I
Philadelphia, September 2.
This day, at ia. o'clock, the Governor, being in
troduced by a Committee to both Houftsof theLe
giflatme., assembled ih she Senate Chamber, deli
vered the following
DRESS.
A D
Gentlemen -nf ibe Sfnettc, ant!
Gentlemen of the House of Ref>refettiati<ves t
ASOLIsMI. declaration of tnc Hrefid nt,has an
nounced, (hat, in pursuance of com illations to
defeat the <*xecutioj» of the laws, laying duties upon
fpirirs within the United States, and upon
stills, u many persons, in the western parts.of lsenn
fylvama,had, at icngrh.been hardy enough t*> per
petrate a3s, which he ljadvifed amount to fresfon,
beini; overt acts o! levying war the United
Stare-."—A communication tome has, likewise, ex
prefl'rd his determination u totake mtaft.res for cal.,
forth the milith, in order to fuppref 3 those com
binations, and to cause the laws to be duly execut
ed." These occurre-ncs have appeared, in my judg
ment, to be of a nature and tendency so int ere Hiiiy
■and momentous, as to claim .-independent of every
other confederation, an exercise of the executive au-
convene the General Afiemblv, upos ex
traordinary reckons.
accordingly if!tied ; but experience juflifics an ex
pectation, thar you will coi;fider every private faeri
ficr mply compensated, by the opportunity of cor.-
tr buting to Irfeitorc public trrmquilty and yorder. Un
less, indeed, that wholesome fnbordilVation i» the
laws, wfeich confers on virtue its merited fifety,
which ftcuresio induflry its laudable acquisitions,
and which shelters freedom from the blafs of licen
tiousness. tan be introduced ;>nd preferred, we pur
sue, in vain the avocations of domestic life and boast,
without pretext of equal righs* and civil liberty
The of combining social order with
the principles of a free Republic, so long the favo
rite aflVn iori of interested statesmen, fcemed already
to havtf received a (atisfa&ory refutation from the
experiment, which our country had made. The
friends of Liberty, who had rejoiced ixl the accoQl„
our Revolution, Leheld with still grea
ter exultation, the peaca&le and almofl unanimous
-adoption of our Federal onOitutioti. J'hr vifjble ef
feefls of this fyfyem, raised upon the firm basis of po
pular reprefenratioir, and dirtied to the legitimate
objects of Government, attradh d the attention} and
hitherto fiav- excited, the admiration, or the envy of
mankind. If,indeed, We examine, more particularly,
- the ofiet-ations Of the government. We (hall find, that,
4 chara-Atfr fro© a (late of dfl -
gredanon, the American Union heeir rendered
refpedable among the nations of the earth. While,
Europe is involved in a 1 the horrors of wat, and dif
tra&ed by the embarrafl'ment o{ her finances, wefir d
our country preserved from a participation in the
dreadful conflict ; and its treasury exhibiting noch m
to diminish the profits of genius or labour, bur what
is Rtfcefiary to protcd a dfftant and defencel fs fro*-
ti - r f "'jm lavage depredation to pay an honest dibt,
the price ot our National Independence, or to dtfro Jr
the unaioid lble expences ot G -vernment, the pi' ie
of our political establishment. la other countries, too,
the ddpofition, the infereft, and the prosperity of tha
government, may be distinguished fromthe liifpofiti
cn, the interest, and tlie prosperity of the people: but
fu long as thefpiritt)! our social compart continues :o
operate ; so long a/the laws at-e enabled by the im
mediate authority, and maintained by the ready obe
dience, of the citizens ; that odious diftimfticn cnrl„
nor be generated here. With the prolperifcy of the
American -government, t.h? prttfperity of the ranri
can People mild be coeval and commenftuaie. Ti.us,
the reputation which our government has acquired
abroad, the peace which it ha* preserved 3t home,
and the Moderation cf its fifcal demands, are inti
mately and obviously aliied to the moraiity, the in.,
du ry, the affluence,and the happiness, which ap
pear in a 1 the circles of domfeHc lite.
