^'3-5 
 
 SettioQ Sec. 
 
Rl^G^HTTS OF MAN: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 ANSWER 
 
 :;/y^^f^?^i ^^ 
 
 Mr. BURKE'S AT 
 
 ON THE 
 
 FRENCH REVOL 
 
 By THOMAS PAINE, 
 
 SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO CONGRESS IN THE 
 
 AMERICAN WAR, AND AUTHOR OF THE WORK 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 COMMON SENSE, 
 
 '^rom Second Philadelphia Edition, and Fourth London Editions 
 CorreBtd and Enlarged. 
 
 CARLISLE: 
 He-printed by GEORGE KLINE, 
 
 M,DrC,XCT, 
 
T O 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Prefent you a fmall Treatife in defence of thofe 
 Principles of Freedom which your exemplary Virtue 
 hath fo eminently contributed to eftablifli. That the 
 Rights of Man may become as univerfal as your Be* 
 nevolence can wifh, and that you may enjoy tht 
 Happinefs of feeing the New World regenerate the 
 Old, is the Prayer of 
 Sir, 
 
 Your much obliged, and 
 Obedient humble Scrvlant. 
 THOMAS PAINE. 
 
P R E F A C E to the laft Englifti Edition. 
 
 FROM ths part Mr. Burke toak in the American Revolution^ it 
 was natural that I Jliould confider him a friend to mankind ; and 
 as our acquaintance convntnced on that ground, it would have been 
 more agreeable to me to have had caufe to continue in that opinion^ than 
 to change it. 
 
 At the time Mr. Burke made his violent fpeech laji winter in the 
 EfigliJJi Parliament a^ainft the French Revolution and the National 
 AJJcmbly, I was in Paris, ai\d had written him, but a Jhort time be* 
 fore, to inform hir,i how profperotfly ^natters were going an. Soon 
 after this, I faw his advertiftment of the Pamphlet he intended to pub- 
 lifh : As the attack zvas to be madt in a language hut little fiudied, and 
 lefs underftood in Prance, and as every thing fufftrs by tranjlation, I 
 pr omr fed fome of the friends of the Revolution in that country, that 
 whenever Mr. Burke's Pamphlet eame forth, I would anfwer it. This 
 appeared to me the more neceffary to be done, when I faw the fagrant 
 mifreprejentations zvhich Mr. Burke's Pamphlet contains; and tha^ 
 while it IS an outrageous ahife on the French Revolution, and the prin- 
 ciples of Liberty, it is an impoftion on the rejl oj the world. 
 
 I am the more ajiomfhed and difappointed at this conduB in Mr. 
 Burke, as (from the circumflance 1 am going to mention) I had formed 
 other expeciations. 
 
 1 had fen enough of the miferies of War, to wifh it might never 
 more have exijlence in the world, and that fome oth.r mode might be 
 found out to fettle the difference's that fhould occafonally arife in the 
 neighbourhood of nations. This certainly might be done if Courts 
 were difpcfed to fet honefdy about it, or if countries were enlightened 
 enough not to be made the dupes of Courts, The people of America had 
 teen bred up in the fame prejudices againfl France, which at that time 
 char aEleriJed the people of England ; but experience, and an acquaint- 
 ance with the French nation, have mofi ejfeRually fiown to the Ameri- 
 cans, the falfehood of thofe prejudices; and I do not believe that a 
 more cordial and confidential inter courfe exijis between any two coun- 
 tries than beeween America and France. 
 
 When 1 came to France in the fpring of 1787, the archbifJiop of 
 Thoulouf, was then minifler, and at that time highly efleemcd. I be- 
 came much acquainted zvith the private Secretary of that Minifler, a 
 man of an enlarged and benevolent heart ; and found, that his fenti- 
 7nents and m^ozon perfeBly agreed with rtfpeB to the madnefs of war, 
 and the wretched impolicy of two nations, like England and France, 
 continually worrying each other, to no oiier end than that of a mutual 
 
 m-creofe 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 ihcredfe of kurdtns and taXi^s. That I mkkt k ajfured I had not mif 
 u7iderJlDod him, ncr he me, I {ut the Jub fiance oj our opinions into 
 zvritinir, and Jent it to him ; Juhjoiniiig a reqiteji, that if I Jlionld fee 
 among the people of England, any difpofition to cultivate a better under - 
 ftandmg between the two nations than had hitherto prevailed, horv Jar 
 I might be autkonftd to fay that the fame diJpofUion prevailed on the 
 part of France? Re anfwered me by letter in the mojl unrtftrvedman- 
 ntr, and that not j or himfelf only, but for the Minijler, with zuhofi 
 knowledge the letter was declared to be written. 
 
 I put this letter into the hands of Mr, Burke, almofi three years ago, 
 and left it with him, where it Jlill remains ; hoftng, and at the fame 
 time naturally expe&ing, from the opinion I had conceived of him, thai 
 he would find fome opportunity of making a good vfe of it, for the 
 purpofe of removing thofe errors and prejudices, which two neighhour- 
 'ing nations, from the want of knowing each other, had entertaimd, to 
 the injury of both. 
 
 When the French Revolution broke aut, it certainly afforded Mr, 
 Burke an opportunity of doing fome good, had he been difpofed to it; 
 irflead of which, no fooner did he fee the old prejudices wearing away, 
 than he immediately began fowtng the feeds of a new inveteracy, as if 
 he were afraid that England and France would ccafe to be enemies. 
 That there are men in all countries who get thar living by war, and by 
 keeping up the quarrels of nations, is as f locking as it is true ; but 
 zuhen thofe zujio are concerned in the government of a country, make 
 it their fludy to fozv difcord, and cultivate prejudices between nations, 
 it becomes the more unpardonable. 
 
 With refpeil to a paragraph in this work, alluding to Mr. Burke's 
 having a ptnfion, the report has been fome time in circulation, at leafl 
 two months ; and as a perfon is often the lafl to hear what concerns him 
 the mofi to know, I have mentioned it, that Mr. Burke may have an 
 Opportunity of contradiRing the rumour, if he thinks proper. 
 
 ' THOMASPAINE. 
 
 
( 6 
 
 RIGHTS of MAN, &c. 
 
 A MO NG the incivilities by which nations or individuals pro- 
 j^X. voke and irritate each other, Mr. Burke's pamphlet on the 
 French P.evolution is an extraordinary inftance. Neither the peo- 
 ple o[ Fiance, nor the National Aflembly, were troubling themfelves 
 about the affairs of England, or the Englifh Parliament; and why 
 Mr. Burke fhould commence an unprovoked attack upon them, both 
 in parliament and in public, is a conduft that cannot be pardoned on 
 the Icore of manners, nor juftified on that of policy. 
 
 There is fcarceiy an epithet of abufe to be found in the EngliQi 
 language, with which Mr. Burke has not loaded the French nation 
 and tlie National Affembly. Every thing which rancour, prejudice, 
 ignorance or knowledge could fuggelf, are poured forth in the co- 
 pious fury of near four bundled pages. In the flrain and on the 
 plan Mr. Burke was writing, he might have written on to as many 
 thoul^nds. When the tongue or the pen is let loofe in a phrenzy 
 of pafFion, ii is the man, and not the fubje61, that becomes exhaufted. 
 
 Hitherto Mr. Burke has been raiffaken and difappointed in the 
 opinions he had formed of the affairs ot France; but fuch is the in- 
 genuity of his hope, and the malignancy of his defpair, that it fur- 
 iiifiies him with new pretences to go on. There was a time when it 
 was impoffible to make Mr. Burke believe there would be any re- 
 volution in France. His opinion then was, that the French had 
 neitlicr fpiiit to undertake it, nor fortitude to fupport it; and now 
 that tliere is one, he feeks an efcape by condemning it. 
 
 Not fufficiently content v/ith abufing the National Affembly, a 
 great part of his work is taken up with abufmg Dr. Price, (one of 
 the beft-hearted men that lives) and the two focieties in England 
 knov/n by the name of the Revolution Society, and the Society for 
 Conllitutlonal Information. 
 
 Dr. Price had preached a lermon on the 4th of November, 1789, 
 l)eing the anniveifary of what is called in England the Revolution 
 which took place 1688. Mr. Burke, fpeaking ot this fermon, fays, 
 
 * The political Divine proceeds dogmatically to aflerr, that, by the 
 
 * piinciplcs of the Revolution, the people of England have acquir- 
 
 * cd three fuitdamental rights : 
 
 * 1. To chufe our own governors. 
 
 * 2. To cafhicr them for mifconduft. 
 
 ' 3. To frame a ooveinmcni fgr ourfelvts. Dr. 
 
{ 7 ) 
 
 Dr. Price docs not fay that the right to do thcfe things exifls in thi^ 
 ©r in that perfon, or in this or in that defcription of perl'ons, but 
 that it exifts in the whole; that it is a right refident in the nation. — 
 Mr. Burke, on the contrary, denies that fucli a right exiRs in the 
 nation, either in whole or in part, or that it exifls any v/!iere ; and 
 what is ftill more ftrange and marvellous, he fays, ' that the people 
 
 * of England utterly difclaim fuch a right, and that they will refill 
 
 * the praftical afTertion of it with their lives and fortunes. ' That 
 men fhouldtake up arms, and fpend their lives and fortunes, noi to 
 maintain their rights, but to maintain they have nol rights, is an en- 
 tire new fpecies of difcovery, and fuited to the paradoxical genius of 
 Mr. Burke. 
 
 The method which Mr. Burke takes to prove that the people of 
 England have no fuch rights, and that fuch rights do not now e?c!fl 
 in the nation, either in whole or in part, or any where at ail, is of 
 the fame marvellous and monftrous kind with what he has already 
 faid; for his arguments are, that the perfons, or the generation of 
 perfons, in whom they did exifl, are dead, and with them the righc 
 IS deadalfo. To prove this, he quotes a declaration made by par- 
 lianlent about a hundred years ago, to William and Mary, in thcfe 
 words: '* The Lords fpiritual and temporal, and commons, do, in 
 " the name of the people aforefaid — (meaning the people ot Eng- 
 " land then living) — mofl humbly and hkMuWy Juh?iii theinfelves, 
 " their heirs and pqfierilies, for ever." He alfo quotes a claufe 
 ^f another a£l of parliament made in the fame reign, the fcnns of 
 which he fays, " binds us — (meaning the people of that day) — our 
 ** heirs and our pojlerity^ to them, their heirs 2Sid pojlenty ^ to the 
 " end of time." 
 
 Mr. Burke conceives his point fufficiently eflablifiied by produc- 
 ing thofe claufes, which he enforces by faying that they exclude the 
 right of the nation for ever : and not yet content with making fuch 
 declaratioRS, repeated over and over again, he further fays, * that 
 
 * if the people of England pofTefTed fuch aright before the Revolu- 
 
 * tion,' (which he acknowledges to have been the cafe, not only in 
 England, but throughout Europe, at an early period) ' yet that the 
 
 * EngliJIz nation did, at the time oi the Revolution mofl folernnly re- 
 
 * nounce and abdicate it, for themfelves, dtnd hr all their pojierity 
 
 * Jbr ever.* 
 
 ^ As Mr. Burke occafionally applies the poifon drawn from his hor- 
 rid principles (if it is not a profanation to call them by the name of 
 principles) not only to the EngliQi nation, but to the French Revo- 
 lution and the National AfTembly, and charges that augufl, illumi- 
 nated and illuminating body of men with the epithet of vjhrpxrs, I 
 ffcall, j^«j ccnmomcj place anolher lyftem of principles in gppolition 
 to his, ' ' Th'i 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 The Engllfn parliament of 1688 did a certain thing wiilch for 
 themfelves and their conftituents, they had a right to do, and which 
 it appeared right fnould be done; but in additioti to this right, which 
 ihey- polleded by delegation, they fet up another right by ajfumption^ 
 that of binding and conirouiing pofterity to the end of time. The 
 cafe, therefore, divides itfelF into two parts ; the right which they 
 pofTcfTed bv delegation and the right which they fet up by affump- 
 tion. The firfl is admitted ; but, with refpeft to the fecond, I rtply— 
 There never did, there never will, and there never can exift a 
 parliament, or any dcfcription of men or any generation of men, 
 in any country, pofleiled of the right or the powder of binding and 
 contronllng pofterity to the '* end of time!' or of commanding for 
 ever bow the world (hall be governed, or who fhall govern it : Arid 
 thcrelore ali luch claufes, a6h or declarations, by which the makers 
 of them attempt to do what they have neither the right nor the 
 power to do, nor the power to execute, are in themfelves null and 
 void. — Every age and generation muft be as free to aft for itfelf, in 
 all cafes, as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity 
 and prefumption of governing beyond the grave, is the moft ridi- 
 culous and infolent of all tyrannies. Man has no property in man ; 
 neither has any generation a property in the generations which are 
 to follow. The parliament or the people of 1688, or of any other 
 period, had no more right to difpofe of the people of the prefent 
 day, or to bind or to controul them in ahy JJiape lukatevtr, than the 
 parliament or the people of the prefent day have to difpofe of, 
 bind or controul thofe who are to live a hundred or a thoufand years 
 hence. Every generation is and muft be competent to all the pur- 
 pofes which its occafions require. It is the living and not the dead 
 that are to be accommodated. When man ceafes to be, his power 
 and his wants ceafe with him ; and having no longer any participa- 
 tion in the concerns of this world, he has no longer any authority 
 in directing who fhall be its governorSj or how its government fhall 
 be organized, or how adminiftered, 
 
 I am not contending for, nor againft, any form of government, 
 nor for, nor againft, any party here or elfewhere. That which a 
 whole nauon choofes to do, it has a right to do. Mr. Burke fays, 
 No. Where then does the right exift ? I am contending for the 
 rights of the living, and againft their being willed away, and con- 
 troulcd and contrafted lor, by the manufcript afTumed authority of 
 the dead; and Mr. Burke is contending for the authority of the dead 
 over the rights and freedom of the living. There was a time when 
 kings difpofed of their crowns by will upon their death-beds, and 
 configncd the people, like beafts of the field, to whatever fuccelTor 
 they appf imed. This is now fo exploded as fcarcely to be remem- 
 bered, 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 Dered, and fo iponft reus as hardly to be believed: But the par- 
 liamentary claufes upon which Mr. Burke builds his political church, 
 are of the fame nature. 
 
 The laws of every country muft be analogous to fome commori 
 principle. In England, no parent or mailer, nor all the authority 
 of parliament^ omnipotent as it has called iifeU, can bind or con- 
 troul the perfonal freedom even of an individual beyond die age of 
 twenty-one years : On what ground of right then could the par- 
 liament of 1688, or any other parliament, bind all pollerity tor 
 ever ? 
 
 Thofe who have quitted the world, and thofe who are not yet ar- 
 rived at it, are as remote from each other as the utmoft flretch of 
 mortal imagination can conceive : What polTiblc obligation then can 
 exift between them, what rule or principle can be laid down, that 
 two non-entities, the one out of exiilence, and the other not in, 
 and who never can meet in this world^ that the one Ihould controul 
 the other to the end of time ? 
 
 In England, it is laid that money cannot be taken out of the poc- 
 kets of the people without their confent : But who authoriled, or 
 who could authorife the parliament of 1688 to controul and take 
 away the freedom of pofterity, and limit and confine their rights of 
 afting in certain rafes for ever, who were not in exiflence to give 
 or to withhold their confent ? 
 
 A greater ablurdity cannot prefertt itfelf to the underftanding of 
 man, than what Mr. Burke offers to his readers. He tells them," 
 and he tells the world to come, that a certain body of men, who 
 exifted a hundred years ago, made a law, and that there now does 
 not exill in the nation, nor ever will, nor ever can, a power to ahe: 
 it. Under how many fubtilties, or ablurdities, has the divine riga< 
 to govern been impofed on the credulity of mankind ! Mr. Burke 
 has difcovered a new one, and he has fhortened his journey to Rome, 
 by appealing to the power of this infallible parliament oJ formgr 
 days; and he produces what it has done, as of divine authority; for 
 that power muft certainly be more than human, which no human 
 power to the end of time can alter. 
 
 But Mr. Burke has done fome fervice, not to his caufe, but to hij 
 country, by bringing thofe claufes into public view. They (crve to 
 demonftrate how necelTary it is at all times to waitch againll tlie at- 
 tempted encroachment of power, and to prevent iir. running to ex- 
 cefs. It is fomewhat extraordinary, that the ollence for which 
 James II. was expelled, that of fetting up power by ajjumplion^ 
 Ihould be re-a£ledj under another fhape and form, by tlie parliament 
 that expelled him. It (hews, that the rights of man were but ixn- 
 perfeftly underftood at the Revolution i for certain it is, that tiie 
 
 B riigh^ 
 
( 10 
 
 riglu which iliai pMiliaincut fet up by nfj'umption {for by delegation it. 
 had it not, and con'.d not have it, becaufe none could give it) over 
 the perfons and freedom of porierity for ever, was of that fame tv- 
 rannical unfound«^d kind which James at'empted to fet up over the 
 parliament and the nation, and i'or which he was expelled. The 
 only diilerence is, (for in principle they differ not) that the one was 
 an ufurper over the living, and the other over the unborn ; and as. 
 the one has no better authority to fland upon than the other, both 
 of them muH be equally null and void, a;id of no efTeft. 
 
 From v/hat, or from whence, does Mr. Burke prove the right of 
 any human power to bind pollcrity for ever ? He has produced his 
 claufes; but he raufl produce alfo his proofs, that fuch a right exiff- 
 cd, and Ihew how it exilied. If it ever exifted, it muf^ now exifl ; 
 for whatever appertains to the nature of man, cannot be annihilated 
 by man. It is the nature of man to die, and he will continue to 
 die as long as he continues to be born. But Mr. Burke has-fet up 
 a fort of political Adam, in whom all pofterity arc bound for ever; 
 he muff therefore prove that his Adam polTefTed fuch a power or 
 fuch a right. 
 
 The weaker any cord is, the lefs will it bear to be flretched, and 
 the worfe is the policy to ffretch it, unlefs it is intended to break it. 
 Had a pet fon contemplated the overthrow of Mr. Burke's pofitions, 
 be wouid have proceeded as Mr. Burke has done. He would have 
 magnified the authorities, on purpofe to have called the right of them 
 into quedicn ; and the inftant the queilion of right was ftarted, the 
 authorities mull have been given up. 
 
 It requires but a very fmali glance of thought to perceive, that al- 
 though laws made in one generation often continue in force through 
 fucceeding generations, yet that they continue to derive their force 
 from the confent cf the living. A lav/ not repealed continues in 
 force, not becaufe it cannot be repealed, but becaufe it is not repeal- 
 ed; and the non-repealing palfes for confent. 
 
 But Mr. Burke's claufes have not even this qualification in their 
 favour. They becoir.e null, by attempting to become immortal. 
 The nature of them precludes confent. They deflroy the right 
 which 'hey might have, by grounding it on a right which they cannot 
 have. Immortal power is not a human right, and therefore cannot 
 be a right of parhament. The parliament of 1688 might as well 
 have pafled an aft to have authorifcd ihemfelves to live for ever, as 
 to make their authority live for ever. All therefore that can be 
 faid of them is, that they are a formality of words, ol as much im- 
 port, as if thofe who ufed them had addrefled a congratulation to 
 ihemfelves, and, in the oriental flile of antiquity, had faid, O par- 
 liament live for ever ! 
 
 The 
 
\ 11 / 
 
 , The circumftances of ihe world are contiiv^ally cuanging, and 
 the opinions of men change alio; and as governincat is for the 
 living, and not for the dead, it is the liviiig onl)' that li^s any right 
 in it. -That wjiich may be thought right and found convenient in 
 one age, may be thought wrong, and found inconvenient in another. 
 In fuch cafe?. Who is to decide, the hving, or the dead ? 
 
 As almoli one hundred pages of Mr. Burke's book are employed 
 upon thefe claiifes, it wi'l confequently follow, that if the claules 
 themfelyes, fo far as they fet up an ajfumtd, ufurpid dominion over 
 pofierity for ever, are unauthoritative, and in their nature null and 
 void ; that all his voluminous interenccs and declamation drav/n 
 theretrom, or founded thereon, are null and voidalfo; and on this 
 ground I reft tlie m.atter. 
 
 We now come more particularly to the affairs of France. Mr. 
 Burke's book has the appearance of being written as inftrutlion to 
 the French nation; but if I may permit myfelf the ufe of an extra- 
 vagant metaphor, fuited to the extravagance of the cafe, it is dark- 
 nefs attempting to illuminate light. 
 
 While I am writing this, there are accidentally before me fome 
 propofals for a declaration of rights by the Marquis de la Fayette (I 
 tiflc his pardon for ufmg his tormer addrefs, and Ao it only for dif- 
 tinftion's fake) to the National AiTembly on the nth of July 1780, 
 three days before tke taking of tlie Baftille; and I cannot but be 
 ilruck by obferving how oppofite the four( es are from which th^f 
 gentleman and Mr. Burke draw their principles. Inllead of refer- 
 ring to mufty records and mouldy parchments to prove that the rich's 
 pi the living are loll, " renounced anci abdicated for ever," by thofe 
 who are now no more, as Mr. Buike has done, M. de la Fayette 
 applies to the living world, and emphatically fay's, " Call to mind 
 " the fentiments which Nature has engraved in the heart of every 
 " citizen, and which take a new force when they are folemnly re- 
 ** cognized by all: — For a nation to love liberty, it is fuliicient that 
 " fhe knows it ; and to be free, it is fufficient that fhe wills it." 
 How dry, barren, and obfcure, is thefource from which Mr. Burke 
 labours; and how inefFeftual, though gay with (lowers, are all his 
 declamation and his argument, compared with thefe clear, concife, 
 and foul-animating fentiments! Few and fliort as they are, thev 
 iead on to a vaft field of generous and manly thinking, and do not 
 finifli, like Mr. Burke's periods, with mulic in the ear, and nothing 
 in the heart. 
 
 As I have introduced M. de la Fayette, I will take the liberty or 
 adding an anecdote refpefting his farewell addrefs to the Congrefs 
 of America in 1783, and which occurred freHi to my mind when I 
 faw Mr. Burt's thundering attack on the French Revolution — M. 
 
 dd 
 
( 1* ) 
 
 de la Fayette went to America at an early period of the war, and 
 continued a volunteer in her fervice to the end. His condu6l* 
 through the whole of that enterprize is one of the mofl extraordin- 
 ary that is tc be found in the hiftory of a young man, fcarcely then 
 tweflty years of age. Situated in a country that was like the lap of 
 fenfual pleafure, and with the means of enjoying it, how few are 
 there to be found who would exchange fuch a fcene for the woods 
 and wildernefles of America, and pafs the flowery years of youth 
 in unprofitable danger and hardfliip! But fuch is the faft. When 
 the war ended, and he was on the point of taking his final departure, 
 he prefented himfelf to Congrefs, and contemplating, in his afFefti- 
 onate farewell, the revolution he had feen, expreded himfelf in 
 thefe words : " May this great monument^ raifed to Liberty, ferve as 
 *' a lejfon to the opprejfor, and an example to the opprejfed /" When 
 this addrefs came to the hands of Dr. Franklin, who was then in 
 France, he applied to Count Vergennes to have it inferted in the 
 French Gazette, but never could obtain his confent. The fa6l was, 
 that Count Vergennes was an ariftocratical defpot at home, and 
 dreaded the example of the American Revolution in France, as cer- 
 tain other perfons now dread the example of the French Re- 
 volution in England ; and Mr. Burke's tribute of fear (tor in this 
 light his book muft be confidered) runs parallel with Count Ver- 
 gennes' remfal. Bur, to return more particularly to his work — 
 
 " We have feen (fays Mr. Burke) the French rebel againft a mild 
 *' and lawful monarch, with more fury, outrage, and infult, than 
 *• any people has been known to rife againft the mod illegal ufurper, 
 *' or the moft fanguinary tyrant." — This is one among a thoufand 
 other inft ances, in which Mr. Burke fhews that he is ignorant of the 
 fprings and principles ot the French revolution. 
 
 Ii was not againft Louis the XVIth, but againft the defpotic prin- 
 ciples of the government, that the nation revolted. Thefe princi- 
 ples had not their origin in him, but in the original eftablifhment, 
 many centuries back; and they were become too deeply rooted to 
 be removed, and the augean ftable of parafites and plunderers too 
 abominably filthy to becleanfed, by any thing fhort of a complete 
 and univerlal revolution. When it becomes neceffary to do a thing, 
 the whole heart and foul fhould go into the meafure, or not attempt 
 it. That crifis was then arrived, and there remained no choice but 
 to aft with determined vigour, or not to aft dt all. The King was 
 known to be the friend of the nation, and this circumftance v/as fa- 
 vourable to the enterprife. Perhaps no man bred up in the ftile of 
 an abfolute King ever poflelTed a heart fo little difpofed to the exer- 
 cife of that fpecies of power as the prefent King of France. But 
 the principles of the government itfelf ftill remained the fame. The 
 ■ ' Mo»arch 
 
( '3 ) 
 
 Monarch and Monarchy were diftlnft and feparate things; and it 
 was againft the eftabhfhed defpotlfm of the latter, and not againft 
 the perfon or principles of the former, that the revolt commenced, 
 and the revolution has been carried. 
 
 Mr. Burke does not attend to the diftinftion between men and 
 principles^ and therefore he does not fee that a revolt may take place 
 againft the defpotifm of the latter, while there lies no charge of de- 
 fpotifm againft the former. 
 
 The natural moderation of Louis XVI. contributed nothing to 
 alter the hereditary defpotifm of the monarchy. All the tyrannies 
 of former reigns, a6ted under that hereditary defpotifm, were 
 (fill liable to be revived in the hands of a fuccefTor. It was not the 
 refpite of a reign that would fatisfy France, enlightened as ftie was 
 then become. A cafual difconiinuance of the praSice of defpotifm, 
 is not a difcontinuance of its pnncipUs : the former depends on the 
 virtue of the individual who is in immediate pofTeflfion of the pow- 
 er ; the latter, on the virtue and fortitude of the nation. In the 
 cafe of Charles I. and James II. of England, the revolt was againft 
 the perfonal defpotifm of the men ; whereas in France it was a. 
 gainft the hereditary defpotifm of the eftablifticd government. But 
 men who can confign over the rights of pofterity for ever on the 
 authority of a mouldy parchment, like Mr. Burke, are not qualifi- 
 ed to judge of this revolution. It takes in a field too vaft for their 
 views to explore, and proceeds with a mightinefs of reafon they 
 cannot keep pace with. 
 
 But there are many points of view in which this revolution may 
 be confidered. When defpotifm has eftablifhed itfelf for ages in a 
 country, as in France, it is not in the perfon of the King only that 
 it refides. It has the appearance of being fo in fhow and in nomi- 
 nal authority ; but it is not fo in praftice, and in fa£l. It has its 
 ftandard every where. Every office and department has its defpo- 
 tifm, founded upon cuftom and ufage. Every place has its Baftille, 
 and ev^ery Baftille its defpot. The original hereditary defpotifm re- 
 fident in the perfon of the King, divides and fubdivides itfelf into & 
 thoufand fhapes and forms, till at laft the whole of it is a6led by de- 
 putation. This was the cafe in France ; and againft this fpecies of 
 defpotifm, proceeding on through an endlefs labyrinth of office till 
 the fource of it is fcarcely perceptible, there is no mode of redrefs. 
 It ftrengthens itfelf by alTuming the appearance of duty, and tyran- 
 nifes under the pretence of obeying. 
 
 When a man refle61s on the condition which France was in from 
 the nature of her government, he will fee other caufes lor revolt 
 than thofe which immediately conneft themfelvcs with the perfon 
 ^r chara£fer of Louis XVI. There v;erc, if I may fo exprefs it, a 
 
 thoufand 
 
{ »4 y 
 
 ihoufand defpotifnis lobs reformed in France, which had grown up 
 under the hereditary defpotifm of the monarchy, and became fa 
 rooted as to be in a great meafure independent ot it. Between the 
 monarchy, the parhament, and the church, there was a rivaljhip 
 of derpotifm ; befides the feudal delpotifm operating locally, and 
 the nunifterial defpotifm operating every-where. But Mr. Burke, 
 bv confidering the King as the only pofTible obje61 of a revoh, 
 fpeaks as if France was a village, in which every thing that pafifed 
 mufl be known to its commanding officer, and no opprefTion could 
 be a6led but what he could immediately controul. Mr. Burke 
 might have been in the Baftille his whole life, as well under Louis 
 XVI. as Louis XIV, and neither the one nor the other have known 
 that fuch a man as Mr. Burke exiftcd. The defpotic principles of 
 the government were the fame in both reigns, though the difpo- 
 (itions of the men were as remote as tyranny and benevolence. 
 
 What Mr. Buike confiders as a reproach to the French Revolu- 
 tion (that of bringing it forward under a reign more mild than the 
 preceding ones,) is one of its highefl honours. The revolutions 
 that have taken place in other European countries, have been ex- 
 cited by perfonal hatred. The rage was againll the man, and he 
 became the viffim. But, in the inflance of France, we fee a revo- 
 lution generated in the rational contemplation of the rights of man, 
 and diHinguifiiing from the beginning between perfons and princi- 
 ples. 
 
 But Mr. Burke appears to have no idea of principles when he is 
 contemplating governments. " Ten years ago (fays he) I could 
 ** have felicitated France on her having a government, without ea- 
 " quiring what the nature ot that government was, or how it was 
 *• adminiilered." Is this the language of a rational man ? Is this 
 the language of a heart feeling as it ought to feel for the rights and 
 happinefs of the human race ? On this ground Mr. Burke muft 
 compliment every government in the world, while the viftims who 
 fuifer under them,' whether fold into flavery, or tortured out of 
 cxiilence, are wholly forgotten. It is power, and not principles, 
 that Mr. Burke venerates ; and under this abominable depravity, 
 
 he is dlfqualified to judge between them. Thus much for his 
 
 opinion as to the occafions of the French revolution. I now pro- 
 ceed to other confidcrations. 
 
 I know a place in America called Point-no-Foint ; becaule as 
 you proceed along the fhore, gay and flowery as Mr. Burke's lan- 
 guage, it continually recedes and prefents iifelt at a diftance before 
 you ; but when yoti have got as far as you can go, there is no point 
 at a)!. Jufl thus it is with Mr. Burke's three hundred and fifty-fix 
 pages. It is therefore difficult to reply to him. But as the points 
 
 he 
 
( «5 ) 
 
 lie wiihes to eftabllfli may be inferred from what he abufei, It is in 
 
 his paradoxes that we muft lock for his arguments. 
 
 As to the tragic paintings by which Mr. Burke has outraged his 
 own indignation, and feeks to work upon that of his readers, they 
 are very well calculated for theatrical reprefentation where fafts are 
 manufa£lured for the fake oi (how, and accommodattd to produce, 
 through the weaknefs of fympathy, a weeping effea. But Mr. 
 Burke^fhouldrecolleft that he i.^ writing hillory, and not plays; 
 and that his readers will expeft truth, and not the fpcuting rant of 
 high-toned exclamation. 
 
 When we fee a man dramatically lamenting in a publication in- 
 tended to be believed, that " The age of chivalry is gone! that The 
 " ^/cr>' of Europe ts extivguifliedfor ever ! that The unbought grace 
 " of life, (if any one knows what it is) the cheap defence oj nations^ 
 •' the nurfe of manly jentiment and heroic enterprize, is gone /" and 
 all this becaufe ihe Quixote age of chivalry nonfenfe is gone, what 
 opinion can we form of his judgment, or what regard can we pay 
 to iiis ta£ls ? In the rhapfody of his indignation, he has difcovcred 
 a world of wind-mills, and his forrows are, that there are no Quix- 
 otes to attack them. But if the age of ariflocracy, like that of chi- 
 valry, (hould fall, apd they had originally fome connexion, Mr. 
 Burke, the trumpeter ot the Order, may continue his parody 
 to the end, and finifb with exclaiming — '•^Othello's occupation s gone !" 
 Notwithftanding Mr. Burke's horrid paintings, when the French 
 Revolution is compared with that of other countries the aflonifn- 
 ment will be, that it is marked with fo few facrifices ; but this a- 
 f^onilhment will ceafe when we refleft that principles, and not per- 
 
 fons, were the meditated objefts of deftruftion. The mind of the ^ 
 nation was afted upon by a higher flimulus than what the confidera- 
 tion of perfons could infpire, and fought a higher conqueft than 
 could be produced by the downfal of an enemy. Among the few 
 who fell there do not appear to be any that were intentionally fmg- 
 led out. They all of them had their fate in the circumftances of 
 the moment, and were not purfued with that long, cold-blcodcf^, 
 unabated revenge which purfued the unfortunate Scots in the afFau 
 
 of 1745. 
 
 Throuoh the whole of Mr. Burke's bock I do not Gbfervelhat 
 the Baftille is mentioned more than once, and that with a kind of 
 implication as if he were forry it was pulled down, and wifiied it 
 were built up again. " We have rebuilt Nev/gate *' (lays he,) and 
 ** tenanted the m.anfion ; and we have prifonsalmoft as ftrong us the 
 " Baftille for thofe who dare to libel the Queens oi France*." As to 
 
 what 
 
 * Since writing the above, two other places occur in Mr. 3"ike'ipar«- 
 phlet, ii which ihc caaic of the B.iftille is uicutidued, but Jn vhc fs»c 
 
( >6 ) 
 
 what a madman, like the perfon called Lord George Gordon, might 
 fay, and to whom Newgate is rather a Bedlam than a prifon, it is 
 unworthy a rational confideration. It was a madman that libe!led 
 — and that is falHcient apology ; and it afforded an opportunity for 
 confining him, which was the thing that was wifhed for: But cer- 
 tain it is that Mr. Burke, who does not call himfelf a madman, 
 whatever other people may do, has libelled, in the moft unprovoked 
 manner, and m the grofTeft ftile of the moft vulgar abufe, the whole 
 reprefentative authority of France ; and yet Mr. Burke takes his 
 feat in the Brltifh Houfe of Commons 1 From his violence and his 
 grief, his filence on fome points and his excefs on others, it is diffi- 
 cult not to believe that Mr. Burke is forry, extremely forry, that arbi- 
 trary power, the power of the Pope, and the Baftille, arepulled down. 
 
 Not one glance of compaffion, not one commiferating refleftion, 
 that I can find throughout his book, has he beftowed on thofe who 
 lingered out the moft wretched of lives, a life without hope, in the 
 moft miferable of prifons. It is painful to behold a man employ- 
 ing his talents to corrupt himfelf. Nature has been kinder to Mr, 
 Burke than he is to her. He is not afFefted by the reality ot diftrefs 
 touching his heart, but by the fhowy refemblance of it ftriking his 
 imagination. He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird. 
 Accuftomed to kifs the ariftocratical hand that hath purloined him 
 from himfelf, he degenerates into a compofition of art and the ge- 
 nuine foul ot nature forfakes him. His hero or his heroine muft be 
 a tragedy-viftim expiring in (how, and not the real prifoner of mi- 
 fery, fliding into death in the filence of a dungeon. 
 
 As Mr. Burke has palled over the whole tranfaftion of the Baf- 
 tille (and his filence is nothing in his favour,) and has entertained 
 *his readers with refleftions on fuppofed fafts diftorted real falfehoods, 
 I will give, fince he has not, fome account of the circumfteinces 
 which preceded that tranfaftion. They will ferve to fliow, that 
 lefs mifchief could fcarcely have accompanied fuch an event, when 
 confidered with the treacherous and hoftile aggravations of the ene- 
 mies of the Revolution. 
 
 The mind can hardly pifture to itfelf a more tremendous fcenc 
 than what the city oi Paris exhibited at the time of taking the Ba- 
 ftille, 
 
 manner. la the one, he introduces it In a fort of obfeure queftion, and 
 sllci— " Will any minifter* who now ferve fuch a king, with but a de- 
 cent appearance of refpeft, cordialljr ohcj the order* of thofe whom but 
 the other day in his name, ihey had coraraiiteJ to the Baftille ?" In the 
 other, the taking it i» mentioned a« implying criminality in the French 
 guards who adifted in demolitliing it.—" Thejr have not (fays he) for- 
 got the taking the king's caflles at Paris" — This ii Mr. Buike, wb» 
 pretend* tu write oa coafiitutioaal freedum. 
 
( >7 ) 
 
 ftille, and for two days before and after, nor conceive tlie pofTibility 
 of its quieting fo foon. At a diltance, this tranra6lion has appear- 
 ed only as an at! of heroifm, (landing on itfelf ; and the clofe po- 
 litical connexion it had with the Revolution is loll in the brilliancy 
 of the atchievement. But we are to confider it as the flrength of 
 the parties, brought man to man, and contending for the ilTue. The 
 Baftille was to be either the prize or the prifon ol the alTailants. — 
 The downfal of it included the idea of the downfal of Defpotifm ; 
 and this compounded image was become as figuratively united as 
 Bunyan's Doubting Caftle and Giant Defpair. 
 
 The National Aflembly, before and at ttie time of taking the 
 Baftille, was fitting at Verfailles, twelve miles diftant from Paris. — 
 About a week before the rifing of the Parifians,and their takuig the 
 Baftille, it was difcovered that a plot was terming, at the head ot 
 which was the Count d'Artois, the King's youngeft brother, for de- 
 molilhing the National Aflembly, feizing its members, and shert-by 
 crufhing, by a coup de main, all hopes and profpefts of formmg a 
 free government. For the fake of humanity, as well as of froe- 
 dom, it is well this plan did not fucceed. Examples are not want- 
 ing to Ihew how dreadfully vindi£live and cruel are all old govern- 
 ments, when they are fuccefsful againft what they call a revolt. 
 
 This plan muft have been fome time in contemplation ; becaufe 
 in order to carry it into execution, it was neceffery to colleft a large 
 military force round Paris, and to cut off the communication be- 
 tween that city and the National Afl"embly at Verfailles. The troops 
 deftined for this fervice were chiefly the foreign troops in the pay 
 of France, and who, for this particular purpofe, were drawn from 
 the diftant provinces where they were then ftationed. When they 
 were colle6led, to the amount ot between twenty five and thirty 
 thoufand, it was judged time to put the plan into execution. The 
 miniftry who were tlien in office, and who were friendly to the 
 Revolution, were inftantly.difmifTed, and a new miniftry formed 
 of thofe who had concerted the projeft ;— among whom was Count 
 de Broglio, and to his (hare was given the com.jnand oi thofe troops* 
 The charafter of this man, as delcribed to me in a letter which 1 com- 
 munica,ted to M. Burke before he began to write his book, and 
 from an authority which Mr. Burke well knows was good, was that 
 ot '* an high flying ariftocrat, '* cool, and capable of everv mif- 
 chief." 
 
 While thefe matters wexe agitating, the National AfTembly 
 ftood in the moft perilous and critical fituation that a body of men 
 can be fuppofed to aft in. They were the devoted victims, and 
 they knew it. They had the hearts and wlflies of their country on. 
 their fide, but military authority thev had r\one. The guards of 
 
 r ^ Broglio 
 
< lb ) 
 
 Brogllo furroiHvled the hall where the Affembly Tat, ready, at the 
 word of conimand, to fcize their perfons, as had been done the year 
 before to the parliament in-Paris. PIdfl the Naiional AiTembly de- 
 feried their trnO, or had tFley exhibited figns of \veaknefs' or fear, 
 their ene-nies had been encouraged, and the country deprelFed. 
 When the (itiiation they flood in, the caufe they were engaged in, 
 and the crifis then ready to bjrft which fhould determine their per- 
 fonal and political fate, and that of iheir country, and probably of 
 Europe, are laken into one view, none hut a heart callous with pre- 
 judice, or corrupted Dy dependence, can avoid iuterelling itfelf in 
 their fuccefs. 
 
 1 he Arch!)ii]iop of Vienne Wcis at this time prefidem of the Na- 
 tional Aflenibly ; a perfon too old to undergo the fcene that a few 
 davs, or a few hours, might luring forth. A man of more aftivity, 
 and bolder fortitude, was neceffary ; and the National AfTembly 
 chofe (under the form of a vice prefident, for the prefidency ftill 
 refided in the archbifhop) M. de la Fayette ; and this is the only in- 
 Ihmce of a vice -prefident being chofen. It was at the moment that 
 this llorm was pending (July ii) that a declaration of rights was 
 brougfit forward by M. de la Fayette, and is the fame which is 
 alluded to in page 1 1. It was haftily drawn up, and makes only a 
 part of a more extenfive declaration of rights, agreed upon and 
 adopted afterwards by the National Affembly. The particular rea- 
 fon for bringing it torward at this moment, (M. de la Fayette has 
 fmce informed me) was, that if the National AfTembly fhould fall in 
 the threatened deftruftion that then furrounded it, fome traces of its 
 principles might have the chance ot furviving the wreck. 
 
 FA'cry thing now was drawing to a crifis. l^he event was free- 
 dom or flavery. On one fide, an army of nearly thirty thoufand 
 men ; on the other, an unarmed body of citizens; for the citizens 
 of Paris, on whom the National AiTembly muft then immediately 
 4epend, were as unarmed and undifciplined as the citizens of Lon- 
 don are now. — The French guards had given flrong fymptoms of 
 their being attached to the national caufe ; but their numbers were 
 fmall, not a tenth part of the force that Broglio commanded, and 
 their officers were in the interefl of Broglio. 
 
 Matters being now ripe for execution, the new miniftry made 
 their appearance in oftice. The reader will carry in his mind, that 
 the Baftille was taken the 14th of July: the point of time I am now 
 fpeaking to, is the 12th. Immediately on the news of the change 
 of miniftry reaching Paris in the afternoon, all the play-houfes and 
 places of entertainment, fliops and houfes, were fhut up. The 
 change of miniftry was confidered and tfeeprelude of hoflillitieS, and 
 the opinion was rightly founded. 
 
 The 
 
( >9 ) 
 
 The foreign troops began to advance towards the city. The 
 Prince de Lambefc, who commanded a body ot German cavalry, 
 approaclied by the Place ot Louis XV. which connects iifelf with 
 lome ot the ftrects. In his march he infulted and flruck an old man 
 with his fword. The French are remarkable for their refpett to 
 old age, and the infolencc with which ii appeared to be done, united 
 with the general fermentation they were in, produced a poweiiuf 
 efFe6i, and a cry of To arms! to arms! ifpread iifelf in a moment 
 over the city. 
 
 Arms they had none, norfrarcely any who new the ufc oftheni; 
 btit defperate refolution, v/hcn every hope is at {lake, fupplies, for 
 a whi'e, the want of arms. Near where the Prince de Lambefc 
 was drawn up, were large piles of flones collected for building the 
 new bridge, and with thefe the people attacked the cavalry. A 
 party of the French guards upon hearing the firing, rufhed from 
 their quarters and joined the people; and night coming on the ca- 
 valry retreated. 
 
 The flreets oF Paris, being narrow, are favourable for defence; 
 and the loftinefs of the houfes, confiding of many ftories, from 
 which great annoyance might be given, fecurcd themagainft no61u- 
 ral enterprifes; and the night was ipent in providing themfelves with 
 every fort of weapon they could make or procure: Guns, fu^ords, 
 blackfmiths hammers, carpenters'* axes, iron crows, pikes, halberts, 
 pitchforks, fpits, clubs, occ. &c. 
 
 The incredible numbers with which they afTemblcd the next 
 morning, and the ftill more incredible refolution they exhibited, 
 embarraifed and aflonifhed their enemies. Little did the new mi- 
 niftry expe6l fuch a faluie. Accoflomed to flavery themfelves, 
 they had no idea that Liberty was capable of fuch infpiration, or 
 that a body of unarmed citizens would dare to face the military 
 force of thirty thoufand men. Every moment of this day was em- 
 ployed in colle6ling arms, concerting plans, and arrangmg them- 
 felves into the befl order which fuch an inflantaneous movement 
 could afford. Broglio continued lying round the city, but made no 
 further advances this day, and the fucceeding night paffed with as 
 much trafiquiiity as fuch a fcene could poiTibly produce. 
 
 But defence only was not the objc£l of the citizens. They had 
 a caufe at ftake, on which depended their freedom or their flaver)'. 
 They every moment expefted an attack, or to hear of one made on 
 the National Alfembly; and in fuch a fituation, the moll prompt 
 meafures are fometijnes the belt. The object that now prefented 
 itielf, was the Bailille; and the eclat of carrying fucli a fortrefs in 
 the face of fuch an army, could not fail' to faike a terror intcj 
 tfie new miniilry, who had fcarcely yet had time lo iiiect. By fome 
 
 intercepted 
 
( " ) 
 
 intercepted correfpondence this morning, it was difcovered, that the 
 Mayor o^ Paris, M. Defflefleres, who appeared to be in their inter- 
 eft, was betraying them : and frotn this difcovery, there remained 
 no doubt that BrogHo would reinforce the Baftille the enfuing even- 
 ing. It was thoereforc necelFary to attack it that day ; but before 
 this coaid be done, it was firft necefTary to procure a better fupply 
 of arms than they were then poflefTcd of. 
 
 There was adjoining to the city, a large magazine of arms depo- 
 fiied at ihe Kofpita] of the invalids, which the citizens fummonedto 
 furrender; and as ihe place was not defenfible, nor attempted much 
 defence, they loon fucceeded. Thus fupplied, they marched to 
 attack the Baftil'e; a vaft mixed multitude of all ages, and of all 
 degrees, and armed with all- forts of weapons. Imagination would 
 fail in defcribing to itfelf the appearance of fuch a procefTion, and of 
 the anxiety for the events which a few hours or a few minutes might 
 produce. What plans the miniftry were forming, was as unknown 
 to the people within the citv, as what the citizens were domg was 
 unknown to the miniftrv ; and what movements Broglio might 
 make for the fupport or relief of the place, were to the citizens e- 
 quaUy as unknown. All was myftery and haza^^d. 
 
 That theBaftillc was attacked with an enthufiafm of heroifm, fuch 
 only as the highell animation of liberty could infpire, and carried 
 in the fpace of a few hours, is an event which the world is fully pol- 
 iefl'ed of. I am not undertaking a detail of the attack but bringitig 
 *into view ihe confpiracy againft the nation which provoked it, and 
 which fell with the Baftille. The prifon to which the new miniftry 
 were dooming the National Aflembly, in addition to its being the 
 high altar and caftle of defpotifm, become the proper objeft to be- 
 gin with. This enterprife broke up the new miniftry, who began 
 now to fly from the ruin they had prepared for others. The troops 
 of Broglio difpcrfcd, and himfelf fled alfo. 
 
 Mr. Burke has fpoken a great deal about plots, but he has never 
 once fpoken of this plot againft the National Affembly, and the li- 
 berties of the nation; and that he might not, he has pafled over all 
 the circumftances thai might throw it in his way. The exiles who 
 have fled from France, whofe cafe he fo much interefts himfelf in, 
 and from whom he has had his lefTon, fled in confequence of the 
 mifcarriage of this plot. No plot was formed againft them : they 
 were plotting againft others; and thofe who fell, mei, not unjuftly, 
 the puniflirrent they were preparing to execute. But will Mr. 
 Burke fay, that if this plot, contrived with the fubtlety of an ambuf- 
 cade, had fucceeded, the fuccefsful party would have reftrained 
 their wrath fo foon ? Let the hiftory of all old government anfwer 
 the queftion. 
 
 Whom 
 
( ^> ) 
 
 Whom lias the National Aflembly brought to the fcafFold? None. 
 They were themfelves the devoted viftims of this plot, and they 
 have not retaliated ; why then are they charged with revenge they 
 have not a£led ? In the tremendiious breaking forth of a whole peo- 
 ple, in which all degrees, tempers and chara6lers are confounded, 
 and delivering themlelves, by a miracle oF exertion, from the de- 
 ftruftion meditated againlt them, is it to be expe6^cd that nothing 
 will happen ? When men are fore ^vith the fenfe of oppreffions, and 
 menanced with tlie profpeft of new ones, is the caimnefs of philo- 
 fophy, or the pally of infenfibility, to be looked for ? Mr. Burke 
 exclaims againft outrage ; yet the greateft is that which he himfelf 
 has committed. His book is a volume of outrage, not apologized 
 for bv the impuife of a moment, but cherifhed through a fpace of 
 ten months ; yet Mr. Burke kad no provocation, no lite, no intereft 
 at flake. 
 
 More of the citizens fell in this flruggle than of their opponents : 
 but tour or five perfons were feized by the populace, and inftantly 
 put to death; the Governor of the Baftille, and the Mayor of Paris, 
 who was detefted in the a6l of betraying them; and afterwards Fou- 
 jon, one of the new miniftry, and Berthier his fon-inJaw, who had 
 accepted the office of Intendant of Paris. Their heads were ftuck 
 upon fpikes, and carried about the city; and it is upon this mode of 
 puniOiment that Mr Burke builds a great part of his tragic fcene. 
 Let us therefore examine how men came by the idea of punifliipg 
 in this manner. 
 
 They learn it from the governments they live under, and retali- 
 ate the punifhment they have been accuftorned to behold. The 
 heads ftuck upon fpikes, which remain for years upon Temple-bar, 
 differed nothing in the horror of the fcene from thofe carried about 
 upon fpikes at Paris : yet this was done by the Englifh government. 
 It may perhaps be faid, that it fignifies nothing to a man what is 
 done to him after he is dead; but it fignifies much to the living : it 
 either tortures their feelings, or hardens their hearts ; and in ci- 
 ther cafe, it inftru6ls them how to punifli when power falls in their 
 hands. 
 
 Lay then the axe to the root, and teach government humanity. 
 It is their fanguinary punifhments which corrupt mankind. In 
 England, the punifhment in certain cafes, is by hanging, drawings 
 and quartering; the heart of the fufferer is cut out, and held up to 
 the view ot the populace. In France under the former government, 
 the punifhments were not lefs barbarous. Who does not remember 
 the execution of Damicn, torn to pieces by the horfes ? The effeft 
 of thofe cruel fpeftacles exhibited to the populace, is to deftroy 
 lendernef?, or to ex^cite revenge ; and by the bafs and falfe idea of 
 
 governing 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 governing men by terror, inftead of reafon, they become precedents. 
 It is over the loweft clafs of mankind that government by terror is 
 intended to operate, and it is on them that it operates to the worft 
 efFeft. They have fenfe enough to feel they are the objefts aimed at; 
 and they infli61 in their turn the examples of terror they have been 
 inflrufted to praflife. 
 
 There is in all European countries, a large clafs of people of that 
 defcripiion which in England is called the '* mob.*' Of this clafs 
 were thofe who committed the burnings and devaftations in London 
 in 1780, and of this clafs were thofe who carried the heads upon 
 fpikes in Paris. Foulon and Berthier were taken up in the coun- 
 try, and fent to Paris, to undergo their examination at the Hotel dc 
 ViUe; for the National AfTembly, immediately on the new miniflry 
 coming into office, pafTed a decree, which they communicated to 
 the King and Cabinet, that they (the National Aflembly) would hold 
 the rainiftry, of which Foulon was one, refponfible for the meafuies 
 they were advifmg and purfuing ; but the mob, incenfed at the ap- 
 pearance of Foulon and Berthier, tore them from their condu6lors 
 before they were carried to the Hotel de Ville, and executed them 
 on the fpot. Why then does Mr. Burke charge outrages of this 
 kind on a whole people ? As well may he charge the riots and out- 
 rages of 1780 on all the people of London, or thofe in Ireland on 
 all his countrymen. 
 
 But every thing we fee or hear ofFenfive to our feelings, and de- 
 rogatory to the human charafter, fhould lead to other refleftions 
 than thofe of reproach. Even the beings who commit them have 
 fome claim to our confideration. How then is it that luch vaft 
 claJGfes of mankind as are diflinguifhed by the appellation of the 
 vulgar, or the ignorant mob, are fo numerous in all old countries ? 
 The inflant we alk ourfelves this queflion, reflexion feels an an- 
 fwer. They arife, as an unavoidable confequence;^ out of the ill 
 ronflruftion of all old governments in Europe, England included 
 with the reft. It is by diftortedly exalting fome men, that others are 
 diftortedly debafed, till the whole is out of nature. A vaft mafs of 
 mankind are degradedly thrown into the back-ground of the human 
 pifture, to bring forward, with greater glare, the puppet-fhow of 
 ftate and ariftocracy. In the commencement of a Revolution, thofe 
 men are rather the followers of a ca?7ip than of \ht Jlandard of li- 
 berty, and have yet to be inftrufted how to reverence it. 
 
 I give to Mr. Buike all his theatrical exaggerations for fafts, and 
 I then aflt him, if they do not eftablifli the certainty of what I here 
 lay down ? Admitting them to be true, they ftiew the ncceffity of 
 the French Revolution, as much as any one thing he could have 
 afTerted. Thefe outrages were not the effea of the principles of 
 
 the 
 
t 23 ) 
 
 the Revolution, but of the degraded mind that exifted before the 
 Revolution, and which the Revolution is calculated to reform — 
 Place them then to their proper caufe, and take the reproach ot them 
 to your own fide. 
 
 It is to the honour of the National Aflcmbly, and the city of Pa- 
 ris, that during fuch a tremendous fcene of aims and confufion, 
 beyond the controul of all authority, they have been able, by the 
 influence of example and exhortation, to reftrain fo much. Never 
 were more pains taken to inflruft and enlighten mankind, and to 
 make them fee that their inferefl confilled in their virtue, and not 
 in their revenge, than have been difplayed in the Revolution o£ 
 
 France. 1 now proceed to naake fome remarks on Mr. Buikc's 
 
 account of the expedition to Verlailles, Oftober 5th and 6th. 
 
 I cannot confider Mr. Burke's book in fcarcely any other light 
 than a dramatic performance; and he mufl 1 think, have confidcred 
 it in the fame light himfelf, by the poetical liberties he has taken of 
 omitting fome fafts, diftorting others, and making the whole ma- 
 chinery bend to produce a ftage efFeft. Of this kind is his account 
 of the expedition to Verfailles. He begins this account by emit- 
 ting the only fafts, which as caufes are known to be true; every 
 thing beyond thefe is conjefture even in Paris ; and he then works 
 up a tale accommodated to his own paflions and prejudices. 
 
