COMMENTARIES, 7 JULY 1788

I shou'd, Sir most certainly beg the favor of a line now and then, but
knowing that you are so variously employed you are seldom allowed
leisure.
1. RC, Emmet Collection, NN. Endorsed "Ansd. August 1 [4t]h." Swann (1760-1793),
a planter, was a North Carolina delegate to Congress, 1788, and a delegate to the Fay-
etteville Convention, where he voted to ratify the Constitution in November 1789. He sat
in the state Senate, 1791-93. Iredell (1751-1799), an Edenton, N.C., lawyer, was state
attorney general, 1779-81, and president of the Council of State, 1788-89. Between 20
February and 19 March 1788, Iredell published, under the pseudonym "Marcus," five
installments in the Norfolk and Portsmouth Journal defending the Constitution (CC:548)
against the objections of George Mason, a leading Antifederalist. In July and August 1788,
he spoke in support of the Constitution in the Hillsborough Convention. Iredell was an
associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1790-99.
2. Shortly after Swann took his seat in Congress on 29 May, he was inoculated for
smallpox and had a favorable reaction. See Hugh Williamson to James Iredell, 11 June,
Smith, Letters, XXV, 162, at note 1.
3. A reference to Rhode Island's payment of its state wartime debt with its depreciated
paper money.
4. See "Confederation Congress Makes Provision to Put the New Government Under
the Constitution into Operation," 2 July-13 September (above).
Hugh Williamson to James Iredell
New York, 7 July 1788 (excerpts)'
Virginia having confederated N Carolina in Opposition, should she
be disposed to stand out, can only expect countenance from Rh: Island
or N York....
The Politics of N York are not so villanous in their Face-but not
much more honourable considering them as part of the same Nation.
They during the War agreed to give Congress the Power of collecting
the 5 W Ct Impost, as soon as they got Possession of this City they
refused to let Congress have such Power because the [y] find the self-
ish advantage of imposing a duty on Imports for their own Use.2 Half
the goods consumed in Connecticut or rather  ths of them, half the
goods consumed in New Jersey or 2/3rds of them, all the goods con-
sumed in Vermont and no small Part of those consumed in the West-
ern Part of Massachusets are bought in New York and pay an Impost
duty of 5 W Ct for the Use of this State I say nothing of what the good
Citizens of N Carolina import from N York whence they pay Part of
the New Yorkers Taxes. Tis easy to discover why New York does not
like the new Govt. But this very Argument must be a very good one
with the Citizens of N Carolina why they should like that Govt. Con-
sequently it is to be hoped that they will neither copy N York nor Rh:
Island.

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