USA > Virginia > The history of the Virginia federal convention of 1788, with some account of eminent Virginians of that era who were members of the body, Vol. II > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
313 ( Jefferson's Works, Randolph's edition, Vol. IV, 66.)
pcormr ons
34.5
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
as well as from the eulogies of friends, and it is the duty of his- tory to preserve the hostile portrait for its reflection and exami- nation. A sketch of Nicholas, which originally appeared in the Washington Republican, and is drawn by a bitter but witty enemy, may amuse the reader:
"The opinion is certainly entertained, and has been often con- fidently advanced by some who knew him well, and who are also acquainted with the character of Talleyrand, that our 'Virginia woodsman' surpassed the French diplomatist in the talent which rendered him most useful to his friends and most formidable to his foes. Though he never gave any great proofs of scholarship within my knowledge, I am satisfied that he enjoyed the advan- tages of a good classical education, at the least, and that nature gave him a mind of most gigantic power is doubted by none. Mr. Nicholas's ambition knew no bounds; for its gratification he sought popularity 'in his own way' with a perseverance and a clearness of judgment almost unexampled. He was always proverbially plain in his dress and in his manners-two of Wis- dom's important steps to reach the hearts of the people. He was, in general, grave and reserved, and sometimes would appear to be even morose and grum-infallible means of estab- lishing with the public a full credit for all the talents he pos- sessed; and the certain means of enhancing, even to fascination, the value of an agreeable smile, or marked familiarity, in which he occasionally indulged with the happiest success. Our coun- try never, perhaps, gave birth to a man better acquainted with all the avenues to the human heart; and few have profited more than Mr. Nicholas for a long while did by the com- mand of that rare and invaluable species of knowledge. The wise and the simple, the learned and the unlearned, were alike at his pleasure-mere automata in his hands. Among other endowments he seemed also sometimes to possess the power of ubiquity; for often has he been politically seen and felt at the same moment in places very different and very distant from one another; and, what almost surpasses belief, he found in our modern hard times, when standing on the verge of bank- ruptcy, no difficulty in laying the wisest and most cautious of our citizens under contribution. * * I will conclude this letter with the recital of an anecdote relating to the adroitness · with which, while in the House of Representatives, he some-
346
VIRGINIA CONVENTION OF 1788.
times managed certain members of that body. It is said that on some occasion of great importance when a measure was depending before Congress, the adoption of which Mr. Nicholas had much at heart, having just recovered, he said, from a fit of the gout, well muffled in an old-fashioned dress, he sallied forth in quest of recruits; and no statesman, to be sure, possessed a happier talent for enlisting speakers and voters by the exercise of what is called out-of-door influence than he did. The first boarding-house to which he repaired was filled with members of Congress from and -. Upon entering the apart- ment occupied as a drawing-room by the honorable gentlemen, very much in the style of a plain, unceremonious farmer, the members, rising, generally welcome their visitor with great polite- ness. As soon as he was seated he complained, in a manner quite familiar and good-natured, that his worthy friends had neglected him whilst afflicted with the gout, declaring at the same time he would not have treated them so unkindly. They, of course, all apologized, and the sufficiency of their excuses was readily admitted. Next, with the seeming artlessness and cordiality of a good, well-meaning country gentleman, he inquired after their families, and then discoursed of plantation matters and on such other subjects as he found to be most agreeable. Whilst all were yet charmed by the conversation of their guest he rose, and, taking a most friendly leave of the gentlemen individually, obtained from each a promise soon to return his call. At the threshold of the door, departing, he suddenly paused, and turning hastily about, as if just then struck with a ' new thought, which it was his duty as a friend to communicate, he exclaimed: 'O! Mr. - , have you reflected on the great, the important question now before Congress?' alluding to the very measure which so deeply interested himself. To which Mr. replied: 'No, Colonel, I confess I have not.' Where- upon Mr. Nicholas rejoined: 'Good God, sir, is it possible that a gentleman of your talents, one who ought to take the lead in 'every great question discussed in Congress, one whom I had always believed to be remarkably attentive to all subjects of a public nature, but more especially to those which immediately concerned his own district or State-is it possible, sir, that you have overlooked this question, important, it is true, to the public at large, but more particularly so to the State from which you .