 It is to be obferved throughout Mr. Burke's book, that he never 
 fpeaks of plots againft the Revolution ; and it is from thofe plots 
 that all the mifchiefs have arifen. It fuits his purpoi'e to exhibit the 
 confequences without their caufes. It is one of the arts o\ the dra- 
 ma to do fo. If the crimes of men were exhibited with their fuF- 
 ferings, ftage effeft would fometimes be loft, and the audience would 
 be inclined to approve where it was intended they fhouKl commire- 
 rate. 
 
 After all the inveftigations that have been made into this intricate 
 affair, (the expedition to Verfailles) it ftill remains enveloped in all 
 that kind of myftery which ever accompanies events produced more 
 from a concurrence of awkward circumftances than from fixed de- 
 fign. While the charafters ol men are forming, as is always the 
 cafe in revolutions, there is a reciprocal fufpiciosi, and a dirpolitioii 
 to mifinterpret each other ; and even parties Jireflly oppofite in 
 principle, will fometimes concur in pulhmg forward the fame move- 
 ment with very different views, and with the hopes of its producing 
 very different confequences. Agreatdealofthlsmay be difcovcrcd in 
 this embarraffed affair, and yet the iffue uf the wliole was what no- 
 body had in view. 
 
 The only things certainly known, are, thit confiderab'e uneau^ 
 n^h was at this time excited at Paris, by the deUy of the King in 
 
 not 
 
{ 24 ) 
 
 not fan£tioning and iurwarding the decrees of the Natloiia! Aflembly, 
 particularly that ot the Declaration of the rights of 7nan, and the 
 decrees of ihe JouriJi of Augufi^ which contained the foundation 
 principles on which the coniiitution was to be erected. The kind- 
 eft, and perhaps the faireft conje£lurc upon this matter is, that 
 fome of the minifters intended to make remarks and obfervations 
 upon certain parts of them, before they were finally fan6iioned and 
 lent to the provinces; but be this as it may, the enemies of the re- 
 volution derived hope from the delay, and the friends of the revo- 
 lution, uneafinels. 
 
 During this (late of fufpence, the Garde du Corps, which was 
 compofed, as fuch regiments generally are, of perfons much con- 
 nefted with the Court, gave an entertainment at Verfailles (06f. i,) 
 to fome foreign regiments then arrived ; and when the entertain- 
 ment was at the height, on a fignal given, the Garde du Corps tore 
 the National cockade from then- hats, trampled it under toot, and 
 replaced it with a counter cockade prepared for the purpole. An 
 indignity of tliis kind amounted to defiance. It was like declaring 
 war ; and if men will give challenges, they muft expecl confequen, 
 ces. But all this Mr. Burke has carefully kept out of fight. He 
 begins his account by faying *' Hiftory will record, that on the morn- 
 *' ing of the 6th of 061. 1789, the King and Queen of France after 
 ** a day of confufion, alarm, difmay, and flaughter, lay down un- 
 " der the pledged fecurity of public faith, to indulge nature in a few 
 " hours refpite, aad troubled melancholy repofe." This is neither 
 the fober ftile of hiftory, nor the intention of it. It leaves every 
 thing to be guefled at, ' and miftaken. One would at leaft think 
 there had been a battle ; and a battle there probably would have 
 been, had it not been for the moderating prudence of thofe whom 
 Mr. Burke involves in his cenfures. By his keeping the Garde du 
 Corps out of fight, Mr. Burke has afforded himlelf the dramatic li- 
 cence of putting the King and Queen in their places, as if the objeft 
 of the expedition was againft them. — But, to return to my account. 
 This conduft of the Gaide du Corps, as might well be expetled, 
 alarmed and enraged the Parifians. The colours of the caufe, and 
 the caufe ilfelf, were become too united to miftake the intention 
 of the infult, and the Parifians were determined to call the Garde 
 du Corps to an account. There was certainly nothing of the cow- 
 ardice of afTafTmation in marching in the face of day to demand fa- 
 tisfaftion, if fuch a phrafe may be uicd, of a body of armed men 
 who had voluntarily given defiance. But the circumitance which 
 ferve to throw this affair into embarniirment is, that the enemies of 
 the revolution appear to have encouraged it, as wellas its friends. 
 The cne hoped 10 prevtiut a civil war by checking it in time, and 
 
 the 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 the other to make one. The hopes of thofe oppofed to the revolu- 
 tion, refted in making the King of their party, and getting hiip Irom 
 Verfailles to Metz, where they expe6led lo coileft a force, and fet 
 up a llandard. We have therefore two differer.t objefts prcfenting 
 themfelves at the fame time, and to be accompliflicd by the iariic 
 means: the one, to chaftife the Garde du Corps, which was the ob- 
 je6l of the Parifians ; the other to render the confufion of fuch a 
 fcene an inducement to the King to fet off for Mctz. 
 
 On the 5th of Oftober, a very numerous body of women, and 
 men in the difguife of women, coilefted round the Hotel de Ville, 
 or town-hall at Paris, and fet off for Verfailles* Their profelTed 
 obje£l was the Garde du Corps ; but prudent men readily recoliefted 
 that mifchief is more readily begun than ended ; and this imprefied 
 itfelf with the more force, from the fufpicions already flated, and 
 the irregularity of fuch a cavalcade. As foon therefore as a fufHci- 
 cient force could be collefted M. de la Fayette, by orders from the 
 civil authority of Paris, fet oft after them at the head of twenty 
 thoufand of the Paris militia. The revolution could derive no be- 
 nefit from confufion, audits oppofers might. By an amiable and 
 fpirited manner of addrefs, he had hitherto been fortunate in calm- 
 ing difquietudes, and in this he was extraordinarily fuccefsfui ; to 
 fruffrate, therefore, the hopes of thofe who might feek to improve 
 this fcene into a fort of juflifiable neceility for the King's quitting 
 Verfailles and withdrawing to Metz, and to prevent at the fame 
 time, the confcquences that might enfue between the Garde du. 
 Corps and this phalanx of men and women, he forwarded expreffes 
 to the King, that he was on his march to Verfailles, by the orders 
 of the civil authority of Paris, for the purpofe of peace and protec- 
 tion, exprefTmg at the fame time the neceflity of reftraining the 
 Giirde du Corps from firing upon the people*. 
 
 He arrived at Verfailles between ten and eleven at night. The 
 Garde du Corps was drawr; up, and the people had arrived fome time 
 before, but every thing had remained fufpended. Wifdom and po- 
 licy now confifted in changing a fcene of danger into a happy event. 
 M. de la Fayette became the mediator between the enraged parties ; 
 and the King, to remove the uneafincfs which had arifen from the 
 delay already ffated, fent tor the Prefident of the National Affemblv, 
 and figned the Dtdaraiion of the rights of Man, and fuch other 
 parts of the conftitution as were in readincfs. 
 
 It was now about one in the morning. Every thing appeared to 
 be compofed, and a general congratulation took place. By the beat 
 
 D ' of 
 
 * I am warranted in affertiag this, as I had it perfonill.r from M, 
 de la Fajreue, with whom I have lived in luuiis oi frier.dth:p for four- 
 teen years. 
 
{ 26 } 
 
 of drum a procbrnaiion mas naHe, that the ciiircris of Verfailles 
 would (^ive the holpitalitv of their houfes to their fello-.v-ci;!.: .i; of 
 Paris. Thofe who couid noi be accoramodaied in thiN manner, le* 
 mained in the ftreets, or took r.p their quarters in the churches; 
 anJ zt two o'clock the King and Qaeen reiired. 
 
 In this fraie matters pa fled tiU the break ot day, when a frcHi dif- 
 ti:;b3nce arofe from the ceriiarao'e co-iduS of fomeof both parties, 
 for fuch characters there will be in all fuch fcenes. One of the 
 Garde du Cr^i^s appeared at one of tfc^ windows of the palace, and 
 the peor.'e who had remained during :h? r.i jht in :be itreets accoHed 
 him ,»ith reviling and provocative language. Inllesd of retiring, 
 as in fuch a cafe prudence would have dictated, he prefented his 
 maflcet, fired, and killed one of the Paris militia. The peace be- 
 ina ihus broken, the people ruihed into the palace in queft of the 
 oiTendcr. They attacked the quarters of the Garjy du Corps within 
 the palace, and puiiued them thrnughouc the avenues of it, and to 
 the apanment? of the Kinj. On ibis tumult, not the Queen only, 
 as Mr. Burke has reprefen-ed i*. but everv perfon in the palace, 
 was awakened and alarmed; ana M. de la Fayette had a fecond time 
 to interpufe between the panics, the event of which was, that the 
 Garde du Corps put 0!i the national cockade, and the matter ended 
 as bv oblivion, at'er the lofsof two or three lives. 
 
 During the latter part of the time in which this confufion was ail- 
 ing, the King and Queen were in public at the balcony, and nei- 
 ther of them concealed for fafetv's fake, as Mr. Burke inhnuates. 
 Mailers being thus appeafed, and tranquillity reftored, a general 
 acclamation broke forth, of Ls Roi a Paris — Le Rot a Paris — The 
 King of Paris. It was the fliout of peace, and immediate-y accept- 
 ed on the part of the King. Bv tbis meafure, all future proje£ts 
 of trepanning the King to i\Ietz,'and fetting up the flandard of op- 
 [ oCtxon lo the conllituiion, were prevented, and the lufpicions ex- 
 tingnifbed. The King and his family reached Paris in the evcxiing, 
 and were congratulated on their arrival by M- Bailiey the Mayor of 
 Paris, in the name of the citizens. Mr. Burke who throughout 
 his book confounds things, perfons, and principles, h«5 in his re- 
 marks on M. Bailley's addrefs, confounded time alfo. He cenfures 
 M. Baiiley for calling it, '* un bonjour," a good day. Mr. Burke 
 fhould have informed himfelf, that this fcene took up the fpace ot 
 two days, the day on which it began with ever)* appearance of dan- 
 ger and mifchief, and the day on which it terminaied wiihout the 
 mifchiefs that threatened : and that it is to this peaceful terminati- 
 on that M. Baiiley alludes, and to the ai rival of the King at Paris. 
 Not lefs than three hundred thoufanJ perfons arranged themfelves in 
 the procefijon from Verfailles to Paris, and not aa acl of molelfati- 
 oo yeas committed during tie whois march, Mf, 
 
27 
 
 Mr. Burke, on the amhority of xM. Lilly TglleuJal. a dcfeiter 
 from (he Xdiional AfTembly, fays, that oa enterina Paris, tiie peo- 
 ple fliou[ed, *' lous les eveques a la lanUrncy All bifhops to be 
 hanged at the lanthorn or lamp poOs.— It is iurprifmg that noboriy 
 couM heui this but Lally Tollenda-, and that nobody Ihould believe 
 it but Mr. Burke. It has not the leaii connexion v/irh any part of 
 tlie tran faction, and is totally foreign to every circumftance of it. 
 The bifhops had never been introduced before into any fcene of 
 Mr. Burke's drama : Why then are they, all at once, and alioae.hcr, 
 tout a coup ettous enfemble, introduced now ? Mr. Burke brings for- 
 ward hisL:C-e3ps and his lanthorn like figures in a magic iamhorn, 
 and raifes L;- fcenes by contrafl inflead of connexion. But it ferves 
 to fhcK, with the refl of his book, what little credit ought to be gi- 
 ven, where even a probability is let at defiance, for the^'purpoie of 
 defaming; and with this refletnon, inftead of a foliloquy in praife 
 ol chivalry, ?s Mr. Burke has done, I clofe the account of the ex- 
 pedition to Verfailles*. 
 
 I have now to follow Mr. Burke through a pathlefs v.-ilrtemefs of 
 rh^apfodies, and a fort of defcant upon governments, in which he 
 aiferts whatever he pleafcs, on the prefumpiion of its being believed, 
 wiihout offering either evidence or reafons for fo doing. ^ 
 
 Before any thing can be reafoned upon to a conclufion, certain 
 faa?, principles,' or data, to reafon from, muR be ertabllfned, ad- 
 mitted, or denied. Mr. Burke, wirh his ufual ouirage, abufes the 
 Dedaration of the rights of Man, publifiied by tiie National Aflembly 
 ot France as the bafis on v/hich the conflitution of France is builr. 
 This he calls " paitr)- and blurred fheeis of paper about the rights of 
 man." — Does Mr. Burke mean to deny that nian has any rights? If 
 he does, then he mull mean that there' are no fuch things as rights 
 any where, and that he has nonehimfelf; forwhoisiheremthe wmld 
 but man? But if Mr. Burke means to admit that man has riffhts, the 
 queffion then will be, what are ihofe rights, and how came'^mak by 
 them origrinallv ? 
 
 The error of thofe who reafon by piecedents drawn from antiqui- 
 ty, refpecling the rights of man, is, that they do not go far enough 
 into antiquity. They do not go the whole' way.. They flop in 
 lome of the intermediate flages of an hundred or a thouland years, 
 and produce what was then done as a rule for the prefent day! 
 This is no authority^at all. If we travel ftiil farther into antiquity, 
 we fhali find' a direct contrary opinion and practice prevailing; 
 and if antiquiiy is to be authority, a thoufaud iuch au horities may 
 be produced, fucceflively contr'aditling each ctner: but if we pro- 
 ceed 
 
 * An accouDt of ib« expidition to Verfaih'ea mir be leen ia No. r;. 
 of ihe RevolutiGnde Paris, concaiaing liie erects from the td to the 
 loih of Oaober, 17S;. 
 
{ 28 ) 
 
 Gced on, we fliall at lafl; come out right ; we {hall corns to the time 
 wiien man came from the hand of his Maker. What was he then? 
 *Man. Man was his high and only title, and a higher cannot be 
 given him — But of titles I (hall fpcak hereafter. 
 
 We are now got at the origin of man, and at the origin of his 
 rights. As to ihe manner in which the world has been governed 
 from that day to this, it is no farther any concern of ours than to 
 make a proper ai'e ol the errors or the improvements which the hif- 
 tory of it prefents. Thofe who lived a hundred or a thoufand years 
 ago, were then moderns as we are now. They had their ancients, 
 and thofe ancients had others, and we alfo {hall be anc'ents in our 
 tbirn. If the m.ere name of antiquity is to govern in ti^e affairs of 
 life, the people who are to live an himdred or a thoufand years 
 hence, Mnay as well take us for a precedent, as we make a prece- 
 dent of tho'e who lived an hundred or a thoufand years ago. The 
 fa61; is, that portions of antiquity, by proving every thing, eftabli{h 
 nothing, it is authority againft authority all the way, till we come 
 to the divine origin of the rights of man at the creation. Here our 
 enquiries find a refting-place, and our reafon finds a home. If a 
 difputc about the rights of man had arifen at the di{lance of an hun- 
 dred years from the creation, it is to this fource of authority they 
 inufl have referred, and it is to the fame fource of authority that we 
 niuft now refer. 
 
 Though -I mean not to touch upon any fe6farian principle of re- 
 ligion, yet it may be worth obferving, that the genealogy of Chri{l 
 is traced to Adam. Why then not trace the rights of man to the 
 creation of man ? I will anfwcr the queftion. Becaufe there have 
 been upftart governments, thrulfing themfelves between, and pre- 
 ,iumptuou{ly working to un-viake man. 
 
 If any generation of men ever pofTeffed the right of di£lating the 
 mode by which the world (hould be governed for ever, it was the 
 firft generation that exifted; and if that generation did it not, no fuc- 
 ceeding generation can fliew any authority for doing it, nor can fet 
 any up. The iHuminating and divine principle ot the equal rights 
 of man, (For it has its origin from the Maker of man) relates not 
 only to the Jiving individuals, but to generations of men fucceed- 
 jng each other. Every generation is equal in rights to the genera- 
 tions which preceded it, by the fame rule that every individual is 
 born equal in rights with his cotemporary. 
 
 Every hiftory of the creation, and every traditionary account 
 whether from the lettered or unlettered world, however they may 
 vary in their opinion or belief of certain particulars, all agree in 
 eflabliflring one point, the unity of man; by which I mean that men 
 5ire all ol one degree^ and confequently that all men are born equal, 
 
 and 
 
( >9 ) 
 
 «nd with equal natural right, in the fame manner as if poftsrity had 
 been continued by creation inftead oi generation, the latter bsing on- 
 ly the mode by which the former is carried forward ; and confe- 
 quently, every child born into the world mud be confi.lered as de^ 
 riving its exiftence from God. The world is as new to him as it 
 was to the firft man that exifled, ar\d hi'? natural right in it is of the 
 fame kind. 
 
 The Molaic account of the creation, whether taken as divine au- 
 thority, or merely hiUorical, is full to this point, tke unify or equa- 
 lity of man. The expreffions admit of no coniroverfy. *' And God 
 *' faid, Let us make^man in our own image. In the image of God 
 " created he him. ; male and female created he them." The dif- 
 tinftion of fexes is pointed out, but no o:;her diftinftion is even im- 
 plied. If this be notdivine authority, it is at leall hilforical autho- 
 rity, and fhews that the equality of man, fo far from being a mo- 
 dern doftrine, is the oldeft upon record. 
 
 It is alio to be obferved, that all the religions known in the world 
 are founded, fo iar they relate to man, on the unity of man. as be- 
 ing all ol one degree. Whether in Heaven or in hell, or in what- 
 ever Hate man may be fuppofed to exilt hereaiter, the good and the 
 bad are the only diftin6lions. Nay, even the laws of governments 
 are obliged to flide into this principle, by making degrees to con- 
 lift in crimes, and not in perfons. 
 
 It is one of the greateft of all truths, and of the highcft advantage 
 to cultivate. By confidering man in this light, and by inftru6ling 
 him to confider himfelf in this light, it places him in a clofe con- 
 nexion with all his duties, whether to his Creator, or to the crea- 
 tion, of which he is a part : and it is only when he forgets his origin, 
 or to ufe a more lalhionable phrafe, his birtk and family, that he 
 becomes diffolute. It is not among the leaft of the evils of the pre- 
 fent exifting governments in all parts of Europe, that man, con- 
 fidered as man, is thrown back to a vail diftance fro.ii his Maker, 
 and the artificial chafm filled up by a fucceffion of Carriers, or 
 fort of turnpike gates, through which he has to pafs, I -.vill quote 
 Mr. Burke's catalogue of barriers that he ha." fet up belv/cen man 
 and his Maker. Putting himielf in the chara6fer ol a iierald, he 
 fays — *• We fear God— we look with awe to kings — with alFeBlon 
 " to parliaments — with duty to magiitrates — with reverence to 
 " priefts, and with refpe6l to nobility." Mr. Burke has forgotten 
 to put in " chivalry y He has alfo forgotten to put in Peter. 
 
 The duty of man is not a wildernefs of turnpike gates, through 
 which he is to pafs by tickets from one to the other. It is plain and 
 fmiple, and confills but of two points. His duty to God, which 
 every man muft feel; and with refpe^l to his neighbour, to do as he 
 
 would 
 
( 3° ) 
 
 would be (lone by. 1\' thofe to whom power is delegated do well, 
 they will be refpefted; it not, they will be defpifed; and with re- 
 gard to thofe to whom no power is delegated, but who afTume it, 
 the rational world can know nothing of them. 
 
 Hitherto we have fpoken only (and that but in part) of the natural 
 rlglits of man. We have now to confider the civil rights- of man, 
 and to (hew how ihc one originates from the other. Man did not 
 enter into fociety to become zvorjg than he was before, nor to have 
 fewer lights than he had before, but to have thofe rights better fe- 
 cured. His natural rights are the foundation of all his civil rights. 
 But in order to purfue this diftinftion with more precifion, it will 
 be neceffary to mark the different qualities of natural and civil 
 rights. 
 
 A few words will explain this. Natural rights are thofe which 
 appertain to man in right of his exiflence. Of this kind are all the 
 intelleftual rights, or rights of the mind, and alfo thofe rights of 
 a6ling as an individual for his own comfort and happinefs, which are 
 not injurious to the natural rights of others. — Civil rights are thofe 
 which appertain to man in right of his being a member of fociefy. 
 Every civil right has for its foundation fome natural right pre-exift- 
 ing in the individual, but to the enjoyment of which his individual 
 power is not, in all cafes, fufficiently competent. Of this kind are 
 all thofe which relate to fecurity and proteftion. 
 - From this fhort review, it will be eafy to diftinguifti between that 
 clafs of natural rights which man retains after entering into fociety, 
 and thofe which he throws into the common flock as a member of 
 fociety. 
 
 The natural rights which he retains, are all thofe in which the 
 i?ower to execute it as perfeft in the individual as the right itfelf. — 
 Among this clafs, as is before mentioned, are all the intelle6tual 
 rights, or the rights of the mind ; confequently Religion is one of thofe 
 rights. The natural rights which are not retained, are all thofe in 
 which, though the right is perfeft in the individual, the power to 
 execute them is deieftive. They anfwer not his purpofe. A man, 
 by natural right, has a right to judge in his own caufe ; and lo far 
 as the right of the mind is concerned, he never furrenders it : But 
 what availeth it him to judge, if he has not power to redrels ? He 
 therefore depofits this right in the common ffock of fociety, and 
 takes the arm of fociety, of which he is apart, in preference and in 
 addition to his own. Society grants him nothing. Every man is 
 a proprietor in fociety, and draws on the capital as a matter of right. 
 
 From tliefe premifes, two or three certain conclufions will follow. 
 
 Firff, That every civil right grows out of a natural right ; or, in 
 ©ther words, is a natural right exchanged. 
 
 ' Secondly, 
 
( 3i ) 
 
 Secondly, That civil power, properly confidered as luch, is 
 made up of the aggregate of thalclafs ot the natural rights of man, 
 which becomes defe£live in the individual in point of power, and 
 anfwers not hispurpofe, but when colltfted to a focus, becomes 
 competent to the purpofe of every one. 
 
 Thirdly, That the power produced from the aggregate of natural 
 rights, imperfeft in power in the individual, cannot be applied to 
 invade the natural rights which are retained in the individual, and 
 in which the power to execute is as perfeQ as the right itfelf. 
 
 We have now in a few words, traced man from a natural indi- 
 vidual to a member of fociety, and fhewn or endeavoured to fhew, 
 the quality of the natural rights retained, and of thofe which are 
 exchanged for civil rights. Let us now apply thefe principles to 
 governments. 
 
 In calling our eyes over the world it is extremely eafy to diftin- 
 guifti the governments which have arifcn out of fociety, or out oi 
 the focial compaft, from thofe which have not : But to place this in 
 a clearer light than what a fingle glance may afford, it will be proper 
 to take a review of the feveral fources from which governments have 
 arifen, and on which they have been founded. 
 
 They may be all comprehended under three heads. Firft, Super- 
 Hi urion. Secondly, Power. Thirdly, the common interell of 
 focieiy, and the common rights of man. 
 
 The firft was a government of prieft-craft, the fecond of con- 
 conqnerjrs, and the third of reafon. 
 
 When a fet of artful men pretended, through the medium of 
 oracles, to hold intercourfe with the Deity, as familiarly as they 
 now march up the back-ftairs in European courts, the world was 
 completely under the government of fuperflltion. The oracles 
 were confulted, and whatever they were made to fay became the 
 law ; and this fort of government lafled as long as this fort of fu- 
 perflition lafled. 
 
 After thefe a race of conquerors arofe, whofe government, like 
 that of William the Conqueror, was founded in power, and the 
 fword afTumed the name of a fceptre. Governments thus eflablifh- 
 ed, lafl as long as the power to fupport them lafls; but that they 
 might avail themfelves of every engine in their favour, they united 
 fraud to force, and fet up an idol which they called Divhu Right, 
 and which, in imitation of the Pope, who effe61s toba fpiritual and 
 temporal, and in contradi6lion to the founder of the Chriflian Re- 
 ligion, twilled iifelf afterwards into an idol of another fhape, called 
 Church and State, The key of St. Peter, and the key of the Trea- 
 fury, became quartered on one another, and the wondering clieated 
 multitude worlhipped the invention. ^ 
 
 Whea 
 
( 3-- ) 
 
 When I contemplate tlie natural dignity of man; wlien I feci, 
 (for Nature has not been kind enough to blunt my feelings) for ihe 
 honour and happinefs of its character, I become irritated at the at- 
 tempt to govern mankind bv force and fraud, as if they were all 
 knaves and fools, and can fcarcely avoid difguft at thofe who are 
 thus impofed upon. 
 
 We have now to reveiw the governments which arife out of 
 fociety, in contradiftin£lion to thofe which arofe out ot fupeiilition 
 and conqueft. 
 
 It has been thought a confiderable advance towards eftabliOiing 
 the prmciples of Freedom, to fay, that government is a compitS 
 between thofe who govern and thofe who are governed : but this 
 cannot be true, becaufe it is putting the efFeft before the caufe; 
 for as man muft have exifted before governments exifted, there ne- 
 ceflarily was a time when governments did not exift, and confe- 
 quently there could originally exift no governors to form fuch a 
 compaft with. The ta8; therefore mull be, that the individuals 
 themfihes, each in his own perfonal and fovereign right, entered in- 
 to a compact with each other to produce a government : and this is 
 the only mode in which governments have a right to arife, and the 
 only principle on which they have aright to exift. 
 
 To pofTeis ourfelves of a clear idea of what government is, or 
 eught to be, we muft trace it to its origin. In doing this, we (hall 
 eafily difcover that governments muft have arifen, either out of the 
 people, or over the people. Mr. Burke has made no diftin61ion. 
 Ke inveftigates nothing to its fource, and therefore he confounds 
 every thing : but he has fignifted his intention of undertaking at 
 fome future opportunity, a comparifon between the conftitutions of 
 England and France. As he thus renders it a fubje61: of controver- 
 fy by throwing the gauntlet, I take him upon his own ground. It 
 is in high challenges that high truths have the right ot appearing ; 
 and I accept it with the more readinefs, becaufe it affords me, at 
 the fame time, an opportunity of purfuing the fubject with refpeft 
 to governnitnts arifmg out ot fociety. 
 
 But it will be firft nectlFary to define what is meant by a conjii- 
 tution. It is not fufficient that we adopt the word ; we muft fix alfo 
 a ftandard fignificaiion to it. 
 
 A conilitution is not a thing in name only, but in faft. It has 
 not an ideal, but a real exiftence ; and wherever it cannot be pro- 
 duced in a vifible form, there is none. A conftitution is a thing 
 Antecedent to di gov eTnmeniy and a government is only the creature 
 of a conftitutio'n. The conftitution ot a country is not the a6l ot its 
 government, but of the people ccnftituting a government. ^ It is 
 thebodv ofc.kment?, to whicli you can refer, and quote article by 
 
 article: 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 article; and which contains the principles on which the go- 
 vernment {hall be eftablilhed, the manner in which it fliall be or.i^a- 
 nized, the powers it fhall have, the mode ot elections, the duration 
 of parliaments, or by what other name Inch bodies may be cal'ed; 
 the powers which the executive part ot the government Ihall have; 
 and in fine, every thing that reiaies to the ct-mplet^ oig-mizaiioii 
 of a civil government, and the principles on which it (ha'iatt, and 
 by which it (hall be bound. A conftitiiiion, therefore is to a go- 
 vernment, what the laws miade aUerwaid^ by ihar government, aie 
 to a court of judicature. The court o{ judicatuie does not make 
 the laws, neither can it alter them ; it on'y afcfs in conformity to the 
 laws made; and the government is in like manner governed by the 
 conflitution. 
 
 Can then Mr. Burke produce the Englifh conflliuilon ? If he can- 
 not, we may now falr'y conckide, that though it has been fo much 
 talked about, no fuch thing as a conituution exiit, or ever did exiii, 
 and conf^ijaently that the people have yet a conlluution to torm. 
 
 Mr. Burke will not, I prefume, deny the pohtion I have alieady 
 advanced; namely, that governments ari(e either <?m^ of the people 
 or over the people. The Englifh government is one of ihofe 
 which arofe out ot a conqueTi, and not out of fociety, and confe- 
 quentlv it arofe over the people : and though It has been n:uch 
 modified fiom the opportunity ot circuinftances ftnce the time of 
 William the Conqueror, the country has nevei yet regenerated it- 
 felf, and is therefore without a conPii?ution. 
 
 1 readily perceive the reafon whv Mr. Burke declined going into 
 the companfon between the Enghili and French conftitutious, he- 
 caufe he could not but perceive, when he fat down to tiie t^fk, that 
 no fuch thing as a conliitution exiftedon his fide the queilion. His 
 book is certainly bulky enough to have contained all he C(>u!d lay 
 on this fuhjecl, and it would have been the bell manner in which 
 people could have judged of their feparate merits. Why then has 
 he declined the only thing that was worth while to write upon? It 
 was the ftrongefl ground lie could take, if the advantagres were on 
 his fide; but the weakeil, if they were not; andhisdelining to take it 
 is either a fign that he could not pofiefs it, or could not maintain it. 
 
 Mr. Burke faid in a fpeech laft winter in parliament, that when 
 the National AfTembly firft met in three Orders, ([he Tiers Etat.s, 
 the Clergy, and Nobleffe,) that France had then a good conflituti- 
 on. This (hews, amoncr nuip.erous other inftances, that Mr. Burke 
 
 ... 
 does not underfiand what a conftitution is. The perfons fo met, 
 
 were not a co?i/iitu:idn, but a convention to make a conftitution. 
 
 The prefent National Allembly of France is, ftriftly fpeaking, 
 the perfonal iocial cori^pacl. The raembeis of it are the delegates 
 
 E oC 
 
[ 34 ) 
 
 of the naiion in its original chara61er ; future afTembHcs \^u\ be the 
 de'egates oi the naiion in iis organiztd charafter. Tlie autiiority 
 ot the prefent Alfcmblv is diiTereni to what the author ty of future 
 Aflernblles will be. 7'he auihority of the prefent one is to form a 
 coiiftiluiion: the authority of future AfTeu^iblies wiii be to legif- 
 late accoid:ng to the piincipies and tonus preicribed in that coniii- 
 tution ; and ir experience ihould hereafter [hew that aUeraiions, a- 
 mendnienis. or additions are necelfary, ihe conftitution will point 
 out tiie mode by which fuch things (hall oe done, and not leave it 
 to the difcrctionary power of the future government. 
 
 A government on the principles on which coniliiutional govern- 
 ments ariiiug out cf fociety are eft^b'iflied, cannot have the right of 
 alterirg itfcif. IF it had, it Vv-xuld be .irbiirary. It might make it- 
 felt vvhat ii pleafcd ; and wherever fuch a right is fet up, it (hews 
 there is no conilituaon. The atf by which the Englilh Parliament 
 empowered itfelfto fit feven years, (hews there is no conftitution 
 in Enghuid. It might, by the fame fell-authoriiy, have fat any 
 greater number ot ) ears, or for life. The bill which the prefent 
 Mr. Pitt brought into parliament, fome yeafs ago, to reform parlia- 
 ment, was on the fame erroneous principle. The right of reform 
 is in the nation in its original character, and the conilitutional me- 
 thod v;ould be by a gencL-al convention elefted for the purpofe. 
 There is moreover a paradox in the idea ot vitiated bodies re- 
 forming themielves. 
 
 From thefe preliminaries I proceed to draw fome comparifons. 
 I have already ipoken of the declaration ot rights; and as I mean to 
 be as concile aspoflible, I fhall proceed to other parts of the French 
 conllitution. 
 
 The conllitution of France fays, that every man who pays a tax 
 of fixty {ous, per annum, (2s. and 6d. Englilb) is an eletfor. What 
 article will Mr. Burke place againfi; this? Can any thing be more 
 limited, and at the fame time more capricious, than the qualificati- 
 ons ot e'.ettorsare in England ? Limited — becaufe not one man in 
 an hundred (I fpeak much wnthin compafs) is admitted to vote: Ca- 
 pricious — becaufe the loweft charafcfcr that can be fuppofed to exift, 
 and who has not fo much as the vifible means of an honeft liveli- 
 hood, is an eleftor in fome places; while, inother places, the man 
 who pays very large taxes and has a known fair charatfer, and the 
 farmer who rents to the amount of three or tour hund'-ed pounds a 
 year, with a property on that farm to three or four times that a- 
 mount, is not admitted to be an eleftor. Every thing is out ot 
 nature, as Mr. Burke favs on another occafion, in this ilrangc 
 chaos, and all lorts of follies are blended with all forts of crimes. 
 William the Conqueror, and his defcendants, parcelled out the 
 
 country 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 countrv in this manner, and bribea fome parts of It by what they 
 called Charters, to hold the other parts ot it better Tub^efted to their 
 will. This is the reafon why fo many of thore Charters abound in 
 Coinwall. The people were averfe to the government eftablilhed 
 at the conqnefl, and the towns were garrifoned and bribed to enfl.jvc 
 the country. Ali the old Chaiters are the badges of tiiis conqueft, 
 and it is from this fource that the caprlcioufnefs of eic8ions anfes. 
 
 The French conftltution fays, that the number of reprefenta- 
 tives for any place ihall be in a ratio to the number ot taxable in- 
 habitants or eieaors. What article will Mr. Buike place ^lr■.ln{l 
 this? The county of Yorldhire, which contains near a milhon of 
 fouls, fends t vo county members ; and fo does the county o^ Rut- 
 land, which contains not a hundredth part of thar number. The 
 town of old Sarum, which contains not three houfes, fends two 
 members ; and the town of Manchefter, which contains upwards <-f 
 fixty thoufand fouls, is not admitted to fend any. Is there any 
 principle in ihefe things ? Is there any thing by which you can 
 trace the marks of freedom, or difcover ihofe of wildom ? No 
 wonder then Mr. Burke has declined the comparifon, and endea. 
 voured to lead his readers from the point by a wild unfyllematical 
 difp'ay of paradoxical rhapfodies. 
 
 The French conllitution fays, that the National Afiembly (hall be 
 elecled every two years. What Article will Mr. Burke place 
 againfl this ? Why, that the nation has no right at all in the cafe ; 
 that the government is perfeftly arbitrary with refpefl to this point; 
 and he can quote for his authority, the precedent ol a former par- 
 liament. 
 
 The French conllitution fays, there (hall be no game la;vs ; that 
 the farmer on whole lands wild game fliail be found (for it is by 
 ihe produce of his lands they are ted) fliail have a right to what he 
 can take. That there fhall be no mionopoiies of any kind — that 
 all trades (hall be free, and every man free to follow any occupation 
 by which he can procure an honell livelihood, and in any place, 
 town and city throughout the nation. What will Mr. Burke fay to 
 this ? In England, game is made the property of thofe at whofe ex- 
 pencc it is not fed ; and wuh refpeft to monopolies, the country is 
 cut up into monopolies. Every chartered town is an ariflocratical 
 monopoly in itfelf, and the qualification of elccfors proceeds out of 
 thofe chartered monopolies. Is this freedom? Is this what Mr. 
 Burke means by a conftitution ? 
 
 In thefe chartered monopolies, a man coming from another part: 
 of the country, is hunted from them as if he were a foreign enemy. 
 An EnglKhman is not free of his own country; every one of thofe 
 places prefents a barrier in his way, and tells him he is not a free- 
 man 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 man — that lie has no rights. Withia thefe monopolies, are othet 
 monopolies. In ^ ciiy, fuch for inftance as Bath, which contains 
 between twenty and thirty ihoufand inhabitants, the right ot eleft- 
 ing reprefetitatives to parharaeni is monopolifed by about thirty-one 
 pel Tons. And within thefe monopohes aie ftill others. A man even 
 of the fame town, whofe parents were not in circumftances :o give 
 bim an occupation, is debarred, in many cafes from the natural right 
 of acquiring one, be his genius or induftry what ii may. 
 
 Are thefe things examples to hold out to a country regenerating 
 itfell: from flavery, like France? Certain'y they are not; and cer- 
 tain am 1, that when the people of England come to refleft upon 
 them, they will, like France, annihilate ihofe badges of ancient op- 
 preffion, thofe traces of a conquered nation. — Had Mr. Burke pof- 
 feffed talents fimilai to the author *' On the Wealth of Nations," 
 he would haye comprebende:^ all the parts which enter into, and, by 
 ademblage, fonn a conftitation. He v.^ould have reafoned from 
 rninu;ae to magnitude. It is not from his prejudices on'y, but from 
 the diforderly call of his genius, that he is unfitted for the (ubjetl 
 he writes upon. Even his genius is wuhout a conftitution. It is a 
 genius at random, and not a genius conftituted. But he mufl fay 
 fomething — Ke has therefore mounted in the air like a balloon, to 
 draw the eyes of the multitude from the ground they ftand upon. 
 
 Much IS to be learned from the French conftitution. Conqueft 
 and tyranny tranfplanted themlelves with William the Conqueror 
 from Normandy into England, and the country is yet disfigured with 
 the marks. May then the example ol all France contribute to re- 
 generate the freedom which a province of it deftroyed ! 
 
 The French conftitution fays, That to preferve the national re- 
 prefentation from being corrupt, no member of the National Aflem- 
 bly fhaM be an officer of the government, a place- man, or a penfion- 
 er. — What will Mr. Burke place againft this ? I will whifper his 
 anfwer : Loaves and FiJJies. Ah I this government of loaves and 
 fifl^es has more tnifchiet in it than people have yet reflefted on. — 
 The National Afiembly has made the difcovery, and it holds out 
 the example to the world. Had governments agreed to quarrel on 
 puipofe to fleece their countries by taxes, they could not have fuc- 
 ceeded better tlai they have done. 
 
 Many things in the Englifh government appear to me the reverfe 
 of what they ought to be, and what they are faid to be. The par- 
 liament, imperteftly and capricioufly ele6ied as it is, is neverthelefs 
 Juppojed to hold the national pur:'e in trujl for the nation ; but in the 
 manner in which an EngliOi parliament is conftrufted, it is like a 
 man being both mortgager and mortgagee; and in the cafe ot mifap- 
 plication of truft, it is the criminal fitting in judgment upon himfeif. 
 
{ 37 ) 
 
 If tbofe who vote the fupplies are the fame perfons wlio receive the 
 fiipilies wiien voted, and are to account tor the expenditure of thofe 
 lui;p)ies to thofe who voted thein, it is themjclvcs accountable to them- 
 Jelvcs, and the Comedy of Errors concludes with the Pantomime of 
 Hush. Neither the miniflerlal party, nor the oppofition, will touch 
 upon this cafe. The national purfe is the common hack which each 
 mounts upon. It is like what the country people call, " Ride and 
 tie— Yoi: ride a little way, and then l."*--.They order tliefe ihines 
 better in France. 
 
 The Fiench conftitution fays, that the right of war and peace is 
 m the nation. Where elfe fhould it refide, hut in thofe who are to 
 pay the ex pence ? 
 
 In England, this right is faid to refide in a metaphor, (hewn at the 
 Tower for fix.penceorafhillingapiece; fo are the Jicns; and it 
 would he a Hep nearer to reafon to fay it refided in them, for any in- 
 animate metaphor is no more than a hat or a cap. We can all fee the 
 ablurdity of worlhippinc^ Aarc^n's molten calf, or Nebuchadnezzar's 
 golden image ; but why do men continue to praBife themlelves. the 
 ablurdines they dcfpife in others ? 
 
 ^ It may with reafon be faid, that in the manner the Englifh nation 
 IS r. prefemed. it fignifies not where this right refides, whether iij the 
 crown or m the parliament. War is the common harvea of all 
 thofe who participate in the divifion and expendiiuie of public mo- 
 ney, n a.l countries. It is the art of conquering at home; the ob. 
 jed otitis an mcrcdfe of revenue; and as revenue cannot be in- 
 c.ealed without taxes, a pretence muft be made for expenditures.— 
 In leviewin^ the h.ftory of the EnghOi government, its wars and 
 Its taxes, a b\ ftander not blinded by prejudice, or warped by in- 
 tereft would declare, that taxes were not raifed. to carry on wars 
 but that wars were railed to carry on taxes. 
 
 Mr. Burke, as a member of the Houfe of Commons, is a part of 
 the hnghfh government; and though he profeifes himfell an enemy 
 to war, he abufes the French Conlt.tution. which feeks to explode 
 It. He holds up the Eng'ifh governm.ent as a model in all its parts, 
 to France; but he fhould fidl know the remarks which the French 
 make upon it. They contend in favour of their own, that the por. 
 tu,n ot liberty enjoyed in England, is juft enough to enflave a coun. 
 try by, more produaiveiy than by defpotifm; and, that as the real 
 
 obje6l 
 
 * It f» a praa'c- io fome part* of the co^ntrjr, when two travellert 
 have hut one horfe, which like the national purfe will »ot car 7 double, 
 that the one niounta ziA rides two or three mile* a-hearf, and then ties 
 the horfe to a gate, and walki on. When the fecoud traveller arrives, 
 he t3<e» the horfe, rides en, and pafTe* his ccmpanion a mile or two, 
 aad tie* 5gain ; and fo oa-^RIDE and TIE'. 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 objeS of all (lefpofifm is revenue, a government fo formed obtains 
 more than it could do c'l her by dire6l defpotifm, or in a full ftate of 
 freedom, and is therefore, on the qrrouiid ot interell, oppo'ed lo both. 
 Thev account alfo for the readinefs which aUvays appears in fuch 
 governments tor eugHglng in wars, bv remarking on the diffeient 
 motives which produce them. In defpotic governments, wars are 
 the effect of pride ; but in thofe governments in which they become 
 the means of taxation, they acquire thereby a more permanent 
 promptitude. 
 
 The French Conftitution, therefore, to provide againfl both thefe 
 evi'S, has taken awav the power of declarmg war from kings and 
 miniilers, and placed the right where the expence mull fa'd. 
 
 When the quellion on the right of war and peace was agitating 
 in the National Alfembly, tiie people of England appeared to be 
 much interefted in the event, and highly to applaud the decifion. — 
 A*^ a principle, it applies as much to one c^untiy as to anoiher.— «• 
 William the Conquerer, as a conqw^^ror, lu-lj this power of war and 
 peace in himfelf, and his defcendants have ei'ey fmce claimed it un« 
 iler him as a right. 
 
 Although Mr. Burke has aflerted the right of the parliament at 
 the Revolution to bind and controul the nation and poflerity for 
 ever, he denies, at the fame time, that the parliament or the nation 
 had any right to alter what he calls the fuccefTion of the crown, in 
 ^ny thing but in part, or by a (ort of modification. By his taking 
 this ground, he throws the cafe back to the Norman Conquejl : and 
 by thus running a line of iucceflion fpringing from William the 
 Conqueror to the prefent day, he makes it neceflary to enquire who 
 and what William the Conqueror was, and where he came from ; 
 and into the origin, hiftory, and nature of what are called prero- 
 gatives. Every thing muft have had a beginning, and the fog of 
 time and antiquity fliould be penetrated to difcover it. Let then 
 Mr. Burke bring forward his William of Normandy, for it is to 
 this origin that his argument goes. It alfo unfortunately happens, 
 in running this line of fucceffion, that another line, parallel thereto, 
 prefents itfelf, which rs, that if the fucceflion runs in the line of the 
 conqueft, the nation runs in the line of being conquered, and it 
 ought to refcue itfelf from this reproach. 
 
 But it will perhaps be fuid, that though the power of declaring 
 war defcends in the heritage of the conqueft, it is he'd in check by 
 the right of the parliament to with-hold the fuppplies. It will al- 
 wavs happen, when a thing is originally wrong, that amendments 
 do not make it right, and it often happens that they do asmuch mif- 
 chief one wav as good the other . and fuch is the cafe here ; for if 
 •he one ralhfy declares war as a matter of right, and the other pe- 
 remptorily 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 r-cmptorily withholds the fupplies as a matter of righf, the remedy 
 becomes as bad or vvorfe ihan the difeafe. The une torccs \he na- 
 tion to a combat, and tlje other tie its liands : But the more proba- 
 ble iffue is, that the conteil willend in a conclufion between ihii par- 
 ties, and be made a fcreen to boih. 
 
 On thisqueftion of war, three things are to be confidered. Firft, 
 the right ot declaring it : Secondly, the expence of fupnoning it: 
 Thirdly the mode ot conducing it after it is declared. The French 
 conftitution places the r?^/2/ where the <'a;^<?«c<? muft fall, and this 
 union can be only in the nation. The mode of condutling it alter 
 it is declared, it configns to the executive department — Were this 
 the cafe in all countries, we fhould hear but little more ot wai^. 
 
 Before I proceed to confider other parts of the French conllituti- 
 on, and by way relieving the iaiigue of argument, I will introduce 
 an anecdote which I had from Dr. Franklin — 
 
 While the Doctor refided in Fiance as mniiHer from America 
 during the war, he had numerous proposals made to him by pro- 
 jeftors of every country, and of every kind, who wiQied to go to 
 the land that floweth with milk and honey, America; and among 
 the reft, there was one who offered himfelf to be King. He 
 introduced his propofal to the Do6tor by letter, which is now in 
 the hands of M. Beaumarchais, of Paris, flatmg, firft that the Ame- 
 ricans had difmilFed or fent away* their king, (hat they would want 
 another. Secondly, that himfelf was a Norman. Thiidly, that he 
 was of a more ancient family than the Dukes of Normandy, and of 
 a more honourable defcent, his line having never been baiiardized. 
 Fourthly, that there was already a precedent in England, of Kings 
 coming out of Normandy : and on thefe groutids he relied his of- 
 fer, enjoining that the Doftor would forward it to America. Btrt 
 as the Doftor neither did this, nor yet fent him an anfwer, the 
 projeftor wrote a fecond letter ; in which he did not, it is true, 
 threaten to go over and conquer America, but only, with great dignity, 
 propofed, that if his offer was not accepted, an acknowledgment 
 of about £q^q,ooo might be made to him for his generofity ! Nov/, 
 as all arguments refpefcfing fucceffion mufi: neceffarily connect that 
 fuccefiion with fome beginning, Mr. Burke's arguments on this 
 fubjefcf go to fhew, that there is no Englifh origin of Kings, and 
 that they are defcendants of the Norman line in right of the cou- 
 queft. It may therefore, be of fervice to his do6h"ine to make this 
 flory kncnvn, and to inform him, that in cafe of that natural extinc- 
 tion to which all m.ortality is fuhjecf, kings may again he had from 
 Normandy, on more reafonable terms than\VilliamthcCcnqi:crcr ; 
 and confequently, that the good pteople of England, at the Pvcvolu- 
 
 tios 
 * The word he ufcd was renvo;ej dirmiil:jd or f?nt i^wzy. 
 
( 4» ) 
 
 tion of 168B might have done, muck bdUr^ had fuch a generous Nor- 
 man as this known tknr wan's, and they had known his. The chi- 
 valry chara6Ur whicij Mr. Burke fo much admires, is certainly 
 much eafier to make a bargain with than a hard-dealing Dutchman. 
 But, to return to the matters of the confliiution — 
 
 The French conrtiiution fays, There Jhad be no titles \ and of 
 confequence, all that chfs o\ equivocal generation, which in fom2 
 countries is called " arijlocracy," and in others " nobility ^^ is dene 
 away, and \\\e. petr \?, exalted into Man. 
 
 Titles are but nick-names, and every nick-name is a title. The 
 thing is perte6lly hartTilefs in itfelf, but it marks a f )rt of foppery 
 in the human character which degrades it. It reduces man into the 
 diminutive of raaji in things which are grea;, and the counterfeit of 
 women in things which are litiie. It ta'ks about its fine blue ribbon 
 like a girl, and fhews its new garter like a child. A certain writer 
 of Tome antiquity, fays, " When I was a child, I thought as a child; 
 *' but when I became a mati, I put away childifh things." 
 
 It is, propel ly, from the elevated mind of France, that the folly 
 of titles has iallen. It has out-grown the baby -clothes of Count and 
 Duke^diUil breeched itfelf in manhood. Francehas not levelled; it has 
 exalted. It has putdc.wnihe dwarf, to fet up the man. Thepunyifrn 
 of a lenfelefsword like Duke^ or Count or Earl has ceafed to p^eafe. 
 F-ven thole who pcifelTed them have difowned the gibber ifh, and as^ 
 they out-grew the rickets, have defpifed the rattle. The genuine 
 mind of man thirfling for its native home, fociety, contemns the 
 gewgaws that feparate him fiom it. Titles are like circks drawn by 
 the magician's wand, to coniraft the fphere ot man's felicity. He 
 lives immured within the Baltille of a word, and furveys at a dif- 
 tance the envied liie of man. 
 
 Is it then any wonder that titles fhould fall in France r Is it not 
 a greater one they Ihould be kept up any where ? What are they ? 
 What is their worth, and "what is their amount r" When we 
 think or Ipeak of a Judge or a General, weaifociate with it the ideas 
 oi office and character ; we think of gravity in the one, and bravery 
 in the other : but when we ufc a word merely as a title, no ideas 
 aiFociate with it. Through z\\ the vocabulary of Adam, there is not 
 fuch an animal as a Duke or a Count ; neither can we conneft a- 
 ny certain idea with the words. Whether they mean ftrength or 
 weaknefs, wifdom or folly, a child or a man, or the rider or the 
 horfe, is all equivocal. What refpeft then can be paid to that 
 which defcribes nothing, and which means nothing ? Imagination 
 has given figure and chara61er to centaurs, fatyrs, and down to alt 
 the fairy tribe ; but titles bafHe even the powers of fi^ncy, and arc 
 a chiincrical non-defcript- 
 
 But 
 
'( 41 ) 
 
 Bat this is not all. — If a whole country is dirporecl to hold them iii 
 coniempt, all their value is gone, tind none will own them. It is 
 common opinion only that makes them any thing or nothing, or 
 worfe than nothing. There is no occafion to take titles away, for 
 they take themfeives away when fbciety concurs to ridicule them. — 
 Tliis fpecies oi imaginary confequence has vifibly declined in every 
 part ol Europe, and it ha (lens to its exit as the world of reafon con- 
 tinues to rife. There was a time when the lowcit clafs of what are 
 called nobility was more thought of than the highell is now, and 
 when a man in armour riding throughout Chriftendom in queft ot 
 adventures was more flared at than a modern Duke, The world 
 has feen this Folly fall, and it has fallen by being laughed at, atid th« 
 farce of titles will follow its fate. The patriots o{ France have dif- 
 covered in good time, that rank and dignity in fociety mull take a 
 new ground. The old one has fallen through. It muil now take 
 the fubftantial ground of charafter, inflead of the chimerical ground 
 of titles; and they have brought their titles to the altar, and made 
 of them a burnl-ofFering to reafon. 
 
 If no mifchief had annexed itfelf to the folly of titles, they would 
 not have been worth a ferious and formal de(ltu6fion, fuch as the 
 National AiTemblv have decreed them ; and this makes it neceflary 
 to enquire farther into the nature and charafter of ariftocracy. 
 
 That, then, which is cal:ed ariftocracy in fome countries, and no- 
 bility in others, arofe out of the governments founded upon con- 
 quell. It was originally a military order for the purpofe of fupport- 
 ing military government, (for fuch were all governments founded 
 in conqueft) and to keep up fuccefhon of this order for the purpofe 
 for which it was eftabliiTied, all the younger branches oi tliofe fa- 
 milies were difinherited, and the law of pnmogenitiirefJiip fet up. 
 
 The nature and chara61er of ariftocracy fliews itfelt to us in this 
 laW; It is a law againft every law of nature, and Nature herfelF 
 calls for its deftru6fion. Eftablifh family juflice, and ariftocracy 
 falls. By the ariftocratical law of primogenitureftiip, in a family of 
 fix children, five are expolcd. — Ariftocracy has never more than 
 one child. The reft are begotten to be devoured. They are thrown 
 to the cannibal for prey, and the natural parent prepares the unna- 
 tural repaft. 
 
 As every thing whicli is out of nature in man, aftetls, more or 
 lels, the intereft of fociety, lo does this. All the children whicli 
 the ariftocracy difowns (which are all except the eldcft) are m ge- 
 neral, caft like orphans on apariHi, to be provided for by the public, 
 but at a greater charge. Unneceftary oftices and places in govern- 
 ments and courts are created at the expence of the public, to main- 
 tain them, 
 
 F With 
 
( 4^ y 
 
 With what kind of parental reflexions can the father or mothet 
 contemplate their youiiger offspring. By nature they are children, 
 and by marriage they are heirs ; but by ariflocracy they are baftards 
 and orphans. They are the flefh and blood of their parents in one 
 line, and nothing a-kin to them in the other. To reftoie, theretore, 
 parents to their children, and children to their parents — relations to 
 each other, and man to fociety — and to exterminate the monfler 
 Ariftocracy, root and branch — the French conftiiution hasdcftroy- 
 ed the law of Primogenitureshif. Here then lies the mon- 
 iler ; and Mr. Burke, it he pleafes, may write its epitaph. 
 
 Hitherto we have confidered ariftocracy chiefly in one point of 
 view. We have now to confider it in another. But whether we 
 view it before or behind, or fide-ways, or any way elfe, domeflically 
 or publicly, it is fliU a monfter. 
 
 In France, ariftocracy had one feature lefs in its countenance 
 than what it has in fome other countries. It did not compofe a 
 body of hereditary legiflators. It was not " a corporation of ari~ 
 Jlocracy^' for fuch I have heard M. de la Fayette defcribe an Englifh 
 Houfe of Peers. Let us then examine the grounds upon which the 
 French conftitution has refolved againft having fuch an Houfe in 
 France. 
 
 Becaufe, in the firft place, as is already mentioned, ariflocracy is 
 kept up by family tyranny and injuftice. 
 
 Secondly, Becaufe there is an unnatural unfitnefs in an ariftocra- 
 cy to be legiflators for a nation. Their ideas of dijlributive jujiice 
 are corrupted at their very fourcc. They begin life by trampling 
 ^ on all their younger brothers and fifters, and relations of every kind, 
 and are taught and educated fo to do. With what ideas of juftice 
 or honour can that man enter an houfe of legiflation, who abforbs in 
 his own perfon the inheritance of a whole family of children, or 
 doles out to them fome pitiful portion with the infolence of a gift? 
 
