CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS

       1781 - 1782

      DCCCCLXXXIII. FROM ROBERT MORRIS

      Philadelphia, 13 July, 1781.

      Sir:—

      The unanimous appointment to the superintendency of our finances, with which Congress has honored me, and my conviction of the necessity that some one person should endeavor to introduce method and economy into the administration of affairs, have induced me, though with reluctance, to accept that office. ^{Ref. 002} Mr. Jay will receive by this conveyance, and forward to you, copies of those resolutions and letters which may be necessary to explain my appointment and powers.

      I wish I could as readily effect, as I most ardently desire, the accomplishment of all proper arrangements. Thoroughly convinced that no country is truly independent, until, with her own credit and resources, she is able to defend herself and correct her enemies, it shall be my constant endeavor to establish our credit and draw out our resources in such manner, that we may be little burdensome and essentially useful to our friends.

      I am sure I need not mention to you the importance of collecting a revenue with ease, and expending it with economy. As little need I detail the time, the authority, the ability, the favorable circumstances, that must combine for these purposes. But I think that I may assert that the situation of a country, just emerging from dependence and struggling for existence, is peculiarly unfavorable; and I may add that this country, by relying too much on paper, is in a condition of peculiar disorder and debility. To rescue and restore her is an object equal to my warmest wishes, though probably beyond the stretch of my abilities.

      Success will greatly depend on the pecuniary aid we may obtain from abroad; because money is necessary to introduce economy, while, at the same time, economy is necessary to obtain money; besides that, a greater plenty of solid circulating medium is required to support those operations which must give stability to our credit, fruitfulness to our revenue, and activity to our operations. Among those things which, after the experience and example of other ages and nations, I have been induced to adopt, is that of a national bank, the plan of which I enclose. I mean to render this a principal pillar of American credit, so as to obtain the money of individuals for the benefit of the Union, and thereby bind those individuals more strongly to the general cause by the ties of private interest. To the efficacy of this plan, as well as to the establishment of a mint, which would also be of use, a considerable sum of money is necessary, and, indeed, it is indispensably so for many other purposes.

      Be not alarmed, sir, from what I have said, with the apprehension that I am about to direct solicitations to the court of Versailles; which, after the repeated favors they have conferred, must be peculiarly disagreeable. On the contrary, as I am convinced that the moneys of France will all be usefully employed in the vigorous prosecution of the war by her own fleets and armies, I lament every sum which is diverted from them. Our necessities have, indeed, called for her aid, and perhaps they may continue to do so. Those calls have hitherto been favorably attended to, and the pressure of our necessities has been generously alleviated; nor do I at all doubt that future exigencies will excite the same dispositions in our favor, and that those dispositions will be followed with correspondent effects. But I again repeat my wish, at once to render America independent of, and useful to, her friends.

      With these views, I have directed Mr. Jay to ask a considerable sum from the court of Madrid, to be advanced us at the Havana, and brought thence by us, if it cannot conveniently be landed here from Spanish men-of-war. I say a considerable sum, because, as I have declared to him, I do not wish to labor under the weight of obligation without deriving from it any real benefit, and because I consider the advance of small sums rather as a temporary palliation than a radical remedy. Our disorders are such that the former can be of no use, and it would be better to desist in a desultory defence than to put on the delusive appearance of a vigor we do not feel; for this lulls the people into a dangerous security, and softens those hopes of the enemy which give duration and extent to the war. It is the disorder of our finances which has prevented us from a powerful co-operation with our allies, and which has enabled the enemy to linger on our coasts with the dregs of a force once formidable; and it is from this cause that they have been permitted to extend the theatre, and multiply the victims, of their ambition.

      America alone will not derive benefit