340

POLICY OF SPAIN.

[CHAP. IV.

The ministers whom the United States had sent to Spain having failed to settle these questions, they re-. mained unadjusted until 1785, when Spain sent a minister to the United States (Gardoqui), with powers to settle these points, and to make a commercial treaty with those States. Mr. Jay, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was authorised to enter into a negotiation with him, under the direction and control of Congress.

M. de Gardoqui made some advantageous offers in the way of commercial intercourse, provided the United States would relinquish their claim to the navigation of the Mississippi. To this proposition Mr. Jay was willing to accede so far as to give up the navigation of the Mississippi for a limited term, that is, for twenty-five or thirty years, not thinking it would be of importance before the lapse of that time.

It was then proposed to repeal Mr. Jay's instructions, not to make a treaty without an explicit admission of the right to navigate the Mississippi; and all the seven States north of Delaware voted in favor of the repeal, and the five States south, with Delaware, voted against it. But as the concurrence of nine States was necessary to make a treaty, of course the vote was unavailing. But it being known (although the proceedings were in secret session) that a majority of the States were in favor of surrendering the navigation for a term of years, the fact produced much excitement among the Western settlers; and, after a time, it created among some of them disaffection to the Union.

There were also mutual complaints between the United States and Great Britain about the execution of the treaty of peace. It was urged by the former, that Great Britain still retained the military posts she had stipulated to surrender; while she justified the detention on

1786.]

COMMERCIAL DIFFICULTIES.

341

the ground that the States had not removed the legal impediments to the recovery of the debts due to British merchants.

With their other difficulties, the foreign commerce of the States proved a copious source of discord. Some of them not having convenient ports of their own, received most of their foreign commodities through other States, which were thus enabled, by an impost, to levy taxes on their neighbors. Philadelphia and New York thus imported for New Jersey and Connecticut. So Rhode Island imported for a part of Connecticut, Virginia imported at Norfolk for one part of North Carolina, and South Carolina through Charleston for another.

Then, in other cases, different States had rival ports on the same rivers or estuaries. Thus, both Delaware and Pennsylvania had ports on the Delaware River; Virginia and Maryland also had various rival ports on the Chesapeake. This begat competition for the foreign trade by lowering the duties, by which means the revenues they so much needed were greatly diminished in both, without either of them enlarging its commerce.

If, moreover, their trade to a foreign country was thus discouraged, and even destroyed, by the restrictions of that country, there was no power of counteracting such foreign policy, by a general regulation for all the States; and a partial retaliation by particular States would serve only to draw the trade from such States to others which had not attempted retaliation.

They thus, having neither the benefit of free trade nor of protective restrictions, saw no prospect of providing for the payment of the heavy debt contracted during the

war.

A few intelligent minds saw the source of the evil, in the insufficient powers of the Confederation, and labored

342

COMPACT OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. [CHAP. IV.

incessantly to induce the States to enlarge its powers. But to this plan of reform there was strong opposition. The very struggle with Great Britain was calculated to make men extremely jealous of political power. Those who had local influence in the States were opposed to any measures by which that influence was likely to be diminished.

Among these strong inducements to an enlargement of the federal powers, the commercial difficulties of the States seem to have exerted a principal agency in bringing about that change in their civil polity. The several steps by which this great result was effected may here be noticed as a curious and interesting portion of the national annals.

Situated as Virginia and Maryland were, in having several ports adapted to foreign trade on the same great estuary, the Chesapeake Bay and its waters, the spirit of commercial rivalry was soon excited between them, when it was found that the concessions and sacrifices which one State was willing to make to increase its trade or revenue, were met by similar concessions and sacrifices on the part of the other; and thus an uncompensated loss was sustained by both. It was, moreover, a constant source of mutual irritation, jealousy, and discord. The interest of both States then strongly recommended them to agree on some uniform system of duties and other commercial regulations. Yet, obvious as were the benefits of such a system, no successful effort had been made to effect it until accident concurred with patriotic sagacity to bring it about.

For the purpose of forming a compact concerning the jurisdiction of the Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, and a part of the Chesapeake Bay, occasionally brought into conflict between the two States, as those waters were

1786.]

GENERAL CONVENTION PROPOSED.

343

common to both, those States, in 1785, appointed Commissioners, who met at Alexandria in March of that year. They thence made a visit to Mount Vernon, and, while there, they agreed, on the suggestion, it is believed, of Mr. Madison, who was one of the Commissioners, and with the concurrence of General Washington, to advise their respective States to make an arrangement for supporting a naval force in the Chesapeake at their joint expense, and also to establish a tariff of duties common to both States. These propositions of the Commissioners were adopted by the Virginia Legislature. Maryland, however, qualified her assent to the propositions by a condition that they should first be made to the neighboring States of Delaware and Pennsylvania. But Mr. Madison," who had been a member of the Legislature since he left Congress, in 1783, anticipating that Delaware and Pennsylvania might also require the concurrence of the neighboring States, and thus the proposed reform be long protracted, and perhaps defeated, was induced to propose a meeting of Commissioners from all the States. The resolution prepared by him was adopted on the twentyfirst of January, 1786, according to which, Commissioners were appointed to meet those of the other States at a time and place to be agreed on, "to take into consideration the trade of the United States; to examine the relative situation and trade of those States; to consider how far a uniform system in their commercial relations may be necessary to their common interest, and their permanent harmony; and to report to the several States

1 Such jealousy then existed in Virginia against the Federal government, that Mr. Madison did not venture to offer his own resolution, but prevailed upon Mr. Tyler, then Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the father of ex-President Tyler, to offer it. This fact is stated on the authority of Mr. Madison himself.

344

MEETING AT ANNAPOLIS.

[CHAP. IV.

such an act relative to this great object as, when unanimously ratified by them, will enable the United States, in Congress assembled, effectually to provide for the same."

In the circular letter which conveyed these resolutions to the States, Annapolis was proposed as the place, and September the time of meeting.

Nine of the States appointed Commissioners to attend this convention, but only those of five States were represented these were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia; and what was remarkable, the State in which they sat had no representative.

From the small number of States represented, and the very limited powers confided to them, the convention decided to adopt no other measure than to propose to their several States a general convention of deputies appointed by the Legislatures of all the States, to meet in Philadelphia in the following May, for the purpose of a general revision of the federal system. This address was drawn by Alexander Hamilton, who there embodied the liberal views he had long entertained.

The invitation was accepted, and thus originated the government which gave stability and prosperity to our Confederated Republic.

There were other circumstances which contributed to impress upon reflecting minds the necessity of enlarging the powers of the Confederated government, and of drawing the cords of union tighter.

The people of Western Virginia and North Carolina having extended their settlements to Kentucky and Tennessee, the extraordinary fertility of those districts soon invited a strong tide of immigration; and they had already formed, like the people of Vermont, a desire of becoming independent States, and of having the exclusive manage