The Life Of Thomas Paine Volume I Part 12

Rickman, who named a son after Franklin, puts a more charitable construction on the irregularities of the Doctor's accounts than Gouverneur Morris (p. 140). The anecdote may not be exact, but it was generally rumored, in congressional circles, that Franklin had by no means been muzzled. Nor does it appear to have been considered a serious matter. The standard of political ethics being thus lowered, it is easy to understand that Paine gave more offence by his Diogenes-lantern than if he had quietly taken his share of the grain he trod out The security of independence and the pressure of poverty rendered it unnecessary to adhere to his quixotic Quaker repugnance to the sale of his inspirations, and he now desired to collect these into marketable shape.

His plans are stated in a letter to Henry Laurens.

"Philadelphia, Sepr. 14th, 1779.--Dear Sir,--It was my intention to have communicated to you the substance of this letter last Sunday had I not been prevented by a return of my fever; perhaps finding myself unwell, and feeling, as well as apprehending, inconveniences, have produced in me some thoughts for myself as well as for others. I need not repeat to you the part I have acted or the principle I have acted upon; and perhaps America would feel the less obligation to me, did she know, that it was neither the place nor the people but the Cause itself that irresistibly engaged me in its support; for I should have acted the same part in any other Country could the same circ.u.mstances have arisen there which have happened here. I have often been obliged to form this distinction to myself by way of smoothing over some disagreeable ingrat.i.tudes, which, you well know, have been shewn to me from a certain quarter.

"I find myself so curiously circ.u.mstanced that I have both too many friends and too few, the generality of them thinking that from the public part I have so long acted I cannot have less than a mine to draw from--What they have had from me they have got for nothing, and they consequently suppose I must be able to afford it. I know but one kind of life I am fit for, and that is a thinking one, and, of course, a writing one--but I have confined myself so much of late, taken so little exercise, and lived so very sparingly, that unless I alter my way of life it will alter me. I think I have a right to ride a horse of my own, but I cannot now even afford to hire one, which is a situation I never was in before, and I begin to know that a sedentary life cannot be supported without jolting exercise. Having said thus much, which, in truth, is but loss of time to tell to you who so well know how I am situated, I take the liberty of communicating to you my design of doing some degree of justice to myself, but even this is accompanied with some present difficulties, but it is the easiest, and, I believe, the most useful and reputable of any I can think of. I intend this winter to collect all my Publications, beginning with Common Sense and ending with the fisheries, and publis.h.i.+ng them in two volumes Octavo, with notes. I have no doubt of a large subscription. The princ.i.p.al difficulty will be to get Paper and I can think of no way more practicable than to desire Arthur Lee to send over a quant.i.ty from France in the Confederacy if she goes there, and settling for it with his brother. After that work is com pleated, I intend prosecuting a history of the Revolution by means of a subscription--but this undertaking will be attended with such an amazing expense, and will take such a length of Time, that unless the States individually give some a.s.sistance therein, scarcely any man could afford to go through it. Some kind of an history might be easily executed made up of daily events and triffling matters which would lose their Importance in a few years. But a proper history cannot even be began unless the secrets of the other side of the water can be obtained, for the first part is so interwoven with the Politics of England, that, that which will be the last to get at must be the first to begin with--and this single instance is sufficient to show that no history can take place of some time. My design, if I undertake it, is to comprise it in three quarto volumes and to publish one each year from the time of beginning, and to make an abridgment afterwards in an easy agreeable language for a school book.

"All the histories of ancient wars that are used for this purpose, promotes no Moral Reflection, but like the beggars opera renders the villain pleasing in the hero. Another thing that will prolong the completion of an history is the want of Plates which only can be done in Europe, for that part of a history which is intended to convey discription of places or persons will ever be imperfect without them. I have now, Sir, acquainted you with my design, and unwilling, as you know I am, to make use of a friend while I can possibly avoid it, I am really obliged to say that I should now be glad to consult with two or three on some matters that regard my situation till such time as I can bring the first of those subscriptions to bear, or set them on foot, which cannot well be until I can get the paper; for should I [be] disappointed of that, with the subscriptions in my hand, I might be reflected upon, and the reason, tho' a true one, would be subject to other explanations.