347
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
come?' Then, turning to all the members who were listening auribus erectis, he added: 'Aye, gentlemen, in the highest degree important to both of your States.' And by a plausible short oration Mr. Nicholas proceeded to convince his delighted hearers that all which he had said to them was perfectly ortho- dox; for the Colonel, like many other politicians of weight, was admirably good at a short speech in a small circle, whilst it is certain that he never did distinguish himself as an orator in either house of Congress. Mr. Nicholas, in fine, had the good fortune to obtain from every member whom he thus addressed an assurance that he would attend whenever the important mea- sure should be called up, and give it, at least, the support of his vote. As to poor Mr. - -, he then for the first time in his life, under the light shed upon the subject by Mr. Nicholas, dis- covered that his endowments were most rich and splendid and his acquirements most valuable and unlimited-fitting him as an orator for the highest niche in the Temple of Fame. He, of course, promised not only to vote, but to speak on the import-
. ant measure. Highly gratified with the result of his visit and harangue to so many of the members of two influential States, Mr. Nicholas, bowing a second time more profoundly than before, again took an affectionate leave of his friends, reminding them severally of their promise to return his call. In like man- ner, and with like success generally, Mr. Nicholas visited many other boarding-houses where members of Congress lodged, and in several of them, as in the first he had visited, found those whom he convinced by a few judicious remarks and compli - ments, exactly suited to the taste and mind of each, that they were among the most eloquent of all the members of Congress. It was afterwards no difficult task to satisfy each of those inflated orators that it was a sacred duty which he owed to himself and his country no longer"to hide his light under a bushel.' These novi homines promised, of course, to speak as well as to vote in favor of the important measure. Thus had Mr. Nicho- las, after recovering from a fit of the gout, under which he thought much more than he suffered, in very good time made every arrangement necessary to carry his favorite measure.
"'He that hath ears to hear let him hear' is an injunction which is believed to have been always as scrupulously observed by the celebrated statesman 'of Roanoke' as any other precept
348
VIRGINIA CONVENTION OF 1788.
contained in the sacred volume; and he saw and heard enough, in relation to what had passed at the boarding-houses, perfectly to comprehend the whole game in all its depth which Mr. Nicholas had been playing. Finally the important measure was called up, and Mr. Nicholas, his orators, and other friends being all in their places, Mr. (of -- ) rose and addressed the House at some length in favor of the measure in a neat speech, but more animated than the occasion seemed to require. He was followed by Mr. - (of -), who spoke with considerable ability in opposition.