But a period has unfortunately arrived, whicb ren
der* if irtoifpenfible to remark, that this scene, so ho
norableandto beneficial foourcotintry, can only bctifir
peruated by the efficient means, which have produc
ed it. V he eiiablilhment of a free government, wish
a competent legiiiative power, and the certainty of
fuhn jfijoii to the laws when dwly made, *vere (lie
real fotjrces of our prosperity Nothing more wi\\
fee. nec* flary to convert all our enjoyments in. o car
than l)ie diffe mi nation of an unmerited contempt for (
the goveri.'ment, wfiich ttie People have thus creat
rd : or the praStct of an unconftitutiona! opposition
to -he law's, which.they have thus authorised to be
circled. Such proceedings, indeed, are not less tm
reafonable in their nature, than pernicious in their
consequences. It is unreasonable to oppose a measure
\(hich our have been empowered to
adopt : it is unreasonable to risque the fubverfi -n of
the government, merely to extort, what a ca.;nge of
ourrcprefentatives may procure . it is unrealonableto
refi.t by the force of arms, what could not he pre
vented by the force of argument : and above all, it
Is unreasonable that the few should countered the
will of the many, or that a part of the community
should undertake to prescribe to the whole.
I enquire not, Gentlemen, whether ther# was any
original impoHcy, or whether there is any opprefiiv©
operation in the laws, which the present occaiion
particularly contemplates : it is enough for my oh*
j ; e<ft to know, that they exil> by an authority compe
tent to make them \ tor, this knowledge? (speaking
as a Mag ftrate, or as a Freeman) is enough to con
vince me, that they ought to be obeyed. If an ab
ftraeSl opinion, controverting the policy of any legis
lative a6l J or if a partial inconvenience resulting
from the operation of a general law, shall be deemed
afufficierit yir»licatiba for disobedience, and hostile
oppoiition, t« the Government, on what f«undati®n
can we longer reft the national hopes of refpeft, trail
quiiity, and order f In a country so extensive, with
intereftfi so various, and with habits so diverfificd, can
we cxpedl frwm human wisdom, a system of leg'ifla
tion, that shall reconcile every difference, or gratify'
•very prejudice ? Or, i 8 there any principle of dis
crimination, that will warrant a compliance with
the local pretentions of one dittri#, and juftify the
denial of a similar indulgence, to the local preten
sions of any diftrid, in the Union ? Enquiries of
this kind must inevitably terminate in a convidtion,
that there is no alternative in a free Country, but a'
submission to the laws, ordained by the regular ex*
ercife of Conflitutional authority ; or a fubjc&ion to
the anarchy, produced invariably by a popular dis
regard of social obligation. Here, therefore, is the
point for serious deliberation : for. should the event
be unpropitious to the laws, the glorious harvest of
our Revolution will be wantonly laid wade ; the
foes ot freedom and r«sptiblicanifm will acquire new
energy from our disgrace ; the present age will re
gard, our conduct with contempt, and posterity will
pronounce our names with deteftanon. To us, Gen
lemen, ini partial ar, this dreadful reflexion must
bring additional pain, ihould the calamity which it
contemplates, be occasioned, or promoted by the
fatahxample of Pennsylvania.
That the Arts of Congress, commonly called tht
f*.xcife laws, had created considerable discontent ill
various parts of the State ; and that this discontent
had been manifefted, not only by a non-compliance
with the laws, but by an irregular and violent con
dufl towards the efficers, who were employed te> ex
fut v them, have long been circusnitaiices of public
nvoriety ; and, at an fsyly period of my adminif
traton, u»cntioned a»a properfubjii6l fir legit ■
Active arfimaiytrilun. .With i" ticfign to fadlraaitc t
She nwsrf»rcyTO the 1 ederiLCWpernmen,
' id, likewise. bpportuaitSes to'inctflcafe the
taoirpenlable duty of. obediiaiw to the l3\ys; and,
~ from'time to itifce, I receiVed, with peculiar fatis
fadion, 'he ftrongeit assurances, that,,-or. the part
* of the State Officcr*, rvery reafoqable exertiofc
wo)il<M>e m*dcj<i com'tiirte the minds of tjjgijfFe) ■
> low Citizens, afed to raFscruatetlfr ai9s ojtfie'.ynion.
It is to be laihcntcd, liowevcrf that the tefult of
.stbv&.eAorfe, hai. not r .rcefp<i(!ded With the expefta- '
tion wh ch I had foimed." Thefpirit of iawlefsop
pcfition fetms to bs»ve acquired frefli a
transient flcep ; afid beitig, at'length,, excited in
-1 to*- aiSioiv, it ha» recestly violated the pub ic peaces
overthrowing in its carreer the barriers of perianal
'Jafety, and the fafeguirds of private property.
