The Ordway new era., 1913-10-17

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courses of the Mississippi. lest terri
torial aggression should be pushed too
shrewdly in that quarter; and news
reached the settlers beyond the noun
tains. in the far counties Of North
Carolina and Virginia, that Mr.. Jay.
the Confederation's secretary for for
eign affairs. had proposed to the
congress to yield the navigation OF the
Mississippi for "a generation in ex-
change for trade on the seas. They
fatty declared they would give them
selves, and their lands too. into the
hands OF England again rather than
submit to be SO robbed. cramped and
deserted.
The New England states. on their
part. threatened to withdraw from the
Confederation If treaties were to be
made to wait upon the assent OF
frontiersmen on the far Mississippi.
The situation was full of menace Of
no ordinary sort.
1t could profit the Confederation lit
tie that great states like Virginia and
New York had grown magnanimous.
and were endowing the Confederation
with vast gifts of territory in the west.
II such gifts were but to loosen still
further the already slackened bonds OF
the common government. leaving set
tiers in the unclaimed lands no allie.
glance they could respect.
Without a national government spir-
tied and strong enough to frame poll.
cies and command obedience. we
shall never establish national char
acter or be considered as on respect
able footing by the powers of Europe"
Washington had said from the first.
A Washington Urges Union.
He had made q most solemn appeal
to the states in his last circular to
them, ere lie resigned his commission,
urging them to strengthen the powers
of congress. put faction and jealousy
away. and make sure Of IAN indts-
soluble union under one federal head"
IAN option Is still left to the United
States OF America" he had told them.
with all his plain and stately elo
quence; '1t is in their choice, and de-
pends upon their conduct. whether
they will be respectable and prosper
GUS. or contemplate and miserable.
as nation. This is the time Of their
political probation.
The hazards OF that probation had
been a burden upon his heart through
all the toll of the Revolution. and now
1t seemed as II the states must needs
make every evil choice in meeting
them. Congress could not SO much as
carry out the provisions Of the treaty
of peace, for its commissioners had
made promises in the name of the
states which the states would not re-
deem.
England Breaks Her Agreement.
England consequently refused to
keep her part of the agreement and
levied commercial waf against the
country. besides, without fear of re-
prisal; for congress had no power to
regulate trade. and the states were too
Jealous of each other to cooperate
In this or any other matter.
English statesmen had consented to
give up the, colonies, and recognize
their independence as a nation. rather
than face any longer the world In
arms; but they now looked to see
them presently drop back, into their
hands again, out OF sheer helplessness
and hopeless division in counsel: and
there were observant men in America
who deemed the thing possible. though
1t brought an intolerable fire into
their blood to think Of 1t.
In Financial Straits.
Other nations, too, were fast con-
| ceiving like contempt for the Con.
federation.
1t was making no provision for the
| payment of the vast sums of money It
had borrowed abroad, in France and
Holland and Spain; and it could not
make any. It could only ask the
states for money, and must count 1t.
self fortunate to get enough to pay
even the interest on its debts.
It was this that foreign courts were
finding out, that the Confederation was
a mere government of supplication.'
as Randolph had dubbed it; and ita
credit broke utterly down. French
man and Spaniard alike would only
have laughed in contemptuous deri
sion to see the whole fabric go tc
pieces, and were beginning to interest
themselves with surmises as to what
plunder 1t would AFFORD.
Resort to Irredeemable Paper.
The states which lay neighbors tt
each other were embroiled In boun
dairy disputes, and were fallen to levy
ing duties on each others commerce
They were individually in debt. be
sides, and were many of them resort
ing to issues of irredeemable Dapel
money to relieve themselves of the in
evitable taxation that must sooner o.
pay their reckonings.
.,e are either united people. O.
we are not So" cried Washington, II
the former. let US in all matters o
general concern act as a nation whicl
has a national character to support
II we are not, let US no longer act
farce by pretending to it" AS tn