"Here lies the difficulty I alluded to in the beginning of this letter, and I would rather wish to borrow something of a friend or two in the interim than run the risk I have mentioned, because should I be disappointed by the Paper being taken or not arriving in time, the reason being understood by them beforehand will not injure me, but in the other case it would, and in the mean Time I can be preparing for publication. I have hitherto kept all my private matters a secret, but as I know your friends.h.i.+p and you a great deal of my situation, I can with more ease communicate them to you than to another.

"P. S. If you are not engaged to-morrow evening I should be glad to spend part of it with you--if you are, I shall wait your opportunity."*

* I am indebted to Mr. Simon Gratz of Philadelphia for a copy of this letter.

It was a cruel circ.u.mstance of Paine's poverty that he was compelled to call attention not only to that but to his services, and to appraise the value of his own pen. He had to deal with hard men, on whom reserve was wasted. On September 28th he reminded the Executive Council of Pennsylvania of his needs and his uncompensated services, which, he declared, he could not afford to continue without support. The Council realized the importance of Paine's pen to its patriotic measures, but was afraid of offending the French Minister. Its president, Joseph Reed, on the following day (September 29th) wrote to that Minister intimating that they would like to employ Paine if he (the minister) had no objection. On October 11th Gerard replies with a somewhat equivocal letter, in which he declares that Paine had agreed to terms he had offered through M. de Mirales, but had not fulfilled them. "I willingly," he says, "leave M. Payne to enjoy whatever advantages he promises himself by his denial of his acceptance of the offers of M.

de Mirales and myself. I would even add, Sir, that if you feel able to direct his pen in a way useful to the public welfare--which will perhaps not be difficult to your zeal, talents, and superior lights,--I will be the first to applaud the success of an attempt in which I have failed."*

On the same date Paine, not having received any reply to his previous letter, again wrote to the Council.

* "Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed." By his grandson. 1847.

"Honble. Sirs.--Some few days ago I presented a letter to this Honble.

Board stating the inconveniences which I lay under from an attention to public interest in preference to my own, to which I have recd, no reply.

It is to me a matter of great concern to find in the government of this State, that which appears to be a disposition in them to neglect their friends and to throw discouragements in the way of genius and Letters.

"At the particular request of the Gentleman who presides at this board, I took up the defence of the Const.i.tution, at a time when he declared to me that unless he could be a.s.sisted he must give it up and quit the state; as matters then pressed too heavy upon him, and the opposition was gaining ground; yet this Board has since suffered me to combat with all the inconveniences incurred by that service, without any attention to my interest or my situation. For the sake of not dishonoring a cause, good in itself, I have hitherto been silent on these matters, but I cannot help expressing to this board the concern I feel on this occasion, and the ill effect which such discouraging examples will have on those who might otherwise be disposed to act as I have done.

"Having said this much, which is but a little part of which I am sensible, I have a request to make which if complied with will enable me to overcome the difficulties alluded to and to withdraw from a service in which I have experienced nothing but misfortune and neglect. I have an opportunity of importing a quant.i.ty of printing paper from France, and intend collecting my several pieces, beginning with Common Sense, into two Volumes, and publis.h.i.+ng them by Subscription, with notes; but as I cannot think of beginning the Subscription until the paper arrive, and as the undertaking, exclusive of the paper, will be attended with more expense than I, who have saved money both in the Service of the Continent and the State, can bear, I should be glad to be a.s.sisted with the loan of fifteen hundred pounds for which I will give bond payable within a year. If this should not be complied with, I request that the services I have rendered may be taken into consideration and such compensation made me therefor as they shall appear to deserve.

"I am, Honble. Sirs, your obt. and humble servt.,

"Thomas Paine."

The const.i.tution which Paine, in the above letter, speaks of defending was that of 1776, which he had a.s.sisted Dr. Franklin, James Cannon and others in framing for Pennsylvania. It was a fairly republican const.i.tution, and by its enfranchis.e.m.e.nt of the people generally reduced the power enjoyed by the rich and reactionary under the colonial government In Still's biography of John d.i.c.kinson the continued conflicts concerning this const.i.tution are described. In 1805, when a const.i.tutional convention was proposed in Pennsylvania, Paine pointed out the superiority of its const.i.tution of 1776, which "was conformable to the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Rights, which the present const.i.tution [framed in 1790] is not".* The const.i.tution of 1776, and Paine's exposure of the services rendered to the enemy by Quakers, cleared the Pennsylvania a.s.sembly of the members of that society who had been supreme. This process had gone on. The oath of allegiance to the State, proposed by Paine in 1777, and adopted, had been followed in 1778 (April 1st) by one imposing renunciation of all allegiance to George III., his heirs and successors, to be taken by all trustees, provosts, professors, and masters. This was particularly aimed at the nest of "Tories" in the University of Philadelphia, whose head was the famous Dr. William Smith. This provost, and all members of the University except three trustees, took the oath, but the influence of those who had been opposed to independence remained the same.

