Show installment 20 political creed sly creed he said la to bo wise in the choice of delegates sup port them lahe gentlemen while they are our representatives give them competent powers for all federal pur poses support them in the due exer else thereof and lastly to compel them to close attendance in congress during ther delegation but his thoughts took wider scope as the months passed and nothing quickened them more than his western trip he caw how much of the future traveled with those slow wagon trains of immigrants into the west realized how they were leaving them the akers that ran to the old ports at the sea and down into the valleys outlet ana the great highway of the mississippi and the borts of the gulf how tho great ridge af pf the lay plied between thorn and the older seats of settlement with only here and there a gap to let n road through only here and there two rivers alyine close enough at their sources to link the east with the west and the likelihood of a sepa ration between the to populations beemon to him as obvious as the tilt of the mountains upon either slope words of wisdom there Is nothing which binds one country or one state to another but interest he said without this cement the western inhabitants who more than probably will be composer in great degree ot frel gneri can have no predilection for us and a commercial is the only tta we can have upon them tha western battlers he declared while belll fresh from the ohio stand aa it were upon a plot the touch of a feather would turn them any way lown the mississippi to join their interests with those of the spaniard or back to the mountain roads and the of the eastern streams to make for themselves them solves a new allegiance m the east pe was glad to sea artie spaniard so as to cloe the mississippi the commerce offered him and hoped that things might stand so until etere should have been a little time allowed to open and make easy the vaye between the atlantic states and tho western territory to opec the potomac tho opening of the upper reaches of the potomac to navigation had long awn a favorite object with ton now it seemed nothing less than a necessity it had awn part of the original schema of the old ohio company to use mens of winning a way for commerce through the mountains steps bad bf n taken more than ty years ago to act in the matter through private subscription and ac uve measures for securing the feces eary legislation from the assemblies of and maryland wre in course when washington was cail ed to cambridge and revolution drew mens minds imperatively off from the business for an empires trade in 1770 washington had written to jefferson of the project as a means of opening a channel tor the extensive trade of a rising empire now the empire of which he had had a vision was no longer britain a but americas own and it was become a matter of exigent political necessity to keep that western country against estrangement winning it by commerce and cloae sympathy sym path to join itself with the old in building up a free corn pany of united states upon the great continent already the wt was astir for the formation of new states had taken the broad and national view of her duty that wash ington held and had ceded to tho confederation all her ancient claims to the lands that lay northwest of the ohio river reserving or her self taa fair region that stretched arnth of that great stream from her own mountains to the mississippi north carolinas settlers defiant north carolina would have ceded her western lands belond the mountains also had they been empty and unclaimed like tha baat territory that lay belong tho ohio but for many a year settlers bad been crossing tho moun balna into those valleys and both thle region and that which virginia still kept showed many a clear ine now and may a rude hamlet where hardy frontiersmen were mak ing a sew home for rather than be handed over to con grees to bo disposed of by an author ity which DO one else waa bound to obey north carolina s set tiers declared would form a state of their own M d north carolina had to recall her of their lands to the bedora their plans of defiance could be checked and defeated virginia found her own froat lers men no less ready to tako tho india affair touched their uve in whatever si closes lower aln the united states jal her ports but to grant them the use ot the lower courses of the mississippi lest berri aortal aggression should be pushed loo shrewdly in that quarter and news reached the bottlers beyond the moun bains in the far counties of carolina and virginia that mr jay the confederation s secretary for foreign affairs had proposed to the congress to yield the navigation of the mississippi for a generation in e change for trade on the seas they flatly declared they would give them solves and their lands too into the hands of england again rather than submit to be BO robbed cramped and deserted the new england states on their part threatened to withdraw from the confederation it treaties were to be icaria to vait upon the assent of frontiersmen on tho far mississippi the situation flaa full of menace of no ordinary sort it could profit ahe little that great states ilko virginia and new york had grown magnanimous and were endowing the with vast gifts of territory in the west it such gifts were but to