General to state the facts was caustically commented
upon by the Federalist papers, one of which termed
him "a blacksmith, then a Coimty Court lawyer,
and now the first law oflScer in the Union, the elegant
writer of the pieces conmionly called * The Worcester
Farmer'; who made the discovery that it was high
treason for a clergyman to think of politics, and what
is more extraordinary that it amounted to the horrid
crime of *oppugnation', if he mentioned President
JeflFerson's name without first, in token of reverence,
pulling his hat and wig off — this great man was cited
before the Supreme Court, a few days since, as a wit-
ness, and being sworn in the usual manner was asked
a simple question, but could not answer it till they
gave it to him in writing, and he went off and spent
a whole day and night with it, and with closed doors ;
and then he made out to remember that he had for-
gotten all about it/* ^ Finally, the existence of some
of the commissions was proved by affidavits of a clerk
in the State Department and of James Marshall.
In view of the fact that the Chief Justice had been
Secretary of State at the time when these commissions
were prepared and knew personally everything which
Lee was painfully trying to prove, it is difficult to see
why Jefferson and Madison were so insistent in re-
fusing to admit the facts; and the question put by
Dana in Congress seemed to be somewhat justified:
1 Washington Federalist, Feb. 23, 1803. The Aurora, March 22, 1808, said that James Marshall, a brother of the Chief Justice, went to the office of the Secretary of State, on the 4th of March, to inquire if the commissions were completed, so that some magistrate might be found to preserve the peace in Alexandria, wh^ie riotous proceedings were expected on that night. Twelve commissions were given him, but finding that he could not conveniently carry them, he returned some. See also, 1 Cranch, 146. In Marshall, HI, 124, a letter of John Marshall is quoted, written to his brother, March 18, 1801, in which he stated : *' I should, however, have sent out the commissions which had been signed and sealed, but for the ex- treme hurry of the time and the absence of Mr. Wagner who had been called od by the President to act as his private Secretary."
