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In looking over this volume, it &longs;trikes
me that by introducing Teague to the
levee, I may be thought to mean a burlesque
on the Pre&longs;ident. It is not &longs;o; I
meant a burle&longs;que on Teague. As to
levee-holding, I do not know whether it
is right or wrong; nor do I care. Because,
be it as it may, I believe it can do
little harm, and is one of tho&longs;e in&longs;ipidities
in the affairs of men which are of no account.
Univer&longs;al prudence is a characteristic
of the Pre&longs;ident, with a capacity of
attending to &longs;ub&longs;tantial bu&longs;ine&longs;s, and being
able at the &longs;ame time to accommodate
him&longs;elf to forms and ceremonies.
As all mankind are not philo&longs;ophers, perhaps
it is well to po&longs;&longs;e&longs;s this talent, in
order to plea&longs;e them:

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As to what I have &longs;aid on the &longs;ubject of
certificates, it may be a&longs;ked what the induction
of &longs;hewing that by the municipal
law the transfer might be &longs;et a&longs;ide in
equity? Ju&longs;t this; that if a court of equity
could act with &longs;uch latitude, the people
them&longs;elves, in a national capacity, might
with as much. I never had an idea that
after the&longs;e &longs;ecurities, became the &longs;ubject
of traffic, and had acquired a fixed value,
for this was nearly the ca&longs;e through all the
&longs;tates, that any means would have been
adopted to di&longs;turb them. If any means
had been adopted, I had expected that at
lea&longs;t a &longs;cale would have been formed to ascertain
their value; as in the ca&longs;e of the
continental money; and I would have
wanted nothing more than the letter of
John Adams to the Count de Vergennes,
in the ca&longs;e of the continental money, to
ju&longs;tify the like &longs;tep in the ca&longs;e of the certificates.
At any rate the transferees
would have been contented, nay, thought
them&longs;elves very happy with a French
crown in the pound, certain payment, or
with le&longs;s; and if it &longs;hould be &longs;aid that the
original holders had no claim, having parted
with their right, let the ma&longs;s of the people
be the gainers, in which ca&longs;e the originalholders
would gain &longs;omething, not

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having &longs;o much of the very debt to di&longs;charge
which was originally due to them&longs;elves.
But at the &longs;ame time that I arraign the policy
of the &longs;y&longs;tem, I do not call in que&longs;tion
the integrity or patrioti&longs;m of the authors of
it. I con&longs;ider it as an error in judgment,
and as I have already hinted, flowing from
the exce&longs;s of integrity it&longs;elf: doing too
much, from a fear of falling &longs;hort of doing
enough. But as the &longs;y&longs;tem now exists,
it mu&longs;t be &longs;upported; all retreat is
impracticable, and we mu&longs;t advance.

As to peace with the Indians; in order
to effect it, my fir&longs;t &longs;tep would be, to establish
a po&longs;t at Pre&longs;qu'i&longs;le; build and equip
ve&longs;&longs;els on the lake; tran&longs;port troops, and
e&longs;tabli&longs;h a &longs;econd po&longs;t at the rapids of the
Miami river: from this la&longs;t po&longs;t, make
an advance to the Miami towns. It will
doubtle&longs;s be nece&longs;&longs;ary to fight the Indians
once; but only once, if beaten; for
&longs;eeing them&longs;elves thus cut off from the
Briti&longs;h, their re&longs;olution will as certainly
die, as a plant cut from the root, and left
to wither in the mid-day &longs;un.

A &longs;tep of this nature will convince the
Briti&longs;h that we mean to hold the we&longs;tern
country, and will hold it; and lo&longs;ing the
hope which they entertain of po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ing it

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them&longs;elves, they will be checked in their
in&longs;tigation of the &longs;avages again&longs;t us.

It is a &longs;trange thing that ideas of treating
under pre&longs;ent circum&longs;tances, cannot possibly
be eradicated from the minds of the
public. I have conver&longs;ed abundantly with
men who know the Indians, and have been
much among&longs;t them &longs;ince the conclu&longs;ion
of the war with the Briti&longs;h. I do not
draw my inferences as men in government
do, from per&longs;ons intere&longs;ted in having treaties
brought about: I have conver&longs;ed
with traders that have been in the woods,
and not at the &longs;eat of government, that
have as much &longs;en&longs;e, and more truth, than
Indian negociators who, unle&longs;s treaties
are &longs;et on foot, are of no u&longs;e. What
has been the re&longs;ult of my information?
I will give the very language of the Indians.
“You are learned, (&longs;peaking of
us) you think your&longs;elves wi&longs;e; and can
get our land by giving your goods. Our
chie&longs;s are not learned, but are more wi&longs;e;
for they can take your goods, and keep
our land too.” They are po&longs;itively astonished
at our &longs;implicity; for they have no
idea of faith and honour in the ca&longs;e. The
greater fraud, the more honour, if it can
be committed with impunity.

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They mu&longs;t be made to dread us: that
is the truth of it. Is this practicable?
Ea&longs;ily. Di&longs;card treaties; increa&longs;e, or
at lea&longs;t fill up, the e&longs;tabli&longs;hment of
troops, under the command of General
Wayne. Let him have an opportunity
of giving them at lea&longs;t one blow.
This will do more good than a thou&longs;and
fires kindled, and ten thou&longs;and bales of
goods given. We are now in a fair way
to be able to beat them. Our troops,
not the be&longs;t materials it is true, the be&longs;t
men not always enli&longs;ting as &longs;oldiers, at the
low pay &longs;tipulated; but from the great
exertions of the Commander in Chief, in
the cour&longs;e of the la&longs;t &longs;ummer, and the present
winter, they are certainly in a good
&longs;tate of di&longs;cipline. It would be a pity that
all this expence in rai&longs;ing troops, and exertions
in training them, &longs;hould evaporate
in the &longs;moke of a treaty.

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