That the pieces lately published, and particularly in
Freneau's paper, seemed to have in view the exciting opposition to
the government. That this had taken place in Pennsylvania as to the
excise-law, according to information he had received from General Hand.
That they tended to produce a separation of the Union, the most dreadful
of all calamities, and that whatever tended to produce anarchy, tended,
of course, to produce a resort to monarchical government. He considered
those papers as attacking him directly, for he must be a fool indeed to
swallow the little sugar-plumbs here and there thrown out to him. That
in condemning the administration of the government, they condemned
him, for if they thought there were measures pursued contrary to his
sentiments, they must conceive him too careless to attend to them, or
too stupid to understand them. That though, indeed, he had signed many
acts which he did not approve in all their parts, yet he had never put
his name to one which he did not think, on the whole, was eligible. That
as to the bank, which had been an act of so much complaint, until there
was some infallible criterion of reason, a difference of opinion must be
tolerated. He did not believe the discontents extended far from the seat
of government. He had seen and spoken with many people in Maryland and
Virginia in his late journey. He found the people contented and
happy. He wished, however, to be better informed on this head.
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