Then, in regular succession, one after another, rose some half a dozen more of Mr. Nicholas's orators. Such thundering and declamation! On such a ques- tion, too! 'Sure, the like was never heard before!' During all this time Mr. Nicholas, who felt in reality more solicitude for the fate of the question than all Congress besides, with muscles unmoved, sat at his desk folding up newspapers and copies of documents and addressing them to his constituents, seeming all the while to be just as unconcerned as if he were entirely igno- rant of the subject. under consideration. All this was observed by the statesman 'of Roanoke,' who, sitting in his place with folded arms, and looking sometimes at Mr. Nicholas and some- times at his orators, at length touched a friend near him and said, with a point and an energy peculiar to himself : 'The master-spirit that acts on this occasion is invisible.' Then, pointing carelessly to Mr. Nicholas, with a significant look, he added: ''Tis Signor Falconi who, from behind the curtain, plays off these puppets upon us' (pointing to Mr. Nicholas's orators). The hit was so excellent that, ever afterwards, to the day of his death, Mr. Nicholas was known to many persons by his new name chiefly. I presume you have not forgotten that, some years ago, the eminence of Signor Falconi in conducting puppet shows was unrivalled, and that he was acknowledged to be the ' emperor universal ' over all rope-dancers and jugglers wherever to be found.'' 314
314 Letters on the Richmond Party, page 15-a duodecimo of forty- eight pages. They were published originally in the Washington Repub- lican in 1823. Their design is to show that the active members of the Democratic party, in office since 1794, were connected by blood or affinity with one another, and that their true object was rather a love of the loaves and fishes than any particular affection for the principles
319
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
But mark the result! The orator, whose brilliant eloquence, keen wit, and blighting sarcasm held his hearers spell-bound as long and as often as he spoke, and not unfrequently against their will, rarely or never won a vote; was, after years of recruiting, seldom in command of a larger squad than the boat's crew of a custom house tender-and that squad ever ready to run off at any moment when the eye of the basilisk was turned from them; gained whatever victories he may be said to have gained in contests with his own friends, whose general principles he professed to approve, but whom he followed with immortal hate; saw the glittering prizes of successful ambition which he would have delighted to grasp and sport at St. Cloud, and, above all, at St. James's, and, in his excursions through England, at the sepulchres of his sires, casting back upon the ancestral dust the westering radiance of the name-these trophies he saw borne off, one by one, from his reach ; was, after years of isolation, again united with his old friends, who, when his last sands were running, when the "church-yard cough" was racking a frame never stout enough for the eagle spirit which it encaged, bestowed upon him the empty office, which he accepted, but which he was unable to discharge, of appearing at the court of men whom he had constantly ridiculed as "ruffians in 'off.'" and of exposing a constitution which required the balm of the tropics to the snows of the arctic zone. How different was the fortune of Nicholas! He was a plain, substantial farmer, not looking to a public career as the staple of life or as a scene of ambition; no orator, in the higher sense of the word, though a strong, well-informed, and ready speaker, always keeping the main point in view and sitting down when he was done, and ever from his sense and position uttering well-weighed words and retaining the erect ear of the House; yet receiving, during a life running through the third of a century, almost every honor which Virginia and the Federal Executive could bestow; declining instantaneously the most daz- zling of them all, that would take him abroad from his fireside and from his fields, and holding those at home only long enough
which they professed. The letters are written with no inconsiderable ability, and with some force and grace of style, and were the source of much mirth at their date, and of some severe denunciations from those who were honored with the special attentions of the writer. Thirty years ago I heard them attributed to Mr. Macrae.
-
وسويت
350
VIRGINIA CONVENTION OF 1788.
to accomplish some important result; and by his wonderful fore- cast, by his broad common sense, by his extraordinary tact, and by his comprehensive wisdom, composing the stripes and con- firming the union of that great party, which, beginning its triumphs with the opening century, has ruled, with slight inter- vals, the destinies of the country to the present hour, which has achieved so many remarkable and glorious results, and which owes a debt to the memory of Nicholas that it will be ever ready to acknowledge and ever prompt to pay; and, victorious to the last, retiring from the chair of the Governor (which he filled at a remarkable epoch), while he was yet pressed to remain, to the bosom of his lovely family, there to descend in peace to the tomb.
In resuming the thread of my narrative, I borrow the pen of a female descendant of Colonel Nicholas, which touches nothing that it does not adorn. Alluding to the reasons which led him to resign his seat in the Senate, she says:
"All the great changes contemplated by his party having been accomplished, and the dispute about the right of deposit at New Orleans adjusted without a war with Spain by the acquisition of the whole of Louisiana, Colonel Nicholas thought that he might, without any dereliction of duty, resign his seat in the Senate ; which step was imperatively demanded by the state of his private affairs, now seriously embarrassed. To these he continued to devote himself for a time with great assiduity-his success in agriculture bearing witness to the skill and energy with which its operations were conducted. In 1806 he refused a special mission to France to ratify, under the auspices of Napoleon, the treaty with Spain. But in 1809 the necessity of having some one 'whose talents and standing, taken together, would have weight enough to give him the lead,' brought on him such urgent appeals to his patriotism that he was forced to yield. He became a candidate for Congress, and was elected without opposition.