* Paine forgot the curious inconsistency in this const.i.tution of 1776, between the opening Declaration of Rights in securing religious freedom and equality to all who "acknowledge the being of a G.o.d," and the oath provided for all legislators, requiring belief in future rewards and punishments, and in the divine inspiration of the Old and New Testaments. This deistical oath, however, was probably considered a victory of lat.i.tudiarianism, for the members of the convention had taken a rigid trinitarian oath on admission to their seats.

In 1779 the a.s.sembly got rid of the provost (Smith), and this was done by the act of November which took away the charter of the University.*

It was while this agitation was going on, and the Philadelphia "Tories"

saw the heads of their chieftains falling beneath Paine's pen, that his own official head had been thrown to them by his own act. The sullen spite of the "Tories" did not fail to manifest itself. In conjunction with Deane's defeated friends, they managed to give Paine many a personal humiliation. This was, indeed, easy enough, since Paine, though willing to fight for his cause, was a non-resistant in his own behalf.

It may have been about this time that an incident occurred which was remembered with gus...o...b.. the aged John Joseph Henry after the "Age of Reason" had added horns and cloven feet to his early hero. Mr. Mease, Clothier-General, gave a dinner party, and a company of his guests, on their way home, excited by wine, met Paine. One of them remarking, "There comes 'Common Sense'"; Matthew Slough said, "d.a.m.n him, I shall common-sense him," and thereupon tripped Paine into the gutter.** But patriotic America was with Paine, and missed his pen; for no _Crisis_ had appeared for nearly a year. Consequently on November 2, 1779, the Pennsylvania a.s.sembly elected him its Clerk.

* See "A Memoir of the Rev. William Smith, D.D.," by Charles J. Stille, Philadelphia, 1869. Provost Stille, in this useful historical pamphlet, states all that can be said in favor of Dr. Smith, but does not refer to his controversy with Paine.

** This incident is related in the interest of religion in Mr. Henry's "Account of Arnold's Campaign against Quebec."

The book repeats the old charge of drunkenness against Paine, but the untrustworthiness of the writer's memory is shown in his saying that his father grieved when Paine's true character appeared, evidently meaning his "infidelity."

His father died in 1786, when no suspicion either of Paine's habits or orthodoxy had been heard.

{1780}

On the same day there was introduced into that a.s.sembly an act for the abolition of slavery in the State, which then contained six thousand negro slaves. The body of this very moderate measure was prepared by George Bryan, but the much admired preamble has been attributed by tradition to the pen of Paine.* That this tradition is correct is now easily proved by a comparison of its sentiments and phraseology with the antislavery writings of Paine presented in previous pages of this work.

The author, who alone seems to have been thinking of the negroes and their rights during that revolutionary epoch, thus had some reward in writing the first proclamation of emanc.i.p.ation in America. The act pa.s.sed March 1, 1780.

* "Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed," ii., p. 177; North American Review, vol. lvii., No. cxx.

The Preamble is as follows:

