and questioned Gardoqui about his proposals, while reserving their own decision; being men who let their loyalty be determined by events.  Finally some men of entire purity committed grave indiscretions in dealing with him.  Henry Lee, for instance, was so foolish as to borrow five thousand dollars from this representative of a foreign and unfriendly power; Gardoqui, of course, lending the money under the impression that its receipt would bind Lee to the Spanish interest. [Footnote:  Gardoqui MSS., Gardoqui to Floridablanca, December 5, 1787; August 27, 1786; October 25, 1786; October 2, 1789, etc.  In these letters White is frequently alluded to as “Don Jaime.”]

Madison, Knox, Clinton, and other men of position under the Continental Congress, including Brown, the delegate from Kentucky, were among those who conferred freely with Gardoqui.  In speaking with several of them, including Madison and Brown, he broached the subject of Kentucky’s possible separation from the Union and alliance with Spain; and Madison and Brown discussed his statements between themselves.  So far there was nothing out of the way in Brown’s conduct; but after one of these conferences, he wrote to Kentucky in terms which showed that he was willing to entertain Gardoqui’s proposition if it seemed advisable to do so.

    Brown and His Party Work for Disunion.

His letter, which was intended to be private, but which was soon published, was dated July 10, 1788.  It advocated immediate separation from Virginia without regard to constitutional methods, and also ran in part as follows:  “In private conferences which I have had with Mr. Gardoqui, the Spanish Minister, I have been assured by him in the most explicit terms that if Kentucky will declare her independence and empower some proper person to negotiate with him, that he has authority and will engage to open the navigation of the Mississippi for the exportation of their produce on terms of mutual advantage.  But this privilege never can be extended to them while part of the United States. ...  I have thought proper to communicate (this) to a few confidential friends in the district, with his permission, not doubting but that they will make a prudent use of the information.”

At the outset of any movement which, whatever may be its form, is in its essence revolutionary, and only to be justified on grounds that justify a revolution, the leaders, though loud in declamation about the wrongs to be remedied, always hesitate to speak in plain terms concerning the remedies which they really have in mind.  They are often reluctant to admit their purposes unequivocally, even to themselves, and may indeed blind themselves to the necessary results of their policy.  They often choose their language with care, so that it may not commit them beyond all hope of explanation or retraction.  Brown, Innes, and the other separatist leaders in Kentucky were not actuated by the motives of personal corruption