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THE GREEN BAG

to superintend printing of the Journal of Congress (March 21); on letter from General Washington (Apr. 3); respecting Governor Tryon 's conduct (Apr. 11); in re Indian affairs (Apr. 30); on communication from General Lee (May 20); "to confer with General Washington, Major General Gates, and Brigadier General Mifflin, upon the most speedy and effectual means for sup porting the American cause in Canada" (May 23); to confer with the same Generals "and concert a plan of military operations for the ensuing campaign" (May 25); to consider what is proper to be done with persons giving intelligence to the enemy or supplying them with provisions (June 5). June 13, 1776, the Board of War and Ordinance, composed of five members, was established and Wilson was elected by ballot a member of it. On June 14th, an important report drafted by Wilson con cerning sundry communications from Gen eral Washington and General Schuyler was presented and favorably acted upon. On June 24th, Congress resolved that a commit tee composed of a member from each Colony be appointed to inquire into the causes of miscarriages in Canada, and Wilson was named from Pennsylvania. Then came the Declaration of Independence. It is im possible in this brief sketch further to detail Wilson's services in that matter.1 Following the Declaration, Wilson in 1776 appears as a member of many other com mittees, among them: to settle a cartel for exchange of prisoners (July 9); to cir cumvent a conspiracy to liberate prisoners in Philadelphia (July 11); on memorial from Connecticut (July 25); to devise a plan for encouraging the Hessians and other foreigners employed by the King of Great Britain to "quit that iniquitous service" (Aug. 9); on plan of foreign treaties (Aug. 27). On August 1, the young nation, then less than thirty days old, received its first instruction in Nationalism from James Wilson. The problem was under debate in 1 Vide pp. 6-9.

Congress, whether in determining questions each colony should have but one vote or the voting be according to population or in proportion to wealth. Thomas Jefferson, in his holographic notes on the debate, records that Wilson said : "Taxation should be in proportion to wealth, but representation should accord with the number of free men; that govern ment is a collection or result of the wills of all. ... It has been said that Con gress is a representation of States, not of individuals. I say that the objects of its care are all the individuals of the states. It is strange that annexing the name of 'State' to ten thousand men should give them an equal right with forty thousand. This must be the effect of magic, not of reason. As to those matters which are re ferred to Congress, we are not so many States, — we are one large state; we lay aside our individuality when we come here. The Germanic body is a burlesque on govern ment and their practice on any point is a sufficient authority and proof that it is wrong. The greatest imperfection in the constitution of the Belgic Confederacy is their voting by provinces. The interest of the whole is constantly sacrificed to that of the small states. The history of the war in the reign of Queen Anne sufficiently proves this. It is asked : Shall nine colonies put it into the power of four to govern them as they please? I invert the question and ask: Shall two millions of people put it in the power of one million to govern them as they please? It is pretended too that the smaller colonies will be in danger from the greater. Speak in honest language and say the minority will be in danger from the majority, and is there an assembly on earth where this danger may not be equally pre tended? The truth is that our proceedings will then be consentaneous with the interests of the majority, and so they ought to be. The probability is much greater that the larger states will disagree than that they will combine." On September 24, Congress adopted in structions for a treaty with the King of France, which instructions were drafted by Wilson and contained the most minute directions on various points, such as: "Press this hard, but destroy not the treaty for it," etc., etc. Other committees: concerning