Prom the infownation, wtiich 1 hoVe colleSled
through various channels, and the reiult of whfth
its is my duty, Gentlemen, to submit to your ob
servation, it may be conjertured, that,at the period
of perpetrating the late ontragious Ri®ts in the wtf
tern parts of the State, the principal source of discon
tent, had been augmented by several cejlatcral con
fiderarions. Uneler circumflances peculiarly in
atifpicious, therefore, the marshal «f the Dr rirt
feemsto have entered the wettern counties, tofetve
certain judiciary protefs, by which a number of
ci izttiv, on.ired to enter their Stil s,agree"
ably to tie art of C'ongrefs, were fummotied to ap
pear at a Diftrirt Court, to be ho'.den in the City of
Philadelphia. From the documents which I have
had an opportunity of examining on the fubjert, it
appears that this officer was allowed without injury,
or moieilation, to difrharge his cjuiy in th* < ounty
of Fayette; that proceeding, lor the lame pUrpol* into
the Cotifitv of AlSegheney, he n que Red r!k compa
ny and afiillance oi Gen. Nevil, the Infpertor of the
Revenue ; that while thus accompanied he fuffered
fomc insults and encountered fotne opposition ;
that considerable bodies of armed men having at fe*
veral times demanded the furrcndv_r of General
Nevill's commillion and papers, attached and ulti
mate- y destroyed his'houfe and other valuable pro
perty ; that the-Ie ri iters (of whom a few were kil
led and many 1 wounded.) having made the
together with other Citizens, rcieafed that
officcr in conlideration of a promise, that he would
not serve any more process on the Western fide of
the \lleghen«y mountain ; that under a just appre
henfior? of violence, General Nevill, before his* house
was destroyed, applied t« two of the judges of the
county of Ulegheney, for the protertion ot his pro
perty, but the judge*, ott Aviy, July T the
~ ~xr*JoYi wintß nltT tioufe was destroyed, declared
that they could not, in the prelVnt circumstances of
the country, aiford she protection, that was requeft
fd, though they offered to pi ofecutions a
gainst the ofFenders; and that General Nevill, and
tnc Marfh'il), menaced with further outrage by the
Rioters, had been under the neceflity of repairing,
by a circuitous route to Philadelphia, To this out*
luxu e>f informatioti, vvhi h wa? received imme
diately after the riots, the floppage of the public
mail, the expulsion o l friends to government
from Pittsburgh, and the mealur«> taken to eflablifh
a correspondence and conceit ;imong the rioters
must be rega-ded as circumstances ot great aggra«
vation and alarm.
As soon as the intelligence of these lawless pro
ceedings had arriv d, letters were addressed undcrmy
inftiurtions to every Judge, iuHjcc, Sheriff, Brigad-
Infpertor, and in fliart, te> everv public officer, residing
in the Western c unties, the rcgi\ t* and
indignation, which ihe eVen; had producedand
requiring an exertion of their influence afid authori
ty to suppress rhe tumults, and pUnifii the eiflenders.
The Attorney General e>f the State was, likewise,
dciircd to investigate the circumstances of the riot,
to afftrtain the names of the rioters, and to inftirure
the regular process of the law for bringing the lea*,
ders tojullice. This Judiciary coitffa of proceeding,
the okiy one, at that period, appeared law.,
fu't to be pursued on my part was lecommanded,
likewJfe, by the filecef«, that had attended it upon
forn er occafione. Riots have luretcfore been com
mitted in oppollrion to the iavvsof I'ennfylvania, hut
the rioters have been invariably pUui/hed by ;r
Courts of Justice. In oppjliti»n to the laws of the
United -Stares, in opposition to the very iaws now
oppolcd, and in the very counties fhppofed to be
combined in the present oppofi:ion, riots have, like
wif«, formerly occurred ; but, in eves y instance sup
ported by legal proof (and several fucfi i:u;ances are
ipecilied in the documents that accompanied my ad
dress to the-Legiilature on the 7th of December,
1792) the offenders have beeii indiited, convirtcd,
and puniflied by'rhe Tribunals oi t)ie Srate 1 o sup
port the authority of the Union, by an exertion of
the authority of the State, has cvar, indeed, confli
tuted a favorite oujert of my official attention': and
J lhall always be persuaded, that if the purposes of
Justice can be attained, if obediencc to the laws can
be rel'tored, arfd if the horrorsof a civil war can be
averted, by that auxiliary intervention, no itfea of
placing an individual State in too diflinrt, too im
portant a point ot view, or of interfering with the
exercise of a concurrent Federal jurifdirtion, can be
Efficiently clear or cogent, to fupcrfcde such momen
tous considerations.
