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An Act Respecting Alien Enemies SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies. And the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby authorized, in any event, as aforesaid, by his proclamation thereof, or other public act, to direct the conduct to be observed, on the part of the United States, towards the aliens who shall become liable, as aforesaid; the manner and degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject, and in what cases, and upon what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of those, who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, shall refuse or neglect to depart therefrom; and to establish any other regulations which shall be found necessary in the premises and for the public safety: Provided, that aliens resident within the United States, who shall become liable as enemies, in the manner aforesaid, and who shall not be chargeable with actual hostility, or other crime against the public safety, shall be allowed, for the recovery, disposal, and removal of their goods and effects, and for their departure, the full time which is, or shall be stipulated by any treaty, where any shall have been between the United States, and the hostile nation or government, of which they shall be natives, citizens, denizens or subjects: and where no such treaty shall have existed, the President of the United States may ascertain and declare such reasonable time as may be consistent with the public safety, and according to the dictates of humanity and national hospitality. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That after any proclamation shall be made as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the several courts of the United States, and of each state, having criminal jurisdiction, and of the several judges and justices of the courts of the United States, and they shall be, and are hereby respectively, authorized upon complaint, against any alien or alien enemies, as aforesaid, who shall be resident and at large within such jurisdiction or district, to the danger of the public peace or safety, and contrary to the tenor or intent of such proclamation, or other regulations which the President of the United States shall and may establish in the premises, to cause such alien or aliens to be duly apprehended and convened before such court, judge or justice; and after a full examination and hearing on such complaint. and sufficient cause therefor appearing, shall and may order such alien or aliens to be removed out of the territory of the United States, or to give sureties of their good behaviour, or to be otherwise restrained, conformably to the proclamation or regulations which shall and may be established as aforesaid, and may imprison, or otherwise secure such alien or aliens, until the order which shall and may be made, as aforesaid, shall be performed. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the marshal of the district in which any alien enemy shall be apprehended, who by the President of the United States, or by order of any court, judge or justice, as aforesaid, shall be required to depart, and to be removed, as aforesaid, to provide therefor, and to execute such order, by himself or his deputy, or other discreet person or persons to be employed by him, by causing a removal of such alien out of the territory of the United States; and for such removal the marshal shall have the warrant of the President of the United States, or of the court, judge or justice ordering the same, as the case may be. APPROVED, July 6, 1798.

FIFTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: At the Second Session, Begun and help at the city of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, on Monday, the thirteenth of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven. An Act Concerning Aliens. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United Slates, within such time as shall be expressed in such order, which order shall be served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leaving the same at his usual abode, and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, by the marshal or other person to whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that if any alien so ordered to depart shall prove to the satisfaction of the President, by evidence to be taken before such person or persons as the President shall direct, who are for that purpose hereby authorized to administer oaths, that no injury or danger to the United Slates will arise from suffering such alien to reside therein, the President may grant a license to such alien to remain within the United States for such time as he shall judge proper, and at such place as he may designate. And the President may also require of such alien to enter into a bond to the United States, in such penal sum as he may direct, with one or more sufficient sureties to the satisfaction of the per- son authorized by the President to take the same, conditioned for the good behavior of such alien during his residence in the United States, and not violating his license, which license the President may revoke, whenever he shall think proper . SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it necessary (for the public safety, to order to be removed out of the territory thereof, any alien who mayor shall be in prison in pursuance of this act; and to cause to be arrested and sent out of the United States such of those aliens as shall have been ordered to depart therefrom and shall not have obtained a license as aforesaid, in all cases where, in the opinion of the President, the public safety requires a speedy removal. And if any alien so removed or sent out of the United Slates by the President shall voluntarily return thereto, unless by permission of the President of the United States, such alien on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned so long as, in the opinion of the President, the public safety may require. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every master or commander of any ship or vessel which shall come into any port of the United States after the first day of July next, shall immediately on his arrival make report in writing to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of such port, of all aliens, if any, on board his vessel, specifying their names, age, the place of nativity, the country from which they shall have come, the nation to which they belong and owe allegiance, their occupation and a description of their persons, as far as he shall be informed thereof, and on failure, every such master and commander shall forfeit and pay three hundred dollars, for the payment whereof on default of such master or commander, such vessel shall also be holden, and may by such collector or other officer of the customs be detained. And it shall be the duty of such collector or other officer of the customs, forthwith to transmit to the office of the department of state true copies of all such returns. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the circuit and district courts of the United States, shall respectively have cognizance of all crimes and offences against this act. And all marshals and other officers of the United States are required to execute all precepts and orders of the President of the United States issued in pursuance or by virtue of this act. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any alien who may be ordered to be removed from the United States, by virtue of this act, to take with him such part of his goods, chattels, or other property, as he may find convenient; and all property left in the United States by any alien, who may be removed, as aforesaid, shall be, and re- main subject to his order and disposal, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force for and during the term of two years from the passing thereof. Jonathan Dayton, Speaker of the House of Representatives. TH. Jefferson, Vice President of the United States and President of the Sentate. I Certify that this Act did originate in the Sentate. Attest, Sam. A. Otis, Secretary APPROVED, June 25, 1798. John Adams President of the United States.

Eighth Jan. 6 Hearing

Hamilton’s Response to the XYZ Affair For the Gazette of the United States [Philadelphia, June 13, 1798] Every day brings fresh confirmations of the truth of the prediction to our Envoys, that the French Faction in America would go all lengths with their imperious & unprincipled Masters. It is more and more evident, that as many of them as may dare will join the standard of France, if once erected in this Country. After all that has happened, there is no other solution of the indefatigable and malignant exertions which they are making to propagate disaffection to our own government and to justify or extenuate the conduct of France. The authors of these exertions understand too well the human heart not to know, that ideas which have once taken deep root in a community and have inlisted its passions against one object and in favour of another cannot suddenly be changed; and that in the event of an invasion they could not if so disposed prevent their followers from acting in conformity with the strong byass which had been previously given to their feelings. They know this so well, that if they were not in their hearts more Frenchmen than Americans: if they were not ready in the gratification of ambition vanity or revenge, or in compliance with the wages of corruption, to immolate the independence and welfare of their country at the shrine of France—they would not as they do pursue a conduct which they cannot be insensible leads to that fatal result. Their pride, if not their patriotism, would prevent them. Openly claimed by a foreign Government as its obsequious tools, the jealousy of their own honor would prompt them to be forward in giving the lie to a claim to them so pregnant with ignominy. That this has not been the effect is a convincing proof that they have embarked beyond the power of retreat. It affords a presumption that they are in a situation which leaves them no longer wills of their own. It is astonishing to observe, that they not only do not contradict the charge by their actions; but seem little if at all solicitous to disavow it in their language; And in the measures which they advocate with an effrontery unequalled under similar circumstances in the history of any nation they display unequivocally their prostitute devotion to the enemies of their country. A principal expedient employed by these men to second the views of the French Government and counteract the salutary impressions on the public mind, which its abominable treatment of us is calculated to produce, is to inculcate that our envoys in the conferences they have communicated have been the dupes of unauthorized and swindling impostors, and that our Government in publishing their dispatches has been actuated by a desire to make the circumstance subservient to a long premeditated design of rupture with France. The French account of a transaction in which the Despots of France have violated a right of nations sacred among savage as well as civilized men, by imprisonning the ambassador of Portugal, is pressed into the service of the infamous scheme of defaming our own government and vindicating those Despots. This account represents the Portugese minister as having been deceived into the advance of a large sum of money as a bribe to three of the Directory, by pretended agents of the French Government; which coming to light through the channel of the French Minister at the Court of Portugal occasionned the imprisonment of the Portugese ambassador and several of the pretended agents. And it is alleged that a like imposition has in all probability been practiced upon our envoys. What may appear to be the real nature of the transaction in question can only be judged of when the Portugese Government free from the dread of France shall have told its story; when, if ever, the imprisonned Minister shall be at liberty to explain the grounds of the confidence which he reposes in the Agents to whom the money was advanced. Till then all judgment of the true complexion of the affair must be suspended. In the mean time the character of bold inequity which the Directory have so eminently earned authorises the supposition that the Agents now disavowed were really Agents of the Government—that they actually received the bribe for the Directory; that these deeming it expedient afterwards to disappoint the expectation given to Portugal found it necessary to disclaim the inducement and as a color to their ill faith and as a shield against the infamy of the proceeding to imprison the Minister and the inferior agents. The present Rulers of France have soared to so stupendous a height of profligacy that the diminutive vices of other men afford no standard by which to judge of their conduct; no clue to the mysterious labyrinth of their complicated crimes. There are even circumstances to countenance the supposition of this double plot. It is stated that Wascovich one of the persons disavowed and seized was apparently in close connection with Beaumarchais: was in “ostensible familiarity with government-men” and had actually had communication with a real agent of Government for the purpose of discovering the views of newly arrived foreign envoys: And it appears that Beaumarchais is not among the persons seized. It may serve as an index to the affair to understand, that Beaumarchais is one of the most cunning and intriguing men of Europe—that he was employed under the royal government as a secret confidential Agent, in which capacity he acted between the UStates and France before the acknowlegement of our Independence, and that he is known to be in intimate connection with the present French Minister for foreign relations. In the capacity of confidential Agent a considerable part of the monies advanced by France for the use of the U States passed through his hands. There was a sum of a million of livres which Doctor Franklin in the carelessness of confidence acknowleged to have been received of which the application could not be traced. When inquiry on behalf of our Government was made of the French Minister concerning the appropriation of this million the only answer to be obtained was that it was a “secret du cabinet”. But the Revolution has unravelled the secret. During the reign of Robespierre, Beaumarchais was in disgrace and a fugitive. The Ministry of that period not scrupling to unveil the corruptions of the old Government, charged the receipt of the missing million upon Beaumarchais; & furnished a copy of the receipt which he is alleged to have given for it. This transaction proves that Beaumarchais, was besides being the confidential political Agent of the then Administration of France was the instrument or accomplice of its cupidity. What but the participation of the Minister in a scheme of embezzlement could have induced him to make a cabinet-secret of the application of this Million? Who a more likely, a more fit instrument of the avidity of the present Government than this same Beaumarchais? When men apparently in close connection with him take bribes from foreign ministers professedly for the use of the Directory, what more probable than that they are truly for that use; that Beaumarchais is the link between the Directory and the ostensible Agents? If afterwards—expedient or necessary to disavow, what more easy to be managed! Beaumarchais is no doubt too adroit to transact such business in a manner that can admit of proof of his Agency. If inculpated by his agents he has only boldly to deny the charge and to treat it as a part of the imposture. The all sufficient patronage of the Directory could not fail to insure credit to his denial and to shield him from detection. In such a case the appearances to be expected are exactly such as occur in the present affair. The immediate and chief Agent goes untouched. The subalterns are consigned to punishment real or seeming. The semblance of punishment may even be a thing understood all round. As yet nothing more than imprisonment is known to have taken place; and it is very possible that final impunity may attend Wascowick and his colleagues; though from the character of the Directory, if necessary to their purposes, they would find no difficulty in the sacrifice of these men; by hurrying them to the guillotine after a mock-trial, or by giving them like Carnot a secret passport to the other world. This comment upon the affair is justified by the facts ascertained in our case. The participation of the French Minister for foreign relations in the propositions of the secret Agents to our Envoys admits of no question. To be convinced of this we have only to compare the declarations and proposals of the Agents with those of the Minister himself. In the communications of those Agents the leading ideas are—that the Directory were greatly incensed at some passages in the Presidents speech; that reparation must be made for them, that money might be a substitute for other reparation; that this money was to be offered by our envoys, and to serve as pocket money, as a gratuity for the Directory; and that in addition to it there must be a loan to the Republic in the shape of a purchase of Dutch Rescriptions or in some other shape. The gratuity to be about 50000 £ Sterling. The same ideas substantially appear in the Conference with Talleyrand him self. In that of the 28th of October he begins by stating that the Directory has passed an arrete in which they had demanded of the envoys an explanation of some parts and reparation for other parts of the Presidents Speech to Congress; that he was sensible difficulties would exist on the part of the envoys relative to this demand, but that by their offering money he thought he could prevent the effect of the arrete. The characteristic features in both cases are—offence given by the speech—reparation to be demanded by the Directory and a commutation of the required reparation for money. The only difference is that the Agents call this pocket money for the Directory, a gratuity &c, while the Minister gives it no specific name or destination. But we discover still more clearly from what follows that he means the same thing with the Agents. The envoy having answered that he and his colleagues had no power to make a loan, but could send one of their number for instructions on the proposition, if deemed expedient, provided that the other objects of the negotiation could be discussed & adjusted. Talleyrand replied that this matter about the money must be settled directly without sending to America; that he would not communicate the arrete for a week, and that if the envoys could adjust the difficulty with respect to the Speech an application would nevertheless go to the U States for a loan. The loan is here manifestly a different thing from the money to be advanced for reparation. The last must be arranged immediately though the first might wait the issue of an application to the Government of this Country. The first is plainly the 50000 Sterling for pocket money; the last is the contribution by way of loan to the Republic. This coincidence fixes definitively