The Writings of Samuel Adams Volume IV Part 23

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILAD Oct 10 1780

MY DEAR BETSY

I had the Pleasure last Week of receiving your very affectionate Letter of the 14th of Septr by the Post. You did not expressly tell me that you was well. A material Circ.u.mstance, which you must never omit to mention. It is a great Satisfaction to me to be informd, that Mr Arthur Lee was respectfully treated by my Friends in Boston. My Friends are his, & I believe, on the same Principle. But Mr ---- has not seen him. Is not Mr ---- my Friend? He professes to be such; and I do verily believe he is as much so as he can be. Could I always adjust my Ideas of Politicks to his Views, I might perhaps insure the most flattering Expressions of his Friendship.

I expect soon to see it announcd in the Papers, that Mr Hanc.o.c.k is elected Governor of the Common Wealth of Ma.s.sachusetts. I confess I did not foresee that Boston would have been so united as I find they were, when two such Compet.i.tors as he & Mr Bowdoin were set up. Their respective Characters, Abilities & Merit were well known to the Electors, who have therefore acted with their Eyes open. It is to be presumd, that they have been influencd to this Choice by the pure Motives of publick Affection. A due Attention to the Administration of Government, I fancy, will soon determine whether they have acted with Wisdom or not.

By the inclosd Paper you will observe, that the late Genl Arnold, after having committed the blackest Treason against his Country has thrown himself into the Arms of its Enemies. You know, that I have long had my Suspicions of this Traitor, & therefore you will not wonder that I am not so much astonishd as if any other officer had been detected. He has been gibbeted in the Streets by the Populace, anathematizd by the Clergy in the Pulpit, & his Name has with Indignation been struck out of the List of Officers by Order of Congress.1 Remember me to my Family & Friends.

Adieu.

1 A draft dated October 3, 1780, has at this point the words: "This City has for some time past been a complete Hospital, and many are still sick."

TO MRS. ADAMS.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHIL. Oct 17-1780

MY DEAR BETSY

Yesterday I had the pleasure of receiving your Letter of the 2 7 of Septr by the hand of my valueable Friend Mr Arthur Lee. As it was three weeks old I had a Right to expect another by the Post, but am disappointed. I have ever esteemd Mr Lee one of the most virtuous, active & able American Patriots. This opinion, you know, I have long entertaind of him, and therefore you justly conclude, that he meets with the most cordial Reception from me.

You was mistaken when you supposd that I had heard who were chosen into the highest Places under our new Const.i.tution. We are not so well informd. I had Reason to believe that Mr Hanc.o.c.k would be the Governor.

I am disposd to think, that my Fellow Citizens had upright Views in giving him their Suffrages. Many Circ.u.mstances have combind to make his Election appear to be politically necessary; and if the People, who are now blessd with so great a Privilege, will exercise that Watchfulness over Men whom they exalt to Places of Power, which their Duty & Interest should lead them to do, I flatter myself that his will prove a happy Choice. You may wonder at my saying so; but I think I am not misguided in my Judgment in this Instance. If they have now chosen a wise & virtuous Governor, a few only will be disappointed; if otherwise, Many will see their Error, and will be indued to greater Vigilance for the future. I am far from being an Enemy to that Gentleman, tho' he has been prevaild upon to mark me as such. I have so much Friendship for him, as to wish with all my Heart, that in the most critical Circ.u.mstances, he may distinguish between his real Friends & his flattering Enemies. Or rather between the real Friends of the Country & those who will be ready to offer the Incense of Flattery to him who is the first Man in it. This will require an accurate Knowledge of Men. I therefore again wish that he may have the most able & faithful Councellors to a.s.sist him in the Administration of Affairs.

Can I say more? If, with the best Advice he is able to hold the Reins of Government with Dignity, I wish him a Continuance of the Honor. If he renders our Country secure in a flourishing Condition, I will never be so partial & unjust as to withhold my Tribute of Applause.

Adieu my dear

TO JAMES WARREN.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADELPHIA Oct 24 1780

MY DEAR SIR

I have not yet laid aside your Letter of the 17th of Septr which is the last I have been favord with from you. It ill becomes you, my Friend, to think of retiring into private Life, who can lay your hand on your heart, and say that in your publick Conduct your have in no Instance deviated from virtuous Principles. If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experiencd Patriots to prevent its Ruin. There may be more Danger of this, than some, even of our well disposd Citizens may imagine. If the People should grant their Suffrages to Men, only because they conceive them to have been Friends to the Country, without Regard to the necessary Qualifications for the Places they are to fill, the Administration of Government will become a mere Farce, and our pub-lick Affairs will never be put on the Footing of solid Security. We should inquire into the Tempers of Men, in order to form a Judgment in what Manner the publick Trusts to be reposed in them will be executed. You remember the Character of Pisistratus. He was a Citizen of Athens, supposd to have many excellent Qualities, but he had an insatiable l.u.s.t of Pre-eminence. Solon could discover his Vanity, but the People were blinded by a false Glare of Virtues and he was their Idol. Under Pretence of his having escaped imminent Danger from a violent Faction, and the further Insecurity of his Person he artfully obtaind a Guard of Soldiers, by which Means he possessd himself of the Citadel & usurpd the Government. But though he made himself Sovereign, & thus far overthrew the popular Election, the Historian tells us, "that he made no Change in the Magistracy or the Laws.--He was content that others should hold their Places according to the establishd Rules of the Const.i.tution, so that he might continue Archon, independent of the Suffrages of the People. This he effected; for though several Attempts were made, to deprive him of the Sovereignty which he had so violently obtaind, he held it till his Death & left it to his Children." Such was the Ambition of this Man, who indeed a.s.sumd the Government, and such were the Effects of it.