 Thirdly, Becaufe the idea of hereditary legiflators is as incon- 
 fiftent as that of hereditary judges, or hereditary juries ; and as ab- 
 furd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wife man ; 
 and as ridiculous as an hereditary poet-laureat. 
 
 Fourth'y, Becaufe a body of men holding themfelves accountable 
 to nobody, ought not to be trufled by anybody. 
 
 Fifthly, Becaufe it is continuing the uncivilized principle of go- 
 vernments founded in conqueft, and the bafe idea of man having 
 property in man, and governing him by perfonal right. 
 
 Sixthly, Becaufe ariftocracy has a tendency to degenerate the hu- 
 ftian fpecies. By the univerfal ceconomy of nature it is known, 
 and by the inflance of the Jews it is proved, that the human fpecies 
 has a tendency to degenerate, in any fmali number of perfons, vfhen 
 
 feparateel 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 leparated from the general ftock of foclety, and intermarrying con« 
 i^antly with each other. It defeats even its pretended end, and be- 
 comes in time th^ oppofite of what is noble in man. Mr, Burke 
 talks of nobility ; let him fhew what it is. The greateft charafters 
 the world has known, have rifen on the democratic floor. Arifto- 
 cracy has not been able to keep a proportionate pace with democracy. 
 The artificial noble fhrinks into a dwarf before the noble of 
 Nature; and in a few inftances of thofe (for there are Tome in alt 
 countries) in whom nature, as by a miracle, has furvived in arifto- 
 
 cracy, those men despise it. But it is time to proceed to 
 
 a nevi^ fubjeft. 
 
 The French conftitutlon has reformed the condition of the cler- 
 gy. It has raifed the income of the lower and mid^Ile claffes, and 
 taken from the higher. None is now lefs than twelve hundred li- 
 vres (fifty pounds flerling) nor anv higher than about two or three 
 thoufand pounds. What will Mr. Burke place againft this ? Hear 
 what he fays. 
 
 He fays, " That the people of England can fee without pain 
 " or grudging, an archbifhop precede a duke ; they can fee a bi- 
 " fhop of Durham, or a bifhop of Wincheffer, in polfefTion of 
 *' /'lOjOoo a-year ; and cannot lee why it is in worfe hands than 
 ** eflates to the like amount in the hands of this earl or that 'Iquire." 
 And Mr. Burke offers this as an example to France. 
 
 As to the firfl part, whether the archbilhop precedes the duke, 
 or the duke the bifhop, it is, I believe, to the people in general^ 
 fomewhat like Sternhold and Hopkins^ or Hopkins and Sternhold, 
 you may put which you pleafe firft : and as I confefs that I do not 
 underlland the merits ot this cafe, I will not contend it with Mr. 
 Burke. 
 
 But with refpeft to the latter, I have fomething to fay. Mr. 
 Burke has not put the cafe right. The comparifon is out ol order 
 by being put between the bifhop and the earl or the 'fquire. It 
 ought to be put between the bifnop and the curate, and then it 
 will fland thus ; The people of England can fee without pain or grudg- 
 ing^ a biJJiop of Durham, or a bifiop of Winchefier, in pff^Jjion of 
 ttn thoufand pounds a-year^ and a curate on thirty or jorty pounds 
 a-year or lefs. No, Sir, they certainly do not lee thofe things with- 
 out great pain or grudging. It is a cafe that applies itfeJf to every 
 man's fenfe of juftice, and is one among many th^t calls aloud for 
 a conftitutlon. 
 
 In France, the cry of " the church ! the church /" was repeated 
 as often as in Mr. Burke's book, and as loudly as when the diffen- 
 ters' bill was before the Englifh parliament : but the generality of 
 the French clergy were not lo be deceived by this cry any longer. 
 
 They 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 'They knew, that whatever the pretence might be, it was them- 
 felves who weieone ot the principal obje6ts of it. It was the cry 
 ct the high benehced clergy, to prevent any regulation ot income 
 taking place betwf en thole of ten thoufand pounds a year and the 
 parifh prieft. They, therefore, joined their cafe to thole of every 
 other opprelfed clals of men, and by this union obtained redrefs. 
 
 The French conftitution has abolifbed tythes, that fource of per- 
 petual difcontent between the tythe-holder and the parifhioner. 
 When land is held on tythe, it is in the condition of an eftate held 
 between two parties; the one receiving one tenth, and the other 
 nine tenths of the produce; and, confequently, on principles of 
 equity, if the eftate can be improved, and made to produce by that 
 improvement douole or treble what it did beto'-e, or in any other 
 ratio, the expence of fuch improvement ought to be borne in like 
 proportion between the parties who are to fhaie the produce. But 
 this is not the cafe in tythes; the farmer bears the whole expence 
 and the tythe-holder takes a tenth of the improvement, in addition 
 to the original tenth, and by this means gets the value of two-tenths 
 inftead of one. This is another cafe that calls for a conftitution: 
 
 The French conftitution ha'h abolifhed or renounced Toleration, 
 and Intolerance alfo, and hath eftablifhed Universal Right of 
 Conscience. 
 
 Toleration is not the oppofiU of Intolerance, but is the Counter- 
 flic of it. Both aredefpotifms. The oneafTumesto itfelf the right 
 of with-holding Liberty of Confcience, and the other of granting it. 
 The one is the pope, arnicd with fire and faggot, and the other is 
 the pope felling or grantmg indulgences. The former is churcli 
 and ftate, and the latter is church and traffic. 
 
 But toleration may be viewed in a much ftronger light. Man 
 \vorfl»ips nothimfe'f, but his Maker: and the liberty of confcience 
 xvhich he clalm.s, is not for the fervice ot himfelf, but of his God. 
 In this cafe, therefore, we muft necelTarily have the affociated idea 
 of two beings; \\\q mortal yiho renders the worfliip, and the Im- 
 mortal Being who is worfhipped Toleration, therefore, places 
 itfeif, not between man and man, nor between chuich and church, 
 nor between one denomination of religion and another, but be- 
 tween God and man ; between the being who worfhips, and the 
 Being who is worfhipped: and by the fame aft of alfumed autho- 
 rity by which it tolerates man to pay his worlhip, it prelumptuoufly 
 and plafphemouHy lets itfelf up to tolerate the Almighty to re- 
 ceive it. 
 
 Were a bill brought into any parliament, entitled '* An ACT to 
 V tolerate or grant liberty to ihe Almighty to receive the worfhip of 
 Va Jew or a Turk," or " to prohibit the Almighty from receiving 
 
 it:" 
 
( 45 ) . 
 
 it;*' att men v/ould ftanle, and call It blafphcmy. There would be 
 an uproar. The prefiunption of toleration in religious matters 
 would then prefent hiell unmafked: but the preiumption is not the 
 lefs becaufe the name oF *• Man" only appears to thofe laws, for 
 the aflbciated idea of the worjliipper and the ziwrjliipped cannot be 
 feparated. — Who, then, are thou, vain duft and afhes ! by what- 
 ever name thou art called, whether a King, a Biihop, a Church or 
 a Stale, a parliament or any thing elfe, that obtrudell thine infig- 
 nificance between the foul of man and its Maker ? Mind iliine own 
 concerns. If he believes not as thou believeft, it is a proof that 
 thou believefl not as he believeth, and there is no earthly power can 
 determine between you. 
 
 With refpeft to what are called denominations of religion, if 
 every one is left to judge of his own religion, there is no fuch thing 
 as a religion that is :vrong ; but if they are to judge of each others 
 religion, there is no fuch thing as a religion that is right ; and 
 therefore, all the world is right, or all the world is wrong. But with 
 refpea to religion itfelf, without regard to names, and as direfting 
 itfelf from the univerfal family of mankind to the Divine objeft of 
 all adoration it is ,7nan bringing to his Maker the j'lidts of Jas heart \ 
 and though thofe fruits may differ from each other like the fruits 
 of the earth, the grateful tribute of every one is accepted. 
 
 A Bifhop of Durham, or a Bifhop of Wincheiier, or the Arch- 
 bifliop who heads ihe Dukes, will not relufe a tythe-fheaf oi wheat, 
 becaufe it is not a cock of hay ; nor a cock of hay, becaufe it is not a 
 Iheaf of wheat; nor a pig, becaufe it is neither one nor the other; 
 but thefe fame perfons, under the figure of an eflablifhed church, 
 will not permit their Maker to receive the varied tythes of man's de- 
 votion. 
 
 One of the continual chorufes of Mr. Burke's book is, *' Church 
 and State :" He does not mean fome one particular church, or fome 
 one particular flate, but any church and ifate; and he ufes the term 
 as a general figure to hold forth the political doftrine of always 
 uniting the church with the flate in every country, and he cenfures 
 the National AfTembly for not having done this iii France. Lcl v.^ 
 beftow a few thoughts on this fubjeft. 
 
 All religions are in their nature kind and benign, and united with 
 principles of morality. They could not have made prcfelytcs at 
 firfl, by profeffing any thing that was vicious, cruel, perfecuring, or 
 immoral. Like every thing elfe, they had their beginning ; and 
 ihey proceeded by perfuafion, exhortation, and example. How 
 then is it that they lofe their native mildnefs, and become inorofe 
 and intolerant ? 
 
 It proceeds ircm the connexion which Mr. Burke recorr.mends. 
 
 By 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 By engendering the church with the ftate, a fort of mule animal, 
 capable only of deftroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, 
 called The Church cjlabliflvid by Law. It is a ftranger even from 
 its birth, to any parent mother on which it is begotten, and whom 
 in time it kicks out and deftroys. 
 
 The inquifition in Spain does not proceed from the religion ori- 
 ginally profefled, but from this mule animal, engendered between 
 the church and the flate. The burnings in Smithfield proceeded 
 from the fame heterogenous produftion ; and it was the regenerati- 
 on of this flrange animal in England afterwards, that renewed ran- 
 cour and irreligion among the inhabitants, and that drove the people 
 called Quakers and Diflenters to America. Perfecution is not an 
 original feature in any religion ; but it is always the ffrongly-mark- 
 ed feature of all law-religions, or religions eftablifhed bv law. 
 Take away the law-eftablifliment, and every religion re-afTumes its 
 original benignity. In America, a Catholic Priell is a good citizen, 
 a good charatler, and a good neighbour; an Epifcopalian Minifter 
 isofthe fame defcription : and this proceeds, independently of the 
 men, from there being no law eftablifhment in America. 
 
 If alfo we view this matter in a temporal fenfe, we fliall fee the 
 ill effefcis it has had on the profperity o\ nations. The union of 
 church and ftate has impoverifhed Spain. The revoking the edi£l 
 of Nantz drove the filk manufafturefrom France into England; and 
 church and ftate are now driving the cotton manufafture from ting- 
 land to America and France. Let Mr. Burke continue to preach 
 his anti-political doftrine of Church and State. It will do fome 
 good. The National Aflembly will not follow his advice, but will 
 benefit by his folly. It was by obferving the ill effefts of it in Eng- 
 land, that America has been warned againft it ; and it is by expe- 
 riencing them in France, that the National Aflembly have abolilhed 
 it, and, like America, have eftablifhed universal right of 
 
 CONSCIENCE, AND UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CITIZENSHIP.* 
 
 I will 
 
 ♦ When in any country we fee extraordinary circumftance* taking 
 place, they naturally lead any man who has a talent for obfe vition 
 and inveftigation, to enquire into the caufes; The manufaduret of 
 Mancherter, Binningham, and Sheffield, are the principal manufaauics 
 in England. From whence did this arife ? A little obfe'vation will 
 explain the cafe. The principal, and the generality of the inhabitant* 
 of thofe places, are not of what is railed in England, the church efla- 
 bliilied by law ; and they, or their faihers, (for it is within but a few 
 years,) withdrew from the perfecution of the chartered towns, where 
 Teft-lawi more particiilarly operate, and eftabliJhed a fort of afylura for 
 then-felvcs in thcfe places. It was the only afylum that then offered, 
 for the :cH of Europe was worfe. But the cafe i« new changing. 
 
 France 
 
( 47 J 
 
 1 will here ceafe the comparifon wlih refpeQ to the principles 
 of the French Conftitution, and conclude this part oi the fubjeft 
 with a tew obfervations on the organization of the foimal parts of 
 the French and Englifli governments. 
 
 The executive power in each country is in the hands of a perfon 
 fliled, the King : but the French conftitution diflinguifhes between 
 the King and the Sovereign: It confiders the ftation of King as 
 official and places Sovereignty in the nation. 
 
 The reprefentatives of the nation, who compofe the National Af- 
 femb'y, and who are the legiflative power, originate in and from 
 the people by eleftion, as an inherent right in the people. In 
 England it is otherwile ; and this arifes from the original eftablifh- 
 ment of what is called its monarchy ; for, as by the conquefl all the 
 rights of the people or the nation were abforbed into the hands of 
 the Conqueror, and who added the title of King to that of Con- 
 queror, thofe fame matters which in France are now held as righis 
 in the people, or in the nation, are held in England as grants 
 from what is called the Crown. The Parliament in England, 
 in both its branches, was erefled by patents fiom the defcendants 
 of the Conqueror. The Houfe ot Commons did not originate as 
 a matter of right in the people to delegate or ek61, but as a grant 
 or boon. 
 
 By 
 
 France and America bid all comers welcome, and initiate them into 
 all (he rights of citizenfhip. Policy aud interefi, therefore, will, but 
 perhaps too late, didate io England, what reafon and juftice could not, 
 Thofe manufactures are withdrawing, and are arifing in other places. 
 Theie is now ceding at P.'dey, three miles from Paris, a large cottoo 
 mill, and feveral are already cred^ed in America. Soon after the re- 
 jecting the Bill for repealing the Teft-law, one of the richeft raanufaftu- 
 rers in England faid in my hea ing, ** England, Sir, is not a couotrjr 
 for a difienter to live in— we rauft go to France," Thefe are truths, 
 and it is doing juftice to both parties to tell them. It is chiefly the 
 diffentcrs who have carried Englifh manufaflures to the height they are 
 BOW at, and the fame men have it in their power to cany them away ; 
 and though thofe raanut -dures will afterwards continue to be made 'n 
 thofe places, the foreign market will be loft. There are frequently ap- 
 pearing in the London Gazette, cxtra^ls from certain a^s to prevent 
 machines and perfons, as far as it can extend to perfons, from going 
 out of the country. It appears from thefc, that the ill effefts of the 
 Teft-laws and Church-eftabliftiment begin to be much fufpefled ; but 
 the remedy of force can never fupply ihe remedy of reafon. In the 
 progrefi of lefs than a century, all the ucreprefemed part of England, 
 of all denGminations, which is atleaft a hundred times ;he moft numer- 
 ous, may begin to feel the neceiiity of a conftitution, and then all 
 t)joI« raattcri will come regularly before them. 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 By the French conflitiiuon, the nation Is always named before 
 tl>e King. The third article otthe declaration of rights fays, " The 
 na'.tcn is cjfcntially Lhc /hurce (or fountain) ofailfovereignty.'* Mr. 
 Burke argues, tiiat, in Enoland, a King is the fountain — that he is 
 the fountain of all honour. But as the idea is evidently defcended 
 from the connuell, I Ihall make no other remark upon it than that 
 it is the nature of conqueft to turn every thing upfide down; and as 
 Mr. Burke will not be refufed the privilege of fpeaking twice, and 
 as there is but two parts in the figure, i\\t fountain and the fpout 
 he will be rig'it the fecond time. 
 
 The Fiencli conilitution puts ihe legiHative before the executive ; 
 the Law before the King ; La Loi, Le Roi. This alio is in the na- 
 tural order of things ; becaule lav/s muft have exiflence, before 
 they can have execution. 
 
 A King in France does not, in addreffing himfell to the National 
 Affembl)-, fay, *' My affembly," fimilar to the phrafe ufed in Entr- 
 land of '* my Parliament ;" neither can he ufe it confiftently with 
 the conftitution, nor could it be admitted. There may be proprie- 
 ty in the ufe of it in England, becaufe, as is before mentioned, 
 both Houles of ParHament originated from what is called the Crown, 
 by patent or boon — and not from the inherent rights of the People, 
 as the National Affembly does in France, and whofe name defig- 
 nates its orii^in. 
 
 The Prefident of the National AlTembly does not afk the King 
 to grant to tlie AJJ'dmbly liberty of Speech, as is the cafe with the 
 Engliih Houfe of Commons. The Conftitutional dignity of the 
 National AITembly cannot debafe itfelf. Speech is, in the firft 
 place, one of the natural rights of man always retained; and with 
 refpeft to the National Affembly, the ufe of it is their duty, and the 
 nation is tlieir authority. They were elefted by the greatefl body 
 of men exercifing the right ofcletfion the European world ever faw. 
 They fprung not from the filth of rotten boroughs, nor are they the 
 vaffai reprefentatives of ariflocratical ones. Feeling the proper dig- 
 nity of their charafter, they fupport it. Their parliamentary lan- 
 guage, whether for or againff a queflion, is free, bold and manly, 
 and extends to all the parts and circumftances of the cafe. If any 
 matter or fubje61: lefpefting the executive department, or theperfon 
 who prefides in it, (the King,) comes before them, it is debated on 
 with the fpirit of men, and the language of gentlemen ; and tfieir 
 anfwer, or their addrefs, is returned in the fame flile. They ftand 
 jiotaloof with the gaping vacuity of vulgar ignorance, nor bend with 
 the cringe of fycophantic infignificance. The graceful pride of 
 truth knows no extremes, and preferves, in every latitude of life, 
 the right-angled charafter of man. 
 
 Let 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 Let us now look to the other fide of the quelUon. In the addier- 
 fes of theEnghih Parliaments to their Kings, we fee neither the in- 
 trepid Ipirit ot the uld pa' Haments of France, nor the ferene dignity 
 ot ihe prelent National AiTembly ; neither do we fee in them any 
 thiiig of the ftile oi Englilh manners, which borders fomcwhat on 
 blun.nels. Since then they are neither oF foreign exfraRion, nor 
 naturally of Knylifh produtiion their origin muH be fought tor elfe- 
 where, and that origin is the N.Tman Conqueft. They are evident- 
 ly of ilie va{Ia!rge clafs of manners, and emphatically mark the pro- 
 ftrate diflance that exifts in no other condition ol men than beiv/eea 
 the conqueror and the conquered. That this vaflalage idea and the 
 ftile offpeakint; was not got rid of even at the Revolution ot i688» 
 is evident h-oni declaration o\ Parliameni to William and Mary, in 
 thefe words : "We do moft humbly and fdithfully fiibmit ourfelves, 
 " our heirs andpoRerities, forever." SubmilTion is wholly avalfalage 
 term repugnant to the dignity ol Freedom, and an echo ot the laa- 
 guage ufed at the Conqueil. 
 
 As tne eftimation of all things is by compariron, the Revolution 
 of 1688, however irom circumftances it may have been exalted 
 beyond its value, will find its level. It is already on the wane, 
 eclipfed by the enlarging orbcfreafon, and the lumnious Revolu- 
 tions of America and France. In lefs than another century, it will 
 go as v;ed as Mr. Burke's labours, *' to the family vault of the Capu- 
 l^ts." Mankind will then fcarcely believe that a country calling itielf 
 free, would fend to Holland for a man and clothe him with power 
 on purpofe to put themfelves in fear of him, and give him almoit a 
 million Tierling a-year, for leave "iofubmit themfelves and their pof- 
 terity, hke bond-men and bond-women, for ever. 
 
 But there is a truth that ought to be made known ; I have had 
 the opportunity of feeing it; \A\ic\\'\s^notwitIiJlanding appearances, 
 there is not any dcfcription of 7nen that defpife monarchy jo much as 
 courtiers. But they well know, that it it were feen by others, as it 
 is feen by ihem, the juggle could not be kept up. They are in the 
 condition of men who get their living by a fhow, and to whom the 
 whole of that fhow is fo familier tiiat they redicule it ; but were the 
 audience to be made as wife, in this refped, as themfelves, there 
 would be an end to the Ihow and the profits with it. The differ- 
 ence between a repubiican and a courtier with refpetl to monarchy 
 is, thai the one oppofes monarchy, believing it to be fomething, 
 and the other laughs at it knowing it to be nothing. 
 
 A.S I ulcd fometimes to correlpond with Mr. Burke, believing 
 him then to be a man ot founder principles than his books (hows him 
 to be, I vvrote to him lafl winter from Paris, and gave him an account 
 how profperoufly matters v/ere going 0x1. Among other fubjeds iu 
 
 G that 
 
( i^ I 
 
 that letter, I rcrerred to the happy fituation the National AiTembly 
 were placed in; that they had taken a ground on which their nior- 
 ral dutv and their politiciil intereft were united. They have not to 
 hold out a language whicli they do not (hcmfelves helievc. for the 
 fraudulent purpofeot making others believe it. Then' itauon re- 
 quires no artifice to fupport it, and can only be maintained by en- 
 lightened mankind. It is not their iriterell to cherifh ignorance, 
 but to delpel it. They are not in the cafe of a inini.tcrial or oppo- 
 fition p?ny in Eng'and, v,-ho, though they were oppoletl, are ilill 
 iinitcd to keep up the coir.mon niyiiery. The National Allembly 
 muft throw open a magazine of light. It mad fhew man the pro- 
 per character of man ; and (he nearer it can bring him to that ftand- 
 ard, the Itronger the National Auemblv becomes. 
 
 In contemplating the French conilitution, we fee in it araiiona) 
 order of things. The principles harinonife with the forms, and 
 both with their origin. It miy perhaps be laid as an excufe for bad 
 Jorms, that they are nothing more than forms ; but this is a miilake. 
 Forms grow out of principles, and operate to continue the principles 
 they glow fiom. It is impofRble topradife a bad form on any thing 
 but a bad principle. It cannot be ingrafted on a good one ; and 
 wherever the lorms in any government are bad, it is a certain indi- 
 cation that tl'.e principles are bad alfo. 
 
 I will here finally clofe this fubjei^, I began it by remarking 
 that Mr. Burke had volunlarily declined going into a comparilon of 
 the Engilh and French conditutions. Heapologifes (in page 241) for 
 not doingr it, by faying -that he had not time. Mr. Burke's book was 
 iipwardsof eight months in hand, and is extended to a volume of 
 tViree hundred and fifty fix pa,g;es. As his omifTion does injury to 
 his canfe, liis apology makes it worfe; and men on the r.nglifh 
 fide the water v.'ill begin to confider, whether there is not fome 
 radical dele6f in what is called the Englifh conflitution, that made 
 it iiecefTary for Mr. Burke to fupprefs the comparifon, to avoid 
 bringing it into view. 
 
 As Mr. Burke has not written on conflitutions, fo neither has he 
 written on the French revolution. He gives no account of its 
 commencement, or its progrefs. He only exprefTes his wonder. 
 *' It looks," fays he, *' to me, as if I were in a great ciifis, not of 
 *' the affairs of France alone, but of all Europe, perhaps of more 
 *' than Europe. All circumflances taken together, the French re- 
 *' volution is the mofl afloniihing that has hitherto happened in the 
 " world." 
 
 As wife men ?iie afloniflied at foollfli things, and other people at 
 wile ones, I know not on which ground to account lor Mr. Burke's 
 alloniihment; but certain it is, that he docs not underftand the 
 
 Frenck 
 
{ 51 ) 
 
 French Revolution. It has apparently biirft forth like a creation 
 from a chaos, but it is no more than the confequence of a mental 
 revolution priorily exiding in France. The mind of the nation had 
 changed betore hand, and the new order of things has ndtinaHy 
 followed the new order of tiioughts. — I will here, as concifely as I 
 can, trace out the growth of the French Revohition, and mar!: the 
 circumitances that have contributed lo produce it. 
 
 The depotifin of Louis XIV. united with tlie gaiety of his Cc.urt, 
 and the gaudy ollentation of his chara6fer, had (o hunibltid, and ai 
 the fame time fo fafcinated the rnind of France, that the people ap- 
 pear to have loil all fenfe of their own dignity in contemplating 
 that of their grand Monarch: ,and the whole reign of Louis XV. 
 remarkable only for weaknefs and effeminacy, made no odier alter- 
 ation than that of fpreading a fort of lethargy over the nation, from 
 which it fhewed no difpofiiion to rife. 
 
 The only figns which appeared of the f[jirit of liberty during-thofe 
 periods, are to be found m the writings of the French philofophers. 
 Montefquieu, prefident ol the Par-iament of Bourdeaux, went as 
 far as a writer under a defpotic government couid well proceed ; and be- 
 ing obliged to divide himfelf between principle and prudence, his 
 mind often appears under a veil, and we ought to give him credit 
 for more than he has exprelfed. 
 
 Voltaire, who v^as both the flatterer and the fatirill of defpolifm, 
 took rdnother line. His forte lay in expofii^g and ridiculinc- the 
 iuperftitions which prieft craft united with Itate-craft, had interwoven 
 with governments. It was not from the purity ot his principles, 
 or his love of mankind, (tor fatire and philanthrophy are not natu- 
 rally concordant,) but from his ifrong capacity of feeing folly in 
 its true fhape, and his irrehllable propenfity to expofe it, that he 
 made thofe attacks. They were however as formidable as if the mo- 
 tives had been virtuous ; and he merits the thanks rather than the 
 efteem of mankind. 
 
 On the contrary, we find in the writings of Roulfeau, and the 
 Abbe Raynal, a lovelinefs ol fentmient in favour of Liberty, that 
 excites refpe6t, and elevates the human faculties; but having raifed 
 this animationi, they do not direft its operations; and leave the mind 
 in love with an objeft, without defcribing the means of poffeffing it. 
 
 The writings of Ouefnay, Tnrgot, and the friends of thofe autiiors, 
 are of the ferious kind ; but they laboured under the fame difadvan- 
 tage with Montefquieu; their writings abound v/ith moral maxims of 
 government, but are rather direfted to cec(moraife and reform the 
 adminiftration of the government, than the government itfelf. 
 
 But all thofe \/ritings and many others had their weight ; and by 
 the different manner which they treated the fabjeft of government, 
 
 Montefquieu 
 
f 5^ ) 
 
 Montefquleu by his juclgment and knowledge of laws, Voltaire by 
 his wit, RouiTeau and Raynal by their animation, and Quefnay and 
 Tnrgot by their moral maxims and fyflems of ceconomy, readers of 
 every clafs met with fomething to their tafle, and a fpirit of political 
 enquiry began to diiTufe itielf through the nation at the time the dif- 
 pute between England and the then colonies of America broke out. 
 
 In the war which France afterwards engaged in, it is very welJ 
 known that the nation appeared to be before-hand with the French 
 niiniftry. Each of them had it.s view ; but thofe views were direft- 
 ed to different objefts ; the one fought liberty, and the other retali- 
 ation on England. The French officers and foidiers who after thi« 
 went to America, were eventually placed in the fchool of Freedom, 
 and learned the practice as well as the principles of it by heart. 
 
 As it was impofTible to feparate the military events which took 
 place in America from the principles of the Am.erican revolution, 
 the publication of thof^ events in France necefTarily connefted 
 them.felves with the principles which produced them. Many of 
 the fa6ls were in themfclves principles ; luch as the declaration of A- 
 TTierican independence, and the treaty of alliance between France 
 and America, which recognifed the natural right of man, and jufti- 
 fied refinance to opprefTzon. 
 
 The then minifter of France, Count Vergennes, was not the 
 friend of America ; and itis both juftice and gratitude to fay, that 
 it was the Queen of France who gave the caufe of America a tafhi- 
 on at the French Court. Count Vergennes was the perfonal and 
 focial friend ol Dr. Franklin ; and the Do6ior had obtained, by his 
 ienfible gracefiiltnefs, a fort of influence over him; but with refpe^l 
 to priiiciples, Count Vergennes was a defpot. 
 
 The fituation of Dr. Franklin as minifter from America to 
 France fhould be taken into the chain of circumftances. The di- 
 plomatic character is of iilelf the narroweft fphere of fociety that 
 jnan can a£l in. It forbids iniercourfe by a reciprocity of fuf- 
 picion ; and a Diplomatic is a fort ot unconne6ied atom, continu- 
 ally repelling and repelled. But this was not the cafe with Dr. 
 IVanklm. He was not the diplomatic of a Court, but of MAN. 
 His chara£ler as a philofopher had been long eftablilhed, and his 
 circle of fociety in France was univerfal. 
 
 Count V^ergennes refifted for a confiderable time the publication 
 in France of the American conftitutions, tranflated into the French 
 language; but even in this he was obliged to give way to public 
 opinion, and a fc^rt of propriety in admitting to appear what he had 
 undertaken to defend. The American conititutions were to liberty 
 what a grammar is to language ; they define its parts of fpeecb, and 
 praQicallv connru6l them into fvntax. 
 
 The 
 
i 53 J 
 
 The peculiar fituatlon of the then Marquis de la Faycrtc is i:n- 
 other link in the great chain. Ke Terved in America as an Ameri- 
 can officer under a commiffion of Congrels, and by the univerfa- 
 lity of his acquaintance, was m dole fnendrnip with the civil go- 
 vernment oi America, as well as with the mihtary line. Ke fpoke 
 the language of the country, entered into the difculTions on the 
 principfes of government, and was always a welcome Lnend at any 
 
 eleftion. i r r i - 
 
 When the war clofed, a vail reinforcement to tne caufe of Li- 
 berty fpread iifelf over France,. by the return of the French officers 
 andYoldiers. A knowledge of the praBice was then joined to the 
 theorv ; and all that was wanting to give it real exiileiice was oppoi- 
 tunity. Man cannot, properly fpeaking, make circumftances for 
 his purpofe, but he always has it in his power to improve them 
 when they occur ; and this was the cafe in France. 
 
 M. Neckar was diiplaced in May 1781 ; and by the ill ir.anage- 
 ment of the finances afterwards, and particularly during the extra- 
 vatrant adminiftration of M. Ca'onne, the revenue of France, which 
 was nearly twenty-four millions {[Qxl'ing per year, was become un- 
 equal to the expenditures, not becaufe the revenue had decreafed, 
 but becauie the expenfes had increafed ; and this was the circuin- 
 ftance which the nation laid hold of to bring forward a revolution. 
 The Engliffi Minifter, Mr. Pitt, has frequently alluded to the fiate 
 of the French finances in his budgets, without undertaking the fub- 
 je£>. Had the French Parliaments been as ready to regiller edi6>s 
 for new taxes, as an Englifn parliament is to grant them, there had 
 been no derangement in the finances, nor yet any revolution ; but 
 this will better explain itfelf as 1 proceed. 
 
 It will be neceffary here to fhew how taxes were formerly raifeJ 
 in France. The King, or rather the Court or Miniftry afting un- 
 der the ufe of that name, framed the edifts for taxes at their own 
 defcretion, and lent them to the parliaments to be regidered ; lor 
 until they were regiftered by the parlian^ents they were not opera- 
 tive. Difputeshad longexiiled between the court and the parlia- 
 ments with refpeft to the extent of the parliament's authority on 
 this head. The court infiftcd that the authority of parliaments went 
 no further than to reiuon Urate or ffiev/ reafons againft the tax, re- 
 ferving to itfeU the right of determning whether the reafons were 
 well or ill-founded; and in confequence thereof, cither to with- 
 draw the edi£tas a matter ot choice, or to order it to be enregiflercd 
 as a matter of authority. The parliaments en their part infirted, 
 that they had not only a right to remonllrate but to rejeft ; and on 
 this ground they were always fupported by the nation. 
 
 Bat, to return to the order of my narrative — M. Calonne wanted 
 
 m.onev; 
 
: 54 ) 
 
 money ; and as he knew the llurdy difpofition of the parliaments 
 with ieipe6t to new taxes, heingenioufly fought either to approach 
 them by more gentle means than that of diretl authority, or to get 
 over their heads by a mancEuvre ; and, for this purpofe, he revived 
 the projeft of affembling a body oi men from the feveral provinces, 
 under tne ftile of an " AfTembly of the Notables," or Men of 
 Note, who met in 1787, and who were either to recommend taxes 
 to the parliaments, or aft as a parliament themfelves. An aflem- 
 bly under this name had been called in 1617. 
 
 As we are to view this as ihefirfl praftical ftep lowards the revo- 
 lution, it will be proper to enter into fomc particulars refpefting it. 
 
 The AfTembly of the Notables has in fome places been miftaken 
 for the Stales-General, but was wholly a different body ; the States- 
 General being always by election. The perfons who'compofed the 
 Afiembly of the Notables -veie all nominated by the Kmg, and 
 confilied of one hundred and forty members. But as M. Calonne 
 could not depend upon a majority of this afiembly in his favour, he 
 very ingenioufly arranged them in fuch a manner as to make forty- 
 four a majority of one hundred and forty : to eifefcl: this, he dif- 
 pofed of them into fevcn feparate committees, of twenty members 
 each. Every general queflion was to be decided, not by a majority 
 of perfons, but by a majority of committees ; and as eleven votes 
 would makca majority in a committee, and four committees a ma- 
 jority of fevcn, M. Calonne had good reafon to conclude, that as 
 forty-four would determine any general queflion, he could not be 
 out-voted. But all his pUns deceived him, and in the event be- 
 came his overthrow. 
 
 The then Marquis de la Fayette was placed in the fecond com- 
 mittee, of which Count D'Artois was Piefident : and as money- 
 matters was the obje61, it natural'y brought in view every circum- 
 flance conne6ted with it. M. de la Fayette made a verbal charge 
 againft Calonne, for felling crown lands to the amount oi two mil- 
 lions of livres, in a manner that appeared to be unknown to the 
 King. The Count D'Artois (as if to intimidate, for the Baftille 
 was then in being) afked the Marquis, if he would render the charge 
 in writing ? He replied, that he would. The Count D'Artois did 
 not dem.and it, but brought a meflage from the King to that purport. 
 M. de la Fayette then delivered in his charge in writing, to be given 
 to the King, undertaking to fupport it. No farther proceedings 
 were had upon this affair ; but M. Calonne w^s foon after dif miffed 
 by the King, and fet off to England. 
 
 As M. de la Fayette from the experience of what he had feen in 
 America, was better acquainted with the fcience of civil govern- 
 ment than the generality of the members who compofcd the Alfem- 
 
 bly 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 bly of the Notables could then be, the brunt of the bufinefs fell con* 
 fiderably to his fhare. The plan of thofe who had a conftitution in 
 view, was to contend with the court on the ground of taxes, and 
 fome of them openly profelled their objcft. Difputes frequently 
 arofe between Count D'Artois and M. de la Fa)eae, upon various 
 fubjefts. With refpeft to the arrears already incurred, the latter 
 propofed to remedy them, by accommodating ihe exptnces to the 
 revenue, inftead ot the revenue to the expences; and as objcBs of 
 reiorm, he propofed to abolilh the Baftille, and all the Stare pii- 
 fons throughout the nation, (the keeping oi which was attended with 
 great expence,) and to fupprefs Lcttres de Cachet : But thofe mat- 
 ters were not much attended to ; and with refpeft to Litres de 
 Cachet, a majority of the Nobles appeared to be in favour of them. 
 
 On the fubjeft of fupplying the Treafur) by new taxes, tlie Af- 
 fembly declined taking the matter on themfelves, concurring in the 
 opinion that they had nor authority. In a debate on this fubjeft, 
 M. de la Fayette faid, that raifing money by taxes could onlv be dune 
 by a National Aflembly, freely elefted by the people, and aBing as 
 their reprefentatives. Do you mean, faid the Count D'Artois, the 
 States General? M. de la Fayette replied, that he did. Will you, 
 faid the Count D'Artois, fign what you fay, to be given to the 
 King? The other replied, that he not only would do this, but that 
 he would go farther, and fay, that the effeftual mode would be, for 
 the King to agree to the eftablifhment ol a conftitution. 
 
 As one of the plans had thus failed, that of getting the AfTembly 
 to a£l as a Parliament, the other cam.e into view, that of recora- 
 mending. On this fubjeft, the Aflembjy agreed to recommend two 
 new taxes to be enregillered by the Parliament, the one a ftamp- 
 tax, and the other a territorial tax, or fort of land-tax. The two 
 have been eftimaied at about five millions fterling per ann. We 
 have now to turn our attention to the Parliaments, on whom the bu- 
 fmefs was again devolving. 
 
 The Archbifliop of Thouloufe (fince Archbilhop of Sens and 
 now a Cardinal) was appointed to the adminhlration of the finances, 
 foon after the difmilTion of Calonnei He was aifo made Prime 
 Minifter, an office that did not always exift in France. When this 
 office did not exift, the Chief of each of the principal departments 
 tranfafted bufinefs immediately with the King ; but when the Prime 
 Minifter was appointed, they did bufinefs only with him. Tlje 
 Archb'.fhop arrived to more ftate-authority than any Minifter finc« 
 the Duke de Choifeui!, and the nation was ftrongly difpofed in his 
 favour; but by a line of conduft fcarcely to be ac'counied for, he 
 perverted every opportunity, turned out a defpot, and funk into 
 Sifgrace, and a Cardinal. 
 
 Th? 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 The afTembly of ilic Notables having broken up, the new Muiifter 
 fent theeditts for the two new taxes recommended by the Afreinbly 
 to the parhuaients, to be enregiftered. They of courfe came firft 
 before the parUament of Paris, who returned tor anfwer, That with 
 fuck a levenuc as the Nation then /upported, the name of taxes ought 
 not to he mintioned, but fur the purpofe of reducing them ; and threw 
 both the editts out. * 
 
 On this refufal, the parliament was ordered to Verfailles, where, 
 in die ufual form,' the King held, what under the old government 
 was called a IBitA or Juilice ; and the two edi6ls were enregiflered 
 in prefence of the parliament ; by an order of State, in the manner 
 iiicntioi^ied in page 53. On this, ihe parliament immediately re- 
 turned to Paris, renewed their felhon in form, and ordered the en- 
 regidering to be llruck out, declaring that every thing done at 
 Verfailles was illegal. All the members of the parliament were 
 then ferved with Lettres de Cachet, and exiled to Trois ; but as 
 they continued as inflexible in exile as before, and as vengeance did 
 not fupply the place of taxes, they were after a Ihort time recalled 
 10 Palis. 
 
 The edicls were again tendered to them, and the Count D'Ar- 
 tols undertook toatt as reprefentative of the King. For this pur- 
 pofe he came trom Verfailles to Paris in a tram of procefifion ; and 
 the parliament were alTembled to receive him. But fhow and 
 parade had loft their influence in France; and whatever ideas ot 
 importance he might fet off with, he had to return with thofe of 
 mortification and difappoiiitment. On alighting from his carriage 
 to afcend the fteps of the Parliament Houfe, the crowd (which was 
 nameroufly collefted) threw out trite expreffions, faying, *' this 
 is Monfieur D'Artois, who wants more of our money to fpend.'* 
 The marked difapprobation which he faw, impreffed him with ap- 
 prehcnfions ; and the word Aux armes (to arms) was given out 
 by the officer of the guard who attended him. It was fo loudly vo- 
 ciferated, that it echoed through the avenues of the Houfe, and 
 produced a temporary confufion : I was then {landing in one of the 
 apartments through which he had to pafs, and could not avoid re- 
 ilecfing how wretched was the condition of a difrefpefted man. 
 
 He endeavoured to imprefs the Parliament by great words, and 
 opened his authority by faying, "The King, our Lord and Mafter." 
 The parliament received him very coolly, and with their ufual de- 
 rermination not to regiller the taxes : and in this manner the inter- 
 view ended. After 
 
 * When the Englirii MioiHer, Mr, Pitr, mention* the French finao- 
 cea a^jaiD ia the Kngiiih r*:lianicar, 1: wuuid Le weli that he QoLiced 
 this as au exainplc. 
 
 i 
 
( SI ) 
 
 After this a new fubjeft took place: In the various debates and 
 contefts that arofe between the Court and the Parliaments on the iubjc6l 
 of taxes, the Parhament of Paris at laft declared, that although it 
 had been cuftomary for Parliaments to enregifter edi6ts for taxes as 
 a matter of convenience, the right belonged only to the States-Gc' 
 neral; and that, therefore, the Parliament could no longer with 
 propriety continue to debate on what it had net aurhoriry to aft. 
 The King after this came to Paris, and held a meeting with the Par- 
 liament, in which he continued from ten in the morning till about 
 fix in the evening; and, in a manner that appealed to proceed trom 
 him, as it unconlulted upon with the cabinet or the miniftry, gave 
 his word to the Parliament, that the States-General fliould be con- 
 vened. 
 
 But after this another fcene arofe, on a ground different from all 
 the former. The minifler and the cabinet were averfe to caUing 
 the States-General: They well knew, that if the States-General 
 were afTembled, themfelves muft fall ; and as the King had not 
 mentioned any time, they hit on a projeft calculated to elude, with- 
 out appearing to oppofe. 
 
 For this purpofe, the Court fet about making a l^ort of Conilitu- 
 tion itfelf: It was principally the work of M. Lamoignon, Keeper 
 of the Seals, who afterwards (hot himfelf. This new arrangement^ 
 confifted in elfablifhing a body under the name of a Cour Meniere 
 or lull Court, in which were inveited all the powers that the go- 
 vernment might have occafion to make ufe of. The perfons com- 
 •pofmg this Court were to be nominated by the King; the contend- 
 ed right of taxation was given up on the part of tlie King, and a 
 new criminal code of laws, and law proceedings, was fubftituted in 
 room of the former. The thing, in many points, contained better 
 principles than thofe upon which the government had hitherto been 
 adminiflered ; but with refpeft to the Cour plenure, it was no other 
 than a medium through which defpotifm was to pafs, without ap- 
 pearing to aft direftly from itfelf. 
 
 The Cabinet had high expeftations from their new contri- 
 vance. The perfons who were to compofe the Cour Pleniere, were 
 already nominated, and as it was necefTary to carry a fair appearance, 
 many of the beil charafters in the nation were appointed among 
 the number. It was to commence on the 8th of May 1788; But 
 an oppofuion arofe to it, on two grounds — the one as to Principle, 
 and the other as to Form, 
 
 On the ground of principle it was contended, That government 
 had not a right to alter itfelf; and that it the praftice was once ad- 
 mitted, it would grow into a principle, and be made a precedent 
 for any future alterations the governmeni might wiih to cllablif!( ; 
 
 H tb. 
 
I 5S ) 
 
 :hat the right of altering the government was a national right and 
 not a right of governmeot. And on the ground of Form, it was 
 contended, that tlie Co ur pie nitre was nothing more than a larger 
 Cabinet. 
 
 The ihen Dake dcla Ronchefoucault, Luxembourg, De Noailles, 
 and many others, refufed to accept the nomination, and ftrenuoufly 
 oppofed the whole plan. When the edit! for eflabHfhing ihis new- 
 Court was feni to the Parliaments to be enregiRered, and put into 
 execution, they rcf.ilcd alfo. The Parliament of Paris not onU^ 
 refufed, but denied the authority; zwd. the conteft renewed itfelf 
 between ilie Paiiiauieiit and the Cabinet moie llrongly than ever. 
 While the Parliament were fitting in debaie on this fubjeft, the 
 Miniflry ordered a regiment of foMiers to furround the Houle, and 
 form a blockade. The Members fent out for beds and provifion, 
 and lived as in a befieged citadel ; and this had no effefcf, the com- 
 manding officer was oidered to enier the Parliament Houfe and 
 feize them, which be did, and fome of the prmcipal members were 
 {hut up in different prifons. About the fame time a deputation of 
 perfons arrivei from the {province of Brittany, to remonftrate a- 
 gainft the eflabliQiment of sX^^Cour plcniere ; and thofe the Arch- 
 bifhop fcnt to the Baflille. But the fpii it ot the Nation was not to 
 be overcome ; and it was fo fub'y fenhble oi: the flrong ground it 
 had taken, that of withholding taxes, that it contented itfelf with 
 keeping up a fort of quiet rehilance, which efFeBually overthrew 
 ail the plans at that time formed againd it. The projc6t of the 
 Cour Pleniere was at lall obliged to be given up, and the Prime Mi- 
 nifter not long after vvards followed its fate ; and M. Neckar was re- 
 called into office. 
 
 The attempt to eftal)iifli the Cour Pleiiiere had an effi^^cf upon the 
 Nation, which itielf did not perceive. It was a fort of new lorm of 
 government, that infenfibility ferved 10 put the old one out of fight, 
 and to unhinge it from the fuperftitious authority of antiquity. It 
 was government dethroning government ; and the old one, by at- 
 tempting to make a new one, made a chafm. 
 
 The failure of this fcheme renewed the fubjeft of convening the 
 States- General ; and this gave rife to a new feries of politics. — 
 There was no fettled form for convening the States-General; all 
 that it pofitively meant, was a deputation from what were then called 
 the Clergy, the NoblefTe, and the Commons; but their numbers, or 
 their proportions, had not been always the fame. They had been 
 convened only on extraordinary occafions, the lall of which was in 
 1614; their numbers were then in equal proportions, and they 
 voted by orders. 
 
 It could not well efcape the fagaciiy of M. Neckar, that the 
 
 mode 
 
{ 59 ) 
 
 mode of 1614 would anfwer neither the purpoic of the then go- 
 vernment, nor of the nation. As matters were at that time cir- 
 cumflanced, it would have been too contentious to agree upon any 
 thing. The debates would have been endlefs upon privileges and 
 exemptions, in which neither the wants of the govcrnincnt, nor 
 the wiHies of the nation for a conltitution, would have been attend- 
 ed to. But as he did not chufe to take the decifiou upon him^^-lf, 
 he iurnmoned again the AJfembly of tin Notables, and referred it to 
 them. This body was in general interefted in the decifion, being 
 chiefly of the ariliocracy and the high-paid clergy ; and they de- 
 cided in favour of the mode of 1614. This decifion was againfl 
 the fenfe of the Nation, and alfo againfl: the wiihes of the Court ; 
 for the ariftocracy oppofed itfelf to both, and contended tor privi- 
 leges independent of either. The fubjett was then taken up by the 
 Parliament, who recommended that the number of the Commons 
 fhould be equal to the other two ; and that they iliou'd all fit in one 
 houfe, and vote in one body. The number final 'y determined on 
 was twelve hundred ; fix hundred to be chofen by the Commons^ 
 (and this was lefs than their proportion ought to have been when 
 their worth and confequence is confidercd on a national fcale) three 
 hundred by the clergy, and three hundred by the ariliocracy ; but 
 with refpeft to the mode ol afiembling themfelves, whether toge- 
 ther or apart, or the manner in which ihcy fiiould vote, thofe mat- 
 ters were referred.* The 
 
 * Mr. Burke (and I muft tak? the I'bertf of telling him he is very un- 
 acquainted with French affairs) fpeaking upon this fubjc^i, fays, ** The 
 ** firft thing that (Iriick me ia the calling ?he States-General, was a 
 ** great departure from the ancient courfe ;'* and he fooo after fay«, 
 ** From rhe tnomeat I read the iitl, I faw diftiiiciiy, hm'I very nearly as 
 ** it hai happened, all that was to follow." Mr. Burke certainiy did not 
 fee all that wan to follow. I endeavoured to imprefs hira, as \yell be- 
 fore as after the States-General met, that there would be a REVO- 
 LUTION; b»'t was not able to imke him fee it, neiilier would he be- 
 lieve it. How then he conld difiin^ly fee allthe parts, when the whole 
 was out of fight, is beyond my comprehenfion. And with refpect to 
 the ** departure from the ajjcient'coorfe," befides the natural weakuefs 
 of the remark, it (hews ihar he is nnacquainted with circufutlancei.— 
 The departure was neceilarr, from the expej ientff Jud upon it, that the 
 ancient courfe was a bad one. The States-General oi 1614 were call- 
 ed at the coramenGeraent of the civil war in the minority of Louis XIII ; 
 hut by the claOi ot arranging them by orders, they inceafed the confu- 
 fion they were called to compofe. The author of L'lntrigue du Cabi- 
 net, (Intrigue of the Cabinet) who wrote before any revolution was 
 thought- of in France, fpeaki' g of the States General of 11^14, fays, 
 ** Th:y held the public in fufpenfo five month?; and by the queftions 
 « agitated therein, and the heat with which they were pur, it appears 
 
 '♦ that 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 The ele6lIon that followed, was not a contefted eleaion, but an 
 animated one. The candidates were not men, but principles. So- 
 cieties verc formed in Paris, and committees of correlpondence and 
 communication eftablifhed throughout the nation, for the purpofe 
 of enlightening the people, and explaining to them the prmciples 
 of civil government ; and fo orderly was the eleaion conduaed, 
 that it did not give rife even to the rumour of tumult. 
 
 The States-General were to meet at Vei failles, in April 1789, 
 but did not affemble till May. They fituated themfelves in three 
 feparate chambers, or rather the clergy, and the arillocracy with- 
 drew each into a feparate chamber. The majority of the ariftocracy 
 claimed what they called the privilege of voting as a feparate body, 
 2nd of giving their confent or their negative in that manner; and 
 many of the bifliops and the high-beneficed clergy claimed the fame 
 privilege on the part of their order. 
 
 The Tiers Elat (as they were then called) difowned any know- 
 ledge of artificial orders and artificial privileges; and they were not 
 only refolute on this point, but fomewhat difdainiul. They began 
 to confider arifiocr.cy as a kind of fuiigus growmg out of the cor- 
 ruption of fociety, that could not be admitted even as a branch of 
 it ; and from, the difpofition the ariftocracy had fhewn by upholding 
 Lettrcs de Cachet, and in fundry other inftances, it was manifell 
 that no conftitution could be formed by admitting men in any other 
 charader than as national men. 
 
 After various altercations on this head, the Tiers Etat or Com- 
 mons (as they were then called) declared themfelves (on a motion 
 made for that purpofe by the Abbe Sieyes) " the represent a- 
 " TiVEs Of THE NATION ; and that the two orders could he con- 
 *' fidered but as deputies of corporations, and could only have a deli- 
 *' beratwe voice n'hen they ajftmbled in a national charaBer with the 
 " national repreftntatives.'' This proceeding extinguiflied the ftile 
 of Etaf.s Generaiix, or States General, and ere6>ed it into the flilc 
 it now bears^ that of L'AfTemble Nationale, or National Aifembly. 
 
 This motion was not made in a precipitate manner : It was the 
 refultof cool deliberation, and concerted between the national re- 
 prefentatives and the patriotic members of the two chambers, who 
 faw into the folly, mifchief, and injuftice of artificial privileged 
 diftinaions. It was become evident, that no conftitution, worthy 
 of being called by that name, could beeftablifhed on any thing lefs 
 than a national ground. The ariftocracy had hitherto oppofed the 
 
 delpotifm 
 « that the great (!e» graud«) thought more to fatisfy their particular 
 •« paffiona, than to procure the good of the nation ; aud the whole time 
 <* paired away id ahercatioas, ceremonies, and parade.'*--— LUnfiigMo 
 du Cabiutr, vol, i. p. 329. 
 
( 6i ) 
 
 defpotifm ot the Court, and affefled the language of patriotifm ; 
 but it oppofcd it as ils rival, (as the Englifh Barons oppofed King 
 John ;) and it now oppofed the nation trom the fame itiOtives. 
 
 On carrying this motion, the national rcpreleniatives^ as had 
 been concerted, fent an invitation to the two chambers, to unite 
 Avith them in a national chara£^ter, and proceed to bufinefs, A ma- 
 jority ot the clergy, chiefly of the parifli-priefts, withdrew from 
 the clerical chamber, and joined the nation ; and forty-five from 
 the other chamber joined in like manner. There is a fort of fecret 
 hiftory belonging to this laft circuvn Ranee, which is neceffary to 
 its explanation : It was not judged prudent that all the patriotic 
 members ot the cbamber, ftiiing itleif the Nobles, Ihould quit at 
 once ; and in confcquence of this arrangement, they drew off by 
 degrees, alwavs leaving fome, as well to reafon the c^fe, as to 
 watch the fufpe6led. In a little time, the numbers increafed irom 
 forty. five to eighty, and foon after to a greater number ; which 
 with a majority of the clergy, and the whole of the national repre- 
 fentatives, put the mal-contents in a very diminutive condition. 
 
 The King, who, very different from the general clafs called by 
 that name, is a man of a good heart, fhewed hirnfelf difpofed to re- 
 commend a union of the three chambeis, on the ground theNation- 
 al Affembly had taken ; but the mal-contents exerted themfelves to 
 prevent it, and began now to have another project in view. Their 
 numbers confifted of a majority of the ailftocratica! chamber, and 
 a minority of the clerical chamber, chiefly of bifliops, and high- 
 beneficed clergy ; and thefe men were determined to put every 
 thing toiffue, as well by ftrength as by ftratagem. They had no 
 objeft ion to a conftitution ; but it mull be fuch an one as thernfelves 
 ihould diftate, and luited to their own views and particular fituati- 
 ©ns. On the other hand, the Nation difowned knowing any thing 
 ot them but as citizens, and was determined to (hiit out all fuch up- 
 ftart pretenfions. The more ariftocracy appeared, the more it was 
 defpifed ; there was a vifible imbecility and want of intellecfsin the 
 majority, a fort ot je lujais quoi, that while it affefied to be more 
 than citizen, was lefs than man. It loft ground from contempt 
 more than from hatred ; and was rather jeered at as an afs, than 
 dreaded as a lion. This is the general cliaracler of aiiOocracy, or 
 what are called Nobles or Nobility, or rather No-ability, in all 
 coimtries. 
 
 The plan of the mal-contents confifted nov/ of two things ; either 
 to deliberate and vote by chambers, (or orders,) more cfpccially 
 on all queftions refpecling a conftitution, (by v/hich the ariftocrati- 
 €al chamber would have had a negative on any article of the con- 
 ftitution) or. in cafe they could not accoinplifh this objett, to over- 
 throw the National Affemblv entirely. ' " Td 
 
i 62 ) 
 
 To effcci one or other of thefe objefts, they began now to culti- 
 vate a friendfliip with that defpotifm they had hitherto attempted 
 to rival, and the Count D'Artois became their chief. The King 
 (who has fince declared himfelf deceived into their meafures) held, 
 according to the old form, a Bed of Jujlice in which he accorded 
 to the deliberation and vote /?<2r ;^^tf (by head) upon leveral fub- 
 je£ls; but referved the deliberation -and vote upon all queflions 
 refpetling a conflitution to the three chambers feparately. This 
 declaration of the king was made againft the advice of M. Neckar, 
 who now began to perceive that he was growing out of falhion at 
 Court, and that another minifter was in contemplation. 
 