hooson uia further the already slackened bonda of the common government leaving settlers in the unclaimed lands no allegiance they could respect without a national government spirited and strong enough to frame poll cles and command obedience we shaft never establish a nasonal na tonal character aibe conal dered as on respect able looting by the powers washington had said aiom the first washington urge union he had made a moet solemn appeal to the states in his last to them ero he resigned his urging heia to strengthen the powers of con greba put and jealousy away and make sure of an india soluble union under one federal head an option Is still left to the united states of america he had told them with all hla plain and stately elo quence it is id their choice apfl depends upon their conduct whether they will ba respectable and prosperous or and miserable as a nation this la the alm of their political probation the baiardi of that had been a burden his heart through all abe toil of tho and now it as if the eastes must needs teake every evil choice in atheni congress could not BO much aa carry out the of the treaty of peace for its had mode promises in the name of the states which the states would not redeem england breaks her agreement angland consequently refused to keep her part of the agreement awl relinquish the western posts she levied commercial war the country besides without tear of reprisal for congress had no to regulate trade and the were too jealous 0 each other to oo in this or any other matter english statesmen had consented to give up the colonies and recognize their independence m a nation rather than face any longer the world in arms but they now looked to see them presently drop back into their hands again out of sheer helplessness and hopeless division in counsel and there were observant men in america who deemed the thing possible though it brought an intolerable fire into their blood to think of lt in financial straits other nations too were last con calving a ilka contempt for the con federation it was making no provision for the payment of the vast sums of money if had borrowed abroad in and holland and spain and it could not make any it could only ask the states for money and must count self fortunate to get enough to pay even the interest on ita debts it mas this that foreign courts were finding out that the was a mere government of supplication as randolph had dubbed it and ts credit broke utterly down frenchman and spaniard alike would only have laughed in contemptuous derl flon to eee the whole fabric go to pieces and were beginning to interest themselves with surmises as to what plunder it bould afford to paper the states which lay neighbors to each other were embroiled in boun dary disputes and were fallen to levying duties en each others commerce they were individually in debt besides and were many 0 them resort ine to issues 0 irredeemably paper nonay to relieve themselves vea of tho in evitable evl table taK atlon that must sooner or 1 y pay their reckonings we are either a united people or A e are not so cried washington if the former let ua in all matters of general concern act as a nation has a national character to support if we are not let us no longer abot a farce by pretending to it As the months passed it began to look as it the tarco might be turned into a edy washington self Poe cd i the troubles of the country though be filled his letters with them and wrung his heart tor phrases of protest and persuasion that would tell effect bally in the deep labor of working out the sufficient ot a roused and united opinion though he deemed them personal to himself and knew his own fame in danger to be undone by them did not break the self possession of washington s life at mount vernon its astonishing tho packets of letters that dally come tor him from all parts of the world ox claimed an english visitor but it was not till he had struggled to keep pace with hla correspondence unassisted for a year and a halt that he employed a secretary to help him letters of friendship require no study he rote to general knox the communications are easy and allowances are expected and made this 1 not the case with choso that require rehe archea consideration recollection ol and the d I 1 know what to prevent error and to answer the ends or which they anre written lie grew almost docile nevertheless under tha gratuitous task of courtesy thrust upon him hie gallantry bred in him since a boy the sense of duty to alch he was born his feeling that what he had done had la some eort committed him to arva hla country mon and hla friends everywhere though it w era only in answering questions disposed him to sacrifice his comfort and his privacy to every ona who had the slightest claim his attention submits to the he oven found sitting for hla portrait grow easy at last in for a penny li tor a pound Is an old adage he laughed lau shed writing to francis hop kanson 1 I am BO to the touches of the painters that I 1 am now altogether at their beck and cit like patience on a whilst they aro the lines of my face at first I 1 was as impatient at the request and aa rest ivo under the operation aa a colt Is of the saddle the next time I 1 subi milled very reluctantly but leas now no dray horse moves more readily to his thill vian I 1 do to tha painters