t at the end of the war, it was to grow into gold and
silver, or become equal thereto, was to suppose that we were to _get_
two hundred millions of dollars by _going to war_, instead of _paying_
the cost of carrying it on.

But if any thing in the situation of America, as to her currency or
her circumstances, yet remains not understood, then let it be
remembered, that this war is the public's war; the people's war; the
country's war. It is _their_ independence that is to be supported;
_their_ property that is to be secured; _their_ country that is to be
saved. Here, government, the army, and the people, are mutually and
reciprocally one. In other wars, kings may lose their thrones and
their dominions; but here, the loss must fall on the _majesty of the
multitude_, and the property they are contending to save. Every man
being sensible of this, he goes to the field, or pays his portion of
the charge as the sovereign of his own possessions; and when he is
conquered, a monarch falls.

The remark which the Abbe, in the conclusion of the passage, has made
respecting America contracting debts in the time of her prosperity (by
which he means, before the breaking out of hostilities), serves to
shew, though he has not yet made the application, the very great
commercial difference between a dependant and an independent country.
In a state of dependence, and with a fettered commerce, though with
all the advantages of peace, her trade could not balance herself, and
she annually run into debt. But now, in a state of independence,
though involved in war, she requires no credit; her stores are full of
merchandise, and gold and silver are become the currency of the
country. How these things have established themselves, it is difficult
to account for: but they are facts, and facts are more powerful than
arguments.

As it is probable this letter will undergo a republication in Europe,
the remarks here thrown together will serve to show the extreme folly
of Britain, in resting her hopes of success on the extinction of our
paper currency. The expectation is at once so childish and forlorn,
that it places her in the laughable condition of a famished lion
watching for prey at a spider's web.

From this account of the currency, the Abbe proceeds to state the
condition of America in the winter of 1777, and the spring following;
and closes his observations with mentioning the treaty of alliance,
which was signed in France, and the propositi