The New Hampshire Gazette

Interesting Documents.

Correspondence between James Monroe,

and Timothy Pickering, Secretary

of State.

Concluded.

From Mr. Monroe to the Secretary

of State.

Philadelphia, July 30th, 1797

SIR,

I HAVE received, and attended to

your official letter of the 24th, and

your private of the 25th inst. and

shall now reply to both.

Permit me to promise, that in any

diffusion which has, or may take

place between us, I have not, nor

shall I consider you in any other than

your official character, having yet to

learn what your pretensions are to

confidence as an individual citizen,

or the weight which your opinion

ought to have, as such, especially in

the present case.

I think proper now to observe,

that when I called upon you for your

explanation of the motives of the

administration in making this attack

upon me, it was not with a view to

derive any information for myself.

I have been too long and too well

acquainted with the political con-

duct, principles, and views of the

administration not to know what its

motives were in that respect, without

any aid from you. Indeed, knowing

what my own conduct was, and what

your views are, of which a series of

facts and circumstances leaves no

doubt on my mind, I had no expect-

ation of obtaining from you, any

thing like a candid answer. On the

contrary, I expected an evasive one,

dealing in hints & innuendos, thrown

out to divert the mind from the true

object of enquiry. Nor have I been

disappointed in my expectation ; for

I am persuaded, that no impartial

person can read your several letters

upon this subject, without entertain-

ing the same opinion of them.

I expected even a disguise of the

real motives, and by every possible

artifice which interest or ingenuity

could suggest, because I knew the

real motives could not be avowed :

and such I am persuaded, will be the

opinion of every impartial person,

who, after reading your letters, traces

the true motives, by a correct analysis

of those facts and circumstances to

which I allude.

I called upon you in that spirit of

candour which I have always obser-

ved towards the administration and

others, and to give you an opportu-

ity to justify your conduct by your

own arguments, and merely place it

in the light you wished it to stand.

But this you have refused to do, and

for reasons the most extraordinary.

In calling upon you then, I have

acted consistently with my own prin-

ciples ; and in refusing to comply,

you have taken a ground for which

the administration is responsible.

I forbear to discuss again, the so-

lidity of that principle which suppo-

ses every public officer of the United

States (the judges excepted) a me-

ial servant to the president ; a prin-

ciple, which, if established, banishes

from the bosom of every such officer

all regard for his country ; every

noble and patriotic sentiment ; and

makes him dependent, not upon the

integrity and propriety of his own

conduct, but upon the personal fa-

vour of his superior. If such were

the case, what confidence could 'the

people of America repose in any

public functionary, since after he gets

into office, whatever may have been

his character before, he sinks into a

machine, and ceases to be a watchful

sentinel over the public rights and

interests ? If such were the case, the

principles and practice of our own

government are departed from, and

the most slavish governments are in-

troduced in their stead. And that

such must be the case is obvious, if

the executive can exercise the discre-

tion you speak of, in the pleasurable

manner you contend for, and with-

out accounting for any of its acts, or

the motives of them in any case, to

the party injured, the public, or any

person whatsoever. This doctrine

merits the attention of the people of

America, because it is a pernicious

one. They have provided in the

constitution, they have adopted a

suitable mode for appointment of

public officers, and which supposes a

due regard to be paid to the charact-

ers of those who are appointed, and

with a view that they may be faith-

fully served. They pay too their

public officers, President and all,

liberally, and ought to be faithfully

served. They have likewise provided

for and with a supervision of the su-

perior over the inferior ; but I trust

it is their intention that the merit

and character of the latter should be

estimated by the standard of his in-

tegrity and public services, and not

by the whim, caprice, or any less

worthy motive of those about him.

Nor shall I discuss the solidity of

the principle, or the policy of the

practice you have adopted, of open-

ing a door in your office for the re-

ception of spies and informers, to

whose communications it appears,

implicit faith is given, although their

names, their characters and even the

purport of their denunciations be

withheld. This practice is of great

antiquity, and is now in use in the

despotic governments of Europe, but

I hoped never to see it transplanted

to this side of the Atlantic, especially

in the degree to which you extend it.

