inland trade, exiting the powers of productive industry, and communicating aliment and energy to external commerce. But when we consider that this canal will open a way to the great rivers that fall into the Mississippi; that it will be felt, not only in the immense valley of that river, but as far west as the Rocky Mountains and the borders of Mexico; and that it will communicate with our great inland seas and their tributary rivers, with the ocean in various routes, and with the most productive regions of America, there can no question respecting the blessings that it will produce, the riches that it will create, and the energies that it will call into activity.

It must be obvious that there can be no insurmountable physical difficulties to the opening of this canal, if there be a sufficiency of water on the summit level; and the researches that have been made establish an abundant supply beyond the possibility of doubt. The only questions that can present themselves are those of comparative difficulty, expense, accommodation, and productiveness in the designation of a route; and this must be committed to the decision of able engineers.

I should suppose that the maximum cost of this improvement would exceed $2,500,000. In five years, by an annual expenditure of $500,000, this work may be advantageously completed. At the rate of six per cent., there would be wanted $30,000 to pay the first year’s interest; the second year, $60,000; the third year, $90,000; the fourth year, $120,000, and the fifth year, $150,000. The only financial difficulty, in my opinion, will be the procurement of funds for the payment of the interest.

If the canal be commenced on the lake side, every step of its progress will open a more extensive navigation, and be the means of producing revenue; and, at the termination of the five years, the profits of the canal will not only defray the interest, but produce a surplus revenue applicable to other objects.

Supposing this canal to be 200 miles in extent, it would undoubtedly, by a vigorous effort, be finished in two years; but it is advisable to extend the period to five years. The banks will in that case become consolidated before much use. As the operation proceeds, there will be an augmentation of skill, and an acquisition of experience, which will produce economy and improved workmanship; and as one fifth of the whole sum will in this case be only required for each year, the pecuniary advances that are essential will not be so onerous as if made within a shorter period; and it ought to be recollected that the Erie canal will be completed next year; that Ohio can then avail herself of the aid of able engineers and skilful contractors; and that an undertaking conducted under such auspices, will propitiate public opinion, and secure the confidence of capitalists who are disposed to embark their funds in the enterprise.

I shall now proceed to answer the following interrogatory, ‘Whether, in my opinion, funds can, say in two years from this time, be obtained, by loans at different periods, as may be required, to the amount of $2,500,000, on the credit and in behalf of the state of Ohio, at an interest of six per cent. per annum, by giving satisfactory references for paying the interest semi-annually, and reimbursing the principal at the termination of thirty years?’

I have no hesitation in answering affirmatively. I have no doubt but that funds to the extent specified and on the terms proposed may be procured. The requisite loan may be obtained either in Europe or in this country.

It will be recollected that there is a vast disposable unemployed capital in Great Britain. The finances of that country are in a state of improvement, and in a period of peace she now requires no loans. The greatest borrower is consequently out of the market. The moneyed men in Europe have therefore accommodated France, Austria, Russia, and some of the governments in South America, with extensive loans, and certainly none of them affords such ample security for reimbursement as the state of Ohio.

The moral and political institutions of Ohio are all propitious to the observance of good faith; her population is respectable in number, and exceeded by none in elevation of character; her government has been wisely administered; and she cherishes with enthusiasm that spirit of liberty and independence which is connected with the best interests of men and the most flourishing condition of states.

Next to New-York, Ohio will be the most populous state in the Union; she is susceptible of a population of 12 millions; contains 39,000 square miles, and has every facility for carrying the pursuits of productive industry to the highest pitch of improvement.

She therefore presents all the leading inducements for the confidence of capitalists. She does not owe a cent, and can, it is hoped, so arrange her financial affairs as to meet the interest of the loans.

At the termination of one year New-York will have no farther occasion for loans; and in two years a considerable portion of the funded debt of the United States will be paid off. Capitalists can then find no better place of investment than Ohio.

If two millions and a half are borrowed, every square mile in Ohio will only be answerable for sixty-four dollars. What an ample security for so small a sum! and it will be recollected that, when this canal is perfected, it will, by the markets which it opens, increase the value of lands almost immediately fifty per cent., and diffuse the blessings of opulence over the whole country.

