is
assent to the bill for incorporating the national bank produced
discontent, the opponents of that measure seemed disposed to ascribe
his conduct, in that instance, to his judgment, rather than to any
prepossession in favour of the party by whom it was carried. The
opposition, therefore, in congress, to the measures of the government,
seemed to be levelled at the secretary of the treasury, and at the
northern members by whom those measures were generally supported, not
at the President by whom they were approved. By taking this direction,
it made its way into the public mind, without being encountered by
that devoted affection which a great majority of the people felt for
the chief magistrate of the union. In the mean time, the national
prosperity was in a state of rapid progress; and the government was
gaining, though slowly, in the public opinion. But in several of the
state assemblies, especially in the southern division of the
continent, serious evidences of dissatisfaction were exhibited, which
demonstrated the jealousy with which the local sovereignties
contemplated the powers exercised by the federal legislature.

CHAPTER VII.

General St. Clair appointed Commander-in-chief.... The
President makes a tour through the southern states....
Meeting of congress.... President's speech.... Debate on the
bill for apportioning representatives.... Militia law....
Defeat of St. Clair.... Opposition to the increase of the
army.... Report of the Secretary of the Treasury for raising
additional supplies.... Congress adjourns.... Strictures on
the conduct of administration, with a view of parties....
Disagreement between the Secretaries of State and
Treasury.... Letters from General Washington.... Opposition
to the excise law.... President's proclamation....
Insurrection and massacre in the island of St. Domingo....
General Wayne appointed to the command of the army....
Meeting of Congress.... President's speech.... Resolutions
implicating the Secretary of the Treasury rejected....
Congress adjourns.... Progress of the French revolution, and
its effects on parties in the United States.

{1791}

More ample means for the protection of the frontiers having been
placed in the hands of the executive, the immediate attention of the
President was directed to this interesting object.

[Sidenote: General St. Clair appointed commander-in