I dismiss these topics from view, be-

cause they are only incidental to the

main object of enquiry, and involve

principles, in which I am not inter-

ested, otherwise than in common with

every other American citizen. I

have noticed them, however, that

their tendency may be correctly un-

derstood.

But I think proper to make a few

comments upon the hints and innu-

endoes contained in your letter of

the 24th, and with a view to place

them and your conduct in making

them, in their true light.

You suggest many cases, which,

provided they exist, you say, would

justify the executive in the removal

and censure of a public minister, or

other officer, such for example, as a

" defect of judgment, skill, or dili-

gence: the want of confidence in

him by the administration ; his hold-

ing improper correspondences with

men known to be hostile to the gov-

ernment he represents and whose ac-

tions tend to its subversion ; his coun-

tenancing and inviting from a mis ta-

ken view of the interests of his own

country, a conduct in another dero-

gatory from and injurious to those

interests, &c.". The existence of any

of these cases you say would justify

the removal of any public minister.

It is not my intention to contest

with you abstract principles, because

I will readily admit that if a public

officer be incompetent to the duties of

his office, whether it proceed from

want of judgment, skill or diligence ;

if he be the tool or partizan of ano-

ther country, against the honour and

interest of his own ; or be associated

with foreigners of any description

whatever, or with the agents or crea-

tures of foreign powers, in promoting

any plan of conspiracy against, insur-

rection in, or disorganization of his

own country, that in any and every

such case, such officer, whether he

be employed at home or abroad,

ought to be dismissed and disgraced,

or rather severely punished ; for dis-

grace upon those who are capable of

committing such enormities is no

punishment at all. But do you mean

to apply any of these imputations to

me ? If so, why not avow it and pre-

sent your proof ? Would it not be

more manly so to do, than to deal in

innuendo and insinuation, which,

without making you responsible for

any charge, are perhaps, intended

to be understood as such? Or do you

hope that we shall take these innu-

endoes for facts, without your de-

claring them to be so, or producing

any testimony to support them

This might perhaps, promote your

views in the present case, but would

certainly not promote the cause of

truth.

With respect to the clamour which

is so incessantly raised (and of which

you seem to avail yourself in the pre-

sent instance) of danger to the gov-

ernment, from the exercise of free-

dom of opinion, in debate and wri-

ting, or of your insinuation that I

had improper correspondence with

any such persons, it is one which

merits no reply. I have no corres-

pondent in whom I repose confidence,

who has not given at least as strong

proof of his attachment to good gov-

ernment and good order, and who is

not as much interested (perhaps

more so) in the preservation of those

blessings as yourself, or any of those

who make the loudest clamour on

that subject. Nor have I had a com-

munication with any person or per-

sons whilst employed abroad, or at

any other time of a public nature,

but with a view to preserve the gov-

ernment and the union entire : al-

ways seeking to counteract the difu-

niting, disorganizing projects of those

who secretly wish to subvert them.

Do you know of any correspondence

of mine exhibiting an opposite cha-

racter ? or having an opposite ten-

dency ? If you do, produce it and

then we will discuss this point fur-

ther. But till then I shall consider

this innuendo like the others, as be-

ing thrown out only to obscure the

subject and divert the mind from the

true object of enquiry.

