I was delayed by business,
so as to have scarcely time to give him the outlines. I run over them
rapidly, and observed afterwards, that I had hitherto never spoken
to him on the subject of the post-office, not knowing whether it was
considered as a revenue law, or a law for the general accommodation of
the citizens: that the law just passed seemed to have removed the doubt,
by declaring that the whole profits of the office should be applied to
extending the posts, and that even the past profits should be refunded
by the Treasury for the same purpose: that I therefore conceived it was
now in the department of the Secretary of State: that I thought it would
be advantageous so to declare it for another reason, to wit, that the
department of the Treasury possessed already such an influence as
to swallow up the whole executive powers, and that even the future
Presidents (not supported by the weight of character which himself
possessed) would not be able to make head against this department. That
in urging this measure I had certainly no personal interest, since, if
I was supposed to have any appetite for power, yet, as my career would
certainly be exactly as short as his own, the intervening time was too
short to be an object. My real wish was to avail the public of every
occasion, during the residue of the President's period, to place things
on a safe footing. He was now called on to attend his company, and he
desired me to come and breakfast with him the next morning.
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