"I. When we contemplate our abhorrence of that condition, to which the arms and tyranny of Great Britain were exerted to reduce us, when we look back on the variety of dangers to which we have been exposed, and how miraculously our wants in many instances have been supplied, and our deliverances wrought, when even hope and human fort.i.tude have become unequal to the conflict, we are unavoidably led to a serious and grateful sense of the manifold blessings, which we have undeservedly received from the hand of that Being, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh. Impressed with these ideas, we conceive that is is our duty, and we rejoice that it is in our power, to extend a portion of that freedom to others, which hath been extended to us, and release from that state of thraldom, to which we ourselves were tyrannically doomed, and from which we have now every prospect of being delivered. It is not for us to enquire why, in the creation of mankind, the inhabitants of the several parts of the earth were distinguished by a difference in feature or complexion. It is sufficient to know that all are the work of the Almighty Hand. We find in the distribution of the human species, that the most fertile as well as the most barren parts of the earth are inhabited by men of complexions different from ours, and from each other; from whence we may reasonably as well as religiously infer, that He, who placed them in their various situations, hath extended equally his care and protection to all, and that it becometh not us to counteract his mercies. We esteem it a peculiar blessing granted to us, that we are enabled this day to add one more step to universal civilization, by removing, as much as possible, the sorrows of those, who have lived in undeserved bondage, and from which, by the a.s.sumed authority of the Kings of Great Britain, no effectual, legal relief could be obtained. Weaned, by a long course of experience, from those narrow prejudices and partialities we had imbibed, we find our hearts enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards men of all conditions and nations; and we conceive ourselves at this particular period particularly called upon by the blessings which we have received, to manifest the sincerity of our profession, and to give a substantial proof of our grat.i.tude.

"II. And whereas the condition of those persons, who have heretofore been denominated Negro and Mulatto slaves, has been attended with circ.u.mstances, which not only deprived them of the common blessings that they were by nature ent.i.tled to, but has cast them into the deepest afflictions, by an unnatural separation and sale of husband and wife from each other and from their children, an injury, the greatness of which can only be conceived by supposing that we were in the same unhappy case. In justice, therefore, to persons so unhappily circ.u.mstanced, and who, having no prospect before them whereon they may rest their sorrows and their hopes, have no reasonable inducement to render their service to society, which they otherwise might, and also in grateful commemoration of our own happy deliverance from that state of unconditional submission to which we were doomed by the tyranny of Britain.

"III. Be it enacted, &c."

The New Year, 1780, found Was.h.i.+ngton amid much distress at Morristown.

Besides the published letters which attest this I have found an extract from one which seems to have escaped the attention of Was.h.i.+ngton's editors.* It was written at Morristown, January 5th.

* It is in the Ward Collection at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., copied by a (probably) contemporary hand.

"It gives me extreme Pain that I should still be holding up to Congress our wants on the score of Provision, when I am convinced that they are doing all that they can for our relief. Duty and necessity, however, constrain me to it. The inclosed copies of Letters from Mr. Flint, the a.s.sistant Commissary, and from Gen. Irvine, who commands at present our advanced troops, contain a just Representation of our situation. To add to our Difficulties I very much fear that the late violent snow storm has so blocked up the Roads, that it will be some days before the scanty supplies in this quarter can be brought to camp. The troops, both officers and men, have borne their Distress, with a patience scarcely to be conceived. Many of the latter have been four or five days without meat entirely and short of Bread, and none but very scanty Supplies--Some for their preservation have been compelled to maraud and rob from the Inhabitants, and I have it not in my power to punish or reprove the practice. If our condition should not undergo a very speedy and considerable change for the better, it will be difficult to point out all the consequences that may ensue. About forty of the Cattle mentioned by Mr. Flint got in last night."

The times that tried men's souls had come again. The enemy, having discovered the sufferings of the soldiers at Morristown, circulated leaflets inviting them to share the pleasures of New York. Nor were they entirely unsuccessful. On May 28th was penned the gloomiest letter Was.h.i.+ngton ever wrote. It was addressed to Reed, President of Pennsylvania, and the Clerk (Paine) read it to the a.s.sembly. "I a.s.sure you," said the Commander's letter, "every idea you can form of our distresses will fall short of the reality. There is such a combination of circ.u.mstances to exhaust the patience of the soldiery that it begins at length to be worn out, and we see in every line of the army the most serious features of mutiny and sedition." There was throughout the long letter a tone of desperation which moved the a.s.sembly profoundly. At the close there was a despairing silence, amid which a member arose and said, "We may as well give up first as last." The treasury was nearly empty, but enough remained to pay Paine his salary, and he headed a subscription of relief with $500.* The money was enclosed to Mr.

M'Clenaghan, with a vigorous letter which that gentleman read to a meeting held in a coffee-house the same evening. Robert Morris and M'Clenaghan subscribed 200 each, hard money. The subscription, dated June 8th, spread like wildfire, and resulted in the raising of 300,000, which established a bank that supplied the army through the campaign, and was incorporated by Congress on December 21st.

