Evening star., 1939-10-01

and forwards before the Presidents
door for half an hour. He painted
pathetically the temper into which
the Legislature had been wrought:
the disgust of those who were called
the creditor States: the danger Of
the secession of their members and
the separation of the States. He OBJ
served that the members of the ad-
ministration ought to act in concert;
that though this question was not
Of my department, yet a common
duty should make 1t a common con-
Germ; that the President was the
center on which all administrative
questions ultimately rested, and that
all Of us should rally around him
and support with joint efforts meas
ures approved by him.
Sought Conference.
II proposed to him, however, to
dine with me the next day and
would write another friend or two,
bring them into conference together,
and I thought 1t impossible that rea-
sonable men, consulting together
coolly. could fail. by some mutual
sacrifices Of opinion, to form a COM
promise which was to save the Union.
But 1t was finally agreed that
whatever Importance had been at
tached to the rejection of the
proposition, the preservation of the
Union and of concord among the
States was more important. But 1t
was observed that this pill would
be particularly bitter to the South
ern States and that some concomit-
ant measure should be adopted to
sweeten 1t a little to them. There
had been before propositions to fix
the seat of government either at
Philadelphia or Georgetown on the
Potomac, and it was thought that
by giving 1t to Philadelphia for 10
years, and to Georgetown perma-
nently afterward, this might, as an
anodyne. calm, in some degree, the
ferment which might be excited by
the other measure alone. So two
Of the Potomac members, White
and Iee-but White with a re-
vulsion of stomach almost con-
vulsive-agreed to change their
votes and so the assump-
ton was passed"
Military Career.
Col. Hamiltons military career
began on March /. 1777, when he
was appointed an aide-de-camp or
Gen. Washington staff, being as
signed to this position by the COM
mander in chief himself. He con-
tinued to serve in this capacity un-
til February 16, 1881.
The following year he became a
member of the Continental Congress
and was also in that body during
1888, 1877 and 1888, and, besides
other public Offices, served as q
member of the Philadelphia Con.
stitutional Convention in 1887
which adopted the Constitution o]
the United States.
When Washington, in 1889. ten.
dered to Robert Morris the portfolio
of Secretary of the Treasury, ane
that gentleman declined 1t on &C.
count of the pressure Of private
business, he took the opportunity tt
suggest to the first President, fol
the Office, Col. Hamilton, saying
" You will be no loser b!
my declining the secretaryship o
the Treasury, for I can recomment
to you a far cleverer fellow than
am for your minister of finance, II
the person Of your former aide d.
camp, Col. Hamilton"
Washington, we are told, seemed
amazed and replied to the sugges
ton by remarking: Il always knew
Col. Hamilton to be man of supe
rior talents, but never supposed tina
he had any knowledge Of finance.
To which Morris replied: H
knows everything, sir. To min'
like his nothing comes amiss."
i In 1795 Col. Hamilton resigne'
from the cabinet and returned t.
New York and resumed the practic