“ It is not in quality of a King, the friend and ally of the United States, (though with the knowledge and consent of his Majesty,) that I now have the honor to write to your Excellency. It is as a man of sensibility, and a tender father, who feels all the force of paternal love, that I take the liberty to address to your Excellency my earnest solicitations in favor of a mother and family in tears. ”

“ I feel, Sir, a personal interest in this great event from the distinguished honor it reflects upon you. In every other department our expectations have gone beyond our means of satisfying them. You have afforded the first instance of the contrary, and by creating the means have exceeded our most sanguine expectations.
We have the highest reason to conclude, that the preliminaries of a peace are signed before this. I have reason to hope that the terms of peace will comprize most of the great objects we have in view, and in some points almost exceed our expectations. ”

“ It is true we are at present in such a situation as to have no apprehensions for the final establishment of our independence; but surely it is a matter of some moment to us, whether we shall obtain it, or at least be freed from the ravages of the enemy and the burden of the war in the course of six months at the expense of eight millions of dollars, or whether we shall wait for it till a general and perhaps a distant peace, and be subject in the meanwhile to infinitely more expense, and all the distress that attends a country which is the seat of war. ”

“ If once an opinion is admitted, that those States who do the least and charge most will derive the greatest benefit, and endure the smallest evils; your Excellency must perceive that shameless inactivity must take the place of that noble emulation, which ought to pervade and animate the whole Union. It is my particular duty, while I remind my fellow citizens of the tasks, which it is incumbent on them to perform, to remove, if I can, every impediment which lies in the way, or which may have been raised by disaffection, self interest, or mistake. ”

“ I have gone through the task, which I proposed to myself in writing to your Excellency this letter, which I pray you to communicate to the Legislature of your State. I hope the Congress will soon be able to transmit their requisitions, and I shall endeavor that those be as moderate as possible. But I must pray that every man, whether in public or private life, will seriously consider the importance of complying with these requisitions. It is not by the brilliant successes of war, the splendor of conquest, or the shouts of victory, that a wise ministry are to be affected. ”

“ If, Sir, my feeble but honest efforts, should open to us the [Pg 405] prospect of American glory; if we should be enabled to look forward to a period, when, supported by solid revenue and resources, this war should have no other duration or extent than the wisdom of Congress might allow, and when its object should be the honor and not the independence of our country; if with these fair views the States should be roused, excited, animated, in the pursuit, and unitedly determining to be in that happy situation, find themselves placed there by the very determination ”

“ No doubt you have seen in the public papers, the plan for establishing a National Bank, the necessity of which everybody sees, that allows himself the least time for reflection on the present state of public credit. All the public bodies in America have, more or less, lost the confidence of the world as to money matters, by trying projects and applying expedients to stop a course of depreciation, which original errors had fixed too deeply to admit of any radical cure. ”

“ I have the pleasure of assuring your Excellency and the Legislature, that the fairest prospects are now before us of terminating the war by a single exertion, though I am not at liberty to say, that the plan of the ensuing campaign is absolutely determined on, yet I have great reason to believe, that we shall receive such powerful military aid, as, with becoming exertions on our part, will free every State in the Union from the grasp of the enemy. ”

“ The part your Excellency has acted in the cause of America, and the great and benevolent share you have taken in the establishment of her independence, are deeply impressed on my mind, and will not be effaced from my remembrance, or that of the citizens of America, but with the latest effects of time. You will accept, Sir, my warmest acknowledgements and congratulations, with assurances that I shall always participate, with the highest pleasure, in every event which may contribute to your happiness and satisfaction. ”

“ The Count de Vergennes assures us, that Britain will still make the most vigorous exertions. I mention these circumstances not only for your information, but that you may make the proper use of them in animating the exertions of the Southern States. It is the misfortune of America to presume too much upon each dawning of success, and to believe that peace must tread upon the heels of every little advantage, instead of being taught by her own struggles and difficulties, that every nation has resources, that surpass the expectations of its enemies. ”

“ I have the honor to be, Dear Sir, &c.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
CIRCULAR TO THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES. Philadelphia, April 12th, 1783.
Sir,
Permit me to offer you my congratulations on the important event announced by the United States, in Congress, in the enclosed Proclamation for the cessation of hostilities; an event, which is not only pleasing, as it relieves us from the accumulated distresses of war in the bowels of our country, but as it affords the fairest and most flattering prospects of its future greatness and prosperity. ”

“ I should presume, that the expense of foreign Ministers ought to be regulated by their salaries, though I feel that the desire of supporting the dignity of an office, to which the salary is incompetent, often urges men to quit the line, how much soever they may be embarrassed thereby. Justice and policy suggest, that the salaries of officers, who are engaged in so delicate and difficult a department as that of Foreign Affairs, should have such appointments as to free them from embarrassments with respect to their private affairs. ”

“ I dare not flatter myself, that your Excellency has any recollection of a man, who had the benefit of your acquaintance but a few days, and even at a time when he could not express himself in your language.
I arrived in America, Sir, when, after having rendered the most important services to the confederacy, and sustained with the greatest distinction, the office of President of Congress, that body had intrusted you with the important care of conducting their affairs in Spain, and in the principal Courts of Europe. ”

