Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of StateSeries: Letters ReceivedFile Unit: April THRU July 1791
Bennington June 5. 1791.
Sir
In my last letter from Philadelphia, I mentioned that Mr Madison & myself were about to take a trip up the North river as far as
circumstances should permit. The levelness of the roads led us quite
on to Lake George, where taking boat we went through that, and about
25 miles into Lake Champlain. returning then to Saratoga, we concluded to cross over thro' Vermont to Connecticut river and go down
that instead of the North river which we had already seen, and we
are so far on that rout. in the course of our journey we have had opportunities of visiting Stillwater, Saratoga, Forts Wm. Henry & George
Ticonderoga, Crown point, & the scene of Genl. Starke's victory.
I have availed myself of such opportunities as occurred to enquire into the grounds of the report that something disagreeable had
taken place in the vicinities of the British ports. it seems to have been
the following incident. they had held a small port at a blockhouse on
the North Hero, an island on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain, & something
further South than their principal port at the Point au fer. the Maria,
hitherto stationed at the latter, for Custom house purposes, was sent to
the Block-house, & there exercised her usual visits on boats passing to
& from Canada. this being an exercise of power further within our
jurisdiction became the subject of notice & clamour with our citizens
in that quarter. the vessel has been since recalled to the Point au fer,
& being unfit for service, a new one is to be built to perform her functions.
this she has usually done at the Point au fer with a good deal of rigour,
bringing all vessels to at that place, & sometimes under such circumstances
of wind & weather as to have occasioned the loss of two vessels & cargoes.
The President of the U.S. these these circumstances produce strong sensations in that quarter, & not
friendly to the character of our government. the establishment of a customhouse at Albany, nearly opposite to Point au fer, has given the British considerable alarm. a groundless story of 200 Americans seen in arms near
Point au fer, has been the cause, or the pretext, of their reinforcing that place
a few days ago with a company of men from St. John's. it is said here they
have called in their guard from the Block-house, but the information
is not direct enough to command entire belief.
On enquiring into the dispositions in Canada on the subject of the
projected form of government there, we learn, that they are divided into
two parties; the English who desire something like an English constitution
but so modelled as to oblige the French to chuse a certain proportion of English representatives, & the French who with a continuance of the French
laws, moderated by some engraftments from the English code. The
judge of their common pleas heads the former party, & Smith the
chief justice secretly guides the latter.
We encounter the Green mountains tomorrow, with cavalry in
part disabled, so as to render our progress a little incertain. I presume however I shall be in Philadelphia in a fortnight. I have
the honour to be with sentiments of the most perfect respect