the concert between the Minister and the Agents and traces unequivocally to the former the double demand of a bribe and a loan. The conclusion is inevitable. It is also confirmed by what took place on the 17 of December. When one of our envoys mentioned to the Minister that the person designated as Y had that morning made him propositions (alluding to those for the gratuity and loan) the Minister replied, that the information which Y had given was just and might always be relied upon. This was explicitly to recognize Y as his Agent and to authorize the giving of credit to his propositions. A quibble has been started on his point. It is pretended that the declaration that the information given by Y was just did not import that the propositions he had made was authorised. But besides that it was natural to look for vagueness of expression in so mysterious and so foul a transaction; as the term information was used in reply to the suggestion that propositions had been made, it must necessarily be understood to intend that the information which Y had given in reference to the propositions spoken of by the envoy was just and might be relied upon. Again information was the most apt term that could have been employed. Y and the other Agents professed not to make propositions but to inform our envoys what propositions made by them were likely to be acceptable. Such are the wretched shifts to which the factious adherents of France are driven in the attempt to obscure the truth and to mislead their Countrymen. Their futility is evident. It is evident that the Agents who conferred with our Envoys were not impostors but were truly the emissaries of the French Minister, and that their most odious propositions were not only sanctionned but even reiterated by him. The connection between the Minister & the Directory from the nature of the thing can only be inferred from his Office and from his personal character. The most circumspect man in the world, it is utterly incredible that he would hazard himself in such a way, unless acting for the Directory he was assured of their omnipotent support. Whether he be himself a mercenary partaker of the bribes, which are extorted, or only the instrument of the Directory to maintain his influence with them for the accomplishment of some great ulterior design must be referred to time, and is of little moment to the United States. Whatever then may have been the case with respect to the Portugese Minister, ’tis demonstrated that our Envoys have not been as alleged the dupes of unauthorised Agents; but have had the dexterity to ascertain the corruption & oppression from the mouth of the Minister himself. The probability is that in the other instance likewise the corruption which is now denied did really exist; as it most certainly does in our case, though it is to be looked for that here also it will be denied and our envoys if within the grasp of the Monsters made the victims of their fraudalent tyranny. The abject partisans of France anticipating this result are preparing the way for its justification. Detector Source: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-21-02-0283

CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA The constitution of the State of Georgia, as revised, amended, and compiled by the convention of the State, at Louisville, on the 30th day of May, 1798 Article I Section 1. The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments of government shall be distinct, and each department shall be confided to a separate body of magistracy; and no person or collection of persons, being of one of these departments, shall exercise any power properly attached to either of the others, except in the instances herein expressly permitted. Sec. 2. The legislative power shall be vested in two separate and distinct branches, to wit: A senate and house of representatives, to be styled “The general assembly.” Sec. 3. The senate shall be elected annually, on the first Monday in November, until such day of election be altered by law; and shall be composed of one member from each county, to be chosen by the electors thereof. Sec. 4. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and have been nine years a citizen of the United States, and three years an inhabitant of this State, and shall have usually resided within the county for which he shall be returned, at least one year immediately preceding his election, (except persons who may have been absent on public business of this State or of the United States,) and is and shall have been possessed, in his own right, of a settled freehold estate of the value of five hundred dollars, or taxable property to the amount of one thousand dollars, within the county, for one year preceding his election, and whose estate shall, on a reasonable estimation, be fully competent to the discharge of his just debts over and above that sum. Sec. 5. The senate shall elect, by ballot, a president of their own body. Sec. 6. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit within this State; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. Sec. 7. The house of representatives shall be composed of members from all the counties which now are, or hereafter may be, included within this State, according to their respective numbers of free white persons, and including three-fifths of all the people of color. The actual enumeration shall be made within two years, and within every subsequent term of seven years thereafter, at such time and in such manner as this convention may direct. Each county containing three thousand persons, agreeably to the foregoing plan of enumeration, shall be entitled to two members; seven thousand, to three members; and twelve thousand, to four members; but each county shall have at least one and not more than four members. The representatives shall be chosen annually, on the first Monday in November, until such day of election be altered by law. Until the aforesaid enumeration shall be made, the several counties shall be entitled to the following number of representatives, respectively: Camden, two; Glynn, two; Liberty, three; M’Intosh, two; Bryan, one; Chatham, four; Effingham, two; Scriven, two; Montgomery, two; Burke, three; Bullock, one; Jefferson, three; Lincoln, two; Elbert, three; Jackson, two; Richmond, three, Wilkes, four; Columbia, three; Warren, three; Washington, three; Hancock, four; Greene, three; Oglethorpe, three; and Franklin, two. Sec. 8. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-one years, and have been seven years a citizen of the United States, three years an inhabitant of this State, and have usually resided in the county in which he shall be chosen one year immediately preceding his election, (unless he shall have been absent on public business of this State or of the United States,) and shall be possessed in his own right of a settled freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, or of taxable property to the amount of five hundred dollars within the county, for one year preceding his election, and whose estate shall, on a reasonable estimation, be competent to the discharge of his just debts, over and above that sum. Sec. 9. The house of representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers. Sec. 10. They shall have solely the power to impeach all persons who have been or may be in office. Sec. 11. No person holding any military commission or other appointment, having any emolument annexed thereto, under this State or the United States, or either of them, except justices of the inferior court, justices of the peace, and officers of the militia, nor any person who has had charge of public moneys belonging to the State, unaccounted for and unpaid, or who has not paid all legal taxes or contributions to the government required of him, shall have a seat in either branch of the general assembly; nor shall any senator or representative be elected to any office or appointment by the legislature, having any emoluments or compensation annexed thereto, during the time for which he shall have been elected, with the above exception, unless he shall decline accepting his seat, by notice to the executive within twenty days after he shall have been elected; nor shall any member, after having taken his seat, be eligible to any of the aforesaid offices or appointments during the time for which he shall have been elected. Sec. 12. The meeting of the general assembly shall be annually, on the second Tuesday in January, until such day of meeting be altered by law; a majority of each branch shall be authorized to proceed to business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of their members in such manner as each house may prescribe. Sec. 13. Each house shall be the judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members; with powers to expel or punish, by censuring, fining, and imprisoning, or either, for disorderly behavior; and may expel any person convicted of any felonious or infamous offence; each house may punish by imprisonment, during session, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence, or who, during session, shall threaten harm to the body or estate of any member, for anything said or done in either house, or who shall assault or arrest any witness in going to or returning therefrom, or who shall rescue any person arrested by order of either house. Sec. 14. No senator or representative shall be liable to be arrested during his attendance on the general assembly, or for ten days previous to its sitting, or for ten days after the rising thereof, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace; nor shall any member be liable to answer for anything spoken in debate in either house, in any court or place elsewhere; but shall nevertheless be bound to answer for perjury, bribery, or corruption. Sec. 15. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish them immediately after their adjournment; and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall, at the desire of any two members, be entered on the journals. Sec. 16. All bills for raising revenue or appropriating moneys shall originate in the house of representatives, but the senate shall propose or concur with amendments, as in other bills. Sec. 17. Every bill shall be read three times and on three separate days, in each branch of the general assembly, before it shall pass, unless in cases of actual invasion or insurrection; nor shall any law or ordinance pass, containing any matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof; and all acts shall be signed by the president in the senate, and speaker in the house of representatives. No bill or ordinance which shall have been rejected by either house shall be brought in again during the session, under the same or any other title, without the consent of two-thirds of each branch. Sec. 18. Each senator and representative, before he be permitted to take his seat, shall take an oath, or make affirmation, that he hath not practised any unlawful means, either directly or indirectly, to procure his election; and every person shall be disqualified from serving as a senator or representative, for the term for which he shall have been elected, who shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe or treat, or canvassed for such election; and every candidate employing like means, and not elected, shall, on conviction, be ineligible to hold a seat in either house, or to hold any office of honor or profit for the term of one year, and to such other disabilities or penalties as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 19. Every member of the senate or house of representatives shall, before he takes his seat, take the following oath or affirmation, to wit: “I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I have not obtained my election by bribery, treats, canvassing, or other undue or unlawful means, used by myself, or others by my desire or approbation, for that purpose; that I consider myself constitutionally qualified as a senator, (or representative,) and that, on all questions and measures which may come before me, I will give my vote and so conduct myself as may, in my judgment, appear most conductive to the interest and prosperity of this State; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and to the utmost of my power and ability observe, conform to, support, and defend the constitution thereof.” Sec. 20. No person who hath been or may be convicted of felony before any court of this State, or any of the United States, shall be eligible to any office or appointment of honor, profit, or trust within this State. Sec. 21. Neither house, during the session of the general assembly, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that at which the two branches shall be sitting; and in case of disagreement between the senate and house of representatives, with respect to their adjournment, the governor may adjourn them. Sec. 22. The general assembly shall have power to make all laws and ordinances which they shall deem necessary and proper for the good of the State, which shall not be repugnant to this constitution. Sec. 23. They shall have power to alter the boundaries of the present counties, and to lay off new ones, as well out of the counties already laid off as out of the other territory belonging to the State; but the property of the soil, in a free government, being one of the essential rights of a free people, it is necessary, in order to avoid disputes, that the limits of this State should be ascertained with precision and exactness; and this convention, composed of the immediate representatives of the people, chosen by them to assert their rights, to revise the powers given by them to the government, and from whose will all ruling authority of right flows, doth assert and declare the boundaries of this State shall be as follows, that is to say: The limits, boundaries, jurisdictions, and authority of the State of Georgia do, and did, and of right ought to, extend from the sea or mouth of the river Savannah, along the northern branch or stream thereof, to the fork or confluence of the rivers now called Tugalo and Keowee, and from thence along the most northern branch or stream of the said river Tugalo, till it intersect the northern boundary-line of South Carolina, if the said branch or stream of Tugalo extends so far north, reserving all the islands in the said rivers Savannah and Tugalo to Georgia; but, if the head spring or source of any branch or stream of the said river Tugalo does not extend to the north boundary-line of South Carolina, then a west line to the Mississippi, to be drawn from the head spring or source of the said branch or stream of Tugalo River, which extends to the highest northern latitude; thence, down the middle of the said river Mississippi, until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude; south, by a line drawn due east from the termination of the line last mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola, or Chatahoochee; thence, along the middle thereof, to its junction with Flint River; thence straight to the head of Saint Mary’s River; and thence, along the middle of Saint Mary’s River, to the Atlantic Ocean, and from thence to the mouth or inlet of Savannah River, the place of beginning; including and comprehending all the lands and waters within the said limits, boundaries, and jurisdictional rights; and also all the islands within twenty leagues of the sea-coast. And this convention doth further declare and assert that all the territory without the present temporary line, and within the limits aforesaid, is now, of right, the property of the free citizens of this State, and held by them in sovereignty, inalienable but by their consent: Provided, nevertheless, That nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to prevent a sale to, or contract with, the United States, by the legislature of this State, of and for all or any part of the western territory of this State lying westward of the river Chatahoochee, on such terms as may be beneficial to both parties; and may procure an extension of settlement and extinguishment of Indian claims in and to the vacant territory of this State to the east and north of the said river Chatahoochee, to which territory such power of contract or sale, by the legislature, shall not extend: And provided also, The legislature may give its consent to the establishment of one or more governments westward thereof; but monopolies of land by individuals being contrary to the spirit of our free government, no sale of territory of this State, or any part thereof, shall take place to individuals or private companies, unless a county or counties shall have been first laid off, including such territory, and the Indian rights shall have been extinguished thereto. Sec. 24. The foregoing section of this article having declared the common rights of the free citizens of this State in and to all the territory without the present temporary boundary-line, and within the limits of this State thereby defined, by which the contemplated purchases of certain companies of a considerable portion thereof are become constitutionally void, and justice and good faith require that the State should not detain a consideration for a contract which has failed, the legislature, at their next session, shall make provision by law for returning to any person or persons who has or have bona fide deposited moneys for such purposes in the treasury of this State: Provided, That the same shall not have been drawn therefrom in terms of the act passed the thirteenth day of February, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, commonly called the rescinding act, or the appropriation laws of the years one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six and one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven; nor shall the moneys paid for such purchases ever be deemed a part of the funds of this State, or be liable to appropriation as such; but until such moneys be drawn from the treasury, they shall be considered altogether at the risk of the persons who have deposited the same. No money shall be drawn out of the treasury or from the public funds of this State, except by appropriation made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published from time to time. No vote, resolution, law, or order shall pass the general assembly granting a donation or gratuity in favor of any person whatever but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the general assembly. Sec. 25. It shall be the duty of the justices of the inferior court, or any three of them, in each county respectively, within sixty days after the adjournment of this convention, to appoint one or more fit persons in each county, not exceeding one for each battalion district, whose duty it shall be to take a full and accurate census or enumeration of all free white persons and people of color residing therein, distinguishing, in separate columns, the free white persons from persons of color, and return the same to the clerks of the superior courts of the several counties, certified under their hands, on or before the first day of December next; the person so appointed being first severally sworn before the said justices, or either of them, duly and faithfully to perform the trust reposed in them; and it shall be the duty of the said clerks to transmit all such returns, under seal, directed to the speaker of the house of representatives, at the first session of the legislature thereafter. And it shall be the duty of the general assembly, at their said first session, to apportion the members of the house of representatives among the several counties, agreeably to the plans prescribed by this constitution, and to provide an adequate compensation abode shall be in any family on the first Monday in July next shall be returned as of such family; and every person occasionally absent at the time of taking the enumeration, as belonging to that place in which he usually resides. The general assembly shall, by law, direct the manner of taking such census or enumeration, within every subsequent term of seven years, in conformity to this constitution. And it is declared to be the duty of all officers, civil and military, throughout the State, to be aiding and assisting in the true and faithful execution thereof. In case the justices of the inferior courts should fail to make such appointments, or if there should not be a sufficient number of such justices in any county, then the justices of the peace, or any three of them, shall have and exercise like powers and authority respecting the said census; and if the census or enumeration of any county shall not be so taken and returned, then, and in that case, the general assembly shall apportion the representation of such county according to the best evidence in their power, relative to its population. Sec. 26. The Legislature shall have no power to change names, nor to Legitimate persons, nor to make or change Precincts, nor to establish Bridges or Ferries, but shall, by law, prescribe the manner in which said powers shall be exercised by the Superior or Inferior courts, and the privileges to be enjoyed. Article II Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a governor, who shall hold his office during the term of two years, and until such time as a successor shall be chosen and qualified. He shall have a competent salary, established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected; neither shall he receive, within that period, any other emolument from the United States, or either of them, or from any foreign power. Sec. 2. The governor shall be elected by the general assembly, at their second annual session after the rising of this convention, and at every second annual session thereafter, on the second day after the two houses shall be organized and competent to proceed to business. Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor who shall not have been a citizen of the United States twelve years, and an inhabitant of this State six years, and who hath not attained to the age of thirty years, and who does not possess five hundred acres of land, in his own right, within this State, and other property to the amount of four thousand dollars, and whose estate shall not, on a reasonable estimation, be competent to the discharge of his debts, over and above that sum. Sec. 4. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the governor, the president of the senate shall exercise the executive powers of government until such disability be removed, or until the next meeting of the general assembly. Sec. 5. The governor shall, before he enters on the duties of his office, take the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will faithfully execute the office of governor of the State of Georgia; and will, to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect, and defend the said State, and cause justice to be executed in mercy therein, according to the constitution and laws thereof.” Sec. 6. He shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of this State, and of the militia thereof. Sec. 7. He shall have power to grant reprieves for offences against the State, except in cases of impeachment, and to grant pardons or to remit any part of a sentence, in all cases after conviction, except for treason or murder, in which cases he may respite the execution, and make report thereof to the next general assembly, by whom a pardon may be granted. Sec. 8. He shall issue writs of election to fill up all vacancies that happen in the senate or house of representatives; and shall have power to convene the general assembly on extraordinary occasions; and shall give them, from time to time, information of the state of the republic, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem necessary and expedient. Sec. 9. When any office shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise, the governor shall have the power to fill such vacancy; and persons so appointed shall continue in office until a successor is appointed, agreeable to the mode pointed out by this constitution or by the legislature. Sec. 10. He shall have the revision of all bills passed by both houses before the same shall become laws; but two-thirds of both houses may pass a law notwithstanding his dissent; and if any bill should not be returned by the governor within five days after it hath been presented to him, the same shall be a law, unless the general assembly, by their adjournment, shall prevent its return. Sec. 11. Every vote, resolution, or order, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor; and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him; or, being disapproved, may be repassed by two-thirds of both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. Sec. 12. There shall be a secretary of the State, a treasurer, and a surveyor-general, appointed in the same manner and at the same session of the legislature, and they shall hold their offices for the like period as the governor, and shall have a competent salary, including such emoluments as may be established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which they shall have been elected. Sec. 13. The great seal of the State shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of state, and shall not be affixed to any instrument of writing but by order of the governor or general assembly; and the general assembly shall, at their first session after the rising of this convention, cause the great seal to be altered by law. Sec. 14. The governor shall have power to appoint his own secretaries. Article III Section 1. The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in a superior court, and in such inferior jurisdictions as the legislature shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges of the superior court shall be elected for the term of three years, removable by the governor, on the address of two-thirds of both houses for that purpose, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. The superior court shall have exclusive and final jurisdiction in all criminal cases which shall be tried in the county wherein the crime was committed, and in all cases respecting titles to land, which shall be tried in the county where the land lies; and shall have power to correct errors in inferior judicatories by writs of certiorari, as well as errors in the superior courts, and to order new trials on proper and legal grounds: Provided, That such new trials shall be determined, and such errors corrected, in the superior court of the county in which such action originated. And the said court shall also have appellate jurisdiction in such other cases as the legislature may by law direct, which shall in no case tend to remove the cause from the county in which the action originated; and the judges thereof, in all cases of application for new trials, or correction of errors, shall enter their opinions on the minutes of the court. The inferior courts shall have cognizance of all other civil cases, which shall be tried in the county wherein the defendant resides, except in cases of joint obligors, residing in different counties, which may be commenced in either county, and a copy of the petition and process, served on the party or parties residing out of the county in which the suit may be commenced, shall be deemed sufficient service, under such rules and regulations as the legislature may direct; but the legislature may, by law, to which two-thirds of each branch shall concur, give concurrent jurisdiction to the superior courts. The superior and inferior courts shall sit in each county twice in every year, at such stated times as the legislature shall appoint. Sec. 2. The judges shall have salaries adequate to their services, established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office; but shall not receive any other perquisites or emoluments whatever, from parties or others, on account of any duty required of them. Sec. 3. There shall be a State’s attorney and solicitors appointed by the legislature, and commissioned by the governor, who shall hold their offices for the term of three years, unless removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. They shall have salaries adequate to their services established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office. Sec. 4. Justices of the inferior courts shall be appointed by the general assembly, and be commissioned by the governor, and shall hold their commissions during good behavior, or as long as they respectively reside in the county for which they shall be appointed, unless removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. They may be compensated for their services in such manner as the legislature may by law direct. Sec. 5. The justices of the peace shall be nominated by the inferior courts of the several counties, and commissioned by the governor; and there shall be two justices of the peace in each captain’s district, either or both of whom shall have power to try all cases of a civil nature within their district, where the debt or litigated demand does not exceed thirty dollars, in such manner as the legislature may by law direct. They shall hold their appointments during good behavior, or until they shall be removed by conviction on indictment in the superior court, for malpractice in office, or for any felonious or infamous crime, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the legislature. Sec. 6. The powers of a court of ordinary, or register of probates, shall be invested in the inferior courts of each county, from whose decision there may be an appeal to the superior court, under such restrictions and regulations as the general assembly may by law direct; but the inferior court shall have power to vest the care of the records, and other proceedings therein, in the clerk, or such other person as they may appoint, and any one or more justices of the said court, with such clerk or other person, may issue citations and grant temporary letters, in time of vacation, to hold until the next meeting of the said court; and such clerk or other person may grant marriage-licenses. Sec. 7. The judges of the superior courts, or any one of them, shall have power to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, scire facias, and all other writs which may be necessary for carrying their powers fully into effect. Sec. 8. Within five years after the adoption of this constitution, the body of our laws, civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested, and arranged under proper heads, and promulgated in such manner as the legislature may direct; and no person shall be debarred from advocating or defending his cause before any court or tribunal, either by himself or counsel, or both. Sec. 9. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature until the parties shall have had a fair trial before the superior court, and a verdict shall have been obtained authorizing a divorce upon legal principles. And in such cases two-thirds of each branch of the legislature may pass acts of divorce accordingly. Sec. 10. The clerks of the superior and inferior courts shall be appointed in such manner as the legislature may by law direct; shall be commissioned by the governor, and shall continue in office during good behavior. Sec. 11. Sheriffs shall be appointed in such manner as the general assembly may by law direct, and shall hold their appointments for the term of two years, unless sooner removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of the justices of the inferior court and of the peace in the county; but no person shall be twice elected sheriff within any term of four years; and no county officer after the next election shall be chosen at the time of electing a senator or representative. Article IV Section 1. The electors of members of the general assembly shall be citizens and inhabitants of this State, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have paid all taxes which may have been required of them, and which they may have had an opportunity of paying, agreeably to law, for the year preceding the election, and shall have resided six months within the county: Provided, That in case of an invasion, and the inhabitants shall be driven from any county, so as to prevent an election therein, such refugee inhabitants, being a majority of the voters of such county, may meet under the direction of any three justices of the peace thereof, in the nearest county not in a state of alarm, and proceed to an election, without having paid such tax so required of electors; and the persons elected thereat shall be entitled to their seats. Sec. 2. All elections by the general assembly shall be by joint ballot of both branches of the legislature; and when the senate and house of representatives unite for the purpose of electing, they shall meet in the representative chamber, and the president of the senate shall in such cases preside, receive the ballots, and declare the person or persons elected. In all elections by the people the electors shall vote viva voce until the legislature shall otherwise direct. Sec. 3. The general officers of the militia shall be elected by the general assembly, and shall be commissioned by the governor. All other officers of the militia shall be elected in such manner as the legislature may direct, and shall be commissioned by the governor; and all militia officers now in commission, and those which may be hereafter commissioned, shall hold their commissions during their usual residence within the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or company to which they belong, unless removed by sentence of a court-martial, or by the governor, on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. Sec. 4. All persons appointed by the legislature to fill vacancies shall continue in office only so long as to complete the time for which their predecessors were appointed. Sec. 5. Freedom of the press, and trial by jury, as heretofore used in this State, shall remain inviolate; and no ex post facto law shall be passed. Sec. 6. No person who heretofore hath been, or hereafter may be, a collector, or holder of public moneys, shall be eligible to any office in this State until such person shall have acounted for and paid into the treasury all sums for which he may be accountable or liable. Sec. 7. The person of a debtor, where there is not a strong presumption of fraud, shall not be detained in prison after delivering up, bona fide, all his estate, real and personal, for the use of his creditors, in such manner as shall be hereafter regulated by law. Sec. 8. Convictions on impeachments which have heretofore taken place are hereby released, and persons lying under such convictions restored to citizenship. Sec. 9. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. Sec. 10. No person within this State shall, upon any pretence, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in a manner agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment; nor shall he ever be obliged to pay tiths, taxes, or any other rate, for the building or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or hath voluntarily engaged to do. No one religious society shall ever be established in this State, in preference to another; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles. Sec. 11. There shall be no future importation of slaves into this State, from Africa or any foreign place, after the first day of October next. The legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of each of their respective owners, previous to such emancipation. They shall have no power to prevent emigrants from either of the United States to this State from bringing with them such persons as may be deemed slaves by the laws of any one of the United States. Sec. 12. Any person who shall maliciously dismember or deprive a slave of life shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted in case the like offence had been committed on a free white person, and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection by such slave, and unless such death should happen by accident in giving such slave moderate correction. Sec. 13. The arts and sciences shall be promoted, in one or more seminaries of learning; and the legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, give such further donations and privileges to those already established as may be necessary to secure the objects of their institution; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly, at their next session, to provide effectual measures for the improvement and permanent security of the funds and endowments of such institutions. Sec. 14. All civil officers shall continue in the exercise of the duties of their several offices during the periods for which they were appointed, or until they shall be superseded by appointments made in conformity to this constitution; and all laws now in force shall continue to operate, so far as they are compatible with this constitution, until repealed; and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass all necessary laws and regulations for carrying this constitution into full effect. Sec. 15. No part of this constitution shall be altered, unless a bill for that purpose, specifying the alterations intended to be made, shall have been read three times in the house of representatives, and three times in the senate, on three several days in each house, and agreed to by two-thirds of each house respectively; and when any such bill shall be passed in manner aforesaid, the same shall be published at least six months previous to the next ensuing annual election for members of the general assembly; and if such alterations, or any of them, so proposed, shall be agreed to in their first session thereafter, by two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly, after the same shall have been read three times, on three separate days, in each respective house, then, and not otherwise, the same shall become a part of this constitution. We, the underwritten delegates of the people of the State of Georgia, chosen and authorized by them to revise, alter, or amend the powers and principles of their government, do declare, ordain, and ratify the several articles and sections contained in the six pages hereunto prefixed, as the constitution of this State; and the same shall be in operation from the date hereof. In testimony whereof we, and each of us, respectively, have hereunto set our hands, at Louisville, the seat of government, this thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, and in the twenty-second year of the Independence of the United States of America; and have caused the great seal of the State to be affixed thereto. Article 4, section 11, and the first line, the following words being interlined, to wit, “after the first day of October next.” Jared Irwin, President. James M. Simmons, Secretary. