CHAP. jesty to consider that England by its most cherished Sire, with England no calculation is admissible but These suggestions were received with a passive acquiescence; the king neither comprehended nor heeded Turgot's advice, which was put aside by Vergennes as speculative and irrelevant. The correspondence with Madrid continued; Grimaldi, the Genoese adventurer, who still was minister for foreign affairs, complained of England for the aid it had rendered the enemies of Spain in Morocco, in Algeria, and near the Philippine Isles, approved of sending aid clandestinely to the English colonies, and in an autograph letter, despatched without the knowledge even of the ambassadors of the two courts, promised to bear a part of the expense, provided the supplies could be sent from French ports in such a manner that the participation of the catholic king could be disavowed. When, on Friday the twenty sixth of April, the French ministry held a conference with the LXI. 1776. Apr. Spanish ambassador, to consider the dangers that me- CHAP. naced the two kingdoms and the necessity of preparing for war, neither Turgot nor Malesherbes was present. Vergennes was left to pursue his own policy without obstruction, and he followed the precedent set by England during the troubles in Corsica. After a May. year's hesitation and resistance, the king of France, early in May, informed the king of Spain that he had resolved, under the name of a commercial house, to advance a million of French livres, about two hundred thousand dollars, towards the supply of the wants of the Americans; the Catholic king, after a few weeks' delay, using the utmost art to conceal his act, assigning a false reason at his own treasury for demanding the money, and admitting no man in Spain into the secret of its destination except Grimaldi, remitted to Paris a draft for a million more as his contribution. Beaumarchais, who was trusted in the American business and in eighteen months had made eight voyages to London, had been very fretful, as if the scheme which he had importunately urged upon the king had been censured and rejected. "I sat long in the pit," so Vergennes defended himself, "before I took a part on the stage; I have known men of all classes and of every temper of mind; in general, they all railed and found fault; and yet I have seen them in their turn commit the errors which they had so freely condemned; for an active or a passive principle, call it as you will, brings men always towards a common centre. Do not think advice rejected, because it is not eagerly adopted; all slumber is not a lethargy." The French court resolved to increase its CHAP. subsidy, which was to encourage the insurgents to LXI. persevere; and in early summer, Beaumarchais an1776. nounced to Arthur Lee, at his chambers in the TemMay. ple, that he was authorized to promise the Americans assistance to the amount of two hundred thousand louis d'ors, nearly one million of dollars. CHAPTER LXII. THE EXAMPLE OF THE CAROLINAS AND RHODE ISLAND. FEBRUARY-May, 1776. LXII. Feb. THE American congress needed an impulse from CHAP. the resolute spirit of some colonial convention, and an example of a government springing wholly from the 1776. people. Massachusetts had followed closely the forms of its charter; New Hampshire had deviated as little as possible from its former system; neither of the two had appointed a chief executive officer. On the eighth of February the convention of South Carolina, by Drayton, their president, presented their thanks to John Rutledge and Henry Middleton for their services in the American congress, which had made its appeal to the King of kings, established a navy, treasury, and general post-office, exercised control over commerce, and granted to colonies permission to create civil institutions, independent of the regal authority. The next day Gadsden arrived, and in like manner heard the voice of public gratitude; in return, he presented the standard which was to be used by the LXII. CHAP. American navy, representing in a yellow field a rattlesnake of thirteen full-grown rattles, coiled to strike, 1776. with the motto: DON'T TREAD ON ME. When, on the Feb. tenth, the report on reforming the provincial govern ment was considered, and many hesitated, Gadsden spoke out not only for the new constitution, but for the absolute independence of America. The sentiment came like a thunderbolt upon the members, of whom the majority had thus far refused to contemplate the end towards which they were irresistibly impelled. One member avowed his willingness to ride post by day and night to Philadelphia, in order to assist in reuniting Great Britain and her colonies; another heaped the coarsest abuse upon the author of Common Sense: but meanwhile the criminal laws could not be enforced for want of officers; public and private affairs were running into confusion; the imminent danger of invasion was proved by intercepted letters; so that necessity compelled the adoption of some adequate system of rule. While a committee of eleven was preparing the organic law, Gadsden, on the thirteenth, began to act as senior officer of the army. Measures of defence were vigorously pursued, companies of militia called down to Charleston, and the military forces augmented by two regiments of riflemen. In the early part of the year Sullivan's Island was a wilderness; near the present fort, the wet ground was thickly covered with myrtle, live oak, and palmettos; there, on the Mar. second of March, William Moultrie was ordered to take the command, and complete a fort large enough to hold a garrison of a thousand men. The colony, which had already issued one million one hundred |