* The salary was drawn on June 7th, and amounted to $1,699.

For particulars concerning Paine's connection with the a.s.sembly I am indebted to Dr. William H. Egle, State Librarian of Pennsylvania.

Paine, by his timely suggestion of a subscription, and his "mite," as he called it, proved that he could meet a crisis as well as write one.

He had written a cheery _Crisis_ in March, had helped to make good its hopefulness in May, and was straightway busy on another. This was probably begun on the morning when M'Clenaghan came to him with a description of the happy effect and result produced by his letter and subscription on the gentlemen met at the coffee-house. This _Crisis_ (June 9, 1780) declares that the reported fate of Charleston, like the misfortunes of 1776, had revived the same spirit; that such piecemeal work was not conquering the continent; that France was at their side; that an a.s.sociation had been formed for supplies, and hard-money bounties. In a postscript he adds: "Charleston is gone, and I believe for the want of a sufficient supply of provisions. The man that does not now feel for the honor of the best and n.o.blest cause that ever a country engaged in, and exert himself accordingly, is no longer worthy of a peaceable residence among a people determined to be free."

Meanwhile, on "Sunday Morning, June 4th," Paine wrote to President Reed a private letter:

"Sir,--I trouble you with a few thoughts on the present state of affairs. Every difficulty we are now in arises from an empty treasury and an exhausted credit. These removed and the prospect were brighter.

While the war was carried on by emissions at the pleasure of Congress, any body of men might conduct public business, and the poor were of equal use in government with the rich. But when the means must be drawn from the country the case becomes altered, and unless the wealthier part throw in their aid, public measures must go heavily on.

"The people of America understand rights better than politics. They have a clear idea of their object, but are greatly deficient in comprehending the means. In the first place, they do not distinguish between sinking the debt, and raising the current expenses. They want to have the war carried on, the Lord knows how.

"It is always dangerous to spread an alarm of danger unless the prospect of success be held out with it, and that not only as probable, but naturally essential. These things premised, I beg leave to mention, that suppose you were to send for some of the richer inhabitants of the City, and state to them the situation of the army and the treasury, not as arising so much from defect in the departments of government as from a neglect in the country generally, in not contributing the necessary support in time. If they have any spirit, any foresight of their own interest or danger, they will promote a subscription either of money or articles, and appoint a committee from among themselves to solicit the same in the several Counties; and one State setting the example, the rest, I presume, will follow. Suppose it was likewise proposed to them to deposit their plate to be coined for the pay of the Army, crediting the government for the value, by weight.

"If measures of this kind could be promoted by the richer of the Whigs, it would justify your calling upon the other part to furnish their proportion without ceremony, and these two measures carried, would make a draft or call for personal service the more palatable and easy.

"I began to write this yesterday. This morning, it appears clear to me that Charleston is in the hands of the enemy, and the garrison prisoners of war. Something must be done, and that something, to give it popularity, must begin with men of property. Every care ought now to be taken to keep goods from rising. The rising of goods will have a most ruinous ill effect in every light in which it can be viewed.

"The army must be reunited, and that by the most expeditious possible means. Drafts should first be countenanced by subscriptions, and if men would but reason rightly, they would see that there are some thousands in this State who had better subscribe thirty, forty, or fifty guineas apiece than run the risk of having to settle with the enemy. Property is always the object of a conqueror, wherever he can find it. A rich man, says King James, makes a bonny traitor; and it cannot be supposed that Britain will not reimburse herself by the wealth of others, could she once get the power of doing it. We must at least recruit eight or ten thousand men in this State, who had better raise a man apiece, though it should cost them a thousand pounds apiece, than not have a sufficient force, were it only for safety sake. Eight or ten thousand men, added to what we have now got, with the force that may arrive, would enable us to make a stroke at New York, to recover the loss of Charleston--but the measure must be expeditious.

"I suggest another thought. Suppose every man, working a plantation, who has not taken the oath of allegiance, in Philadelphia County, Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, Northampton, and Berks, were, by the new power vested in the Council, called immediately upon for taxes in kind at a certain value. Horses and wagons to be appraised. This would not only give immediate relief, but popularity to the new power. I would remark of taxes in kind, that they are hard-money taxes, and could they be established on the non-jurors, would relieve us in the articles of supplies.