To John Jay from William Duer, 28 May 1777
From William Duer
[Philadelphia] May 28th. 17771
My dear Sir,
You have been undoubtedly surpris’d at my long Silence, but when I assure you what is Fact, that my principal Reasons for not writing have been want of Time, and of Satisfactory Matter I flatter myself I shall stand acquitted, (if not with honor) at least as a Wilful Offender against the Laws of Freindship—
As General Schuyler expects to deliver this Letter in Person, I shall refer you to him for the particular Maneuvres respecting his own Affairs, and for the political Complexion of Affairs in Congress— From a very low Ebb at which our Affairs were when we arrived here we have recoverd surprisingly; and I may venture to Say that the Eyes of all those who are not willfully blind are open, and that we may ^expect^ Justice to take Place with respect to our State—2
I congratulate you on the Completion of the Task of forming and Organising our New Government— I think it upon the maturest Reflection the best System wh. has as yet been adopted, and possibly as good as the Temper of the Times would admit of— If it is well administerd, and some Wise and Vigorous Laws pass’d at the Opening of the Sessions for watching, and defeating the Machinations of the Enemy & their Abettors, and for Supporting by Taxes, and other Means the Credit of the Circulating Money—it will be ^a^ formidable Engine of Opposition to the Designs of our Tyrannical Enemies—but I assure you I am not without my Fears concerning the Choice which will be made of those who are to set the Machine in Motion.—
Our All Depends on it— It is very observable that in almost every other State where Government has been formd, and establishd either from the Contention of Parties, or from a Want of proper Powers being vested in the Executive Branches, Disaffection has encreased prodigiously, and an unhappy langour has prevaild in the whole Political System— I sincerely wish that this may not be the Case with us, but that the Constitution new Government may continue to act with that Spirit, Integrity, and Wisdom wh. animated the Councils of the Old!
In this State Toryism (or rather Treason) stalks triumphant, the Credit of our Money is sapp’d by the Arts, and avaricious Avarice of the Malignants, and Monopolisers, and such is the desperate Situation of Affairs, that nothing but desperate Remedies can restore these People to Reason, and Virtue.—
The Assembly is now convend: but I am afraid will not dare to lay a Tax to call in part of the large Sums of Money circulating in this State, or to pass vigorous Laws to crush the disaffected— All my hope is that the Spirit of Whiggism will at length break forth in some of the Populace, which (if well directed) may effect by Quackery a Cure which the regular State Physicians are either not adequate to, or unwilling to attempt—
A Spirit of this kind under the Name of Joyce Junr. has made his Appearance in Boston;3 I should not be surpris’d if he was to travel Westward— It would be attended with these good Effects: it would either supply the Want of Vigor in the present Government, or it would induce those whose duty it is to act with Spirit and Vigor— What think you of an Episcopalian Clergyman in this City praying last Sunday—for the Lords Spiritual and Temporal—or rather what think ^you^ of the Congregation which heard him with Patience?—
If in the midst of your Political Business you can now and then drop me a Line I will esteem it as a favor, and (if not regularly) I will by Starts when there is any thing worth communicating write to you.—
When A Word in the Ear of a Friend— When I was sent here I had some Idea that I was entering into the Temple of Public Virtue— I am disappointed and Chagrined— Genl. Schuyler will communicate my Sentiments and his own at large.
The Chaste Col. Lee will I am credibly informd be left out of the next Delagation for Virginia which is now in Agitation.4 The mere Contemplation of this Event gives me Pleasure—my Mind is full, and I wish to unburthen it; but Prudence forbids me.—
I condole with you on the Loss of your Aged Mother; or rather should I not congratulate you that she is arrived in a secure and pleasant Haven, from a Storm, which she was little calculated to bear? This Reflection I believe has alleviated your Distress— May we be as Virtuous as your Parents should we live to be as old! From the rapid Increase of Villainy both Moral and Political, it is to be feared that we shall not increase in Virtue, as we may in Years— Remember me to all my Friends, particularly to my Fellow-Labourers in the Council of Conspiracy. Adieu, and beleive me Yours with much Esteem and Affection.
W. Duer
Honble. John Jay Esqr.—
I have delivered Genl. Schuyler a Letter from your Friend Mr. Dean in France.—5 I have had it some Time by me, but waited a Safe Mode of Conveyance—
ALS, NNC (EJ: 5572). Addressed: “To / the Honble. John Jay Esqr—/ Cheif Justice of the State of / NewYork—/ W Duer”. Endorsed.
1. On 29 Mar. 1777 Duer had been added to the New York delegation to Congress. When the New York Convention elected a new slate of delegates on 13 May, Duer was named along with Philip Schuyler, Philip Livingston, James Duane, and Gouverneur Morris. , 1: 855, 931.
2. On 15 May the Board of War submitted to Congress a report recommending that Schuyler “be directed forthwith to proceed to the Northern Department, and take upon him the Command there.” The report continued with a recommendation that the president of Congress inform Horatio Gates of this decision and notify Gates “that Congress are desirous that Major General Gates should make his own choice, either to continue in the Command in the Northern Department, under Major General Schuyler; or to take upon him the Office of Adjutant General in the Grand Army immediately under the Commander in Chief, with the rank he now holds.” On 22 May, Congress directed Schuyler to take his command in New York. , 7: 364; 8: 375.
3. “Joyce, Junior,” a pseudonym adapted from the name of one of the regicide leaders responsible for the death of Charles II, was the name used by the Boston mob leader who acted as the “chairman of the committee of tarring and feathering” in 1774. During the British occupation he disappeared from Boston, and he did not reappear until early 1777, when he announced that his mission was the disciplining of Tories. In April 1777 he led a mob that removed five Loyalists from Boston and threatened them with death should they return. R. S. Longley, “Mob Activities in Revolutionary Massachusetts,” New England Quarterly 7 (1933): 126–29.
4. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia had voted against Philip Schuyler’s reinstatement as commander of the Northern Department. To Duer’s disappointment, Lee was returned to Congress in June 1777. , 7: 139–42, 327–28.
5. Silas Deane’s letter to JJ has not been identified. It may have been a copy of Deane’s letter of 3 Dec. 1776, printed above.