ainty (its independence being established) of
redeeming in a short term of years the comparatively inconsiderable
debts, it may have occasion to contract. Notwithstanding the
difficulties under which we labor, and the inquietudes among the
people, there is still a fund of inclination and resource in the
country equal to great and continued exertions, provided we have it in
our power to stop the progress of disgust, by changing the present
system, and adopting another more consonant with the spirit of the
nation, and more capable of activity and energy in measures of which a
powerful succor of money must be the basis.

"The people are discontented, but it is with the feeble, oppressive
mode of conducting the war, not with the war itself; they are not
unwilling to contribute to its support, but they are unwilling to do
it in a way that renders private property precarious, a necessary
consequence of the fluctuation of the national currency, and of the
inability of government to perform its engagements oftentimes
coercively made. A large majority are still firmly attached to the
independence of these States, abhor a re-union with Great Britain, and
are affectionate to the alliance with France. But this disposition can
ill supply the means customary and essential in war, nor can we rely
on its duration amidst the perplexities, oppressions, and misfortunes,
that attend the want of them."

From those extracts it will appear to your Excellency, that the fate
of America depends upon the immediate and decisive succor of her
august ally, in the two points of a specific loan and a naval
superiority. The most accurate calculation of the expense requisite
for a vigorous campaign, and the interior means which Congress have of
defraying that expense, prove that there is a deficiency of the full
sum solicited by Congress. The grant of six millions, which his
Majesty is pleased to make under the title of a donation to the United
States, will be acknowledged with the liveliest emotions of gratitude
by affectionate allies, at the same time it would be frustrating the
gracious intentions of his Majesty towards his allies, and betraying
the common cause of France and America, to encourage a belief, that
the above mentioned aid will enable the United States to surmount the
present perilous juncture of our affairs. The reasoning in the
foregoing extracts will evince how inadequate the sum is to the
present exigency.

I must likewise remark