But it may be iuorgeded, that the extent and vio
lence of -the late diUurbances, required a more ener
getic course, and -would have jultified an immediate
interposition of the militia I-or my part. Gentle
men, I confefs, that in oianifeflitig a Zealous difpeli
tion to fccuic obedience to the Constitutions and laws
of our Country, I Ihail ever prefer the inltrumeim
of conciliation so those of coetui 11, aud never, but
in the la£l resort, countcftance a. dirtlidtion of iudi*
ciary authority, for the exertion of military f«rce.
Before the I resident hid detetmined to empl»y the
militia on this occation, the incompetency «f the Ju_
diciary Department of the Government of Peimivl
vania, to vindicate the violated laws, had not been
made fufficientjy apparent. That the laws of the -
nion are the laws of'the State, Is a constitutional ax_
iom that will never be controverted j but the mere
circumstance, that the riots were committed in ep
. fition to the laws Sf the Union, could neither enlarge
nor alter, the powers of the.State Government ; for,
in executing the laws, or maintaining the authority
of the C'riion, the officers of Pennlylvania can only
employ the fame means, by which the more pecu
liarly municipal lawsand authority of the State, are
executed and maintained. Under a solemn convic
tion, then, that the miiita r y power of the Govern
ment ought not to be employed, until its judiciary au
thority, after a fai' experiment, has proved incompe
tent to inforce'ohedience, or to punilii istraiaions ot
the law, 1 conceived that nothing more was due to
good faith and jultice, thanahafftuance that the mea
sures which were taken, would have been precisely
the fame, hadthe riot been unconnected with the lyf.
tem of Federal po icy. 4Nhe riot bad bee» uncon
nected with the fyltem of Federal policy, the vindi
cation of our laws " upon the arrival of thf firft Intel
ligence, would have been left to the ordinary course
of justice; and only in the lalt resort, at the requifi.
tion, and as an auxiliary ot the civil authority, would
the military force of the State be called forth.
For, it is ol'fome importance, Gentlemen, to re
coiled that, at this time, no positive law «f the
Stale cxiils, by which the exigency that will juflify
an appeal frooi the political, to ihe physical, ltreng;h
oFoir country, is defined; or, by which the evi
dent, to pro»e the exigence of that exigency, is re
gulattd and prefcribeJ. If is true, that, in seasons of
tumrft and inlurrcdion, when the civil authority has
declaicd itfeif incompetent to the discharge of its
fun&ons, a duty may be pr.furnea to relult from
the rature and Constitution of ths Executive office,
to execution'of the laws, by evei7 other le
gititrate means. But in the performance of a difcre
tiona-T trull, (0 charged with official responsibly, as
it affiits the magillrate, and so expol'ed to patriotic
jealosy as it ass. its the Citizens, every fonftrufti
on cf the circumstances that occur, should, in my
judgment, be the effedt of (erious deliberation ; and
everr step that is taken, in a military coude, should
be dredted and ofrcuttficribed by the necessity, which
irapds it. Besides, therefore, therecolleilitsn, that
in (inilar extremities the judiciary Department of our
Gov:rnment had maintained its authority, by punifb
ing the violators of the pub ic peace ; and besides the
defeat, originally, of fati,fa&ory proof to evince, that
on this occalion, its authority had failed; there
were considerations cf policy, thataddsd ' powerful
influence to recomme nd the lenient course, which, as
•n Executive Magillrate, 1 had determined to pursue.
