First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly & without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal & unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land & not by the law of Nations. There are other good things of less moment. I am much pleased too with the substitution of the method of voting by persons, instead of that of voting by states: and I like the negative given to the Executive with a third of either house, though I should have liked it better had the Judiciary been associated for that purpose, or invested with a similar and separate power. I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great & little states, of the latter to equal, and the former to proportional influence. yet this evil does not weigh against the good of preserving inviolate the fundamental principle that the people are not to be taxed but by representatives chosen immediately by themselves. For tho’ I think a house chosen by them will be very illy qualified to legislate for the Union, for foreign nations &c. I like the power given the Legislature to levy taxes, and for that reason solely approve of the greater house being chosen by the people directly. I like the organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary & Executive. I like much the general idea of framing a government which should go on of itself peaceably, without needing continual recurrence to the state legislatures. I will therefore make up the deficiency by adding a few words on the Constitution proposed by our Convention. The season admitting only of operations in the Cabinet, and these being in a great measure secret, I have little to fill a letter. I hope they will absorb all the Certificates of our Domestic debt speedily in the first place, and that then offered for cash they will do the same by our foreign one. I am much pleased that the sale of Western lands is so succesful. 1 Perhaps he may have mislaid the little parcel of rice among his baggage. This person was an engraver particularly recommended to Dr. Bourgoin was to be the bearer of both and both were delivered together into the hands of his relation here who introduced him to me, and who at a subsequent moment undertook to convey them to Mr. The parcel of rice which you informed me had miscarried accompanied my letter to the Delegates of S. I shall hope therefore still to receive from you the result of the further enquiries my second letter had asked. It is to gratify the lady who is at the head of the Convent wherein my daughters are, & who, by her attachment & attention to them, lays me under great obligations. Burke’s case, tho’ you will have found by a subsequent letter that I have asked of you a further investigation of that matter. I must thank you too for the information in Thos. If I know myself it would not excite ill blood in me, while it would assist to guide my conduct, perhaps to justify it, and to keep me to my duty, alert. I would be glad even to know when any individual member thinks I have gone wrong in any instance. These little informations are very material towards forming my own decisions. First and most for the cyphered paragraph respecting myself. I have only had time to read the letters, the printed papers communicated with them, however interesting, being obliged to lie over till I finish my dispatches for the packet, which dispatches must go from hence the day after tomorrow. have been successively received, yesterday, the day before & three or four days before that.
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