I have received the letter you did me the honor to write me on the fifth of this month, and am the more earnest to give it an early answer, as from various circumstances, I have been prevented from answering that delivered by Colo; Tudor

It is so rare of late, to find a candidate for office, acknowlege the ease and independance of his circumstances, that your frankness in this particular: was the more welcome and agreable. Distress in a man’s affairs, in the ordinary course of things, is so far from being a recomendation to public trust, that it ought to be an objection tho’ not a decisive obstruction to him. But in the present times, when there are so many ruined men and families, whose misfortunes have been clearly occasioned not by their own fault, but by the injustice and impolicy, of their country, and whose merits and public services have been considerable; the ordinary rule seems to be inverted. Nominations an appointments to office are however wholly out of my sphere. The Vice President has a constant and laborious service assigned him by the constitution, at the head of the Legislature, 73 which consumes all his time, strength, and spirits; and leaves him no opportunity or capacity to collect the information, or to weigh the pretensions of candidates necessary to form these arrangements, or even to give advice concerning them, except perhaps in a few instances, more particularly and personally known to him. These duties are by the constitution wisely and virtuously assigned to the first executive Magistrate, and to him therefore must your application as well as all others be made.

I am &

There is no such point in dispute, as that you mention in your favour of the 9th. The only question is concerning the title of the first man. All the world sees the absurdity and feels the humiliation of giving the titled of excellency, which is only a provincial, or diplomatic title of the lowest order, to a great Prince vested with the whole executive authority of Government in a nation, who sends and receives ambassadors, who nominates and appoints Generals, Admirals and even Govenors of the western territory at least. Every body indeed feels the absurdity of giving the title of highness to an office whose dignity and authority can have no other adequate title than that of MAJESTY. But as the nation has not digested this subject, the family and the world call him “The General.” so that the first civil and political magistrate in the nation is to be called by the military title of a provincial Brigadier.— Did you ever read Shenstones School mistress, in immitation of Spencer? if you have you have there seen an authority very much to the purpose, which I wish you would request Russel to put in his excellent centinel.

The executive authority is called “the prince” and we shall never have our equal station with other nations untill our national executive, has a Princely title. If you give him only a diplomatic title he will be ranked with ambassadors—if a provincial one, he will be levelled with govenors of Colonies and Generals of armies. but never with the first Magistrates of other nations.

Mr Sturgis Gorham, I doubt not from your recommendation, would make a good collector, but his representations and sollicitations must be transmitted to the President by himself or friends.

Otis’s prognostication, and Sturgis’s event of eminence has amounted to just nothing at all.— a spendid pompous nothing. an office that between you and me Brother Wingate or Macclay, might execute as well as, Cecil, Chatham, Sully, Colbert or Neckar. In the scale of rational existences or intelligent natures the Farmer of Pen’s hill or Stony field hill, hold in my philosophy, a rank much superior to the Vice President of Richmond Hill, though you should give him the title of Eminence, Highness or Holiness. instead of that of Excellence. He has in short not the smallest degree of power to do any good either in the executive, legislative or Judicial departments. A mere Doge of Venice, a mere “Teste de legno” or least you should not be an Italian “Head of wood” a mere mechanical tool to wind up the clock. The moment our country has wisdom to introduce a proper ballance of powers into their constitution they will cut off this head, and I myself should be ambitious of the honor of weilding the ax. Our Countrymen are Romans and Spartans only in theory. The idea of two Consuls or two Kings they cannot comprehend; nor is it proper they should. Their hearts and whole habits are against their own ignorant republican ideas. farewell my dear friend and write as often as you can to the honest Monarchical republican