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 1798. (Ratified December 16, 1808) Art. III. Sec. 10. So altered and amended as to read: That the clerks of the superior and inferior courts shall be elected on the same day as pointed out by law for the election of other county officers. (Ratified 1812) Art. III. Sec. 4. So altered and amended as to read: The justices of the inferior courts shall be elected on the third Tuesday in October, eighteen hundred and thirteen, and on the third Tuesday in October in every fourth year thereafter, by the electors entitled to vote for members of the general assembly, which election shall be held and conducted in the same manner as pointed out by law for the elections of clerks and sheriffs; and the persons so elected shall be commissioned by the governor, and continue in office for the term of four years, unless removed by impeachment for malpractice in office, or by the governor, on the address of two-thirds of both branches of the general assembly. They may be compensated for their services in such manner as the legislature may by law direct; and there shall be five justices for each county, who shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified; and when any vacancy shall happen by death, resignation, or otherwise, of any justice of the inferior court, it shall be the duty of two or more justices of the inferior court, or justices of the peace, to give at least twenty days’ notice by advertisement, at three of the most public places in the county, previous to the election, to fill such vacancy; which election shall be held in the same manner as is by this section before expressed. Art. III. Sec. 5. So altered and amended as to read: There shall be two justices of the peace in each captain’s district, in the several counties of this State, either or both of whom shall have power to try all cases of a civil nature within their district, where the debt or liquidated demand does not exceed thirty dollars, in such manner as the legislature may by law direct; they shall be elected on the first Saturday in January, eighteen hundred and thirteen, and on the first Saturday in January in every fourth year thereafter, by the citizens of the district to which they respectively belong, entitled to vote for members of the general assembly; which election shall be superintended by three freeholders of the district, whose duty it shall be to take the following oath, to be administered by the captain or commanding officer of said district, to wit: “I, A B, do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my abilities, superintend the election of justices of the peace for this district; so help me God;” and they shall transmit a return of said election, within twenty days, to his excellency the governor, who is hereby authorized to commission the persons so elected accordingly; and they shall hold their appointments during the term of four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, unless they shall be removed by conviction on indictment in the superior court, for malpractice in office, or for any felonious or infamous crime, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the legislature. And when any vacancy shall happen by death, resignation, or otherwise, of any justice of the peace, between the time of such election and the expiration of the time for which such justice or justices were elected, it shall be the duty of two of the justices of the peace, in any of the adjoining districts, where such vacancy or vacancies may happen, to advertise in three of the most public places in the district, where such vacancy or vacancies may happen, the time of holding an election for the purpose of filling such vacancy or vacancies, and give at least fifteen days’ notice of the time and place where such election shall be held, which shall be in the district where such vacancy or vacancies shall have happened; and it shall be the duty of the said justices to superintend such election, and certify the same, under their hands, to his excellency the governor, who shall, within ten days after receiving the same, commission the person having the highest number of votes, provided the same is not contested. (Ratified December 15, 1818) Art. II. Sec. 4. So amended and altered as to read: In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the governor, the president of the senate, or the last acting president of the senate, shall exercise the executive powers of the government until such disability be removed, in the election and qualification of a governor by the general assembly; and in case of the death, resignation, or disability of the president of the senate, or of the last acting president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, or the acting speaker of the house of representatives, shall exercise the executive powers of the government, until such disability be removed in the election and qualification of a governor by the general assembly. (Ratified December 18, 1818) Art. III. Section 1. So altered and amended as to read: The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in a superior, inferior, and justices’ courts, and such other courts as the legislature shall from time to time ordain and establish. The judges of the superior courts shall be elected for the term of three years, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified; removable by the governor, on the address of two-thirds of both branches of the general assembly for that purpose, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. The superior courts shall have exclusive and final jurisdiction in all criminal cases, (except as relates to people of color, and fines for neglect of duty, and for contempt of court, for violations against road-laws, and for obstructing water-courses, which shall be vested in such judicature or tribunal as shall be or may have been pointed out by law; and except in all other minor offences, committed by free white persons, and which do not subject the offender or offenders to loss of life, limb, or member, or to confinement in the penitentiary; in all such cases corporation courts, such as now exist, or may hereafter be constituted, in any incorporated city, being a sea-port town and port of entry, may be vested with jurisdiction, under such rules and regulations as the legislature may hereafter by law direct;) which shall be tried in the county where the crime was committed; and in all cases respecting titles to lands, which shall be tried in the county where the land lies; and also concurrent jurisdiction in all other civil cases; and shall have power to correct errors in inferior judicatories by writ of certiorari, as well as errors in the superior courts, and order new trials on proper and legal grounds: Provided, That such new trials shall be determined, and such errors corrected, in the superior court of the county in which such action originated; and the said court shall have appellate jurisdiction in such other cases as are or may be pointed out by law, which shall in no case tend to move the cause from the county in which the action originated; and the judges thereof, in all cases of application for new trials or correction of errors, shall enter their opinion on the minutes of the court. The inferior courts shall also have concurrent jurisdiction in all civil cases, (except in cases respecting the titles to lands,) which shall be tried in the county where the defendant resides; and in case of joint obligors and joint promissors, residing in different counties, the same may be brought in either county, and a copy of the petition and process served on the party residing out of the county in which the suit may be commenced, shall be deemed sufficient service, under such rules and regulations as the legislature have or may direct. The superior and inferior courts shall sit in each county twice in every year, at such stated times as have or may be appointed by the legislature. (Ratified November 23, 1819) Art. III. Sec. 4. So altered and amended as to read: The justices of the inferior court shall be elected by the persons entitled to vote for members of the legislature, in such manner as the legislature may by law direct. Art. III. Sec. 5. So altered and amended as to read: The justices of the peace throughout this State shall be elected by the persons residing in their respective districts, entitled to vote for members of the general assembly, under such rules and regulations as the legislature may by law direct. (Ratified November 17, 1824) Art. II. Sec. 2. So altered and amended as to read: The governor shall be elected by the persons qualified to vote for members of the general assembly, on the first Monday in October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five; and on the first Monday in October in every second year thereafter, until such time be altered by law; which election shall be held at the place of holding general elections, in the several counties of this State, in the same manner as is prescribed for the election of members of the general assembly. The returns for every election of governor shall be sealed up by the presiding justices, separately from other returns, and directed to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, and transmitted to his excellency the governor, or the person exercising the duties of governor for the time being, who shall, without opening the said returns, cause the same to be laid before the senate, on the day after the two houses shall have been organized, and they shall be transmitted by the senate to the house of representatives. The members of each branch of the general assembly shall convene in the representative chamber, and the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives, shall open and publish the returns in presence of the general assembly; and the person having the majority of the whole number of votes given in shall be declared duly elected governor of this State. But if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the two highest number of votes who shall be in life, and shall not decline an election at the time appointed for the legislature to elect, the general assembly shall elect immediately a governor by joint ballot; and in all cases of election of a governor by the general assembly, a majority of the votes of the members present shall be necessary for a choice. Contested elections shall be determined by both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. (Ratified 1833) Art. III. Sec. 9. So altered and amended as to read: Divorces shall be final and conclusive when the parties shall have obtained the concurrent verdicts of two special juries, authorizing a divorce upon legal principles. (Ratified December, 1835) Article I. Sec. 4. So altered and amended as to read: No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and have been nine years a citizen of the United States, and three years an inhabitant of this State, and shall have usually resided within the county for which he shall be returned at least one year immediately preceding his election, except persons who may have been absent on lawful business of this State or of the United States. Article I. Sec. 8. So altered and amended as to read: No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen of the United States seven years, and three years an inhabitant of this State, and have usually resided in the county in which he shall be chosen one year immediately preceding his election, unless he shall have been on the public business of this State or of the United States. (Ratified 1835) Art. III. Section 1. So altered and amended as to read: The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in a supreme court for the correction of errors; a superior, inferior, and justices’ courts, and in such other courts as the legislature shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, who shall be elected by the legislature for such term of years as shall be prescribed by law, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified, removable by the governor on the address of two-thirds of both branches of the general assembly for that purpose, or by impeachment and conviction thereon. The said court shall have no original jurisdiction, but shall be a court alone for the trial and correction of errors in law and equity from the superior courts of the several circuits, and shall sit at least once a year, at a time to be prescribed by law, in each of five judicial districts, to be hereafter laid off and designated by the legislature for that purpose, at the most central point in such judicial district, or at such other point in each district as shall by the general assembly be ordained, for the trial and determination of writs of error from the several superior courts included in such judicial districts. And the said court shall at each session in each district dispose of and finally determine each and every case on the docket of such court at the first term after such writ of error brought; and in case the plaintiff in error in any such case shall not be prepared, at such first term of such court, after error brought to prosecute the same, unless precluded by some providential cause from such prosecution, it shall be stricken from the docket, and the judgment below shall stand affirmed. The judges of the superior court shall be elected for the term of four years, and shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified, removably by the governor on the address of two-thirds of both branches of the general assembly for that purpose, or by impeachment and conviction theron. The superior court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases, (except as relates to people of color, and fines for neglect of duty and for contempt of court; for violations against road-laws, and for obstructing water-courses, which shall be vested in such judicature or tribunal as shall be or may have been pointed out by law; and except in all other minor offences committed by free white persons, and which do not subject the offender or offenders to loss of life, limb, or member, or to confinement in the penitentiary; in all such cases corporation courts, such as now exist, or may hereafter be constituted, in any incorporated city, being a sea-port town and a port of entry, may be vested with jurisdiction, under such rules and regulations as the legislature may hereafter by law direct,) which shall be tried in the county where the crime was committed; and in all cases respecting titles to land, which shall be tried in the county where the land lies; and also concurrent jurisdiction in all other civil cases, and shall have power to correct errors in inferior judicatories, by writ of certiorari, and to grant new trials in said superior courts on proper and legal grounds; and in all cases where a new trial shall be so allowed, the judge allowing the same shall enter on the minutes of said court his reasons for the same; and the said superior courts shall have appellate jurisdiction in such other cases as may be pointed out by law, in cases arising in inferior judicatories, which shall in no case tend to remove the cause from the county in which the action originated. (Ratified 1840) Article I. Whereas a part of the third section of the first article of the constitution is in the following words, viz: “The senate shall be elected annually;” and a part of the seventh section of the first article is in the following words: “The representatives shall be chosen annually;” and a part of the twelfth section of the first article is in the following words: “The meeting of the general assembly shall be annually;” and whereas a part of the third section of the third article is in the following words: “There shall be a State’s attorney and solicitor appointed by the legislature and commissioned by the governor, who shall hold their offices for the term of three years;” and a part of the fifteenth section of the fourth article is in the following words: “The same shall be published at least six months previous to the next ensuing annual election for members of the general assembly;” and whereas the before-recited clauses require amendments: Section 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the State of Georgia, in general assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That so soon as this act shall have passed, agreeably to the requisitions of the constitution, the following shall be adopted in lieu of the foregoing clauses: In the third section of the first article, the following, to wit: “The senate shall be elected biennially, after the passage of this act, the first election to take place on the first Monday in 1843.” In lieu of the seventh section of the first article, the following: “The representatives shall be elected biennially, after the passing of this act, the first election to take place the first Monday in October, eighteen hundred and forty-three;” and in lieu of the clause in the twelfth section in the first article, the following: “The meeting of the general assembly shall be biennially, after the passage of this act, on the first Monday in November;” and in lieu of the clause in the third section of the third article, the following, to wit: “There shall be a State attorney and solicitor elected by the legislature, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years;” and in lieu of the clause in the fifteenth section of the fourth article, the following: “The same shall be published at least six months previous to the next ensuing biennial election for members of the general assembly;” the provisions of this act not to go into effect until the year eighteen hundred and forty-three. (Ratified 1841) Art. III. Sec. 3. So altered and amended as to read: There shall be a State’s attorney and solicitors appointed by the legislature, and commissioned by the governor, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years, or until their successors shall be elected and qualified, unless removed by sentence on impeachment, or by the governor, on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. They shall have salaries adequate to their services, established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their continuance in office. Art. IV. Sec. 15. Amended by striking out the word “annual.” (Ratified 1843) Article I. Sec. 3. So altered and amended as to read: The senate shall be elected biennially on the first Monday in October, and shall consist of forty-seven members, and shall be composed of one member from each senatorial district, which district shall be composed of two contiguous counties, not including the county with the largest representative population, which shall constitute a separate district; which districts shall be arranged and organized