“ Are we to carry on a weak defensive war with an unpaid army, whose precarious subsistence must depend upon what can be torn by violence from the industrious husbandman? Shall we vainly, and I think disgracefully, supplicate all the powers of Europe for those means, which we have in our own hands, if we dare call them forth, and which, after all, must be called forth if we continue the war, (and upon that subject there can be no doubt, till the end for which we took up arms is attained.) ”

“ The faith of the United States is pledged to the public creditors. At every new loan it must be pledged anew, and an appeal is now made to the States individually, to support the public faith so solemnly pledged. If they do, it is possible that public credit may be restored, if not our enemies will draw from thence strong arguments in favor of what they have so often asserted, that we are unworthy of confidence, that our union is a rope of sand, that the people are weary of Congress, and that the respective States are determined to reject its authority. ”

“ I have to detail some facts, which will demand the most serious attention from every Legislature, and from every public officer in the United States. It is my determination to administer the affairs intrusted to my care according to plans, which are founded in sincerity and truth. Convinced of the folly of our enemy, in supposing that any considerable body of men in the United States are opposed to the Revolution, I am persuaded that, in order to remove the greater part of our difficulties, the first proper step is to state them fully to the people through their representatives. ”

“ I give the fullest credit, Sir, to your assurances, that you are ready to cultivate the spirit of harmony and good will between the subjects and citizens of his Britannic Majesty and these States, since I find them warranted by the humanity which has uniformly distinguished your command in America. But, Sir, time only, with liberality in those that govern in both countries, can entirely efface the remembrance of what has passed, and produce that per [Pg 332] fect good will, which I sincerely concur with you in wishing to cultivate. ”

“ Our people are not yet inured to taxation, neither has the revenue, which this country is capable of affording, been drawn fairly or fully into use. The derangement of our credit and finances, consequent upon the loss of faith in our paper, rendered it necessary for Congress to create a Superintendent of the Finances of the United States, in order, that he might regulate and settle the present debts, point out new funds, with the best means of collecting them, and superintend the public expenditures, so as to prevent as much as possible all excess or abuse. ”

“ Your Excellency must be equally sensible with us of the necessity, and we are perfectly convinced that you are disposed to assist in every measure tending to promote so desirable an object. You are also sensible of the impolicy of calling on the States for men or money, in numbers or quantities so extensive as to excite among even the zealous and considerate, ideas of the impracticability of carrying on the war on such terms. Demands of this nature, instead of animating to exertions, are only productive of hopeless languor. ”

“ It shall, therefore, be a part of my study to prepare every transaction for the public eye, so that the meanest individual may be in due time informed of those affairs, in which, as a free citizen, he is interested. The various reports, which have been circulated, the publications in the several gazettes, and even letters from some who ought to have known better, all these things have conspired to infuse an opinion, that every power in Europe is favorable to us; that great sums of money are already advanced to us, and that still greater may be obtained. ”

“ The resources of the next campaign lay in taxation, in the strictest economy, and in the assistance which we may reasonably hope to receive from the enemies of Great Britain, while we are making every exertion in the common cause. We flatter ourselves, that those powers who wish for peace, and who see America as the great object in Britain, in carrying on the war, will not suffer it to be lengthened out beyond the present year, when, by a moderate supply to us, they can terminate it in the course of one campaign. We form some expectations from the wisdom and generosity of Spain ”

“ Whereas if we delay to enable Congress to say to their allies, "we are ready for an effectual co-operation with any force you may send," they will turn their attention to other objects, and leave us to lament in vain the opportunities we have lost. Every motive then, national honor, national interest, public economy, private ease, and that love of freedom, which pervades every Legislature on the Continent, call loudly not only for a compliance with the requisitions [Pg 227] of Congress, but for so early a compliance as to render it effectual. ”

“ I have, in a former letter, forwarded to your Excellency, an account of the specific supplies, which Congress had demanded from your State. It now becomes my duty again to press for a compliance with those demands. The exigencies of the service require immediate attention. We are on the eve of the most active operations; and should they be in anywise retarded by the want of necessary supplies, the most unhappy consequences may follow. Those who may be justly chargeable with neglect, will have to answer for it to their country, their allies, to the present generation, and to posterity. ”

“ This superiority, however, is amply compensated to free governments by the ardent attachment of their citizens, and the general confidence, which enables them to make exertions beyond their force, and expend in one year the revenues of many. A single view of our enemy, in the unequal contest she now carries on, will demonstrate these advantages more clearly than any arguments. The credit of Great Britain is not only her chief, but it is almost her only support. ”

“ That the great object of England is America; that she will not cede it while she can carry on the war; that she will certainly make great exertions the ensuing campaign; that equal exertions are therefore necessary on our part. That Spain and Holland view America as the great obstacle to a peace, from which consequences may flow, which people of judgment may easily foresee. ”

“ The public opinion, as to the conduct of other Princes and States, has greatly injured us by relaxing our exertions. But the opinion as to pecuniary aid has been still more pernicious. People have flattered themselves with a visionary idea, that nothing more was necessary, than for Congress to send a Minister abroad, and that immediately he would obtain as much money as he chose to ask for. That, when he opened a loan, hundreds would run to see who should have the honor of subscribing to it, and the like. ”

“ It has been my study to make the bills as productive as circumstances would permit, and to apply the money to the purposes for which it was granted, under the most scrupulous and assiduous attention to the principles of economy, and I may hazard the opinion, that no money has been more frugally or usefully expended by the United States during the war, without the least danger of being put in the wrong. ”