r. Jefferson or his confidential friends
that the letter was in general his, but that one sentence was
fabricated, there is not perhaps an individual in the United States
who would have pointed to that which censured the conduct of our
government towards France, as the fabricated sentence. That which
placed the then chief magistrate at the head of the "Anglican,
monarchical, and aristocratical party which had sprung up," would have
been much more probably selected. This conjecture is hazarded because,
at the date of the letter,[60] Mr. Jefferson shared the confidence of
General Washington, and was on terms of intimate professed friendship
with him; while his censures of the conduct of the United States
towards France were open and unreserved. The sentence there said to be
interpolated would, if really written by him, have involved no
imputation on his sincerity,--would have consisted perfectly with his
general declarations. These declarations were so notorious, especially
after the mission of Mr. Jay to Great Britain, and the reception of
the treaty negotiated by him, that there was perhaps not an individual
in the United States, at all conversant with public affairs, to whom
they were unknown. Without reference to other proofs, sufficient
evidence of this fact is furnished by that portion of his
correspondence which has been selected for publication. Some examples
will be quoted.

[Footnote 60: April, 1796.]

In a letter of the 27th of April, 1795,[61] he says, "I sincerely
congratulate you on the great prosperities of our two first allies,
the French and the Dutch.[62] If I could but see them now at peace
with the rest of their continent, I should have little doubt of dining
with Pichegru in London next autumn; for I believe I should be tempted
to leave my clover for a while, to go and hail the dawn of
republicanism in that island."

[Footnote 61: Vol. iii. p. 313.]

[Footnote 62: Holland, it will be remembered, had been
conquered by Pichegru.]

In a letter of September 21st, 1795,[63] after speaking of the
discussions in the papers concerning the treaty, and alluding to the
efforts made to give it effect as the boldest act of Hamilton and Jay
to undermine the government, he says, "a bolder party stroke was never
struck. For it certainly is an attempt by a party who find they have
lost their majority in one branch of the legislature, to make a law by
the aid of the other branch and of the ex