In a free country it mult be expedient to convince
the Citizens et the necessity, that fliall at any time
induce the government to employ the co-ercive au
tho; y, with which it is inverted. To convince
them tlat it is necrflary to cal: forth the military
power, for th» purpoie of executing the laws, it mutl
be shewn, that the judicial power has in vain at
tempted to punish thole who viotate them. *1 he ci
tizens of Pennfy vim 3 (however a part of them may,
for a while, be deluded) are the Iriends of law and
order: but when the inhabitants of one dillritil {hall
be required to tajt ' arms' against tho inhabitants of
another, their general charaiter did in.t aulhorife
me to expe&, a passive 6bedience 10 rlic mandates,
of Government. 1 believed, that as Freemen they
would enquire into, the caUse and nature ol th« Ter
vice prapt,led to them ; and, I believed, their alacri
ty in performing, as well as in accepting it, would
elfentialif depend on their opinion of its jtifiice and
necessity. 1 encc, theretore, my lolici tide to ascer
tain, in the cleared manner, whether the judiciary
authority had been tried in vain" for under an assu
rance, that every other reasonable expedient had
been previously ILfurred to, I was confident that the
public opinion would landlion the mofl vigorous ex
ertion of the who e force, which the conflitution and
laws of the flat" entrust to me ; and that every good
citizen would willingly lent! his aid, to strengthen
and promote the measures, that were thus unavoid
ably employed, for relloring the authority of the
laws.
Upon great political emergencies, the effeit, like
wise, of every menfure, Ihou d be deliberately,
weighed. Anticipating the probable confequenees
of an awlul appeal to asms, I could not avoid im
prefiions, which are of a nature too painful, and too
de icate, for public recapitulation ; but which will
readily occur to every rcfledliiig mind.
From the situation that has been represented, I was
reieved, however, Gentlemen, by the conduct
whiy the Federal Government has determined to
adept upon the occasion; and by which, it is oi>vi«.
ous, that my interference, in a separate and uncon
nected manner, to embody any part of the mjiitia..
\yould be rendered ufeleiVly expenlive to the State,
unnecelfaiily burthenfome to the Ci iz, ns.and might
be eventually mtrodu&ory of embarraflmeot and con
fufion, m"ead of fy'tem and co-operation. ihe
complicated nature of the outrages, which were
tommitted upon the puMic peace, gave, a
'urifditflion to both Go ; :rmr.en(s; but in the judici
ary as well akin the military Department, it would,
perhaps, be expedient, that the fubjed (houid be
left entirely to the management eh her of the N tate,
or of the Gent-rat Ghvcrtnent : for, the very im
portant difference, which is supposed to cxift in the
nature and confluences ol the offcnee?, when con„
ivmplcted by the laws of ths Uni'ed Mates, and
when contemplated by the 1 -.ws of Fennlylvanh, mufl
othcrwife, destroy that uniformly in the definition
of crimes, and the apportionment oi punifhmenrs,
which has always b-.'.en deemed eflenual t6 a durj ad
miniilration of justice.
You wil 1 perceive, gentlemen, .from the docu
ments whiih I Have direded to be laid before you,
that, treading in the regular path designated by an
ait of Cowgreis, the Treiident has received a noti
fication from an Associate Judge, dating accmdi&g
to the A , ' that in the Counties et W#(bington
and Alfcghenev, in Pennfylvaijia, laws of the U
nited Stares are oppoled, and the execution thereof
obltru&ed. hy combinations too powerful to be fnp
preffed, by the ordinary course of judicial proceed
ings, or by the powers vefled in the Marlhall of the
UillriiJlr." Ihe legal operation of this Certificate,
hawing authoriled the to call forth the
Militia of this, and of any other State, to fupprels
such combinations, and the laws to be duly
executed, a reqiiifition for that pJrpol'e, has been
accordingly issued, and copies of it will be commu
nicated for your information. Leaving it, therefore
as 1 ought, implicitly to the judgment of the
deut, to chufe, on such evidence, as be approved,
tha meal'ures tor carrying the laws of the Unf»n in
to ess. a J and teeling as I ought, the influence of
my Federal obligations, I did not hclitate to give a
full and unequivocal alTu *tice, thatj whatever re.,
quifition he might make, whatever duty he n.jfht
impose, in purluance of his conllitutional and Ijigai
powers, would, on my part, be promptly underta
ken, and faithfully discharged. Actuated equally
by the tegard duu to my immediate trust, and my
desire to co-operate with the plans of the General 1
Government, I have, likewile, publi/hed a Procla
mation, declaring (as far as lean declare them) the
lentimer.ts of the Government ; announcing a de
termination to punilh the offenders ; and exhorting
tha Citizens at lat;e to puri'ue a peaceable and pa
triotic conduil : —1 have engagtd two rcfpe&able
Citizens to a& as Commifiioners, for sddrefling
thole who have embarked in the prefect combinati-.
on, upon the lawlcl's nature, and ruinous tendency
ol their proceeding; and for inculcating the necellity
of an immediate return to the duty which they owe
to their country : And J have convened the L. gifla
ture, in order that thole defetttsin the existing laws
of the State, which obftrutSf or retard the ofe of the
proper Uillruments for maintaining the dignity of
the Government, or for complying with the requifi
tions of the President, may be amended an that
the ultimate means of subduing the lpiri; of infur«
redlion, and of restoring tranquility and- order,
maybe precribed (confiding y with the jurifdiSion
of Pcnnlylvania) hy your wifdon and authority.
