1H. G. to Marinus Willett, [15 April 1789] (Hamilton Papers)
H___ G___. having been informed that Mr. Willet has received a letter from the Attorney General, stating the circumstances of the interview between them, takes occasion to express his expectation that Mr. Willett will communicate it to the public. The [New York] Daily Advertiser , April 15, 1789. For information on the controversy between “H.G.” and Willett, see “H.G. Letters. Introductory...
2H. G. to Marinus Willett, [19 March 1789] (Hamilton Papers)
I perceive by this day’s Advertiser that you have thought proper to come forward, with an air of triumph, to contradict a fact alledged in my sixth letter respecting a proclamation of the council for the temporary government of the southern district. You have been pleased to preface it with some general observations, and among the rest to make a profession of your faith in the virtue of the...
3H. G. to Marinus Willett, [24 March 1789] (Hamilton Papers)
H___ G___, for public reasons does not think it expedient to relinquish the character in which he appears in the newspapers; nor does he consider it as necessary to do so, for either of the purposes mentioned by Mr. Willett. Mr. W___ being a mere volunteer in the business, can at any rate have no claim to such a relinquishment. He will do well to recollect, that he did not confine himself to...
4H. G. Letter I, 20 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
Your letter of the 18th instant, has duly come to hand, and entitles you to my particular thanks. In return I shall endeavor fully to comply with your request, and furnish you, in a series of letters, with all the materials in my power, to enable you to judge what conduct it will be proper for you to pursue, in relation to the ensuing election for Governor. Your influence is considerable; and...
5H. G. Letter IV, 24 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
You will perceive, my dear Sir, from the sketch, I have given you, that though the present Governor has a just title to credit for his exertions in the late revolution; yet the degree of credit to which he is truly entitled has been immodestly exaggerated. It is to be wished, nevertheless, for the honor and interest of the state, that his administration since the peace was proportionably...
6H. G. Letter III, 22 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
You mention towards the close of your letter, two reports circulating in your county, which you say operate to the advantage of Mr. Clinton; the one, that at the time he first took the chair of government, “the great men” as they are insidiously called, declined the station, through apprehension of the dangers that might attend it. Not less willing then to set him up as a mark for the...
7H. G. Letter VI, 26 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
I shall now proceed to give you a brief history of the Governor’s administration since the peace, as it respects the United States; from the whole of which, preferring the evidence of actions , to that of professions , I am persuaded you will agree with me, that there is satisfactory proof of his being an enemy to the AMERICAN UNION. The facts from which I shall draw this conclusion are of the...
8H. G. Letter VI, 27 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
In my last I stated a number of facts tending to prove that Mr. Clinton is not a friend to the UNION. I would not be understood, that either of these facts singly would authorise such a conclusion, but that it is the result of them collectively. Many men, of whose good intentions, I have no doubt, have entertained similar sentiments with him on several of the points stated; but I am mistaken...
9H. G. Letter VII, 28 February 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
The embarrassments experienced in carrying through the first plan, the increase of the national debt, and other circumstances induced Congress to devise a new system of impost, which was finally agreed upon on the 18th of April 1783. In this system, the appointment of the officers, to collect the duties, was referred to the several states, which it was supposed would remove the principal...
10H. G. Letter X, 4 March 1789 (Hamilton Papers)
Sometime in the latter part of the year 1785, or beginning of 1786, the state of Virginia proposed the holding a convention for the purpose of devising some system of commercial regulations for the United States. This state among others acceded to the proposition; and the deputies from different states appointed pursuant to it met at Annapolis in the fall of 1786. But the number actually...