Delegates to Congress
. Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, Volume 21, October 1 1783-October 31 1784
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Charles Thomson to To: Hannah Thomson
Dear Hannah,
Monday Evening Oct 20. 1783
As you must be anxious to know the result of this day's debate, I sit down to give you some account of it. The debates and proceedings beggar all description and the issue was fruitless. I informed you in my last that the question for reconsidering the vote which had postponed Mr. Gerrys motion to Wednesday was put off on Saturday by the state of New Jersey. It was therefore taken up this morning and all debates being precluded by the rules of the house, it was carried in the Affirmative by seven states. The vote for postponing to Wednesday which now came before the house was negatived, and the motion of Mr. Gerry was taken into Consideration.(1) Peters was gone to Philadelphia, Clarke was confined to his bed by sickness & Condict was absent. So that there were only eight states represented & of these there were three of the eastern and four of the southern, it was therefore expected that the motion for another foederal town would be carried with ease and without much opposition. Mr. Montgomery who is inexperienced in the art of speaking, and has little command of the powers of Oratory had committed some thoughts to writing which he read and explained in a plain but very feeble manner. This offered an easy triumph to Mr. Gerry, who immediately rose to answer him. And though he is far from being distinguished for his talents in Oratory, and cannot boast of the thunder of his voice, the harmony of his periods or any of those high strokes of eloquence which transport and captivate the hearers, nor of a just arrangement of arguments or soft insinuating address which commands the attention of an Audience and leads them insensibly and almost involuntarily to the point he means to carry, yet with his feeble voice and uncouth delivery broken and interruped with many a heck & hem & repetition of ofs & ands he assumed such a superiority over Montgomery & treated his Arguments with such disdain as called up Duane, who enforced Montgomery's Argument & stated his own objections to the measure with great art, force and energy. But reasoning was lost and eloquence vain. The matter had been settled out of doors, and only waited the formality of a vote. The question was therefore called for. But just when it seemed ready to be put Mr. Howell got up and said he was not prepared to vote. He wanted first to have the temporary residence
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fixed. He was afraid after this vote was carried that Congress would be hurried away to Philadelphia; that it was to avoid this that he had agreed to give his vote for another foederal town. He wished to be secured in this point, then he would be ready to give his vote. This objection at this stage of the business seemed to be quite unexpected and gave a new turn to the debates. It appeared evident that though the matter had been settled out of doors yet when it came to the point of decision they began to distrust each others sincerity and could not rely on each others candor. Their whole attention was therefore turned to the restoring mutual Confidence. For this purpose Mr Carroll proposed to tack a sentence to the motion, to empower & direct the president on a certain day to adjourn congress to meet at Annapolis there to sit for the dispach of public business till the 31 of October following. This did not satisfy the eastern members as it threw the place of residence on Delaware wholly out of view. He therefore proposed to alter his motion to the 15 of October following & to add that on that day the president should be empowered & directed to adjourn congress to meet at Trenton the 31 of that month and that the sessions should be alternately 12 months at Annapolis & 12 months at Trenton till the buildings were erected in the two foederal towns & fit for the reception of Congress. The term of 12 months did not please Ellery, he wanted it to be confined to 6 and declared he could not give his assent without that alteration. On the other hand Mr. Izard declared that he would not agree to a shorter term than 12 months and as the assent of both was necessary Carroll who was deeply interested in the vote withdrew his motion & said he would trouble himself no farther in the matter. He appeared to be extremely mortified. Gerry then undertook to draw up a conciliating motion & for this purpose that the residence should be alternately at equal periods of not more than one year nor less than six months in Trenton & Annapolis until the buildings to be erected on the banks of the Delaware and Potomack should be prepared for the reception of Congress. Upon this Ellery moved to strike out the words "one year nor less than" so as to confine the residence to a term of not more than 6 mo. And as by the rules of the house the question must be stated "shall the words stand," and the votes of seven states were necessary to keep them in, his single negative was sufficient to remove them. However for the sake of conciliation his collegue(2) & the state of Massachusetts joined him in the vote and the words were struck out. Upon this a motion was made to strike out the remaining words "of not more than 6 months" and reduce Gerry's conciliatory motion to the simple proposition of residing alternately at equal periods in Trenton & Annapolis, which was accordingly done; but in that state it did not meet the approbation of Ellery & for want of his vote it was lost.(3) Howell was now reduced to his former difficulty & declared he could not give his consent to the Original
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motion. This threw all into confusion, from debate and argument they proceeded to reproaches & altercation. The middle states not less pleased than surprized at this sudden and unexpected turn stood by silent spectators and enjoyed the confusion. As it was now near sunset & Mercer who was agitated in a high degree was proceeding to lay open the whole scene of this secret transaction with some severe reflections on the disingenuity and want of candour in the eastern members, and as all hopes of an accommodation were now at an End, an adjournment was called for which put an end to further dispute & thus for the present the project of another foederal town is vanished in air. The fall of the south sea stocks hardly gave a greater shock to the proprietors than the bursting of this bubble to its projectors. The southern members now declare that they will vote for the temporary residence at Philada. But I question whether they will adhere to this when they cool. I am rather inclined to think matters will rest as they are till the new Congress meets. Adieu my dear Hannah, take care of your health & remember me to all friends. I am with sincere affection, your loving husband,
Cha Thomson
Molly comes to invite to breakfast & desires me always to send her love to you.
Tuesday morning Oct 21. 1783
P.S. Notwithstanding the defeat of yesterday I understand the eastern and So. States are rallying their forces & mean this morning to bring on the subject again & for that purpose Mr. Izard is detained in town. I fancy some new convention is entered into. There is no possibility of conjecturing with any degree of certainty what may be the event. The jarring atoms may for a time be combined, even grains of sand will by being wet for awhile adhere, but the cohesion will not be lasting.
C.T.
Note: RC (NjP: Thomson Letters).
1 See JCC, 25:706-10; and Thomson to Hannah, October 17 and 19, note 1.
2 That is, David Howell.
3 See JCC, 25:709-10.