"The period was momentous and highly critical. The aggres- sions of England in the attack on the Chesapeake, and the exten- sion of the orders of the King in council, and afterwards the application by France of the Berlin and Milan decrees to our commerce, imposed upon us the necessity of resistance. But, pursuant to the pacific policy which had governed our councils
.
351
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
during a period of unparalleld aggression on the part of Great Britain-a period extending back as far as 1793-our Government proposed an embargo. The country was at that time in a wholly defenceless state; we had but the skeleton of an army, few or no ships in commission, no military stores, with an immense value of property afloat, and our whole seaboard, from north to south, open to attack. Under these circumstances Mr. Nicholas united cordially in support of the embargo, willing to try its efficiency for a while as a coercive measure, but relying on it more as giving us time to prepare for other measures. In 1807 he assured his constituents that, in case of the failure of the embargo to produce some speedy change in the policy of France and Great Britain, the only alternative offered was of base and abject submission or determined resistance. In his circular to them, as well as from his seat in Congress, he urged the neces- sity of raising men and money, and providing immediately everything necessary for war. In the fall of 1808 he wrote to Mr. Jefferson urging him in the strongest terms, unless there was a moral certainty of a favorable change in our affairs before the meeting of Congress, to announce to them in his message that our great object in laying the embargo had been effected. Having gained that, he said, nothing more was to be effected from it, and it ought to be raised, and other measures, such as the honor of the State required, resorted to; that our people would not much longer bear the embargo, and that we could not and ought not to think of abandoning the resistance we were so solemnly pledged to make.
"In 1809 Mr. Nicholas was again elected to Congress, and served in the spring session, when the agreement with Mr. Ers- kine produced a delusive calm. In the fall of that year, on his way to Washington, he had so violent an attack of rheumatism that he was compelled to resign his seat, and was confined to his room for four months. He was now so convinced of the impracticability of enforcing any commercial restrictions, of their demoralizing effect upon the people, and their exhausting effect on the finances of the country, that he frequently avowed his determination never again to vote for any measure of the kind, except as preparatory to war, and then to last only a short time.
"In the month of December, 1814-the gloomiest period of the last war with England, when Virginia and the other States
.
352
VIRGINIA CONVENTION OF 1788.
were left much to their own resources-Mr. Nicholas was elected Governor of the State. . Nothing but patriotism could have induced any man, at such a time and under such circumstances, to have undertaken this office; much was risked, with little pros- pect of anything being gained. The possibility of being able to render service to his country vanquished every obstacle sug- gested by discretion, and the post was accepted. Fortunately for the country, peace was announced in about three months; and the opportunity was not afforded to judge conclusively what was the capacity of the new Governor for such a state of things. There is reason to believe, however, that his administration would have been distinguished by energy, prudence, and indefatigable industry. The defence of the State depending mainly upon militia who could not be kept constantly in the field, an appro- priation was made to enable him to erect telegraphs and to raise a corps of videttes, to be so stationed, at his discretion, as to dis- tribute his orders with the utmost possible dispatch throughout the State. A plan for this purpose was digested, but was ren- dered unnecessary by the peace.
"As an evidence of the great confidence that was put in Governor Nicholas by the Legislature, it may be stated that at the close of the session, and in great haste, they passed a law, of very complicated character, in reference to raising a force for the defence of the State. The execution of this law depended, in almost every particular, on instructions to be given by the Governor. The responsibility thus devolved on him was assumed in consideration of the object to be gained, though the execution of the law was rendered unnecessary by the termination of hostilities. Loans were necessary to pay and equip this force, and these were obtained on the most reasonable terms, condi- tioned upon a clause not authorized in the act ; but, being recom- mended to the legislature by the Governor, this was done at the next session, and the desired clause inserted without difficulty, and much to the honor of the State.
