Having lived in obscurity for a long time my counsel will perhaps have but little weight with our modern philosophers, but to your Excellency I shall write freely for I think you are better informed respecting mankind. I have for a long time been patient in reading the proceedings of congress which I think are very futile, I for my own part & for the sake of my posterity can devise no way for us to get clear of [the] present National Struggles than to make a nonintercourse with France & Great Britian making it high treason to have any intercourse whatever but at the same time to give liberty to our commercial people to trade to Spain, Portugal, Russia Sweeden, & their colonies together with the natives of Asia & Africa & the Northwest coast of America this would be a large portion of the Globe to Which the American commerce would extend & England would find it her interest to be our friends & in looking to Spain we may easily see that it would win her good faith towards the United States as we should be giving her provisions