Your agreable favour of the 24th of April, was brought to me in season and I thank you for it; though my thanks are not in good season.—Your sentiments concerning the assumption of the State debts, the encouragement of American navigation and the establishment of a national bank, are conformable to those of about one half The Continent and contrary to those of the other half. How shall we contrive to make the Clocks all strike together? Virginia begins to be convinced of the necessity of uniting with the States on this side of her, in measures to encourage our shipping, and give it an advantage over foreigners; but your cousin of Carolina, who is one of the most judicious men in the house, is you see quite an enemy to such measures. The Carolinas and Georgia, I suppose will be longer in their conversion, than Virginia has been.—1 It may require a more United people and a stronger government to take those steady measures, necessary to support our navigation: but my sentiments on this point are no secret to Congress: I wrote them continually from England: and I still think for us to build man, and maintain twelve hundred ships for a foreign nation, out of the labour of our husbandmen is very ill contrivance for the interest of Agriculture, whatever our friend Smith may say.

Division of sentiments about every thing—some inclining to the French, some to the English; one party to the south and another to the north; one sett advocates for the interest of Agriculture; another for those of commerce a third for those of manufactures—every party pushing their own principles too far, and opposing others too much— 357 How few minds look through the mighty all, with a steady eye, and consider all its relations and dependences!2 How few aim at the good of the whole, without aiming too much at the prosperity of parts?— These questions have occurred ever since I was born, and will as long as I live, or you either. The turbulent maneuvres of a faction in the Massachusetts weaken and embarrass us, as much or more than Rhode Island. I despair of New England: they upon principle tie the hands and destroy the influence of every man who has any chance and any desire to serve them— So says and so feels, by cruel experience yours

I have received with a mixture of pleasure and gloomy melancholy your favour of the 17th. What motives the eastern members can have to support the silly petition of Franklin and his Quakers, I never could conceive: but it was not that conduct which sowered the minds of the Southern members against an assumption of the State debts. The seat of government is more likely to have had such an effect on some minds.1 What is the reason that bills should be ten or twelve per Ct below par here, and only five at Boston The demand from Europe for grain would not alone have produced so great and sudden a change in the price of bills. The sudden rise of stock which was certainly occasioned by the new government contributed a great share to this symptom of prosperity. If no measures would ever be 358 carried in the State Legislature to encourage the fisheries I leave you to Judge whether it is probable that bounties can be obtained from the general government.

Ships before the revolution were built upon British capitals. There are no capitals in Boston I fear but such as consist in credits to the nation or the State or employed in speculations in the Stocks. The carrying trade is the only resource for shipbuilding. The English are in possession of this. They not only have ships ready; but they own the crops for the most part. To dispossess the English from this business requires a system of measures and a course of time and our people are so fickle and unsteady, that it is doubtfull whether they would bear with patience the trial of a fair experiment The Massachusetts a few years ago, made a navigation act, which if it had been preserved to this day would in my opinion have found full employment for her shipwrights: but Mr Sullivan and Parson Thatcher, I heard in London became declaimers if not preachers against it and it was repealed.2 If Congress should make a similar law, it will be opposed by powerful interests, who will continually grumble against it and there is neither vigour nor constancy enough in the government, I am afraid, to persevere. That Congress will take some measures to bring into circulation the monies locked up, I cannot doubt. This must be done— I am assured that considerable sums of money are ordered to America from Europe, so that I hope we shall not have so great a scarcity of money long. The State debts, I fear will not be assumed this session.

Without a national government and steady measures we shall never be prosperous, and there is too powerful a party in Massachusetts against both. I hope we shall see better times, but my hopes are not sanguine

Yours &c