I have the honor of your Excellency’s Favor of the 5th. Currt. & acknowledge myself extremely oblig’d by the kind & friendly manner in which you have receivd & reply’d to my Letter—1 I was apprehensive that it might not be so directly in the Line of your Office to nominate, or recommend any persons to Appointments under Congress— 318 yet fully perswaded in my Mind that a Word from you occasionally might have great Avail, & being unknown to the supreme Executive, I had not Resolution eno’ to make my Application to the President himself

It is highly satisfactory to me, that if you have Opportunity of mentioning my Name, your Report will be much in my favor—that the Number of Candidates for Offices is very great, & many have much Merit I make no doubt from wch: Circumstance some Embarrassmts. may arise—

Doctr: Welsh was kind eno’ to shew me Yr. Excellencys Letter to him, from a hint therein respecting my Friends Governr. Langdon & Judge Livermore I shall take the Liberty of writing soon to one or other of them on the subject

my old Friend Putnam indeed is no more!2 I had the pleasure to hear from him a few Months before his Death and dare say, he much regretted as well as myself that he ever quitted the Country, where, had he tarry’d he might have appeared among the principal Actors on the Stage— But he was too much influenc’d by that Veteran in Toryism Old Brigadr. Ruggles & the Chandler Family—that Party, most of ’em I beleive, especialy the Residents in Nova scotia must be sensible they made a bad Bargain in their politicks—

Nova Scotia has sufferd much by the Restraints their Governmts. have laid on the Trade from New England yet very loth to own it—they smuggle considerable on the Borders of the State, and We feel the want of a Market for great part of our fresh provisions & live Stock—

Business in Boston the Winter past has been dull by a general Complaint, a smaller proportion of Navigation than usual, if we may judge by what has been done at the Insurance Offices—& unfortunately more frequent Losses taken place—few Vessells on the Stocks building either in To. or out ports—the three federal Ships set up by subscription the year before last, stood long on hand before disposd off our Ship Building Business seems to want a Stimulus from some Quarter to give the Tradesmen of this Town their usual Hilarity— Two fresh Arrivals from London Capts. Scott & Bernard with several other Vessells within the Week past seem to give a little Spring to Business in Town just now—but Lotterys & speculations in the public Funds have been the cheif Objects of late—many of our Speculators will be much disconcerted by the last News from Congress—that the Assumption of the State Debts has receivd a Negative—the price of our Massa: State Consolidd: Notes fell immediately one Shilling in the 319 pound, & tis supposd will fall lower—so have we often been baffled when our Expectations were rais’d to the highest

Your Excellency will please to excuse my lengthy Reply & be assurd that I am with the most cordial Respect & Esteem / your very obedt. huml Servt

Your letter of April 13, soars above the visible diurnal Sphære.— I own to you that avarice Ambition the Love of Fame &c are all mysterious Passions. They are the greatest Absurdities, Delusions and Follies that can be imagined, if in this Life only We had hope.

In the Boat on our Return from Point no Point, the principal Topick of Conversation was Independence.— an intercepted Letter early in 1775 had informed the World that I was for Independence. and my Sentiments on this head were no Secret in Congress from May 1775—1 But I was left too much alone— The Company in the Boat appeared to me, then and ever Since, to have invited me to be of their Party, that they might all assure me in that Confidential manner, that they were of my mind and would Ultimately Support me. There was not one of the Company I believe, who in the Course of the Passage did not repeatedly Assure me, that in his opinion We must be independent.— That Evenings Conversation was a great Encouragement2 to me, ever after.

How many Follies and indiscreet Speeches do your minutes in your Note Book bring to my Recollection, which I had forgotten forever! Alass I fear I am not yet much more prudent.—

Your Character of Mr Paine is very well and very just.

To The Accusation against me which you have recorded in Your Note Book of 17th of March last, I plead not guilty.— I deny both Charges. I deny an “Attachment to Monarchy” and I deny that I 320 have “changed my Principles Since 1776.”— No Letter of mine to Mr Hooper was ever printed that I know of. indeed I have but a very confused Recollection of having ever written him any Letter. if any Letter has been printed in my Name I desire to see it.— You know that a Letter of mine to Mr Wythe was printed by Dunlap, in Jany 1776 under the Title of Thoughts on Government in a Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend. in that Pamphlet, I recommended a Legislature in three independent Branches and to Such a Legislature I am Still attached. But I own at that time I understood very little of the subject, and if I had changed my opinions should have no Scruple to avow it. I own that awful Experience has concurred with Reading and Reflection to convince me that Americans are more rapidly disposed to Corruption in Elections, than I thought they were fourteen Years ago.

My Friend Dr Rush will excuse me if I caution him against a fraudulent Use of the Words Monarchy and Republick. I am a mortal and irreconcileable Ennemy to Monarchy.— I am no Friend to hereditary limited Monarchy in America. This I know can never be admitted, without an hereditary Senate to controul it. and an hereditary Nobility or senate in America I know to be unattainable and impracticable. I Should Scarcely be for it, if it were attainable. Dont therefore my Friend misunderstand me and misrepresent me to Posterity.— I am for a Ballance between the Legislative and Executive Powers and I am for enabling the Executive to be at all times capable of maintaining the Ballance between the Senate and House, or in other Words between the Aristocratical and Democratical Interests— Yet I am for having all three Branches elected at Stated Periods. and these Elections I hope will continue, untill the People Shall be convinced, that Fortune Providence or Chance call it which you will, is better than Election. if the time should come when Corruption shall be added to Intrigue and Manœuvre in Elections and produce civil War, then in my opinion Chance will be better than Choice for all but the House of Representatives.

accept my Thanks for your polite and obliging Invitation to Philadelphia. nothing would give me greater Pleasure, than such a Visit but I must deny my self that satisfaction. I know I have friends in Pensilvania, and Such as I esteem, very highly as the Friends of Virtue Liberty and Good Government.

What you may mean by “more than British degrees of Corruption” at New York and by Sophisticated Government, I know not.— The Continent is a kind of Whispering Gallery and Acts and Speeches 321 are reverberated round from N. York in all Directions. The Report is very loud at a distance, when the Whisper, is very gentle in the Center. But if you See Such Corruptions, in your Countrymen, on what do you found your hopes?

I lament the deplorable Condition of my Country, which Seems to be under such a Fatality that the People can agree upon nothing. When they seem to agree, they are so unsteady, that it is but for a Moment.— that Changes may be made for the better is probable— I know of no Change that would occasion much Danger but that of President. I wish very heartily that a Change of Vice President could be made tomorrow. I have been too ill used in the Office to be fond of it, if I had not been introduced into it, in a manner that made it a disgrace. I will never Serve in it again upon Such Terms.— though I have acted in public with immense Multitudes, I have had few friends and these certainly not interested ones—these I shall ever love in public or private.

Adieu my dear sir