And upon the point of confidence

between the administration and my-

self, with respect to the period of its

commencement and termination on

both sides (if indeed it ever existed

on theirs in the view in which I had

reason to believe it did) with the

cause which created and destroyed it,

I shall say but little at present, be-

cause it is a very important one, and

requires to be more fully illustrated

than the nature of this communica-

tion will admit of. This point in-

volves in it the whole policy of the

administration in my mission and re-

call, and will I think when fully un-

derstood, tend essentially to illustrate

the conduct, principles and views of

the administration during this great

and interesting crisis of human af-

fairs. I think proper, however, to

observe here, that whatever may be

the opinion of the world, as to the

merits of this administration in these

respects, or of its conduct towards

me through the whole of my mission,

I can show in the most satisfactory

manner, that my political character

and principles, whilst a member of

the American senate, and whilst min-

ister plenipotentiary of the United

States with the French Republic,

were always the same, and that in

both stations and through every vi-

cissitude of affairs, it was the constant

and laborious effort of my life, to

preserve peace, harmony, and per-

fect amity between the two Repub-

lics. I can show too, that those ef-

forts had produced and were still pro-

ducing a good effect, of which the

administration had full knowledge,

at the very moment when it endea-

vored to impress the public with a

belief that I had failed to do my du-

ty. The administration may, per-

haps, find it hereafter expedient to

explain, why I was invited to accept

that mission, and confided in at that

time, and why that confidence was

withdrawn afterwards. Were my

political character and principles less

known in the former stage than in

the latter ? I presume not, or at the

time when I was invited to accept

this mission to the French Republic,

I was a member of the Senate of the

United States, and had acted with

such decision upon all topics which

came before that body, as to leave

no doubt with any one what my po-

litical principles were. Was there

any particular object in view depend-

ing any where at the former period,

and which my appointment to the

republic might then promote ? And

did the accomplishment of that object

produce a change in the policy of

the administration towards that re-

public, and of what nature was that

object ? I suggest these ideas inci-

dentally only, and without meaning

to go fully into them.

So much I have thought proper

to say in reply to the hints and innu-

endoes contained in your letter of the

24th and which I presume will fully

explain your motives in making them.

I will now proceed to another point

of more importance in the present

enquiry.

The change in the political situa-

tion of the United States, is too ob-

vious and interesting not to attract

the attention and excite the sensibility

of even those who are the least

observant. A few years past, the

name of America was a venerable

name in the catalogue of nations.--

It commanded the respect and drew

the sympathetic attention of all pow-

ers and of all men. Her commerce

and her agriculture flourished hand

in hand, and her people were happy.

Beloved by her ancient friends, and

dreaded by her ancient foes, there

was no cloud in the political horizon

to darken her prospects. A coalition

of tyrants, it is true, whose avowed

object it was to extirpate liberty from

off the face of the globe, excited un-

easiness for a while ; soon however

the strong and potent arm of repub-

licanism crushed its efforts, and a-

verted the storm. But what a re-

verse has now taken place and where

will the catastrophe end ? Our na-

tional character has not only already

greatly declined, and our commerce

and agriculture greatly suffered, but

we are upon the point of being in-

volved in a war with our ancient and

deserving ally, now become a repub-

lic after our example, and on the side

of the remnants of that same coalition

which was lately armed against the

liberties of the world.--Strange and

almost incredible event indeed ! By

what means has this change been

produced ? Much has been said and

done by the administration not simply

to exculpate itself from all blame in

that respect, but to criminate others,

and when called upon to substantiate

its charges what has been the result ?

Let your letters show.

It is now time to close this subject

and to bring into view an important

question, which must be decided on.

Has the administration performed its

duty to its country in these great

concerns, and acquitted itself to the

public as it ought to have done ? in

my judgment it has not. Might we

not have avoided this crisis by other

and obvious measures, more consistent

with our national honour and inter-

est, and without exposing ourselves

to any real danger whatever ? In my

judgment we might. In this latter

view then the subject acquires new

importance and is entitled to more

particular attention.

You will readily perceive that our

fellow-citizens, in general are deeply

interested in the several points in dis-

cussion between us, to whom it like-

wise belongs to estimate yours and

my own conduct ; and I now think

proper to inform you, that it is my

intention to carry this subject before

that enlightened and impartial tribu-

nal, with all the lights which I pos-

sess. I am, sir, with due respect,

yours, &c.

From Mr. Monroe to the Secretary

of State.

July 31, 1797.

Mr. Monroe requests Col. Picker-

ing to inform his colleagues, that the

evident impropriety of his having

any communication otherwise than

with the administration itself upon

an act for which he holds the admin-

istration responsible, precludes his re-

ceiving from them, as individual ci-

tizens, any information whatever re-

specting the motives which governed

them in the case referred to. He

declines this, with the greater plea-

sure, because the course he finds it

necessary to adopt for the examina-

tion and development of this subject

generally, offers to those gentlemen,

as individual citizens, an opportunity

to communicate the motives of their

conduct in that case to the commu-

ity at large, through which channel

only can he attend to them.