chair the failure of abbe public credit K concerned to note the tact that though a hundred alws be ans t buy butter for his guests ho saw to it that there should be t least a very definite and efficient government upon hla own abid when there was need put bis own hand to the work he often with his men himself stripe ats coat and labors like a common man measures with his own hands every bt of building or construction that Is going forward and shows a great turn for mechanics one of his greets noted amidst on bis great ness and hla gracious dignity by war it was euch constancy and and spirit in living that took the ad mi ration of au men alike upon the instant and his neighbors every day caw here the same strenuous and alm pie gentleman they had kiowa before over the war began it was through th opening of the potomac after all the thing nearest his hand that a way was found to cure the country of its malady of and disorder washington bad been chosen krysl dent of the potomac company that it might have the advantage both of alsi nalma and of his capacity in aters rs and he h 4 go upon a tour of inspection spec tion with the directors of the company to the falls of the river in the summer of 1785 keeping steadily to the business he had come upon and insisting upon being in tact a private gentleman busy with hla own despite the efforts made everywhere he went to see and to enter tain him and it presently became evident even to the least sanguine tint the long talked of work waa real ly to be carried through plan ridiculed by baltimore A visitor at mount vernon in the summer of 1785 found quite pleased at tha lda of tha merchants mpr chants laughing at him and saying it was a ridiculous plan and would never succeed they begin now says the general to look a little serious about the matter ai they know it must hurt their corn merce amazingly the scheme had shown its yol consequence in the spring of that very year when it brought commissioners from the two estates that lay upon the river together in to devise plans ot co commission at mount vernon doth virginia and myland had ap commissioners and a meeting bad awen set for march 1785 at aleia andria for somo reason the virgin an were not notified of the place and aroa of con ference tha meeting was held nevertheless a minority of the mr commissioners being arent and as it to alvo it more tho air of a cordial conference ot neighbors washington invited the representatives of both states to adjourn from alexandria to mount vernon there they sat ats guests from arl day to monday lie was not formally of the commission bat conference T was not confined to their formal ces and his counsel entered into their determinations wants general conference it was evident that two states were not enough to decide the questions j submitted to them pennsylvania at least must be consulted before the full line of trade they sought could be dhawn from tho headwaters of the ohio to the headwaters of the poto mac and it three states were to consult upon questions of trade which concerned tho whole continent why should not more be invited and the conference be made general such was the train ot suggestion certainly that ran in washington a mind and which the commissioners home with them A tour of inspection every sign of the time served to deepen its significance for washings ton just before quitting tha army be had ridden upon a tour of inspection into tho valley of the mohawk where a natural way like this of the potomac ran from the northern settlements into the west ute knew that the question of joining the potomac with the aa but one item of a policy which all the states must con elder and settle nothing leas than the policy which must make them an empire or doom them to remain a weak and petty confederacy the commissioners did not put all that they had beard at mount vernon into their reports to their respect lva movement spreads they recommended only that be aldea operating cooperating co with each othor and with pennsylvania in opening a way to the western waters virginia nd maryland should adopt a uniform system of duties and df commercial regulations and should turn rules regarding their currency hut the maryland assembly aselt went further it presently informed tho virginia legislature that it had not only adopted the measures recommended by the commissioners but thought it also to do something more delaware bight to be consulted w ath a view to carrying a straight water course by canal from bliesa peake bay to the delaware river and elace conference could do no harm aad bind nobody it would be as well to inalta all the states to confer with them for the questions involved seemed far reaching enough to it it not to make it necessary GOT erbor bowdoin of had that very year urged his legislature to a general convention ot tha in aba interest of trade the whole country was in a tan gle of disagreement about to congress the power to lay am gardoqui it M rumored waa insisting for spain upon losing the mississippi enough conference was needed every bt rul man might well pray that it wild bring leae and accommodation when Ma rylands suggestion WM read in the virginian assembly there waa prompt acquiescence virginia ashod all the states ot the union jan nary 1786 to wad delegates 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