From John Jay to Gouverneur Morris, 21 October 1778
To Gouverneur Morris
Poughkeepsie 21st. October 1778.—
Dear Morris
Your favors of the 8th., 22d & 27th. of September and last of all, of the 26th. Augst. by Doctr. McKnight are come to hand.1
While the far greater part of mankind derive pleasure from discord between friends, you derive credit from feeling and acting differently. What your information may have been, or from whom received I cannot conjecture. It was not entirely well or ill founded. One of the last bills passed by the legislature last spring was for confirming all the proceedings of the pretended and self-constituted Council of safety,2 and that too in the gross, without even having read them. On the bills coming to the Council of revision, they applied to the Assembly for their proceedings, and an order passed for their being furnished with them. The bill was then committed to the Chancellor. The Legislature adjourned for more than ten days; and the Council, you know, were either to object the first day of the succeeding meeting, or the bill become a law. The members of this Council of safety, with their adherents, had labored to obtain from the Legislature an oblique recognition of their authority, and succeeded. The Council of revision objected, and the people were with them. Hence the bill in question became in many respects important. The Legislature met; the Chancellor and the other members of the council, except myself, were absent. The bill became a law and its advocates triumphed.3 I confess I was chagrined and plainly blamed our friend.4 Nor did I pay that respect to his excuses which perhaps prudence directed; to me they appeared very triffling indeed. But from this affair I did not apprehend a breach or coolness between us. Neither his nor my conduct have to my knowledge given any such indications. I certainly disapprove of his inattention, or to speak more plainly, of his laziness—and that lazy he is too many know and all his friends regret. but though this trouble may sometimes ruffle my temper, it will never destroy my friendship for him. Connections of this kind should neither be hastily formed nor dissolved.
I am glad your letters of the 8th. ult. was a little enigmatical and not very important. it had been opened by splitting the wafer with a knife not more than half of it had again joined.
Your late resolution for saving time will not save as much as was spent in the debate. I am sure the plan is not good. It was tried in 74 or 5, but soon relinquished. The scarcity or high price of wine &c. may indeed render it less improper now than formerly
Duane, Lewis, yourself, Schuyler and Floyd, are our delegates for the year ensuing.5 Scot pushed hard, but, as usual, in vain.— A resolution declaring a special occasion to exist has passed the assembly and will probably pass the senate.
The late Council of appointment have made Scot Brigadier General of the militia of the city and county of N York. The present council are Plat Lawrence Ten Broeck of the Manor of Livingston—& [Russell] of the Eastern District.6
Your enemies talk much of your Tory connections at Philadelphia—7 Take care— Some people of importance in your city apprehend ill consequences to yourself as well as the State from it, and wish you to be more circumspect. They have informed me of this in a friendly manner, that I might hint it to you. Do not unnecessarily expose yourself to calumny and perhaps indignity. I have heard that Hazard8 has lately spoken freely about it to some people here. Adieu. I am sincerely yours &c.
John Jay
Tr, MH: Sparks (EJ: 5356).
1. Letters not located.
2. On 3 May 1777 the New York Provincial Convention had determined on the appointment of a fifteen-man Council of Safety that would function as the temporary government of the state following the adjournment of the convention. The council governed the state until September, when the new legislature assembled at Kingston but soon dispersed upon the approach of Sir Henry Clinton’s forces. On 7 Oct., those legislators who were still present at Kingston formed themselves into a convention of which all members of the legislature were members, any 25 of whom would constitute a quorum. The convention then appointed a Council of Safety, any seven members of which could act with the same powers as earlier councils for “so long as the necessities of this State require and no longer.” The council continued in existence until January 1778, when the full state legislature convened at Poughkeepsie and met its quorum. , 1: 910, 933, 1059, 1061–62, 1063–1109.
3. On 11 Nov. 1777, the Council of Safety passed a resolution entitled “An act to prevent the exportation of flour, meal and grain out of this State.” The state legislature, when it assembled, ratified and extended this measure in an act ultimately passed on 7 Feb. On 20 Feb. 1778 the Council of Revision, with Governor Clinton, Chancellor Livingston, and Chief Justice JJ present, vetoed the act, strongly objecting, in a report prepared by JJ, to the terms of the embargo, especially “because it recognizes the late supposed Council of Safety as a Legislative body.” JJ argued that once the state constitution went into effect and the new government was formed, all legislative power was to be exercised by the “immediate representatives of the people, in Senate and Assembly, in the mode prescribed by the Constitution.” The previous extralegal “temporary expedients” of councils and committees of safety no longer had any legislative authority, except perhaps to “advise and recommend.” Moreover, he asserted, the Council of Safety in question was not even appointed by the legislature, but by a number of the members who had resolved themselves into a convention. Despite the Council of Revision’s objections, the legislature reaffirmed the act, with only slight amendments, on 9 Mar. The Council of Revision also objected on 30 Mar. to a militia act ratifying a measure of the Council of Safety but was similarly overruled. Consequently, the legislature on 4 Apr. 1778, the last day before adjournment, adopted “An Act to Remove All Doubts concerning the Powers of the last Convention and Council of Safety of this State, and to indemnify those who acted under their Authority.” This act ratified and confirmed “all and every order” of the Convention and the Council of Safety not otherwise approved or repealed by the legislature. The Council of Revision, as noted in this text, requested copies of the transactions of the Convention and the Council of Safety to guide their decision on the validity of the act, but without any members besides JJ present when the legislature reconvened in June, they lost the opportunity to submit a veto. , 1: 1077–78; Alfred B. Street, The Council of Revision of the State of New York . . . (Albany, 1859), 203–8, 214; The votes and proceedings of the Assembly of the state of New-York, at their first session, begun and holden in the Assembly chamber, at Kingston . . . (Kingston, N.Y., 1777–78), 32, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 50, 55–57, 75, 81, 83, 93, 94, 100, 108–9.
4. The chancellor, Robert R. Livingston, who also denied any coolness in his relationship with JJ in a letter to Morris of 10 Sept. 1778. However, Livingston indicated he was “sometimes a little hurt at his dogmatical manner and incommunicativeness.” Tr, MH: Sparks (EJ: 1106).
5. Morris, James Duane, Francis Lewis, Philip Schuyler, and William Floyd were chosen delegates to the Continental Congress, 16 Oct. 1778. JJ was chosen as a special delegate on 4 Nov. to represent the state on the issue of Vermont separatists. , 60.
6. Zephaniah Platt, Jonathan Lawrence of New York City, Dirck Wessels Ten Broeck (1715–82) of Albany County, and Ebenezer Russell, an assemblyman from Charlotte County, were appointed 17 Oct. 1778. , 100. Russell’s name is not legible in the manuscript.
7. Gouverneur Morris was often suspected of Loyalist leanings, due primarily to the loyalties of his family. His mother was a British sympathizer, while two of his sisters were married to Loyalists. Which of his Philadelphia social connections was prompting criticism at this time has not been identified. See , 127–29.
8. Probably Ebenezer Hazard (1744–1817), surveyor general of the Post Office and later postmaster general.