and adopted in this form: "That religion, or the duty we owe to the Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience."

Discussion of the constitution and plan of government was continued. until the 27th of June, when it was adopted in full convention. In its construction it was by no means perfect, but as a constitution on which to rear the structure of, a state, it answered the purpose for the time being. The constitution had but just been adopted, when was presented to the convention a plan prepared by Thomas Jefferson, and forwarded by special mes senger, in the expectation that it would be received before definite action. should be taken. Its late arrival prevented its consideration, but the preamble prepared by Mr. Jefferson was adopted.

Immediately after the adoption of the constitution, the convention proceeded to the election of a governor and council, upon whom should devolve administration of the affairs of the new state. Patrick Henry was chosen governor. Provision was then made for military defense, for the election of senators, and for the assembling of the legislative branch of government. The convention adjourned the 5th of July, to meet at Williamsburg in the following October, as a house of delegates, to serve with the senate as the general assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia.

On the 7th of October, 1776, convened the first general assembly of the state of Virginia. As a member of the convention which framed the constitution and put in motion the wheels of the new government, Mr. Madison took his seat in that body. Here he first met Thomas Jefferson, and formed that intimate acquaintance which continued without a break during the lives of both. Possessed of much the same views on the leading subjects before the assembly, and before the Congress of the colonies, they were not long strangers. In his autobiography Mr. Jefferson speaks of the young legislator in the following terms: "Mr. Madison came into the house in 1776, a new member and young; which circumstances, concurring with his extreme modesty, prevented his venturing himself in debate before his removal to the council of state in November, 1777. From thence he went to Congress, then consisting of few members. Trained in these successive schools, he acquired a habit of self-possession, which placed at ready command the rich resources of his luminous and discriminating mind, and of his extensive information, and rendered him the first of every assembly afterwards of which he became a member. Never wandering from his subject into vain declamation, but pursuing it closely in language pure, classical, and copious, soothing always the feelings of his adversaries by civilities and softness of expression, he rose to the eminent station which he held in the great national convention of 1787; and in that of Virginia, which followed,

he sustained the new constitution in all its parts, bearing off the palm against the logic of George Mason and the fervid declamation of Mr. Henry. With these consummate powers was united a pure and spotless virtue, which no calumny has ever attempted to sully."

The legislature remained in session three months, and adjourned December 21st. At that time its meetings were semi-annual-in May and October. A new election of delegates took place in April, 1777. For years it had been the custom of candidates for office to mingle with the people and spend money freely in "treats." A candidate who refused to follow this custom was usually defeated. Mr. Madison was by nature diffident; beside,

he was opposed to the perpetuation of such a system, and did not take the course calculated to continuance in office. As a consequence, he saw two men, of inferior abilities, elected to seats in the legislature, while he was left in private life. On the 13th of November the two houses elected him member of the council of state, in which office he was intimately associated with the governor and a number of the most influential men of the state. Here his duties were such that he was forced into overcoming his habitual diffidence, and was thus fitted for the more responsible stations that awaited him in the future. He acquired a habit of self-possession and ease in the presentation of his views, that was of great value tɔ him in debate, and rendered him one of the most powerful of the able men then in the halls of legislation, both state and national. At that time the only one among the executive council familiar with foreign languages, he was an invaluable aid to Mr. Henry in meeting the many foreign officers then in the service of the country.

In the summer of 1779 was terminated the service of Mr. Henry as governor, he having occupied the chair of executive during the three years limited by the constitution. He was succeeded by Thomas Jefferson; Mr. Madison remained a member of the executive council a few months under his administration, when he was elected to a seat in Congress.

On the 14th of December, 1779, the general assembly of Virginia elected four delegates to the continental Congress. She had limited the number to five, and the term of service to three years. One member, Mr. Cyrus Griffin, retained his seat to fill an unexpired term. The persons elected in place of the retiring delegates were Joseph Jones, James Henry, John Walker, and James Madison. The time was one of discouragement for the American cause; the finances of the country were at a low ebb; it required forty dollars in the depreciated paper currency of the confederation to equal in value one dollar in silver; the time of service of many of the troops was about expiring, or had already expired, and no effective force could be brought forward to successfully cope with the lately victorious enemy. It was a perplexing question where to turn for ways and means of defense and offense, but the question must be met. To the subjet of finance

Mr. Madison devoted much study, endeavoring to avoid the extremes which had wrecked other governments. His aim was to establish a governmental credit founded on the basis of moral and legal order, justice, and public faith. Congress awoke to the importance of renewed action, and measures were taken to increase the army to thirty-five thousand men; the states were called upon to raise by taxes the sum of six millions of dollars in silver or bills redeemable in specie. At the same time a letter was dispatched to the king of France soliciting a loan, and pledging the faith of the United States for its payment.