In a word, sir, all that is necessary to complete this great enterprise is the will to direct it. Considering as I always have, that it is only a continuation of the Erie canal; that it will promote correspondent advantages, and that it is identified with the stability of our government and the prosperity of our country, I own that I feel a more than common solicitude on this subject.

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De Witt Clinton to William D. Foot.

Albany, December 4^th, 1823.

MY DEAR SIR:

Your friendly letter of the 17^th of November arrives when I was on a visit to New-York, from which place I have recently returned. This must be my apology for so protracted a reply.

When at that place I have learned enough to convince me that your suggestions are correct, and this impression is corroborated from so many respectable quarters, that doubt would be affectation. The body politic is indeed about to relieve itself from the unnatural pressures which have been heaped upon it.

As to the future, we must be regulated by events, keeping strictly in view the great interests of our country, as paramount to all earthly considerations. In the opinion of the best-informed men in the Union, the voice of this state will have a preponderating effect. Governor Randolph, Mr. Jefferson’s enlightened and patriotic son-in-law, told me so lately, and without reserve, in New-York. In whose favour that voice shall be expressed is a subject which requires great deliberation. If we cannot obtain the greatest good, we must endeavour to select the next, and, at all events, to avoid alarming evils.

The events which are in a train of development will have an important bearing, nor only on the well-being of America, but on the stability of free government; and yet it is appalling to perceive such struggles for power without reference to the public interest. We must, after all, my worthy friend, rely upon the general diffusion of education as the palladium of liberty. The people always mean right; and, although sometimes misled, yet they will, in the progress of time, render justice to themselves and to their real friends, if the blessings of knowledge are freely and fully communicated.

You will perceive that this hasty communication is intended for your private perusal; I shall be happy to be favoured with a continuation of your correspondence.

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De Witt Clinton to Mahlon Dickerson.

Albany, December 13^th, 1823.

DEAR SIR:

I thank you for the President’s Message, which is justly considered an able document. If you have any intelligence with respect to the Northern Canal of New Jersey, it will give me great pleasure to hear from you respecting it, as I conceive the contemplated measure to have a very important bearing on the public interests.

When I had the pleasure of seeing you at your house, I promised, in reference to the prosperity of your fishponds, to communicate to you a mode of raising trout that had been successfully adopted in Europe.

About forty years ago, Mr. Jacobi, of Hanover, after preparing a trough with gravel at the bottom, through which spring water was made to flow, took a female trout, and pressed and rubbed its belly gently, by which means it parted very readily with its spawn without any injury, in a basin of clear water. He then took a male trout, and rubbed and pressed its belly gently in the same manner, to let the melt or soft roe enter the same basin where the female roe was, and then stirred them together. The same result would follow if the roe were cut out of dead fishes, and mixed together in the same way. He then spread the mixed spawn in the trough, and let in the water. A more detailed account of this process may be found in the thirty-fourth volume of Tilloch’s Philosophical Magazine, which work you either have, or ought to have, in the library of Congress. In this way he bred annually vast quantities of salmon, trout, and other fresh-water fish.

We have so many good indigenous fish, that it has not been thought worth while to import any new species. The common carp was introduced into England in 1514; its favourite residence is in slow and stagnant water; it unites rapidity of growth with longevity, and is very fruitful, a single carp having produced 342,144 eggs; and it is also considered excellent food. It is a hardy fish, and may be imported alive, or its spawn may be put up and transmitted in jars, as is practised in similar cases by the Chinese.

The Cyprinus Auratus, or Gold-fish, is a native of China and Japan; it will flourish in any collection of pure water, and its increase is prodigious. It is said to be good for the table. This fish was imported into Europe from China, and has been introduced into this country by that circuitous route. I have them in glass vessels in my house, where they make a beautiful appearance. They were obtained from a little pond on the island of New-York, which is literally filled with them. As they multiply with great rapidity, one of your fishponds ought to be stocked with them. They will at least furnish food for your trout, besides gratifying the sight with their beautiful appearance. If you have a desire to be supplied, call on Dr. Hosack when you visit New-York, and it will give him great pleasure to see you accommodated. If I am successful in importing the common carp from England, you shall participate in the benefits of my enterprise.

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De Witt Clinton to Jacob Harvey.

