III. DEBATE OVER CONSTITUTION

Abraham Clark to Thomas Sinnickson
New York, 23 July 1788 (excerpt)'
. .. We have been some time in Suspense about the event of the New
Constitution in this State; The Accounts of last evening were that the
Convention had Adjourned to a future day; if that is the Case they
mean at next meeting to adopt it. before I seal this I may likely hear
whether the above report is true or not.
P.S. I cannot find that the Acct. of the Conventions Adjourning is Sup-
ported by any good Authority.
1. RC, Conarroe Autograph Collection, PHi. Printed: CC:812. This letter, addressed to
Sinnickson in Salem, N.J., was sent free under Clark's frank as a New Jersey delegate to
Congress. Clark (1726-1794), the leader of the East Jersey party, was a member of Con-
gress, 1776-78, 1780-83, 1786-88. He had declined appointment to the Constitutional
Convention. In 1789 he was defeated for election to the U.S. House of Representatives
but was elected in 1791, serving until his death. For his views on the Constitution, see
CC:95 and Mfm:N.J. 37. Sinnickson (1744-1817), a merchant, was a member of the New
Jersey General Assembly, 1777, 1782, 1784-85, 1787-88, and of the U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives, 1789-91, 1797-99.
John Francis to Nicholas Brown
New York, 23 July 1788 (excerpt)'
... The Convention at Poughkepsie are yet setting, they begin to
Warp, if they do not wish to lose Congress they must bend very Soon-
Some Childish Propositions have been made-Such as acceding to it
for four Years only2-or Agreeing provided a New Continental Con-
vention shall be called in four Years to alter, botch, and Mend-
These bespeak a Trifling method of Treating a Serious Subject. Char-
acteristick of the Men who vainly dare to oppose a whole Continent
from Views solely Parsimonious3-
Shew the Collector of Imposts he is an Anti,4 the Excise d [itt]o-the
Treasurer,5 the Tax Gatherers, do do again and again-Gain and Not
that Patriotic Commendable Spirit so Praiseworthy in every Man, ac-
tuates these Fiends to Justice and Good Government-You Righteous
Men, who all believe in the dispensations of Providence, think you it
will be suffer'd any longer6-Or will the Punishment be administred
on the Next Generation? ...
1. RC, Brown Papers, John Carter Brown Library, Providence, R.I. Francis (1763-
1796), a former Philadelphia merchant, was part of the Providence, R.I., mercantile firm
of Brown and Francis, which had been formed in 1786. Francis' partner, John Brown
(1736-1803), became his father-in-law on 1 January 1788, when Francis married Brown's
daughter Abby. In December 1787 the firm of Brown and Francis sent a vessel to trade
in the Far East. Nicholas Brown (1729-1791), a supporter of the Constitution, was a

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