Having thus, iientlemen, laid before you the
circumllances that have attended, the very serious
event which has occasioned )our prelent meeting, it
cannot, i prelunta, be nec-effary to offer any further
arguments, to engage you in the indiijwnlable talk
ot providing, with a prompt, firm, and paniotic
po.icy lor the ruaiutainance of an iffua, in which
the laws and cxiUence ol our government are criti
cal!) involved. iou wi.l perceive from the papers;
which the Secretary is directed to deliver, (Hat every
conciliatory effort has been made, as well by the
general government, as by the State, 19 convince
the deluded insurgents of their error, to reconcile
them to their dmy, and to re-elUblifli the violated
authority of the laws : You will be faii-fiad from
the present Hate of our information, that the judicia
ry authority of the government is no longer con.j)^-
tent to inforce obedience to the afls of Con -rsft. or
to punilh the outrageous offences, which have been
committed in the course ot an eppoGtion to them—
andyouwillfeel, under the moll lacred obligationsnf
duty, under the liroiigeft incentives or interef t'ie
force of the refuking alternative, which i,., w ' prC "
fents 10 our choice a derilifiion of our official trust
or the rnoft vigorous exertion of our conttuutiui.il'
powers.
But not only as guardians of the public welfare
and of the equalrights of our conftituenc — Letm'
likewise, call upon you gentlemen—let me foicmnlv
call upon our fellow-citizens of every >u miotic
—as individuals bearing testimony againlt , iiwTr'f*
proceeding, to exercise all the influence of reason
and example, in counteraaing the fatal a
spirit, so hoilile to the public order of Society and
to the private happiness of man. There is so niem
berot the community so elevated by opulence or
lo depressed by poverty-fo weak, or ii, ietblc' in
th« condition of his mind or body,—but mull feel
his dependence upon the benignity of the laws ■
Fora genera I fubmiflion to the law, is the en-Yin'
though the only medium (as I havdalreadylntim n'
ed) by which the public is enabled to extend fecur'ity
to property, aad encouragement to inriuftry ■ hi
which it arms the feebie against outrage, aod j'hel
ters the unfortunate from want, l'o violate this
paladium, upon any pretext, iS to fit an example for
vioating it up. n every pretrat : and to ptimit it,
111 the fiift inflance, with impunity, i», i n e/feft, to
invigorate every subsequent attack. The dutj ot
th* government being thus intimately combined with
the iaterefts of the pc«ple, 1 anxiously hope, this
the ready and effedaal aid, which the public niea„
lures will receive, at this crilis, from the zeal and
spirit of a militia, composed of enlighteHed aad pa
triotic freemun, will leave the enemii s of i.iberty
hereafter without a pretext, for asserting that a
fl idingarmy is neceflary to maintain the authority
ol' the law s.
It is incumbent Upon me, however, Gentlemen,
to renew at this period, the reprcfeniations, which
1 repeatedly made, duriug ti « last Seflion, relative
to the radical imperfedlions of the exilling fytlem,
for organizing and regulating the militia of the
State. Shcli embarrassments, indeed, daily occur,
that the candor, which ought to pre"ail in my Legi
slative communications, and the attention that is
due to my executive charatfter, impel me to declare,
that, withuut (ome essential alterations and am.
eudnn(its in the law, I cannot be responsible for a
pundlual compliance with the reqsifitions of the
Pre'Ddent, or a fnafonable exertion of the military
force, in aid ol the civil authority. The infufiici
ency of the penalties to iuduce a performance of
, militia duties ; the inadequate means for recovering
those penalties; the want ot a fund to defray con
tingent expsnces ; the inconliderable compensation
of ibme ot the officers compared with their duties;
the ineffectual regulations for compelling individu
al to procure arms and equipments; and the want
of a public arlenal, with a competent lupp'y of
arms and ammunition ; are ainoug the obvious tlt
fecls, which claim immediate conlideiation. Some
of the general arrangements, have, liketoife. been
found inconvenient in praeh'ce ; and many parts of
the law are so ambiguous, as to produce different
conllrudlions, in different countics of the Hate,.
