LETTERS

第28章

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第28章

LETTERS Thomas Jefferson

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LETTERS
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  DEARSIR——SinceyourfavorofJuly10。minehavebeenofJuly17。23and28。ThelastinclosedabillofexchangefromMr。GrandonTessierforpound46-17-10sterl。toanswerGenl。Sullivan’sbillforthatsum。Ihopeitgotsafetohand,tho’Ihavebeenanxiousaboutitasitwentbypostandmylettersthro’thatchannelsometimesmiscarry。

  FromtheseparationoftheNotablestothepresentmomenthasbeenperhapsthemostinterestingintervaleverknowninthiscountry。ThepropositionsoftheGovernment,approvedbytheNotables,wereprecioustothenationandhavebeeninanhonestcourseofexecution,someofthembeingcarriedintoeffect,andotherspreparing。AbovealltheestablishmentoftheProvincialassemblies,someofwhichhavebeguntheirsessions,bidfairtobetheinstrumentforcircumscribingthepowerofthecrownandraisingthepeopleintoconsideration。Theelectiongiventothemiswhatwilldothis。Tho’theministerwhoproposedtheseimprovementsseemstohavemeantthemasthepriceofthenewsupplies,thegamehasbeensoplayedastosecuretheimprovementstothenationwithoutsecuringtheprice。TheNotablesspokesoftlyonthesubjectoftheadditionalsupplies,buttheparliamenttookthemuproundly,refusedtoregistertheedictsforthenewtaxes,tillcompelledinabedofjusticeandpreferedthemselvestobetransferredtoTroyesratherthanwithdrawtheiropposition。Itisurgedprincipallyagainsttheking,thathisrevenueis130。millionsmorethanthatofhispredecessorwas,andyethedemands120。millionsfurther。Youwillseethiswellexplainedinthe`Conferenceentreunministred’etatetunConseillerauparlement’whichIsendyouwithsomeothersmallpamphlets。InthemeantimealltonguesinParisandinFranceasitissaidhavebeenletloose,andneverwasalicenseofspeakingagainstthegovernmentexercisedinLondonmorefreelyormoreuniversally。Caracatures,placards,bonmots,havebeenindulgedinbyallranksofpeople,andIknowofnowellattestedinstanceofasinglepunishment。Forsometimemobsof10;20;

  30,000peoplecollecteddaily,surroundedtheparliamenthouse,huzzaedthemembers,evenenteredthedoorsandexaminedintotheirconduct,tookthehorsesoutofthecarriagesofthosewhodidwell,anddrewthemhome。Thegovernmentthoughtitprudenttopreventthese,drewsomeregimentsintotheneighborhood,multipliedtheguards,hadthestreetsconstantlypatrolledbystrongparties,suspendedprivilegedplaces,forbadallclubs,etc。Themobshaveceased:perhapsthismaybepartlyowingtotheabsenceofparliament。TheCountd’Artois,senttoholdabedofjusticeintheCourdesAides,washissedandhootedwithoutreservebythepopulace;thecarriageofMadamedeIforgetthenameinthequeen’sliverywasstoppedbythepopulaceunderabeliefthatitwasMadamedePolignac’swhomtheywouldhaveinsulted,thequeengoingtothetheateratVersailleswithMadamedePolignacwasreceivedwithageneralhiss。Theking,longinthehabitofdrowninghiscaresinwine,plungesdeeperanddeeper;thequeencriesbutsinson。TheCountd’Artoisisdetested,andMonsieur[Louis,ComtedeProvence]thegeneralfavorite。TheArchbishopofThoulouseismadeMinistreprincipale,avirtuous,patrioticandablecharacter。TheMarechaldeCastriesretiredyesterdaynotwithstandingstrongsollicitationstoremaininoffice。TheMarechaldeSegurretiredatthesametime,promptedtoitbythecourt。Theirsuccessorsarenotyetknown。M。deSt。PristgoesAmbassadortoHollandintheroomofVeractransferredtoSwitzerland,andtheCountdeMoustiergoestoAmericaintheroomoftheChevalierdelaLuzernewhohasapromiseofthefirstvacancy。Thesenominationsarenotyetmadeformally,buttheyaredecidedonandthepartiesareorderedtopreparefortheirdestination。AsithasbeenlongsinceIhavehadaconfidentialconveiancetoyou,IhavebroughttogethertheprincipalfactsfromtheadjournmentoftheNotablestothepresentmomentwhich,asyouwillperceivefromtheirnature,requiredaconfidentialconveyance。Ihavedoneittheratherbecause,tho’youwillhaveheardmanyofthemandseentheminthepublicpapers,yetfloatinginthemassoflieswhichconstitutetheatmospheresofLondonandParis,youmaynothavebeensureoftheirtruth:andI

  havementionedeverytruthofanyconsequencetoenableyoutostampasfalsethefactspretermitted。Ithinkthatinthecourseofthreemonthstheroyalauthorityhaslost,andtherightsofthenationgained,asmuchground,byarevolutionofpublicopiniononly,asEnglandgainedinallhercivilwarsundertheStuarts。Iratherbelievetootheywillretainthegroundgained,becauseitisdefendedbytheyoungandthemiddleaged,inoppositiontotheoldonly。Thefirstpartyincreases,andthelatterdiminishesdailyfromthecourseofnature。Youmaysupposethatunderthissituation,warwouldbeunwelcometoFrance。ShewillsurelyavoiditifnotforcedbythecourtsofLondonandBerlin。Ifforced,itisprobableshewillchangethesystemofEuropetotallybyanalliancewiththetwoempires,towhomnothingwouldbemoredesireable。Intheeventofsuchacoalition,notonlyPrussiabutthewholeEuropeanworldmustreceivefromthemtheirlaws。ButFrancewillprobablyendeavortopreservethepresentsystemifitcanbedonebysacrifisingtoacertaindegreethepretensionsofthepatrioticpartyinHolland。Butofallthesemattersyoucanjudge,inyourposition,wherelesssecrecyisobserved,betterthanIcan。

  IhavenewsfromAmericaaslateasJuly19。NothinghadthentranspiredfromtheFederalconvention。Iamsorrytheybegantheirdeliberationsbysoabominableaprecedentasthatoftyingupthetonguesoftheirmembers。Nothingcanjustifythisexamplebuttheinnocenceoftheirintentions,andignoranceofthevalueofpublicdiscussions。Ihavenodoubtthatalltheirothermeasureswillbegoodandwise。Itisreallyanassemblyofdemigods。Genl。

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