by the general assembly, at the session when this shall be adopted, and if any new county shall be hereafter formed, it shall be annexed to one of the districts from which it was taken. Article I. Sec. 7. So altered and amended as to read: The house of representatives shall be composed of one hundred and thirty members; each county shall have one representative, and no county shall have more than two representatives; thirty-seven counties having the greatest population, counting all free white persons, and three-fifths of the people of color, shall have two representatives; the said apportionment shall be made by the general assembly, at the session at which this section shall be adopted as an alteration of the constitution, by an act to be introduced after the adoption thereof, and a new apportionment shall be made at the session next after each future enumeration of the inhabitants of this State, made under the constitution and laws thereof, but at no other time. Art. III. Section 1. Added to the concluding portion of the section, so that it reads: And in case of a maker and indorser or indorsers of promissory notes residing in different counties in this State, the same may be sued in the county where the maker resides, and a copy of the petition and process served on the indorser or indorsers residing out of the county in which the suit may be commenced shall be deemed sufficient service, under the same rules and regulations as the legislature have or may direct in the case of joint obligors and joint promisors. The superior and inferior courts shall sit in each county twice in every year, at such stated times as have or may be appointed by the legislature. Art. IV. Sec. 3. So altered and amended as to read: It shall and may be lawful for all major-generals and brigadier-generals to be elected by the people of the respective divisions and brigades; and all persons subject to military duty shall be entitled to vote for the same only, and shall be commissioned by the governor. All other officers of the militia shall be elected in such manner as the legislature may direct, and shall be commissioned by the governor; and all militia officers now in commission, and those which may be hereafter commissioned, shall hold their commissions during their usual residence within the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or company to which they belong, unless removed by sentence of a court-martial, or by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. (Ratified 1847) Art. II. Sec. 3. So altered and amended as to read: No person shall be eligible to the office of governor who shall not have been a citizen of the United States twelve years, and an inhabitant of this State six years, and who hath not attained to the age of thirty years. (Ratified 1849) Art. III. Sec. 9. So altered and amended as to read: Divorces shall be final and conclusive when the parties shall have obtained the concurrent verdicts of two special juries, authorizing a divorce upon such legal principles as the general assembly may by law prescribe. Source: The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws of the States and Territories now or heretofore forming the United States of America, compiled and edited by Francis Newton Thorpe (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909). Vol. II Florida-Kansas. https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/thorpe-the-federal-and-state-constitutions-vol-ii-florida-kansas#lf1514-02_head_124

An Act to provide an additional Armament for the further protection of the trade of the United States; and for other purposes. Law as Written SECTION 1 . Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States o f America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby authorized and empowered, to cause to be built, purchased or hired, a number of vessels, not exceeding twelve, nor carrying more than twenty-two guns each, to be armed, fitted out and manned under his direction. SEC . 2. And be it further enacted, That the number and grade of the officers to be appointed for the service of the said vessels, shall be fixed by the President of the United States, as well as the number of men of which the respective crews shall be composed, who, as well officers as seamen and marines, shall receive the same pay and subsistence, be entitled to the same advantages and compensations, be governed by the same rules and regulations, and be engaged for the same time, and on the same conditions, as by an act of the United States, passed the first of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, entitled "An act providing a naval armament," is ascertained and established, as fully, as if the particular provisions of that act, having reference thereto, were herein inserted at large. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized to cause the term of enlistment of the seamen and marines, to be employed in any vessel of the United States, to be extended beyond one year, if the vessel should then be at sea, and until ten days after such vessel shall arrive in some convenient port of the United States, thereafter; any thing contained in this act, or in the act entitled "An act providing a naval armament," to the contrary notwithstanding. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the aforesaid vessels may, during the recess of the Senate, be appointed and commissioned by the President alone. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sum of nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars be and are hereby appropriated out of any monies in the treasury of the United States, beyond the appropriations that may heretofore have been charged thereon, for the purpose of carrying the objects of this act into effect. APPROVED, April 27, 1798. Source: https://www.navycs.com/public-law/naval-add-1798.html

Senate Reply To John Adams from Jacob Read, 28 November 1797 Sir: The communications you thought proper to make in your speech to both Houses of Congress, on the opening of their present session, afford additional proofs of the attention, integrity, and firmness, which have always marked your official character. We cannot but approve of the measures you had taken to ascertain the state and decline of the contagious sickness, which has so lately afflicted the city of Philadelphia; and the pleasing circumstances that Congress is now assembled at that place, without hazard to the health of its members, evinces the propriety of your having postpone a determination to convene the National Legislature at another place. We shall take into consideration the law of 1794, on this subject, and will readily concur in any amendment which may be deemed expedient. It would have given us much pleasure to have received your congratulations on the re-establishment of peace in Europe, and the restoration of security to the persons and property of our citizens from injustice and violence at sea. But, though these events, so desirable to our country and the world, have not taken place, yet, we have abundant cause of gratitude to the Great Disposer of human events, for interior tranquillity and personal security, for propitious seasons, prosperous agriculture, productive fisheries, and general improvement; and, above all, for a rational spirit of civil and religious liberty, and a calm but steady determination to support our sovereignty against all open and secret attacks. We learn, with satisfaction, that our envoys extraordinary to the French Republic had safely arrived in Europe, and were proceeding to the scene of negotiation; and, whatever may be the result of the mission, we are perfectly satisfied that nothing on your part has been omitted, which could, in any way, conduce to a successful conclusion of the negotiation, upon terms compatible with the safety, honor, and interest, of the United States; and we are fully convinced that, in the mean time, a manifestation of that unanimity and energy of which the People of the United States have given such memorable proofs, and a proper exertion of those resources of national defence, which we possess, will essentially contribute to the preservation of peace and the attainment of justice. We think, sir, with you, that the commerce of the United States is essential to the growth, comfort, and prosperity, of our country; and that the faith of society is pledged for the preservation of the rights of commercial and sea-faring, no less than of other citizens. And even if our negotiation with France should terminate favorably, and the war in Europe cease, yet the state of society, which unhappily prevails in so great a portion of the world, and the experience of past times, under better circumstances, unite in warning us that a commerce so extensive, and which holds out so many temptations to lawless plunderers, can never be safe without protection; and we hold ourselves obliged, by every tie of duty which binds us to our constituents, to promote and concur in such measures of marine defence, as may convince our merchants and seamen that their rights are not sacrificed, nor their injuries forgotten. We regret, that, notwithstanding the clear and explicit terms of the treaty between the United States and his Catholic Majesty, the Spanish garrisons are not yet withdrawn from our territory, nor the running of the boundary line commenced. The United States have been faithful in the performance of their obligations to Spain, and had reason to expect a compliance equally prompt on the part of that Power. We still, however, indulge the hope that the convincing answers, which have been given to the objections stated by the Spanish officers, to the immediate execution of the treaty, will have their proper effect; and that this treaty, so mutually beneficial to the contracting parties, will be finally observed with good faith. We therefore entirely approve of your determination to continue in readiness to receive the posts, and to run the lines of partition between our territory and that of the King of Spain. Attempts to alienate the affections of the Indians; to form them into a confederacy, and to excite them to actual hostility against the United States; whether made by foreign agents, or by others, are so injurious to our interests at large, and so inhuman with respect to our citizens inhabiting the adjacent territory, as to deserve the most exemplary punishment; and we will cheerfully afford our aid in framing a law, which may prescribe a punishment adequate to the commission of crimes so heinous. The several objects you have pointed out to the attention of the Legislature, whether they regard our internal or external relations, shall receive from us that consideration which they merit; and we will readily concur in all such measures as may be necessary, either to enable us to fulfil our engagements at home, or to cause ourselves to be respected abroad. And, at this portentous period, when the Powers of Europe, with whom we are connected by treaty or commerce, are in so critical a situation, and when the conduct of some of those Powers towards the United States is so hostile and menacing, the several branches of the Government are, in our opinion, called upon, with peculiar importunity, to unite, and, by union, not only to devise and carry into effect those measures on which the safety and prosperity of our country depend, but also to undeceive those nations who, regarding us as a weak and divided people, have pursued systems of aggression inconsistent with a state of peace between independent nations. And, sir, we beg leave to assure you, that we derive a singular consolation from the reflection that, at such a time, the executive part of our government has been committed to your hands: for, in your integrity, talents, and firmness, we place the most entire confidence. Jacob Read, President of the Senate pro tempore. House Reply To John Adams from United States House of Representatives, 29 November 1797 Sir: While our sympathy is excited by the recent sufferings of the citizens of Philadelphia, we participate in the satisfaction which you are pleased to express, that the duration of the late calamity was so limited as to render unnecessary the expense and inconvenience that would have been incident to the convention of Congress in another place; and we shall readily attend to every useful amendment to the law, which contemplates the event of contagious sickness at the seat of Government. In lamenting the increase of the injuries offered to the persons and property of our citizens at sea, we gratefully acknowledge the continuance of interior tranquillity, and the attendant blessings of which you remind us, as alleviations of these fatal effects of injustice and violence. Whatever may be the result of the mission to the French republic, your early and uniform attachment to the interest of our country; your important services in the struggle for its independence; and your unceasing exertions for its welfare, afford no room to doubt of the sincerity of your efforts to conduct the negotiation to a successful conclusion, on such terms as may be compatible with the safety, honor, and interest, of the United States. We have also a firm reliance upon the energy and unanimity of the People of these States, in the assertion of their rights, and on their determination to exert, upon all proper occasions, their ample resources in providing for the national defence. The importance of commerce, and its beneficial influence upon agriculture, arts, and manufactures, have been verified in the growth and prosperity of our country. It is essentially connected with the other great interests of the community. They must flourish and decline together; and while the extension of our navigation and trade naturally excites the jealousy, and tempts the avarice of other nations, we are firmly persuaded, that the numerous and deserving class of citizens engaged in these pursuits, and dependent on them for their subsistence, has a strong and indisputable claim to our support and protection. The delay of the Spanish officers to fulfil the treaty existing with his Catholic Majesty, is a source of deep regret. We learn, however, with satisfaction, that you still indulge hopes of removing the objections which have been made to its execution, and that you have continued in readiness to receive the posts. Disposed to perform, with fidelity, our national engagements, nothing shall be wanting, on our part, to obtain the same justice from others, which we exercise towards them. Our abhorrence cannot be too strongly expressed, of the intrigues of foreign agents to alienate the affections of the Indians, and to rouse them to acts of hostility against the United States. No means in our power should be omitted, of providing for the suppression of such cruel practices, and for the adequate punishment of their atrocious authors. Upon the other interesting subjects noticed in your address, we shall bestow the requisite attention. To preserve inviolable the public faith, by providing for the due execution of our treaties; to indemnify those who may have just claims to retribution upon the United States, for expenses incurred in defending the property and relieving the necessities of our unfortunate fellow-citizens; to guard against evasions of the laws intended to secure advantages to the navigation of our own vessels; and especially to prevent, by all possible means, an unnecessary accumulation of the public debt, are duties which we shall endeavor to keep in view, and discharge with assiduity. We regard, with great anxiety, the singular and portentous situation of the principal Powers of Europe. It were devoutly to be wished, that the United States, remote from this seat of war and discord; unambitious of conquests; respecting the rights of other nations; and desirous merely to avail themselves of their natural resources, might be permitted to behold the scenes which desolate that quarter of the globe, with only those sympathetic emotions which are natural to the lovers of peace, and friends of the human race. But we are led, by events, to associate with these feelings a sense of the dangers which menace our security and peace. We rely upon your assurances of a zealous and hearty concurrence in such measures as may be necessary to avert these dangers; and nothing on our part shall be wanting to repel them, which the honor, safety, and prosperity, of our country may require. Source: https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Period%3A%22Adams%20Presidency%22%20Recipient%3A%22Adams%2C%20John%22%20Dates-From%3A1797-11-22%20Dates-To%3A1797-11-30&s=1521311121&r=6

