expression, he rose to the eminent station which he held in the great
National Convention of 1787; and in that of Virginia, which followed,
he sustained the new constitution in all its parts, bearing off the palm
against the logic of George Mason, and the fervid declamation of Mr.
Henry. With these consummate powers, was united a pure and spotless
virtue, which no calumny has ever attempted to sully. Of the powers
and polish of his pen, and of the wisdom of his administration in the
highest office of the nation, I need say nothing. They have spoken, and
will for ever speak for themselves.

So far we were proceeding in the details of reformation only; selecting
points of legislation, prominent in character and principle, urgent, and
indicative of the strength of the general pulse of reformation. When I
left Congress in '76, it was in the persuasion, that our whole code must
be reviewed, adapted to our republican form of government, and, now that
we had no negatives of Councils, Governors, and Kings to restrain us
from doing right, that it should be corrected, in all its parts, with a
single eye to reason, and the good of those for whose government it was
framed. Early, therefore, in the session of '76, to which I returned,
I moved and presented a bill for the revision of the laws; which
was passed on the 24th of October, and on the 5th of November, Mr.
Pendleton, Mr. Wythe, George Mason, Thomas L. Lee, and myself, were
appointed a committee to execute the work. We agreed to meet at
Fredericksburg to settle the plan of operation, and to distribute the
work. We met there accordingly, on the 13th of January, 1777. The first
question was, whether we should propose to abolish the whole existing
system of laws, and prepare a new and complete Institute, or preserve
the general system, and only modify it to the present state of things.
Mr. Pendleton, contrary to his usual disposition in favor of ancient
things, was for the former proposition, in which he was joined by Mr.