A Leaf from History.
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about the time of the western insurrection nearly a leader, exerted all of his influence against to the close of Mr. Adams' administration that any violent acts or words. He learned from the executive anxiously sought a pretext for a letter, written by one of the ultra leaders sending an army to Kentucky in order to quell to another (shown to him by the recipient) that spirit in the people of announcing to the that the Spanish Minister, Mr. Gardoqui, public their opinions on the measures of govern was taking advantage of the situation to urge ment which did not meet their approbation; alliance with his country. The letter was amongst which were the Excise laws, Alien Stamp laws, British treaty, etc. I am confirmed as follows : in my belief of the then general opinion, from In private conferences which I have had perfectly recollecting that the people were often with Mr. Gardoqui, the Spanish Minister at this exhorted (by the more popular amongst us) to place, and have been assured by him, in the avoid opposing the execution of any law of the most explicit manner, that if Kentucky will de general government and in particular the excise clare her independence, and empower some law, as there was strong evidence that the gov proper person to negotiate with him, that he has ernment was disposed to make the least oppo authority and will engage to open the naviga sition to the execution of any law, the pretext tion of the Mississippi, for the exportation of of marching an army into our country to crush their produce, on terms of mutual advantage. that republican spirit so predominant amongst Col. Marshall was an intimate friend of us. George Washington, and in a long letter, The above answers to your queries are cor dated February 8, 1789, gave Gen. Washing rect as far as my memory serves me at the ton a full account, as he then believed it, of present time. the state of affairs, " the symptoms of for Yr ob serv. eign intrigue and internal disaffection," he JOHN BRADFORD. called it. To Judge Harry Innés, Col. Marshall was generous, fearless, sin Frankfort, Ky. In 1785 Don Diego Gardoqui came to cere and outspoken, and the next year wrote "press the Spanish demands," and the next Gen. Washington : My suspicions of some of the men I believe year, to the horror of Kentuckians, Congress, by the votes of the eastern and middle states, to be implicated, I now think wrong. I think instructed the Secretary of State, Mr. Jay, them innocent. He then proceeded, as an evidence of his "not to insist upon the immediate use of trust in them to recommend several of the the river." A letter written from Louisville found its men he had mentioned in his previous letters, for military commissions of high trust. way to Tennessee. It said : In Gen. acknowledging Washington the in his receipt replyofsays your: letter In case we are not countenanced and sec onded by the United States, our allegiance will be thrown off and some other power applied to. Great Britain stands ready with open arms to receive and support us, so do other powers. The situation was indeed alarming, and it is not strange that men, prominent and bril liant, should have viewed it with such con cern and should have considered every prop osition to mend it. Col. Thomas Marshall, the father of the Chief Justice, who was a man of great abil ity and strength of character, and naturally
of the i ith of September (1790), I must beg you to accept my thanks for the pleasing communi cation which it contains of the good disposition of the people of Kentucky towards the govern ment of the United States. I never doubted but that the operations of this government if not per verted by prejudice or evil designs, would in spire the citizens of America with such confi dence in it, as effectually to do away those ap prehensions which, under our former confeder ation, our best men entertained of divisions among ourselves, or allurements from other na
