and the form, of communicating it to the Court of Madrid. The actual state of Europe, at the time you will receive this, the solidity of the confederacy, and especially, as between Spain and England, the temper and views of the former, or of both, towards us, the state of your negotiation, are circumstances, which will enable you better to decide how far it may be necessary to soften, or even, perhaps, to suppress, the expressions of our sentiments on this subject. To your discretion therefore, it is committed, by the President, to let the Court of Spain see how impossible it is for us to submit with folded arms, to be butchered by these Savages, and to prepare them to view, with a just Eye, the more vigorous measures we must pursue to put an end to their atrocities, if the moderate ones, we are now taking, should fail of that effect.

Our situation, on other accounts, and in other quarters, is critical. The President is, therefore, constantly anxious to know the state of things with you and I entreat you to keep him constantly and well-informed. Mr. Yznardi, the younger, lately appointed Consul of the United States at Cadiz, may be a convenient channel of forwarding your letters.

TO THE FRENCH MINISTER.
(EDMOND CHARLES GENET.)

J. MSS.

PHILADELPHIA June 1. 1793.

SIR, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 27th of May on the subject of Gideon Henfield, a citizen of the United States, engaged on board an armed vessel in the service of France. It has been laid before the President, and referred to the Attorney General of the United States, for his opinion on the matter of law, and I have now the honor of enclosing you a copy of that opinion. Mr. Henfield appears to be in the custody of the civil magistrate, over whose proceedings the executive has no controul. The act with which he is charged will be examined by a jury of his countrymen, in the presence of judges of learning and integrity, and if it is not contrary to the laws of the land, no doubt need be entertained that his case will issue accordingly.

VOL. VI.-18

The forms of the Law involve certain necessary delays; of which however, he will assuredly experience none but what are necessary.

P. S. After writing the above I was honored with your note on the subject of Singleterry on which it is in my power to say nothing more than in that of Henfield.'

1 A first draft of this letter terminated as follows: "no doubt need be entertained that his case will have the favorable issue you desire. The forms of law involve certain necessary delays ; of which however he will assuredly experience none but what are necessary. It will give me great pleasure to be able to communicate to you that the laws (which admit of no controul) on being applied to the actions of Mr. Henfield, shall have found in them no cause of animadversion."

On the back of this first draft, Jefferson wrote: “A clause stood in the original draught in these words. 'it will give me great pleasure to be able to communicate to you &c.-Animadversion' (see it still legible on the other side). E. R. objected to it as conveying a wish that the act might not be punishable, and proposed it should be ‘it will give me great pleasure to be able to communicate to you that on his examination he shall be found to be innocent.' It was done. The letter with this alteration was sent into the country to Colo. Hamilton, who found the clause, even as altered, to be too strong & proposed it should be omitted. It was therefore struck out altogether. See his letter of June 3."

Hamilton's letter referred to, was:

"TREASURY DEPARTMENT, June 3d, 1793.

"SIR,-It was not till within an hour that I received your letter of the 1st, with the papers accompanying it. I approve all the drafts of letters as they stand, except that I have some doubts about the concluding sentence, of that on the subject of HENFIELD. If the facts are (as I presume they are) established, may it not be construed into a wish, that there may be found no law to punish a conduct in our citizens, which is of a tendency dangerous to the peace of the nation, and injurious to powers with whom we are on terms of peace and neutrality.

"I should also like to substitute for the words “have the favorable issue you desire," these words, “issue accordingly."

"I retain, till to-morrow, the paper relating to an agent to the Choctaws. My judgment is not entirely made up on the point-the state of my family and my own health having prevented due reflection upon it.

"With great respect, I have the honor to be, &c."

In the Washington MSS. there is a paper by Jefferson based on this Henfield case, which follows:

"NOTES.

"Cases where individuals (as Henfield &c.) organize themselves into military bodies within the US. or participate in acts of hostility by sea,

"TEXT.

"The Constitution having authorised the legislature exclusively to declare whether the nation, from a state of peace, shall go into that of

CABINET OPINION ON SECRET INDIAN AGENT. J. MSS.

That an agent be sent to the Choctaw nation, to endeavor secretly to engage them to support the Chickasaws in their present war with the Creeks-giving them, for that purpose, arms and ammunition sufficient; and that it be kept in view, that if we settle our differences amicably with the Creeks, we at the same

time mediate effectually the peace of the Chickasaws and Choctaws; so as to rescue the former from the difficulties in which they are engaged, and the latter from those into which we may have been instrumental in engaging them.

TH. JEFFERSON, H. KNOX.

Although I approve of the general policy of employing Indians against Indians, yet I doubt, greatly, whether it ought to be exercised under the particular existing circumstances with Spain; who may hold herself bound to take the part of the Creeks, and criminate the United States for some degree of insincerity.

EDM. RANDOLPH.

My judgment balanced a considerable time on the proposed measure; but it has at length decided against it, and very materially, on the ground, that I do not think the United States can honorably or morally, or with good policy, embark the Choctaws

"Merely an intimation to establish all these cases with the Judiciary.

"For a specification of some of these duties see Jay's & Wilson's charges. Are they all sufficiently provided with specific punishments?

"Offences against the Law of Nations. Genet's conduct is one. by that law the President may order him away. Has the law provided for the efficacy of this order?"

taken on the high seas & brought into our ports?

Whether all such of these interferences as may be exercised by the judiciary bodies with equal efficacy, with more regularity, and with greater safety to the rights of individuals, citizen or alien, are already placed under their cognizance, so as to leave no room for diversity of judgment among them, no necessity or ground for any other branch to exercise them, merely that there may not be a defect of justice or protection, or a breach of public order?

"And Whether the duties of a nation at peace towards those at war, imposed by the laws and usages of nature, & nations, & such other offences against the law of nations as present circumstances may produce, are provided for by the municipal law with those details of internal sanction and coercion, the mode & measure of which that alone can establish?"

in the war, without a determination to extricate them from the consequences, even by force. Accordingly it is proposed that, in settling our differences with the Creeks, "we mediate effectually the peace of the Chickasaws and Choctaws;" which I understand to mean, that we are to insist with the Creeks on such terms of peace for them as shall appear to us equitable; and if refused, will exert ourselves to procure them by arms. I am unwilling, all circumstances foreign and domestic considered, to embarrass the government with such an obligation.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

TO JAMES MADISON.

J. MSS. June 2, 1793.

I wrote you on the 27th ult. You have seen in the papers that some privateers have been fitted out in Charleston by French citizens, with their own money, manned by themselves, & regularly commissioned by their nation. They have taken several prizes & brought them into our ports. Some native citizens had joined them. These are arrested & under prosecution, & orders are sent to all the ports to prevent the equipping privateers by any persons foreign or native. So far is right. But the vessels so equipped at Charleston are ordered to leave the ports of the US. This I think was not right. Hammond demanded further a surrender of the prizes they had taken. This is refused, on the principle that by the laws of war the property is transferred to the captors. You will see, in a paper I inclose, Dumourier's address to his nation, & also Saxe Cobourg's. I am glad to see a probability that the constitution of 1791, would be the term at which the combined powers. would stop. Consequently that the reestablishment