John Adam’s First Annual Message United States November 22, 1797 I was for some time apprehensive that it would be necessary, on account of the contagious sickness which afflicted the city of Philadelphia, to convene the National Legislature at some other place. This measure it was desirable to avoid, because it would occasion much public inconvenience and a considerable public expense and add to the calamities of the inhabitants of this city, whose sufferings must have excited the sympathy of all their fellow citizens. Therefore, after taking measures to ascertain the state and decline of the sickness, I postponed my determination, having hopes, now happily realized, that, without hazard to the lives or health of the members, Congress might assemble at this place, where it was next by law to meet. I submit, however, to your consideration whether a power to postpone the meeting of Congress, without passing the time fixed by the Constitution upon such occasions, would not be a useful amendment to the law of 1794. Although I can not yet congratulate you on the reestablishment of peace in Europe and the restoration of security to the persons and properties of our citizens from injustice and violence at sea, we have, nevertheless, abundant cause of gratitude to the source of benevolence and influence for interior tranquillity and personal security, for propitious seasons, prosperous agriculture, productive fisheries, and general improvements, and, above all, for a rational spirit of civil and religious liberty and a calm but steady determination to support our sovereignty, as well as our moral and our religious principles, against all open and secret attacks. Our envoys extraordinary to the French Republic embarked - one in July, the other in August - to join their colleague in Holland. I have received intelligence of the arrival of both of them in Holland, from whence they all proceeded on their journeys to Paris within a few days of the 19th of September. Whatever may be the result of this mission, I trust that nothing will have been omitted on my part to conduct the negotiation to a successful conclusion, on such equitable terms as may be compatible with the safety, honor and interest of the United States. nothing, in the mean time, will contribute so much to the preservation of peace and the attainment of justice as manifestation of that energy and unanimity of which on many former occasions the people of the United States have given such memorable proofs, and the exertion of those resources for national defense which a beneficent Providence has kindly placed within their power. It may be confidently asserted that nothing has occurred since the adjournment of Congress which renders inexpedient those precautionary measures recommended by me to the consideration of the two Houses at the opening of your late extraordinary session. If that system was then prudent, it is more so now, as increasing depredations strengthen the reasons for its adoption. Indeed, whatever may be the issue of the negotiation with France, and whether the war in Europe is or is not to continue, I hold it most certain that permanent tranquillity and order will not soon be obtained. The state of society has so long been disturbed, the sense of moral and religious obligations so much weakened, public faith and national honor have been so impaired, respect to treaties has been so diminished, and the law of nations has lost so much of its force, while pride, ambition, avarice and violence have been so long unrestrained, there remains no reasonable ground on which to raise an expectation that a commerce without protection or defense will not be plundered. The commerce of the United States is essential, if not to their existence, at least to their comfort, their growth, prosperity, and happiness. The genius, character, and habits of the people are highly commercial. Their cities have been formed and exist upon commerce. Our agriculture, fisheries, arts, and manufactures are connected with and depend upon it. In short, commerce has made this country what it is, and it can not be destroyed or neglected without involving the people in poverty and distress. Great numbers are directly and solely supported by navigation. The faith of society is pledged for the preservation of the rights of commercial and sea faring no less than of the other citizens. Under this view of our affairs, I should hold myself guilty of a neglect of duty if I forbore to recommend that we should make every exertion to protect our commerce and to place our country in a suitable posture of defense as the only sure means of preserving both. I have entertained an expectation that it would have been in my power at the opening of this session to have communicated to you the agreeable information of the due execution of our treaty with His Catholic Majesty respecting the withdrawing of his troops from our territory and the demarcation of the line of limits, but by the latest authentic intelligence Spanish garrisons were still continued within our country, and the running of the boundary line had not been commenced. These circumstances are the more to be regretted as they can not fail to affect the Indians in a manner injurious to the United States. Still, however, indulging the hope that the answers which have been given will remove the objections offered by the Spanish officers to the immediate execution of the treaty, I have judged it proper that we should continue in readiness to receive the posts and to run the line of limits. Further information on this subject will be communicated in the course of the session. In connection with this unpleasant state of things on our western frontier it is proper for me to mention the attempts of foreign agents to alienate the affections of the Indian nations and to excite them to actual hostilities against the United States. Great activity has been exerted by those persons who have insinuated themselves among the Indian tribes residing within the territory of the United States to influence them to transfer their affections and force to a foreign nation, to form them into a confederacy, and prepare them for war against the United States. Although measures have been taken to counteract these infractions of our rights, to prevent Indian hostilities, and to preserve entire their attachment to the United States, it is my duty to observe that to give a better effect to these measures and to obviate the consequences of a repetition of such practices a law providing adequate punishment for such offenses may be necessary. The commissioners appointed under the 5th article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and Great Britain to ascertain the river which was truly intended under the name of the river St. Croix mentioned in the treaty of peace, met at Passamaquoddy Bay in 1796 October, and viewed the mouths of the rivers in question and the adjacent shores and islands, and, being of opinion that actual surveys of both rivers to their sources were necessary, gave to the agents of the two nations instructions for that purpose, and adjourned to meet at Boston in August. They met, but the surveys requiring more time than had been supposed, and not being then completed, the commissioners again adjourned, to meet at Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, in June next, when we may expect a final examination and decision. The commissioners appointed in pursuance of the 6th article of the treaty met at Philadelphia in May last to examine the claims of British subjects for debts contracted before the peace and still remaining due to them from citizens or inhabitants of the United States. Various causes have hitherto prevented any determinations, but the business is now resumed, and doubtless will be prosecuted without interruption. Several decisions on the claims of citizens of the United States for losses and damages sustained by reason of irregular and illegal captures or condemnations of their vessels or other property have been made by the commissioners in London conformably to the 7th article of the treaty. The sums awarded by the commissioners have been paid by the British Government. A considerable number of other claims, where costs and damages, and not captured property, were the only objects in question, have been decided by arbitration, and the sums awarded to the citizens of the United States have also been paid. The commissioners appointed agreeably to the 21st article of our treaty with Spain met at Philadelphia in the summer past to examine and decide on the claims of our citizens for losses they have sustained in consequence of their vessels and cargoes having been taken by the subjects of His Catholic Majesty during the late war between Spain and France. Their sittings have been interrupted, but are now resumed. The United States being obligated to make compensation for the losses and damages sustained by British subjects, upon the award of the commissioners acting under the 6th article of the treaty with Great Britain, and for the losses and damages sustained by British subjects by reason of the capture of their vessels and merchandise taken within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States and brought into their ports, or taken by vessels originally armed in ports of the United States, upon the awards of the commissioners acting under the 7th article of the same treaty, it is necessary that provision be made for fulfilling these obligations. The numerous captures of American vessels by the cruisers of the French Republic and of some by those of Spain have occasioned considerable expenses in making and supporting the claims of our citizens before their tribunals. The sums required for this purpose have in divers instances been disbursed by the consuls of the United States. By means of the same captures great numbers of our sea men have been thrown ashore in foreign countries, destitute of all means of subsistence, and the sick in particular have been exposed to grievous sufferings. The consuls have in these cases also advanced moneys for their relief. For these advances they reasonably expect reimbursements from the United States. The consular act relative to sea men requires revision and amendment. The provisions for their support in foreign countries and for their return are found to be inadequate and ineffectual. Another provision seems necessary to be added to the consular act. Some foreign vessels have been discovered sailing under the flag of the United States and with forged papers. It seldom happens that the consuls can detect this deception, because they have no authority to demand an inspection of the registers and sea letters. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: It is my duty to recommend to your serious consideration those objects which by the Constitution are placed particularly within your sphere - the national debts and taxes. Since the decay of the feudal system, by which the public defense was provided for chiefly at the expense of individuals, the system of loans has been introduced, and as no nation can raise within the year by taxes sufficient sums for its defense and military operations in time of war the sums loaned and debts contracted have necessarily become the subjects of what have been called funding systems. The consequences arising from the continual accumulation of public debts in other countries ought to admonish us to be careful to prevent their growth in our own. The national defense must be provided for as well as the support of Government; but both should be accomplished as much as possible by immediate taxes, and as little as possible by loans. The estimates for the service of the ensuing year will by my direction be laid before you. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: We are met together at a most interesting period. The situation of the principal powers of Europe are singular and portentous. Connected with some by treaties and with all by commerce, no important event there can be indifferent to us. Such circumstances call with peculiar importunity not less for a disposition to unite in all those measures on which the honor, safety, and prosperity of our country depend than for all the exertions of wisdom and firmness. In all such measures you may rely on my zealous and hearty concurrence. Source: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/adamsme1.asp

JOHN ADAMS’ INAUGURAL ADDRESS IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1797 When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature and a total independence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehensive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist than from those contests and dissensions which would certainly arise concerning the forms of government to be instituted over the whole and over the parts of this extensive country. Relying, however, on the purity of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and the integrity and intelligence of the people, under an overruling Providence which had so signally protected this country from the first, the representatives of this nation, then consisting of little more than half its present number, not only broke to pieces the chains which were forging and the rod of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder the ties which had bound them, and launched into an ocean of uncertainty. The zeal and ardor of the people during the Revolutionary war, supplying the place of government, commanded a degree of order sufficient at least for the temporary preservation of society. The Confederation which was early felt to be necessary was prepared from the models of the Batavian and Helvetic confederacies, the only examples which remain with any detail and precision in history, and certainly the only ones which the people at large had ever considered. But reflecting on the striking difference in so many particulars between this country and those where a courier may go from the seat of government to the frontier in a single day, it was then certainly foreseen by some who assisted in Congress at the formation of it that it could not be durable. Negligence of its regulations, inattention to its recommendations, if not disobedience to its authority, not only in individuals but in States, soon appeared with their melancholy consequences-- universal languor, jealousies and rivalries of States, decline of navigation and commerce, discouragement of necessary manufactures, universal fall in the value of lands and their produce, contempt of public and private faith, loss of consideration and credit with foreign nations, and at length in discontents, animosities, combinations, partial conventions, and insurrection, threatening some great national calamity. In this dangerous crisis the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity. Measures were pursued to concert a plan to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. The public disquisitions, discussions, and deliberations issued in the present happy Constitution of Government. Employed in the service of my country abroad during the whole course of these transactions, I first saw the Constitution of the United States in a foreign country. Irritated by no literary altercation, animated by no public debate, heated by no party animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as the result of good heads prompted by good hearts, as an experiment better adapted to the genius, character, situation, and relations of this nation and country than any which had ever been proposed or suggested. In its general principles and great outlines it was conformable to such a system of government as I had ever most esteemed, and in some States, my own native State in particular, had contributed to establish. Claiming a right of suffrage, in common with my fellow-citizens, in the adoption or rejection of a constitution which was to rule me and my posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not hesitate to express my approbation of it on all occasions, in public and in private. It was not then, nor has been since, any objection to it in my mind that the Executive and Senate were not more permanent. Nor have I ever entertained a thought of promoting any alteration in it but such as the people themselves, in the course of their experience, should see and feel to be necessary or expedient, and by their representatives in Congress and the State legislatures, according to the Constitution itself, adopt and ordain. Returning to the bosom of my country after a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the honor to be elected to a station under the new order of things, and I have repeatedly laid myself under the most serious obligations to support the Constitution. The operation of it has equaled the most sanguine expectations of its friends, and from an habitual attention to it, satisfaction in its administration, and delight in its effects upon the peace, order, prosperity, and happiness of the nation I have acquired an habitual attachment to it and veneration for it. What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love? There may be little solidity in an ancient idea that congregations of men into cities and nations are the most pleasing objects in the sight of superior intelligences, but this is very certain, that to a benevolent human mind there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than an assembly like that which has so often been seen in this and the other Chamber of Congress, of a Government in which the Executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by citizens selected at regular periods by their neighbors to make and execute laws for the general good. Can anything essential, anything more than mere ornament and decoration, be added to this by robes and diamonds? Can authority be more amiable and respectable when it descends from accidents or institutions established in remote antiquity than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people? For it is the people only that are represented. It is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only for their good, in every legitimate government, under whatever form it may appear. The existence of such a government as ours for any length of time is a full proof of a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body of the people. And what object or consideration more pleasing than this can be presented to the human mind? If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable it is when it springs, not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence. In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections. If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good. If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves; and candid men will acknowledge that in such cases choice would have little advantage to boast of over lot or chance. Such is the amiable and interesting system of government (and such are some of the abuses to which it may be exposed) which the people of America have exhibited to the admiration and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations for eight years under the administration of a citizen who, by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, conducting a people inspired with the same virtues and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity. In that retirement which is his voluntary choice may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his services, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of this country which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives a bulwark, against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace. This example has been recommended to the imitation of his successors by both Houses of Congress and by the voice of the legislatures and the people throughout the nation. On this subject it might become me better to be silent or to speak with diffidence; but as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that if a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth; if an attachment to the Constitution of the United States, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it; if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual States and a constant caution and delicacy toward the State governments; if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the States in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western, position, their various political opinions on unessential points or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations; if a love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments; if a love of equal laws, of justice, and humanity in the interior administration; if an inclination to improve agriculture, commerce, and manufacturers for necessity, convenience, and defense; if a spirit of equity and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them; if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this Government and so solemnly sanctioned by both Houses of Congress and applauded by the legislatures of the States and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress; if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations; if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause and remove every colorable pretense of complaint; if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the Government and its constituents demand; if a resolution to do justice as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world; if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all and never been deceived; if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age; and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect. With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power. And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.

