Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee

As well as the shortness of my time will permit, I will give you the best detail in my power of things here since I wrote you fully by the Marquis Fayette of the state of our politics and parties.² The wicked intrigues which you experienced from a certain set, and of which you have so often and justly complained, have been practiced here to a still greater and more extensive mischievous length. The Tories avail themselves of it, and they are to a Man [on] Deane’s side, hoping thereby to injure and deprive us of influence whose deterrnined will and capacity to injure their cause they well know and fear. Deane’s party in short rests on triple ground.

The first and most considerable is Toryism, the second and next most considerable is Commercial plunder, the third is Ambition. These last are few in number, but artful, intriguing, and want now, when our affairs look well, to come into yours & our b.³ Williams places, which they would not have dared even to have accepted before the late happy change of our affairs, by the Alliance with France. Soon after I wrote by Marquis Fayette I left Philadelphia the 3d of Novr. having been between 6 and 7 months from my family and quite worn down with constant attention to public business. As I came […] up to Congress where he⁴ has been ever since. After I came away a month, Deane published his Libel of Decr. 5 as you see in one of the papers now sent. The bold and impudent assertions, the dark inuendos, and the art with which the whole is wrought up, had it seems such an effect in Phila. as to excite Tumults there in his favor. And to the Southward here, it had very ill, tho not such violent effects, because there are fewer Tories here to aid its operation. In the enemies quarters the City of N. York it created the most extravagant joy and underwent republication. These Intriguers who are wickedly working their own private benefit, do infinitely more injury to the common cause than all the power of our enemy can effect. Before they came here our business was going on with unanimity and with wisdom, since their arrival discord and faction have reared their baneful heads to the unimaginable injury of our affairs. The affair of Berkenhout, on which this Libeller has insinuated evil against me was the most trifling of all things. The man was a perfect Stranger to me, and came to me solely on the ground of a former acquaintance with my brother. I received him civilly, and he told me he came to seek a settlemen[t] for his family, and asked my advice where he shd. fix. I gave him the best advice I could. He appeared to me most strongly attached to the independence of America, and I did and do believe him to have been honestly so. I do not think we changed above an hundred words together, for I was too much engaged in pub. business. He was arrested on no other ground than a paragraph in an English Newspaper. After this I never saw him. Having detained him in prison a few days they discharged and sent him back to N. York having no evidence to prove anything against him. This is the whole of that affair.⁵ The wicked fallacies against you and our b. Wm. you both know. The greater part I know to be abominably false. Deane has since given in a written narrative to Congress in which I am informed his only charges against you are that you are jealous, suspicious, affrontive to all who come near you, that you hate the french, and show it in all your conduct and conversation. Mr. Wm. Lee is mean he says and goes shares with the Agents he has appointed. This latter charge I presume Mr. Lee can, and I hope he will furnish to Congress the most ample disproof of. The charges against you in his Narrative to Congress are absolute jargon the greatest part of them. His printed libel against you, it may be highly proper to attend to in every part & get the clearest proof of falsehood where the nature of the thing admits. For in many cases, he deals so in inuendo, that a kind of negative proof, impossible to be produced, can alone refute him. For too many people are inconsiderate enough not to demand proof of him for such charges before they credit them. He & his party are now working to get him to Holland and themselves in your places. What may be their success God only knows. I am now on my way to Congress having been long detained at home by excessive bad weather and the Gout. Deane affirmed to Congress upon his honor that he was not engaged in Trade, nor had been except in two small ventures at first which turned out to loss. It might be very important to have his commercial connections clearly developed and proved. I have sent to the Virginia Press the other day a vindication of you & our b. Wm. against Deane’s Libel wherein I have disproved some of his charges from original letters. I hope this will have a good effect. All sensible Whigs in this Country, and now the herd of Mankind, begin to see clearly into Deane & his party. But he has a very strong and a very Artful party in {Congress}⁶ and by means of commercial connections a considerable {party} in almost every {state}. In the eastern States where he is well known he has by far the fewest supporters. Indeed he has very few there. Those people are wise, attentive, sober diligent & frugal, which are qualities not fit for Deanes purposes. His principal {abettor}s are from {New York} and some […]nd from Pen a and almost all from {Maryland}. For which purpose [you] may imagine C-r 1 {was sent} to {Congress}.