THE DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WASHINGTON AND ADAMS 1789-1801. BY WILLIAM HENRY TRESCOT. BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY. 17 APR 1944 SIRGAS Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1857, by WILLIAM HENRY TRESCOT, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of South Carolina. CAMBRIDGE: ΤΟ HON. EDWARD EVERETT. DEAR SIR, SINCE the time when Massachusetts and South Carolina, Virginia and New York, gave to the public service of a common country such men as Washington and Adams, Jay and Pinckney, that country has travelled fast and far. Its territory has expanded, its influence extended, its character matured, and its place in the world has become proudly assured. But the spirit which informed their counsels has departed, and the language of their unselfish patriotism would be profaned in the party controversies of the day. What is to be the issue of this miserable dissension, God only knows. But whether this great empire is to outlive its angry disputes, and again move onwards in the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace, or whether the grand fabric is to be resolved into separate republics, each carrying out God's purpose in its special civilization, it cannot be amiss, in this day of hard thoughts and bitter words, to go back to our old days and to our ancient rulers for that sober wisdom, which, united or separate, can alone secure our prosperity. It ought not to surprise you, and I am sure it will surprise nobody else, that, fresh from the contemplation of the temperance, judgment, and patriotism of those great rulers, I should find a natural association between your character and that of the wise and virtuous men who created and adorned our early history. |