EconlibThe LibraryOther Sites |
Front Page  Titles (by Subject) TO JAMES McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR. [PRIVATE.] - The Writings of George Washington, vol. XIV (1798-1799)
Return to Title Page for The Writings of George Washington, vol. XIV (1798-1799)The Online Library of LibertyA project of Liberty Fund, Inc.Search this Title:Also in the Library:
TO JAMES McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR. [PRIVATE.] - George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, vol. XIV (1798-1799) [1893]Edition used:The Writings of George Washington, collected and edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1890). Vol. XIV (1798-1799).
Part of: The Writings of George Washington, 14 vols.
About Liberty Fund:Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright information:The text is in the public domain. Fair use statement:This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
TO JAMES McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.
Mount Vernon, 14 September, 1799. Dear Sir,I feel much obliged and accordingly thank you for your kind intention of ordering me two months’ pay, and I shall not suffer false modesty to assert, that my finances stand in no need of it; because it is not the time, nor the attention only, which the public duties I am engaged in require, but their bringing upon me applicants, recommenders of applicants, and seekers of information, with their servants and horses (none of whom perhaps are of my acquaintances,) to aid in the consumption of my forage, and what to me is more valuable, my time, that I most regard; for a man in the Country, nine miles from any house of Entertainment, is differently situated from one in a City, where none of these inconveniences are felt. Yet even under these circumstances, which may be little known to those who wd. appreciate them, and would be totally disregarded by such as are always on the look-out for something to cavil at, I am resolved to draw nothing from the Public but reimbursements of actual expenditures; unless by being called into the Field I shall be entitled to full pay and the Emoluments of office. Without this it would be said by the latter description of People, that I was enjoying retirement on very easy and lucrative terms; whilst the former might remark, that I had forgot the conditions on which I accepted my commission; opposed to these the loss of time and incidental expenses are not to be compared. I thought this explanation of my motives, for declining the acceptance of your offer, was due to your kind attention in behalf of, dear Sir, &c. |