 As the form of fitting in feparate chambers was yet apparently 
 kept up, though efTentially dcflroyed, the national reprefentatives, 
 immediately after this declaration of the King, reforted to their own 
 •chambers, to confult on a protelt againft it; and the minority of 
 the chamber (calling itfelf tlie Nobles,) who had joined the nation- 
 al caufe, retired to a private houfe, to confult in like manner. The 
 mal-contents had by this time concerted their meafures with the 
 Court, which Count D'Artois undertook to conduft ; and as they 
 faw, from the difcontent which the declaration excited, and the op- 
 poiltion making againft it, that they could not obtain a controul 
 over the intended conftitution by a feparate vote, they prepared 
 themfelves for their final objeft — that of confpiring againft the Na- 
 tional Aflembly, and overthrowing it. 
 
 The next morning, the door of the chamber of the National Af- 
 femblv was fhut againft them, and guarded by troops; and the 
 members were refufed admittance. On this, they withdrew to a 
 tenis-ground in the neighbourhood of Verfailles, as the moft con- 
 venient place they could find, and, after their renewing their feffion, 
 took an oath never to feparate from each other, under any circum- 
 ftances whatever, death excepted, until they had eftablilhed a con- 
 ftitution. As the experiment of fhutting up the houfe had no other 
 efifeft than that of producing a clofer connexion in the Mem.bers, 
 it was opened again the next day, and the public bufinefs recom- 
 menced in the ufual place. 
 
 We now are to have in view the forming of the new Miniftry, 
 which was to accomplifli the overthrow of the National Aflembly. 
 But as force wouM be necefl'ary, orders were iffued to alfemble thir- 
 ty thoufand troops, the command of which w^as given to Broglio, 
 one of tlic' new-intended Miniftry, who was recalled from the coun- 
 try for this purpofe. But as fome management was necelTary to 
 keep this plan concealed till the moment it fliould be ready for ex- 
 ecution, it is to this policy that a declaration made by Count D'Ar- 
 tois niuft be attributed, and which is here proper to be introduced. 
 
 It 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 It could not but occur, that while ihe mal-contents continued to 
 refort to their chambers, feparate iroin the National Allen^bly, that 
 more jealoufy would be excited than \\ they were mixed with if, 
 and that the plot might be fiupecled. But as they had taken their 
 ground, and now wanted a pretence for quitting it, it was necelTary 
 that one (hould be deviled. This was cifeBually accomplifhed by 
 a declaration made by Count D'Artois, " Ikai if they took not a 
 " part in the National AJfembly, the life, (f the King would be en- 
 " danger ed;'' on which they quitted their chambers, and mixed 
 with the AiTembly in one body. 
 
 At the time this declaration was made, it was generally treated as 
 a piece of abfurdity in Count D'Artois, and calculated merely to 
 relieve the outftanding Members of the two chambers from the di- 
 minutive fituation they were put in ; and if nothing more had fol- 
 lowed, this conclufion would have been good. But as things belt, 
 explain themfelves by their events, this apparent union was only a 
 cover to the machinations which were fecretly going on ; and the; 
 declaration accommodated iifelf to anfwer that purpofe. In a little 
 time the National Affembly found itfelf furrounded by troops, and 
 thoufands more were daily arriving. On this a very flrong de- 
 claration was made by the National AfTembly to the King, rernon- 
 llrating on the impropriety of the meafure, and demanding the rea- 
 fon. Die King, v/ho was not in the fecret of this bufinefs, as him- 
 felf afterwards declared, gave fubltantially for anfwer, that he had 
 no other objeft in view than to preferve ihe public tranquility, 
 which appeared to be much diflurbed. 
 
 But in a few days from this time, the p'oi unravelled itfeU. M. 
 Neckar and the Mini (fry were difplaced, and a new one formed, of 
 the enemies of the Revolution; aid Broglio, with between twenty- 
 five and thirty thoufand foreign troops, was arrived tofupporr them. 
 The mafk was now thrown off, and matters were come to a crifis. — 
 The event was, that in the fpace of three days, the new Miniflry 
 and their abettors found it prudent to fly the nation ; the Baitille 
 was taken, and Broglio and his foreign troops difperfed ; as is al- 
 ready related in the tore part of this work. 
 
 There are fome curious circumffances in the hiftory of this fhort- 
 lived miniflry, and this fliort- lived attempt at a counter-revolution. 
 The palace of Verfaiiles, where the Court was fating, was not 
 more than four hundred yards dilfant from the hall where the Na- 
 tional Affembly was fitting. The two places were at this moment 
 like the feparate head- quarters of two combatant armies; yet the 
 Court was as perfeftly ignorant of the information which had ar- 
 rived from Paris to the National Affembly, as if it had rcfjded at 
 an hundred miles dillaace. The then Marquis de ia Fayette, who 
 
( 6-1 ) 
 
 (asbas been already mentioned) was chofen toprefide in the National 
 Aflembly, on this particular occaOon, named, by order of the Af- 
 fcmbly, three fucceflive deputations to the King, on the day, and 
 up to the evening on which the BaftUle was taken, to inform and 
 confer with him on the Hate of affairs; but the miniftry, who knew 
 not lo much as that it was attacked, precluded all communication, 
 and were iolacine themfelves how dexteroufly they had fucceeded ; 
 but in a few hours the accounts arrived fo thick and faft, that they 
 bad to Hart from their defks and run. Some fct off in one diiguife, 
 and fome in another, and none in their own chara6ler. Their 
 anxiety now was to outride the news left they fliould be flopped, 
 which, though it flew faft, flew not fo fail; as themfelves. 
 
 It is worth remarking, thit the National Affembly neither pur- 
 fued thofe fugitive confpirators, nor took any notice of them, nor 
 fought to retaliate in any Ihape whatever. Occupied with eftablifti- 
 ing a conftitution, founded on the Rights of Man and the authority 
 of the People, the only authority on which government has a right 
 to exift in any country, the National Affembly felt none of thofe 
 mean paffions which mark the chara6ler of impertinent governments 
 founding themfelves on their own authority, or on the abfurdity of 
 hereditary fucceffion. It is ihe faculty of the human mind to be- 
 come what it contemplates, and to a6f in unifon with its objeft. 
 
 The confpiracy being thus difperfed, one of the firft works of the 
 National AlTembly, inftead of vindiftive proclamations, as has been 
 the cafe with other governments, was to publifh a Declaration of 
 the Rights of Man, as the bafis on which the new conftitution was 
 to be buiit, and which is here fuhjoined. 
 
 DECLARATION of the RIGHTS of MAN and oj 
 CITIZENS. 
 
 By the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ^/FRANCE. 
 
 " THE Reprefentatives of the People of France formed into 
 a National Affembly, confidering that ignorance, negleft, or con- 
 tempt of human rights, are the fole caufes of pubhc misfortunes 
 and corruptions of government, have relolved to fet forth in a fo- 
 lemn declaration, thefe natural, imprefcriptible, and unalienable 
 rights : That this declaration being conftantly prefent to the minds 
 of the members of the body focial, they may be ever kept attentive 
 to their rights and their duties : That the a6is of the legiflative and 
 executive powers of government, being capable of being every mo- 
 ment compared with the end of political inftitutions, may be more 
 r«Ipeaed; and alfo, that the future claims of the citizens, being 
 
 dire6led 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 direfled by fimple and inconteftlble principles, may always tend to 
 the niaintenance of the conftitutioi), and the general happinefs. 
 
 ** For thefe reafons the National Assembly doth r-^cognlzc 
 and declare, in the prefence of the SUPREME BEING, and 
 with the hope of his bleflTing and favour, the following /acred 
 rights of men and of citizens: 
 
 * I. Men are born and always continue free ^ and equal in refped to 
 ^ their rights. Civil dijlindions therefor e^ can he founded only on 
 
 * public utility, 
 
 * II. The end of all political affociations is the prefer vation of the 
 ^ natural and imprefcriptible rights of man; and thefe rights are li^ 
 
 * berty^ property, fee urity, and refifance of oppreffon, 
 
 * III. The nation is effentially the four ce of all fovereignty ; nor 
 
 * cfl« a/?)/ INDIVIDUAL, or K'i^^ BODY OF MEN, be entitled to 
 
 * any authority which is not exprefsly derived from it. 
 
 * IV. Political liberty confifts in the power of doing whatever does 
 
 * not injure another. The exercife of the natural rights of every 
 
 * man, has no other limits than thofe which are ncceltary to feciire 
 
 * to every other man the free exercife of the fame rights ; and thefe 
 
 * linjits are determinable pnly by the law. 
 
 * V. The law ought to prohibit only aftions hurtful to (ociety. — 
 
 * What is not prohibited by the law, fnould not be hindered ; nor 
 
 * fliould any one be compelled to that which the law does not re- 
 
 * quire. 
 
 * VI. The law is an exprelTion of the will of the community.— 
 
 * AH citizens have a right to concur, either perfonally, or by their 
 
 * reprefentatives, in its formation. It fliould be the fame to all, 
 
 * whether it protefts or punifhes ; and all being equal in its fight^ 
 
 * are equally eligible to all honours, places, and employments, accord' 
 
 * ing to their different abilities, without any other diftinLlion than that 
 
 * created by their virtues and talents. 
 
 * VII. No man fhould be accufed, arrefted, or held in confine- 
 
 * ment, except in cafes determined by the law, and according to the 
 
 * forms which it has prefcribed. All who promote, folicit, e^aecute, 
 
 * or caufe to be executed, arbitrary orders, ought to be punillied ; 
 
 * and every citizen called upon, or apprehended by virtue of the 
 
 * law, ought immediately to obey, and renders himfelf culp^b^J)y 
 
 * re<iifance. 
 
 * VIII. The law ought to impofc no other penalties than fuch as 
 
 * are abfolutely and evidently necefl'ary : and no one ought to be 
 
 * puniOied, but in virtue of a law promulgated before the offence, 
 
 * and legally applied. 
 
 * IX. Every man being prelumed innocent till he has been con- 
 vifted, whenever his detention becomes indilpenlible, all rigour 
 
 I ' to 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 * toirun, more tlian is necefTary to fecure his pcrfon, ought to be 
 
 * provldetl againd by the law. 
 
 * X. No man ought to he mo'efted on account of his opinions, 
 
 * not even on account of his r^'ligious opinions, provided his avow^ 
 
 * al o\ ihem does not difturh the public order eftabhflied by the law. 
 
 * XI. The nnredrained communication of thoughts and opinions 
 
 * being one oi the moil precious rights of man, every citizen may 
 
 * fpeak, write, and pubhOi freely» provided he is refponfible tor the 
 
 * abufe of this liberty in cafes determined by the law. 
 
 ' XII. A public force being neceiTary to give fecnrify to the 
 
 * rights of men and ot citizens, that lorce is inftituted tor the be- 
 
 * nefit of the communitv, and not for the particular benefit of the 
 
 * perfonsVith whom it is entruiled. 
 
 * XIII. A common contribution being neceflary for the fupport 
 
 * of the public force, and for defraying the other expcnces of go^ 
 
 * vernment, it ought to be divided equally among the members of 
 
 * the community, according to their abilities. 
 
 * XIV. Every citizen has a right, either by himfelf, or his re- 
 
 * prefentative, to a free voice in determining the neceflity of pub- 
 
 * lie contributions, the appropriation of them, and their amount, 
 
 * mode of aireffment, and duration. 
 
 * XV. F.very community has a right to demand of all its agents, 
 
 * an account of their condu61. 
 
 ' XVI. Every community in which a feparation of powers and 
 
 * a fecurity of rights is not provided for, wants a conftitution. 
 
 * XVII. The right to property being inviolable and facred, no 
 
 * one ought to be deprived of it, except in cafes of evident public 
 « neceflity legacy afcertained, and on condition of a previous juft 
 
 * indemnity." 
 
 OBSERVATIONS on the DECLARATION of 
 RIGHTS. 
 
 The three firfi: articles comprehend in general terms, the whole 
 of a Declaration of Rights: All the fucceeding articles either ori. 
 ginate from them, or follow as elucidations. The 4th, 5th, and 6th, 
 define more particularly what is only generally expreffed in the ift, 
 ad, and 3d. 
 
 The 7th, 8th, gth, 10th, and 1 ith articles, are declaratory of /?n»- 
 ciples upon which laws (hall be conflruBed conformable to rights 
 already declared. But it is queftioned by fome very good people 
 in France, as well as in other countries, whether the loih article 
 fufficientlv guarantees the right it is intended to accord with : Be- 
 iides which! it takes off from the divine dignity of religion, and 
 weakens its operative force upon the misd to make it a fubjeft of hu. 
 
 man 
 
( 6; ) 
 
 man laws. It then prefents itfelf to Man, like light intercepted by 
 a cloudy medium, in which the fource of it is obfcured from his 
 fight, and he fees nothing to reverence in the duiky ray.* 
 
 The remaining articles, beginning with the i'2\h, die fubftaniially 
 contained in the principles of the preceding articles ; but, in *he 
 particular fituation which France then was, having to undo v.7hat 
 was wrong, as well as to fet up what was right, it was proper to be 
 more particular than what in another condition of things would be 
 necefTary. 
 
 While the Declaration of Rights was before the National AfTem- 
 bly, fome of its members remarked, that if a Declaration of rights 
 was publifhed, it fhould b« accompanied by a declaration ot duties. 
 The obfervation difcovered a mind that refle6led, and it only erred 
 by not reflefting far enough. A Declaration of Rights is, by re- 
 ciprocity, a Declaration of Duties alfo. Whatever is my right as 
 a man, is alfo the right of another; and it becomes my duty to 
 guarantee, as well as to pofTefs. 
 
 The three firft articles are the bafis of Liberty, as well individual 
 as national ; nor can any country be called free, whofe government 
 does not take its beginning from the principles they Cvontain, and 
 continue to preferve them pure ; and the whole of the Declaration 
 of Rights is of more value to the world, and will do more good, 
 than all the laws and ffatutes that have yet been promulgated. 
 
 In the declaratory exodium which prefaces the Declaration of 
 Rights, we fee the folemn and majellic fpetfacle of a Nation open- 
 ing its commiflion, under the aulpices of its Creator, toeflablilh a 
 government ; a fcene fo new, and lb traafcendeiuly uneq^ualled by 
 
 any 
 
 * There is a fingle idea, which, if it ftriket riwhtly upon the mind 
 either io a legal or a religioui fenfe, will prevent any man, oi any ho- 
 Hy of men, or any gov rnment, from going wrons; on the fuhjef't of 
 Religion ; which i«, that before any human iuftituiions of govern- 
 ment were known in the woild, ilvere exificd, if I may fr> expref* ir, 
 a compai:^ between God and Man, from ibe beginumg of iirue, and 
 thatu the relatioa ?.n^ condition which man in his iaAw'.dual peiloa 
 (lands ia towards his Miker cannot be chacgrd, or any ways altered 
 by any hi'man laws or human autho^i y, that leh^ions devotion, which 
 jk a part of this corapaft, cannot fo much as br made a fubjcd o£ hu- 
 man laws } and that all laws muft conform themlelves to this pri'»c 
 exifting compad, anduct affume to m3ke the compact conform to the 
 Jaws, which, beHdes being human, aie fubfeq jent thereto. The firrt 
 ad of man, when he looked around and faw himfelf a creature which 
 he did not make, and a world furnifhed for his reception, moft have 
 been devotion j and devotion mwft ever continue facred to every indi- 
 vidual man, as it appears I'l^ht to him -, and governments do mifchicf 
 by iuierfcriu5. 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 any thing in the European world, thatthe name of a Revolution is 
 diminutive of its charafter, and it rifes into a Regeneratiou of man. 
 Wiiat are the prefent Governinents of Europe, but a fcene of ini- 
 quity and oppreffion ? What is that of England ? Do not its own 
 inhabitants lay, It is a market where every man has his price, and 
 where corruption is common traffic, at the expence ot a deluded 
 people ? No wonder, then, that the French Revolution is traduced. 
 Had it confined itfeli merely to the deftruftion of flagrant defpotifm 
 perhaps Mr. Burke and fome others had been filent. Their cry 
 now is, " It has gone too far :" that is, it has gone too far for them. 
 It flares corruption in the face, and the venal tribe are all alarmed. 
 Their fear difcovers itfelf in their outrage, and they are but publifli- 
 ing the groans of a wounded vice. But from fuch oppofition, the 
 French Revolution, inftead of fufFering, receives an homage. The 
 more it is flruck, the more fparks it will emit ; and the fear is, it 
 will not be fliuck enough. It has nothing to dread from attacks : 
 Truth has given it an eflablifliment ; and that Time will record it 
 v.'ith a name as lafting as his own. 
 
 Having now traced the progrefs of the French Revolution 
 through moil of its principal ftages, from its commencement to the 
 takingof the BaftiMe, and its eftablifhment by the De«laration of 
 Rights, 1 will clofe the fubjeft v.'ith the energetic apoftrophe of M. 
 de la Fayette. — May this great monu?nent raijed to Liberty, ferve as a 
 l^Jfon to the opprejfor, and an example to the oppreffed ! * 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CHAPTER. 
 
 To prevent interrupting the argument in the preceding part of 
 this work, or the narrative that follows it, I referved fome obfer- 
 vations to be thrown together into a Mifcellaneous Chapter; by 
 which variety might not be cenfured for confufion. Mr. Burke's 
 Book is ail Mifceliany. His intention was to make an attack on 
 the French Revolution ; but inftead of proceeding with an orderly 
 arrangement, he has ftormed it with a Mob of ideas tumbling over 
 and deflroyed one another. 
 
 But this confufion and contradiftion in Mr. Burke's Book, is 
 eafily accounted for. When a man in a long caufe attempts to 
 fleer his courfe by any thing elfe than fome polar truth or ptinciple, 
 he is fure to be loft. It is beyond the compafs of his capacity, to 
 keep all the parts of an argument together, and make them unite in 
 
 one 
 
 * See page 12 of thit work.-'-N. B. Since the taking of the Baftille, 
 the occurreucet have been publiilicd : hu: the matter! recorded in this 
 narrative, are prior 10 that period ; and Tone of th^m aa ma^ eafilj" b« 
 €60, ca» be but verj little koown. 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 one ilTue, by any other means than having this guide always in view. 
 Neither memory nor invention will fupply the want of it. The 
 former falls him, and the latter betrays him. 
 
 Nouvithllanding the nonienfe, for it defcrvcs no better name, 
 that Mr. Burke has afTerted about hereditary rights, and hereditary 
 furxeflion, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government 
 for itfelf; it happened to fall in his way to give fome account of 
 what government is. *' Government, fays he, is a contrivance of hu- 
 man luifdomr 
 
 Admiting that government is a contrivance of human wifdom, it 
 inuft neceltarily follow, that hereditary fuccefTion, and hereditary 
 rights, (as they are called) can make no part of it, becaufe it is impof- 
 fibleto make wildom hereditary ; and on the other hand, that can- 
 not be a wife contrivance, which in its operation may commit the 
 government of a nation to the wifdom of an ideot. The ground 
 which Mr Burke now takes is fatal to every part of his caufe. The 
 argument changes from hereditary rights to heriditary wifdom ; and 
 the queftion is. Who is the wiieft man ? He muff now (hew that e- 
 very one in the line of hereditary fucceflion was a Soloman, or his 
 title is not good to be a king. What a ftroke has Mr. Burke now 
 made. To ufe a failor's phrafe, he has fwahhed the deck, and fcarce- 
 ly left a name legible in the lift of kings : and he has mowed down 
 and thined the Houfe of Peers, with a fcythe as formidable as Death 
 and Time. 
 
 But, Mr, Burke appears to have been aware of this retort, and 
 he has taken care to guard agalnft it, by making governmsnt to be 
 not only a contrivance of human wifdom, but a monopoly of wif- 
 dom. He puts the nation as fools on one fide, and places his go- 
 vernm.ent of wifdom, all wife men of Gotham, on the other fide : 
 and he then proclaims, and fays, that " M.en have a RIGHT that 
 «* M«V WANTS fliouldhe provided for by this wifdonu' Having 
 thus made proclamation, he next proceeds to explain to them 
 what their zoants are, and alfo what their rights are. In this he has 
 fucceeded dextroufly, for he makes their wants to be a xcant ot 
 wifdom : but as this is but cold comfort, he then informs them, 
 that they have a right (not to any of the wifdom j but to be govern- 
 ed by it': and in order to imprcfs them with a folcmn reverei!ce lor 
 this monopoly-government of wifdom, and of its vaft capacity for 
 all purpofes, polTible for impolfible, right or wrong, he proceeds 
 with ariftrological myfterious importance, to tell them its powers. 
 in thefe words — " The Rights of men in government are their ad- 
 " vantages : and thefe are often in balances between differences ot 
 " good ; and in compromifes fometimesi between good and tviU and 
 " loraetimes between ivil and tviL Political reafon is a computing 
 
 pnncipU ; 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 " principle ; adding, fubtrafting, multiplying, and dividing, mo- 
 " rally, and not metaphyfically, or mathematically, true moral 
 *• denionftrations.'* 
 
 As the wondering audience whom Mr. Burke fuppofes himfelf 
 talking to, may not underftand all this learned jargon, 1 will un- 
 dertake to be its interpreter. The meaning then, good people, of 
 all this is. That government is governed by no principle whatever \ 
 that It can make evil good, or good evil, jujl as it plea/es, Injhort^ 
 that govermntnt is arbitrary pozoer. 
 
 But there are fome things which Mr. Burke has forgotten. Firji, 
 He has not ftiewn where the wifdom originally came from : and 
 Jetohdly, he has not Ihewn by what authority it firft began to a6l. 
 In ihe manner he introduces the matter, it is either government 
 ftealing wifdom, or wifdom Healing government. It is without an 
 origin, and its powers without authority. In fhort, it is ufurpation^ 
 
 Whether it be from a fenie of fhame, or from a confcioufnefs 
 oflome radical defeft in a government necefTary to be kept out o{ 
 fight, or from both, or from any other caufe, I undertake not to 
 determine; but fo it is, that a monarchial reafoner never traces 
 government to its fource, or from its fource. It is one of thcjhib- 
 boleths by which he may be known. A thoufand years hence, thofe 
 who fhall live in America or in France, will look back with con- 
 templative pride on the origin of their governments, and fay. This 
 XDas the work of our glorious anceftors ! But what can a monarchial 
 talker lay? What has he to exult in ? Alas! he has nothing. A 
 certain fomething forbids him to took back to beginning, left fome 
 robber or lome Robin Hood fhould rife from the long obfcurity oi 
 time, and fay, lam the origin. Hard as Mr. Burke laboured the 
 Regency Bill and hereditary luccefTion two years ago, and much 
 as he dived for precedents he ftill had not boldnefs enough to bring 
 up William of Normandy, and fay There is the /zead of the lift, 
 there is the fountain of honour, the fon of a proftitute and the plun- 
 derer of the Englifh nation. 
 
 The opinions of men with refpeft to government are changing 
 fait in all countries. The revolutions ot America and France have 
 thrown a beam of light over the world, which reaches into man. 
 The enormous expence of governments has provoked people to 
 think, by making them teel : and when once the veil begins to 
 rend, it admits not of repair. Ignorance is of a peculiar nature: 
 once difpelled, and it is impoflibletore-eftablifh it. It is not origin- 
 ally a thing ot itfelf, but is only the abfence of knowledge; and 
 though man may be kept ignorant, he cannot be made ignorant. The 
 mind, in difcovering truth, afts in the fame manner as it a61s through 
 the eye in difcovenng obje6ls ; when once any obje6l has been 
 
 leen. 
 
( 7' ) 
 
 fefcn, it is impoflible to put the mind back to the fame conaltlon It 
 was in before it faw it. Thofe who talk ot a counter-revokition 
 in France, (hew how little tiiey underftand of man. There does 
 not exift in the compafsof language, an arrangement of words to 
 cxprefs fo much as the means ot effefcling a counter-vevolution. 
 The means muft be an obliteration of knowledge ; and it has never 
 yet been difcovered, how to make man unknow his knowledge, or 
 nnthink his thoughts. 
 
 Mr. Burke is labouring in vain to flop the progrefs of know- 
 ledge ; and it comes with the worfe grace trom bim, as there is a 
 certain>ranfa6lion known in the city, which renders him fufpeCied 
 of being a penfioner in a fiftitious nam^e- This may account for 
 (ome ftrange doftrine he has advanced in his book, which, thou^rh 
 he points it at the Revolution Society, is efFeftually directed againffc 
 the whole Nation. 
 
 *• The King of England," fays he, " hoMs his Crown (for it 
 '* does not belong to the nation, according to Mr. Burke,) in 
 •* contempt of the choice of the Revolution Society, who have not 
 ** a fingle vote for a King among them either individually or collec- 
 " lively ; and his Majefly's heirs, each in their time and order. 
 ** will come to the Crown with the fame contempt of their choice 
 " with which his Majefty has fucceeded to that which he now 
 *• wears." 
 
 As to who is king in England, or elfewhere, or whether there 
 is any king at all, or whether the people chufe a Cherokee Chief, 
 or a HefTian Huilar for a king, it is not a matter that I trouble 
 myfelf about, be that to themfelves ; but with refpeft to the doc- 
 trine, io far as it relates to the Rights of Men and Nations, it is as 
 abominable as any thing ever uttered in the moll enilaved country 
 under Heaven. Whether it founds worfe to my ear, by not being 
 accuftomed to hear fuch defpotifm, than what it does to the ear ot 
 another perfon, I am not fo well a judge of ; but of its abominable 
 principle, I am at no lofs to judge. 
 
 it is not the Revolution Society that Mr. Burke means; it is the 
 Xation, as well in its original, as in its reprefentative charader; and 
 he has taken care to make hunfelf umleritood, by faying that tliey 
 have not a vote either colkBively or individually. The Revolution 
 Society is compofed of citizens of all denominations, and of mem- 
 bers of both the Houfes of Parliament ; and conlequently, if there is 
 not a right to vote in any of the characlers, there can be no right to 
 any either in the nation, or in its parliament. This ought to be a 
 caution to. every country, how it imports foreign families to be 
 kings. It is foinewhat curious to obferve, that although the people 
 of England have been in ihe habit of talking about kings, ii is al- 
 ways 
 
( r- ) 
 
 ways a foreign houfe of kings ; hating foreigners, yet governed by 
 them. It is now the Houfe of Brunfwick, one of the petty tribes 
 of Germany. 
 
 It has hitherto been the pra6lice of the Englifh Parliaments, to 
 regulate what was called the fuccefiion, (taking it for granted, that 
 the nation then continued to accord to the form of annexing a mo- 
 narchial branch to its government; for without this, the parlia- 
 ment could not have had authority to have fent to Holland or to 
 Hanover, or to imoofo a king upon the nation againft its will.) And 
 this mull be the utmoft limit to which parliament can go upon this 
 cale; but the right of the nation goes to the whoh cafe, becaufe it 
 has the right of changing its whole form of government. The right 
 of a parliament is only a right in trull, a right by delegation, and 
 that but Irom a very fmall part of the nation ; and one oi its Houfes 
 has not even this. But the right of the nation is an original right, 
 as univerfal as taxation. The nation is the paymafter of every 
 thing, and everything muft conform to its general will. 
 
 1 remember taking notice of a fpeech in what is called the Eng- 
 lifli Houle of Peers, by the then Earl of Shelburne, and I think it 
 was at the time he was minifter, which is applicable to this cafe, 
 I do not dijreftly charge my memory with every particular ; but 
 the words and the purport, as nearly as I remember, were thefe : 
 That thiform of a government was a matter wholly at the will of a 
 Nation at all limes : that if it chofe a monarchial form, it had a right 
 to have it fo ; and if it afterzuards" chofe to be a Republic y it had a 
 right to be a Republic, and to fay to a King, zee "have no longer any 
 occafionfor you. 
 
 When Mr. Burke fays that " His Majefty's heirs and fuccef- 
 " fors, each in their time and order, will come to the crown with 
 " \\\t fame contempt of their choice with which his Majefty has 
 " fucceeded to that he wears,'* it is faying too much even to the 
 humbled individual in the country ; part of whofe daily Jabour 
 goes towards making up the million fterling a year, which the 
 country gives the perfoii it ftiles a King. Government with info- 
 lence, is defpotifm; but when contempt is added, it becomes 
 worfe ; and to pay for contempt is the excefs of flavery. This fpe- 
 cies of government comes from Germany ; and reminds me of 
 what one of the Brunfwick foldiers told me, who was taken pri- 
 foner by the Americans in the late war: " Ah!" faid he, " Ame- 
 *' rica is a fine free country, it is worth the people's fighting tor ; 
 *' I know the difference by knowing my own ; in my country, it 
 *' the prince fays, Eat flraw, we eat flraw." — God help that coun- 
 try, thought I, be it England or clfewhere, whofe liberties are to be 
 prote61ed by German principles of govcrr.nieni, and princes ot 
 Brunfwick. Ai 
 
( 73 ] 
 
 As Mr. Burke fometlmes fpeaks of England, fometimes of France, 
 and fometimes ot the world, and of government in genera', it is dif- 
 ficult to anfwer his book without apparently meeting him on the 
 fame ground. Although principles of government are general fub- 
 jefts, it is next to impoffible in many cafes to feparate them from 
 the idea of place and circumftances ; and the more fo when cir- 
 cumftances are put for arguments, which is frequently the cafe with 
 Mr. Burke. 
 
 In the former part of his book, addrefTing himfelf to the peoplvi 
 of France, he fays, " No experience has taught us, (meaning the 
 " Englifli) that in any other courfe or m.ethcd than that of an liert^ 
 " ditary crown^ can our liberties be regularly perpetuated and pre- 
 *' ferved facred as our hereditary right.'' I afk Mr. Burke who is 
 to take them away ? M. d£ la Fayette, in fpeaking to France, fays, 
 " For a nation to befree^ it is fufficient thatjhe wills it'' But Mr. 
 Burke reprefents England as wanting capacity to take care of itfelf; 
 and that its liberties muft be taken care of by the King, holding it in 
 *' contempt." If England is funk to this, it is preparing itfelf to 
 eat flraw, as in Hanover or in Brunfwick. But befides the folly of 
 the declaration, it happens that the fa6ls are all againft Mr. Burke. 
 It was by the government being hereditary, that the liberties of the 
 people were endangered. Charles the Firft, and James the Second, 
 are inftances of this truth; yet neither of them went fo far as to 
 hold the Nation in contempt. 
 
 As it is fometimes of advantage to the people of one country, to 
 hear what thofe of other countries have to fay refpeftino- it, it is 
 poflTible that the people of France may learn Ibmething from Mr, 
 Burke's book, and that the people of England may alio learn fome- 
 thing from the anfwers it will occafion. When nations fall out 
 about freedom, a wide field of debate is opened. The argument 
 commences with the rights of war, without its evils ; and as know- 
 ledge is the obje6l contended for, the parry that fuflains the defeat 
 obtains the prize. 
 
 Mr. Burke talks abouf what he calls an hereditary crown, as if 
 it were fome produftion of nature; or as if, like time, it had a 
 power to operate not only independently, but in fpite of man ; or 
 as if it were a thing or a fubje6t univerfally confented to. Alas! it 
 has none of thefe properties, but is the reverfe of them all. It is 
 a thing in imagination, the propriety of which vjs more than doubt- 
 ed, and the legality of which in a few years will be denied. 
 
 But to arrange this matter in a clearer view than what general ex- 
 preflions can convey, it will be necelfary to ftate the di(fin6f heads 
 under which (what is called) an hereditary crown, or, more properly 
 fpeaking, an hereditary fucceffion to the Government of a Nation, 
 can be confidcred \ which are, Firft, 
 
 K 
 
( 74 } 
 
 Firft, The right of a particular family to eftablilh itfelf. 
 Secondly, The right of a Nation to eftablilh a particular family. 
 With rcfpe6l to the firji of thefe heads, that of a tamily efta- 
 blifhing itfelf with hereditary powers on its own authority, and in- 
 dependent oi the confeiit of a Nation, all men will concur in call- 
 ing it defpotifm ; and it would be trefpafling on their underftanding 
 to attempt to prove it. 
 
 But the fecond head, that of a Nation eftablifhing a particular fa- 
 mily with hereditary pozuers, does not prefent itfelf as defpotifm on 
 the firft refleftiori ; but if men will permit a fecond reflettion to take 
 ^lace, and carry that refleftion forward but one remove out of their 
 own perfons to that of their offspring, they will then fee that 
 hereditary fucceflion becomes in its confequcnces the fame defpot- 
 ifm to others, which they reprobated for themfe'ves. It operates 
 to preclude the confent of the fucceeding generation, and the pre- 
 clufion of confent is defpotifm. When the perfon who at any time 
 fhall be in poffeirion of a Government, or thofe who ftand in fuc- 
 ceflion to him, fhall fay to a Nation, I hold this power in *' con- 
 tempt" of you ; it fignifies not on what authority he pretends to fay 
 it. It is no relief, but an aggravation to a perfon in flavery, to re- 
 fleft that he was fold by his parents; and as that which heightens 
 the criminality of an aft cannot be produced to prove the legality of 
 it, heieditarv fucceflion cannot be eftablifhed as a legal thing. 
 
 In order to arrive at a more perfeft decifion on this head, it will 
 be proper toconfider a generatiorf which undertakes to eftablifh a 
 family with hereditary pozuers, a-part and feparate from the genera- 
 tions which are to follow ; and alfo to confider the charafter in 
 which the Jirji generation aft with refpeft to fucceeding generations. 
 Tlie generation which firft feiefts a perfon, and puts him at the 
 head ol its Government, either with the title of King, or any other 
 diftlnftion, afts its own choice, be it wife or foolifli, as a free agent 
 for itfelf. The perfon fo fet up is not hereditary, but felefted and 
 appointed; and the generation who fels him up, does not live under 
 an hereditary government, but under a government of its own 
 choice and eftablifhment. Were the generation who fcts him up, 
 and the perfon fo fet up, to live forever, it never could become he- 
 reditary fuccefTion; and of confequence, hereditary fucccfTion can 
 only follow on the death of ihe firft parties. 
 
 As therelore hereditary fuccefTion is out of the queftion with 
 refpeft to the fir/l generation, we have now to confider the cha- 
 rafter in which that generation afts with refpe6l to the commencing 
 generation, and to all fucceeding ones. 
 
 It afl'umes a charafter, to which it has neither right nor title. It 
 changes itfelf from a Legijlator to a Teflator, and afFefts to make 
 
( 75 ; 
 
 its Will, which is to have operation after the demiie of the makers, 
 to bequeath the Government ; and it not only attempts to bequeath, 
 but to eftabhfli on the Succeeding generation, a new and different 
 form of Government under which itfelf lived. Itfelf, as is already 
 obferved, lived not under an hereditary Government, but under a 
 Government of its own choice and eitablifhment ; and it now at- 
 tempts, by virtue of a will and reftamcnt, (and which it has not; 
 authority to make) to take from the commencing generation, and 
 all future ones, the rights and free agency by which itfelf aifed. 
 
 But, exclufive of the right which any generation has to aft col- 
 le6iive?y as a teftator, the objefts to which it appUes itfelf in this 
 cafe, are not within the compaTs of any law, or of any will or 
 teftaments. 
 
 The rights of men in fociety, are neither devifeable, nor tranf- 
 ferable, nor annihilable, but are defcendable only ; and it is not in 
 the power ot any generation to intercept finally and cut off the de- 
 fcent. If the preient generation, or any other, are difpofed to be 
 Haves, it does not leffen the right of the facceeding generation to 
 be free ; wrongs cannot have a legal defcent. When Mr. Buike 
 attempts to maintain, that the Enghjli Nation did at the Rtvolution of 
 1688 mojl folemnly renounce and abdicate their rights Jer thanfelves^ 
 and for all their pojlerity for ever, he fpeaks a language that merits 
 not reply, and which can only excite contempt ior his proititute 
 principles, or pity lor his ignorance. 
 
 In xvhatever light hereditary fuccefupn, as growing out of the 
 will and teftament of fome former generation, prefents itlelf, it is 
 an abfurdity. A cannot make a will to take fiom B the property 
 ofB, and give it to C ; yet this is the manner in which (what is 
 called) hereditary fucceffion by law, operates. A certain former 
 generation made a will to take away the rights of the commencing 
 generation and all future ones, and convey thofe rights to a third 
 perfonwho afterwards comes forward, and tells them in Mr. Burke's 
 language, that they have no rights, that their rights are already be- 
 queathed to him, and that he will govern in contempt of them. From 
 fuch principles, and fuch ignorance. Good Lord deliver the world! 
 
 Biit, alter all, what is this metaphor called a crown, or rather 
 what is monarchy ? Is it a thing, or is it a name, or is it a fraud ? 
 Is it *' a contrivance of human wifdom," or of human craft to ob- 
 tain money from a nation under fpecious pretences ? Is it a thing 
 necefTary to a nation ? If it is, in what does that necefTity confiif, 
 what fervices does it perform, what is its bufinefs, and what are its 
 merits ? Does the virtue confift in the metaphor, or in the man ? 
 Doth the goldfmith that makes the crown, make the virtue alfo ? 
 Doth it operate likeFortunatus's wifhing cap, or Harlequin's wood- 
 en 
 
f 76 ) 
 
 en [w6rd ? Doth it make a man a conjurer ? In fine, what is it ? 
 It appears to be a fomething going much out of fafliion, falling in- 
 to ridicule, and rejefted in fome countries both as unneceflfary and 
 expenfive. In America it is confidered an abfurdity, and in France 
 it has fo far declined, that the goodnefs of the man, and the refpeft 
 for his perfonal charafter, are the only things that preferve the ap- 
 pearance of its exiftence. 
 
 If government be what Mr. Burke defcribes it, " a contrivance 
 of human wifdom," I might afk him, if wildom was at fuch a low 
 ebb in England, that it was become necefTary to import it from 
 Holland and from Hanover ? But I will do the country the juftice 
 to fay, that was not the cafe ; and even if it was, it miflook the 
 cargo. The wifdom of every country, when properly exerted, is 
 fufhcient for all its purpofes ; and there could exifl no more real 
 occafion in England to have fentfor a Dutch Stadtholder,or a Ger- 
 man elector, than there was in America to have done a fimilar thing. 
 1{ a country does not underftand its own affairs, how is a foreigner 
 to underftand them, who knows neither its laws, its manners, nor 
 its language? If there exifteda man fo tranfcendantly wile above 
 all others, that his wifdom was necefTary to inftruft a nation, fome 
 reafon might be offered for monarchy; but when we caft our eyes 
 about a country, and obferve how every part miderlfands its own 
 affairs; and when we look around the world, and fee that of all men 
 in it, the race of kings are the moft infignificant in capacity, our 
 reafon cannot fail to afk us — What are thofe men kept for ? 
 
 If there is any thing in monarchy which we people of America 
 do not underftand, I wifli Mr. Burke would be io good as to inform 
 lis. I fee in America, a government extending over a country ten 
 times as large as England, and, conduced with regularity for a for- 
 tieth part of the expcnce which government cofts in England. If I 
 2i{k a man in America, if he wants a King? he retorts, and alks me 
 if I take him for an ideot ? How is it that this difference happens ? 
 are we more or lefs wife than others ? I fee in America, the gene- 
 rality of people living in a ftlle of plenty unknown in monarchial 
 countries; and I fee that the principle of its government, which 
 is that of the equal Rights of Man, is making a rapid progrefs in the 
 world. 
 
 If monarchy is a ufelefs thing, whyis itkeptup any where? andif 
 a neceffary thing, how can it be difpenfed with ? That civil govern- 
 ment is necefTary, all civilized nations will agree; but civil govern- 
 -mcnt is republican government. All that part of the government 
 of England which begins with the oflfice of conftable, and proceeds 
 thro' the department of magiftrate, quarter-fe{rion,& general affize, 
 including trial by jury, is republican government. Nothing of mo- 
 narchy 
 
( 77 ) 
 
 narchy appears in any part of it, except the name which William 
 the Conqueror impofed upon the Englifli, that of obliging them to 
 call him " their Sovereign Lord the King." 
 
 Itiseafyto conceive, that a band ot interefted men, fuch as 
 placemen, penfioners. Lords of the bed-chamber, Lords ot the 
 kitchen, Lords of theneceflary-houff, and the Lord knows what 
 befidcs, can find as many reafons for monarchy as their falaries, 
 paid at the expenceof the country, amount to ; but if I afk the far- 
 mer, the manufafturer, the merchant, the iradefman, and down 
 through all the occupations of life to the common labourer, what 
 fervice monarchy is to him ? he can give me no anfwer. If I afk 
 him what monarchy is, he believes it is fomethinglike afinecure. 
 Notwithftanding the taxes of England amount to almofl feven- 
 teen millions a-year, faid to be for the expences of Government, 
 it is flill evident that the fenfe of the Nation is left to govern itfelf, 
 and does govern itfelf by magiflrates and juries, almofl at its own 
 charge, on republican principles, exclufive of the expence of taxes. 
 The falaries of the Judges are almofl the only charge that is paid 
 out of the revenue. Confidering that all the internal government 
 is executed by the people, the taxes of England ought to be the 
 lightefl of any nation in Europe ; inflead of which they are the 
 contrary. As this cannot be accounted for on the fcore of civil 
 government, thefubjeft necefTarily extends itfelf lo the monarchial 
 part. 
 
 When the people of England fent for George the Firfl, (and it 
 would puzzle a wifer man than Mr. Burke, to difcover for what 
 he couM be wanted, or what fervice he could render,) they ougrht 
 at leaft to have conditioned fbr the abandonment of Hanover. Be- 
 fides the endlefs German intrigues that mufl follow from a German 
 Ele£^or being King of England, there is a natural impofTibility of 
 uniting in the fame perfon the principles of Freedom and the prin- 
 ciples of Defpotifm, or as it is ufually called in England, Arbitrary 
 Power. A German Ele6^or is in his eleftorate a defpot : How 
 then could it be expefted that he fhould b3 attached to principles 
 of liberty in one country, while his interefl in another was to be 
 fupported by defpotifm ? The union cannot exifl ; and it m>ight ea- 
 fily have been forefeen, that German E!e6lors would make German 
 Kings, or, in Mr. Burke's words, would alTume government with 
 * contempt.' TheEnglifh have been in the habit of confidering a 
 King of England only in the chara6ler in which he appears to 
 them : whereas the fame perfon, while the connexion lafts, has a 
 home-feat in another country, the intereil of which is different to 
 their own, and the principles of the governments in oppofition to 
 each other — To fuch a perfon England will appear as a town-refi- 
 
 dence, 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 dence, and the Eleflorate as the cftate. The Englifh may wifh, as 
 I believe they do, fuccefs to the principles of Uberty in France, or 
 in Germany ; but a German Eleftor trembles for the fate of defpot- 
 ifm in his E!e£lorate ; and the Duchy of Mecklenburgh, where the 
 prefent Queen's family governs, is under the fame wretched flate 
 of arbitrary power, and the people in flavifh vafTalage. 
 
 There never was a time when it became the Englifh to watch 
 continental intiigues more circumfpeftly than at the prefent mo- 
 ment, and to diflinguifh the politics of the Ele6lorate from the po- 
 litics of the Nation. The Revolution of France has entirely chang- 
 ed the ground with refpeft to England and France, as nations ; 
 but the German Defpots, with PrufTia at their head, are combin- 
 ing againft liberty ; and the fondnefs of Mr. Pitt for office, and 
 the interefl which all his family connexions have obtained, do not 
 give fufficient fecurity againfl this intrigue. 
 
 As every thing which pafTes in the world becomes matter for hif- 
 tory, I will now quit this fubjeft, and take a concife review of ihc 
 i^ate of parties and politics in England, as Mr. Burke has done ip 
 France. 
 
 Whether the prefent reign commenced with contempt, I leave to 
 Mr. Burke : certain however it is, that it had Ifrongiy that appear- 
 ance. The animofity of the Englifh nation, it is very well re- 
 membered, ran high; and, had the true principles of liberty been 
 as well underftood then as they now promife to be, it is probable 
 the Nation would not have patiently fubmitted to io much. George 
 the Firfland Second were fenfible of a rival in the remains of the 
 -Stuarts ; and as they could not but confider themfelves as ftanding 
 on their good behaviour, they had prudence to keep their German 
 principles of Government to themfelves ; but as the Stuart Family 
 wore away, the prudence became lels necefTary. 
 
 The contefl between rights, and whai were called prerogatives, 
 continued to heat the Nation till fome time after the conclufion of 
 the American War, when all at once it fell a calm ; execration ex- 
 changed itfelf for applaufe, and Court popularity fprung up like a 
 mufliroom in a night. 
 
 To account for this fuddew tranfition, it is proper to obferve, that 
 there are two diflinft fpeciesof popularity ; the one excited by merit, 
 the other by refentment. As the Nation had formed itfelf into two 
 parties, and each was extolling the merits of its parliamentary cham- 
 pions for and againff prerogative, nothing could operate to give amore 
 general ffiock than an immediate coalition of the champions them- 
 felves. The partifansofeach being thus fuddenly left in the lurch, and 
 mutally heated with difguft at the meafure, felt no other relief than u- 
 niting in a common execration againfl both. A higher flimulus of 
 
 refentment 
 
{ 79 ) 
 
 rcfentment l)eirg thus excited, than what the contefl on pre- 
 rogatives had occafioned, the Nation quited all former objefls of 
 rights and wrongs, and fought only that ot gratification. The in- 
 dignation at the Coalition, fo effectually fuperfeded the indignation 
 againft the Court, as to exlinguifh it ; and without any change of 
 principles on the part of the Court, the fame people who had re- 
 probated its defpotifm, united with it, to revenge themfelves on the 
 Coalition Parliament. The cafe was not, which they liked bed — ■ 
 but, which they hated mod; and the leafl hated pafTed tor love. — 
 The diflblution of the CoaUtion Parliament, as it afforded the means 
 ot gratifying the refentment of the Nation, could not fail to be po- 
 pular ; and from hence arofe the popularity of the Court. 
 
 Tranfiiions of this kind exhibit a Nation under the government 
 of temper, inftead of a fixed and fteady principle; and having once 
 committed itfelf, however rafhly, it feels itfelf urged along to juftify 
 by continuance its firf^ proceeding. Meafures which at other times 
 it would cenfure, it now approves, and a6ls perfuafion upon itfelf 
 to fuffocate its judgment. 
 
 On the return of a new parliament, the new Minifler, Mr. Pitt, 
 found himfelf in a fecure majority ; and the Nation gave him credit, 
 not out of regard to hirafell, but becaufe it had refolved to do it 
 out of refentment to another. He introduced himfelf to public no- 
 tice by a propoLd reform of Parliament, which in its operation 
 would have amounted to a public juftification of corruption. The 
 Nation was to be at the expence of buying up the rotten boroughs, 
 whereas it ought to punifh the perfons who deal in the traffic. 
 
 Paffmg over the two bubbles of the Dutch bufmefs, and thcmiU 
 lion a-year to fmk the national debt, the matter which moff prelents 
 itfelf, is the affair of the Regency. Never in the courfe of my ob- 
 fervation, was delufion more fuccefsfully atled, nor a nation more 
 completely deceived. But, to make this appear, it will be necefla- 
 ry to go over the circumffances. 
 
 Mr. Fox had flated in the Houfe of Commons, that the Prince 
 of Wales, as heir in fucceffion, had a right in himfelf to affume 
 the government. This was oppofed by Mr. Pitt : and, fo far as the 
 oppofition was confined to the do6lrine, it was jufl. But the prin- 
 ciples which Mr. Pitt maintained on the contrary fide, were as bad, 
 or worfe in their extent, than thofe of Mr. Fox; becaufe they went 
 to eftablifh an arlffocracy over the nation, and over the fmall repre- 
 fentation it has in the Houfe of Commons. 
 
 Whether the Engllfh form of Government be good or had, is 
 not in this cafe the queftlon ; but, taking it as it /lands, without re- 
 gard to its merits or demeriis, Mr. Pitt was farther fr«nra the point 
 than Mr. Fox. 
 
 It 
 
( 8o ) 
 
 It is fuppofed to confiil of three parts; — while, therefore, the 
 Nation is difpofed to conrinue this form, the parts have a national 
 Jianding, independent of each other, and are not the creatures of 
 each other, Had Mr. Fox pafTed through ParHament, and faid, 
 that the perfon alluded to claimed on the ground of the Nation, 
 Mr. Pitt muft then have contended (what he called) the right of the 
 Parliament, againft the right of the Nation. 
 
 By the appearance which the conteft made, Mr. fox took the 
 hereditary ground, and Mr. Pitt the parliamentary ground : but the 
 fa£l is, they both took hereditary ground, and Mr. Pitt took the 
 wozft of the two. 
 
 What is called the Parliament, is made up of two Houfes : one 
 of which is more hereditary, and more beyond the controul of the 
 Nation, than what the crown (as it is called) is fuppofed to be. It 
 is an hereditary ariftocracy, alfuming and afferting indefeafible, ir- 
 revocable rights and authority, wholly independent of the Nation. 
 Where then was the merited popularity of exalting this hereditary 
 power over another hereditary power lefs independent of the Nati- 
 on than what itfelf afTumed to be, and of abforbing the rights of the 
 Nation into a Houfe over which it has neither elettion nor controul! 
 The general impulfe of the nation was right ; but it a£led with- 
 out refleftion. It approved the oppofition made to the right fet up 
 by Mr. Fox, without perceiving that Mr. Pitt was fupporting ano- 
 ther indefeafible right, more remote from the Nation, in oppofiiion 
 to it. 
 
 With refpeft to the Houfe of Commons, it is ele61ed but by a 
 , fmallpart of the Nation; but were the eleftion as univerfal as tax- 
 ation, which it ought to be, it would flill be only the organ of the 
 Nation, and cannot pofTefs inherent rights. When the National 
 AfTembly of France refolves a matter, the refolve is made in the 
 right of the Nation ; but Mr. Pitt, on all national queflions, fo far 
 as they refer to the Houfe of Commons, abforbs the rights of the 
 Nation into the organ, and makes the organ into a Nation, and the 
 Nation itfelt into a cypher. 
 
 In a few words, the queflion on the Regency was a queflion on 
 a million a-year, which is appropriated to the executive department : 
 and Mr. Pitt could not poflefs himfelf of any management of this 
 fum, without fetting up the fupremacy of Parliament : and whea 
 this was accomplifhed, it was indifferent who fhould be Regent, 
 as he muff be Regent at his own coft. Among the curiofities which 
 this contentious debate afforded, was that of making the Great Seal 
 into a king : the afHxing of which to an aft, was to be royal autho- 
 rity. If, therefore. Royal Authority is a Great Seal., it confe- 
 quently is in itfelf nothing ; aad a good Conllitution would be of 
 
 riifinitely 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 infinitely more value to the Nation, than what the three Nominal 
 Powers, as they now ftand, are worth. 
 
 The continual ufe of the word Con/lilution in the Englifli 
 Parliament, fhcws there is none ; and that the whole is merely a 
 form of Government without a Conftuution, and conftituting itfelf 
 with what powers it pleafes. If there were a Conftitution, it cer- 
 tainly could be referred to; and the debate on any conRitutional ' 
 point, would terminate by producing the Conftitution. One mem- 
 ber favs. This is Conftitution; another fays, That is Conftitution; 
 to-day it is one thing; and to-morrow, it is fomething elfe — while 
 the maintaining the debate proves there is none. Conftitution is 
 now the cant word of Parhament, tuning itfelf to the ear of the 
 Nation. Formerly it was the univerfal fupremacy of Pariiammt — 
 the omnipotence of Parliament : But, fince the progrefs of Liberty 
 in France, thofe phrafes have a defpotic harfhnefs in their note ; and 
 the Englifh Parliament have catched tne fafliion from the National J 
 AiTembly, but without tlie fubftance, of fpeaking of Conjiitution. 
 
 As the prefent generation of people in England did not make the 
 Government, they are not accountable for any of its detetts: but 
 that fooner or later it muft; come into their hands to undergo a con- 
 flitutional reformation, is as certain as that the fame thing has hap- 
 pened in France. If France, with a revenue of nearly twenty- 
 four millions fterling, with an extent of rich and fertile country 
 above tour times larger than England, with a population of twenty- 
 four millions of inhabitants to fupport taxation, with upwards of 
 ninety millions fterling of gold and filver circulating in the nation, 
 and with a debt lefs than the prefent debt of England — ft;ill found 
 it neceftary, from whatever caule, to come to a fettlement of its 
 affairs, it folves the problem of funding for both countries. 
 
 It is out of the queftion to fay how long, what is called, the 
 Englifh conftitution has lafted, and to argue from thence how long 
 it is to lafl; ; the quefliion is, how long can the funding fyftem laft ? 
 It is a thing bui of modern invention, and has not yet continued 
 beyond the life of a man ; yet in that fhort fpace it has fo far ac- 
 cumulated, that, together with the current cxpences, it requiiesati 
 amount of taxes at leaft; equal to the whole landed rental of the na- 
 tion in acres, to defray the annual expenditures. That a govern- 
 ment could not always have gone on by the fame Ivftem which has 
 been followed for the lafl feventy years, muft be evident to every 
 man ; and for the fame reafon it cannot always go on. 
 
 The funding fyftem is not money ; neither is it, properly fpeak- 
 ing, credit. It in effeft, creates upon paper the lum which it ap- 
 pears to borrow, and lays on a tax to keep the imaginary capital 
 alive by the payment of intereft, and fends the annuity to marker, 
 
 L to 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 to be fold for paper already in circulation. If zny credit Is givcHj 
 it is to the difpofition ot the people to pay the tax, and not to the 
 Government whicli lays it on. When this difpofition expires, 
 \vhat is luppofed to be the credit of Government expires with it.— 
 The inOance (;f France under the former Government fhews that 
 it is impoffible to compel the payment of taxes by force, when a 
 whole nation is determined to take its ftand upon that ground. 
 
