Philada. Jany. 1. 1776

I arrived here the 28th. of this mo. & found one of our delegates Viz JA1 returned home; many are the Conjectures here of the Occasion, tho to argue from Circumstantial Evidence I can discern a Cause; I understand 124that the last years Delegation is Lengthned to the End of Jany. Currt. I suppose a new sett in part at least will be chosen. To this I shd. acquiese if conductd on a generous political plan, but to be under mined discarded & displaced by the Secret Machinations, Slanders & Tyranny of a Faction & represented as unfit for or unfaithful in the Service, must give Vexation its keenest Edge; it is exceeding melancholly that in a Scituation like that of ours who have put our Selves in the fore front of the Battle, one shd. have Occasion, or what is worse, be necessarily driven to Observations like this, but so it is, in Addition to the Cold haughty disrespectful behaviour of the two Adams toward me & their other Brethryn for a long time past. Since my return I have come at the Sight of an Extract of a Letter wrote by James Warren to the honble. JA. in which I am treated in such a manner as I flatter my Self I deserve from nobody I am sure I dont from him. This added to the Information I had of his Conduct respecting me at the Election of Councellors, satisfys me, that there are a set of men among us who set up their own Opinion as the Standard of Political Rectitude & who will Stick at no measure, to break every thing that will not bend to their despotic determination: dispositions of this kind are not uncommon toward different & clearly determined partys, but that the Defenders of Life Liberty and property should practice a faction which must Stabb the Vitals of their defence; that they shd. machinate & Traduce for the Bearskin when it is uncertain whether it will be saved is to me more astonishing than Sleeping on the Top of a Mast, & must Shew a disposition so dangerous as to require immediate restraint; when I see Seeds of so noxious a nature so early shooting their Roots in our new Admn. it gives me the most alarming Prospects & I am ready to cry out in the words of the Spanish Proverb “Good Lord deliver us from our Selves.” What a Scituation am I in, to expose my Life & fortune & the happiness of my family, & at the best to waste my Estate in Exertions for my Countrys Safety & at the same time to be Slandered & degraded by those with wm. I thought I was Struggling Side in the Commn. Cause.

You may remember when I was wth. you in the Summer that I expressed an uneasiness that Mr. JA was ranked above me at the Council Board. I never could discover any reason but the Sovereign good Will of his Freinds; Since my Return here I have recd. from the Dpty. Secy. a notification of the Appointmt. of a Set of Judges of the Supr. Court & that JA is Cheif Justice. I want exceedingly to know whether any besides himself has Accepted, & how the matter is relished by Judges Cushing 125& Read. This Mr. Adams is the youngest man & youngest Lawyer at the Barr Save Mr. Sarjent. Mr. C has been a Judge of the Supr. Ct. to good acceptance & Mr. Read has been a Lawyer of long Standing & Reputation & many Years as Judge of the Cmmn. Pleas. If we were not qualified for the Post why were we chosen? If we were why had we not our Rank? How these observations will affect you I dont know, but I think the Cause of them bodes no good. For my part when I consider my reasonable pretensions of Rank & how much I have exposed my Self when that Gentn. was out of Sight, or witht. Drawing any Comparison to this Seeming disadvantage in this matter I will say that wn. I consider that from the begginning of this Controversy I have advanced my self in the most exposed Situations that have fallen in my Way, I am much alarmed to find my self degraded from my just Rank in my Profession & this alone if I had no other Reason would be sufficient to induce me to give my answer in the negative.

Excuse me Sr. that I write thus freely to you. I feell a satisfaction to unbosom my mind to a person in whom I can place Confidence. I have no desire to irritate you against persons but if you think their measures are wrong you will conduct accordingly & give me that Support you may think I deserve. Inclosed I send you a Copy of the Extract referred to. It came to light in this manner. Mr. JA on his way home met the person who had it for him & after reading it delivered it unsealed to the Bearer & directed him (as the Bearer said) to deliver it to our Delegates, (we Suppose the order was to Mr. SA).2 The Bearer not finding Mr. SA delivered it to another of the Delegates Saying Mr. JA ordered him so to do. This Delegate finding it unsealed concluded it Containd. some news & Read it finding the Contents Carefully copyed this Extract which we have reason to think is but a Specimen of many more of the same kind. If you think any good may arise you will shew this Extract & my observation to any persons. For my part I am Sure I have nothing in view but to promote the good of our Cmmn. Cause but while I am doing that I think I may defend my Self. I have wrote Coll. Palmer on the same Subject but have not time to Copy the Extract for him—wishing yo. Health & all kinds of happiness I rest yrs.,

Dft.

1.

John Adams.

2.

Samuel Adams