- stowed only on the fearless and prudent.

His fidelity and patriotism in these trusts recommended him to higher honours, and in 1775, he was elected to congress, to fill the vacancy occasioned by John Rutledge, Esq.

He arrived in Philadelphia in time to attend upon the discussion of the declaration of independence; and found himself in that assembly of sages, whose sagacity and intrepidity had reminded a Chatham of the fathers of ancient Rome.

His first duty, that he was called upon to discharge, was to unite in signing that memorable in

In 1778, he was elected a judge of the criminal and civil courts of his state.

Mr. Heyward, on the invasion of the southern states, bore arms in the defence of his country, and distinguished himself by his bravery and intrepidity. At the surrender of Charleston, he commanded a battalion of troops, and was particularly obnoxious, together with other fearless patriots, to the British. Among other prisoners, he was sent to St. Augustine. On the cessation of hostilities, he was released, and returned to Philadelphia. Upon his return to Carolina, he resumed the labours of the bench, and continued to act as judge until 1798.

In 1790, he was appointed a member of the convention for forming a state constitution. On seeing the states happily united under the federal constitution, he withdrew himself in 1791 from public labours and cares, to the retirement of private life. (He died at his country seat in March, 1809.

In his public duties, he was honest, firm, and intelligent. He conscientiously and fearlessly embarked in the revolution, and devoted with Roman virtue, his life, estate, and reputation, in the cause of American liberty and independence.

JEFFERSON, THOMAS, LL. D. third president of the United States, was born in Chesterfield county, Virginia, April 2, 1743.

He received the honours of the college of William and Mary at an early age, and was distinguished for great scholarship. He then commenced the study of the law with the late George Wythe, chancellor of Virginia, and in a few years made great proficiency, and was admitted to practice. His uncommon qualifications soon brought him into notice, and before he had reached his twenty-fifth year, he was a conspicuous member of the Virginia legislature, and had subsequently a large share in all those determined measures of that body, with regard to Great Britain, which finally led to the call of a general congress.

In 1775, when the propositions of lord North were laid before the assembly by the governor for their consideration, he was unanimously appointed to answer them. His reply on this occasion was not only eloquent, but exhibits a mind of liberal and enlarged views. A few days after, he was elected a delegate to the general congress, which had convened at Philadelphia. In this enlightened assembly, he had scarcely appeared before he became conspicuous among those the most distinguished by their abilities and patriotism. And while he pursued a bold and undeviating course towards the great object of independence, was enabled by his example, as well as by his arguments, to encourage and confirm others.

The declaration of independence is justly attributed to his pen, the merits of which it is unnecessary to canvass: not only America, but all Europe, too, has long since decided on its claims to excellence. The only alterations the original

draft of this celebrated production received in the committee, were from Dr. Franklin and John Adams, each of whom suggested a single verbal variation.

From the commencement of the year 1777, to the middle of 1779, he was engaged with Pendleton and Wythe, in making a general revisal of the laws of Virginia; in which he bore a considerable share, and to whom Virginia is indebted for the most important and beneficial changes in her code.

The laws, forbidding the future importation of slaves; converting estates tail into fee simple; annulling the rights of primogeniture; establishing schools for general education; sanctioning the right of expatriation; confirming the rights of freedom of religious opinions; and for proportioning crimes and punishments.

In 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia, and was re-appointed in the following year.

During the tumult and confusion of the year 1781, he composed his celebrated work, "Notes on Virginia." It was written in reply to the queries proposed to him by Monsieur de Marbois, at the suggestion of the French court.

About the close of the year 1782, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary, to join those in Europe, who were to determine on the conditions of a treaty of peace, which it was expected would soon be entered into. But before he embarked, intelligence was received that preliminaries of peace between the United States and Great Britain had been signed: accordingly, congress dispensed with his leaving America.

In the summer of 1782, he was in congress, at the time the Virginia convention were establishing their form of government. He had been for some time engaged on this subject, and had prepared a constitution for the state, formed on the purest principles of republicanism, and which was proba

bly the first draft of a fundamental constitution made by any man in America.

This he transmitted to the convention, but it did not reach them until the day when the one that had been prepared by the house was to have received its final vote. It was therefore set aside, adopting only the preamble. On the establishment of peace, and the consequent opening of a general commercial intercourse, plenipotentiary commissions for the concluding treaties of commerce, were given to Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Franklin, and John Adams, addressed to the several powers of Europe, and he sailed from the United States in July, 1784. A commercial treaty with Prussia, was the only result of these general commissions, immediately after the signing of which, Dr. Franklin returned to America, and Mr. Jefferson was appointed his successor as minister to France.

During his residence in France, he, at the request of his native state, presented to the city of Paris, the bust of the gallant Marquis de La Fayette.

The leisure, as minister, which was imposed on him, by the increasing distraction of the country, allowed him the opportunity of cultivating his acquaintance with the fine arts, and of enjoying the society and conversation of men celebrated in literature and science.

In October, 1789, he obtained leave to return home, and arrived at Norfolk in the following November. On his way to his seat at Monticello, he was met by an express from president Washington, bringing him a commission as secretary of state. This he accepted, and in the April following, proceeded to New-York, then the seat of government, and entered upon the duties of his office, in which he continued until the first of January, 1794, when he resigned the situation, and retired to private life. The arduous and important duties of his station, are universally acknowledged to have been

discharged in a manner to reflect the highest credit on himself and country. The neutrality of the United States was maintained at a most trying period, with inflexible impartiality towards the belligerent powers of France and England: and his deportment towards Hammond and Genet, the ministers resident of two great rival powers, furnishes the clearest evidence of his consummate ability as a statesman.

A few other of his acts while secretary, ought, perhaps, to be noticed, as they are calculated to show, in various lights, the wonderful extent of his capacity. Among these might be particularized, his reports on the privileges and restrictions of commerce, and on the whale and cod fisheries; with his plan for reducing the currency, weights, and measures of the United States, to an uniform standard. It has been observed, that these papers evince not only the feelings of a patriot, and the judgment of an accomplished statesman, but display, at the same time, uncommon talents and knowledge as a mathematician and natural philosopher, the deepest research as an historian, and even an enlarged acquaintance with the business and concerns of a merchant.

In 1797, he was elected vice-president, and in 1801, president of the United States of America. For eight years, he filled this exalted station with great ability and wisdom, and at the expiration of which, he withdrew for the remainder of his days, from the political theatre. The admiration, the gratitude, and the regrets of the nation followed him.

Among the most noted acts of his administration, was the purchase of the extensive country of Louisiana; and no one displays in a truer light the character of his mind, replete with philanthropy and the love of science, than his almost immediate directions for the exploration of that vast region. Since the year 1776, he has been the president