It is mortifying to be beat in a good Cause, without Sense or Argument, but merely by Self-Will and vile Principles— Our Convention sat all the last Week— Our News-Papers I suppose will give You the particulars— It was with Difficulty I could get a Motion for the main Question upon the Journalls— And Adjournment was determined upon by the Anties before they met Us, in their private Conventions:— And they held nocturnal Conventions the whole Week, for the Purpose of carrying their own Measures, and for settling their Arangements for the genl. Election— the Dep: Gov: Owens, President of the Convention, did not hesitate to say out of Doors, that an Adjournment of the Convention was necessary to insure their Election— He is proposed for Govr.—Collins having been their weak tool long enough—1 O——s is a Man of more Subtilty—a profound Hypocrite—at the Gen: Assembly after the Vote for calling a Convention; He took me by the Hand, and altho’ He had voted against it, He declared I could not more rejoice than He did— He had voted as He had done He said, because the People round Him were averse to the Measure as yet, but were coming over fast; And He had no Doubt the Constitution would be adopted as soon as the Convention met.— Yet He now came with the greatest Zeal for an Adjournment—He still holds up the Idea that it will soon be adopted—

the great Objection which had been made by one of their Leaders—Jona. Haszard a Delegate in the former Congress2—was the mode of proportioning the Tax by Numbers;—instead of the former Method— The Word Tax,—partial Tax &c sounded in the Ears of the People, had been alarming; but when an Amendment for that Purpose was brought forward—His own Party failed Him; and We had a Majority of six for the Mode fixed by the Constitution— they were now left without any formidable Objections— We took Notice that 262 there had been a Number of things suggested out of Doors, which we were surprised, none would now father, or even mention— In short they were beat out of all their strong Holds— We agreed to their Bill of Rights, copied nearly from New-York, and their Amendments taken mostly from New-York, with their Darling Paper Money Amendment copied from our dear Sister North Carolina—3

What was now left, but that we should Adopt the Constitution?— It must be sent to the People, for the Consideration of the Towns!— And I expect next to hear the Amendments must be sent to Congress, to see if they will agree to adopt them, previous to Our adopting the Constitution— And this will be the sine qua non, of many—

Their Majority when we met was twelve agt. the Constitution— Could We have brought on the Question, I presume we should have been beat by four— wheather We shall succeed in getting that four is uncertain— they had Instructions from their Town to vote for the Constitution, but a few Days before the Convention met; and were directed not to vote for any adjournment, without the greatest Necessity; and then not beyond the first of April.— But they paid no Attention to their Instructions— How they may yet be opperated upon is uncertain— I have done giving, for I have almost lost my, Hopes of Success— Misery will fall upon the Merchantile Interest; and upon poor Newport most heavily:— Wood & Flower will rise to an extravagant Price— the Farmer will not begin to feel till next Fall, unless Congress provide otherwise— Pray Sir, what must become of Us? what more can we do, if the Constitution is not adopted at the Adjournment of the Convention the 24th. of May And what will be the Measures of Congress in that Case?— If we adopt the Constitution the Anties hope to be able to send forward their own Creatures;— And expect the Recommendation of their Senators &c will be sufficient to procure Appointments to their own peculiar Friends

I fear Congress may adjourn, before they may be able to pass the proper Bills for collecting the Revenue &c &c should We adopt the Constitution the last of May:— For it must be sometime in June, before Our Assembly will meet to choose Senators &c— Will there be a Necessity that Our Senators &c should be appointed and be in Congress, previous to Congress’s passing the necessary Bills and making all the proper Arangements?— I wish to be advised hereon— I had the Honor to write You Sir the 19th. of Decr. and 18th. of Jany. last— I could wish barely to know they were recd.— We want the best Advice.— what we may fear, what We may hope should we faill at last—

My Family join me in Respects to Mrs: Adams and the Family— With sincere Esteem I am / most respectfully / Your very humble Servt.

