[307] Jefferson to Governor Pinckney, Nov. 8, 1808; Writings, v. 383. [308] Jefferson to Governor Lincoln, Nov. 13, 1808; Writings, v. 387. [309] Gallatin to Jefferson, Nov. 15, 1808; Gallatin’s Writings, i. 420. [310] Jefferson to Dr. Logan, Dec. 27, 1808; Writings, v. 404. [311] Josiah Quincy to John Adams, Dec. 15, 1808; Quincy’s Life of J. Quincy, p. 146. [312] Story’s Life of Story, i. 184. [313] Pickering to C. Gore, Jan. 8, 1809; Pickering MSS. [314] Cf. Pickering to S. P. Gardner; New England Federalism, p. 379. CHAPTER XVI. November 8 President Jefferson sent to Congress his last Annual Message, and with it the correspondence of Pinkney and Armstrong. Intent as the public was upon foreign affairs alone, the Message had no further interest than as it dealt with the question of embargo; but Jefferson showed that he had lost none of his old dexterity, for he succeeded in giving to his words the appearance of conveying no opinion:-- “Under a continuance of the belligerent measures which, in defiance of laws which consecrate the rights of neutrals, overspread the ocean with danger, it will rest with the wisdom of Congress to decide on the course best adapted to such a state of things; and bringing with them as they do from every part of the Union the sentiments of our constituents, my confidence is strengthened that in forming this decision they will, with an unerring regard to the rights and interests of the nation, weigh and compare the painful alternatives out of which a choice is to be made. Nor should I do justice to the virtues which on other occasions have marked the character of our fellow-citizens, if I did not cherish an equal confidence that the alternative chosen, whatever it may be, will be maintained with all the fortitude and patriotism which the crisis ought to inspire.” The favorite assumption that Congress, not the Executive, directed the national policy served again to veil Jefferson’s wishes, but in this instance with some reason; for no one was ignorant that a strong party in Congress meant if possible to take the decision out of the President’s hands. Only by the phrase “painful alternatives” did he hint an opinion, for every one knew that by this phrase he aimed at narrowing the choice of Congress between embargo and war. One other paragraph suggested that his own choice would favor continued commercial restrictions:-- “The situation into which we have thus been forced has impelled us to apply a portion of our industry and capital to internal manufactures and improvements. The extent of this conversion is daily increasing, and little doubt remains that the establishments formed and forming will--under the auspices of cheaper material and subsistence, the freedom of labor from taxation with us, and of protecting duties and prohibitions--become permanent.”