Albany, March 20^th, 1824.

DEAR SIR:

I send this by steamboat O’Driscoll’s work on Ireland, and Washington’s Sketch of the United States, in separate envelopes. The former is a book of much interest, and contains many original views and much valuable information. He, however, too evidently strains his brains to shine as a fine writer, and he sometimes tires the reader by uniformity, and palls the appetite by high seasoning. A traveller is more fatigued if the road is level or straight, than if it be waving or winding. The Sermons of Blair and the Poems of Darwin have been received as models of superior writing, but they soon lose their hold on the mind by their splendid monotony. O’Driscoll has fancy, pathos, discrimination, information, a great command of language, and what is better, an entire devotedness to his much-injured country. Except two or three paradoxes, I see nothing to object to in the matter of his book. His idea that the manufacturing greatness of England is owing to the poor laws, as about as wise as the doctrine of Malthus, that the calamities of Ireland are owing to potatoes.

In defiance of this heretical dogma of Malthus, I did not hesitate to try how far it would apply to the comfort of individuals; and I availed myself of the opportunities which you have so kindly afforded me for a full experiment, and I assure you that I found nothing in the process but what puts the hypothesis of Malthus to the blush. Surely what is beneficial to individuals must be so the communities or collections of individuals. The salubrity of the potato is demonstrated in the beauty of your women, the strength of your men; and as the population depends on subsistence, even according to the specifications of Malthus, the increasing numbers of Ireland, harassed as that country has been by tithes, taxes, oppression, and bad government, establish beyond question the futility of his theory.

I am, upon the whole, so much pleased with O’Driscoll, that I shall esteem it as a continuation of your kindness if you will favour me with an opportunity of looking at his newspapers.

In compliance with your request, and in accordance with my hereditary predilections, I did not on the 17^th forget the country for which God has done so much and men so little, nor did I omit to render my devoirs to the saint, and to pledge the health of the friend who has so kindly reminded me of the occasion.

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De Witt Clinton to John Jacob Astor.

New-York, December 2^d, 1824.

DEAR SIR:

When on a short visit to this place, I had the pleasure of receiving from your son your letter from Geneva. The surprise which your silence had produced was removed by hearing of the accident which has occurred to you, and of which your communication gave me the first information.

The growth of this city exceeds the most sanguine anticipations. You will scarcely recognise it on your return; upward of 3000 houses will be erected this year. This extraordinary prosperity is principally imputable to the great canals, all of which are finished, except 30 miles of the Western termination of the Erie Canal, and which will be completed the beginning of next July. The revenue from tolls this year will be 325,000 dollars, and every succeeding season will augment its amount. I always told you that, if I were proprietor of the island of New-York, I would at once construct these works at my own expense; and there is now no part of the world which contains a canal of such extent as the western one, and which has a city that forms the concentrating point of such immense internal and external commerce as New-York.

Our political excitements will not be terminated until the termination of the pending presidential election. The 24 electoral colleges met yesterday in their respective states, and gave in their votes: the whole number of votes is 261.

The probability is, that Jackson will have 100 votes, Adams 80, and the remainder will be divided between Crawford and Clay. A majority of all the votes, that is, 131, is necessary to constitute a choice by the electoral college; and in case this aggregate number is not rendered, the election is transferred to the House of Representatives, who select by states one out of the three highest on the list of the electoral colleges. Whether Crawford or Clay will be the third person is doubtful, but it is believed that it will be the former. In every alternative, the general opinion and the general wish is in favour of the election of Jackson.

You will probably see in the gazettes that I am elected governor by the greatest majority that was ever given in this state in a contested election. The other elections have been of a similar character, and we are completely rescued from the late dominant party. If Heaven shall spare my life, I will endeavour to put this state on a footing which will call all her energies into activity, and elevate her still higher in the scale of prosperity.

Your return will afford the highest satisfaction to your numerous friends, and to none more than to yours sincerely.

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De Witt Clinton to James Renwick.

Albany, October 1^st, 1825.