Coll Humphreys; at the Levee, this morning, delivered me Your kind Letter of Feb. 6, for the favour of which you cannot imagine how much I am obliged to you.— not less delighted with Your frank communications respecting your own affairs, than Satisfyed with your friendly cautions to me, I shall make a kind of Commentary, or at least some marginal Notes upon both. I rejoice in your health, and your Success at the Bar as well as in your Learning and Fidelity to your Clients. You are building on a Rock that will never fail you. But I must repeat my request that you attend to Air and Exercise, and that you do not avoid a share in public Life— the last however is less the Dictate of Affection to you, than of Regard to the Public and myself, for I can give you no Encouragement from Experience to hope for any Thing but Care and Labour.— I will Say no more concerning Yourself at present: but come to the Observations that relate to me.— You talk of my Ennemies: but I assure You I have none. I am the Ennemy of no Man living; and I know of none who is an Ennemy to me.— I have injured no Man alive—I have not intentionally offended any Man: and I know not that I have actually offended any. This I think gives me a right to Say that I have not an 264 Ennemy.— But “The V.P. is a Native of New England.” To this Charge, I plead guilty the fault is irrepareable, and I am reconciled to the Punishment which New England has already joined the southern States, in inflicting, for it, and to such as I know they will hereafter join in inflicting. God Save me from myself and my Friends is a Proverbial Prayer, and no Spaniard had ever more reason to offer it up than I have.— “The V.P. has no considerable Advantages from the Pride of Family.” This I deny. My Father was an honest Man, a Lover of his Country and an independent Spirit. and the Example of that Father, inspired me with the greatest Pride of my Life, and has contributed to support me, among roaring Billows yawning Gulphs and burning Fevers. I must dilate, a little upon this important Subject. My Father Grand Father, Great Grandfather and Great Great Grandfather, were all Inhabitants of Braintree and all independent Country Gentlemen—I mean Officers in the Militia and Deacons in the Church. I am the first who has degenerated from the Virtues of the House so far, as not to have been an officer in the Militia nor a Deacon. The Line I have described makes about 160 Years, in which no Bankruptcy was ever committed no Widow or orphan was ever defrauded no Redemptioner intervened and no Debt was ever contracted in England. Let others Say as much.— My Father was a Farmer and a Tradesman,1 all the rest were farmers I know and Tradesmen I believe—and the greatest fault, I ever found with any of them was that they did not educate me to their Farms and Trades.— My Mother was a Boylston one of the richest Families in the Massachusetts for above an hundred Years, and certainly not obscure, Since Harvard Colledge is indebted to it for very generous Donations and all Christendom for Inocuelation for the Small Pox.2

But although I am proud of my Family, I should be very much mortified, if I thought that I enjoyed any share of public or private Esteem, Admiration or Consideration, for the Virtues of my Ancestors. By my own Actions I wish to be tried.— But The V.P. has had no Considerable Favours of Fortune. This I deny, and boldly affirm that he has been the most fortunate Man in America without Exception. in the public service, he has escaped death in more shapes than any Man, not excepting any officer of the army. He has escaped Death, in stormy Seas, leaky ships, threatning Diseases Cannon Balls and private Daggers, with a long train of &cas. But if by Fortune is meant private Property, his paternal Estate and his own Acquisitions before he turned Fool and Politician would out weigh the Ballance 265 of many of those, who ride with Six horses owned in England or Elswhere— But is it not provoking, that the V.P. should be abused for the Obscurity of his Birth and the smallness of his Fortune; and at the same time abused for telling People that they have Prejudies in favour of Birth and Fortune?

When I Said I had no Ennemy, I did not mean to deny that I was envied—but Envy is not Enmity.— But Envy need not labour to prevent me from being President. there is no danger. The President is happily likely to live longer than the V.P.—and if it Should be otherwise ordered, the V.P. has no desire to be P.— He would retire to his Farm with more pleasure than ever he accepted any public office. Whether this is believed or not is a matter of Indifference at present. The World may possibly be convinced of it, by unequivocal Proofs, sooner than they imagine.— The Accusation of “fondness for the Splendor of monarchical Courts” has no Effect on me. I started fairly with my Countrymen. I published to the World with my name, my honest sentiments of Government, with the Reasons on which they were founded, at great length in three solid perhaps ponderous Volumes. these opinions are not changed, and if my Countrymen dissapprove them, they are perfectly at Liberty to reject them and their Author together. I will neither falsify nor dissemble my Opinions on that Subject, if it were to obtain all the Gold of Ophyr, added to Presidencies or Royalties.

The other charge is less founded.— I have never given my sentiments at large upon any question, but once. Then I asked leave, and it was granted, seemingly with Pleasure. it was upon the great Question of the Presidents Power of Removal. at other times I have only occasionally asked a question or made a Single observation, and that but Seldom.— if these are faults they are easily corrected, for I have no Desire ever to open my mouth again, upon any question.— I am So far, from a desire of talking that I have never in any one Instance given my Reasons, for my Judgment in any of those many Cases in which the senate has been equally divided, and in which I suppose no Man would call in question my right of discussing the question at large.

No my Friend— The Observations you have heard are only Revivals of old grumblings when I was a Member of Congress from 1774 to 1778—or they may be observations on private Conversation— When I have company of friends at my own Table, and I feel very easy and happy, I sometimes hear such Strange sentiments, as arrouse me to 266 some earnestness and perhaps warmth of Expression, and without meaning or thinking of offence to any Mortal, I may have hurt the Feelings of some of the Company. Your Friend Mrs Adams sometimes objects to me on this head.—

You are the first who has ever hinted to me, that any Exception has ever been taken in senate—excepting about ten months ago Mr Gerry mentioned to me that he had heard something of this kind hinted in Conversation.

To be candid with you, the situation I am in, is too inactive and insignificant for my disposition, and I care not how soon I quit it.— While in it, however I wish to do my Duty, and avoid giving just offence and you cannot oblige me more than by communicating to me, with the same Confidence and Openness, whatever you hear objected to my Conduct.

I mentioned to You three Volumes, and wish to know whether I have ever sent You a sett of them? if not, and I could find a Conveyance I would beg your Acceptance of one, for I wish to know your sentiments of it.3 I am, my dear sir / with great Esteem and sincere Affection / your Friend