aling with him. Henry Lee, for
instance, was so foolish as to borrow five thousand dollars from this
representative of a foreign and unfriendly power; Gardoqui, of course,
lending the money under the impression that its receipt would bind Lee
to the Spanish interest. [Footnote: Gardoqui MSS., Gardoqui to
Floridablanca, December 5, 1787; August 27, 1786; October 25, 1786;
October 2, 1789, etc. In these letters White is frequently alluded to as
"Don Jaime."]

Madison, Knox, Clinton, and other men of position under the Continental
Congress, including Brown, the delegate from Kentucky, were among those
who conferred freely with Gardoqui. In speaking with several of them,
including Madison and Brown, he broached the subject of Kentucky's
possible separation from the Union and alliance with Spain; and Madison
and Brown discussed his statements between themselves. So far there was
nothing out of the way in Brown's conduct; but after one of these
conferences, he wrote to Kentucky in terms which showed that he was
willing to entertain Gardoqui's proposition if it seemed advisable to do
so.

Brown and His Party Work for Disunion.

His letter, which was intended to be private, but which was soon
published, was dated July 10, 1788. It advocated immediate separation
from Virginia without regard to constitutional methods, and also ran in
part as follows: "In private conferences which I have had with Mr.
Gardoqui, the Spanish Minister, I have been assured by him in the most
explicit terms that if Kentucky will declare her independence and
empower some proper person to negotiate with him, that he has authority
and will engage to open the navigation of the Mississippi for the
exportation of their produce on terms of mutual advantage. But this
privilege never can be extended to them while part of the United States.
... I have thought proper to communicate (this) to a few confidential
friends in the district, with his permission, not doubting but that they
will make a prudent use of the information."

At the outset of any movement which, whatever may be its form, is in its
essence revolutionary, and only to be justified on grounds that justify
a revolution, the leaders, though loud in declamation about the wrongs
to be remedied, always hesitate to speak in plain terms concerning the
remedies which they really have in mind. They are often reluctant to
admit their purposes unequivocally, even to themselves, and may indeed
blind the