before his Political Beginnings issued from the press, and Green's reply was published very soon afterward. It hotly charges Brown with willfully evading, distorting, and suppressing the truth. Yet anyone familiar with the facts about the Spanish Conspiracy controversy must see that, for misapprehension and erroneous statements of facts and wholly unwarranted inferences, Green's book is more often vulnerable than Brown's, and is rivaled in errors by few others professing to be history. This, it is believed, is to be attributed wholly to his blind fury in argument. Green was for some years editor of the Maysville Eagle, a man of most violent prejudices and passions, and utterly unqualified by either information or temperament to write sane and reliable history. His passions seem to have warped his judgment so completely as to make him utterly unable to distinguish his suspicions from proofs, or to see any interpretation of facts in a controversy except from his own side. His knowledge of his subject was most superficial and almost entirely based on Marshall's history and newspaper articles. In fact, his book is really little more than a blindly partisan restatement of Marshall's arguments-far less adroitly written, and far more violent and blundering. Nearly every page of his argument against Marshall's opponents fairly bristles with unintentional misstatements; but notwithstanding this, the writer, who knew him well and was fond of him, never questioned, and does not now question, his entire integrity of purpose in making those misstatements. Space forbids any detailed discussion of either his or Brown's contentions. The writing of this introduction has not been an easy task. Several critical readings of Marshall's confusing and tiresome history were necessary, but this made only a minor part of the undertaking. His misleading assertions are so many that the mere selection for treatment of those most needing correction, and the exclusion from comment of others equally misleading but of less importance, made problems requiring no little study and time. Nor has the writing of the introduction been a congenial one. It would have been far pleasanter to dwell upon the virtues of our noted men of the early days, than on the evil influence of one of them; but it seems a shame that the history of Kentucky, in its most glorious era, should be befouled and nearly all its leading men portrayed in its history as traitors, because they incurred the hatred of the morbid man who wrote the first generally read history of the state. If this introduction shall have the effect to stay future writers from carelessly accepting and repeating his unfounded assertions,—as nearly all Kentucky historians since his day have done,-it will have served the purpose for which it is written. WILKINSON'S MEMORIAL AND EXPATRIATION DECLARATION (From copy of Pontalba Papers, Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston MS. Collection, Louisville, Kentucky. Obtained from Louisiana Historical Society.) Enclosure No. 1 with Private Dispatch No. 13 from Miro and WILKINSON'S MEMORIAL The American Settlements, to the west of the Apalachian Mountains, enjoyed, during the Britanic Government, the free navigation of the Mississippi, and during the progress of the last revolution, communication with the Vassals of H. C. M. in Louisiana was maintained open; the advantages which a few travellers obtained from this commerce attracted the aims of a great many individuals of the Atlantic Coast, and the unanimity of the reports upon the fertility of the soil and healthfulness of the climate in the territory of Kentucky given by all those who had explored it, fixed the attention of people of all classes and conditions upon the western country. My compatriots, who are active and enterprising, had, with the long use of the Mississippi under both the Spanish and British administrations, established a right which they considered indispensable, which belief was corroborated by the definite treaty of Peace and Amity with Great Britain; the hostility of the Indians and the public service on the Atlantic coast were great impediments to emigration: but Peace dissolved these obstacles and awakened anew the preoccupations in favor of the said western countries, and in 1784 about 950 souls arrived in the one district of Kentucky. Trade prohibition with America, which Spain proclaimed shortly afterwards, was at first considered as only temporary and to better express it, as a formality of the negotiations between H. C. M. and Congress, which was anxiously and daily desired and expected. We, nevertheless, remained deceived in our hopes, not only on account of the little attention shown to this matter by Congress, but the declared intentions of the Court of Spain to assure itself the exclusive right to the said navigation, which coupled with the confiscations made at New Orleans, filled the new Settlements with anxiety, cooled the hopes of those whose aims were directed toward the west, and removed the motives that originated these settlements; but other causes more irresistable in their nature promptly renewed them. The last revolution involved the Americans in heavy foreign and domestic debts, and to provide for the payment of these, and to sustain the federative Government, Congress was authorized to ask the Members of the Union their portion, for which purpose the different States imposed taxes upon its citizens, who found them so oppressive that a multitude were reduced to the alternative of opposing the laws, or preferring to subsist, rather than to submit to imposition, sought refuge in the woods of the west. Thus voluntary emigration took place, and these impositions, neutralizing all the obstacles Spain and America interposed, should have produced a yearly emigration in the said Settlements equal to at least ten thousand souls,* and this will continue in the same manner as long as there is not the slightest appearance of relief. It will not be improper to mention that in all Republics the execution of the Laws is, for known causes, lax, weak and vague; the Americans who crossed the Mountains and established themselves at a great distance from the executive authority of their respective governments, availing themselves of this principle and complaining of the lack of commercial advantages which their brethren of the Atlantic Coast enjoy, declared themselves unanimously against the tributes, without there being anyone willing to undertake the execution of the Law on this point. In this situation the Western Settlements have contented themselves with the short and precarious outlet for its products, that upon their arrival the emigrants themselves afford, looking forward anx * After writing this page I have been informed by a man of honor and intelligence, recently arrived from America, that this year there will be an emigration of about 4000 souls. iously to the day when Congress, taking into account their situation, would obtain for them the free use of the Mississippi, but what has been their astonishment and surprise, when instead of the protection which as members of the federative Union they had a right to expect and receive, they saw last summer this honorable body negotiate with Dn. Diego Gardoqui the exclusive right of navigation on the said River, in exchange for certain commercial advantages in favor of the people residing on the Atlantic Coast, and that seven of the twelve States represented ardently embraced this action! This device was received by the Western people as an infraction of the federative pact, which basely sacrificed their interests in favor of others, whose conduct irritated them excessively and when they combined it with continuous opposition to the measures proposed for their defense. against the savages, they were induced to believe that they could expect nothing from the friendship and Justice of Congress. Imbued in this opinion, Kentucky is taking measures for its own safety, and to this end it has fortunately and considerably advanced its petition to the State of Virginia (to which it now belongs) to obtain an act of separation in order to be erected into an independent State and govern itself, and at the same time in order to preserve the public conduct against any imputation of excess or deceit, they have presented a memorial to Congress in which they recite the injuries and hardships which will befall them if they are deprived of the navigation of the Mississippi; they establish circumstantially their right as a member of the federative Union, and expressly declare that if Congress does not protect and sustain them in this desire it must consider the ties of their fidelity dissolved, they remaining at liberty to provide for their own conservation. This was the frame of mind of the Kentucky Politicians (and their policies always direct those of the other Western Districts) when I took my departure in the month of May. Its future conduct will be largely governed by the determination Congress may take regarding Kentucky's Memorial, and what this will be no one can tell with certainty; but by inferring on facts and experience, I shall be able to deduct an evident opinion, to which end it will be necessary to manifest what the policy of Congress has been with regard to the above mentioned Settlements. The extensive cession of territory to the Northwest made by Great Britain to the United States in the Peace of 1783 not having |