⁷ It does not [app]ear to me that the publications of Common Sense in Deanes affair merited all that high resentment shewn to it. The honest writer had in view to disrobe Deane of the gaudy vest he had assumed as being the sole author and procurer of all the Supplies that came here in 1777. But you see that under this it has been so contrived as to get a general condemnation of all his publications on this subject. Altho the far greater part relates solely to Deane, and many honest truths are told and properly pressed. It wounded the party very deeply I fancy, and there was no other way to prevent the public effects it would certainly have had otherwise, And will yet in a great degree, for I am informed that the people here do by no means agree with Congress in their general condemnation of these papers. As for the noise about its being said that the United States might make treaty with England with[ou]t the consent of their Ally if war was not declared-I do not believe that any one Man of sense, or member ever said or thought anything like it. Tis mere pretense. For myself I know that I would sooner cease to live than I would agree in any manner or for any pretext to desert our Ally for whom I feel infinite gratitude and reverence. You know perfectly well how long and how ardently my Soul has panted after this connection with France. Perhaps there was not another man in America so enthusiastically strenuous for the measure as myself. Indeed as Shandy says it was my Hobby Horse. And now a pack of rascals would insinuate (for their private purposes) that I would injure the measure I have been so uniformly and so warmly promoting. Two days ago I recd. your letters of 6 & 29th Septr. & 14 Novr. & our brothers of 15 & 21 of October. That is one copy of each. I understood there are letters for me from you both at Philadelphia with F.L.L. I have not time now to write to Mr. Wm. Lee. Therefore I pray you to give him the contents of this letter, and tell him we will consider maturely about selling his estate. I do not think it will now be done. We have not yet indeed received his powers-[…] continues. He has put about 2200 pounds of our brothers money in the Loan Office. The Tobo. of last year is not yet sold. The Loan Office certificates are transferable and do pass in circulation. They [are a] very vendible commodity. The pub pays the principal in 3 years and t[he] interest of 6 pr. Cent annually. But a tax in our State takes off one pr. Cent on the interest both in the Loan Office & all other interest. I will write again by the first opportunity, but I could not omit this, which I believe to be a good one, as Capt. Robinson is a most worthy Man, and is a Captain in the Continental Navy. We are filling up our Regiments and preparing for another Campaign. We hear that since the repulse at St. Lucia, the Count D’Estaing has been reenforced and has retaken St. Lucia & taken St. Vincents with four English Frigates. I believe and hope this is true. Admiral Byron has been so long sailed with 9 ships, tis sa[id] for the W. Indies, and not heard of that we begin to entertain h[opes] that some of these high gales of wind, that have been so frequent within these 4 months past, have done his business for him. God of his infinite mercy grant it may be so. Nothing could save the common cause so much as stopping these abominable intrigues and factions here. And as Mr. {Gerard} has much (influence with} the {intriguers}⁸ if [they] were {instruct}ed to {discontinue} it, a very happy consequence wd. f[ollow].

For my part, I see so clearly that the Man who serves the public honestly has so many enemies and persecutors, and I am so worn down in the public service that I am resolved to send my resignation to our Assembly next April. My family suffers immensely by my absence, and I have now 7 children and another coming to take care of. Let Ludwell come as soon as you think him qualified to pu[rsue] here the study of the practical part of the Attorneys business and to in[form] himself of the Municipal law of this State - I mean when his foun[datio]n is well laid. Propose to my brother Wm. to send Thom, if he approves and thinks the expence will be warranted by the prospects, to settle an acquaintance in Holland & the ports of France, perhaps Spain, so as to get consignments when he returns here qualified, which I wish may be soon as possible. He should be impressed before he goes on such a Tour, if he does go, with the necessity of much gravity, sobriety, and attention to business wherever he is - And to take Memorandums of their Trading customs wherever he goes.

I am most affectionately and faith[fully] yours.

R.H.L.