The term of a censor was limited in duration to one year; at the expiration of that period he was returned to the assembly, as a member for the coun ty of Chester. In this body he served two years, and was one of the most zealous of the representa tives in his exertions for the good of his native state. The early abrogation of the Pennsylvania test laws was principally due to the earnest and repeat ed exertions of the general. Another subject, too, which he brought to the notice of the general assem bly, is an evidence of the acuteness of his mind, and of the clearness with which he saw the true inter ests of his country. He proposed a resolution, on the 7th of November 1785, to appoint a committee to revise the laws relative to the navigation of the river Susquehanna and other streams, and also to report a bill for the improvement of the navigation between the waters of the Delaware and the Chesa peake, by means of a canal. The committee made a report, approving of the plan; and the executive council was authorized to enter into a negotiation with the states of Maryland and Delaware, in order to effect the object. This was the first movement that had been made in Pennsylvania, on the inter esting subject of inland navigation, since the revo lution. The proposed canal is now in full opera tion; and the state is deriving all the benefit from it which the sagacity of General Wayne so clear ly foresaw would flow from its completion.
The pressure of domestic concerns deprived the state of the benefit of a continuance of the general's services. He was induced, from a necessary regard to them, to resign his seat in the legislature. About the same time, the most pressing solicitations were made to him to induce him to become a candidate for the presidential chair of Pennsylvania; the same imperative necessity, however, compelled him to decline the proffered honour.
In the year 1782, the state of Georgia, with a view to induce him to become a member of that state, and to reward him for his important services, complimented General Wayne with the grant of a large and valuable landed estate. He, therefore, was the owner of considerable real property in both states, and passed his time pretty much between the two. His residence became a matter of doubt, and finally of judicial decision in a particular case. In the year 1787, his fellow-citizens of Pennsylvania elected him a member of the convention which af terwards adopted the constitution of the United States; and in the year 1791, his fellow-citizens of Georgia, determined not to be outdone, chose him a member of the United States Congress. This last election gave rise to very considerable and animat ed discussion. It was finally canvassed and set aside; immediately afterwards, President Washing ton appointed Wayne to, probably at that moment, the most honourable, and at the same time the most responsible, situation within his gift. We allude to the appointment of commander-in-chief of the United States armies. The circumstances which made the nomination so highly important, will be presently briefly mentioned.
In accepting the appointment, General Wayne, in a letter to General Knox, then secretary of war, with his usual modesty, remarked: " I clearly fore see, that this is a command which must inevitably be attended with the most anxious care, as well as great fatigue and difficulty, and one from which more may be expected than will he in my power to perform; yet I should be wanting both in point of duty and gratitude to the president, were I to de cline an appointment, however arduous, to which he thought proper to nominate me. I therefore accept
of the trust that he has been pleased to repose in me, in full confidence of the most effectual support from the president and yourself; and I shall attend at such time and place as you may direct, in order to file the oath of office as prescribed by law." The object of General Wayne's appointment was, if possible, to bring to a favourable close the long protracted and disastrous war with the Indian tribes which had raged on the north-western frontier. The magnitude of the trust will appear very clear ly from a slight review of the then state of affairs.
After the peace with Great Britain was conclud ed, many of their Indian auxiliaries, incited, it was believed, by the English themselves, refused to lay down their arms and to enter into a treaty. They committed horrible depredations upon the settle ments bordering on the Ohio. From the year 1783 to 1790, it was supposed that, upon those waters, fifteen hundred men, women and children had been slain or made captive by the savages. Every spe cies of barbarity had been exhibited towards the frontier settlers. More than two thousand horses had been stolen from the inhabitants. Negotiations were attempted with the Indians; but they rejected them with disdain. The government then despatched Brigadier General Harmer into their country in or der to bring them to reasonable terms, and put a stop to their devastations. That brave officer, in the summer of 1790, was defeated by the Indians, and of course, that event inspired them with fresh confi dence, and carried additional dismay throughout the whole frontier. It was necessary that the stain upon the American arms should be wiped off. A new army was raised, and the command entrusted to General Arthur St. Clair, who had distinguished himself highly in the war of the revolution. The result was looked forward to with intense anxiety; and the best hopes were entertained of success, from the known talents of the commander. The earnest wishes, however,' of the whole nation, it is well known, were most cruelly disappointed. On the 4th of November 1791, near the Miami villages, the general and his brave army suffered a total de feat; it was, in truth, a complete massacre: sixty commissioned officers were killed or wounded, and one thousand privates slain on the spot. The gal lant Brigadier-General Butler, the companion of Wayne in many of his feats of conduct and valour, was among the killed. It is easy to picture the dis may of the community on receiving the disastrous news. The Indian war became highly unpopular: and even the administration of the illustrious Wash ington suffered not a little in public estimation. A large quantity of money has been spent, besides the vast sacrifice of the lives of as noble troops as ever took the field. The anxiety, therefore, of the presi dent, and of all well-wishers of their country, to select a commander who by his talents and energy was fitted to repair the wound the national honour had sustained, and to afford some kind of security to the harassed and exposed frontier, may be easi ly imagined. Washington did not hesitate an in stant in the choice, and the senate immediately con firmed the appointment.