 Mr. Burke, in his review ot the finances of France, flates the 
 quantity of gold and filver in France, at about eightv-eight millions 
 jterling. In doing this, he has, 1 prefume, divided by the differ- 
 ence of exchange, inftead of the flandard of twenty-four livres to 
 a pound fteiling; for M. Neckar's ffatement, from which Mr. 
 Burke's is taken, is two tkon/and tzvo hundred millions of livres ^ 
 which is upwards ot ninety-one millions and an half fterling. 
 
 M. Neckar in France, and Mr. George Chalmers of the Office 
 ot Trade and Plantation in England, of which Lord Hawkefbury 
 is prelident, publiflied nearly about the fame time (1786) an account 
 of the quantity of money in each nation, from the returns of the 
 niint of each nation. Mr. Chalmers, from the returns of the 
 Englifh Mint at the Tower of London, Hates the quantity of money 
 in England, including Scotland and Ireland, to be twenty milhons 
 ller'ing.* 
 
 M. Neckar + fays, that the amount of money in France, recoin- 
 cd from the old coin which was called in, was two thoufand five 
 hundred millions of livres, (upwards of one hundred and four mil- 
 lions (lerling ;) and after dedafting for wade, and what may be in 
 the VVeft-Indies, and other poflible circumftances, flates the circu- 
 lating quantity at home, to be ninety-one millions and an half fter- 
 ling ; but taking it as Mr. Burke has put it, it is fixty -eight millions 
 more than the national quantity in England. 
 
 That the quantity of money in France cannot be under this fum, 
 may at once be feen from the ftate of the French Revenue, without 
 I eterring to the records of the French Mint for proofs. The reve- 
 nue of France prior to the Revolution, was nearly twenty-four 
 millions fterling ; and as paper had then no exiftence in France, 
 ihe whole revenue was colle£led upon gold and filver ; and it 
 would have been impoffible to have collefted fuch a quantity of 
 revenue upon a Icfs national quantity than M. Neckar has ftated. 
 Before the eflablifhment of paper in England, the revenue was about 
 a fourth part of the national amount of gold and filver, as may be 
 
 known 
 
 * See Efiimatc of (he Comparative Strength of Great-Britain, by 
 G. Chalmer*. 
 
 f See Ada^iniftration of the Fiaanccj of France, Vol. III. by M. 
 Neckar, 
 
( ^3 ) 
 
 known by referrincr to the revenue prior to King William, and the 
 quantity of money ftated to be in the nation at that tim.', which 
 was nearly as much as it is now. 
 
 It can be of no real fervice to a nation, to impofe upon itfelt, or 
 lopermit iifelf tobe impofed upon; but the prejudices of fome, 
 and the impofition oFoihers, have always reprefcnicd^ France as a 
 nation pollefling but Jlttlcmoney— whereas the quantity is not on- 
 ly more than four times what the quantity is In England, but is corw- 
 fiderably greater on a proportion of numbers. To account for this 
 deficiency on the part of England, fome reference (hould be had to 
 the Englllh fyftem of funding. It operates to multiply paper, and 
 to fuWhtute it in the room of money, in various Ihapes ; and the 
 more paper Is multiplied, the more opportunities are atforded to 
 export the fpecie ; and it admits of a poiribility (by extending u to 
 fmall notes) of increafmg paper, till there is no mon^y left. 
 
 I know this is not a pleafant fubjea to Engli(h readers ; but the 
 matters I am going to mention, are fo important in thcmfelyes, as 
 to require the attention of men interefted in money-tranfadlons of 
 a public nature. There is a circumftance liated by M. Neckar, in 
 his treatifeonthe adminiftrationof the finances, which has never 
 been attended to in England, but which forms the only bajis where- 
 on toeftlmate the quantity ot money (gold and filver) which ought 
 to be in every nation m Europe, to preicrve a relative proportion 
 with other nations. 
 
 Liibon and Cadiz are the two ports into which (money) gold and 
 filver from South-America are imported, and which afterwards di- 
 vides and fpreads itfelf over Europe by means of commerce, and 
 increafesthe quantity of money in all parts ot Europe. 11, there- 
 fore, the amount of the annual importation into Europe can be 
 known, and the relative proportion of the foreign commerce of the 
 feveral nations by which it is dilfributed can bv- afcertained, they 
 give a rule, fufHciently true, to afcertain the quantity of money 
 which ought to be found in any nation at any given time. 
 
 M. Neckar fnews from the regiflers of Lifoon and Cadiz, that 
 the importation of gold and filver into Europe, is five millions fler- 
 ling annually. He has not taken it on afingle year, but on an average 
 M fifteen fucceeding years, from 1763 to 1777, both inclulive ; m 
 in which time, the amount was one ihoufand eight hundred millions 
 livres, which is feventy-five millions llerling^'. 
 
 From the commencement of the Hanover fuccefiion in 1714, to 
 the time Mr. Chalmers publiflied, is leventy-two years : and the 
 quantity imported mto Europe, in that time, would be three hun- 
 dred and fixty millions Iterling. 
 
 *Ad.Tiiniftration of the Finance* of France, Vol. III. 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 If the foreign commerce of Great-Britain be flated at a fixth part 
 of what the whole foreign commerce of Europe amounts to, (which 
 is probably an inferior eRimation to what the gentlemen at the ex- 
 change wouM allow,) the proportion which Britain would diaw by- 
 commerce of this fum, to iuep herfell on a proportion with the reft 
 of Europe, would be alfoci hxrh part, which is fixty millions fter- 
 Img; and if the fame allowance for wafte and accident be made for 
 England, which M. Neckar makes for France, the quantity re- 
 maining after thefe deduaions, would be fifty-two nnllions ; and 
 this fum ought to have been in the nation (at the time Mr. ChaU 
 niers publifhed) in addition to the fum which was in the nation at 
 the commencement of the Hanover iuccefTion, and to have made in 
 the whole at lealt fixty-fix millions fferling ; inflead of which, 
 there were but twenty millions, which is forty-fix milHons below 
 its proportionate quantity. 
 
 As the quantity of gold and fiver imported into Lifbon and Cadiz 
 is more exaftly afceriained than that of any commodity imported 
 into Englarid : and as the quantity of money coined at the Tower 
 of London is flill morepofitively known, the leading fafts do not 
 admit of controverfy. Either, therefore, the comm.erce of Eng. 
 land is unproduftive of profit, or the gold and filver which it brings 
 in leak continually away by unfeen means, at the average rate of a- 
 bout three quarters of a million a year, which in the courfe of fe- 
 venty-two years, accounts for the deficiency ; and its abfence is 
 fupplied by paper*. The 
 
 * Whciber the English commerce doei not bring ia raoner, orwhe- 
 tlier the Governmeat feud* it out after it it brought io, is a matter 
 which the parties concerned can beft explain; bat that the deficiency 
 cxiHs, is flof in the power of either to difprove. While Dr Price, Mr. 
 Eden, (now Auckland) Mr. Chaltaers, and others, were debating whe- 
 ther the quancitjr of money in England was greater or left than at the 
 Revolution, the circurartance was not adverted to, that fince the Revo- 
 lution, there cannot have been lefs than four hundred millions ftcrling 
 impcrced into Enrope; and therefore, !he quantity in England ought 
 at leaft to have been four times greater than it was at the Revolution, 
 to he en a proportion with Europe. What Etjgland is now doing by 
 paper, is wha: ftie would have been able to have done by folid money, 
 if gold and lilver had come into the nation in the proportion it ought, 
 or had not betn fent out ; and the is endeavouring to redore by paper, 
 the ba\;?nce (he his loft by money. It is certain, that ihe gold and fil- 
 ver which ariive annually in the regifter-rhips to Spain and Portugal, do 
 not remain in thofe countries. Taking the value half in gold and half 
 in filver, it is about four hundred tons annually; and from the number 
 of fnips and galloons employed iu the trade of bringing thofe raetali 
 from South-Amerira to Portugal and LSpain, the quantity fufficicEtly 
 proves itfelf, without referring to the regifleri. 
 
 IQ 
 
( «5 ) . 
 
 The Revolution in France is attended with many novel clrcuin- 
 ftances, not only in the political fphere, but in the circle of money 
 tranfaftions. Among others, it Ihews that a government may be 
 in a Hate of infolvency, and a nation rich. So far as the faft is 
 confined to the late Government of France, it was infolvcnt ; be- 
 caufe the Nation would no longer fuppoit its extravagance, and 
 therefore it could no longer fupport itielf — but with rcfpecl: to the 
 Nation, all the means exilled. A Government may be faid to be 
 iniolvent, every time it applies to a N^^tion to difcharge its arrears. 
 The infolvencv of the late Government of France, and the prefent 
 government of England, differed in no other rerpe61 than as the dif- 
 pofition of the people difiers. The people of France retufed their 
 aid to the old Government; and the people of England fubmit to 
 taxation without enquiry. What is called the crown in England, 
 has been infolvcnt feveral times; the laft of which, publicly known 
 was in May 1777, when it applied to the Nation to difcharge up- 
 wards of/'6oo,ooo, private debts, which otherwife it could not 
 pay. 
 
 It 
 
 In the fituation England now is. It is impoffible the can increafe in 
 nior-ey. High laxes not only leffen the property of the isdividual*, but 
 they leffen alfo the mcney-capital of a naiiou, by inducing fmogglin^, 
 which can only be carried on by gold and filver. By ihe politics which 
 the Briiifli Government hat carried on with the Inland Power* of Ger- 
 many and the Continenr, it has made an enemy of all the Mirltirae 
 Powers, and is therefore obliged to keep up a large navy ; but though the 
 Eavy ii built in England, the naval (lores muft be purchafed from abroad, 
 and that fiom countries where the ;?reaieft part mutl be pjid for in gold 
 and fiiver. Some fallacious rumours have been fer afloat in Eugland to 
 induce a belief of money, and, among other?, that of the French le- 
 fugeet bringin;^ great quantities. The idea is ridiculous. The general 
 part of the money in France ii filver; and it would take upwards of 
 twenty of the l^rgeft broad wheel waggons, wih ten hoifes each, to re- 
 move one million (lerling of fjiver. la it then to be fuppnfer], that a 
 few people, fiteing on horfe-back, or in poft chaifes, in a fecret man- 
 ner, and having the French Cuftom-Houfe :o pafs, and the fea 10 crofs, 
 could bring even a f' lUciency for their own eispences. 
 
 When millions of m.ouey are fpcken of, it fhonld he recolleded, that 
 fuch furai fan only accumulate in a country by flow de^i^reeij, and a long 
 proceflion of time. The moft frugal fyftem that EngLind could now 
 adopt would not recover in a century the balance the has lofl in mooer 
 fince the commencement of the Hdnover fuccen";on, {jbe is fevemy 
 mill/ons behind France, and ihe rauft be in fome conllilerable prcportioa 
 behind every country in Europe, becaufe the returns of the Kngiith 
 Mint do not (hew an increafe of money, while the rc>;'dcrs of Lift) .ia 
 and Cadiz, (hew an Europeau increafe of bctivecn three and four huu- 
 ^red millioui ftcriing, 
 
 ¥: 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 It was the error of Mr. Pitt, Mr Burke, and all thofe who were 
 unacquainted with the affairs ot France, to confound the French 
 Nation with the French Government. The French Nation, in ef- 
 ieti, endeavoured to render the late Government infolvent, for the 
 purpofe or taking Government into iisown hands ; and it referved 
 its means for the fupport of the new Government, In a country 
 ot fuch vaft extent and population as France, the natural means 
 cannot be wanting ; and the political means appear the inftant the 
 Nation is difpofed to permit them. When Mr. Burke, in a fpeech 
 laft Winter in the Biitifh Parliament, cafl}ds eyes over the map of 
 Europe, and Jaw a chafm that once was France, he talked like a 
 dreamer of dreams. The fame natiual France exifted as before, 
 and all the natural means exifted with it. The only chafm was 
 that which the extinftion of defpotifm had left, and which was to be 
 filled up with a ccnftitution more formidable in refources than the 
 power which had expired. 
 
 Although the French Nation rendered the late government in- 
 folvent, it did not permit the infolvency to aft towards the credit- 
 ors; and the creditors confidenng the Nation as the real paymafter, 
 and the Government only as the agent, refted themfelves on the 
 Nation, in preference to the Government. This appears greatly to 
 difturb Mr. Burke, as the precedent is fatal to the policy by which 
 Governments have funpofed themfelves fecure. They have con- 
 tra6led debts, with a view of attaching what is called the monied 
 intereft of a Nation to their fupport ; but the example in France 
 ihews, that the permanent fecurity of the creditor is in the Nation, 
 and not in the Government ; and that in all poflible revolutions that 
 may happen in Governments, the means are always with the Na- 
 tion, and the Nation always in exiftence. Mr. Burke argues, that 
 the creditors ought to have abided the fate of the Government 
 which they trulled; but the National AlFembly confidered them as 
 the creditors of the Nation, and not of the Government — of the 
 mailer, and not of the fteward. 
 
 Notwithllanding the late Government could not difcharge the 
 current expences, the prcfent Government has paid off a great part 
 of the capital. This has been accompliflied by two m,eans ; the 
 one by lelfening the expences of Government, and the other by 
 the fale of the monaftic and ecclefiailical landed eflates. The de- 
 votees and penitent debauchees, extortioners and mifers of former 
 days, to enfurc themfelves a better world than that which they were 
 about 10 leave, had bequeathed immenfe property in truft to the 
 prieilhood, for pious iijes ; and the priefthood kept it for themfelves. 
 The National Alfembly has ordered it to be fold for the good of the 
 v.'hole Nation, and the 'priefthood to be decently provided for. 
 
 In 
 
( 8; ) 
 
 In confequcnce of the Revolution, the annual intereft: of the 
 debt of France will be reduced at lead fix millions flerling, by pay- 
 ing off upwards ot one hundred millions of the capital; which, 
 with leffening the former expences of Government at leaft three 
 millions, will place France in a fituaiion worthy the imitation of 
 
 Kurope. 
 
 Upon a whole review of the fubje£l, how vaft is the contrail I 
 While Mr. Burke has been talking of a general bankruptcy in 
 France, the National Affembly has been paying off the capital ot 
 its debt ; and while taxes have incrcafed near a million a-year in 
 England, they have lowered feveral millions a-year in France. Not 
 a word has either Mr. Burke or Mr. Pitt faid about French affairs, 
 or the ftate of the French finances, in the prefent Seffion of Parlia- 
 ment. The fubjeft begins to be too well underftood, and impo- 
 fition ferves no longer. 
 
 There is a general enigma running through the whole of Mr. 
 Burke's book. He writes in a rage againft the National Affembly ; 
 but what is he enraged about ? If his afferlions were as true ds they 
 are groundlefs, and that France, by her Revolution had annihilated 
 her power, and become what he calls a chafm, it might excite the 
 grief ol a Frenchman, (confidering himfelf as a national man) and 
 provoke his rage again ft the National Affembly ; but why ffiould it 
 excite the rage of Mr. Burke ? — Alas ! ii is not the Nation of 
 France that Mr. Burke means, but the COURT; and every 
 Court in Europe, dreading the fame fate, is in mourning. He 
 writes neither in the character ot a Frenchman nor an Englilhman, 
 buL in the fawning charafter of that creature known in all coun- 
 tries, and a friend to none, a COURTIER. Whether it be the 
 Court of Verfailles, or the Court of St. James, or Car'ton-Houfe, 
 or the Court in expeBation, fignifies not; for the caterpillar prin- 
 ciples of all Courts and Courtiers are alike. They form a com- 
 mon policy throughout Europe, detached and feparaie from the in- 
 tereft of Nations ; and while they appear to quarrel, they agree to 
 plunder. Nothing can be more terrible to a Court of a Courtier, 
 than the Revolution of France. That which is a bleffing to Na- 
 tions, is bitternefs to them ; and as their exiftence depends on rhs 
 duplicity of a country, they tremble at the approach of principles, 
 and dread the precedent that threatens tlielr overthrow. 
 
 ■ ' ■ ■IIII B »»iW — _ 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 REASON and Ignorance, the oppofite of each other, influ- 
 ence the great bulk of mankind. It either of thefe can be render- 
 ed fufficiently extenfive in a country, the machinerv ot Govern- 
 ment goes eafily on. Reafon obeys itfdf; and Ignorance fubmits 
 to whatever is dictated to it. The 
 
( ss ) 
 
 The two modes of Government which prevail in the world, are, 
 firjiy Government by ele^ion and reprefentation ; ftcondly^ Govern- 
 ment by hereditary fucccfTion. The former is generally known by 
 the name ot republic; the latter by that of monarchy and arifto- 
 cracy. 
 
 ThoTe two diilin6l and oppoTite forms, ere6l themfelves on the 
 two diltinfcf and oppofite bafes of Reafon and Ignorance. As the 
 exercife of Government requires talents and abilities, and as talents 
 and abilities cannot have hereditary defcent, it is evident that here- 
 ditary fucceflion requires a belief from man, to which his reafon 
 cannot fubfcribe, and which can only be eflabliflied upon his igno- 
 rance ; and the more ignorant any country is, the better it is fitted 
 for this fpecies of government. 
 
 On the contrary, government in a well conflituted republic re- 
 quires no belief from man beyond what his reafon can give. He 
 lees the rationale of the whole fyltem, its origin and its operation ; 
 and as it is beft fupported when bell underftood, the human facul- 
 ties afl with boldnefs, and acquire, under this form ot government, 
 a gigantic manlinefs. 
 
 As, therefore, each of thofe forms a£ls upon a different bafe, the 
 one moving freely by the aid of reafon, the other by ignorance, 
 we have next to confider, what it is that gives motion to that fpe- 
 cies of government which is called mixed government, or, as it is 
 fomerimcs ludicroufly ftiled, a government of this^ that^ and t'other. 
 
 The moving power in this fpecies of Government, is, of necef- 
 fity, Corruption. However imperiecl eleftion and reprefentation 
 may be in mixed governments, they Hill give exercife to a greater 
 portion of reafon than is convenient to the hereditary part ; and 
 therefore it becomes neceffary to buy the reafon up. A mixed go- 
 vernment is an imperle£l every-thing, cementing and foldering the 
 difcordant pans together by corruption to acl as a whole. Mr. 
 Burke appears highly difcTuiled, that France, fince fhe had refolved 
 on a revolution, did not adopt what he calls " A Britijh Coriflitution ;'* 
 and the regretful m.anner in which he exprefies himfcH on this oc- 
 cafion, implies a fuipicion, that the Britifl^ Conftitution needed 
 fomething to keep its defe6fs in countenance. 
 
 In mixed governments there is no refponfibility ; the parts cover 
 each other till refponfibiiity is loft ; and the corruption which 
 moves the machine, contrives at the fame time its own efcape. — 
 When it is laid down as a maxim, that a King can do no wrong, it 
 places him in a (late of fimilar fccurity with that of ideots and per- 
 sons infane, and refponfibiiity is out cf the queftion with refped to 
 himfelf. It then dtfcends upon the Minifler, who (helters himfcH 
 under a mnjority in Parliament, which, by places, penfions, and 
 
 corruption, 
 
(■ 89 ) 
 
 corruption, he Can always command ; and that majority juftifies it- 
 feit b) rhe (ame authoJ-ity with which it protefts the Minifter. In 
 this rotate y nioaon, refponfibihty is thrown off from the parts, 
 aiid from the whole. 
 
 When theie in a part in a Government which can do no wrong, 
 i' ' pbes that it does nothing; and is only the machine of another 
 pt»wti, by who)e advice and direftion it a6ls. What is fuppofed to 
 be die King in mixed Governments, is the Cabinet ; and as the Ca- 
 bn^c' is always a part of the Parliament, and the members juflify- 
 ing 7'^ ore charafter what they advife and aft in another, a mixed 
 Gover-mient becomes a continual enigma ; entailing upon a court- 
 trv, hv -he quantity of corruption necefTary ^o folder the parts, 
 the exoence of fupporting all the forms of Government at once, 
 ^nd finc:ily refolving itfelf into a Government by Committee; in 
 ^' hich (he advifers, the aftors, the approvers, the juftifiers, the per- 
 .:>ns leiponfrble, and the perfons notrefponfible, are the fame per fons. 
 
 Ey this pantomimical contrivance, and change of fcene and cha- 
 racter, the parts help each other out in matters, which, neither of 
 them hngly would i^fTume to aft. When money is to be obtained, 
 the mafs of variety apparently difTolves, and a profufion of parlia- 
 mentary praifes paffes between the parts. Each admires with alio, 
 niftiment the wiidom, the liberality, the difintereilednefs of the 
 o<ther J and all of them breathe a pitying figh at the burthens of the 
 Nation. 
 
 But in a well-conftituted republic, nothing of this foldErint>-, 
 praifing, and pitying, can take place; the reprefentation being 
 equal throughout the country, and complete in itfelf, however it 
 may be arranged into legiflative and executive, they have all one 
 and the fame natural fource. The parts are not foreigners to each 
 other, like democracy, ariftocracy, and monarchy. As there are 
 no difcordant diftinftions, there is nothing to corrupt by compro- 
 mife, nor confound by contrivance. Public meafures appeal of 
 themfelves to the underftanding of the Nation, and, refting on their 
 own merits, d'iown any flattering application to vanity. The con- 
 tinual whine of lamenting the burden of taxes, however fucccfsfully 
 it may be praftifed in mixed Governments, is inconfiflent with the 
 fenfe and fpirit of a republic. If taxes are neceflary, they are of 
 courfe advantageous ; but if they require an apology, the apology 
 itfelf implies an impeachment. Why then is man thus impofed 
 upon, or why does he impofe upon himfelf ? 
 
 When men are fpoke^ of as kings and fubjefts, or when Gn- 
 vernment is mentioned under the diflinft or combined heads of 
 monarchy, ariftocracy, and democracy, what is it that reafoning man 
 is fo underftaod by the terms ? If there really exiflfd in the world 
 
 M two 
 
( so ) 
 
 two or more diftinft and feparate elements of human power, we 
 {hould then fee the feveral origins to which thofe terms would de- 
 fcriptively apply ; but as there is but one fpecies ot man, there caa 
 be but one element of human power; and that elemen?: is man him- 
 felf. Monarchy, ariftocracy, and democracy, are but creatures of 
 imagination; and a thouland fuch may be contrived, <^ well as three. 
 
 FROM the Revolutions of America and France, and the fymp- 
 toms that have appeared in other countries, it is evident that the 
 opinion of the world is changed with refpe6t to fyftems of Govern^ 
 ment, and that revolutions are not within the compafs of political 
 calculations. The progrefs of time and circumftances, which men 
 aflfign to the accomplifiiment of great changes, is too mechanical to 
 meafure the force of the mind, and the rapidity ot reflcftion, by 
 which revolutions are generated : All the old governments have re- 
 ceived a fhock from thole that already appear, and which were once 
 more improbable, and are a greater lubjeft of wonder, than a ge- 
 neral revolution m Europe would be now. 
 
 When we furvey the wretched condition of man under the mo- 
 narchical and hereditary fyftems of Government, dragged from hifi 
 home by one power, or driven by another, and impoverifhed by 
 taxes more than by enemies, it becomes evident that thofe fyftems 
 are bad, and that a general revolution in the principle and con- 
 ftruftion of Governments Is necefTary. 
 
 What is government more than the management of the affairs of 
 a Nation ? It is not, and from its nature cannot be, the property 
 of any particular man or family, but of the whole community, at 
 whofc cxpence it is fupported ; and though by force or contrivance 
 it has been ufurped into an inheritance, the ufurpation cannot alter 
 the right of things, Sovereignty, as a matter ot right, appertains to 
 the Nation only, and not to anv individual ; and a Nation has at all 
 limes an inherent indefeafible right to abolifh any form of Govern- 
 ment it finds inconvenient, and eftablifii fuch as accords with its 
 intereft, difpofition, and happinefs. The romantic and barbarous 
 diftinftion of men into kings and fubjefts, though it may fuit the 
 condition of courtiers, cannot that of citizens ; and is exploded by 
 the principle <jpon which Governments are now founded. Every 
 citizen is a member of the Sovereignty, and, as fuch, can acknow- 
 ledge no pcrfonal fubjeftion ; and his obedience can be only to the 
 Jaws. 
 
 When men think of what Government is, they muft ncceffarily 
 fuppofe it to poffefs a knowledge of all the objefts and matters upon 
 which its authority is to be excrcifcd. In this view of Govern- 
 
 mcnt, 
 
( 9^ ) 
 
 me-* l^c republican fvfteni, as eftabriOied by America and France, 
 ope^i^'tes to embrace the whole of a Nation; and the knowledge 
 ueceflary to the mtereft of all the parts, is to be found in the centre, 
 which the parts bv reprefentation form . But the old Governments 
 are on a conftruttion that excludes knowledge as well as happmels . 
 Goveinment by Monks, who know nothing ot the world beyond 
 the walls of a Convent, is zs confiftent as Government by Kings. 
 
 What were formerly called Revolutions, were hale more tnan a 
 change of perfons, or an alteration of local circumftances. 1 hey 
 rofe and fell like things of courfe, and had nothmg m their exiit- 
 cnce or their fate that could influence beyond the fpot that produced 
 them. But what we now iee in the world, from the Revolutions 
 •t America and France, are a renovation cf the natural order ol 
 things, a fylfem of principles as univerfal as truth and the exilteacc 
 of man, and combining moral with political happinefs and nation- 
 al profperity, 
 
 ' I. M^n arc born and ahoays continue free, and equal in refpcB of 
 ' their rights. Civil diflinaions, therefore, can be founded only on 
 
 • public utility. . , - . r ,i 
 
 « II. The end of all political ajociations is the prefervation oj thi 
 » natural and imprefcriptible rights of man; and tkefe rights are u^ 
 
 * berty, property, fecurity. and refijiance of opprejjion, 
 
 * III. The Nation is ffentially the Jource of all Sovereignty: nor 
 'can any individual, or any body of men, be entitled to 
 « any authority which is not exprefsly derived from it." 
 
 In thefe principles there is nothing to throw a Nation into con- 
 fufionby inflaming ambition. They are calculated to call lorta 
 wifdom and abilities, and to exercife them for the public good, and 
 not for the emolument or aggrandizement of particular delcnptions 
 ot men or famiUes. Monarchical fovereignty, the enemy ot mari- 
 kind. and the fource of mifery, is abolifhed ; and fovereignty itielt 
 is reflored to its natural and original place, the nation. \\ ere this 
 the cafe throughout Europe, the caufe of wars would be ta^enaway. 
 It is attributed to Henry the Fourth of France, a man ot an en- 
 larged and benevolent, heart that he propofed, about the year 
 1610, a plan for abolifhing war in Europe. The plan con- 
 fifted in conftitnting an European Congrefs, or as the trench au- 
 thors ftile it, aPacifi'c Republic ; by appointing delegates trom the 
 feveral Nations, who were to aft as a Court of Arbitration m any 
 difputes that might arife between nation and nation. ^ 
 
 Had fuch a plan been adopted at the time it was proposed, t.ie 
 <axes of England and France, as two of the parties, woulc have 
 
( 9^ ) 
 
 been at leaft ten millions fterling, annually, to each Nation lefe 
 than they were at the commencement of the French Revolution. 
 
 To conceive a caufc why fuch a plan has not been adopted (and 
 that infteiid of a Congrefs ior the purpofeof/?r^y^«/2>^ war. it has 
 been called only to terminate 2, war, after a fruitlefs expence of fe- 
 veral years) it will be neceffary to confider the intereft of Govern- 
 ments as a diftinftinierell to ihat of Nations. 
 
 Whatever is the caufe of taxes to a Nation, becomes alfo the 
 means of revenue to a Government. Every war terminates with 
 an addition of taxes, and confequently with an addition of revenue; 
 and in any event of war, in the manner they are now commenced 
 and concluded, the power and interefl of governments are increaf- 
 ed. War therefore, from its produftivenefs, as it eafily furnifties 
 the pretence ot neceffity for taxes and appointments to places and 
 cfBces, becomes a principal part of the fyftem of old governments ; 
 and to eflabiifh any mode to abolifh war, however advantageous it 
 might be to Nations, would be to take from fuch Government the 
 moft lucrative of its branches. The frivolous matters upon which 
 war is made, fhew the difpofition an^d avidity of Governments to 
 uphold the fyftem of war, and betray the motives upon which they 
 aft. 
 
 W^hy are not Republics plunged into war, but becaufe the na- 
 ture of their government does not admit of an intereft diftinft from 
 that oi the Nation ? Even Holland, though an ill conftrufted Re- 
 public, and with a commerce extending over the world, exifted 
 nearly a century without war: and the inftant the form of Govern- 
 ment was changed in France, the republican principles of peace and 
 domeftic profperiiy and ceconomy arofe with the new Government; 
 and the fame confequences would follow the fame caufes in other 
 Nations. 
 
 As war is the fyftem of Government on the old conftru^lion, the 
 animofity which Nations reciprocally entertain, is nothing more 
 than v;hat the policy of their Governments excites to keep up the 
 fpirit of the fyftem. Each Government accufes the other of perfidy, 
 intrigue and ambition, as a means of heating the imagination of 
 of their refpeftive Nations, and incenfing them to hoftilities. Man 
 is not the enemy of man, but through the medium of a falfe fyftem 
 of Government. Inftead, therefore, ot exclaiming againlf the am- 
 bition of Kings, the exclamation fhould be direfted againft the 
 principle of fuch Governments ; and inftead of feeking lo reform 
 the individual, the wifdom of a Nation fhould apply itfelf to reform 
 the fyftem. 
 
 Whether the forms and maxims ot Governments which are ftill 
 in praftice, were adapted to the conditign of tji« world at the peri- 
 od 
 
(93 ) 
 
 have the fame progreffive «ff«^„'" T'"„f '^S3"ners. Agriculture, 
 abfolete, as they .^^^ ^P°-f, ^ ^jj.^tl^^^ prof- 
 
 commerce manufaaures and the tra q ^jg. / .^^^ of Go- 
 
 perity of ^^''-"-^^S fSf orknowl dge to dire'a its opera- 
 r^hla wL^mgtbaiK required in^the former conditio. 
 
 mankind, that m'^"""/ " . , ^afis of national fovereignty, 
 and that Revolutions on '^^ ^ "^^^ J'^',^^; V,,;, „,y ;„ Europe, 
 
 xnit them to the iffue of <:on^"'fi°J- . .^ ;„ ^^e political world 
 From what we "°- f^^i^"°*^8;„^4Tot Revolmfons. in which 
 ought to be held imP'obable. Itis^an ag ^^^.^j^ 
 
 every thing may be '°°ked for^ The m .J^f Na- 
 
 the fyftem of war is kept "P- ™='y P/° p„„„„,, to patronize the 
 
 iica. 
 
 FINIS 
 
RIGHTS of MAN. 
 
 PART 
 
 THE SECOND, 
 
 COMBINING 
 
 Principle and Pradice 
 
 B Y 
 
 v^^ 
 
 THOMAS PAINE, 
 
 8BCRETARY EOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO CONGRESS IN THE 
 AMERICAN WAR, 
 
 AND AUTHOR OF THE WORK ENTITLED COMMON SENSE,* 
 
 AND THE FIRST PART OF THE RIGHT* OF MAN. 
 
 CARLISLE: 
 frintcd by GEORGE KLINE, 
 
 ^^OgCa^QUi 
 
^ 
 
 T O 
 
 M. DE L A F A r E r r E. 
 
 AFTER an acquaintance of nearly Jif teen years, in difficult fitua- 
 tions in America, and various confuliations in Europe, J. feel a 
 pleafure in prefenting to you this [mail treatife, in gratitude for your 
 fervices to my beloved America, and as a kjlimony of my ejleemfor the 
 virtues, public and private, which I know you to pojfefs. 
 
 The only point upon which 1 could ever difcover that we differed, 
 was not as to principles oj governments but as to time. For my own 
 part, 1 think it equally as injurious to good principles to permit them 
 to linger, as to pufli them on too fafi. That which youfuppofe ac- 
 complijhable in fourteen or fifteen years, I may believe pra&ic able in a 
 much Jliorter period. Mankind, as it appears to me, are always ripe 
 enough to underfl and their true inter efi, provided it be prefented clear- 
 ly to their under fianding, and that in a manner not to create fu/picion 
 by any thing like fdf'defign, nor offend by offuming too much. tVhere 
 we would wifh to reform we mitfi not reproach. 
 
 When the American revolution was eflabliflied, I felt a difpofition 
 tofitferenely down and enjoy the calm. It did not appear to me that 
 any objeB could afterwards arife great enough to make me quit tran- 
 quillity, and feel as 1 had felt before. But when principle and not 
 place, is the energetic caufe of aElion, a man, I find, is every where, 
 thefame, 
 
 Ia?n now once more in the public world; and as I have net a right 
 to contemplate on jo many years of remaining life as you have, 1 am 
 refolved to labour as fafl as lean; and as lam anxious for your aid 
 and your company, 1 wifh you to haflen your principles, and overtake 
 me. 
 
 If you make a ca?npaign the enfuing fpring, which it is mofl pro- 
 bable there will be no occafionfor, 1 tuilC come and join you. Should 
 the ca?upaign commence, 1 hope it will terminate in the extintlion of 
 German defpotifm, and in the eflahlifliing the freedom of all Germany. 
 When France jhall be fur rounded zoith revolutions, Jhe will be in peace 
 andfafety, and her taxts, as well as thofe of Germany will confe^ 
 quently become lefs. 
 
 Your fincere, 
 
 Affedionate Friend, 
 
 THOMAS PAINE, 
 London^ F^b, 9, 1794. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 WHEN I began the chapter entitled the " Conclufion^^ in the 
 former part of the RIGHTS of MAN, publiflied laft 
 year, it was my intention to have extended it to a greater length ; 
 but in calling the whole matter in my mind which I wifhed to add, 
 I found that I muft either make the work too bulky, or contraft 
 my plan too much. I therefore brought it to a clofe as foon as the 
 fubje£l would admit, and referved what I had further to fay to an- 
 other opportunity. 
 
 Several other reafons contributed to produce this determination. 
 I wiftied to know the manner in which a work, written in a flyle 
 of thinking and expreflion different from what had been cuftomary 
 in England, would be received before I proceeded farther. A 
 great field was opening to the view of mankind by means of the 
 Prenn:h revolution. Mr. Burke's outrageous oppofition thereto 
 brought the controverfy into England. He attacked principles 
 which he knew (from information) I would contefl with bin:, be- 
 caufe they are principles I believe to be good, and which I have 
 contributed to eftablifh, and conceive myfelf bound to defend.— r- 
 Had he not urged the controverfy, I had moft probably been a 
 filent man. 
 
 Another reafon for deferring the remainder of the work was, 
 that Mr. Burke promifed in his firft publication to renew the fub- 
 jeft at another opportunity, and to make a comparifon of what he 
 called the Englifli and French conflitutions. I therefore held my- 
 ielf in referve for him. He has publifhed two works fmce, with- 
 out doing this ; which he certainly would not have omitted, had 
 the cojnparifon been in his favour. 
 
 In his laft work, " Bis appeal Jrom the new to the old IVhigs^* 
 he has quoted about itn pages from the Rights of Man, and having 
 given himfelf the trouble ol doing this, fays, " he fhall not attempt 
 •* in the fmalleft degree to refute them," meaning the principles 
 therein contained. I am enough acquainted with Mr. Burke to 
 know, that he would if he could. But inftead of contefling them, 
 he immediately after confoles himfelf with faying, that " he has 
 •' done his part." — He has not done his part. He has not per- 
 formed his promife of a comparifon of conflitutions. He flarted 
 the controverfy, he gave the challenge, and has fled from it; and 
 he is now a cafein point with his own opinion, that, ** the age. of 
 *' chivalry is gone*'' 
 
 The title, as well as the fubflance of his lafl wo^k, his *• Appeal^ 
 is his condemnation. Principles mnil iland on their own merits, 
 and if they are good they certainly will. To put them under the 
 Shelter ot other men's authority, as Mr. Burke hss done, ferves to 
 
 bring 
 
( ) 
 
 l)ring them into fufpicion. Mr. Burke is not very fond of divid- 
 ing his honours, but in this cafe he is artfully dividing the difgrace. 
 
 Jiut who are thofe to whom Mr. Burke has made his appeal ? 
 A fet of childifh thinkers and half-way politicians horn in the lajft 
 centuarv ; men who went no farther with any principle than as it 
 fp^ited their purpofe as a party; the nation was always left out of 
 the queftion; and this has been the charafter of every party from 
 that day to this. The nation fees nothing in fuch works, or fuch 
 politics worthy its attention. A little matter will move a party, 
 but it mull be fomething great that moves a nation. 
 
 Though I fee nothing in Mr. Burke's Appeal worth taking 
 much notice of, there is, however, one exprellion upon which I 
 fhall offer a few remarks. — After quoting largely from the Rights 
 of Man, and declining to conteft the principles contained in that 
 work, he fays, " This will moft probably be done " (if fuch zvrit- 
 *' i'^^J fliall be thought to defrvc any other refutation than that of 
 *' criminal juflice) by others, who may think with Mr, Burke and 
 " with the fame zeal." 
 
 In the firff place, it has not yet been done by any body. Not 
 lefs, I believe, than eight or ten pamphlets intended as anfwers to 
 the former part of the " Rights of Man" have been publifhed by 
 different perfons, and not one of them, to my knowledge, has ex- 
 tended to a (econd edition, nor are even the titles of them (o much 
 as generally remembered. As I am averfe to unneceffarily mulii- 
 plying publications, I have anfvvered none of them. And as I be- 
 lieve that a man may write himlelf out of reputation when nobody 
 elfe can do it, I am cat etui to avoid that rock. 
 
 But as I would decline unnecefTary publications on the one hand, 
 fo would I avoid every thing that might appear like fullen pride 
 on the Other. If Mr. Burke, or any perfon on his fide the quefli- 
 on, will produce an anfwer to the " Rights of Man," that fliall ex- 
 tend to an half, or even to a fourth part of the number of copies 
 to which the Rights ot Man extended, I will reply to his work. 
 But until this be done, I Oiall fo far take the fenfe oi the public 
 for rny guide (and the v/orld knows I am not a flatterer) that what 
 they do not think worth while to read, is rot worth mine to an- 
 fwer. I fuppofe the number of copies to uhicli the firft part of 
 xht Rights of Man extended, taking Engla;i:i, SvOiknd, and Ire- 
 land, is not lefs than between forty and fitty thoufand. 
 
 I now come to remark on the remaining part of the quotation 
 I have made from Mr. Burke. 
 
 " If," fays he, " fuch writings fiiall be thought to deferve any 
 *' other refutation than that of criminal ]n{\\cz.'' 
 
 Pardoning the pun, it mud be criminat juflice indeed that 
 fiiould condemn a work as a fubffitute for not being able to refute 
 it. The greateft condemnation that could be paffed upon it would 
 be atefuution. But in proceeding by the nicihod Mr. Burke 
 
 alludes 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 alludes to, the condemnation would, in the final event, pafs upon, 
 the criminality ot the procefs and not upon the work, and in this 
 cafe, I had rather be the author, than be either the judge, or the 
 jury, that fhould condemn it. 
 
 But to come at once to the point. I have differed from fome 
 profefTional gentlemen on the fubjeft of profecutions, and I fince 
 find they are falling into my opinion, which I will here flate as 
 fully, but as concifely as I can. 
 
 I will firft pat a cafe with refpeft to any law, and then com- 
 pare it with a government, or with what in England is, ox has 
 been, called a conflitutlon. 
 
 It would be an a6l of defpotifm, or what in England is called 
 arbitrary pov/er, to make a law to prohibit inveftigating the prin- 
 ciples, good or bad, on which fuch a law, or any other is founded. 
 
 If a law be bad, it is one thing to oppofe the praftice of it, but 
 it is quite a different thing to expofe its errors, to reafon on its de- 
 fers, and to fhow caufe why it fliould be repealed, or why another 
 ought to be fubftituted in its place. I have always held it an o- 
 pinion, (making it alfo my praftice) that it is better to obey a bad 
 law, making ufe at the fame time of every argument to fhow its 
 errors and procure its repeal, than forcibly to violate it ; becaufe 
 the precedent of breaking a bad law might weaken the force, and 
 lead to a difcretionary violation, of thofe which are good. 
 
 The cafe is the fame with refpeft to principles and forms of go- 
 vernment, ur to what are called conftitutions and the parts of 
 which they are compofed. 
 
 It is for the good of nations, and not for the emolument or ag- 
 grandizement of particular individuals, that government ought to 
 be eftabliflied, and that mankind are at the expence of fupporting 
 it. The defefts of every government and conflitution, both as to 
 principle and form muff, on a parity of reafoning, be as open to 
 difcuffion as the defe6ls of a law, and it is a duty which every man 
 owes to fociety to point them out. When thofe defers, and the 
 means of remedying them are generally feen by a nation, that na- 
 tion will reform its government or its conflitution in the one cafe, 
 as the government repealed or reformed the law in the other. The 
 operation of government is rcflri6led to the making and the ad- 
 miniftering of laws ; but it is to a nation that the right of forming 
 or reforming, generating or regenerating conflitutions andgovern- 
 rr^nis belong ; and confequently thofe fubjefls, as fubjefts of in- 
 velllgation, are always before a country as a ??ialter of right, and 
 cannot, without invading the general rights of that country, be 
 made fubje6ls for profccution. On this ground I will meet Mr. 
 Burke whenever he pleafc. It is better that the whole argument 
 fhould come out, than to feek to flifle it. It was himfelf that 
 opened the controvei fy, and he ought not to defert it. 
 
 I do 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 I do not believe that monarchy and ariftocracy will continue kwn 
 years longer in any of the enlightened countries in Europe. It 
 better reafons can be fhown for them than againft them, they will 
 ftand; if the contrary, they will not. Mankind are not now to 
 be told they ftiall not think, or they fhall not read ; and pub- 
 lications that go no farther than to inveftigate principles of govern- 
 ment, to invite men to reafon and to refleft, and to (how the er- 
 rors and excellences of different fyftems, have a right to appear. 
 If they do not excite attention, they are not worth the trouble of 
 a profecution ; and if they do, the profecution will amount to no- 
 thing, fmce it cannot amount to a prohibition of reading. This 
 would be a fentence on the public, inflead of the author, and 
 would alfo be ihe moft efFeftual mode of making or haflening re- 
 volutions. 
 
 On all cafes that apply univerfally to a nation, with rerpe6l to 
 fyflems of government, a jury of twelve men is not competent 
 to decide. Where there are no witnelfes to be examined, no fafts 
 to be proved, and where the whole matter is before the whole 
 public, and the merits or demerits of it refting on their opinion ; 
 and where there is nothing to be known in a court, but what every 
 body knows out of it, every twelve men is equally as good a jury 
 as the other, and would mofl probably reverie each other's ver- 
 di6l; or from the variety of their opinions, not be able to form 
 one. It is one cafe, whether a nation approve a work, or a plan ; 
 but it is quite another cafe, whether it will commit to any fuch 
 jury the power of determining whether that nation have a right iOy 
 or fliall reform its government, or not. I mention thofe cafes, 
 that Mr. Burke may fee I have not written on Government with- 
 out reflefting on what is Law, as well as on what are Rights. — 
 The only effeftual jury in fuch cafes would be, a convention of 
 the whole nation fairly elefted ; for in all fuch cafes the whole na- 
 tion is the vicinage. If Mr. Burke will propofe fuch a jury, I 
 will wave all privileges of being the citizen of another country, 
 and, defending its principles, abide the iiTue, provided he will do 
 the fame; for my opinion is, that his work and his principles 
 would be condemned inflead of mine. 
 
 As to the prejudices which men have from education and habit, 
 in favour of any particular form or lyftem of government, thofe 
 prejudices have yet to ftand the teft of reafon and reflexion. In 
 fact, fuch prejudices are nothing.. No man is prejudiced in favour 
 of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the 
 belief of its being right ; and when he fees it is not fo, the preju- 
 dice will be gone. We have but a defe6iive idea of what preju- 
 dice is. It might be faid, that until men think for themfelves the 
 whole is prejudice, and not opinioii ; ior that only is opinion 
 which is the refult of reafon and reflection. I offer this remark, 
 that Mr. Burke may not confide too much in what ha? been the 
 cultomary prejudices of the country. I d®- 
 
I do not believe that tbepeople of England liave ever been fairly 
 and candidly dealt by. They have been impofed upon by parties, 
 and by men afTuniiiig the charafter of leaders. It is time that the 
 nation fliould rife above thofe trifles. It is time to difmifs that in- 
 attention which has fo long been the encouraging caufe of ftretch- 
 ing taxation to excefs. It is time to difmifs all thofe fongs and 
 toafts which are calculated to enflave, and operate to fuffocate re- 
 fle6lion. On all fuch fubjefts men have but to think, and they 
 will neither a61: wrong nor be mifled. To fay that any people arc 
 not fit for freedom, is to make poverty their choice, and to fay 
 they had rather be loaded with taxes than not. If fuch a cafe 
 could be proved, it would equally prove that thofe who govern 
 are not fit to govern them, for they are a part of the fame national 
 mafs. 
 
 But admitting governments to be changed all over Europe ; it 
 certainly may be done without convulfion or revenge. It is not 
 worth making changes or revolutions, unlefs it be for fome great 
 national benefit; and when this fhall appear to a nation, the dan- 
 ger will be, as in America and France, to thofe who oppofe; arid 
 with this refleftion I clofe my Preface. 
 
 THOMAS PAINE. 
 
 London^ Feb, 9, 1792. 
 
 RIGHTS 
 
RIGHTS of MAN. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 WHAT Archimedes fald of the mechanical powers, may he 
 applied to Reafon and Liberty : *• Had we," faid he, a 
 " place to Jland uporii we might raife the world'* 
 
 The revolution of America prefented in politics what was only- 
 theory in mechanicks. So deeply rooted were al 1 the governments 
 of the old world, and fo effeaually had the tyranny and antiquity 
 of habit eftabiifted itfelf over the mind, that no beginning could 
 be made in Afia, Africa, or Europe, to reform the political con- 
 dition of man. Freedom had been hunted round the globe; rea- 
 fon was confidered as rebellion ; and the flavery of fear had made 
 men afraid to think. 
 
 But fuch is the irrefiftible nature of truth, that aM it afks, and all 
 it wants, is ihe liberty ot appearing. The fun needs no infcription 
 to diftinguiOi him from darknefs ; and no fooner did the American 
 governments difplay themfelves to the world, than defpotifm felt a 
 ihock, and man began to contemplate redrefs. 
 
 The independence of America, confidered merely as a repa- 
 ration from England, would have been a matter but of little im- 
 portance, had it not been accompanied by a revolution in the prin- 
 ciples and pra£lice of governments. She made a (land, not for 
 herfelt only, but for the world, and looked beyond the advantages 
 herfelf could receive. Even the HefTian, though hired to fight 
 againft her, may live to blefs bis defeat; and England, condemning 
 the vicioufnefs of its government, rejoice in its mifcarriage. 
 
 As America was the only fpot in the political world, where the 
 principles of univerfal retorraation could begin, fo alfo was it the 
 beft in the natural world. An alfemblage of circumftances con- 
 fpired, not only to give birth, but to add gigantic maturity to its 
 principles. The fcene which that country prefents to the eye of a 
 fpeaator, has fomething in it which generates and encourages 
 great ideas. Nature appears to him m magnitude. The mighty 
 objefts he beholds, aft upon his mind by enlarging it, and he par- 
 takes of the greatnefs he contemplates.— Its full fettlcrs were emi- 
 grants from different European nations, and of diverfified pro-- 
 leflions of religion, retiring from the governmental perfccutions 
 
 B «f 
 
{ lo ) 
 
 of the old world, «nd meeting in the new, not as enemies, but za 
 brothers. The wants which necefTarily accompany the cultivation 
 of a wildernefs produced among them a ftate of fociety, which 
 countries, long harralfed by the quarrels and intrigues of govern- 
 ments, had neglefted to cherifh. In fuch a fituation man become* 
 what he ought. He fees his {pecies, not with the inhuman idea of 
 a natural enemy, but as kindred; and the example (hews to the ar- 
 tificial world, that man muft go back to Nature for information. 
 
 Fiom the rapid progrels which America makes in every fpecies 
 of improvement, it is rational to conclude, that if the govern- 
 ment of Afia, Africa, and Europe, had begun on a principle, fi- 
 milar to that of America, or haJ not been very early corrupted 
 therefrom, that thofc countries mull by this liine have been in a far 
 Superior condition to what they are. Age after age has pafled away, 
 for no other purpofe than to behold their wretchednefs. — Could wc 
 I'uppofe a fpeftator who knew nothing of the world, and who was 
 put into it mere'y to make his obfervations, he would take a great 
 part of the old world to be new, jufl ftruggling with the difficulties 
 and liardfhips of an infant fettlement. He could not fjppol'e that 
 the hordes of miferable poor; with which old countries abound, 
 could be any other than thofe who had not yet had time lo provide 
 lor themfelves. Little would he think they were the confequcncc 
 of what in fuch countries is called government. 
 
 If, from the more wretched parts ot the old world, we look at 
 thofe which are in an advanced llage of improvement, wc ftill find 
 ihe greedy hand of government thrufting itfelf into every corner 
 and crevice ot indullry, and grafping the fpoil ot the multitude. 
 Invention is continually cxercifed, to furnifh new pretences for 
 revenue and taxation. It watches profperity as its prey, and pcr- 
 jnits none to efcape without a tribute. 
 
 As revolutions have begun, (and as the probability is always 
 greater againft a thing beginning, than of proceeding after it has 
 begun) it is natural to expe£l that other revolutions will follow. — 
 The amazing and ftill increafing expcnces with which old govern- 
 ments are condutied, the numerous wars they engage in or pro- 
 voke, the embarrairments they throw in the way of univerfal ci- 
 vilization and commerce, and the opprefTion and ufurpation they 
 aft at home, have wearied eut the patience, and exhaufted the pro- 
 perty of the world. In fuch a fituation, and with th« examples 
 already cxifting, revolutions are to be looked tor. They are be- 
 come fubje6is of univerfal converfation, and may be confidcred as 
 the Order of the day. 
 
 If fyftenis of government can be introduced, lefs cxpenfive, and 
 more produ6fJve of general happinefs, than thofe which have ex- 
 ifted, all attempts to oppofe their progrefs will in the end be fruit- 
 lefs. Reafon, like time, will make its own way, and prejudice 
 vill {all in a combat with intcrcll. If univerfal peace, civilization 
 
 aud 
 
( ^i ) 
 
 and commerce, are ever eo be the happy lot of man, it cannot be 
 accomplifhed hut by a revolution in tlie fydem of governments.— 
 All the monarchical governments are military. War is their trade, 
 plunder and revenue their objefts. While fuch governments con- 
 tinue, peace has not the abfoluie fecurity of a dav. What is the 
 hillory ot all monarchial governments, but a difguftful pi£lure of 
 human wreichedncfs, and the accidental refpite of a few years re- 
 pofe ? Wearied with war, and tired with human butchery, they 
 fat down to reit and called it peace. This certainly is not the con- 
 dition that Heaven intended for man ; and if this ht monarchy^ 
 well might monarchy be reckoned among the fins of the Jews. 
 
 The revolutions which formerly took place in the world, had 
 nothing in them that interefted the bulk of mankind. They ex- 
 tended only to a change of perfons and meafurcs but not of prin- 
 ciples, and rofe or fell among the common tranfaffions of the mo- 
 ment. What we now behold, may not improperly be called a 
 " counter revolution.'' Conqueit and tyranny, at lom.e early pe- 
 riod, difpoffefTed man of his rights, and he is now recoverin^fj 
 them. And as the tide of all human affairs has its ebb and flov/ ih 
 directions contrary to each other, fo alfo is it in this. Government 
 founded on a moral theory^ on a fyjltm of univerfal peace, on the 
 indtjeafibie hereditary Rights of Man^ is now revolving from weft 
 to eail, by a ftronger impulfe than the government of the fword 
 revolved from eaft to weff. It interefts not particular individuals, 
 butnations in its progrefs, and promifes a new asra to the human race. 
 
 The danger to which the fucccfs of revolutions is moft expofed, 
 is that of attempting them before the principles on which they pro- 
 ceed, and the advantages to refult from them, are fufficiently feen 
 and underftood. A'moll every thing appertaining to the circum- 
 flances of a nation, has been abforbed and confounded under the 
 general and myflerious word government. Though it avoids taking 
 to its account the errors it commits, and the mifchiefs it occafions, 
 it fails not to arrogate to itfelf whatever has the appearance of pro- 
 fperity. It robs indufiry of its honours, by pedanticly making it- 
 felf the caule of its eflfefts ; and purloins from the general charac- 
 ter ot man, the merits that appertain to him as a focial being. 
 
 It may therefore be of ufe, in this day of revolutions, to difcri- 
 minate between thofe things which are the effcff of government, 
 and thofe which are not. This will befl be done by taking a re- 
 riew of fociety and civilization, and the confequcnces relulting 
 therefrom, as things diftinCl from what are called governments. — 
 By beginning with this inveftigation, we fhall be able to afTign ef- 
 fects to their proper caufe. and analize the mafs of common errors. 
 
 CHAP, h 
 
(^» ) 
 
 , . C H A p. I. 
 
 Of SOCIETY and CIVILIZATION. 
 
 GREAT part of that order which reigns among mankind is 
 not the til 61: of government. It has its origin in the prin- 
 ciples of fociety and the natural conftiiuiion of man. It exifted 
 prior to government, and would exiU ;t the formahty of govern- 
 ment was aboHfhed. The mutual dependence and reciprocal in- 
 tereft which man has upon man, and a'l the parts of a civilized 
 community upon each other, create that great chain of connexion 
 which holds it together. The landholder, the farmer, the m^nu- 
 fdj-surer, the merchant, the tradefman, and every occupation, prof- 
 pfis by the aid which each receives irom the other, and from the 
 whole. Common intereft regulates their concerns, and tormf 
 their law; and the laws which common ufage ordains, have a great- 
 er influence than the laws of governnient. In fine, fociety per- 
 forms for itfelf almoll every thing which is afcribed to government. 
 