To George Washington from John Adams The Second Session of the fourth Congress. 1796 December the 12th 1796 According to appointment on Saturday, the Senate in a body waited upon the President at twelve Oclock, and the Vice President, delivered the following Address To the President of the United States. We thank you, Sir, for your faithful and detailed exposure of the existing situation of our Country; and we sincerely join in sentiments of gratitude to an overruling providence, for the distinguished share of public prosperity, and private happiness, which the People of the United States so peculiarly enjoy. We are fully, sensible of the advantages that have resulted from the adoption of measures (which you have successfully carried into effect) to preserve peace, cultivate friendship, and promote civilization, amongst the Indian Tribes, on the Western frontiers; Feelings of humanity, and the most solid political interests, equally encourage the continuance of this System. We observe with pleasure, that the delivery of the Military Posts, lately occupied by the British forces, within the territory of the United States, was made with cordiality, and promptitude, as soon as circumstances would admit; and that the other provisions of our Treaties with Great Britain and Spain, that were objects of eventual arrangement, are about being carried into effect, with entire harmony and good faith. The unfortunate, but unavoidable difficulties, that opposed a timely compliance with the terms of the Algerine Treaty, are much to be lamented; as they may occasion a temporary suspension of the advantages to be derived, from a solid peace with that Power, and a perfect security, from its predatory warfare; at the same time, the lively impresssions that affected the Public mind, on the redemption of our Captive fellow Citizens, afford the most laudable incentive to our exertions, to remove the remaining obstacles. We perfectly coincide with you in opinion, that the importance of our Commerce demands a Naval force for its protection against foreign insult and depredation, and our solicitude to attain that object will be always proportionate to its magnitude. The necessity, of accelerating the establishment of certain useful Manufactures, by the intervention of Legislative aid and protection, and the encouragement due to Agriculture, by the creation of Boards, (composed of intelligent individuals,) to patronize this primary pursuit of society, are subjects, which will readily engage our most serious attention. A National University may be converted to the most useful purposes; the science of Legislation, being so essentially dependent on the endowments of the mind, the public interests must receive effectual aid from the general diffusion of knowledge; and the United States will assume a more dignified Station, among the Nations of the Earth, by the successful cultivation of the higher branches of Literature. A Military Academy may be likewise rendered equally important; to aid and direct the physical force of the Nation, by cherishing a Military spirit, enforcing a proper sense of discipline, and inculcating a scientific system of tactics, is consonant to the soundest maxims of public policy; Connected with, and supported by such an establishment, a well regulated Militia, constituting the natural defence of the Country, would prove the most effectual, as well oeconomical, preservative of peace. We cannot but consider with serious apprehensions, the inadequate compensations of the public Officers, especially of those in the more important Stations; it is not only a violation of the spirit of a public contract; but is an evil so extensive in its operation, and so destructive in its consequences, that we trust it will receive the most pointed Legislative attention. We sincerely lament, that whilst the conduct of the United States has been uniformly impressed with the character of equity, moderation, and love of peace, in the maintainance of all their foreign relationships; our trade should be so harrassed by the Cruizers and Agents of the Republic of France, throughout the extensive departments of the West Indies. Whilst we are confident, that no cause of complaint exists, that could authorize an interruption of our tranquillity, or disengage that Republic from the bonds of Amity, cemented by the faith of Treaties, we cannot but express our deepest regrets, that official communications have been made to you, indicating a more serious disturbance of our commerce; although we cherish the expectation that a sense of justice and a consideration of our mutual interests, will moderate their councils; We are not unmindful of the situation, in which events may place us, nor unprepared to adopt that system of conduct, which, compatible with the dignity of a respectable Nation, necessity may compel us to pursue. We cordially acquiesce in the reflection, that the United States, under the operation of the Federal Government, have experienced a most rapid aggrandizement and prosperity, as well political, as commercial. Whilst contemplating the causes that produce this auspicious result, we must acknowledge the excellence of the constitutional system, and the wisdom of the legislative provisions; but we should be deficient in gratitude and justice, did we not attribute a great portion of these advantages, to the virtue, firmness, and talents of Your Administration; which have been conspiciously displayed, in the most trying times, and on the most critical occasions. It is therefore, with the sincerest regrets, that we now receive an Official notification of Your intentions to retire from the public employments of Your Country. When we review the various scenes of your public life, so long and so successfully, devoted to the most arduous services, civil and Military; as well, during the struggles of the American Revolution, as the convulsive periods of a recent date, we cannot look forward to Your retirement, without our warmest affections and most anxious regards acccompanying You; and without mingling with our fellow Citizens at large, in the sincerest wishes for Your personal happiness, that sensibility and attachment can express. The most effectual consolation that can offer for the loss we are about to sustain, arises from the animating reflection, that the influence of Your example will extend to Your successors, and the United States thus continue to enjoy, an able, upright, and energetic administration. John Adams Vice President of the United States, and President of the Senate To George Washington from Jonathan Dayton In conformity, to the Appointment made Yesterday The House of Representatives waited on the President this day at two Oclock, and the Speaker thereof delivered the following Address. December the 16th 1796 Sir, The House of Representatives have attended to your communication respecting the state of our Country, with all the sensibility that the contemplation of the subject, and a sense of duty can inspire. We are gratified by the information, that measure calculated to ensure a continuance of the friendship of the Indians, and to maintain the tranquility of the Western frontier, have been adopted; and we indulge the hope that these, by impressing the Indian Tribes with more correct conceptions of the justice, as well as power of the United States, will be attended with success. While we notice, with satisfaction, the steps that You have taken in pursuance of the late Treaties with several foreign Nations, the liberation of our Citizens, who were prisoners at Algiers, is a subject of peculiar felicitation. We shall cheerfully cooperate in any further measures that shall appear, on consideration, to be requisite. We have ever concurred with you in the most sincere and uniform disposition to preserve our neutral relations inviolate; and it is, of course, with anxiety and deep regret we hear, that any interruption of our harmony with the French Republic has occurred, for we feel with You and with our Constituents, the cordial and unabated wish to maintain a perfectly friendly understanding with that Nation. Your endeavours to fulfil that wish, and by all honorable means to preserve peace, and to restore that harmony and affection which have heretofore so happily subsisted between the French Republic and the United States, cannot fail, therefore, to interest our attention. And while we participate in the full reliance You have expressed on the patriotism, self-respect and fortitude of our Countrymen, we cherish the pleasing hope, that a mutual spirit of justice and moderation will ensure the success of Your perseverance. The various subjects of Your communication will, respectively, meet with the attention that is due to their importance. When we advert to the internal situation of the United States, we deem it equally natural and becoming to compare the present period with that immediately antecedent to the operation of the Government, and to contrast it with the calamities in which the state of War still involves several of the European Nations, as the reflections deduced from both tend to justify, as well as to excite, a warmer admiration of our free consitution, and to exalt our minds to a more fervent and grateful sense of piety towards Almighty God for the beneficence of his providence, by which its administration has been hitherto so remarkably distinguished. And while we entertain a grateful conviction that Your wise, firm and patriotic Administration has been signally conducive to the success of the present form of Government, we cannot for bear to express the deep sensations of regret with which we contemplate Your intended retirement from Office. As no other suitable occasion may occur, we cannot suffer the present to pass without attempting to disclose some of the emotions which it cannot fail to awaken. The gratitude and Admiration of Your Countrymen are still drawn to the recollection of those resplendent virtues and talents which were so eminently instrumental to the atchievement of the revolution, and of which that glorious event will ever be the memorial. Your obedience to the voice of duty and Your Country, when you quitted reluctantly, a second time, the retreat You had chosen, and first accepted the Presidency, afforded a new proof of the devotedness of Your zeal in its service, and an earnest of the partiotism and success which have characterized Your administration. As the grateful confidence of the Citizens in the virtues of their chief Magistrate, has essentially contributed to that success, we persuade ourselves that the millions whom we represent, participate with us in the anxious solicitude of the present occasion. Yet we cannot be unmindful that Your moderation and magnanimity, twice displayed by retiring from your exalted stations, afford examples no less rare and instructive to mankind, than valuable to a Republic. Although we are sensible that this event, of itself, completes the lustre of a character already conspicously unrivalled by the coincidence of virtue, talents, success and public estimation; Yet we conceive we owe it to You, Sir, and still more emphatically to ourselves and to our nation, (of the language of whose hearts we presume to think ourselves, at this moment, the faithful interpreters) to express the sentiments with which it is contemplated. The spectacle of a free and enlightened nation offering by its Representatives the tribute of unfeigned approbation to its first Citizen, however novel and interesting it may be, derives all its lustre (a lustre which accident or enthusiasm could not bestow, and which adulation would tarnish) from the transcendant merit of which it is the voluntary testimony. May You long enjoy that liberty which is so dear to You, and to which Your name will ever be so dear: May Your own Virtues and a Nation’s prayers obtain the happiest Sunshine for the decline of Your days, and the choicest of future blessings. For our Country’s sake; for the sake of republican liberty, it is our earnest wish that Your example may be the guide of Your successors; and thus, after being the ornament and safe-guard of the present age, become the partimony of our descendants. Signed by order, and in behalf of the House, Jonathan Dayton Speaker. (Attest) John Beckley—Clerk. Source: https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Recipient%3A%22Washington%2C%20George%22%20Period%3A%22Washington%20Presidency%22%20Dates-From%3A1796-12-01%20Dates-To%3A1796-12-31&s=1511311121&sa=&r=22   https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Recipient%3A%22Washington%2C%20George%22%20Period%3A%22Washington%20Presidency%22%20Dates-From%3A1796-12-01%20Dates-To%3A1796-12-31&s=1511311121&sa=&r=31

Washington’s Eighth Annual Message United States; December 7, 1796 Fellow Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In recurring to the internal situation of our country since I had last the pleasure to address you, I find ample reason for a renewed expression of that gratitude to the Ruler of the Universe which a continued series of prosperity has so often and so justly called forth. The acts of the last session which required special arrangements have been as far as circumstances would admit carried into operation. Measures calculated to insure a continuance of the friendship of the Indians and to preserve peace along the extent of our interior frontier have been digested and adopted. In the framing of these care has been taken to guard on the one hand our advanced settlements from the predatory incursions of those unruly individuals who can not be restrained by their tribes, and on the other hand to protect the rights secured to the Indians by treaty - to draw them nearer to the civilized state and inspire them with correct conceptions of the power as well as justice of the Government. The meeting of the deputies from the Creek Nation at Colerain, in the State of Georgia, which had for a principal object the purchase of a parcel of their land by that State, broke up without its being accomplished, the nation having previous to their departure instructed them against making any sale. The occasion, however, has been improved to confirm by a new treaty with the Creeks their preexisting engagements with the United States, and to obtain their consent to the establishment of trading houses and military posts within their boundary, by means of which their friendship and the general peace may be more effectually secured. The period during the late session at which the appropriation was passed for carrying into effect the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and His Brittanic Majesty necessarily procrastinated the reception of the posts stipulated to be delivered beyond the date assigned for that event. As soon, however, as the Governor-General of Canada could be addressed with propriety on the subject, arrangements were cordially and promptly concluded for their evacuation, and the United States took possession of the principal of them, comprehending Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and Fort Miami, where such repairs and additions have been ordered to be made as appeared indispensable. The commissioners appointed on the part of the United States and of Great Britain to determine which is the river St. Croix mentioned in the treaty of peace of 1783, agreed in the choice of Egbert Benson, esq., of New York, for the 3rd commissioner. The whole met at St. Andrew's, in Passamaquoddy Bay, in the beginning of October, and directed surveys to be made of the rivers in dispute; but deeming it impracticable to have these surveys completed before the next year, they adjourned to meet at Boston in August, 1797, for the final decision of the question. Other commissioners appointed on the part of the United States, agreeably to the 7th article of the treaty with Great Britain, relative to captures and condemnation of vessels and other property, met the commissioners of His Britannic Majesty in London in August last, when John Trumbull, esq., was chosen by lot for the 5th commissioner. In October following the board were to proceed to business. As yet there has been no communication of commissioners on the part of Great Britain to unite with