supreme court is forcibly described in his own language. "Impressed with a conviction," said he, "that the due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government, I have considered the first arrangement of the judicial department as essential to the happiness of the country, and to the stability of its political system. Hence the selection of the fittest characters to expound the laws, and dispense justice, has been an invariable object of my anxious concern." And again, in giving notice to Mr. Jay of his appointment as chief justice; "I have a full confidence, that the love which you bear to our country, and a desire to promote the general happiness, will not suffer you to hesitate a moment to bring into action the talents, knowledge, and integrity, which are so necessary to be exercised at the head of that department, which must be considered the key-stone of our political fabric." These views of the judiciary department, as forming a most essential branch of the government, and as claiming the highest consideration, he always entertained; and in the appointment of justices, and judges of the district courts, he was extremely solicitous to secure the services of those, who were eminent for judicial knowledge, talents, personal worth, and experience. In placing John Jay at the head of the supreme court, he consulted alike the public good, the dignity of the court, and his own feelings. No man in the nation possessed a larger share of confidence, whether in regard to his ability or his legal attainments; none was more valued for the services he had rendered to his country, none more esteemed for his private virtues. The choice of his associates was also fortunate, and the court assumed a respectability and weight suited to the rank conferred upon it by the constitution.

No part of the President's duties gave him more anxiety, than that of distributing the offices in his gift. Applications innumerable flowed in upon him even before he left Mount Vernon, many of them from his personal friends, and others supported by the recommendations of his friends; nor did they cease as long as any vacancies remained. He early prescribed to himself a rule, however, from which he never swerved, which was to give no pledges or encouragement to any applicant. He answered them all civilly, but avowed his determination to suspend a decision till the time of making the appointments should arrive, and then, without favor or bias, to select such individuals as in his judgment were best qualified to execute with faithfulness and ability the trust reposed in them. His sentiments and motives are well explained in a letter written to a gentleman, who had solicited an office for another person.

"From the moment when the necessity had become more apparent," said he, "and as it were inevitable, I anticipated, with a heart filled with distress, the ten thousand embarrassments, perplexities, and troubles, to which I must again be exposed in the evening of a life already nearly consumed in public cares. cares. Among all these anxieties, I will not conceal from you, I anticipated none greater, than those that were likely to be produced by applications for appointments to the different offices, which would be created under the new government. Nor will I conceal, that my apprehensions have already been but too well justified. Scarcely a day passes, in which applications of one kind or another do not arrive; insomuch that, had I not early adopted some general principles, I should before this time have been wholly occupied in this business. As it is, I have found the number of answers,

which I have been necessitated to give in my own hand, an almost insupportable burden to me.

"The points in which all these answers have agreed in substance are, that, should it be my lot to go again into public office, I would go without being under any possible engagements of any nature whatsoever; that, so far as I knew my own heart, I would not be in the remotest degree influenced, in making nominations, by motives arising from the ties of family or blood; and that, on the other hand, three things, in my opinion, ought principally to be regarded, namely, the fitness of characters to fill offices, the comparative claims from the former merits and sufferings in service of the different candidates, and the distribution of appointments in as equal a proportion as might be to persons belonging to the different States in the Union. Without precautions of this kind, I clearly foresaw the endless jealousies, and possibly the fatal consequences, to which a government, depending altogether on the good-will of the people for its establishment, would certainly be exposed in its early stages. Besides, I thought, whatever the effect might be in pleasing or displeasing any individuals at the present moment, a due concern for my own reputation, not less decisively than a sacred regard to the interests of the community, required, that I should hold myself absolutely at liberty to act, while in office, with a sole reference to justice and the public good."

In practice he verified these declarations, acting in every case with perfect independence, looking first to the national interests and next to the best means of promoting them, and admitting no other ground of preference between candidates, whose pretensions were in other respects equal, than that of former efforts or sacrifices in serving their country.

CHAPTER XVII.

His Journey through the Eastern States.Letter from Mrs. Washington. System of Funding the public Debts. - Place for the permanent Seat of Government agreed upon. -The President visits Rhode Island and Mount Vernon. - Foreign Relations of the United States. — France, England, Spain. Indian War. Washington's Policy respecting the Indians. - Congress meets at Philadelphia.— A National Bank established.- Tax on distilled Spirits. The President's Tour through the Southern States. - Apportionment Bill.-Parties and their Causes. Dissensions between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury.- Washington's Attempts to reconcile them.

FOR Some time it had been the President's intention in the recess of Congress to make a tour through the eastern States, as well for the reëstablishment of his health, as for observing the condition of the people, and the general disposition in regard to the new form of government. He anticipated pleasure also in reviewing the scenes of his first military campaign as Commander-in-chief, and in meeting the associates, who had contributed to lessen his toils and invigorate his spirit in times of peril and despondency. About the middle of October he left New York, accompanied by his two secretaries, Mr. Lear and Mr. Jackson, and he was absent a month. He travelled in his own carriage, and proceeded by way of New Haven, Hartford, Worcester, Boston, Salem, and Newburyport, as far as Portsmouth in New Hampshire. He returned by a different route through the interior of the country to Hartford, and thence to New York.

Such was the enthusiasm, which was now felt by all classes of the community in regard to Washington, an enthusiasm inspired by his virtues and his fame, that it was impossible for him to move in any direction without drawing around him thousands of spectators, eager

to gratify their eyes with a sight of his person, to greet him with acclamations of joy, and to exhibit testimonies of their respect and veneration. Men, women, and children, people of all ranks, ages, and occupations, assembled from far and near at the crossings of the roads and other public places, where it was known he would pass. Military escorts attended him on the way, and at the principal towns he was received and entertained by the civil authorities. Addresses were as usual presented to him by corporate bodies, religious societies, and literary institutions, to which he returned appropriate answers.

This journey was in all respects satisfactory to him, not more as furnishing proofs of the strong attachment of the people, than as convincing him of the growing prosperity of the country, and of the favor which the constitution and the administration of government were gaining in the public mind. He was happy to see, that the effects of the war had almost disappeared, that agriculture was pursued with activity, that the harvests were abundant, manufactures increasing, the towns flourishing, and commerce becoming daily more extended and profitable. The condition of society, the progress of improvements, the success of industrious enterprise, all gave tokens of order, peace, and contentment, and a most cheering promise for the future.*

The reader cannot fail to be interested in this place with an extract from a letter written by Mrs. Washington to Mrs. Warren soon after the President's return from his tour. So little remains, which is known to have come from the pen of this lady, that it would be an act of injustice to her memory to withhold a specimen so creditable to her understanding, her heart, and her views of life, as the following, which is transcribed from the original.

"Your very friendly letter of last month has afforded much more satisfaction, than all the formal compliments and empty ceremonies of mere etiquette could possibly have done. I am not apt to forget the VOL. I. M M

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