 To underftaiid ihe nature and quantity of government proper 
 for man, it is neceiFary to attend to his charatler. As nature 
 created him for focial life, (he fined him for the ftation fhe in- 
 tended. In aU cafes fhe made his natural wants greater than his 
 individual powers. No one man is capable, without the aid of 
 fociety, ot fupplying his own wants ; and thofe wants, afting 
 upon every individual, impel the whole of them into fociety, as 
 naturally as giavitation a6fs to a centre. 
 
 But fhe has gone further. She has not only forced man into 
 locitty, by a diverfity of wants, which the reciprocal aid of each 
 «ther can lupply, but Ihe has implanted in him a fyfteni of focial 
 aflfe^lions, which, though not neceflary to his exiftence, are fffen- 
 tjal to his happinefs. There is no period in life when this love 
 for fociety ceafes to aft. It begins and ends with our being. 
 
 If we examine, with attention, into the compofition and con- 
 ilitation of man, the diverfity of his wants, and the diverfity of 
 talents in different men for reciprocally accommodating the wants 
 of each other, his propenfity to fociety, and confequently to pre- 
 ferve the advantages refultingfrom it, we fhall eafily difcover, that 
 a great part of what is called government is mere impofiiion. 
 
 Government is no farther neceffary than to fupply the few cafes 
 to which fociety and civilization are not conveniently competent; 
 and inflances are not wanting to fhcw, that every thing which 
 government can ufefully add thereto, has been performed by the 
 common confent of fociety, without government. 
 
 For upwards of two years from the commencement of the Ame- 
 rican war, and to a longer period in feveral of the American 
 States, there were no eflablifhed forms ot government. The old 
 governments had been aboiifhed, and the country was too ranch 
 occupied in defence, to employ its attention in eflablifhing new 
 
 governments I 
 
( '3 ) 
 
 governments ; yet during this interval, order and harmony were 
 preferved as inviolate as in any country in Europe. There is a 
 natural aptnefs in man, and more lo in fociety, becaufc it cm- 
 braces a greater variety of abilities and refourcc^ to accommodate 
 itfelf to whatever fitaation it is in. The inft*»nt formal govern- 
 ment is abolilhcd, fociety begins to aft. A general airociaiion 
 takes place, and common interefl; produces conimon fecurity. 
 
 So far is it from being true, as has been pretended, that the 
 abolition of any formal government is the dllTolution of fociety, 
 that it afts by a contrary impulfe, and brings the latter the clofer 
 together. All that part of its organization which it had commit- 
 ted to its government, devolves again upon itfelf, and a6ls through 
 its medium. When men, as well from natural mftinft, as from 
 reciprocal benefits, have habituated themfelves to focial and civi- 
 lized life, there is always enough of its principles in practice to 
 carry them through any changes thev may find nccefl'ary or con- 
 venient to make in their government. In Ihort, man is fo natu- 
 rally a creature of fociety, that it is almoft impofhble to put him 
 out of it. 
 
 Formal government makes but a fmall part of civilized life ; 
 and when even the beilthat human wifdom can devife is eftablilh- 
 ed, it is a thing more in name and idea, than in fd£l. It is to the 
 great and fundamental principles of fociety and civilization — to 
 the common ufage univerfally confented to, and mutually and 
 reciprocally maintained— to the unceafing circulation of intereft, 
 which, paffing through its million channels, invigorates the whole 
 mafs of civilized man — it is to thefe things, infinitely more than 
 to any thing which even the beft inftituted government can per- 
 form, that the lafety and profperity of the individual and of the 
 %vhole depend. 
 
 The more perfe£i: civilization is, the lefs occafion has it for 
 government, becaufe the more does it regulate its own affairs, and 
 govern itfelf; but fo contrary is the practice ot old governments 
 to the reafon of the cafe, that the expences of them increafe in 
 the proportion they ought to diminifh. It is but few general laws 
 that civilized life requires, and thofc of (iich common ufefulnefs, 
 that whether they are enforced by the forms of government or 
 not, the effeft will be nearly the fame. If we confider what the 
 principles are that firfl condenfe men into fociety, and what the 
 motives that regulate their mutual intercourfe afterwards, we fhall 
 find, by the time we arrive at what is cal'ed government, that 
 nearly the whole of the bufinefs is perlormed by the natural ope. 
 ration of the parts upon each other. 
 
 Man, with refpeft roall thofe matters, is more a creature of 
 confiftency than he is aware, jar than governments would wifh 
 him to believe. All the great laws of fociety are 'aws of nature. 
 Thofe of trade and commerce, whether with r^fpe6l to the inter- 
 courfe 
 
( M ) 
 
 •ourfe of individuals, or of nations, are laws of mutual and re- 
 ciprocal intcrcft. They are followed and obeyed, becaufe it is 
 the intercft of the parties fo to do, and not on account of any 
 formal laws their governments may impofe or interpofe. 
 
 But how often is the natural prepenfity to fociety difturbed or 
 ieftroyrd by the operations of government! When the laner, 
 inflead of being ingrafted on the principles of the former, aflumes 
 to exift for itfelf, and afts by partialities of favour and opprcflion, 
 it becomes thecaufe of the niifchicfs it ought to prevent. 
 
 If we look back to the riots and tumults, which at various times 
 have happened in England, we (hall find, that they did not proceed 
 from the want of a government, but that government was itfelf 
 the generating caufe; inflead of confolidating fociety it divided 
 it ; it deprived it of its natural cohefion, and engendered difcon. 
 tents and diforders, which otherwife would not have exifted. In 
 thofc affociations which men promifcuoufly form for the purpofc 
 of trade, or of any concern, in which government is totally out of 
 the queftion, and in which they aft merely on the principles of 
 fociety, we fee how naturally the various parties unite ; and this 
 (hews, by comparifon, that governments, fo far from being al- 
 ways the caufe or means of order, arc often the deilruftion of it. 
 The riots of 1780 hail no other fource than the remains of thofq 
 prejudices, which the government itielf had encouraged. But 
 with refpeft to England there are alfo other caufes. 
 
 Excels and inequality of taxation, however difguifed in the 
 means, never fail to appear in their efFefts. As a great mafs of 
 the community are thrown thereby into poverty and difcontent, 
 they arc conflantly on the brink of commotion ; and deprived, 
 as the unfortunately are, of the means of information, are eafily 
 heated to outrage. Whatever the apparent caule of any riots 
 may be, the real one is always want of happinefs. It ihews that 
 fomething is wrong in the fyftem of governrneat, that injures the 
 felicity by which fociety is to be preferved. 
 
 But as fa£l is fuperior to reafoning, the inflance of America 
 prefents itfelf to confirm thefe obfervations. — If there is a country 
 in the world, where concord, according to common calculation, 
 would be leaft expefted, it is America. Made up, as it is, of 
 people from different nations,*^' accuftomed to different forms and 
 
 habits 
 
 * That part of America which it generallf called New-England, 
 including New'Hamplhire, Maffachufet.i, Rbodc-Ifland, and Connec- 
 ticut, is peopled chiefly bj tngliOi defcendanci. In the State of New- 
 York about half are Dutch, the reft Englifh, Scotch, and Irirti. la 
 New-Jerfcf, a mixture of EngliOi and Dutch, with fome Scotch, and 
 Iriili. In Fennfylvania, about one-third arc Englifh, another Ger- 
 raani, and the remainder Scotch and Irirti, with fome Swedet. The 
 State* t« the fouthward have a greater proportion of Engliih than the 
 
 middle 
 
( «5 ) 
 
 habits of governinent, fpeaking different languages, and more 
 different in their modes of woifhip, it would appear that the union 
 of fuch a people was imprafticable; but by the fimple operation 
 of conflru6fing government on the principles of fociety and the 
 rights of man, every difficulty retires, and all the parts are brought 
 into cordial unifon. There, the poor are not oppreffed, the rich 
 are not privileged. Induflry is not mortified by the fplcndid ex- 
 travagance of a court rioting at its expencc. Their taxes are few, 
 becaufe their government is jufl ; and as there is nothing to render 
 them wretched, there is nothing to engender riots and tumults. 
 
 A metaphyfical man, like Mr, Burke, would have tortured 
 his invention to difcover how fuch a people could be governed. 
 He would have fuppoled that fome mufl be managed by fraud, 
 others by force, and all by fome contrivance ; that genius muft 
 be hired to impofe upon ignorance, and (hew and parade to faf- 
 cinate the vulgar. Loft in the abundance of his refearchcs, he 
 would have refolved and re-refolved, and finally overlooked the 
 plain and eafy road that lay direftly before him. 
 
 One of the great advantages of the American revolution hag 
 been, that it led to a difcovery of the principles, and laid open 
 the impofuion of governments. All the revolutions till then had 
 been worked within the atmofphere of a court, and never on the 
 great floor of a nation. The parties were always of the clafs of 
 courtiers ; and whatever was their rage for reformation, they 
 carefullv preferved the fraud of the profeifion. 
 
 In all cafes they took care to reprefenc government as a thing 
 made up of mylleries, which only themfelves under flood; and 
 they hid from the underftanding of the nation, the only thing 
 that was beneficial to know, namely. That government is nothing 
 more than a national ajfociation aElmg on the principles ofjociety. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to fhcw, that the focial and civi- 
 lized flate of man is capable of performing within itfe'f, almofl 
 every thing neceffary to its protefcf ion and governmeBt, it will be 
 proper, on the other hand, to take a review of the prefent old 
 governments, and examine whether their principles and pra6ticc 
 *rc correfpondent thereto. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 OJtheOuixxv of the prefent OLD GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 IT is impoffi^le that fuch governments as have hitherto exiftcd in 
 the world, could have commenced by any other means than a 
 total violation of every principle f.^red and moral. The obfcu- 
 
 -rity 
 
 middle Statei, but in all of them there it a mixture ; and beCdes thof« 
 •Qumeraied, thee are a confiHcrable number of French, and fome few 
 of sll the European nations lying on the coaft. The raoft nuraeroui 
 telijsiout denomination are the Prelbrtcrians ; but no on» feft i* eft*- 
 blirticd abovo aQothcr| and all tucn acQ e^u^U/ ciiizqns. 
 
( »6 ) 
 
 Tity in which the origin of all the prefent old governmf nts is bu- 
 ried, implies the iniquity and difgracc with which thcv began. — 
 The origin of the prefent governments o[ America and France will 
 ever be remembered, bccaufe it is honotuable to record n ; but 
 with refpeft to the reft, even Flattery has configned them to the 
 tomb of time, without an infcrlption. 
 
 It could have been no difficult thing in the early and folltary 
 ages of the world, while the chief employment of men was that of 
 attending flocks and herds, for a banditti of ruffians to over-run a 
 country, and lay it under contributions. Their power being thus 
 cftabliftied, the chief of the band contrived to lofe the name of 
 Robber in that oi Monarch ; and hence the origin ot Monarchy 
 and Kings. 
 
 The origin of the government of England, fo far as relates to 
 what is called its line of monarchy, being one ot the lateft, is per- 
 haps the beft recorded. The hatred which the Norman invafion 
 and tyranny begat, mufl; have been deeply rooted in the nation, to 
 have outlived the contrivance to obliterate it. Though not a 
 courtier will talk of the curleu-bell, not a village in England has 
 forgotten it. 
 
 Thofe bands of robbers having parcelled out the world, and di- 
 vided it into dominions, began, as is naturally the cafe, to quarrel 
 with each other. What at firl> was obtained by violence, was 
 confidered by others as lawful to be taken, and a fecond plunderer 
 fucceededthe firft; They alternately invaded the dominions which 
 eachhadaffigned to himfelf, and the brutality with which they 
 treated each other explains the original charafter of monarchy. 
 It was ruffian torturing ruffian. The conqueror confidered the 
 conquered, not ashisprifoner, but his property. He led him in 
 triumph rattling in chains, and doomed him, at pleafure, to fla- 
 very or death. As time obliterated the hiftory of their beginning, 
 their fucceffors affumed new appearances, to cut off the entail of 
 their difgrace, but their principles and objefts remained the fame. 
 Whatatfirft was plunder, affumed the fofter name of revenue; 
 and the power originally ufurped, they affefted to inherit. 
 
 From fuch beginning of governments, what could be expelled, 
 but a continual fyftern of vvar and extortion ? It has eftabliftied 
 itfelf into a trade. The vice ii not peculiar to one more than to 
 another, but is the common principle of all. There does not exift 
 within fuch governments, a ffamina whereon to ingraft reforma- 
 tion ; and the (horteft and raoft effedual remedy is to begin anew. 
 
 What fcenes of horror, what perfeftion of iniquity, prefent 
 ihemfclves in contemplating the charafler, and reviewing the 
 hiftory of fuch governments I If we would delineate human na- 
 ture with abafenefs of heart, and hypocrify of countenance, that 
 Tefleftion would fhudder at and humanity difown, it is kings 
 courts and cabinets, thatmuft fit for the portrait. Man, naturally, 
 as he is, with all his faults about him, \$ not up to the charaftcr. 
 
i 17 ; 
 
 Can we poflibly fuppofe that if governments had originated in a 
 right principle, and had not an intereH in purfuing a wrong one, 
 that the world could have been in the wretched and quarrelforne 
 condition we have f'een it? What inducement has the farmer, while 
 following the plough, to lay afide his peaceful purfuits, and go to 
 war with the farmer of another country? or what inducement has 
 the manufafturer ? What is dominion to them, or to any clafs of 
 men in a nation ? Does it add an acre to any man's eftate, or raife 
 its value? Are not conqueft and defeat each of the fame price, and 
 taxes the neverfailing confequence ? — Though this reafoning may 
 be good to a nation, it is not fo to a government. War is the 
 Pharo table of governments, and nations the dupes of the game. 
 
 If there is any thing to wonder at in this mileiable fcerxe uf go- 
 vernments, more than might be expelled, it is the progrefs which 
 ihe peaceful arts of agriculture, manufa6fure and commerce have 
 made, beneath fuch a long accumulating load of dilcouragement 
 and oppreffion. It ferves to ihew, that mftin£t in animals does not 
 aft with llronger impulfe, than the principles of fociety and civil- 
 ization operate in man. Under all difcouragements, he purfues 
 his obje£l, and yields to nothing but impoinbiliiies. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 0/ ihe Old and New Systems of GOVERNMENT. 
 
 NOTHING can appear more contradiftory than the princi- 
 ples on which the oid governments began, and the condition 
 to which fociety, civilization, and commerce, are capable of carry- 
 ing mankind. Government on the old fyfiem, is an afTuraption of 
 power, for the aggrandifement of itfelf; on the new, a delegation 
 of power, fo! the common benefit of fociety. The former fup- 
 ports itfelf by keeping up a fyfiem of v/ar; the latter promotes a 
 fyflem ot peace, as the true m.eans of enriching a nation. The 
 one encourages national prejudices; the other promotes iinivcrfal 
 lociety, as the means of univerfal commerce. The one meafurcs 
 its profperity, by the quaniitv of revenue it extorts; the other 
 proves its excellence, by the imall quantity of taxes it requires. 
 
 Mr. Burke has talked of old and new whigs. If he can amuie 
 himfelf with childifh names and diflinftions, 1 fnall not interrupt 
 his pleafure. It is not to him, but to the Abbe Sieyes, that I ad- 
 drefs this chapter. 1 am already engaged to the latter gentleman, 
 to difcufs the fubjeft of monarchical government; and as it natural- 
 ly occurs in comparing the old and new fyftcms, I make this the 
 opportunity of prefentinfr to him. my obfervaiions. 1 Ihiill qcca- 
 fionally take Mr. Burke in my way. 
 
 Though it might be proved that the fyftem of government now 
 railed the N E\\% is th.e moft ar:cicnt in princiDic of all that have ex- 
 
 C * iiled, 
 
( 1^ } 
 
 iucd, being fruna^d on the original inherent Rights of Man; ye(> 
 as tyranny and the fu'crJ liave fufpended the excrcife of thofe. 
 rights for rn::ny centuries paff, it fervcs better the purpofe of diftinc- 
 tion to ci'il it the nezL\ than to claim the right ot calHng it the old. 
 The fi'd general diftinftion between tliofe two fyilems, is, that 
 the one now called the old is hcrcditarv^ either in wliole or in 
 part ; and the new is entirely reprep.ntativc. It rejecls all heredita- 
 ry governmerit. 
 
 Firff, As being an impofition on mankind. 
 Secondly, As inadequate to the purpofes for which government 
 is necedary. 
 
 With refpecl to the firft ot thefe heads — It cannot be proved by 
 what right hereditary government could begin ; neither does there 
 exift within the conipafs of mortal pov.'cr, a right to cflablifh it. — 
 Man has no authority over poflcrity in matters of perfonal right ; 
 and therefore, no man, or body ot men, had, or can have, a right 
 to fet up hereditary government. Were even ourfelves to come 
 again into exigence, inllead ot being fucceeded by pofterity, we 
 have not now the right ot taking from ourlelves the rights which 
 would then be ours. On v/hat ground, then, do we pretend to 
 take them from others ? 
 
 All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny. An herit- 
 able crown, ox an heritable throne, or by what other fanciful name 
 fiich things may be called, have no other fignificant explanation 
 than that mankind arc heritable property. To inherit a govern- 
 ment, is to inherit the people, "as if they were flocks and herds. 
 
 With refpcft to the fecond head, that of being inadequate to the 
 purpofes for which government is necefFary, we have only to conH- 
 der what government eirentially is^ and compare it with the cir- 
 cumdances to which hereditary fuccelTion is fubje6t. 
 
 GovernmiCnt ought to be a thing always in full maturity. It 
 ought to be fo conltrufted as to be fuperior to all the accidents to 
 which individual man is fubjeft ; and therefore, hereditary fuc- 
 cefiion, by being fubjttl to them all, is the mod irregular and im- 
 perfect ot all the fyflems of government. 
 
 We have heard the Rights of Man called a Lvdling fyflem ; but 
 the only fyilem to which the word levelling is truly applicable, is 
 the hereditary monarchical fyflern. It is a fyflem ot 7nental levelling. 
 It indifcriminateiy admits every fpecies of charaRer to the fame au- 
 thority. Vice and virtue, ignorance and wifdom, in Ihort, every 
 quality, good or bad, is put on the fame level. Kings fuccced each 
 other, not as raiicnals, but as animals. It fignifies not what their 
 nicntal or moral churafters arc. Can we then be furprifed at the 
 ahjecl: ftateof the humr4n mind in monarchical countries, when the 
 government itfclf is formed on fuch an abjc61 levelling fyltem?— 
 It has no fixed charafter. To-day it is one thing; to-morrow it is 
 fomething elfe. It changes with the temper of every fucceeding in- 
 dividual, 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 dividual, and is fabjeft to all the varieties of each. It is govern- 
 ment through the medium of pafiloiis and accidents. It appears 
 under ail the various chara6ler3 oi childiiood, decrepitude, dotage, 
 a thing at nurfe, in leading-firings, or in crutches. It reveriCSihe 
 wholeiomc order of nature. It occafionally puts children over 
 men, and the conceits ot non-age over wildom and experience. 
 In fiiort, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of govern- 
 ment, than hereditary fuccclTion, in a'.I its cafes, prefents. 
 
 Could it be made a decree in nature, or an editt regiftered in 
 heaven, and man could know it, that virtue and wifdom ihould in- 
 varicibly appertain to hereditary lucceflTion, the cbje^iions lo it 
 would be rem.oved; but when we lee that nature afls as if fhe dif- 
 owned and fported with the hereditary fyflem ; thjt the mental 
 chara6^£rs of fuccefTors, in all countries, are below the average of 
 human undcrftanding; th::t one is a tyrant, another an ideot, a 
 third infane, and fome all three together, it is impoifible to attach 
 conlidence to if, when reafon in rxian has power to act. 
 
 It is not to the Abbe Sieycs that 1 need apply this reafoning ; 
 he has already faved me that trouble, by giving his own opinion 
 upon the cafe. " If ii he aOted," fays he " what is my opinion 
 " with refpeft to hereditary right, I anfu-cr, v.'ithout hefitation, 
 " Thar, in good theory, an hereditary tranfmiffion of any power 
 '" or ofEce, can never accord with the lasvs of a true reprefenta- 
 " tion. Kereditaryfhip is, in this fenfe, as much an attaint upon 
 " principle, as an outrage upon fociety. But let us," continues 
 he, *• refer to the hiflory of ail elcftive monarchies and principa- 
 " lities : Is there one in v^hich the elettive mode is not worfe 
 '• than the hereditary fucceHion V 
 
 As to debating on which is the worft of the two, it is admitting 
 both to be bad ; and herein we are agreed. The preference which 
 the Abbe has given, is a condemnation of the thing that he pre- 
 fers. Such a mode of reafoning on fuch a fubje^ is inadmiflible, 
 becaiifeit finally amounts to an accufation upon Providence, as if 
 fhe had left to man no other choice with refpetf to government 
 than between two evils, the beft of which he admiits to be " an 
 attaint upon principh, and an outrage upon fodziy." 
 
 PafRng over, for the prefent, all the evils and mifchlefs which 
 monarchy has occafioned in the world, nothing can more effeftu- 
 ally prove its ufelefTnefs in a flaie of civil government^ than mak- 
 ing it hereditary. Would we make any office hereditary that ie- 
 quiied wifdom and abilities to fill it ? and v;here wifdom and 
 abilities are not neccfl'ary, inch an office, whatever it may be, is 
 fuperfluous or infignificant. 
 
 Hereditary fuccelTion is abuil^fque upon monarchy. It puts 
 it in ihe^ moil ridiculous light, by prefeniing it as an office which 
 any child or ideot may fill. It requires forne talents to be a com- 
 mon mechanic ; bet to be a kin^, requires only the animal figure 
 
 of 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 of man — a fort of breathing aiitomalon. This fort of (uperftition 
 inay laft a few years more, but it cannot long refill the awakened 
 realbn and intereil of man; 
 
 As to Mr. Burke, he is a ftickler for monarchy, not altogether 
 as a penfioner, if he is one, v.'hich I believe, but as a political 
 man. He has taken up a contemptible opinion of rnankind, who, 
 in their turn, are taking up the fame of him. He confiders them 
 as a herd of beings that muft be governed by fraud, effigy and 
 Ihew ; and an idol would be as good a figure of monarchy with 
 him, as a man. I will, however, do him the juftice to fay, that 
 with refpe£l to America, he has been very complimentary. He 
 alvi^ays contended, at leaft in my hearing, that the people of Ame- 
 rica were more enlightened than thofe of England, or of any 
 country in Europe ; and that therefore the impofition of fhev/ was 
 not necefiary in their governments. 
 
 Though the compa:ifon between hereditary and eleflive mo- 
 narchy, v.'hich the Abbe has made, is unneceffary to the cafe, be- 
 caufe ihe reprefentative fyflem reje6^fcsboth ; yet were I to make 
 the comparifon, I fhould decide contrary to what he has done. 
 
 The civil wars which have originated from contefted hereditary 
 claims, are more numerous, and have been more dreadful, and of 
 joiiger continuance, than thofe v.'hich have been occafioned by 
 election. AH the civil wars in France arofe from the here-, 
 ditary fyitem; they were either produced by hereditay claims, or by 
 the impel fe6lion of the hereditary form, which admits of regen- 
 cies, or m-onarchy at nurfe. With refpecl to England, its hiftory 
 IS full of the fame misfortunes. The contefts tor fuccefTion be- 
 tween the Houfes of York and Lancaffer, lafted a whole century ; 
 and others of a fimilar nature, have renewed themfelves fince that 
 period. Thofe of \']i^ and 1745, were of the fame kind. The 
 fuccellion war for tlie crown ot Spain, embroiled almolf half 
 Europe. The difturbances in Holland are generated from the he- 
 liuitaryrnip of the Stadtholder. A government calling itfelf free, 
 -with an hereditary office, is like a thorn in the flefli, that produces 
 a fei mentation which endeavours to difcharge it. 
 
 But I might go further, and place alfo foreign wars, of whatever 
 kind, to the fame caulc. It is by adding the evil of hereditary fuc- 
 ccfiion to that of monarchy, that a permanent family-intereil is 
 created, vvhofe conlfant objefts are dominion and revenue. Po- 
 laod, though an elecfive monarchy, has had fewer wars than thofe 
 v.'hich are hereditary ; and it is the only government that has made 
 a voluntary effay, though but a fmall one, to reform the condition 
 of the country. 
 
 Having thus glanced at a few of the defe6fs of the old, or he- 
 reditary fyflem of government, let us compare it with the new, or 
 reprefentaiive fyltcm. 
 
 The rcprcfentative fyflem takes fociety and civilization for its 
 bafis ; nature, reafon, and experience, for its guide. 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 Experience, in all ages, and iti all countries, lias dcmonilrated 
 that it is impoflibe to controul Nature in her dillributicn of ir.er.tal 
 powers. She gives them as fhe pleafes. Whatever is the rule by 
 v/hich file, apparently to us, fcatters them among mankind, that 
 rule remains a fecret to man. It would be as ridiculous to at- 
 tempt to fix the bcrediiaryfiiip of human beaiity, as of wifdom. — 
 Whatever wifdom conRitnentiy is, it is like a fet-dlefs plant; it may 
 be reared when it appears, but it cannot be voluntarily produced. 
 TJiere is always a fufficiency fomevvdicrc in the genera! mafs of [o- 
 ciety for all purpofes; but v;ith refpe6f to the parts ot locicty, it 
 is continually changing its piace. It rifes in one to- day, in another 
 to-morrcw, and has moft probably vifited in rotation every family 
 of the earth, and again withdrawn. 
 
 As this is the order of nature, the order of government muH 
 neceflarily follow it, or qovcrnrr.ent will, as we ice it docs, dege- 
 nerate into ignorance. The hereditary fydem, therefore, is as re- 
 pugnant to human wifdora, as to human rights; and is as abfurd, 
 iis it is unjuf}. 
 
 As the republic oi letters brings forward the befl literary pro- 
 ductions, by giving to genius a fair and univerfal chance ; (o the 
 reprefentative fyftem of government is calculated to produce the 
 wifefl lav.'s. by coilcfiing wifdom horn where it can be found. I 
 fmile to myfelf when I contemplate the ridiculous infigniticance 
 into which literature and all the fciences would fink, were they 
 made hereditary ; and I carry the fame idea into governmcnis. — 
 A^n hereditary governor is as inconfiftent as an hereditary author. 
 I know not v^hether Homer or FAiclid had Tons; but I will ven- 
 ture an opinion, that if they had, and had left their works unfinlfli- 
 cd, tliofe fons could not have completed thern. 
 
 Do we need a flronger evidence of the abfurdity of hereditary 
 /government, than is feen in the defcendents of thofe men, in auy 
 line of life, who once were farhous ? Is there fcarccly an initance 
 in which there is not a total- reveif*? of the charafter? It appcuis 
 as if the tide of mental faculties flowed as far as it could in certain 
 charicels, and then forfook its courfe, and aiofe in others. How ir- 
 rational then is the hereditary fyltem which eOab'ilhes chaimelsof 
 power, in company with which wifdoin refufes to flow ! By con- 
 tinuing this abfurdity, man is perpetually in contradiction with biis- 
 felf; he accepts, for a king, or a chiei magiitratc, or a iegiOator, 
 aperfon whom he would not elect for a conf^ablc. 
 
 It appears to general obfcrvation, that revolutions create geniui 
 and talents ; but thofe events do no more than bring them ioin'ard. 
 There i? exiHing in man, a mars of fenfe lying in a dormant iUic, 
 and which, uniefs fomething excites it to action, will dcicend wi:k 
 him, in that condition, to the grave. As it is to the advantage of 
 ifociery that the whole of its faculties fliould be einployed, the con- 
 itru61ion of government ought to be fuch as to bring forward, by 
 
 a quiet 
 
( S8 ) 
 
 a quiet and regular operailon, all that extent of capacity vvhick 
 uever tails to appear in revolutions. 
 
 This cannot take place in the infipid ftate of hereditary govern- 
 ment, not only becaufe it prevents But becaufe it operates to be- 
 numb. When the mind of a nation is bowed down by any poli- 
 tical fuperftition in its government, fuch as hereditary fucceflion is, 
 ii lofes a confiderable portion of its powers on all other fubjcfts 
 and objects. Hereditary fucceflion requires the fume obedience 
 10 ignorance, as to wifdom ; and when once the mind can bring 
 itfeli to pay this indifcriminatc reverence, it defcends below the 
 itature of mental manhood. It is fit to be great only in Utile 
 things. It afts a treachery upon itfelf, and fuffocates the fenfa- 
 tions that urge to detetfion. 
 
 Though the ancient governments prefent to us a miferable pic- 
 ture ot the condition of man, there is one which above all others 
 exempts itfelf from the general defcription. I mean the democra- 
 cy of the Athenians. We fee more to admire, and lefs to con- 
 demn, in that great, extraordinary people, than in any thing 
 which hiliory affords. 
 
 Mr. Burke is fo little acquainted with conftituent principles of 
 government, that he confounds democracy and reprefentation to- 
 gether, Reprefentation was a thing unknown in the ancient de- 
 mocracies. In thofe the mafs of the people met and enafted 
 laws (grammatically fpeaking) in the firft perfon. Simple demo- 
 cracy was no other than the common-hali of the ancients. It fig- 
 niiies they^^r?;;, as well as the public principle of the government. 
 As tbefe democracies rncreafed in population, and the territory 
 {extended, the fimple democrat ical form became unwieldy and im- 
 uraciicable ; and as the fyllem of reprefentation was not known, 
 ;he confcquence was, they either degenerated convulfively into 
 iiionarchies, or became abforbed in fuch as then exifted. Had 
 :he fyflem of reprefentation been then undcrllood, as it now is, 
 iherc is no realon to believe that thofe forms of government, now 
 called monarchiai or ariflocratical, would ever have taken place. 
 It was the want of lome method to confolidate the parts of fociety, 
 ^fter it became too populous, and too extenfive for the fimple 
 oemocratical form, and alfo the lax and folitary condition of Ihcp- 
 herds and herdfmen in otliar parts of the world, that affoided op- 
 portunities to thofe unnatural modes of government to begin. 
 
 As it is neceffary to clear away the rubbifh of errors, into 
 which the fubjcft of government has been thrown, I fhall proceed 
 to remark on fome others. 
 
 It has always been the political craft.of courtiers and court go- 
 vernments to abule fomeihing v;hich they called rcpublicanilm ; 
 bjt what rcpublicanifm was or is, they never attempt to explain. 
 Let us examine a little into this cafe. 
 
 The only forms of government are, tlic democratical, the arif- 
 
 tccratical, 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 tpcratical, the monarchial, and what is now called the rcprcTenia- 
 tive. 
 
 What is called a republic, is not zny particular J or m of govern- 
 ment. It is wholly charafteriftical of the purport, matter, or ob- 
 jeft for which government' ought to be indituied, and on which 
 it is to be employed, res-PUBLICA, the public affairs, or the 
 public good; or, literally tranflated, the public thing. It is a word 
 of a good original, referring to what ought to be the charafter and 
 bufinefs of government ; and in this fenfe it is naturally oppofeci 
 to the word monarchy, which has a bafe original fignification. It 
 means arbitrary power in an individual perfon ; in thcexercife ot 
 which, himfelfy and not the ref-puhiica, is the object. 
 
 Every government that dees not aft on the principle of a Re- 
 public, or in other words, that does not make the ref-puhlica its 
 whole and fole objeft, is not a good governments Republican 
 government is no other than government eftablilhcd and condutl- 
 ed for the intereft of the public, as well individually as colleBive- 
 ly. It is not neceffarily connected with any particular form, but 
 it moll naturally affociates with the reprefcntaiive form, as being 
 beft calculated to fecure the end for which a nation is at th'j ex- 
 pence of fupporting it. 
 
 Various forms ot government have aiTefted to ftyle themftlvcs 
 republics. Poland calls itfelf a republic, which is an hereditary 
 ariftocracy, with what is called an elccVive monarchy. Holland 
 calls itfelf a republic, which is chiefly ariftocratical, with an heri- 
 ditary ftadtholderfliip. But the government of America, which 
 is wholly on the fyftem of reprefentation, is the only real repr.Wic 
 in characlcr and inpraftice, that now exills. Its government has 
 no other obje61 than the public bufinefs of the nation, and there- 
 fore it is properly a republic ; and the Americans have taken 
 care that this, and no other, (liall always be the objeft of ihv'lr 
 government, by their rejecting every thing hereditary, and cllab- 
 lifning government on the fyftem of reprefentation on'y. 
 
 Thofe who have faid that a republic is ,not -a form of govern- 
 ment calculated for countries cf great extent, miilook in the firit 
 place, the bufinefs of a ^rovcrnment, for a form cf government ; 
 tor the r^i-/?zf^/2(:^ equally appertains to every extent of territory 
 and population. \nd, in the fecond place, if they meant any 
 thing with refpeft to form, it v/as the fimple democratical form, 
 fuch as was the mode of government in the ancient d«^mocracies:, 
 in which there was no reprefentation. The cafe, therefore, is rot, 
 that a republic cannot be exten five, but that it cannot be extenhvc 
 on the fimple democratical form ; and the quePJon naturalh' pre- 
 fents it fell. What is thd befi form of government for conduBing (hs 
 REs-ruELiCA, or thsruBLic BUSINESS cf a nation^ after it 
 becomes too cxtenfivc and populous for tai fnpit dcr,iQcra!icalfcrm f 
 It cannot be monarchy,' becaufc monarchy is fubjeO vo an ob- 
 
 jeftica 
 
jecr^ion oi ilic iainc aniount to which the {ImpiC dcrnocratical form 
 was fubjeft. 
 
 It is poluble that aa iiidividua' may lay down a iyftem oF princi- 
 ples, on whicii government fhail be conltituiionally eftablifhed 
 to any extent oi territory. This is no more ihan an operation of 
 the mind, acting by its own powers. But theprai^ice upon thoie 
 principles, as applying to the various and numerous circumftan- 
 ces of a nation, its agricuhure, manufacture, trade, comnieicc, 
 &c. &c. requires a knowledge of a different kind, and which can 
 be had only from the varioux parts of fociety. It is an affemblage 
 of prsctical knowledge, which no one individual can poffels; and 
 therefore the monarchial form is as much limited, in ufeiul prac- 
 tice, from the incompetency of knowledge, as was the democrati- 
 cal form, from themukiplicity of population. The one degene- 
 rates, by extenfion, into contufion ; the other, into ignorance and 
 incapacity, of which all the great monarchies are an evidence. 
 The monarchial form, therefore, could not be a fubllitutefor the 
 democratica!, becaufe it has equal inconveniencies. 
 
 Much lefs could it when made herediiary. This is the moft ef- 
 fectual of all forms to preclude knowledge. Neither could the high 
 democratical mind have voluntarily yielded itfelf to be governed by 
 children and idiots, and all the motley infignificance of character, 
 which attends fach a mere animal-fyflem, the difgrace and the re- 
 proach of reafon and oF man. 
 
 As to the ariftocratical form, it has the fame vices and defefts 
 v.'lth the monarchical, except that the chance of abilites is better 
 from the proportion oF numbers, but there is Itill no lecurity for 
 the right ufe and application of them.* 
 
 Referring, then, to the original fimple democracy, it affords the 
 true data from which government on a large fcale can begin. It 
 is incapable ot extenfion, not from its principle, but from the in- 
 convenience of its form ; and monarchy and ariilocracy, from 
 their incapacity. Regaining, then, democracy as the ground, and 
 reje6fing the corrupt fyilerrjs of monarchy :;nd ariftocracy the 
 rcprefentative fyftem naturally prtfents itfelf; remedying at once 
 the defecls of the fimple democracy as to form, and the mcaoaci- 
 ty of the other two v.'ith rcfpe£t to knowledge. 
 
 Sim.ple democracy was fociety governing iifeu without the aid 
 ©F fecondary means'. By ingr'afiing reprefentaiion upon demo- 
 craov, we arrive at a fyllem ot government capable of embracing 
 and confederating all the various interefts and every extent ot 
 territory and population ; and that aifo with advantages as m^uch 
 fuperior to hereditary government, as the republic of letters is to 
 hereditary literature. 
 
 Il is on this lyftciri thai the American government is founded.— 
 
 * For a cnaratter cf ariitocrscr, i-c rcs=!er i» referred to Rights 
 of Mui), Part I. paije 41, Ciriiilr cd:::oz. 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 It is reprefentation ingnifted upon democracy. It has fixed tlie 
 form by a fcale parallel in all cafes to the extent of the principle. 
 What Athens was in miniature, America will be in magnitqde. — 
 The one was the wonder of the ancient world ; the other is be- 
 coming the admiration and model of the prefent. It is the eafieft 
 of all the forms of government to be up,derIlood, and the moft: 
 eligible in pratlice; and excludes at once the Ignorance and infe- 
 CLirity of the hereditary mode, and the inconvenience of the fim- 
 pie democracv. 
 
 It is impoflible to conceive a fyftem of government capable of 
 aS^ing over fach an extent of territory, and luch a circle oi in- 
 terefls, as is immediately produced by the operation of reprefen-v 
 tation. France, great and populous as it is, is but a fpot in the 
 capacioufnefs of the fyflem. It adapts itfclt to all poflible cafes. 
 It is preferable to fimple democracy even in fmall territories. 
 Athens, by reprefentation, would have ou:rivalied her own de- 
 mocracy. 
 
 That which is called government, or rather that which we ought 
 to conceive government to be, is no more than fotne common cen- 
 tre, in which all the parts of fociety unite. This cannot be ac- 
 complilhed by any method fo conducive to the various interelts 
 of the community, as by the repreientative fy ilem. It concen- 
 trates the knowledge neceiTary to the intered of tlie parts, and cf 
 the whole. It places government in a flate of conftant maturity - 
 It is, as has been already obferved, never youn,^, never old. h. 
 is fubje8: neither to nonage, nor dotage. It is never in the cradle, 
 nor on crutches. It admits not of a feparation between knowledge 
 and power, and is fuperior, as government always ought to be, to 
 all the accidents of individual man, and is therefore fuperior to 
 what is called monarchy. 
 
 A nation is not a body, the figure of which is to be reprefcntei 
 by the human body; but is like a body contained within a circle, 
 having a common centre, in which every radius meets; and thai 
 centre is foimed by reprefentation. To connect reprelentation 
 with what is called monarchy, is eccentric government. Repre- 
 fentation is of iifelf the delegated monarchy of a nation, and can- 
 not debafe itfelf by dividing it with another. 
 
 Mr. Burke has two or three times, in his parliamentary fpecches, 
 and in his publications, made ufe of a jingle of words that convcv 
 no ideas. Speaking of government, he lays, *' It is better to liave 
 *' monarchy for its bafis, and republicanifm for its corre6live, than 
 " republicaniim for iis bafis, and monarchy for its corretSlive." — 
 If he means that it is better to correct folly with wifdom, than 
 v;ifdom with folly, I will no otherwife contend v;ith him, than 
 that it would be much better to reject the folly entirely. 
 
 But what is this ihing which Mr. Burke calls monarchy ? Will 
 he explain it ? All men can underiland what reprefentation is; and 
 
 D that 
 
( ^6 ; 
 
 i[;at ii i:ijR neccucni) in.IuJe a variety o^ knowledge and talents. 
 Bur, what feeuriiy is theie lor ih^ fame qualities on the part o\ 
 inonarchv ? or, when this mjnarchy is a child, where then is the 
 wifdoni ? Whcit dj^s \i knov; about government ? Who then is the 
 II) "Jiidrch, or where is the nionaichy ? If it is to be performed by a 
 ifcency, i proves ii to h?. a lajce. A legency is a mock fpccics 
 oi" republic, and ilic whole of monarchy d-Iei ve no better defcrip. 
 lion. It is a tiling as various as imagination can paint. It has 
 none of the ftable characler that government ought to pollefs. — 
 Every fucceTion is a revolution, and cvciy regency a counter-re- 
 \ olu:ion. T\\z v;hoIc ol it is a fcenc of ])erpetual couit cabal and 
 intrigue, of uhich Mr. Burke is hinifelf an inifance. To render 
 iaona;chy confin-cnt \.i:h government, the next in facccflion fhould 
 not be born a cliild, but a man at once, and that man a Solomon, 
 h is ridiculous that i:a:ijns are to wait, and government be inicr- 
 luptcd, til! bo)S g!0\v to be iiien. 
 
 Whether 1 liave tjo iitilc I'cnfe to fee, cr too much to be im- 
 l)o[cd upon; whether 1 have too much or too kt'Je piide, cr of 
 *.ny thing elfe, I leave cut of the queflion ; but certain it is, that 
 what ii calledinjnarchy, alvvays appears to nie a filly, contemptible 
 thing. 1 compare li lo foajethiu^; kept behind a curtain, about 
 v.hich there ksa gteat deal of bu(l!e and lufs, and a v/onderiul air 
 of fcen.ing iolemnit) ; but when, by any accident, the curtain 
 happens to be open, and the company fee uhat iL is, they burft in* 
 to laughter. 
 
 Ill the reprcfcntative fyflem of government, notlilng of this can 
 happen. Like the naiioir itleU it j)cfrefres ])crpetual flamlna, as 
 well of body as of miad, and pieieiits iJelf onthc open theatre of 
 the world in a fair and inan'y manner. Whatever are i:s excel- 
 lencies or its defe6Ls, they are vifible to all. It cxifls not by fraud 
 undmyllery; it deals not in cant and lophiliry ; but infpires a 
 lane;uage, that, pafTmg from heart to heart, is felt and iindei flood. 
 
 V/e mull (hut our eyes againil leafon ; \:c mufl balely degrade 
 our under Handing, not to lee the lolly of what is called monarchy. 
 ICaiuie is orderly in all her works; but this is a mode of goverrr- 
 ment that co^mteracls nature. It turris the progrels of the human 
 faculties upfide doun. It iubjeds age to be governed by children, 
 and wifdom by folly. 
 
 On the contrary, the reprcfentative fvHenr is always parard 
 wiih the order and immutable laws of naiujc, and meets the rcafon 
 of iTi4n in every part. For example : 
 
 In the Ameiican federal govtrnir.ent, more j)ower is delegated 
 to the Prelident of the Uniied States, than to any individual iiiem- 
 ber of Congrcfs. lie cannot, thcicloie, be elctied to tliis cilice 
 under the age of thrrt} -live vears. By this time the judgmeiri ot 
 man becomes malm td, and he has lived long enough to be ac- 
 quainted v.'iih men uwJ things, and the cguntry with him, — But on 
 
 the 
 
I 27 ) 
 
 (he irjon.iichical plap, CcxcIuHvc of ihc numerous chances ihers 
 are againil every man born into the woill, of dvzwlng a prize in 
 ihc lottery of burran fscuUics) the next in fucccfficn, -vvhatevcrhc 
 vmy bv^ is pit at the hca I of a nation, and of a g( vcrnmcnt, at the 
 age oi eighteen yrar.c. Docs ibis appear iike an ^f\ of wifdom ? h 
 it confiflent with the proper di£;nify and (he n^an'y chancer cf ^ 
 nation ? Where is the propriciy cA fallir<T fuch a hd the Father of 
 the people ? In all other eafcs, a nerfon is a n-.incr until the age of 
 twenry-one years. Before ihis peiiod, he is not tnifled with the 
 mancigement of an acre of land, or widi the heritable property of 
 a flock of fhccn, or an herd of fwine; bu% ivonderful to tell! he 
 may, at the age of eighteen years, be iruRe(l with i naticn. 
 
 That monarchy is ail a bubble, a mere court art fie e to procure 
 money, is evident, (at lead to me) in every chara8er in which it 
 can be viewed. It would be impofTible, on the rational fyftem of 
 rcprefentaiive government, to make out a bi'l of expcnccs to fuch 
 an enormous amount as this deception admits. Government is not 
 of iifelf a very chargeable inllitution. The who'e expence of th-- 
 federal government of America founded, as I have already faid, 
 on the lulem of reprefentation, and extending over 3 country 
 nearly ten times as large as England, is but fix hundred thoufand 
 dollars, or one hundred and thir.'y.five thoufand pounds fleiling. 
 
 I prefum.-, that no man in his fober fenfcs, will compare'th- 
 charaflcr of any of the kings of Europe wiiS that cd General 
 Wafhingion. Yet, in France, an^: alfo in Enland, the expence of 
 the civil lid only, for the fuppoi t of one man, is eight times greater 
 than the who'e expence of the federal govcrnmeiu in Ai-nerica,— 
 T) affign a reafon for this, apn^ais almod impoiTible. The gene- 
 rality of people in America, efpecially the poor, are more ab'e to 
 pay taxes than the gener?dity of people eit'her in France or Eng- 
 land. 
 
 But the cafe is, that the reprefcm^a ive f) tlcm diiTufes ^uch a body 
 of knowledge throughout a na'ion, on the fubjefi of governmenr, 
 as to explode ignorance and preclude impofition. The cralt of 
 courts cannot be afted on that ground. There is no place for my- 
 ihery ; no where for it to begin. Thofe who are not in the repre- 
 fentatlon, know ?s much of the nature of bufmefs as thofe '.vho 
 are. An aflfeclation of myiterious importance would there h* 
 fcoii'ed. Nations can have no fecieJs ; and the fecrcts oi cotuts 
 like thofe of individu;.!?, are a'wa) s their defeas. 
 
 In ihe repre(enta»ive f) idem, the reafon for every thing muft ptih- 
 iicly appear. Every man is a proprietor in gcvernmenf, and con- 
 fiders It a necelfary part c f his bufmtfs to underftand. li concerrs 
 his intereO, becanfe it affetls his property. He examines the coO, 
 and compares it with the advantages; and above a I, he does not a- 
 dopt the '2zviCa cuftom of following what in oihcr governments 
 are called lead er<5. 
 
 It 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 It can only be by blinding the undcrllanding of man, and 
 making him believe that government is feme wonderful myfterious 
 thing, that exceffive revenues aie obtained. Monarchy is well cal- 
 culated to enlure this end. It is the popery of government; a 
 thing kept up to amufe the ignorant, and quiet them into taxes. 
 
 The government of a iree country, properly Ipeaking, is not 
 in the perfons, but in the laws. The enacting ot thofe requires 
 no great expence ; and when they are adminiftered, the whole of 
 civil government is performed — the reil is all court contrivance. 
 
 ■^ H* 4' 4' H* ^^ •»• ♦?• 4* 4' ' ■*■ ' *r 4- •!• 'i' 4- '^ -i" 4- 4* ♦ 
 
 C H A P. IV. 
 
 0/ CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 '^PHAT men mean diftinft and feparate things when they fpeak. 
 JL of conltitutions and of governments, is evident; or, why are 
 thofc terms diflin£lly and feparately ufed ? A conliitution is net 
 iheaft of a governmenr, but of a people conftituting a govern- 
 ment; and government without a conflitution, is potver without a 
 right. AH power cxercifed over a nation, muft have fome begin- 
 ning. It muft be either delegated, or affumed. There are no o- 
 thcr fources. All delegated power is truft, and all afTumed power 
 is ufurpation. Time does not alter ;he nature and quality of either. 
 
 In viewing this fubje^t, the cafe and circumffances of America 
 prefent themfelves ss in the beginning of a world ; and our en- 
 quiry into the origin of government is (hortened, by referring to 
 the fa£ts that have arifen in our own day. We have no occafioii 
 to roam for information into the obfcure field of antiquity, nor 
 hazard ourfelves upon conjefture. We are brought at once to 
 the point of feeing government begin, as if we had lived in the 
 beginning of time. The real vohime, not of hiftory, but of 
 fafts, is dirc6lly before us, unmutilated by contrivance, or the 
 errors of tradition. 
 
 X will here concifely ftate the commencement of the Am.erican 
 conftitutions; by which the difference between conliitutions and 
 governments will fufficiently appear. 
 
 It may rot be improper to remind tlie reader, that the United 
 States of America confift of thirteen feparate ftatcs, each of which 
 eftablifhed a government for itfelf, after the declaration of inde- 
 pendence, done the fjurth of July 1776. Each ftate afted inde- 
 pendently of the reft, in forming its government; but the fam.e 
 general principle pei vades the whole. W^hen the feveral ftate 
 governments were formed, they proceeded to form the federal go- 
 vernment, that 2lB.s over the wiiole in all liiarters which concern 
 the intcreft of the whole, or which relate to the intercourfe of the 
 leveral ftateswith each other, or with foreign nations. I will be- 
 gm with giving an inftance from one of the ftate governments, 
 |ihit of Pennfylvanio) and thcnproceed to the federal government. 
 
 The 
 
( ^9 ) 
 
 The flate oi Pennfylvania, though nearly of ihc fame extent of 
 territory as England, was then divided into only twelve counties. 
 Each of thofe counties had eleBcd a committee at the commence- 
 mcnf. ci thedifpute with the Englifn government ; and as the 
 city of Philadelphia, which alfo hndits committee, v/as the moPc 
 central for intelligence, it became the centre of communication 
 to the fcvcral county committees. When it became necefFary to 
 Drocced to the formation of a government:, the committee of Phi- 
 ladelphia propofed a conlerence of ail the county committees, to 
 be held in that city, and which met the latter end of July, 1776. 
 
 Though thefe committees had been eleftedby the people, they 
 were not elefted exprefsly lor the purpofe, nor invefted with the 
 authority of forming a conftitution ; and as they couid not, con- 
 fiftently with the American idea of rights, afTume fuch a power, 
 they could only confer upon the matter, and put it into a train of 
 operation. The conferrees, therefore, did no more ihan date the 
 cafe, and recommend to the feveral counties to eieft fix reprclen- 
 tatives for each county, to meet in convention at Philadelphia, 
 v/ith powers to form a conftitution, and propofeit for public con- 
 (ideration. 
 
 This convention, of which Benjamin Franklin was prefident, 
 having met and deliberated, and agreed upon a conftitution, they 
 next ordered it to be publiCied, not as a thing eftablifhed, but for 
 the confideration ol the whole people, their approbation or rejec- 
 tion, and then adjourned to a llated time. When the tim^of ad- 
 journment was expired, the convention re-alTembled; and as the 
 general opinion of the people in approbation of it was then known, 
 the conditution was figned, feaied, and proclaimed on the authori- 
 ty of thi people and the original inllrument depofued as a public re- 
 cord. The convention then appointed a day for tlie general elec- 
 tion of the reprefeatatives who v/ere to compofe the povernmenr, 
 and ihe time it fhould commence-; and having done thi^, they 
 difTolved, and returned to their feveral homes and occupations. 
 
 In this conuitution were Itiid down, firfl, a declaration of 
 rights. Then foilov/ed the form which the government ihould 
 liave, and the powers it fhould poiTefi — the authority of the coiins 
 of judicature, and of juries — the manner in which elecfions fliouid 
 be condii^led, and the proportion of reprefentatives to the num- 
 ber of eleftcrs — the time which each fucceeding aiiembly ffiouid 
 continue, which was one year^ — the mode of levying, and of ac- 
 counting for the expenditure, of public money— -cf appointing 
 public officers, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No ariicleof this conftitution could be altered gr infringed at 
 the difcretion of the j^overement that was to cnfue. Ii was ?o tii.it 
 government a la;v. But as it would have been unv/ife to preclude 
 the benefit of experience, and in order alfo to prevent the accu- 
 mulation of errors, ifanyfliouid be found, and to prefcrve an 
 
 unifon 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 uiHioti . f government with the circumftances of the Hate at all 
 tinier the conllitLitio:! provIJeJ, thar, at th;2 expiration of every 
 kven vears, a convention ihouM hce^efteil, tor the exprela pur- 
 pole ot reviling the conftitution, anl mikin:r alterations, additions, 
 or abolitions therein, it any fuch flioiiklbe found necedary. 
 
 Here we fee a regular procefs — a government illjing out of a 
 conilitution, formed by the people in their original character ; 
 and that conflitntion ftrving, not only as a i authority, but as a 
 law of confroul to the government. It was the political bible of 
 the flite. Scarcely a family was witliout it. Every member of 
 the government Iiad a copy ; and nothing was more common, 
 when any debate arofe on the piinciple of a bill, or on the extent 
 of any fpecies of authority, than for the members to take the 
 ptinted conllituiion out of their pocket, an*! read the chapter with 
 which fuch matter in debate was conne^led. 
 
 Having thus given an inilance from one of the Stater, I will 
 fliew the proceedings by which the federal conftitutlon of the 
 United States arofe and was formed. 
 
 Ccngrefs, at its two firft meeting?, in September 17/4, and May 
 ly^K, was nothing more than a deputaiion from the legillatures of 
 the (everal provinces, afterwards ftales, and had no other authority 
 thai what arofe from common confent, anil the necelTity of its 
 ailing as a public body. In every thing whicii related to the in- 
 ternal affairs of America, Congrefs went no further than to iffuo 
 recommendations to the (everal provincial alfemblie.% who at dif- 
 cretlon adopted them or nor. Nothing on the part of Congref; 
 W3s compulfive: yet, in this fituation, it was more faithfully and 
 atFeclionately obeyed, than was any government in Europe. This 
 inflancr, like that o£ the National Affembly in France, lufiiciently 
 'fiiew?, that the ilrengtii of government does not conhll in any 
 thing Zi-ilhin itfelf, but in the attachment of a ratioi>, and the in- 
 terell which the people feel in fuppcrting it. When this is loff, 
 government is but a child in power; and though like the old go- 
 vernment of France, it may harrafs individuals toi a while, it but 
 facilitates it own fall. 
 
 After the declaration of independence, it became confident widi 
 the principle on which reprefentative government is Icunded, th^t 
 the auihoiiiy of Ccrgiefs ihouldbe defined and cftahhfhed. Whe- 
 ther that authority fhould be more or lefs than Congrefs then dif- 
 cretionarily exercifed, was not the queflion. It was merely the 
 reflitudc of the meafure. 
 
