in to see that the
British captains, among whom was Sir Thomas Hardy, to whom Lord Nelson
addressed in his dying moments that affectionate request, surprised and
overwhelmed by the address and ability of Tazewell, recanted all their
threats; and in their letter of the 5th breathed nothing but amity and
peace. Whoever will read the letter of Commodore Douglas of the 3d of
July, and his letter of the 5th, will see the most amusing instance of
backing out in the annals of diplomacy. The federal government now took
the case in hand, and the committee of safety in an eloquent address
resigned the authority with which they had been invested by the people.

One of the obvious results of the peace of 1815 with Great Britain was
the active employment of our commercial marine. During the war the seeds
of new enterprises had been sown, and much of that capital which had
previously been employed in navigation had been diverted, and fresh
capital was required in its place. There was a general desire for the
creation of new banks; and as the principles of banking, which have
become more familiar since, were in 1816 comparatively unknown to those
who composed a majority of the assembly, it was important that Norfolk
should be ably represented in the assembly. At this time the existing
banks, which had suspended during the war, had not resumed the payment
of specie. On the subject of banks, Tazewell though brought up by men
who had been almost ruined by a paper currency and hated the name, his
own father having been one of the most active statesmen in forcing a
resumption of specie payments after the peace of 1783, was not unwilling
that commercial men should employ the agency of banks under proper
restrictions; and having been elected by the people of Norfolk to the
House of Delegates without his knowledge and during his absence from
home, he took his seat in that body in 1816. Let it be remembered, that
when he took this trust from the people of Norfolk, he was constantly
engaged in the highest duties of his profession; that he was not only
employed in courts, but was consulted by foreign clients--by the
merchants of London and by the Court of Rome; and that his absence from
town in the performance of his duties in the assembly would result in
the loss of thousands at a time when he was far from being a wealthy
man; and we will have some idea of the principles which guided his
conduct in respect of the public service. He sought nothin