body
of laws befitting the condition of free citizens in an independent
State. From his first to his last session he contended, though without
success, for the faith of treaties and the honest payment of debts. The
treaty with England provided that there should be "no lawful impediment
on either side to the recovery of debts heretofore contracted." The
legislature notified Congress that it should disregard this provision,
on the plea that in relation to "slaves and other property" it had not
been observed by Great Britain. Mr. Madison did not then know that--as
he said three years later--"the infractions [of the treaty] on the part
of the United States preceded even the violation on the other side in
the instance of the negroes." He maintained, nevertheless, that the
settlement of the difficulty, if it had any real foundation, belonged to
Congress, the party to the treaty, and not to a State which had
surrendered the treaty-making power; and that in common honesty one
planter was not relieved from his obligation to pay a London merchant
for goods and merchandise received before the war, because other
planters had not been paid for the negroes and horses they had lost when
the British troops invaded Virginia. At each of the three sessions of
the legislature, while he was a member, he tried to bring that body to
adopt some line of conduct which should not--to use his own
words--"extremely dishonor us and embarrass Congress." It was useless;
the repudiators were quite deaf to any appeals either to their honor or
their patriotism.

On another question both he and his State were more fortunate. Religious
freedom had to be once more fought for, and he was quick to come to the
defense of a right which had first called forth his youthful enthusiasm.
Two measures were brought forward from session to session to secure for
the church the support of the state. The first was a bill for the
incorporation of religious societies; but when it was pushed to its
final passage it provided for the incorporation of Episcopal churches
only. For this Mr. Madison consented to vote, though with reluctance, in
the hope that the church party would be so far satisfied with this
measure as to abstain from pushing another which was still more
objectionable.

He was disappointed. Naturally those who had carried their first point
were the more, not the less, anxious for further success. Now it was
insisted that there should be a universal tax "for t