those who have been appointed on the part of the United States for carrying into effect the 6th article of the treaty. The treaty with Spain required that the commissioners for running the boundary line between the territory of the United States and His Catholic Majesty's provinces of East and West Florida should meet at the Natchez before the expiration of 6 months after the exchange of the ratifications, which was effected at Aranjuez on the 25th day of April; and the troops of His Catholic Majesty occupying any posts within the limits of the United States were within the same time period to be withdrawn. The commissioner of the United States therefore commenced his journey for the Natchez in September, and troops were ordered to occupy the posts from which the Spanish garrisons should be withdrawn. Information has been recently received of the appointment of a commissioner on the part of His Catholic Majesty for running the boundary line, but none of any appointment for the adjustment of the claims of our citizens whose vessels were captured by the armed vessels of Spain. In pursuance of the act of Congress passed in the last session for the protection and relief of American sea-men, agents were appointed, one to reside in Great Britain and the other in the West Indies. The effects of the agency in the West Indies are not yet fully ascertained, but those which have been communicated afford grounds to believe the measure will be beneficial. The agent destined to reside in Great Britain declining to accept the appointment, the business has consequently devolved on the minister of the United States in London, and will command his attention until a new agent shall be appointed. After many delays and disappointments arising out of the European war, the final arrangements for fulfilling the engagements made to the Dey and Regency of Algiers will in all present appearance be crowned with success, but under great, though inevitable, disadvantages in the pecuniary transactions occasioned by that war, which will render further provision necessary. The actual liberation of all our citizens who were prisoners in Algiers, while it gratifies every feeling of heart, is itself an earnest of a satisfactory termination of the whole negotiation. Measures are in operation for effecting treaties with the Regencies of Tunis and Tripoli. To an active external commerce the protection of a naval force is indispensable. This is manifest with regard to wars in which a State is itself a party. But besides this, it is in our own experience that the most sincere neutrality is not a sufficient guard against the depredations of nations at war. To secure respect to a neutral flag requires a naval force organized and ready to vindicate it from insult or aggression. This may even prevent the necessity of going to war by discouraging belligerent powers from committing such violations of the rights of the neutral party as may, first or last, leave no other option. From the best information I have been able to obtain it would seem as if our trade to the Mediterranean without a protecting force will always be insecure and our citizens exposed to the calamities from which numbers of them have but just been relieved. These considerations invite the United States to look to the means, and to set about the gradual creation of a navy. The increasing progress of their navigation promises them at no distant period the requisite supply of sea-men, and their means in other respects favor the undertaking. It is an encouragement, likewise, that their particular situation will give weight and influence to a moderate naval force in their hands. Will it not, then, be advisable to begin without delay to provide and lay up the materials for the building and equipping of ships of war, and to proceed in the work by degrees, in proportion as our resources shall render it practicable without inconvenience, so that a future war of Europe may not find our commerce in the same unprotected state in which it was found by the present? Congress have repeatedly, and not without success, directed their attention to the encouragement of manufactures. The object is of too much consequence not to insure a continuance of their efforts in every way which shall appear eligible. As a general rule, manufactures on public account are inexpedient; but where the state of things in a country leaves little hope that certain branches of manufacture will for a great length of time obtain, when these are of a nature essential to the furnishing and equipping of the public force in time of war, are not establishments for procuring them on public account to the extent of the ordinary demand for the public service recommended by strong considerations of national policy as an exception to the general rule? Ought our country to remain in such cases dependent on foreign supply, precarious because liable to be interrupted? If the necessary article should in this mode cost more in time of peace, will not the security and independence thence arising form an ample compensation? Establishments of this sort, commensurate only with the calls of the public service in time of peace, will in time of war easily be extended in proportion to the exigencies of the Government, and may even perhaps be made to yield a surplus for the supply of our citizens at large, so as to mitigate the privations from the interruption of their trade. If adopted, the plan ought to exclude all those branches which are already, or likely soon to be, established in the country, in order that they may be no danger of interference with pursuits of individual industry. It will not be doubted that with reference either to individual or national welfare agriculture is of primary importance. In proportion as nations advance in population and other circumstances of maturity this truth becomes more apparent, and renders the cultivation of the soil more and more an object of public patronage. Institutions for promoting it grow up, supported by the public purse; and to what object can it be dedicated with greater propriety? Among the means which have been employed to this end none have been attended with greater success than the establishment of boards (composed of proper characters) charged with collecting and diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary aids to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement. This species of establishment contributes doubly to the increase of improvement by stimulating to enterprise and experiment, and by drawing to a common center the results everywhere of individual skill and observation, and spreading them thence over the whole nation. Experience accordingly has shewn that they are very cheap instruments of immense national benefits. I have heretofore proposed to the consideration of Congress the expediency of establishing a national university and also a military academy. the desirableness of both these institutions has so constantly increased with every new view I have taken of the subject that I can not omit the opportunity of once for all recalling your attention to them. The assembly to which I address myself is too enlightened not to be fully sensible how much a flourishing state of the arts and sciences contributes to national prosperity and reputation. True it is that our country, much to its honor, contains many seminaries of learning highly repeatable and useful; but the funds upon which they rest are too narrow to command the ablest professors in the different departments of liberal knowledge for the institution contemplated, though they would be excellent auxiliaries. Amongst the motives to such an institution, the assimilation of the principles, opinions, and manners of our country-men by the common education of a portion of our youth from every quarter well deserves attention. The more homogenous our citizens can be made in these particulars the greater will be our prospect of permanent union; and a primary object of such a national institution should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic what species of knowledge can be equally important and what duty more pressing on its legislature than to patronize a plan for communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country? The institution of a military academy is also recommended by cogent reasons. However pacific the general policy of a nation may be, it ought never to be without an adequate stock of military knowledge for emergencies. The 1st would impair the energy of its character, and both would hazard its safety or expose it to greater evils when war could not be avoided; besides that, war might often not depend upon its own choice. In proportion as the observance of pacific maxims might exempt a nation from the necessity of practicing the rules of the military art ought to be its care in preserving and transmitting, by proper establishments, the knowledge of that art. Whatever argument may be drawn from particular examples superficially viewed, a thorough examination of the subject will evince that the art of war is at once comprehensive and complicated, that it demands much previous study, and that the possession of it in its most improved and perfect state is always of great moment to the security of a nation. This, therefore, ought to be a serious care of every government, and for this purpose an academy where a regular course of instruction is given is an obvious expedient which different nations have successfully employed. The compensation to the officers of the United States in various instances, and in none more than in respect to the most important stations, appear to call for legislative revision. The consequences of a defective provision are of serious import to the Government. If private wealth is to supply the defect of public retribution, it will greatly contract the sphere within which the selection of character for office is to be made, and will proportionally diminish the probability of a choice of men able as well as upright. Besides that, it should be repugnant to the vital principles of our Government virtually to exclude from public trusts talents and virtue unless accompanied by wealth. While in our external relations some serious inconveniences and embarrassments have been overcome and others lessened, it is with much pain and deep regret I mention that circumstances of a very unwelcome nature have lately occurred. Our trade has suffered and is suffering extensive injuries in the West Indies from the cruisers and agents of the French Republic, and communications have been received from its minister here which indicate the danger of a further disturbance of our commerce by its authority, and which are in other respects far from agreeable. It has been my constant, sincere, and earnest wish, in conformity with that of our nation, to maintain cordial harmony and a perfectly friendly understanding with that Republic. This wish remains unabated, and I shall persevere in the endeavor to fulfill it to the utmost extent of what shall be consistent with a just and indispensable regard to the rights and honor of our country; nor will I easily cease to cherish the expectation that a spirit of justice, candor, and friendship on the part of the Republic will eventually insure success. In pursuing this course, however, I can not forget what is due to the character of our Government and nation, or to a full and entire confidence in the good sense, patriotism, self-respect, and fortitude of my country-men. I reserve for a special message a more particular communication on this interesting subject. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have directed an estimate of the appropriations necessary for the service of the ensuing year to be submitted from the proper Department, with a view of the public receipts and expenditures to the latest period to which an account can be prepared. It is with satisfaction I am able to inform you that the revenues of the United States continue in a state of progressive improvement. A reenforcement of the existing provisions for discharging our public debt was mentioned in my address at the opening of the last session. Some preliminary steps were taken toward it, the maturing of which will no doubt engage your zealous attention during the present. I will only add that it will afford me a heart-felt satisfaction to concur in such further measures as will ascertain to our country the prospect of a speedy extinguishment of the debt. Posterity may have cause to regret if from any motive intervals of tranquillity are left unimproved for accelerating this valuable end. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: My solicitude to see the militia of the United States placed on an efficient establishment has been so often and so ardently expressed that I shall but barely recall the subject to your view on the present occasion, at the same time that I shall submit to your inquiry whether our harbors are yet sufficiently secured. The situation in which I now stand for the last time, in the midst of the representatives of the people of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the administration of the present form of government commenced, and I can not omit the occasion to congratulate you and my country on the success of the experiment, nor to repeat my fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and Sovereign Arbiter of Nations that His providential care may still be extended to the United States, that the virtue and happiness of the people may be preserved, and that the Government which they have instituted for the protection of their liberties may be perpetual. George Washington Source: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washs08.asp

President George Washington's Farewell Address — 1796 Friends and Fellow Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both. The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea. I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety, and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire. The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it. In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole. The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and, what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious. While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rival ships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the whole with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them everything they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by which they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them with aliens? To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government. All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion. Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property. I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield. Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened. As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate. Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it 7 It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices? In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations, has been the victim. So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils 7 Such an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests. The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies. Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing (with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them) conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated. How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them. In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the twenty-second of April, I793, is the index of my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it. After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness. The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without anything more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations. The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes. Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers. United States 19th September, 1796 Geo. Washington Source: https://www.ushistory.org/documents/farewelladdress.htm