DEAR SIR:

The firing of heavy cannon along the line of the Erie Canal on the day of the celebration of its completion, and probably from Albany to New-York, may afford a good opportunity for some interesting experiments on the phenomena of sound by the use of accurate chronometers at suitable places. The distance from Buffalo to Sandy Hook, by way of the canal, is rising 500 miles. I am aware that acoustics or the philosophy of sound has been closely attended to, but there is constantly unexplored ground in every science, and valuable gleanings may at least be elicited from the most improved state of useful knowledge.

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De Witt Clinton to Parmenio Adams.

Albany, December 21^st, 1825.

DEAR SIR:

You have done me the honour to ask my opinion respecting the most advisable constitutional arrangement for the promotion of internal improvements. On this subject I never had a doubt. As the national government has all the effective revenue and funds of the nation, it ought, if it has not, to be invested with the power of distributing a due portion among the several states for the establishment of canals, &c. The rule of apportionment should be population, or, if you please, representation. There might be some difficulty in making all the requisite provisions on this subject. When there is a common interest of several states, and the intended work passes only through one state, then the states interested ought to make a common concern.

For these reasons, and to remove all doubts, I should like an amendment to the Constitution, investing Congress with the power of appropriation only and no other, and with this expression the first part of Mr. Bailey’s amendment is proper in substance; but the second section, empowering Congress to make surveys of coasts, rivers, roads, &c., is, in fact, investing them with plenary power over the whole subject, and extending it to other points. What power is to judge of urgent purposes but Congress; and they may or may not dispense money to the states as they please. This amendment, if adopted, would be a virtual annihilation of the state governments; and I am astonished at the foolery of the proposal. The author might have considered it a profound artifice, but its insidious and Jesuitical character is obvious; and, although the head of the ostrich is concealed, yet the whole body is completely exposed. Under the pretext of rendering homage to the state governments, it gives them nothing, and the general government everything.

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De Witt Clinton to William D. Ford.

Albany, April 14^th, 1826.

DEAR SIR:

I have nominated you for Master in Chancery. I should have added the office of Examiner, but it would be against a rule which I have adopted, not to vest these two offices in the same person. This explanation I think proper to make, because the calumnious reports which appear to have been received and cherished in your village may also have infected this subject. I received a letter from ________ of a very impertinent character, and which I shall consign to the merited contempt of silence, inquiring, in substance, whether I had changed my principles and abandoned my friends; from this and other sources I infer the existence of slanders of various kinds in your quarter, and the whole system seems to originate from the appointment of a notary. This office has never, that I can recollect, been refused by me on political grounds, and it has always been classed among those minor offices which are not worthy of any other notice than the fitness of the candidate. The applications in such cases of the members from the counties where the officers are, have been generally, if not always, acceded to on the ground of unity, and with a view to destroy, as far as possible, those agitations which have convulsed and disgraced the state. As Mr. T_______ was very improperly rejected by the Senate last session, with a view, as I was told, to obtain the appointment of notary for Mr. ________, I was determined not to nominate the latter, and the former has since declined a renomination. In the interval between the declining of Mr. T_______ and the receipt of the recommendation of Mr. B., a recommendation in favour of Mr. W., by the Senator and Members of Assembly of your county, was handed to me, and I acquiesced, as usual, in the arrangement; and I am only surprised that men of sense should so far lose their intelligence as to lay stress on such petty incidents.

Mr. B. was nominated as brigade inspector. The brigadier general is opposed to it; and, in taking this step, which I consider due to his position and his merits, I am not without my apprehensions that he may be rejected. The opposition, you know, have a majority in the Senate, and a conciliatory system is necessary between the two branches of the appointing power, in order to promote the best interests of our country; for the best laws are inefficient without good officers to execute them.

My course of policy was delineated in my first message. Chosen by the people, I expressed my determination to be their governor, not the governor of a party. I have acted on this system honourably, conscientiously, and to the general satisfaction. Not a murmur of disapprobation has been expressed against the principle; but, when it is carried into practice, the most injurious imputations are applied; and, with some of the blustering patriots of the day, moderation is apostacy; and an attempt to unite the people in favour of their own prosperity, and in virtuous and patriotic principles, is denounced as a profligate coalition; and the jugglers behind the distant curtain, who blow up the coals of discord, are worshipped by the few, the very few puppets of their ambition: but they that sow the wind will probably reap the whirlwind.

THE END

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Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 12/10/99.