"After the peace every claim against the State was paid as soon as the account was adjusted; the militia in service were discharged in a manner most gratifying to them. They were completely paid; provision was made for their return home, and for the care of the sick until they could be safely removed. All the military stores of a perishable nature were disposed of,
د المود ولة
353
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
and the others, including tents and other camp equipage, suffi- cient for an army of ten thousand men, were deposited in the State arsenal. The closing the accounts for the expenses of the war was pushed on with as much dispatch as was consistent with safety in their after-adjustment at Washington.
" If the war had continued it was the determination of the Governor to urge all the able men of the State, with whom he could take the liberty, to offer for the next Assembly. The return of peace did not prevent this application, but the motive was different. Foreseeing that the State would have command of considerable funds, he believed it was important to make an early effort to induce the Assembly to apply their proceeds to the great purposes of internal improvement and education. This application, it is believed, had some effect, as in the two next Assemblies there appeared many gentlemen who had not been there for several years. At the commencement of the session the Governor pressed these subjects upon their attention with earnestness. They were acted upon, and the means then placed at the disposal of the Board of Public Works and of the President and Directors of the Literary Fund were appropriated to their respective objects, and the foundation laid of a system which has added to the intelligence as well as the wealth and prosperity of the State. In a review of the messages of Gov- ernor Nicholas it will be found that most of the objects recom- mended by him were acted upon by the Legislature, and that they are all strongly marked by an intimate knowledge of the wants and capacity of Virginia. So satisfactory had been the administration of the government that he was re-elected with the loss of but one vote.
"The first act of his second term was an attempt to adjust the claims of the Commonwealth against the United States, all pre- vious efforts at which having proved abortive. After reflecting maturely upon the subject, the Governor believed that a different course ought to be pursued and an additional agent appointed. Upon asking the advice of the Council, some unwillingness was expressed to make the change. It was, however, assented to, and resulted in a speedy adjustment. As President of the Board of Public Works and of the Literary Fund, we find Gov- ernor Nicholas displaying the same industry and wise foresight as in the other departments of the government. In all his con-
M
· 354
VIRGINIA CONVENTION OF 1788.
tracts for the State, of any sort, the utmost economy was prac- ticed and the greatest caution used to preserve the public interest. A remarkable proof of this was given in the execution of a law providing for a complete map of the State within limits which such an object would justify. He anxiously wished it accomplished; but he could not authorize, in duty to the State, such an expenditure of public money as the entire execution of the act would require. After much reflection he gave such instructions to the county courts, to govern them in their con- tracts, as would keep them within bounds. Having informed himself fully as to the value of such surveys, he then divided the State into districts and made contracts for the general survey. It is believed that more than one hundred thousand dollars were saved to the State by this single transaction.
"At the expiration of his second term of office as Governor he served for a few months as president of the branch of the United States Bank in Richmond.' In the spring of 1819 he returned to 'Warren.' He had always been of a very deli- cate constitution, and the bodily fatigue and anxiety of mind which had marked his later years brought on ill health, and he was advised to take a journey on horseback. He left home, but got no further than 'Montpelier,' the residence of Mr. Madison, when he found himself too unwell to go on, and returned to 'Tufton,' the residence of his son-in-law, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Esq. Here he lingered from day to day, each day hoping to be well enough to return to 'Warren.' Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison (who was then on a visit to 'Monticello'), both of whom had been his intimate personal friends, visited him fre- quently here, and all was done which skill or affection could sug- gest for his recovery, but to no purpose. On the Ioth of October, 1819, he expired suddenly while in the act of dressing. He was buried in the graveyard at 'Monticello.'
" As regards his wisdom and patriotism, his public life speaks too plainly to require a word from his biographer. Viewed as a private individual, none could have been purer from every vice; and his kind heart and calm temper made him the best father and the kindest master and neighbor. He owed his influence in the councils of his country more to his moderation and wisdom than to his power as a speaker. His style in conversation was cool, deliberate, sententious, and forcible, replete with the strong-
£
355
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.