It was deemed important at this time to secure the active co-operation of Spain in an effort to drive British men-of-war from the coast, thereby greatly reducing the efficiency of their land forces. In the negotiations pending with Spain, the subject of the right of the United States to the unobstructed navigation of the Mississippi river became a subject of contention. Spain denied the right claimed by the United States, and a long correspondence followed. Congress passed resolutions instructing the commissioners who were conducting the negotiations to abate nothing of their claims, and at the same time appointed a committee consisting of Mr. Madison, Mr. Sullivan, of New Hampshire, and Mr. Duane, of New York, to indite a letter to the ministers, embodying the spirit of the resolutions. On Mr. Madison fell the duty of preparing this letter. which has ever been considered among the ablest documents of its kind. In it he exhaustively considers the subject in all its bearings, and conclusively shows wherein it would be as impolitic as it is impossible that the United States should give up all right to this great artery for the transportation of her western produce to the sea, and thence to foreign markets.

The position assumed by the United States on this question was eventually modified, and left for future settlement. Not until near the close of the war was Spain induced to become a party to the conflict, and then her part was principally that of self-aggrandizement. Instead of directly aiding the United States, she was the means of diverting certain troops and munitions of war from America, by engaging with France in an attempt to conquer some portion of England's possessions in the Mediter ranean. Spain having espoused the cause of France and the colonies as against Great Britain, Russia and Austria became fearful of a general European war, and proffered their services as mediators. Owing, however, to the non-concilatory policy of England, no progress was made in these efforts. During the early winter of 1782, appeared a change in the tone of the British ministry, and a resolution "against the further prosecution of offensive war on the continent of North America," was carried in the house of commons, February 27th. Soon thereafter a bill was introduced "to enable his majesty to conclude a truce or peace with the revolted colonies of America." One of the most important provisions in the pre

liminary articles was that relating to the fisheries, and to this subject Mr. Madison devoted much care and labor; to him in no small degree belongs credit for placing our fisheries on a par with those of the North American provinces of Great Britain. He was an active member of every committee appointed to report at various stages of the subject, and many, if not all the reports, emanated from his pet. The preliminaries for a general peace were signed at Paris, January 20th, 183, but the news did not reach Congress until March 23d, and it was not until some time later that the treaty was ratified. In the many great publi、 measures that were brought forward during the consideration of terms of p、ace, until the spring of 1783, Mr. Madison took an active part. In the formation of an efficient system of revenue and finance he was prominently engaged; in the settlement of terms by which Virginia ceded to the government the territory west of the Allegha nies and north of the Ohio, now forming five states, he was an active participant; in all matters of public weal he was among the foremost.

The laws of Virginia provided that a delegate should not serve in Congress more than three consecutive years, and should then be disqualified from holding the same office during a further period of three years. The original term for which Mr. Madison was elected expired in the autumn of 1782. In May of that year the legislature repealed the law in order that his invaluable services might be longer retained, and he was elected to serve one year more. In the fall of 1783 he necessarily retired, having, during his entire service of four years, rarely been absent from his post, and when such absence was necessary, for as short a time as possible. During the later years of the war, very many members of the Congress were much of the time absent from their duties, and there was the more need that he should remain at his post.

A

CHAPTER III.

A SECOND TERM OF SERVICE IN THE LEGISLATURE.

FTER spending some weeks in Philadelphia, Mr. Madison returned to Montpelier. He had come to feel the need of an understanding of the law, and after renewing acquaintance with his neighbors, began reading legal works. This study he continued, with some interruptions, for several years. He was then thirty-two years of age, with settled habits, and a good degree of health. In intervals of his studies, which were pursued without a master, he carried on a friendly correspondence with the Marquis de Lafayette, and with Thomas Jefferson, who was his successor, as he had been his predecessor in Congress. His home in the county of Orange was but thirty miles distant from Monticello, near which place was also the residence of James Monroe, then a rising young man, a student at law with Mr. Jefferson. Never did Mr. Madison make professional use of his knowledge of law, but in the discussion of state and international questions in after life it proved invaluable.

In April, 1784, eight years after his first service in the legislature of his native state, he was again elected by his county, to a seat in the general assembly. Among his associates were Patrick Henry, the late governor of the state; Richard Henry Lee, who had retired from Congress in 1779; John Marshall, afterward chief justice of the United States; Spencer Roane, afterward president of the Virginia court of appeals; Henry Tazewell, William Grayson, John Taylor, and William Carey Nicholas, future senaators of the United States; John Breckenridge, future attorney-general of the United States; Joseph Jones, late of the Congress; and Braxton, Tyler, Stuart, Ronald, Thruston, Corbin, and Page, mostly young men of unquestioned ability. Mr. Henry and Mr. Lee were the acknowledged leaders in the house, as they were the seniors of their fellow-members.

At the organization of the house he was placed on several important committees, being assigned the chairmanship of the committee of com