Page:Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry.djvu/256

 232 SKETCHES OF THE

the people togellier, and to supply, in a good degi'ee, the place of government.

It was necessary to see how the instrument would work in peace; what assurance it gave of pubhc order and well regulated liberty; or whether any, and what defects in the plan, required amendment.

There were other considerations too, which called loudly for attention. The war had left the country in a most deplorable situation: poor and in debt; its warriors unrequited; its finances wholly deranged; its jurispru- dence unsettled; and all its faculties weak, disordered and exhausted. This was no time for the patriot to quit his post. It demanded all his vigilance to guard the infant republic against the machinations of its enemies, both abroad and at home; it required all his care and all his skill to heal the numerous disorders which had flowed from the war; to nurse the new-born nation into health and strength; to develope its resources, moral and physical; and thus to give securit}' and permanence to its liberties.

With the view of contributing his aid to those great objects, Mr. Hemy still continued to represent the county of his residence, m the legislature of the state, and controuled the proceedings of that body, with a weight of personal authority, and a power of eloquence, which it was extremely difficult, and indeed, almost im- possible to resist. A striking evidence of this power was given, immediately on the close of the revolution, in his advocating the return of the British refugees. The measure was most vehemently opposed. There was no class of human beings against whom such violent and deep-rooted prejudices existed. The name of " British tory," was of itself, enough, at that period, to throw almost any company in Virginia into flames, and was

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