 For this purpofe, the a6>, called the acl of confederation, (which 
 Wis a fort of iirtperfe^l: federal coniii ution) was propofei), and, 
 after a long deliberation, was concluded in the year 1781. It WcS 
 net the aft of Congrefs, becaufe it is repugnant to the principles 
 of reprefentative government that a body lliould give power to it- 
 felf. Congrefs fiill informed the feveral Slate?, cf the powers 
 
 which 
 
( 31 J 
 
 \vbich it conceived v;cic iieccirary to be invclled in llie umun, to 
 enable it to perlorm llie duties and fcrvices lequired liom i: ; and 
 the Stales icverally I'.^^reed v.iih each other, and concentrated in 
 Coijgiels thofepowcis. 
 
 It mav not be improper to obferve, that in both thele inftaiiccs, 
 (the one ol Pennr)lvania, and the other ot the United State^) 
 there is no fnch thing as the idea of a compafcl between the people 
 on one fide, and the government on the other. Theconipittl was 
 that ol the people with each other, to ])roduce iind confHiute a 
 government. To fuppofe that any government can be a party in 
 a compafl with the whole people, is to fuppofe it to lia^e cxill- 
 ence belore it can have a light to exift. Tlic only inftance ia 
 which a compaB can take place between the. people and itiole 
 who exercife the governnicnt, is, that tlie people fhal! pay them, 
 vrhile thev chufe lo emjloy thcin. 
 
 Government is noi a trade which aay man or btdy of men have 
 a light to fet up and exercife for their own cmolunien', but is alto- 
 gether a truft, in right of thofe by whom that tiuft is delegated, 
 and by whom it is always icfumeable. It has of itfelf no lights ; 
 they are altogether duties. 
 
 Having thus given two inftanccs ol the oilginal formation ol a' 
 coDilitulion, 1 will (hew the manner in which boi.h have been 
 changed fince their fir ft eftablilhment. 
 
 Tlie powers vefted in the governments of the feveral ftatcs, by 
 the fiate conflitulions, were iound, upon experience, to be t jo 
 great ; and thole vefted in the federal government, by the i;£l of 
 conlederation, too little. I'he defett was not in thp principle, but 
 in thediftribution of pov/er. 
 
 Nuir-erous publications, in pamphlets and in the newfpapcrs, 
 appeared, on the propriety and necelliiy of new modelling the 
 federal government. After fome time or public difculhon, canied 
 on through the channel of the prefs, and in conveilations, the ftate 
 of X'irglnia, experiencing fbir.e inconvenience with relpett to 
 coiLinerce, propofed holding a continental conference ; in confc- 
 qence of which, a deputation from five or fix of the ILalc alTcm- 
 blies met zi Annapohs in Maryland, in 1786. This meeting, not 
 conceiving itfelf iufliciently authorifed to go into the bufimrs of 
 a reform, did no more than ftate tlieir general opinions of the pro- 
 priety ot the meafure, and recommsnd that a convention of all 
 the dates (hould be held the yeai following. 
 
 This conveniion met at Philadelphia in M^v i^S/, ol which 
 Gei;eral Walhington u'as elected prehdent. He was not at that 
 time connected with any of the ftate govcmirienus, or with congrcls. 
 He delivered up his commillion when the vvar cnikd, and fince 
 then had lived a private citizen. 
 
 71ie convention went deeply into all th:: r.;bjc£ls, and having, 
 after a variety of detate and invenida'iox:, arrced''smoi;(T thciiifelvts 
 
 UDOtt 
 
( 3'^ ) 
 
 upon the feveral parts of a federal conftitution, the next quefti= 
 on was, the m nner of giving it authority and praftice. 
 
 For this purpofe, they did not, like a cabal of courtiers, fend 
 for a Datch Stadiholder, or a German Eleftor; but they referred 
 the vvho'e matter to the fenfe and intercfl of the countiy. 
 
 They fif ft direfted, that the propofed conftitution fliould be pub- 
 llfhed. Secondly, tr.at each ftate fhould ele6l a convention, ex- 
 prefaly <or the puipofe of taking it into confideraiion, and of rati- 
 tying or rejecting it; and that as foon as the approbation and ratifi- 
 cation of any nine ftates fhould be given, that thofe flatcs fhould 
 proceed to the ele6lion of their proportion of members to the nevv' 
 federal government; and that the operation of it fhould then begin^ 
 and the former federal government ceafe. 
 
 The i'everal ftaies proceeded accordingly to cle8: their conventi- 
 ons. Some of thole conventions ratified the conftitution by very 
 large majorities, and two or three unanimouflv^. In others there 
 were much debate and divifion of opinion. In the Maffachufetts 
 convention, which met at Bofton, the majority was not above 
 nineteen or twenty, in about three hundred members; but fuch is 
 the nature of reprefentative government, that it quietly decides all 
 matters by majority. After the debate in the MafTachafetts con- 
 vention was clofed, and the vote taken, the obje£fing members 
 rofe, and declared, *' That though they had argued and voted againfl 
 *' it, becaufe certain parts appeared to them in a different light to what 
 *• they appeared to other members; yet^ as the vote had decided in fa- 
 *' vour oj the conftitution as propofed, they Jhould give it the jamt 
 *' practical Jupport as if they had voted for it..'' 
 
 As loon as nine ftates had concurred, (and the reft follov/ed in 
 the order their conventions were e'efted.j the old fabric of the 
 federal government was taken down, and the new one ereSled, of 
 whichGeneral Waftiington is preildent — In this place I cannot 
 help remarking, that the character and fervices ot this gentleman 
 are'fuincient to put all thofe men called kings to fharae. While 
 they are receiving trom the fweat and labours of mankind, a pro- 
 diga-ity oi piy, to which neither their abilities nor their fervices 
 can entitle them, he is rendering every fei vice in his power, and 
 refufing every pecuniary reward. He accepted no pay as com- 
 mander in chief; he accepts noneasprefident ol the United States. 
 
 After the new federal conftitution was eftalijifhed, the (late of 
 Pennfvlvania, conceiving that fome parts of its own conlHiutiort ' 
 required to be altered, elecfed a convention lor that p«rpoie, 1 he 
 propofed alterations were publilhed, and tiie people concuiring 
 thejein, they were eftabliihed. 
 
 In formlrig thofe conftitutions, or in altering them, little ox no 
 i.iconveniehce took place. The ordinary courfe of things was not 
 interrupted, and the advantages have been much. It is always the 
 intereft of a far greater number of people in a nation to have 
 
 things 
 
t 33 ) 
 
 tilings right, then to let them remain wron,^; and when public mat- 
 ters are open to debate, and the pubHc judgment tree, it will not 
 decide wrong, unlefs it decides too haftily. 
 
 In the two inftances of changing the conftitutions, the govern., 
 ments then in being were not a6i:ors either way. Government has 
 no right to make itfelf a party in any debate refpeaing the priri- 
 ciples or modes of forming, or of changing, conftitutions. It is 
 not for the benefit of thofe who exercife the powers of govern- 
 ment, that conftitutions, and the governments ilTuing from them, 
 are eftabliflied. In all thofe matters, the right of judging and act- 
 ing are in thofe who pay, and not in thofe who receive. 
 
 A conftitution is the property of a nation, and not of thofe who 
 exercife the government. All the conftitutions of America are 
 declared to be eftabliftied on the authority of the people. In France, 
 the word nation is ufed inftead of the people ; but in both cafes, 
 a conftitution is a thing antecedent to the government, and always 
 diftinfl therefrom. In England, it is not difficult to perceive that 
 every thing has a conftitution, except the nation. Every focicty 
 and afTociation that is eftabliflied, firft agreed upon a num.ber of 
 original articles, digefted into form, which are its conftitution. It 
 then appointed its officers, whofe powers and authorities are de- 
 fcribed in that conftitution, and the government of that fociety 
 then commenced. Thofe officers, by whatever lume they are 
 called, have no authority to add to, alter, or abridge the original 
 articles. It is only to the conftituting power that this right belongs. 
 
 From the want of underftanding the difference between a con- 
 ftitution and a government, Dr. Johnfon, and all writers of his de- 
 fcription, have always bewildered themfelves. They could not 
 but perceive, that there muft neceflarily be a controuling power 
 exifting fomewhere, and they placed this power in the difcretioA 
 of the perfons, exercifing the government, inftead of placing it 
 in a conftitution, formed by the nation. When it is in a confti- 
 tution, it has the nation for its fupport, and the natural and the 
 political controuling powers are together. The laws which are 
 enafted by governments, coniroul men only as individuals, but th6 
 nation, through its conftitution, controuls the whole government, 
 and has a natural ability fo to do. The final controuling power, 
 therefore, and the original conftituting power, are one and the 
 fame pov/er. 
 
 Dr. Johnfon could not have advanced fuch a pofition in any 
 country where there was a conftitution ; and he is himfelf an evi- 
 dence, that no fuch thing as a conftitution exifts in England. But 
 it may be put as a queftion, not improper, to be invcfligated, That 
 if a conftitution does not exift, how came the idea of its cxiftenc^ 
 fo generally eftabliihed ? 
 
 In order to decide this queftion, it is necefTdry to confider a con- 
 ftitution in both its cafes: — Firft, as creating a govern met and 
 
 K giving 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 .«rivin^ it powers. Seconaly, as regulating and ref^rainlng the 
 powers fo given. 
 
 If we begin with William of Normandv, we find that the go- 
 vernment of England was originally a tyranny, founded on an in- 
 vafion and conqued ot the country. This being admitted, it will 
 then appear, that the exertion of the nation, at different periods to 
 abate that tyranny, and render it lefs intolerable, has been credited 
 for a conftitution. 
 
 Magna Charta, as it was called, (it is now like an almanack of 
 the fame date) was no more than compelling the government to 
 renounce a part of its aiTumptions. It did not create and give pow- 
 ers to government in the manner a conflitution does; but was, as 
 far as it went, of the nature of a re-conqueff, and noi of a con- 
 flitution ; for could the nation have totally expelled the ufurpation, 
 as France has done its dcfpolifm, it would then have had a confti- 
 tuiion to form. 
 
 Ihe hiftory of tlic Edwards and the Henries, and up to the 
 commencement of the Stuarts, exhibits as many indances of ty- 
 ranny as could be aiSled within the limits to which the nation had 
 redriiled it. The Stuarts endeavoured to pafs thofe limits, and 
 their fate is well known. In all thofc inflances wc fee nothing of 
 a conftitution, but only of reflriftions on aiTumed power. 
 
 After this, another William, defcended from the fame flock, 
 and claiming from the fame origin, gained pofielTion ; and of the 
 two evils, J^ames and JVilliam^ the nation preferred what it thought 
 the leaft ; fince, from circumilances, it mud take one. The a6f, 
 called the Bill of Rights, comes here into view. What is if, 
 but a bargain, which the parts of the government made with each 
 other to divide powers, profits, and privileges ? You fhall have 
 fo much, and 1 will have the reft ; and with refpefl to the nation, 
 it faid, {or your Jhari, Y oi: Jhall have the right of petitioning. 
 This being the cale, the bill of rights is more properly a bill of 
 wrongs, and of infult. As to v/hai is called the convention par- 
 liament, it was a thing that made itfelf, and then made the autho- 
 rity by which it acled. A few perfons got together, and called 
 ihemfelves by that name. Several of them had never been defi- 
 ed, and none of them for the purpofe. 
 
 From tha time of William, a fpecies of government arofe, if- 
 fuing out of this coalition bill of rights ; and more fo, fince the 
 corruption introduced at the Hanover fucceffion, by the agency 
 of Walpole; that canbe defcribed by no other name than a def- 
 potic legiflation. Though the parts may embarrafs each other, 
 the whole has no bounds; and the only right it acknowledges out 
 of itfelf, is the right of petitioning. Where then is the conftitu- 
 tion either that gives or that reftrains power ? 
 
 It is not becaufe a part of the government is elective, that 
 nwkesitlels a defpotifm, if the perlons fo cle£led, poiTefs after- 
 
 <vards, 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 wards, as a parliament, unlimited powers. Election in this caTe, 
 becomes feparated from reprclcntation, and the candidates are 
 candidates tor defpolifm. 
 
 I cannot believe that any nation, rcafoning on its own rights, 
 would have thought of calling thofe things a con/iitution, il the 
 cry of conllitution had not been fet up by the government. It has 
 got into circulation like the words hre and guoz, by being chalked 
 up in the Ipeeches of parliament, as thofe words were on window 
 fhutters and door pods ; but whatever the conflitution may be in 
 other refpecls, it has undoubtedly been ike mqft produdwe 7nachins 
 of taxation that was ever invented The taxes m France, under the 
 new conllitution, are not quiie thirteen Ihillings per head,* and 
 the taxes in England, under what is called its pr-cfent conflitution, 
 arc forty-eight fhillings and fixpence per head, men, women, and 
 children, amounting lo nearly feventeen millions flerling, bmldes 
 the expence dt colleftion, which is upwards of a million more. 
 
 In a country like England, where the whole of the civil go- 
 vernment is executed by the people of every town and county, 
 by means of parifh officers, magillrates, quarterly feflions, juries, 
 and affize ; without any trouble to what is called the government, 
 or any other expence to the revenue than the falary of the judges, 
 it is aftoniihing how fuch a mafs of taxes can be employed. Not 
 even the internal defence of the country is paid out of the revenue. 
 On all occafions, whether real or contrived, recourfe is conti- 
 nually had to new loans and new taxes. No wonder, then, that 
 a machine of government fo advantageous to the advocates of a 
 court, fhould be fo triumphantly extolled ! No wonder that St. 
 James's or St, Stephen's fliould echo with the continual cry- of 
 conllitution ! No wonder, that the French revolution (hould be 
 reprobated, and the ref-publica treated with reproach \ The red 
 look of England, like the red book of France, will explain th« 
 jfeafon.t 
 
 I will now, by way of relaxation, turn a thought or two to 
 Mr, Burke. I afk his pardon for negle6ling him fo long. 
 
 •♦ America" 
 
 * The Waholc amount of the affeHed taxes of France, for the pre^ 
 Cent year, is three hundred millioni of livrci, which i* twelve milli- 
 on* and a haU (lerling j and the incidental taxes are efiimated at thre« 
 millions, making in the whole fifccen raillions and a half; whicb^ 
 among twenty-four millions of people, is not quite thirteen fhillings 
 per head. France has lefTcncd her taxes fince the revrolutica, nearly 
 nine millions fteiling annually. Before the revolution, the city of 
 Paris paid a duty of upwards of thirty percent, on all ariiclei brought 
 into the city. This tax was colkdsd at the city gates. It was taken 
 ctf on the firll of lafl May, and the gates taken down. 
 
 f What was called the livre roug?> or. the red book, in France, 
 was not exa^ly fimilar to the court calender in England ; but it fuj^t 
 ciently Ihcwicd how a great par: of ihe tsxei was lavilbed» 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 '' America" fays he, (in his fpeech on the Canada conftitution 
 bill " never dreamed of fuch abfurd doftrine as the " Rights of 
 Man." 
 
 Mr. Burke is fuch a bold prefumer, and advances his affertions 
 and his premifes with fuch a deficiency of judgment, that, with- 
 out troubling ourfelves about principles of philofophy or politics* 
 the mere logical conclufions they produce, are ridiculous. For 
 inftance, 
 
 If governments, as Mr. Burke aflerts, are not founded on the 
 Rights oF Man, and are founded on any rights at all, they confe- 
 quently nmfl: be founded on the rights of Jo?nething that is noi 
 maU' What then is that fomething ? 
 
 Generaiy fpeaking, we know of no other creatures that inhabit 
 the earth tdan man and beaft ; and in all cafes, where only two 
 things offer themfclves, and one m.ufl; be admitted, a negation 
 proved on any one, am.ounts to an affirmative on the other ; and, 
 therefore, Mr. Burke, by proving againft the Rights of Man, 
 proves in behalf of the heajl ; and confequentiy, proves that go- 
 vernment is a beaft: and as difficult things iometimes explain each 
 other, we now fee the origin of keeping wild hearts in the Tower ; 
 for they certainly can be of no other ufe than to Ihew the origin 
 of the government. They are in the place of a conftitution. 
 O John Bull, what honours thou haft loft by not being a wild 
 beaft. Thou mighteft, on Mr, Burke's fyftem, hare been in the? 
 Tower for life. 
 
 If Mr. Burke's arguments have not weight enough to keep one 
 ferious, the fault is lefs mine than his; and as I am willing to make 
 ^n apology to the reader for the liberty I have taken, I hope Mr. 
 Burke will alfo make his for giving the caufe. 
 
 Having thus paid Mr. Burke the compliment of remembering 
 liira, I return to the fubjeft. 
 
 From the want of a conftitution in England to reftrain and re- 
 gulate the wild impulfe of power, many of the laws are irrational 
 and tyrannical, and the adminiftration of them vague and pro- 
 l)iematical. 
 
 The attention of the government of England, (for I rather 
 chufe to call it by this name, than the Engliffi government) ap- 
 pears, fmce its political connexion with Germany, to have been 
 fo compietelv engroffed and abforbed by foreign aff"airs, and the 
 :mcans of raifing taxes, that it feems to exift for no other purpofes. 
 Domcftic concerns are neglefted ; and with refpe6l to regular law, 
 there is fcarcely fuch a thing. 
 
 Almoft every cafe now muft be determined by fome precedent, 
 be that precedent good or bad, or whether it properly applies or 
 jiot; and the praftice is become fo general, as to fuggeft a fuljpicion, 
 that it proceeds trom a deeper policy than at firft fight appears. 
 
 Sine?} 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 Since the revolution of America, and more fo fince that of 
 France, this preaching up the doftrine of precedents, drawn from 
 times and circumflances antecedent to thofe events, has been the 
 ftudied prafiice of the Englifh government. The generality of 
 thofe precedents are founded on principles and opinions, the re- 
 verfe of vs^hat they ought to be ; and the greater diftanceof lime 
 they ar^ drawn from, the more they are to be lnfpe£led. But by 
 affociating thofe precedents with a fuperflitious reverence lor an- 
 cient things, as Monks (hew relics and call them holy, the gene- 
 rality Oi mankind are deceived into the defign. Governments now 
 aft as if they were afraid to awaken a fingle reflexion in man. — 
 They are fohly leading him to the fepulchre of precedents, to 
 deaden his faculties and call his attention from the fcene of revo- 
 lutions. They feel that he is arriving at knowledge taller than 
 they wifh, and their policy of precedents is the barometer of their 
 fears. This poiitical popery, like the ecclefiaftical popery of old, 
 has had its day, and is haftening to its exit. The ragged relic and 
 the antiquated precedent, the monk and the monarch, will moulder 
 together. 
 
 Government by precedent, without any regard to the principle 
 of the precedent, is one of the vileft lyftems that can be fet up. — 
 In numerous inftances, the precedent ought to operate ss a warn- 
 ing, and not as an example, and requires to be {hunned initead of 
 imitated ; but inflead of this, precedents are taken in the lump, 
 and put at once tor conftitutipn and for law. 
 
 Either the doftrine of precedents is policy to keep man in a f}ate 
 of ignorance, or it is a pra£lical confefTion that wifdora degenerates 
 in governments as governments increafe in age, and can only hob- 
 ble along by the ftilts and crutches of precedents. How is it that 
 the fame perfons who would proudly be thought wifer than their 
 predecelTors, appear at the fame time only as the ghoils of de- 
 parted wifdom ? — How ffrangely is antiquity treated i— To an- 
 fwer fom.e purpofes it is fpoken of as the times of darknefs and 
 ignorance, and to anfwer others, it is put for the light of the 
 world. 
 
 It the do6lrine of precedents is to be followed, the expenccs of 
 government need not continue the fame. Why pay men extrava- 
 gantly, who have but little to do ? If every thing th^t can happen 
 is already in precedent, legiflation is at an end, and precedent, like 
 a dictionary, determines every cafe. Either, therefore, govern- 
 ment has arrived at its dotage, and requires to be renovated, or all 
 the occafions for exercifing its wifdom have occurred. 
 
 We now fee all over Europe, and particularly in England, tlie 
 curious phasaomenon of a nation looking one way, and a govern- 
 ment the other — the one forward and the other backward. If go- 
 vernments are to go on by precedent, while nations go on by im- 
 provement, they mull at iaft come to a final reparation; and the 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 fooner, and the more civilly, they determine this point, the 
 better.* 
 
 Having thus fpoken of conftitutions generally, as things dif- 
 tin£i from aftual governments, let us proceed to confider the parts 
 ut which a conftitution is compofed. 
 
 Opinions differ more on this fubjecl, than with refpeft to the 
 whole. That a nation ought to have a conftitution, as a rule for 
 the conduft oF its government, is a fimple queftion in which all 
 men, not direftly courtiers, will agree. It is only on the compo- 
 nent parts that queftions and opinions multiply. 
 
 But this difficulty, like every other, will diminifh when put into 
 a train of being rightly underftood. 
 
 The firft thing is, that a nation has a right to eftablifh a confti- 
 tution. 
 
 Whether itexercifcs this right in the moft judicious manner at 
 firft, is quite another cafe. It exercifes it agreeably to the judg- 
 ment it poffeffes ; and by continuing to do fo, all errors will at 
 laft be exploded. 
 
 When this right is eftabliftied in a nation, there is no fear that 
 it will be employed to its own injury. A nation can have no in- 
 tereft in being wrong. 
 
 Though all the conftitutions of America are on one general 
 principle, yet no two of them are exaftly alike in their compo- 
 nent parts, or in the diftribution of the powers which they give to 
 the a£tual governments. Some are more and others lefs complex. 
 
 In forming a conftitution, it is firft neceffary to confider what 
 are the ends Tor which government is neceffary ? Secondly, what 
 are the beft means, and the leaft expenfive, for accomplifhing thofe 
 ends ? 
 
 Government is nothing more than a national affociation ; and 
 the objeft of this affociation is the good of all, as well individu- 
 ally as colleflively. Every man wifhes to purfue his occupation, 
 and to enjoy the fruits of his labours, and the produce of his pro- 
 perty in peace and fafety, and with the leaft poffible expence. 
 
 v,'heft 
 
 * Id England, the improvement* in agriculture, ufeful arti, ma-« 
 nufaciures, and commerce, have been made in eppofition to the 
 genica of it» governraeut, which i» that of iollowing precedent!. It 
 it fcom the cntcrprize and induftry of the individuaU, and their nu- 
 nitrci:« affociatiduf, in which, triteir fpcakii:g, government i§ nei- 
 ther pillon', nor bclfter, that thefe improvements have proceeded. 
 No man thought aleut the governmecr, or who wai in, or who 
 wa» out, when he was planning or executing thofe thing! ; and all he 
 had to hope with refpcd to government, wa!, that it would let him 
 alone. Three or four very filly minnlerial newi-paperi are continu- 
 ally oflendlng againfl: the fpirit of national improvement, by afcribing 
 it to a miniftcr. 'fhe^ ma;r with m much truth afcribe thii l)ook to a 
 miniftcr. 
 
•{ 39 ) 
 
 when tliefc things ar«? accomplifhecl, all the objcfis for which go"- 
 vernment ought to beeftabliflied are anfwered. 
 
 It has been cuftomary to confider government under three di(- 
 tin£l general heads. The legiflative, the executive, and the judi- 
 cial. 
 
 But if we permit our judgment to afl unincumbered by the 
 habic of muhiplied terms, we can perceive no more than two di- 
 vifions of power, of which civil government is compofed, namely, 
 that of legiflating or enafting laws, and that of executing or ad- 
 miniftering them. Every thing, therefore, appertaining to civil 
 government, clafTes itfelf under one or other ot thefe two divifions. 
 So far as regards the execution of the laws, that which is called 
 the judicial power, is ftriftly and properly the executive power of 
 every country. It is that power to which every individual has 
 appeal, and which caufes the laws to be executed ; neither have 
 we any other clear idea with refpeft to the official execution of the 
 laws. In England and alfo in America and France, this power 
 begins with the magiftrate, and proceeds up through all the courts 
 of judicature. 
 
 1 leave to courtiers to explain what is meant by calling monar- 
 chy the executive power. It is merely a name in which a6ls of 
 government are done ; and any other, or none ai all, would an- 
 fwer the fame purpofe. Laws have neither more nor lefs authori- 
 ty on this account. It muft be from the juftnefs of their principles, 
 and the intereft which a nation feels therein, that they derive fup- 
 port ; if they require any other than this, it is a fign that fomc- 
 thing in the (yftem of government is imperfeft. Laws difficult to 
 be executed cannot be generally good. 
 
 With refpeft to the organization ot the Ugiflative pozvdr^ differ- 
 ent modes have been adopted in different countries. In America 
 it is generally compofed of two houfes. In France it conufts but 
 of one, but in both countries it is wholly by reprefentation. 
 
 Thecaleis, that mankind (from the long tyranny of affumed 
 power) have had fo few opportunities of making the neceffary 
 trials on modes and principles of government, in order to difco- 
 ver the heft that government is hut nozu beginning to be knozvn, and 
 experience is yet wanting to determine many particulars. 
 
 The objeftions againfl two houfes are, firif, that there is an in- 
 confiftency in any part oi a whole legiilaturc, coming to a final 
 determination by vote on any matter, whilft tkat^ matter^ with re- 
 fpeft iothat whole, is yet only in a train of deliberation, and con- 
 fequently open to new illuftrations. 
 
 Secondly, That by taking the vo(eon each, aj a feparate body, 
 it always admits of the poffibi'ity, and is olten the cafe in praftice, 
 that the minority governs the majority, and that, in fome inftan- 
 ees, to a degree of great inconGllency. 
 
 Thirdly, That two houfes arbitrarily checking or controuling 
 
 ' each 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 each Other is inconriltent; bccauie it cannot be proved, on the 
 principles of JLift reprefentation, that either (hould be wifer or 
 better tlian the other. They may check in the wrong as well as in 
 the right, and therefore to give the power where we cannot give 
 the wifdom to ufe it, nor be affured of its being rightly ufed, ren- 
 ders the hazard at leaft equal to the precaution.* 
 
 The objection againft. a fingle houfe is, that it is always in a 
 condition ot committing itfelf too loon. But it (hould at the 
 fame time be remembered, that when there is a conftitution which 
 defines the power, and efiabliflies the principles within which a 
 legiflature fhall at^, there is already a more effe6lual check pro- 
 vided, and more powerfully operating, than any other check can 
 be. For examp-e. 
 
 Were a bill to be brought into any of the American legiilatures, 
 fimilar to that which was pafTed into an a6i; by the Englifh parlia- 
 ment, at the commencement of George the firft, to extend the 
 duration of tbe alTembiies to a longer period than they now fet, 
 the check is in the conftitution, which in cfFe6l fays, Thus far 
 jhalt thou go and nofurthtr. 
 
 But in order to remove the objection againft a fingle houfe, 
 (that of afting with too quick an impulfe,) and at the fame time 
 to avoid the inconfiflencies, in fome cafes abfurdities, arifing from 
 twohoufes, the following method has been propofed as an im- 
 provement upon both. Firft, 
 
 * With refpefl to the two houfei, of wliich the Eugli>h Parliament 
 i» compofcd, thej appear to be cffedually infliicaccd into one, and a« 
 a legiilaturc, to have no temper of it» own. The raioifter, whoever 
 he at aajr time may be» touches it at with an opium wa«d, aad it fieeps 
 obexJience. 
 
 But if we look at the didina abiHtiea of the two houfe?, tbe aiffcr- 
 ence will appear fo great, aa to flicw the inconfidcncf of placing power 
 where there can be no certainty of the judgment to ufe ir. Wreict«eii 
 as the ftate of reprefentation ii in England, it is manhood compared 
 with what it called the houfe of Lord* ; and fo liale ia thi» nick-named 
 houfe regarded, that the people fcarcely inquire at any time what it is 
 doing. It appeari alfo to be raoft under inilueoce, aud the furtheft re- 
 moved from the genera! intereft of the nation. In the dcbsteoa en- 
 gaging in the RulHan and Turkifh war, the majority in the houfe of 
 pcer« in favour of it wa> upwardt of ninety, when in the othef houfe, 
 which is more than double its numbers, the majority was &»cy-*ihree. 
 
 The proceeding* on Mr. Fox's bill, rcfpectitig the rights of juries, 
 merits alfo to be noticed. The perloaa called the peers were not the 
 obje^s of that bill. They are already in polTemon of t.iote privileges 
 than ihi: hill gave to others. They are their own jory, i*a<-; if any of 
 that houfe were profecuted for a iibel, he would not fuffer, even upo-t^ 
 conviaion, for the firft orTence. Such incquniity in laws ought not 
 to exift in any country. The French ccnftxtution fays. That the law- 
 is the fame to ere:;- individu^al, whether to protefl or ^unrfli. All arc 
 equal in iis figh:. 
 
( 4« ) 
 
 Firft, To have but one reprefentation. 
 
 Secondly, To divide that rcprefentation, by lot, into two of 
 three parts. 
 
 Tnirdly, That every propofed bill, (hall be firfl debated in thofe 
 parts by fuccellion, that they may become the hearers of each o- 
 ther, but without taking any vote. After which the whole repre^ 
 fentation to aflemble for a general debate and determination by vote. 
 
 To this propofed improvement has been added another, for the 
 purpofe of keeping the reprefentation in a ftate of conllant renova- 
 tion ; which is, that one-third of the reprefentation of each coun- 
 ty, (hall go out at the expiration of bne year, and the number be 
 replaced by new eleftions. Another third at the expiraion of the 
 fecond year replaced in like manner ; and every third year to be 
 a general eleftion.* 
 
 But in whatever manner the feparate parts of a confti'ution may 
 be arranged, there is one general principle that diftinguifhes free- 
 dom from flavery, v/hich is that all hereditary government over a 
 people is to them a [pedes of flavery, and reprejhdative government 
 is freedom, Confidering government in the only light in which it 
 fhould be confidered, that of a National Association; it 
 ought to be fo conftrufted as not to be difordercd by any accident 
 happening among th« parts ; and, therefore, no extraordinary pow- 
 er, capable of producing fuch an effeft, fhould be lodged in the 
 hands of any individual. The death, fickncfsjabrence, or defeBion, 
 of any one individual in a government, ought to be a m uier ot no 
 more confequence, with refpe6l to the nation, than it the fame 
 circumftance had taken place in a member ot the EngliQi Parlia- 
 ment, or the French National AfTembly; 
 
 Scarcely any thing prefents a more degrading charaBer of na- 
 tional greatnefs, than its being thrown into contufionby any thing 
 happening to, or afted by, an individual ; and the ridiculoufnefs 
 of the fcene is often increafed by the natural infii^nificance of the 
 perfon by whom it is occafioned. Were a government [o con- 
 llrufted, that it could not go on unlefs a goofe or a gander were 
 prefent in the fenate, the difficulties would be juft as jjreat and as 
 real on the flight or ficknefs of the goofe, or the gander, as it it 
 were called a King. We laugh at mdividuals for the filly diffi- 
 culties they make to themlelves, without perceiving, that the great- 
 eft ot ;ill ridiculous things are a6fed in governments, t 
 
 F All 
 
 * A« to the rtateof representation in Eo^^lanf^^ it i« too ahfnrd o 
 be reafoned upon, A'ln jH ail ;he reptelenled parta are decreafwi; in 
 population, and the u:irepref'°nter1 parti arc mcieafiojfcf. A ijcneral 
 •ODvention of the nation is neceffary to take the whole ft-tc of iit 
 jovernmeut icto confideratiou. 
 
 f It is related, thst in th<? canton of Berne, in SwilTerland. it hid 
 fcttri cuftomaryi from time imraemoria!, to keep a bear at the psji lia 
 
 cxpcuce. 
 
( 4« ) 
 
 Al! the conftitutions of America arc on a plan that excludes 
 the chilciilh einbarrafTincnts which occur in monarchical countries. 
 No fufpenfion of government can there take place for a moment, 
 Irom any circuniftance whatever. The fyftem of reprefentation 
 provides tor tvcry thing, and is the only fyftem in which nations 
 and fTovernments can always appear in their proper charafter. 
 
 As cKtr-iordinary power ought not to be lodged in the hands of 
 any individual, fo ought there to be no appropriations of public 
 money to any perfon, beyond what his fervices in a ftate may be 
 worth. It fii^nifies not whether a man be called a prefident, a 
 kng, an emperor, a fenator, or by any other name, which pro- 
 priety or tolly m^y devife, or arrooance alFume, it is only a cer- 
 tain fervice he can perform in the (late ; and the fervicc of any 
 fuch individual in the rotine ot office, whether fuch office be 
 called monarchiil, prefidential, fenatorial, or by any other name 
 or title, can never exceed the value of ten thoufand pounds a 
 year. All the great fervices that are done in the world are per- 
 formed by volunteer charaflers, who accept nothing for them; 
 but the rotine of office is always regulated to fuch a general flan- 
 dard ol abilities as to be within the compafs of numbers in every 
 country to peiform, and therefore cannot miCrit very extraordina- 
 ry recom pence. Goycrnmentt fays Swift , is a plain things and 
 fitted to the capacity of many heads. 
 
 It is inhuman to talk of a million flerling a year, paid out of 
 the public taxes of any country, for the fupport of any individual, 
 whilft ihoufands who are forced to contribute thereto, are pining 
 with want, and ftruggling with mifery. Government does not 
 confid in a contrafl between prifons and palaces, between poverty 
 and pomp; it is not inUituted to rob the needy of his mite, and 
 increafe the vyretchednefs of the wretched. — But of this part of 
 the fubjeft. I (hall fpeak hereafter, and confine inyfeif at prefent to 
 political obfcrvations. 
 
 When 
 
 expence, and th* people bau been taught to belie ;rc, ttat if tliey had 
 not \k bear they (liotdd all be undone. It happened (ome years ago, 
 that th? bear, theu in being, waa taken Tick' and died too fuddenly to 
 have his piace Jinraediatcly fiipplied wiih another. During tbi» inter- 
 regnum the people difcoveied th^i the corn grew, and the vintage 
 flounaied, and tue fun and mo«n coaiinucd to rife and let, and everjr 
 thing went on the fame as before, and, taking courage from thefa 
 cirtumfiauceg, they lefolved not to keep any ro- re bean ; ** for," faid 
 they, ** a bear is a very vorarioue, cxpeafjve ansmal, and we were 
 «* obliged to pnll out his claws, left he (lionld hurt the cinz'^ns " 
 
 The liory of the bear of Beroe wa» related in fome of the French 
 ncwi-paperi, at the time of the flight of Louis XVI. and the appli- 
 cation of it to monarchy could not be raiftaken in Fr .nee ; but it feemi 
 thaf the ariflocraty of Berne applied it to themfclve«| afid haVC fiflCC 
 
 (cohibited tUe leading ui Fccacb aew«*pajpeEi« 
 
( « ) 
 
 ' When extraordinJiry power and cj^lraoidinary pay are allotted 
 to any individual in a government, he becomes the centre, round 
 which every kind of corruption generates and forms. Give to 
 any man a milHon a year, and add thereto the power of creating 
 and difpofing of places, at the expence of a country, and the li- 
 berties of that country are no longer fecure. What is called th« 
 fplcndor of a throne is no other than the corruption of the ftate. 
 It is made up of a band of parafitcs, living in luxurious indolence, 
 out of the public taxes. 
 
 When once fuch a vicious fydem is eftablidied it becomes the 
 guard and proteftion of all inferior abufes. The man who is ia 
 the receipt of a million a year is the laft perfon to promote a fpirit 
 of relorm, left, in the event, it fhould reach to himfelf. It is 
 always his intere/l to defend inferior abufes, as fo many out-wora« 
 to proteft the citadel ; and in this fpecies of political fortification, 
 all the parts have fuch a common dependence that it is ncvtr to 
 be expe6ied tliey will attack each other/* 
 
 Monarchy would not have continued fo many ages in the world, 
 iiad it not been for the abufes it prote£ls. It is the mafter-fraud, 
 which fhelters all ethers. By admitting a participation of the 
 fpoil, it makes itfclf friends ; and v;hen it ceafes to do this, it will 
 ceafe to be the idol of courtiers. 
 
 As the principle on which conflltutions are not formed reje61s 
 »ll hereditary preienfions to government, it alio rejc£ls all that 
 
 catalogue 
 
 • It i> fcarcelf poflible to touch on anj fuhjec^, that will not fog« 
 geft SD allurion to fome corruption in government*. The fin- lie of 
 ** fortificariona" unfortunately involves in it a circuir.f^ance, which is 
 direftly in point with the matter above alluded to. 
 
 Among the numeroui infianc?"* of abufe which h^ve been afted or 
 proictted br govert^menti, ancient or modern, there is not a greater 
 than tha' of quartering a man and his heirs upon the public, to b« 
 maintained at its espence. 
 
 Mamanity diflates a provifion for the poor; but by what right, mo* 
 ral or poiitical, does anjr government afuime to (ay, that the perfoa 
 called the Duke of Richmond, fliall be miintained by the public?— 
 Yet, if common report is true, not a beggar in London can purchafe 
 his wretched pittance of coal, without paying to«vards the civil lift 
 of the Duke of Rjchraood. Were the whole produce of this irn- 
 pofition but a (hilling a year, the iniquitous priuciple would be ftill 
 the fame; but when it amounts, as it is faid to do, to not lefs than 
 twenty thoufand pounds per annum, the enormity is too ferious to 
 be permitted to remain,— This is one of the effcfis of mocarsby and 
 fiiiftociacy. 
 
 In itatinj; thiscaf'?, I am led by m perfona! ditlike. Thou;?h I think 
 it mean in any man to live upon the public, the vice originates in thj 
 government; and fo general is it become, that whether the parties 
 are in the miniftry or in the oppofuJon, ic makes no diflcreace « thejr 
 «ce fur« of the guarantee of each other. 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 catalogue of afTumpfions known by the name of prerogatives. 
 
 IF thertr is any government where prerogatives might with ap- 
 parent fafety be enirufted to any individual, it is in the federal 
 goveinmeni ot America. Tlie Prefident of the United States of 
 America i^ elefted only for four years. He is not only refpon- 
 fiule in the genera! fenfe of the word, but a particular mode it 
 Kid down in the conftiiution for trying him. He cannot be eleft- 
 cd under thiriy-five years of age; and he mull be a native oi the 
 country. 
 
 In a comparifon of thefe cafes with the government of Eng- 
 land, the difference when applied to the la'ter amounts to an ab- 
 iurditv. In England the perlon who exercifes prerogative is often 
 a foreigner; always half a foreigner, and always married to a fo- 
 reigner. He is never in full natural or political coimexion with 
 the country, is not refponfibJejior any thing, and becomes of age 
 at eighteen years; yet fuch a perfon is peimitted to form foreign 
 al'iances, without even the knowledge ot the nation, and to make 
 war and peace without its confent. 
 
 But this is not all. Though fuch a perfon cannot difpofe of the 
 government, in the manner of a tellator, he dilates the marriage 
 contiexions, which, in effetl, accompli{hes a great part of the 
 fdtne end. He cannot direftly bequeath half the government to 
 Pruiha, but he can form a marriage partnerfhip that will produce 
 almolt the fame thing. Under fuch circumftances, it is happy for 
 England that Ihe is not fituaied on the continent, or fhe mighty 
 like Holland, fall under the ditlatorfhip ot Pruffia. Holland, by 
 marriage, is as effectually governed by Pruffia, as if the old ty- 
 ranny of bequeathing the government had been the means. 
 
 The prefidency in America, (or, as it is lometimes called, the 
 executive,) is the only office frotn which a foreigner is excluded, 
 and in England it is the only one to which he is admitted. A fo- 
 TMgMcr cannot be a member of Parliament, but he mav be what 
 is called a king. If there is any reafon for excluding foreigners, 
 ii ought to be from thofe offices where mifchief can mofl be afted, 
 and where, by unitmg every bias of intereft and attachment, the 
 trufl is bell iecurcd. 
 
 But as nations proceed in the great bufmefs of forming confti- 
 tu.ions, they will examine with more precifion into the nature 
 atid bufinefs of that department which is called the executive. 
 Wliat the legiflative and judicial departments are, every one can 
 fee , but with refpe6t to what, in Europe, is called the executive, 
 as dillintl irom thofe two, it is either a political fupeifluity or a 
 chaos of unknown things. 
 
 Some kind of official department, to which reports fhall be 
 made from the different parts of a nation, or from abroad, to be 
 laid before the national reprefcntatives, is all that is neceffary ; 
 })iit iheie is no coriliilency in calling this the executive ; neither 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 can it be confidered in any other light than as interior to the k*-. 
 giflaiive. The fovereign authority in any country is the power 
 cf makincr laws, and every thing eife is an official department. 
 
 Next to the arrangement of the princip'es and the organization 
 of the feveral pans ot a coniHtution, is the provifion to be made 
 for the hipport of the perfons to whom the nation fliall confid© 
 the admlniflrationof the conditutional powers. 
 
 A nation can have no right to the time and ferviccs of any 
 per (on at his own expence, whom it may chnfe to employ or cn- 
 truft in any department whatever; neither can any realon be 
 given tor making provifion for the fupport of any one p^irt of a 
 government and not for the other. 
 
 But, admitting that the honour of being entrufled with any 
 part of a government is to be confidered a fufficient reward, it 
 oujrht to be lo to every perfon ahke. It the members of the le- 
 giflaiure of any country are to ferve at their own expence, that 
 which is called the executive, whether monarchical, or by any 
 other name, ought to ferve in hke manner. It is inconfiftent to 
 pay the one, and accept the fervice ot the other gratis. 
 
 In America, every department in the government is decently 
 provided tor ; but no one is extravagantly paid. Every member 
 of Congrefs, and of the affemblies, is allowed a fiifficiencv for 
 his cxpences. Whereas in England, a moft prodigal provifion is 
 made for the fupport of one part of the government, and none 
 for the other, the confequence of which is, that the one is fur- 
 nifhed with the means of corruption, and the other is put into the 
 condition ot being corrupted. Lefs than a fourth pait of fuch ex- 
 pence, applied as it is in America, would remedy a great part of 
 the corruption. 
 
 Another reform in the American conftitutions, is the explod- 
 ing all oaths of pf^rfonality. The oath of allegiance in America, 
 is to the nation only. The putting any individual as a figure for 
 a nation is improper. The happinefs of a nation is the fuperior 
 objeft, and therefore the intention ot an oath of allegiance 
 ought not to be obfcured by being figuratively taken, to, or in 
 the name of, any perfon. The oath, called the civic oath, in 
 France, viz. the " nation, i/ze law, and the king" is impro- 
 per. If taken at all, it ought to be as in America, to the nation 
 only. The law may, or may not be good ; but in this place, it 
 can have no other meaning, than as being conducive to the hap- 
 pinefs of the nation, and therefore is included in it. The re- 
 mainder of the oath is improper, on the ground, that all perfonal 
 oaths ought to be abolillied. They are the remains of tyranny 
 ononepart, and flavery on the other; and the name of the 
 Creator ought not to be introduced to witnefs the degradation 
 of his creation ; or if taken, as is already mentioned, as figura- 
 tive of the nation, it is in this place redundant. But whatever 
 
 apology 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 spoiogy may be made for oaths at the firdeflablidimsnt of a "o 
 vernment, they ought not to be permitted afterwards. If a go- 
 vernment requires ihe^ipport of oaths, it is a fign that it is not 
 north fupponing, and ought not to be fupported. Make govern- 
 ment what it ought to be, and it will fupport itfelf. 
 
 To conclude this part of ihe fubje6l : — One ot the grcateft im- 
 provements that has bten made for the perpetual fecu)ity and 
 progrcfsof conllitutional liberty, is the provifion which the new 
 conlHtutions make for occafionally revifing, ahering, and amende 
 ing them. 
 
 The principle upon which Mr. Burke formed his political 
 creed, that " of binding and controuling pofterily to the end of time^ 
 ** and of renouncing and abdicating the rights of all pojienty Jar 
 *' every* is now become too deteftable to be made a lubjctt of 
 debate; and, therefore, I pafs it over, with no other notice thaa 
 cxpofing it. 
 
 Government is but now beginning to he known. Hitherto it 
 Jias been the mere exercife ot power, which iorbad all effeQual 
 enquiry into rights, and grounded itfelf wholly on poffefhon. 
 While the enenrvy of liberty was its judge, the progrefs of its 
 principles muft have been (mall indeed. 
 
 The conftitutions of America, and alfo that of France, have 
 cither affixed a period for their revifion, or laid down the mode 
 hy which improvements fhall be made. It is perhaps impoflible 
 to eftablifli any thing that combines principles with opinions and 
 pra61icc, v*'hich the progrefs of circum (lances, through a length 
 of years, will not in fome mcafure derange, or render inconfift- 
 ent; and, therefore, to prevent inconveniencies accumulating, 
 ^till they difcourage reformations or provoke revolutions, it is heft 
 to provide the means of regulating them as they occur. The 
 Rights of Man ere the rights of all generations of men, and can- 
 5iot be monopolized by any. That which is worth following, will 
 be followed for the fake of its worth ; and it is in this that its fc- 
 curity iie«;, and not in any conditions with which it may be en- 
 cumbered. When a man leaves property to his heirs, he does not 
 <:onnc£l it with an obligation that they (hall accept it. Why then 
 fhould we do otherwife with refpe6l to conftitutions? 
 
 The beft conftitution that could now be devifed, confiflent with 
 the condition of the prefent moment, may be far fhort of that ex- 
 cellence which a few years may afford. There is a morning of 
 Teafon rifmg upon man on the fubjeft of government, that has not 
 appeared before. As the barbarifm of the prefent old govern- 
 ments expires, the moral condition of nations with refpe£l to each 
 other will be changed. Man will not be brought up with a favage 
 idea of confiJering his fpecies as his enemy, hecaufe the accident 
 of birth gave the individuals exiftencc in countries dillinguifhei 
 by difTereat names : a:id as conftitutions have always toiiie relation 
 
f 47 ) 
 
 td external as well as to domeftic clrcumftanccs, the means of be- 
 nefiting by every change, loreign or domellic, fliould be a part of 
 every coriHiiution. 
 
 We a'ready fee an aUeration in the national difpofition of Eng- 
 land and France towards each other, which, when we, lock back 
 to only a tew yea*-s, is itfelf a revolution. Who could have Fcre- 
 fecn, or who would have believed, that a French National AiTem- 
 blv would ever ha"e been a popular toaft in England, or that a 
 friendly alliance of the two nations fhould become the wifh oi" 
 cither. I: (hews, that man, were he not corrupted by govern- 
 ments, is naturally the friend of man, and that human nature is 
 not of itfelf vicious. That fpirit of jealoufy and ferocity, which 
 the governments of the two countries infpired, and which they 
 rendered fubfervient to the purpofe of taxation, is nov/ yielding to 
 the diftates of reafon, intereil and humanity. The trade of courts 
 is beginning to be underflood, and the affeftation of myfterv, with 
 all the artificial forcery by which they impofed upon mankind, is 
 on the decline. It has received its death-wound ; and though it 
 may linger, it wiU expire. 
 
 Government ought to be as much open to improvement as any 
 thing which appertains to man, inftead of which it has been mo« 
 nopolized from age to age, by the m.o(l ignorant and vicious oi the 
 human race. Need we any other proof of their wretched manage- 
 ment, than the excefs of debts and taxes v/ith wliich every nation 
 groans, and the quarrels into which they have precipitated the 
 world ? 
 
 Juft emerging from fuch a barbarous condition, n Is too foon to 
 (determine to what extent of improvement government may yet 
 be carried. For what we can foi-efee, a'l Europe may form but 
 One great republic, and man be free of the whole. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 WAYS a:7d MEANS of improving the condition cf EUROPE, 
 mterfper/td with Miscellaneous Observations. 
 
 IN contemplating a fubjea that embraces with equatorial mag- 
 nitude the whole region of humanity, it is impofiible to con- 
 fine the purfuit in one fingle direaion. ' It takes ground on ever^ 
 character and condition that appertains to man, and blends -the 
 individual, the nation, and the world. 
 
 From a fmall fpark, kindled in America, a flame has arifen, not 
 tobeextinguifhed. Without confuming, like the Ultima Rati9 
 Reoiim, It winds its progrefs from nation to nation, and conquers 
 by a filent operation. Man finds himfelf changed, he fcarcely 
 pc'-ceives how. fie acquires a knowledge of his rights by attend- 
 VJgjull!y to his iatcrcll, aud dilcuvers in the event that the 
 
 ilrenJtti 
 
{ 48 ) 
 
 ftrength and ppu'crs oF drfpotifm confift whollv in the fear of riU 
 filling it, and that, in order " to bejrce^ itisfufficicnt that he wills 
 
 Having in all the preceding parts of this work endeavoured to 
 eftablifti a fyflem of principles as a b^fis, on which governmentt 
 ought to be ere6led ; 1 flull proceed in this, to the ways and means 
 of rendering them into praftice. But in order to introduce this 
 part of the fubjeft with more propriety, and ftronger efFefcl, forae 
 preliminary obfervations, deducibie trom, or connected u iih, thofe 
 principles, are neceflaiy; 
 
 Whatever the form or conflltution of government may be, it ' 
 ought to have no other objeft than the general happinefs. Wh?n 
 inltead of this, it operates to create and encreafe wretchednefs in 
 any of the parts of fuciety, it is on a wrong fyilem, and refor- 
 mation is neceffary. 
 
 Cuftomary language has clafTed the condition of man under the 
 two defcriptions of civihzed a:id uncivihzed hfe. To the one it 
 has afcribed teacity and affluence ; to the other hardlhip and want. 
 But, however, our imagination may be impreffed by painting and 
 eompajifon, it is nevenhelefs true, that a great portion of man- 
 kind, in whatare called civilized countries, are in a Ifate of po- 
 verty and wietchednefs, far below the condition of an Indian. I 
 rpeak not of one country, but of all. It is {^o in England, it ir 
 fo all over Europe. Let us enquire into the caufc. 
 
 It lies not in anv natural defeft in the principles of civilization, 
 but in preventing thofe principles from having an univerfal ope- 
 ration; the confequence of which is, a perpetual fyftem of war 
 and expence, that drains the country, and defeats the general fe- 
 licity of which civilization is capable. 
 
 All the European governments (France now excepted) are 
 •onftru6fed not on the principle of univerfal civilization, but on 
 the reverie of it. So far as thofe governments relate to each 
 other, thevarein the fame condition as v.'e conceive of favage 
 uncivilized life; they put themfelves beyond the law as well o£ 
 God as of min, and are, with refpeft to principle and reciprocal 
 conduft, like fo many individuals in a flaie of nature. 
 
 The inhabitants of every country, under the civilization o£ 
 laws, eafily civilize together, but governments being yet in an un- 
 civilized flate, and almofl continually at war, ihey pervert the a- 
 bundance which civi'ized life pioduces to carry on the uncivilized 
 part to a greater extent. By tbus ingrafting the harbarilni ot go- 
 vernment upon the internal civilization of a country, it drawa 
 from the latter, and more efpecially from the poor, a great porti- 
 on of thofe earnings, which (hould be applied to their own fuhfiff- 
 cnce and comfort.— Apar^-^ from all refleBions of mor.Jiiy and 
 philofophv, it is a melancholy fatt, that more than one-fourth of 
 the labour of mankind is annually conlumed by this barbarous fyf- 
 tem. What 
 
I 49 ; 
 
 What has fervcd to continue this evil, is the pecuniary advan- 
 tage which all the governments of Europe have found in kecpuig 
 up this ftate of uncivilization. It affords to them pretences tor 
 power, and revenue, for which there would be neither occafion 
 nor apology, if the circle of civilization were rendered conipleat. 
 Civil government alone, or the government of laws, is not pio- 
 duftive of pretences for many taxes; it operates at home, dirctUv 
 under the eye of the country, and precludes the poffibihty of much 
 impofition. Bat when the fcene is laid in the uncivilized con- 
 tention of governments, the field of pretences is enlarged, and 
 the country, being no longer a judge, is open to every impofuioii 
 which governments pleafe to atl. 
 
 Not a thirtieth, fcarcely a fortieth, part of the taxes which arc 
 raifed in England are either occafioned by, or applied to, the pur- 
 pofes of civil governinent. It is not difficult to fee, that the whole 
 which the aftual government does in this refpe^, is lo enatt -aus, 
 and that the country adminiflers and executes them, at its own ex- 
 pence, by means of magiffrates, juries, feflions, and afiize, over 
 £nd above the taxes which it pays. 
 
 In this view of the cafe, we have two diilincl chara8.ers of go- 
 vernment ; the one the civil government, or the government of 
 laws, which operates at home ; the other the court or cabinet go- 
 vernmenf, which operates abroad, on the rude plan of uncivil- 
 ized life; the one attended with little cha.ge, the other with 
 boundlefs extravagance; and fo didm^l: are the two, that if the 
 latter were to fink, as it were by a fudden opening of the earth, 
 and totally difappear, the former would not be deranged. It 
 would ftlU proceed, becaufe it is the common interefl of the nation 
 that it fliould, and all the means are in praftice. 
 
 Revolutions, then, have for their object, a change in the moral 
 condition of governments, and with this change the burthen of 
 public taxes will leflen, and civilization will be left to the enjoy- 
 ment of that abundance, of which it is now deprived. 
 
 In contemplating the whole of this fubjeft, I extend my views 
 into the department of commerce. In all my publications', where 
 the matter would admit, I have been an advocate for commerce, 
 becaufe I am a friend to its effe6ls. It is a pacific fyflem, ope- 
 rating to cordialize mankind, by rendering nations, as well as in- 
 dividuals, ufeful to each other. As to mere theoretical reform- 
 ation, I have never preached it up. The inoft cffetiual procefs is 
 that of improving the condition of man by means of his interefl; 
 and it is on this ground that I take my Hand. 
 
 If commerce were permitted to aci to the univerfal extent it is 
 capaole, ii would extirpate the fyflein oi war, and produce a re- 
 volution in the uncivilized Hate of governments. The invention 
 of commerce has arifen fince thofe governments began, and is the- 
 greateft approacli towards univerfal civiiizaticn. that has yet been 
 
 G made 
 
( so- ) 
 
 in<idt by ari) nitans not immeJiately fiowing from moral principles. 
 
