The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

PART II.] THE AME'RICAN REVOLUTION. 255
ness to carry into execution. Their resolution of the
24th of March last empowered me (on condition of
General Lee being declared exchangeable) not only' to proceed"' to the exchange of prisoners, according
to the principles and regulations of the cartel before
agreed on, but also to enter into such further principles and regulations as should appear to me most
proper and advantageous. A subsequent resolution of
the 6th of June holds forth the same language, sanctions
my conduct and reasonings in the negotiations about
that time on the subject, and directs an adherence to
them. No event has occurred since that period, by
which I could conclude there was any alteration in the
views of Congress; so far from it, that all my late letters
breathing the same spirit with the former, and pointedly
signifying my wish to bring about a general exchange,
if not with an express, at least met with a tacit approbation. General Howe at length, by profession if not
in reality, is willing to perform the agreement on the
conditions required by me and confirmed by them.
It may be said, that, with whatever powers I was
originally vested to negotiate an exchange, the resolution of the 19th of December last was an abridgment
of them, so far as to annex a new condition, the settlement and payment of accounts previous to its taking
place. I had no conception of this being the case in
the present instance, however the letter may warrant
the construction. Besides the common principle of
preventing the inconveniences, necessarily resulting
from allowing the enemy to make their payments in
paper currency, I, had reason to imagine that General
Burgoyne's army was more particularly the object of'
the concluding clause. This interpretation I the' more
readily adopted, for, exclusive of the affairs of that
army, I verily believed, that, from the confused, defec