Power is intoxicating; and Men legally vested with it, too often discover a Disposition to make an ill Use of it & an Unwillingness to part with it. HOW different was Pisistratus from that Roman Hero and Patriot Lucius Quinctius Cincinatus who, tho vested with the Authority of Dictator, was so moderate in his Desires of a Continuance of Power, that, having in six Weeks fulfilld the Purposes of his Appointment, he resignd the dangerous office, which he might have held till the Expiration of six Months.--When we formerly had weak and wicked Governors & Magistrates, it was our Misfortune; but for the future, while we enjoy and exercise the inestimable Right of chusing them ourselves, it will be our Disgrace. I hope our Countrymen will always keep a watchful Eye over the publick Conduct of those whom they exalt to Power, making at the same time every just Allowance for the Imperfections of human Nature; and I pray G.o.d we may never see Men filling the sacred Seats of Government, who are either wanting in adequate Abilities, or influencd by any Views Motives or Feelings seperate from the publick Welfare.

Adieu.

TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE Octob 31 1780

MY DEAR SIR

I cannot begin this Letter but by intreating you to impute my past Omission to any Cause you please excepting a Forgetfulness or willful Neglect. The making of Apologys is among Friends so formal a Business that I hardly know how to set myself about it. I am sure you will not be prevaild upon to suspect the Cordiality of my Affection for you.

That I a.s.sure you would be punishing me more than I am conscious I deserve. I will frankly own to you that I am astonishd at the Reflection of four Months having elapsd since I last came to this City, without my having written to you one Letter, even to acknowledge the favor I have receivd from you. But will you my friend bury what may seem to you a Fault in oblivion upon my Promise to amend for the future.

I have more to say to you than my Leisure will at present allow. And indeed the Situation of your Country, I fear is likely to be such as to render the Conveyance of Letters precarious and a free Communication of Sentiments unsafe. Should they fall into the Enemies hands we know not what Use they will make of them--to be sure an ill use & very probably injurious to our great Cause.

I hope the People of Virginia are able to prevent the Troops that may have arrivd from taking a Post there. It will give our Enemies occasion to boast of their having subdued that populous State, in order to give an unfavorable Aspect to our Affairs, in Europe. This, with other important Considerations, should induce you to make every possible Exertion to defeat their Design. I have always thought that the Intelligence contained in a Letter of Colo Campbell intercepted last Spring was genuine. If so, the making a Lodgment at Portsmouth is a material Part of their Plan.

Upon conversing with your Brother Mr Arthur Lee, I am confirmd in my own opinion that his Character is very different from that which his Enemies gave him two years ago. You know I have long corresponded with him, and a Mans confidential Letters are so sure a Criterion by which to judge of his real Disposition, that I before thought I could not be mistaken. He has shared the Fate of honest Patriots in all Times of Corruption in being persecuted. But I am satisfied the People in the Eastern States entertain an high opinion of his Integrity & Abilities.

I hope he will meet with Justice in Congress. I think he merits Applause.

Please to pay my Respects to Mrs Lee--your Brother Colo Frank & others to whom they are due. I will write as often as I can. Adieu & be a.s.sured that I am affectionately

Your Friend

TO SAMUEL COOPER.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADA Novr 7 1780

MY DEAR SIR

Your favor of the 21st of Septr was deliverd to me by my very worthy Friend Mr Arthur Lee who came to this City about a Fortnight ago. The Respect which you say was paid to him by the princ.i.p.al Gentlemen in Boston is exceedingly pleasing to me, because, from an intimate & confidential Correspondence with him for ten years, I am convincd that he was among the most early and consistent American Patriots. His inflexible Virtue in the first Stages of our Contest renderd him obnoxious to the great & powerful in England, and equally of late to interrested Persons in France & their Connexions in America. My Friendship for him is not private; it is grounded altogether on publick Principles. You tell me, his short Residence in the State of Ma.s.sachusetts, has been very far from diminishing that Estimation in which the People held him there. I should have been indeed sorry if it had been otherwise; for his great Services to them in particular, had justly merited their Esteem. I rejoyce that my own Countrymen are not ungrateful. I hope they will always be too knowing and too just, either to pay servile Hommage to the weak and wicked, or to withhold the Marks of their Approbation due to the wise and good.

You have doubtless before this time been informd that Congress have called on the States to take immediate and effectual Measures to fill up the Army with their respective Quotas during the War. They have since orderd a Tax to the Value of Six Millions of Dollars in Specie; to be paid partly in specifick Articles for the Supply of the Army, and the Remainder in Gold & Silver or Bills of the new Emission. Their Design is to have a permanent Army, and to provide adequate Magazines for its subsistence without Delay. We have often a Choice of Difficulties presented to us. I think, upon the whole, we have in this Instance fixed upon the best Method. At least it appears to me to be the surest, considering all our Circ.u.mstances. And I am the more satisfied, because I understand that our Legislature have antic.i.p.ated the Measure and already begun to a.s.sess the Towns for their respective Proportions of the specifick Articles. Had our Money been stable we might have contracted for the Supply of our Army; but the Paper, as all the World knows, is depreciated, for which we are in part obligd to our Enemies, who are dexterous in counterfeiting.

Our Affairs in N Carolina wear a more agreable Aspect than they did a few Weeks ago. The Enemy, you have heard, are got into Chessapeak Bay.

It is said they are landed at Portsmouth & Hampton & that they burn all before them. It is also said that the Militia turned out with great Spirit, but we have had no official Letters by the last post. Although we are pressd with Difficulties, we are in chearful Spirits and by the Blessing of Heaven Expect to overcome them. Adieu my dear Sir, and believe me to be affectionately,

Your Friend,

Be pleasd to acquaint Mrs A that I am in good Health.

TO MRS. ADAMS.