y laid before them, and so
recently as at their last session had received their determination, it
could not come within that description." This second resolution was
not more successful than that which preceded it, and thus was finally
defeated the laborious and persevering effort made by the federal
government to obtain from the states the means of preserving, in whole
or in part, the faith of the nation. General Washington's letters of
that period abound with passages showing the solicitude with which he
watched the progress of this recommendation, and the chagrin with
which he viewed the obstacles to its adoption. In a letter of October,
1785, he said, "the war, as you have very justly observed, has
terminated most advantageously for America, and a fair field is
presented to our view; but I confess to you freely, my dear sir, that
I do not think we possess wisdom or justice enough to cultivate it
properly. Illiberality, jealousy, and local policy, mix too much in
our public councils, for the good government of the union. In a word,
the confederation appears to me to be little more than a shadow
without the substance; and congress a nugatory body, their
ordinances being little attended to. To _me_, it is a solecism in
politics:--indeed it is one of the most extraordinary things in
nature, that we should confederate as a nation, and yet be afraid to
give the rulers of that nation, who are the creatures of our own
making, appointed for a limited and short duration, and who are
amenable for every action, recallable at any moment, and subject to
all the evils which they may be instrumental in producing,--sufficient
powers to order and direct the affairs of the same. By such policy as
this, the wheels of government are clogged, and our brightest
prospects, and that high expectation which was entertained of us by
the wondering world, are turned into astonishment; and from the high
ground on which we stood, we are descending into the vale of confusion
and darkness.

"That we have it in our power to become one of the most respectable
nations upon earth, admits, in my humble opinion, of no doubt, if we
would but pursue a wise, just, and liberal policy towards one another,
and would keep good faith with the rest of the world:--that our
resources are ample and increasing, none can deny; but while they are
grudgingly applied, or not applied at all, we give a vital stab to
public faith, and will sink in the eyes of Europe, into c