Permit m«, at the fame time, to fugged, that ge
neral provisions ought to be made, for ascertaining
the occali ns on which the military, may beemt.
ployed in support of the civi. authority of the Hate ;
and for regulating, more efficiently t an at present,
the mode of complying with the requisitions ot the
President. The latter provision, indeed, de
fervts immediate attention ; as a requisition has
been made (a copy of which,and of the proceedings in
relation to it you will have an opportunity of peril
ling) for a draft of 10,768 of the militia of this (late,
as our quota of the determent of 80,000 men direc
ted to be organized, and held in tetdiuefs to march
at a moment's warning, in pursuance of a late a&
of Congress. Whatever may be the iflue of the ex
isting circumftahces of our counrty, which furnilh
an immediate oceafion for these military prepara.,
tions, the endeavour to improve, and perfedt our
militia lyltem, ought not to be relinquithed or re
laxed. The rapid augmentation of the population,
opulence, and importance of the union, must, in. the
usual course of sublunary events, expose us to those
external dangers, and internal agitatioHs, which are
inseparable from the human character and conditio*.
It becomes, therefore, our highell duty to be r at all
times, prepared to repel holliiities against 'he natioii,
and to preserve subordination to the laws : and this
can only bteffe&ed, with fafety to our Freedom and
Independence, by a well regulated militia, wh,. shall
add to a sense of their rights, a knowledge of the
means to aflert them.
Since the tranf.idlions to which your attention ha»
hitherto been direited, have imposed the necefii y o£
an immediate call of the Legislature, it is lome con
solation, Gentlemen, that I (hail now enjoy the bene
fit of your advice and authority upon another fubjettt,
which has, likewile, been the.lburce of lome imbar*
rafsment. In compliance with diredlionsol thtfeveral
aCfs, relative to the eftablilhment of a town at Prel
qu' isle, 1 appointed Commiflioners for the
surveys, & formed, upon the principlej'which thelaw
prescribes, a detachment from the (late troops, to pra
teil tlu'ie commiiTioners in theexecutian oftbeir.truft.
When however,they had procoeded aconfidemble dis
tance in their courle to Prcfqu'ifle, accounts from a
variety of quarters concurred in railing a ieribtis 3p_"
prehension, that the proje&ed fettleme'ht would be
hoftily oppofei by thedix Nations, & other ill disposed
persons in the neighbourhood of eur .Northern Fron
tier. It became necellary, therefore, for the purgofc
of repelling the threatened invasion of our territory,
as well as lor preventing a fiifappointment of the Lc
giflative intention?, to reinfor.e the detachment,
which accompanied the Commiflioners; and orders
were accordingly issued to drifca thtjjfand militia
from the Wei'.ern Brigades, for that particular I-.t-
Vicc. But, when these orders were communicated
to the President (the law,and every other step taken
to execute it, having in like manner been previoully
commii'.icated) he declared - "an opinion, formed
upon maime c-cfletSUon that it was advifcab e to fut
pend for the prefeHt the establishment of Ptclque
isle " The reafon>that have been mentioned as the
ground of thbopinion, appear in th« correspondence,
which will be laid bjfore you: and you will there,
likewise, perceive, that under :he uniform influence #£
an official il fpofition to promote the views ot the gene
ral Government, of an earned desire to cultivate eve
ry pt.flible means of peace, and of a personal copfi-,
dence in the judgment and patriotism oi' the President,
a prompt compliance, on my part, followed the
communication of ids opinion ;nd rcqueft.
Aware, however, of the policy ol the Prefqu* isle
eftab'ilhment, in addii g strength to the means of
protecting our distant frontier,&of its juilice in main
taining the system for the Settlement of public laixia,
by tlie sale of which a Sufficient revenue hid been
produced to exufierateJhe Sutc from the prrfliirc ej
her debts, I rec«ived with peculiar fatUfa&ion ail
alTurance, that the obllacles to its accomplifhmeiit
were of a temporary nature, ind that 110 exerti'ia
wouid be omitted to remove them. On any nth-jr
terms, indeed,my authority could not have extended
to an atquiefcence in the President's wishes; for,
you will hod it expreisly Hated in the opinion which
the Attorney General gave upon the fubjetft, that
jcould not juftify an oniiifion to conform to the d»*