with much pleasure, subscribes himself, Your sincere friend,

                                         G. WASHINGTON."

  During the war, in the latter end of the year 1780, I formed to
myself a design of coming over to England, and communicated it to
General Greene, who was then in Philadelphia on his route to the
southward, General Washington being then at too great a distance to
communicate with immediately. I was strongly impressed with the idea
that if I could get over to England without being known, and only
remain in safety till I could get out a publication, that I could open
the eyes of the country with respect to the madness and stupidity of
its Government. I saw that the parties in Parliament had pitted
themselves as far as they could go, and could make no new
impressions on each other. General Greene entered fully into my views,
but the affair of Arnold and Andre happening just after, he changed
his mind, under strong apprehensions for my safety, wrote very
pressingly to me from Annapolis, in Maryland, to give up the design,
which, with some reluctance, I did. Soon after this I accompanied
Colonel Lawrens, son of Mr. Lawrens, who was then in the Tower, to
France on business from Congress. We landed at L'Orient, and while I
remained there, he being gone forward, a circumstance occurred that
renewed my former design. An English packet from Falmouth to New York,
with the Government dispatches on board, was brought into L'Orient.
That a packet should be taken is no extraordinary thing, but that
the dispatches should be taken with it will scarcely be credited, as
they are always slung at the cabin window in a bag loaded with
cannon-ball, and ready to be sunk at a moment. The fact, however, is
as I have stated it, for the dispatches came into my hands, and I read
them. The capture, as I was informed, succeeded by the following
stratagem:- The captain of the "Madame" privateer, who spoke
English, on coming up with the packet, passed himself for the
captain of an English frigate, and invited the captain of the packet
on board, which, when done, he sent some of his own hands back, and he
secured the mail. But be the circumstance of the capture what it
may, I speak with certainty as to the Government dispatches. They were
sent up to Paris to Count Vergennes, and when Colonel Lawrens and
myself returned to America we took the originals to Congress.

  By these dispatches I saw into the stupidity of the English
Cabinet far more than I otherwise could have done, and I renewed my
former design. But Colonel Lawrens was so unwilling to return alone,
more especially as, among other matters, we had a charge of upwards of
two hundred thousand pounds sterling in money, that I gave in to his
wishes, and finally gave up my plan. But I am now certain that if I
could have executed it that it would not have been altogether
unsuccessful.

  29. It is difficult to account for the origin of charter and
corporation towns, unless we suppose them to have arisen out of, or
been connected with, some species of garrison service. The times in
which they began justify this idea. The generality of those towns have
been garrisons, and the corporations were charged with the care of the
gates of the towns, when no military garrison was present. Their
refusing or granting admission to strangers, which has produced the
custom of giving, selling, and buying freedom, has more of the
nature of garrison authority than civil government. Soldiers are
free of all corporations throughout the nation, by the same
propriety that every soldier is free of every garrison, and no other
persons are. He can follow any employment, with the permission of
his officers, in any corporation towns throughout the nation.

  30. See Sir John Sinclair's History of the Revenue. The land-tax
in 1646 was L2,473,499.

  31. Several of the court newspapers have of late made frequent
mention of Wat Tyler. That his memory should be traduced by court
sycophants and an those who live on the spoil of a public is not to be
wondered at. He was, however, the means of checking the rage and
injustice of taxation in his time, and the nation owed much to his
valour. The history is concisely this:- In the time of Richard II. a
poll tax was levied of one shilling per head upon every person in
the nation of whatever estate or condition, on poor as well as rich,
above the age of fifteen years. If any favour was shown in the law
it was to the rich rather than to the poor, as no person could be
charged more than twenty shillings for himself, family and servants,
though ever so numerous; while all other families, under the number of
twenty were charged per head. Poll taxes had always been odious, but
this being also oppressive and unjust, it excited as it naturally
must, universal detestation among the poor and middle classes. The
person known by the name of Wat Tyler, whose proper name was Walter,
and a tiler by trade, lived at Deptford. The gatherer of the poll tax,
on coming to his house, demanded tax for one of his daughters, whom
Tyler declared was under the age of fifteen. The tax-gatherer insisted
on satisfying himself, and began an indecent examination of the
girl, which, enraging the father, he struck him with a hammer that
brought him to the ground, and was the cause of his death. This
circumstance served to bring the discontent to an issue. The
inhabitants of the neighbourhood espoused the cause of Tyler, who in a
few days was joined, according to some histories, by upwards of
fifty thousand men, and chosen their chief. With this force he marched
to London, to demand an abolition of the tax and a redress of other
grievances. The Court, finding itself in a forlorn condition, and,
unable to make resistance, agreed, with Richard at its head, to hold a
conference with Tyler in Smithfield, making many fair professions,
courtier-like, of its dispositions to redress the oppressions. While
Richard and Tyler were in conversation on these matters, each being on
horseback, Walworth, then Mayor of London, and one of the creatures of
the Court, watched an opportunity, and like a cowardly assassin,
stabbed Tyler with a dagger, and two or three others falling upon him,