To Thomas Jefferson from John Barnes, 30 July 1802
From John Barnes
George Town—30th. July 1802—
Sir
Messrs. G & J., acknowledges recpt of $198 on Mr Short a/c, Canal Co. a/c as well $200. I remitted them on your a/c: Mrs Jackson also. for—[. . .]0 & $45. which closes Doct Wardlaw’s a/c with her late Husband, except £2.1.5. for Int: expresses Her Thanks to Doct Wardlaw for his punctuality &c. your Case of Window Blinds & Books &c. with a Box, with me, Containing 1 doz & 3 bottles Claret. are waiting a conveyance from hence—or Alexandria to Richd.
all is peaceable, at Washington—but not so it seems at New York. see yesterdays Federalist: Brutus No. 3. so full, of pointed Declamation. I cannot forbear noticing—that part, respecting G.C—I am inclined to suspect—its fabrication—is from a quarter directly opposed, to that, which he professes to support: or rather, to mislead the public opinion in general—to disunite the Real friends—(not the B—s)—of Goverment—to divert if possible, the pointed shafts—lately published—against the many and most extrm descriptions long since premeditated & still practiced—against the real Welfare, peace & happiness of the Union—Still—I trust & Hope, G.C. is not the Character therein described,—to me, it appears, to be impossible?—
I am but a Novice in Political Matters—Still, I may presume to pass, my private Opinion on Certain Characters—If not from real experiences—my feelings force me, to conclude—they are not * Worthy of Confidence—it is indeed a Melancholy picture of Human Weaknesses—
In case I should be absent from hence from the Middle to last of Augt.—pray recollect, if any thing needful to be done here, in Course of a fortnight—mean while I shall do myself the Honr. to transmit you your July a/c—
I am Sir, most Respectfully—Your Obedt: & very hb Servt:
John Barnes
RC (ViU: Edgehill-Randolph Papers); addressed: “The President U States at Monticello—Virginia”; franked; postmarked 3 Aug.; endorsed by TJ as received 5 Aug. and so recorded in SJL.
G & J: Gibson & Jefferson.
For William WARDLAW’S account with the late Dr. David Jackson and his widow, Susanna Jackson, see TJ to Wardlaw, 11 June 1802. On 20 July, TJ ordered Barnes to pay Mrs. Jackson $45 on Wardlaw’s account (, 2:1078).
YESTERDAYS FEDERALIST: the 28 July edition of the Washington Federalist included “Extracts from Brutus, No. 3,” which were taken from the third in a series of letters favorable to Aaron Burr and his faction that appeared in the New York Daily Advertiser, a Federalist newspaper. In his third letter, “Brutus” warned TJ of the “treachery of the fawning foes that surround him,” who were Republicans from selfish motives only. This was most evident in New York, claimed the author, where TJ had unknowingly confided in men “who, until his elevation to the presidential chair, have uniformly been his enemies.” Most notorious among these was Governor George Clinton, who, according to “Brutus,” previously considered TJ “a nerveless political trimmer, unfit for the office they intended him, incompetent totally to the discharge of its numerous and important duties” (, 2:726–7).
THE B—S: the Burrites.