 Whatever has a tendency to promote the civil intercourle of 
 nations, by an exchange of benefits, is a fiibjeft as worthy of phi- 
 hifophy as of politics. Commerce is no other than the traffic of 
 two iiidividuiis, niuliiplicd on a Icale of numbers; and by the 
 l^me rule that nature intended the intercourle of two, flie intended 
 that of all. For this purpofe (he has dillribuied the materials of 
 inanufaBurcs and commerce, in various and diftant parts of a na- 
 tion and of the \/orld ; and as they cannot be procined by war fo 
 cheaply or fo commodioufly as by commerce, fhe has rendered the 
 la'f.er the means of extirpating the former. 
 
 As the two inrc nearly the oppofhes of each other, confequent- 
 ]•.', the uncivilized ftaie ot European governments is injurious to 
 commerce. Every kind of deilruftion or embarraflment ferves to 
 IcfTen the quantity, ^^nd it matters but little in what part of the 
 ccMr-meiciai world the reduction begins. Like blood, it cannot be 
 taken from any of the parts, without being taken Ironi the whole 
 mafs in circulation, and all partake ol the lofs. V/hen the ability 
 in any nation to buy is delfroyed, it equally involves the feller. — 
 Could the government of England deflroy the com.merce of all 
 other nations, (lie would moft efre61ually ruin her own. 
 
 It is })i-flible thrit a nation may be the carrier for the world, but 
 (lie cannot be the merchant. She cannot be the feller and the 
 buyer <jf her ov.-n merchandize. The ability to buy mull refide 
 out ot herfclf; and, therefore, the profperity of any commercial 
 nation is regulated by the profperity of the rcil. If they are poor 
 fhe cannot be rich, and her condition, be it what it may, is an in- 
 dex of the height of the commercial tide in other nations. 
 
 That the principles of comniprce, and its univerfal operation 
 may be underftood, without underfianding the practice, is a po- 
 iition that reafon will not deny; and it is on this ground only that 
 I argue the fubjefi. It is one thing in the counting-houfe, in the 
 world it is ano;her. With lefpetl to its operation it muil nccef- 
 farily be contemplated as a reciprocal thing; that only one half its 
 powers relides within the nation, and that the whole is as efFe^lu- 
 ally deflroyed by deftroying the half that refides without, as if the 
 deltruflion had been committed on that which is within ; for nei- 
 ther can i\Li without the other. 
 
 When in the lai^ as well as in former wars, the commerce of 
 England funk, it was becaufe the general quantity was leiTened 
 every where; and it now rifes, becaufe comuAerce is in a rifmg 
 Hate in every nation. If England, at this da)', imports and ex- 
 ports more than at any former period, the nations with which (he 
 trades mud necellarily do the fame ; her imports are their exports, 
 and vice ver/a. 
 
 There can be no fuch thing as a nation flouriftiing alone in com- 
 merce i fhe can only participate; and the deflru6lion of it in any 
 
 part 
 
( 3< ) 
 
 part inuft neceflarily affcEi all. V/hcn, thcrcTore, governmcn'.s 
 are at war, the attack is made upon the common flock of com- 
 merce, and the comcquence is the fame as if each had attacked 
 his own. 
 
 The prcfcnt increafe of commerce is not to be attributed to mi- 
 niflers, or to any poliiicil contrivances, but to its own naiural 
 operations in confequencc of peace. The regular maikets had 
 been dcftroycd, the channels of trade broken up, i!.e high road 
 of the feas infefted with robbers of every nation, and the atten- 
 tion of the world called to other objefts. Thofe interruption<i 
 have ceafca, and peace has reftored the de.^-anged condition of 
 things to their proper order. '^ 
 
 It is worth remarking, that every nation reckons the balance of 
 trade in its own favour ; and therefore foirieihui^ mull ha. ir- 
 regular in the common ideas upon this fubje^l. 
 
 Tiie raft, however, is true, according to what is called a bal- 
 ance ; and it is from this caufe that commerce is univer Tally fup- 
 ported. Every nation feels the advantage, or it would abandon 
 the praftice; but the deception lies in the mode of making up the 
 accounts, and in aitributimr what are called profits to a wronff 
 caule. 
 
 Mr. Pitt has fometimes amufed himfelf, by fhewing what he 
 called a balance of trade from the cuftom-houfe books. This 
 mode of calculation, not only aiFords no rule th^t is true, but one 
 that is faife. 
 
 In the firfl place, Every cargo that departs from the cuilom. 
 houfe, appears on the books as an export; and according to the 
 cultom-houfe balance, the lofFes at Tea, and by foreign failures, 
 are all reckoned on the Cids of profit, becaufc they appear as ex- 
 ports. 
 
 Secondly, Becaufe the importation by the fmnggling trade does 
 not appear on the cuHom-houfe bouk.% to arrange againlt the ex- 
 ports. 
 
 No balance, therefore, as applying to fnperior advantages, can 
 be drawn from thoie documents ; and if we examine the natural 
 operation of commerce, the idea is fallacious; and i{ true, would 
 foon be injurious. The great fapport of commerce confifls in the 
 balance being a level ol benefits among all naaons. 
 
 Two merchants of different nations, trading together, will both 
 
 become 
 
 * lo America, the increace of commerce 's greater in porpotioii 
 than in Euglaad. It i«, at chis time, at lead one h-lf more than ic 
 any period prior to the revolaion. The ^teat<=tl: n;?j:ibcr of vcfleli 
 cleare.l uut of the pori of rhiladel^hii, lefore mz co!n:r.er;cen;eot of 
 t^ie war, w3« between eight and nine buodred. In th*; year 1788, 
 the num'jcr was upwarrja of twelve huudrec*. Ai 'he rtate of Penn- 
 fjlvania is eaimaied an an cl^ht; part cf the Unitefl St.^tes ia popidati' 
 i-D, the whole nuniher of vciTels muft now be ne^fl/ tea ihoufant3» 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 become rich, and each makes the balance in his own favour ; con- 
 icquenily, ihey do not get rich out of each other; and it is the 
 fame with vefpefc^ to the nations in which they refide. The cafe 
 maft be, that each nation muft get rich out ot its own means, and 
 incieafes that riches by fomething which it procures from another 
 in exchange. 
 
 If a merchant in England fends an article of Englifh manu- 
 faPture abiodd, which coiU him a fhiHing at home, and imports 
 fDmeiiiing which fells for two, he makes a balance ot one Shilling 
 in his own tavour ; but this is not gained out of the lojeign 
 nation or the foreign merchant, for he alfo does the fame by the 
 article he receives, and neither has a balance of advantage upon 
 tlie other. The original value of the two articles in their proper 
 countries were but two fhillings ; but by changing their places, 
 thev accjuire a new idea of value, equal to double what they had 
 at firft, and thai encreaied vaJue is equally divided. 
 
 Th reis no otherwife a balance on foreign than on domeftic 
 comtDerce. The merchants oJ London and Newcaflle trade on 
 the fame principles, as if they refided in different nations, and 
 make their balances in the fame manner : yet London does not 
 gei rich out ot Newcaflle, anv more than Newcaflle out ot Lon- 
 don : but coals, he merchandize of Newcaflle, have an addition- 
 al value at London, and London merchandize has the fame at 
 Nt:wcaflle. 
 
 Though the principle of all commerce is the fame, the domef- 
 tic, in a national view, is the part the mod benefical; becaufe the 
 whole of the advantages, on both fides, refts within the nation ; 
 ■whereas, in foreign commerce, it is only a participation of one 
 half. 
 
 The mofl unprofitable ot all commerce is that conne6led with 
 foreign dominion. To a few individuals it may be beneficial, 
 merely becaufe it is commerce ; but to the nation it is a lofs. 
 The expence of maintaining dominion more than abforbs the 
 profits of any trade. It does not increafe the general quantity 
 in the world, but operates to lefTen it ; and as a* greater mafs 
 would be afloat by relinquifhing dominion, the participation with- 
 out the e::pence v/ouldbe more valuable than a greater quantity 
 with it. 
 
 But it is impofTible to engrofs comm>erce by dominion : and 
 therefore it is itiil more fallacious. It cannot exifl in confined 
 channels, and neceflarily breaks out by regular or irregular means, 
 that defeat the attempt ; and to fucceed would be flill worfe. 
 France, finre the revolution, has been more than indifferent as to 
 Foreign poffeirions; and other nations will become the fame, 
 when they invefligate the fubjeft with refpe6l to commerce. 
 
 To the expence ot dominion is to be added that of navies, and 
 when the amount ot the two is fubtrcitled from the profits of 
 
 commerce. 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 commerce, it will appear, that what is called the balarce or trade, 
 even a Imittini^ it to exill, is. not enjoyed by the nation but abforb- 
 ed by the government. 
 
 The idea o{ havincr navies for the proteBlon of commerce is 
 delufive. It is putting the means ox deTiruBion lor the means of ; 
 prote£tion. Commerce needs no other proteftion than the reci- 
 procal intcreft which every n^.tion feels in fupporting it — it is 
 common ftock — itexiftsbya balance of advantages to all; and 
 the only interruption it me-fts, is Irom the prelect uncivilized 
 ftate ot governments, and which it is its common intcrell to re- 
 form.* 
 
 Quitting this fubje6^, I now proceed to other matters. — As it 
 is neceifary to include England in the profpeft ot a general re- 
 formation, it is proper to enquire into the defefts ot its govern- 
 ment. It is only by each nation reforming its own, that the 
 whole can be improved, and the full benefit of reformation enjoy- 
 ed. On^y partial advantages can {\ow from partial reforms. 
 
 France and Eni^land are the only two countries in Europe 
 ■where a reformation in government could have fuccefifu'.Iy begun. 
 Th^ one fecure by the ocean, and the other by the immenfity of 
 its internal flrength, could defy the malignancy of foreign del- 
 potifm. But it is with revolutions as v/ith comm.erce, the advan- 
 tages increafe by their becoming general, and double, to either 
 wliat ea,Gh wou'd receive alone. 
 
 Asa new fyffem is now opening to the view of the world, the 
 European courts are plotting to counterael: it. Alliances, contrary 
 to all former fyilems, are agitating, and a common interefl of 
 courts is forming againft the common intereft of man. This com- 
 biiRtion draws a line that runs throughout Europe, and prefents 
 a caufe fo entirely new, as lo exclude all calculations from former 
 clrcumftances. Wfiiledefpotifm warred with defpotifm, mzm had 
 no intereft in the conteft ; but in a caufe thdt unites the foldier 
 with the citizen, and nation with nation, the defpotifm ot courts, 
 though it feels the danger, and meditates revenge, is afraid to 
 Urike. 
 
 No queftion has arifen within the records of hiilDry that prefTed 
 with the importance of the prefent. It is not whether this of that 
 party fhall be in or out, or whig or toyy, or high or low (hall pre- 
 vail; but whether man ihal'. inherit his rights, and univerfal civiliz- 
 9tiQn take place? Whether the fruits of his iahoiifs ifiall be enjoy- 
 ed 
 
 * When I faw Mr. Piti'i node of efiimaring t'ne '.alance of trad<-, 
 ir> one of his piiliamcatarr fpeeche?, he appeared to me trt knownu- 
 thitig of the nature aad intereft of cornraei ce ; and do man Jia» more 
 waatoiil? t©rti;rc(? it .kaix hjmfelf. DjrJng a perio-l of peace, it ha« 
 been Lavockcd with the c^iarauies of war. Three times hM ic beca 
 thrown into ftagnation, and the veffela uomanned by iciprefTjug, wiih- 
 in iefs than four jeara of peace. 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 cd by himfclf, or confumed bv the profligacy of governments? 
 Whether robbery diall be baniflied from courts, and vvretchednefs 
 from countries? When, in countries that are called civilized, we 
 fee age going to the workhoal'e and youth to the gallows, fomc- 
 thing muft be wrong in the iy Item of government. It would feem, 
 by the exterior appearance of fuch countries, that all, was happi- 
 nefs; but there lies hidden liom the eye of common obfervation, 
 a nidfs of wretchednefs that has fcarcely any other chance, than to 
 e:ipire in poverty or infamy. Its entrance into life is marked with 
 the prefage of its late; and until this is remedied, it is in vain to 
 punifli. 
 
 Civil government does not confift in executions; but in making 
 fuch provifion for the inllrutfion of youth, and the fupport of 
 age, as to exclude, as much as poUible, pji;fligacy from the one, 
 and defpair from the other. Inlfead of this, the refources of a 
 country are lavilhed upon kings, upon courts, upon hirelings, im- 
 pollers, and prciftitutes; and even the poor themfelvcs, with all 
 their wants upon them, are compelled to fupport the fraud that 
 opprefles them. 
 
 Why is it, that fcarcely any are executed but the poor? The 
 faff is a proof, among other things, of a vvretchednefs in their 
 condition. Bred up wiihout morals, and caft upon the world with- 
 out a profpeB, they are the expofed facrifice of vice and legal bar- 
 barity. The millions that are fupeifluoufly wafted upon govern- 
 ments, aie more than fufficient to reform tlioleevils, and to benefit 
 the condition of every man in a naiion, not included vvichin the 
 purlieus of a court. Tnis 1 hope to niike appear m the pro- 
 giefs of this work. 
 
 It is the nature of compafTion to affociate with misfortune. In 
 taking up this fubjeft 1 feek no recompence — I fear no confe- 
 quence. Fortified with that proud integrity, that difdains to tii- 
 umph or to yield, I will advocate the Riglits of Man. 
 
 It is to my advantage that I have ferved an apprenucelhip to life. 
 1 know the value of moral inltiudion, and I have feen the danger 
 oi the contrary. At at early period, little more than fixieen years 
 of age, Ydw and adventurous, and heated with the falfe heroifm of 
 a maiter* who had ferved in a rnan of war, I began the carver of 
 my own fortune, and entered on board the Terrible, (Privateer) 
 Capt. Death. From this advcntui e I was happily prevented by 
 the affeftionate and moral retnonftranje of a good father, who, 
 from his own habits of life, being of the Quaker protelTion, muft 
 begin to look upon me as loft. But the impiefTion, much as it ef- 
 fected at the time, began to wear away, and I entered aherwards 
 in the King of Piciiiid Privatser, Capt. Mendez, and went Vviih 
 her to fca. Yet, from fuch a beginning, and with all the incon- 
 venience 
 
 * Rev. William Kaowlci, raafter oC the graramer fchool cf Thet- 
 f«id, in Noifoik. 
 
f 55 ) 
 
 vcnicnce of early life agalnfl me, I am proud to fay, tliat with a 
 pcrfeverancc undifmayed by difficuUics, a dilintereftediiefs that 
 compelled refpeft, 1 have not only contributed to raife a new em- 
 pire in the world, founded on a new fyftem of government, but 
 1 have arrived at an eminence in political literature, the moft dif- 
 ficult of all lines to fucceed and excel in, which aiiftocracy, with 
 all its aids, has not been able to reach or to rival. 
 
 Knowing my own heart, and feeling myfelf as I now do, fu- 
 perior to all the fkirmilh of party, the inveteracy of inrercfled or 
 mi (taken opponents, I anfwer not to falfehood or abufe, but pro- 
 ceed to the defers of theEnglifh goveinment.f 
 
 1 begin with charters and corporations. 
 
 It is a perveifion of terms to fay, that a charter gives rigbts. 
 It operates by a contrary efrc6t, that ot taking rights away. Rights 
 are inherently in all the inhabitants ; but charters, by annulling 
 thofc rights in the majoriry, leave the right by exclufjon in (he 
 hands of a few. If charters were conflrufled fo as to exprefs in 
 direft terms, *' that every i-habitant, zvho is not a member of a 
 lorporation, Jliall not excrci/e the right of voting.''' fuch charters 
 would, in the face, be charters, not of rights, but of exclufion. 
 The effe£t is the fame under the term thf y now ftand ; and the 
 only perfons on whom they operate, are the perfons whom they 
 exclude. Thofe whofe rights are guaranteed, by not being taken 
 away, exercife no other rights, than as members of the communi- 
 ty they are entitled to without a charter; and, therefore, a1 char- 
 tcrs have no other than an indireft negative operation. They do 
 not give rights to A, but they make a difference in favour of A, 
 by taking away the right of B, and confequently are inflruments 
 of injuftice. But 
 
 f Politic* anJ felf-intereft have been fo uniforinljr conoeOcfl, tfi.it 
 the wnrif], from being fo often deceived, ha% aright to be iufpicioi;* 
 of public charader« : but with regard to rc*felf, I am perfedlr eafr 
 on this head. I did uot, at xwy firil fettinT; cut m public life, ncarlf 
 feventecu jears ago, turn my thoughts to fubjecis of government from 
 motives of irucrcft ; and my condud from that momeai to this, provps 
 the fact. I faw r.n opportuniiy, In which I thoug'it I could do t'omft 
 good, and I foL'owed cr:.£!!7 whnt mj* hc^rt diflated, I oeiiher read 
 bonks, Bor Oudied oihfr people's cpinions. I thought for myfflf. 
 The cafe was this : During the fufpeafioa of the old govcrnra(-nti in 
 America, both prior to, and at the breaking out of h<;(?ilitic8, I was 
 ftiuck with (he order apd decorum whu uhich cvtij thing was ccn- 
 <?u^^ed; anJ imr.rfn"cd with the ide.i, that a little tr.orc than whst fo- 
 ciety naturally pet formed, was all the g'lV-^rr jnent that was neceirarr ; 
 and that monarchr and ariftocrscy were frauds .?r{d inipofl KTi» up'>a 
 maokind. On thrfe principles I p':blinicd the painph'et COMMON 
 SEN^K. The fuccefa it met with yva* beyond sny thing fincc the in- 
 vention of p inting. I gave the cot.y fi^ht up to every flate in ihe 
 union, and the der^aad raw to uqx left ihaa cue huiidrcd ihou-'^and m- 
 
 pieff. 
 
( 5^ ) 
 
 But charters and corpoi'ations have a more cxtenfive evil cfFe^, 
 than whdi relaies merely to e'etHons. They are fources of endlefs 
 contentions in ihe places where they exilt ; and they lefTen the 
 
 common 
 
 pics. I continued the fubjefl in the fame manner, under the title of 
 the CRISIS, till the com;>'ieie eflabiilhrnent of the revolution. 
 
 After the ilcclaratiou of iuf!ependeuce, Congrefi unanimowfl/ and 
 unknown to iiie, apjoiated me fctreiarjr in the foreign department. 
 Ihis wa» agreeable to lue, bccaufe it gave me the opportunity of Tee- 
 iDg into the abiliiie* ot foreign court*, and their manner of doing 
 bulinefi. But a raifunderftanding arifing between Congrcfa and me, 
 rclpcfting one of their commifiioners, then in Europe, Mr. 8ila» 
 Deaue, I rciigned the office, and decliucd, at the lame time, the pe- 
 cuiiiarT oifera ma.Ie me by the minilicr* of France and Spain, M. Ge- 
 la'd and Dja Juan Minallci. 
 
 I had Ljr thi* time fo completelj gained the ear and confidence of 
 America, znA my own independence wai become fo vifible a» to give 
 me a range \n political writing, beyoud, peihapi, what any man ever 
 pofTeiled in any country; and what is m^re extraordinary, I held it 
 viudimiurtied to the end of the war, and Ciijoy it in the f*mc manner 
 lo the prefenr moment. A« my object wai not m^felf, I let out wiih 
 the determiaation, and happ»ly wiih the difporiiio.-), of not being moved 
 by praife or ceufuie, friendfijjp or caliimny, nor of being drawn from 
 my purpofe by any perfonal altercation j and the man who cannot do 
 this, is Doi fit for a public charader. 
 
 When the war end«d, I went from Philadelphia to Bordcotown, on 
 the eaft bank of the Delaware, where I have a fmail plase. Congref* 
 Mas at this time at Pri-jcctoa, fifteen raiie* liiftaot; and General 
 Walhicgton had taken hii head quarters at Rocky-Hill, wiihm the 
 neighbourhood of Congref?, for the purpofe of reiigning up hn ccra- 
 m fTioE, (the objcci for which he accepted it being accompii(hcd) and 
 of rehiring to piivate life. While he was oa this bvjfiucta, he wrote 
 me the letter which I here fubioiu : 
 
 '• Rocky-Hill, Sept. lo, 1783. 
 
 ** I hsve learned fince I have been at this place, that you are at 
 Bordentcwu. Wheiher for the fake of retirement or csconomy, I 
 know net. Ee it for either, lor I. oh, or whaevcrit miy, if you 
 Nvsil come to this place, and purtake with me, I ihall be e:::ceed:ngl]r 
 happy to fr-e you at it, 
 
 " Your prefencc may remian Congrefs of your prifl: fervices to this 
 countiy; and if it ia in my power to imprefs them, command my beft 
 exertions with fiesdura, at they will be rendered cheerfully by one, 
 v*ho entertains a lively feaTc of the importance of your works, autl 
 who, with much pieafure, l-jbl'-ritcs himfelf, 
 
 ** Your nncere friend, 
 
 *• G, VV A S H I N G T O N.'» 
 
 During the war, in the litter end of the year 17S0, I formed to 
 myt'ejf a dcf'gii of coming over to England; and communicated it to 
 General Gieeue, who \*as then in Philadelphia, on his route to ihe 
 fttuthward, General Waaiington being then at too great a diftance to 
 
 ccraiuunicatc 
 
( 5; ) 
 
 common rights of national fociety. A native of England, under 
 the operation of thefe charters and corporations, cannot be faid 
 to be an Ep.glilhman in the full fenfe of the word. He is not free 
 of the nation, in the fame manner that a Frenchman is tree of 
 France, and an American of America. His rights are circum- 
 Icribed to the town, and, in fome cafes, to the parilh ot his birth; 
 and all other parts, though in his native land, are to him as a 
 foreign country. To acquire a refidencc in thefe, he muft under- 
 go a local naturalization by purchafe, or he is forbidden or expel- 
 led the place. This fpecies of feudality is kept up to aggrandize 
 the corporations at the ruin of towns ; and the effeft is vifible. 
 The generality of corporation towns are iil a Hate of folitary 
 
 decay, 
 
 communicate with inimedintely. I was ftfongly ImpreiTed with il.e 
 idea, that if t coaid get over to England, without being known, an<l 
 oulf remain in fafetj tili I could get out a publication, that I could 
 open the eyci of ihe country with rcfpecl to the mudneli and ft^piditjr 
 of Itt government. I faw that the parifei ia parliament had pittei 
 therafelves a« far a« they could go, and could make no ?jeir iniprefiiop** 
 on each other. General Greene entered fullf into rnf vicwi; but the; 
 affair of Arnold and Andre happening jufl after, he changed hi« miDr* 
 and, under flrong apprehendon* for my fafety, wrote very preiTiagly 
 to me from Antapolis, in Maryland, to give up the defign, which, 
 with fome reluftaace, I did* Soon after thiis, I accompanied Colonel 
 Lawrens, fon of Mr. Lawrena, who was then in the Tower, to France, 
 on bufinefs from Congrefi. We landed at L'Oricnt ; and while I re- 
 mained there, he being gons forward, a circumftance occurred, that 
 renewed ray former defign. An Englifh packet from Falmouth to 
 New-York, with th*:; government defpatches on board, was brought 
 inio UOrien^i That a packet lliould be taken, is co estraordinarf 
 thing; but that the defpatches fhould be t%ken with it, will fcarceir 
 be credited, as they are always flung at fh<i; cabin window, in a bag 
 loaded with cannon baP, and ready to he funk at a moment. The faf!, 
 however, ie as I hare dated it, for the defpatches came into my hand», 
 and I read them* The capture, as I was informed, fucceeded by tha 
 following ftratagem: The captain of the Madame privateer, who 
 fpoke Englilh, on cominj? up with the packet, pafTed himfcif for the; 
 captain of an Englifh frigate, and invited the captain of the packet on 
 board, which, when d*n<', he f^nt fome of his own hands back, and 
 fccured the n\ AU Bat be the circurai^aace of the capture what it may, 
 I fpeak with certainty as to the government defpatches* They were 
 fent up to Paris, to Count Vergcnnei, and when Colonel Lawreni 
 and rajrfelf returned to America, we took the originals to Congrefs, 
 
 By thefi defpatches I faw into the Cupidity of the Engli^ cabinet, 
 far moTQ than I otherwife could have done; and I renewed my forraec 
 defgn. But Col. I.awrens was fo uawilliag to rsturn alone ; more ef- 
 p^ciaily, as among other tnattcrj, we had a charge of cpwards o£ 
 two bundled ihoufaad pounds Iterling :n money, that I give into hia 
 widiiri^ and finally gave up my plan. Buc I am now certain, that if £ 
 could have executed it, ibat it would not hwc bceo altogether un«» 
 fuccefsfyl,. H 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 decay, and prevented from further ruin, oniy by fome clrcum- 
 ftatice in their fiiiiation, fuch as a navigable river, or a pleniiiul 
 furroundiH;:; country. As population :s one of the chief fources 
 of weahh, (tor without it land itfelf has no value,) every thing 
 which operates to prevent it mud lelfen the value ol properly; 
 and as corporations have not only this tendency, but diretlly tins 
 effect, they cannot but be injurious. If any policy were to be 
 followed, inftead of that ot general freedom, to every perfon to 
 iettle where he chofe, (as in France or America,) it would be 
 more confillcnt to jrive encouragement to new comers than to 
 preclude their admiffion by exacting premiums from them.* 
 
 The perfoiis mo{f immediately intereiled in the abolition of 
 corporaticns, are the inhabitants of the towns where corporations 
 are eOablifhed. The inftances of Manchefter, Birmingham and 
 Sheffield, fhew, by contrail, the injury which thofe Gothic infti- 
 tuiions are to property and commerce. A few examples may be 
 found, fuch as tliat of London, whofe natural and commercial 
 advantage, owing to its fituation on the Thames, is capable ot 
 bearing up agdinft the political evils of a corporation ; but in 
 a'moft all other cafes the fatality is too vifible to be doubted or 
 denied. 
 
 Though the whole nation is not fo cftreflly affefted by the de- 
 preflionof property in corporaticwi towns as the inhabiiants them- 
 ielves, it partakes of the confcquence. By leiTening the value 
 of property, the quantity of national commerce is curtailed. 
 Every man is a cuftomer in proportion to his ability ; and as all 
 parts of a nation trade with each other, whatever efic£ls any ot 
 the parts, muft necciTarily communicate to the whole. 
 
 As one of the houles of the Englifh parliament is, in a great 
 meafure, made up of eleftions from thefe corporations ; and as 
 it i's unnatural that a pure ilream fhould flow from a foul foun- 
 tain, i;s vices are but a continuation of the vi.ces of its origin. 
 A man of moral honour and good political principles, cannot 
 fubmit to the mean drudgery and difgractful arts, by wliich fuch 
 cle61ions are carried. To be a fuccefsful candidate, he muft be 
 
 deftitute 
 
 * Ii ii Hlfficul' to account for the origin of charter and corporation 
 townt, unlcf» wc fuppofe thera to b^ve arifeo out r,f, or been conned- 
 ed with, fome fpccie* of garrilou fervicc. The timei in which hey 
 began to juftifjr thii idea. The generallity of thofe town* have been 
 garrifon*; and the corporations were charged with ihe care of the 
 gatei of the town*, when no mil'tary garrifon wai prcfent, Theic 
 J efufing or granting adiDJlTioa tc rtranger*, which hai p' odured tb« 
 ctjftora of giving, felling, and buying freedom, ha* ino*e of the nature 
 of garnfon authority th^n civil goverr.m<cut. Sold'er* are free of.all 
 corporation* throughout the nation, \.y the fame propriety that every 
 foldier ii free of every garrifon, and do other perfon* are. He caa 
 follow any employment, with the permitlioQ of hit ofiicert, iu auf 
 corporation towo tbrcughout the Dation. 
 
(' 69 ) 
 
 clcftltute of the qualities that conftitute a jail legiflator : and be- 
 in^- thus difciplined to corruption by the mode oi entering into 
 parliament, it is not to beexpefcled that the reprelentaiive {hould 
 be better than the man. 
 
 Mr. Burke, in fpeakin^ of the E lorlifh reprelentation, his ad- 
 vanced as bold a cha'lenge as ^ver was given in the days of chi' 
 valry. *' Our repreientafion," lays he, '* has been found per- 
 *• fedly adequate to alt thz purpofes for which a reprefeniation of 
 *' the people can be defired or deviled. 1 defy" continues he, 
 ** the enemies of our conftitution to fhew the contrary." — This 
 declaration from a man, who has been in conftant oppofiiion to 
 all the meafures of parliament, the whole of his political life, a 
 year or two excepted, is moll extraordinary ; and, comparing him 
 with himfelf, admits of no other alternative, than that he afttd 
 againft his judgment as a member, or has declared contrary to ii 
 as an author. 
 
 But it is not in the reprefentation only that the defefts lie, and 
 theiefore I proceed in the next place to the ariftocracy. 
 
 What is called the Houfe of Peers, is conftituted on a ground 
 very fimiUr to that, againft which there is a law in other cafes, 
 it amounts to a combination ot perfons in one common intereil. 
 No reafon can be given, why an houfe ot legifldtion fhould be • 
 compoled entirely of men whofe occupation conhfts in letting 
 landed property, than why it fliould be compofed of thofe who 
 hire, or of brewers, or bakers, or any other (eparate clafs of men. 
 
 Mr. Burke calls this houfe, ** the great ground and pillar of fc- 
 " curity to the landed intereJL'' Let us examine this idea. 
 
 Wnat pillar ol fecurity does the landed interell require more 
 than any other interell in the ftate, or what right has it to a dif- 
 tind and feparate reprefentation from the gencial interell of a 
 nation ? The only ufe to be made of this power, (and which it 
 has always made, is to ward off taxes from itfelf, and throw the 
 burthen upon fuch articles of confumption by which iifelf would 
 be Icall affeaed. 
 
 That this has been the confequence, (and will always be the 
 eonfequence af conflruBing governments on combinations, is 
 evident with refpeftto England, from the hiftory of iis taxes, 
 
 Notwithftanding taxes have encreafed and muhipUed upon every 
 article of common confumption, the land-tax, which more parti- 
 cularly affe6ls this "pillai," has diminilhed. In 1788, the amount 
 ot the land-tax was/' x,950,ooo, which is half a million lefs than 
 it produced almofl an hundred years ago,* notwithftanding the 
 rentals are in many inftances doubled fince that peiiod. 
 
 Before the coming of the Hanoverians, the taxes were divided 
 an nearly equal proportions between the land and articles of con- 
 fumption,. 
 
 * See Sir John Sinclair't Hiftory of the Revenue. The Ucd-tax ia 
 %^46 wa» 2,473>499J« 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 jfumption, ilie land bearing rather the largcft (hare; but fince that 
 acra, neai'y thirteen milHons annually of new taxes have been 
 thrown upon confumption. The confequence of which hss been 
 a conftant increale in the number and wreichedncfs of the poor, 
 and in the amount of the poor-rates. Yet here again the burthen 
 does not fall in equal proportions on the aiiftocracy with the reft 
 of the community. Their refidences, whether in town or country, 
 are not mixed with the habitations of the poor. They live apart 
 from diftrefs, aod the expence oi relieving it. It 19 in manufac- 
 turing towns and labouring villages that thofe burthens prcfs the 
 htavieft ; in many cf which it is one clafs of" poor fupporting anor 
 Iher. Several of the mod heavy and produ6live taxes are fo con-, 
 trived, as to give an exemption to this pillar, thus Handing in its 
 own defence. The tax upon beer brewed for fale does not cfFeft 
 the ariliocracy, who brew their own beer free of this duty. It 
 falls only on thofe who have not conveniency or ability to brew, 
 and who muft purchafe it in fmall quantities. But what will man- 
 kind think of the juftice of taxation, vi^hen they know that this 
 tax alone, from which the ariflocracy are from circurnilances ex- 
 empt, is nearly equal to the whole of the land-tax, being in the 
 year 1788, and it is not lefs now, /' 1,666,155, and with its pro- 
 portion of the taxes on malt and hops, it exceeds it.— That a fingic 
 article thus partially confuracd, and that chiefly by the workingpart, 
 Ihould be fubjeft to a tax, equal to that on the whole rental of a 
 nation, is, perhaps, a ra6l not to be paralleled in the hiftories of 
 revenues. This is one of the confeqaences refulting from an houfe 
 of legiflation, compofed on the ground of a combination of com- 
 inon intereft; for whatever their feparate politics as to parties may 
 be, in this they are united. Whether a combination atis to raife 
 the price ol any article for fale, or the rate of wages; or whether 
 it a6ts to throw taxes from itfe:f upon another clafs of the com- 
 munity, the principle and the cfFe6l are the fame; and if the one 
 be illegal, it will be difficult to Ihew that the other ought to exilt. 
 It is to no ufe to fay, that taxes are firit propofed in the houfe of 
 commons ; for as the other houfe has always a negative, it can al- 
 ways detend itfelf ; and it would be ridiculous to fuppofe that its 
 acquiefcence in the meafures to be propofed were not underflood 
 t)eiorchand. Befides which, it has obtained fo much influence by 
 borough-traffic, and fo many of its relations and connexions are 
 dillribui^d on both fides of (he commons, as to give it, befides an 
 abfolute negative in one houfe, a pieponderancy in ihe other, in 
 all matiers ol common concern. 
 
 It is difTicult to difcover what is meant by the landed inteTtJl^ if 
 it does not mean a combination of arifiocraiical land-holders, op- 
 pofing their own pecuniary intereft to that of the farmer, and 
 every branch of trade, commerce, and manula6fure. In all other 
 refpefts it is the Only intereft that needs no partial protcftion. It 
 
 enjoys 
 
( 6. ) 
 
 enjoys the gdieral protcftion of the M'orld. Every individua], 
 high or low» is intercfted iii the truiis ol the earth ; men, women, 
 and children, of all ages and degrees, will turn, oat to aflid the 
 farmer, rather than a harvell Ihould not begot In; and ihcy will 
 not a6l thus by any other property. It is the onlv^onc tor which 
 the common prayer of mankind is put up, and -the only one that 
 can never fail from the want of means. It is the interelt, not o£ 
 the policy, but of the exiilcnce of man, and when it cealcs he 
 inuft ceafe to be. 
 
 No other interefl in a nation ftands on the fame united fupport. 
 Commerce, manufaBines, arts, Iciences, and every thing eifc, 
 compared with this, are fupported but in parts. Tneir prolperity 
 or their decay has not the fame univerlal influence. When the 
 vallies laugli and fing, it is not the farmer only, but all creation 
 that rejoices. It is a profperity that excludes all envy ; and this 
 cannot be faid of any thing elfe. Why then does Mr. Burke 
 ulkof his houfe of peers, as the pillar of the landed interefl ? 
 Were that pillar to fink into the earth, the fame landed property 
 would continue, and the fame ploughing, fowing, and reaping 
 would go on. The ariflocracy are not the farmers who work the 
 land, and ralfe the produce, but are the mere confumers ot the 
 lent; and when compared with the aBlve world, are the drones, 
 a feraglio of males, who neither coileft the honey x^.or form the 
 hive, but exilf only for lazy enjoyment. 
 
 Mr. Burke, in his firfl eflay, called ariflocracy, " ike Corinthi' 
 an capital of pohJJied fociety.'' Towards compleaiing the figure, 
 he has now added ih^ pillar ; but flili the bafe is wanting; and 
 whenever a nation chufes to aft a Sampfon, not blind, but bold, 
 down go the tem.ple of Dagon, the Lords and the Phililtincs. 
 
 It a houfe of legiOation is to be compofed of men of one c'afs, 
 for the purpofe of proteRing a dillin61 intereil, all the other in- 
 tcref!s fhould have the fame. The inequality, as well as the bur- 
 then of taxation, arifes from admitting it in one cafe, and not in 
 all. Had there been an houfe of farmers, there had been no 
 game laws; or an houfe of merchants and manufafturers, tfie 
 taxes had neither been fo unequal nor fo excefFive. It is from 
 the power of taxation being in the hands of thofe who can throw 
 fo great a part of it from their own fhoulders, thax it has raged 
 without a check. Men of fmall or moderate elfates, arc more in- 
 jured by the taxes being thrown on articles of conlumption, than 
 they are eafed by warding it from landed property, for the follow- 
 ing reafons : 
 
 firfl. They confunie more of the proauciive taxable arti;,lcs, 
 in proportion to their property, than thofe of large eflates. 
 
 Secondl)', Their refidence is chiefly in towns, and their pro- 
 perty in hoiifes ; and the encreafe of the poor-rates, occafjoned 
 hy tajfes en confamotion, is in much greater proportion than the 
 
 land-tax 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 land-tax has been favoured. In Birmingham, the poor- rates ar^ 
 not lefs than feven {hillings in ihe jround. From liiis, as is already 
 obfVrved, the ariliocracy are in a great meafure exempt. 
 
 Tiiefe a:e bat a part of the miichicFs flowing from the wretched 
 fcheme of an houle of peers. As a combination, it can alwa\i 
 throw a confiderable ponion of taxes from iifeU ; and as an here- 
 ditary houfe, accotintdble to nobody, it refemblcs a roitpn bo- 
 rough, whofe confent is to be courted by intereft. There are but 
 few o[ iis members, who are not in fome mode or other partici- 
 pateis, or difpofers ot the pubhc money. One turns a candie- 
 hoider, or a lojd in WcUting; another a lord of the bed-chaniLicr, 
 a groom of the ftool, or any infignificant nominal office, to which 
 a Lildry is annexed, paid out of the public taxes, and which a- 
 voids the dirtfl appearance ct corruption. Such fituations are 
 tlerogaiory to the chaiaOer of man ; and where they can be lub- 
 Hiitted to, honour cannot refide. 
 
 To all thefe aie to be added ihe numerous dependants, the long 
 lift of younger branches and diflant relations, who are to be pro- 
 vided for at the public expence; in (hurt, were an eftimaiion to 
 be made of the charge of ariftocracy to a nation, it will be found 
 nearly equal to that of fupporting the poor. Tr^e Duke of Rich- 
 mond alone (and there are cales fiinilar to bis) takes away as much 
 for himfelf as would maintain two thoufand poor and aged per- 
 fons. Is it, then, any wonder, that under fuch a lyflem of go- 
 vernment, taxes and rates have multiplied to their prefent extent ? 
 
 In ftating thefe matteis, I fpeak an open and difinierefted lan- 
 guage, didated by no paffion but that of humanity. To me, 
 who have not only refufed offers, becaufc I thought them impro- 
 per, but have declined rewards I might with reputation have ac- 
 cepted, it is no wonder that meannefs and impofition appear dif- 
 guiUul. Independence is my happinrfs, and 1 view things as they 
 are, without regard to place or perfon ; my country is the world, 
 and my religion is to do good. 
 
 Mr. Burke, in fpeaking of the ariftocratical law of primogeni- 
 ture, fays, *' it is the ftanding law of our landed inheritaDce; and 
 ** which, without queftion, has a tendency, and I think," conti- 
 nues he, *' a happy tendency, to prefervea charaHer of weight and 
 *' confequence." Mr. Burke may call this law what he pleafes; 
 but humanity, and impartial refletfion, will denounce it a law of 
 brutal injuftice. Were we not accullomed to the daily pratfice, 
 ami did we only hear of it a^ the law of fome diftant parr of the 
 world, we fhould conclude, that the legiflators of fuch countiies 
 had not yet arrived at a Ifaie of civili^^ation. As to its preferving 
 a chara8er of weight and confequence^ the cafe appears to me di- 
 le^tly the reverfe. It is an attaint upon character; a fort of pri- 
 vateering on family propeity. It may have weight among depend- 
 ent tenants, but it givcj^ none on a Icale of national, and, much 
 
 lefs 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 lefs of univerfal charafler. Speaking for m) felF, mr parents were 
 not able to give nie a fhilhng, bt.yoml what ihcy gave nie in edu- 
 cation; and to do this they dillrefl'ed ihemfelves ; yet, I poffcTs 
 moie of what is called confequence, in the world, than any one 
 in Mr. Buike's catalogue of aiiilocrats. 
 
 HiVing thus glanced at feme of the defe^fs o\ the two houfes of 
 parliament, 1 proceed to what is called the cri.wn, upon which I 
 (ha'l be very concife. 
 
 It fignifics a n(.n)inal office of a million fleriing a vear, the bu- 
 finefs o\ which confills in receiving the money. Whether the 
 perfon be wile or foolilh, fane or infanc, a native or a foreigner, 
 matters not. Every miniftiy a8s upon the fame idea that Mr. 
 Burke wriie«, namely, that the pf-Ojde muft be hood-winked, and 
 held in fuperlliious ignorance by fome but^bear or other ; and 
 what is called the crown, anfwers this purpoie, and therefore, it 
 anfwers all tlie purpofes to be expefted irom it. This is more 
 than can be faid ot the other two branches. The hazard to which 
 this office is expofed in all countries, is not from any ihmg that can 
 happen to the man, but from what mav happen to the nation — the 
 danger of its coming to its fenfes. It has been cuflomary to call 
 the crown the executive power, and the cuftom is continued, 
 though the reafon has ceafed. It was ca'led the executive, becaufe 
 the perfon whom it fignified uled, formerly, to fit in the charafter 
 of a judge, in adminiliering or executing tire laws. The tribunals 
 were then a part of the court. The power, therefore, which is 
 now called judicial, is what was called the executive; and, confe- 
 quenily, one or other of the terms is redundant, and one of the 
 offices ufelefs. When we fpeak of the crown now, it means no- 
 thing; it fignifies neither a judge nor a general ; befides which, it 
 is the laws that govern, and not the man. The old terms are kept 
 up, to give an appearance of confeqi;ence to empty forms ; and 
 the only efF<^6l they have, is that ot increafing expencc?. 
 
 Before I proceed to the means of rendering governments mora 
 conducive to the general happinefs of mankind, than they are at 
 prefent, it '/rill not be improper to take a leview of the progrefs 
 of taxation in England. It is a general idea, that when taxes are 
 once laid on, they are never taken ofF. However true this may 
 have been ot late, it was not always fo. Either, therefore, the 
 people of former times were more watchful over government than 
 thofe of the prefent, or government was adminiftered with lefs 
 extravagance. It is now feven hundred years fince the Norman 
 conquelf, and the eftabliOiment of v,rhat is called the crown. — 
 Taking this portion of time in feven fepara'e periods of one htir- 
 dred years each, the amount of the annual taxes, at each period^ 
 will be as follows : 
 
 Annual amount of taxes levied by Vv'illinm ihe 
 
 Conqueror, beginning in the year ic65, — /' 400,000 
 
 Annital 
 
( ^4 ] 
 
 Annual amount of taxes at one hundred years 
 
 from the conquel}, (ii66j — — — — Z' 200,000 
 Annual amount of taxes at two hundred years 
 
 from the conqueft, (1266) — — -— 1^0,000 
 
 Annual amount of taxes at shree hundred years 
 
 from the conqueft, (1366) — — — ■ 130,000 
 
 Annual amount of taxes at four hundred years 
 
 from the conqueil, (1466) — — — 100,000 
 
 Thefe flatements, and thofe vvluch foilovv, are taken from Sir 
 John Sinclair's Hiflory of the Revenue; hy which it appears, 
 ihat taxes continued decreafing for four hundred years, at the ex- 
 piration of which time they were reduced three-fourths, viz. from 
 lour hundred tboufand pounds to one hundred thoufand. The 
 people of England of the prefent day, have a traditionary and hif- 
 torical idea of ihc bravery of their anceftors ; but whatever their 
 vir'ues or their vices might have been, they certainly were a 
 people who would not be impofcd upon, and v/hc kept govern- 
 ment in awe as to taxation, it not as to principle. Though they 
 were not able to expel the monarchical ufurpation, they repair- 
 ed it to a republican oeconomy of taxes. Let us nov/ review th-e 
 remaining three hundred years : 
 
 Annual amount of taxes at five hundred years 
 
 from the conqueft, (1566) — •— — ^'500,000 
 Annual amount ot taxes at fix hundred years 
 
 from the conqueft, (1666) — — — i,8oo,oco 
 
 Annual amount ot taxes at the pretent time, (1791) 17,000,000 
 
 The difference between the firft four hundred years and the laft 
 three, is fo aftonifliing, as to warrant an opinion, that the national 
 charaBer of the EngUfh has changed. It would have been im- 
 pofTible to have dragooned the former Englifh into the excels of 
 taxation that now exifts ; and when it is confidered, that the pay 
 of the army, the navy, and of all the revenue-officers, is the 
 fame now as it was above a hundred years ago, when the takes 
 were not above a tenth part of what they are at prefent, it appears 
 impofTible to account for the enormous increafe and expenditure, 
 on any other ground, than extravagance, corruption, and intrigue.* 
 
 With 
 
 * Several of the court ncw»-papcr» have of late made frequent 
 raentioD of V/at Tyler. That hit memory fhould be iraduccJ b>- 
 couft fycophaot*, and ail thofe who live on the fpoil of <i pobiic, Js 
 cot to Ve wondered at. He wa», however, the means of checking 
 the rage and irju(^icc of taxuion in his fiinr, and the nstloD owed 
 Biuch to his valour. The hiftory \» conciieir ihii : In the time of 
 Richard the fecoi;d, .1 poil-tax was levied, of ooe shilling per head, 
 fin every perfon in the nation, of whatever cftste or condiiioo, on 
 poor a« well 38 rich, above the a;;e of 15 years. If any favour wa» 
 Hiewn ia the law, it was to the rich, rather than to the poor; «» uo 
 
 p erf Oft 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 With the revolution of 1688, and more fo fince the Hdnover 
 fuccellun, came the dcftrutlive fyftem of continental intrigues, and 
 the rage for foreign wars and foreign dominion; fyileins of fuch 
 fecure myftery, that the expences admit ot no accounts ; a {in;^^le 
 line l^ands for millions. To what excels taxaiion might have ex- 
 tended, had not the French revolution contributed to break up the 
 fyftem, and put an end to pretences, it is irr.pcflible to fay. View- 
 ed, as that revolution ought to be, as the fortunite means of lef- 
 fcning the load of taxes of both countries, it is of as much import- 
 ance to England as to France; and, if properly improved, to all 
 the advantages of which it is capable, and to whicii it leads, de- 
 ferves as much celebration in one country as the other. 
 
 In purfuiug this fubje^f, I ihall begin with the matter that firll 
 
 prefents 
 
 perfon could be chargid more than twenty fliillings for himfelf, farai- 
 If, and lervarits, though ever fo numeroui : while all o:her fami- 
 Iie», uoder rhe ncahei' of twenty, were charged pec head. PoH-taxea 
 had a'ways been odioun ; but thi* being aifo opprc^Tive and unj-jft, it 
 excited, as it naturally mufl, univerfal deteflation among th- poor 
 and mdilie cJaues, The pcrfoa known by the name of Wat Tyler^ 
 whofe proper name was Walter, and a tyler by tra'e, lived at Dept- 
 ford. The gatherer of the poll-tax, on coming ro his houfe, demand- 
 ed tas f 0; one of his daughters whom T/ler declared was under the 
 r-.ge ot fifteen. The tax-gatherer in(:ltcd on fa'isfring himfeif, and 
 began an indecent examination of the girl, which enraged the father, 
 he ftriick him whh a hammar, that brought him to the ground, and 
 wa» the caufe of his death. 
 
 This circumftance ferved to bring the difcontents to an ifTue. The 
 inhabitants of the neighbourhood efpoufed tlie caufe of Trier, who, 
 in s few days was joined, according to fome hifvorians, by upward* 
 of fifty thoufand men, and chofen their chief. With this force he 
 marched to London, to demand an abolition of the tax, and a redrefs 
 of other grievances. The court, finding i;fclf in a forlorn condition, 
 and unable to make refiftance, agree I, with Richard at its head, to 
 hold a conference with Tyler in fcmiihneld, making many fair pro- 
 feffions, couriier-like, of its difpofuions to redrefs ihe opprertionsi 
 Wh;ic R-ichard and Tyler were in converfation on the(e matters, 
 each being on horfeback. Wslwrrth, then mayor of London, and one 
 of the creatures of the court, watched an opportunity, and, Ike a 
 cowardly afTatiJu, ftabbed Tyler with a dagger ; and two or three 0- 
 ihers falling upon him, he wa« iuftantly facrificcd, 
 
 Tjler appears to hare been an intrepid, dirmtereded man, with 
 refpect to himftif. Ail his propof^Is made to Richaid, were on a 
 mo e jvftaud public giouud, than tbofe who had been made to John 
 by the Borons; and not wuhllanding the fycophancy of hiftorians, and 
 men like Mr. Burke, who teek to glols over a bafe «ftiou of the court, 
 by traducing rjrlcr, his fame will outlive heir falfeliood. If the Ba- 
 tons rn^rited a moaument to be ereftcd in liuaayniec^e, Tyler raent« 
 «ne in l^mithfiele!, 
 
 i 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 prefents lifeli, that -^i leffening the burthen of taxes; and fh all 
 then add fiich matters and propofiiions, refpecting the three coun- 
 tries ot England, Fiance, and A-nerica, as the preft^nt profpeft 
 of things appears to juflify : I mean, an alliance of the three, for 
 the purpofes that will be mentioned in their proper place. What 
 has happened may happen again. By the (latement before ftiovvn 
 oi theprogrtls of taxation, it is [etn^ that taxes have been lelFen- 
 ed to a fourth part of what they had formerly been. Though the 
 prefent circumllances do not admit of the fame reduftion, yet they 
 admit of fuch a beginning, as may accomplifh that end in lefs time, 
 than in the former cafe. 
 
 The amount of taxes for the year, ending at Michaelmas 1788, 
 was as foUows : 
 
 Land tax, — — • £ 1,950,000 
 
 Cuftoms, — — — 3,789,274 
 
 Excife, (including old and new malt,) — 6,751,727 
 Stamps, — — 1,278,214 
 
 Mifcelianeous tiixes and incidents, — ^'^03,755 
 
 Since the year 1788, upwards of one million, new taxes, have 
 been laid on, behdes the produce from the lotteries ; and as the 
 taxes have in general been more produftive fince than before, the 
 amount may be taken, in round numbers at £ 17,000,000 
 
 N. B. The exponce of colleftion and the draw-backs, which 
 together amount to nearly two millions, are paid out of the grofs 
 amount ; and the above is the nett ium paid into the exchequer. 
 
 This fum of feventeen millions is applied to two different pur- 
 pofes; the one to pay the intereft of the national debt, the other 10 
 the current expences of eacli year. About nine millions are ap- 
 propriated to the former; and tlie remainder, being nearly eight 
 millions, to the latfcr. As to the million, faid to be applied to 
 the renufcfion of the debt, it is fo much like paying with one hand 
 and taking out with the other, as not to merit much notice. 
 
 It happened, fortunately for France, thtt (he pofTeirf^d national 
 domains for paying off her debt, and thereby lellening her taxes : 
 but as this is not the cafe in England, her reduilion of taxes can 
 only take place by reducing the current expences, which may now 
 be done to the amount of four or five millions annually, as will 
 hereafter appear. When this is accomplilhed, it will more than 
 counterbalance the enormous charge of the American war; and 
 the faving will be from the fame fource from whence the evil arofe. 
 
 As to the national debt, however heavy the intereif may be in 
 taxes ; yet, as it ferves to keep alive a capital, ufeful to commerce, 
 it balances by its effe/Tis a confiderable part of its own weight; anii 
 as the quantity of gold and hlyer in England is, by fome means or 
 
 other. 
 
( 6; ) 
 
 pther, fhort of its proper proportion*, (being not more than twen- 
 ty millions, whereas it fh)uld be fixty,) it would, befides the in- 
 juftice, be bad policy to diflinguifh a capital that ferves (o fupply 
 that defeft. But with refpeft to the current expeuce, whatever ^s 
 fdved therefrom is gain. Ttie excefs may ferve to keep corrupti- 
 on alive, but it has nore-a6Hon on credit and commerce, hkethc 
 interefl: of the deb% 
 
 It is now very probable, that fhe Engllfh government (I do not 
 mean the nation) is unfriendly to the French revolution. What- 
 ever fei ves to expofe the intrigue and leflim the influence of courts, 
 by lefTening taxation, will be unwelcome to thole who feed upon 
 the fpoil. Whilil the clamour of French intrigue, arbitrary pow- 
 er, popery, and wooden ihoes could be kept up, the nation was 
 eafily allured and alarmed into taxes. Thofe days are now 
 paft ; deception, it is to be hoped, has reaped its lad harveft, 
 and better times are in profpeft tor bodi countries, and for the 
 world. Taking it for granted, that an alliance may be formed 
 between England, France, and America, for the purpofes here- 
 after to be mentioned, the national expences of France and En- 
 gland may confequenty be lefTened. The iame fleets and armies 
 will no longer be neceffary to either, and the reduftion can be 
 made fliip tor (hip on each fide. But to accomplifh thefe objefts, 
 the governments muft necelfarily be fitted to a common and cor- 
 rcfpondent principle. Confidence can never take place, while an 
 boflile difpofiuon remains in either, or where myflery and fecre- 
 cy on one fide, is oppofed to candour and openefs on the other. 
 
 Thefe matters admitted, the national expences might be put 
 back, for the faL of a precedent^ to what they were at fome period 
 when France and England were not enemies. This, confequent- 
 ly, muil be prior to the Hanover fucceiTion, and alfo to the re. 
 volution of i688t. The firfl inflance that prefents itfelf, antece- 
 dent 
 
 * Foreign intrigue, fereign war», end foreign dorr3,Jaion», will ia 
 a great nieafure account for the deficiency. 
 
 f I happened to be in England at the celebration o» the ceatenary 
 of the revolution of 1688. The charafte s of William and Mary hav« 
 always appeared to me deteftabic; the one feeking to d^ftroy hit. un- 
 cle, and the other her father, to get poffelHon of po*er therafelves : 
 yet C3 the nation was difpofed to think fomething of thst event, I felt 
 hurt at feeing it afcribe the whole reputation of it to a man who had 
 undertaken it asajobb, and who, befidei what he otherwife go<-, 
 charged fix hundred thoufand pound* for the cxpence of the little 
 fleet that brought him from Holland. George the Firft afted the fame 
 clofe-fifted part as William h^d done, and bought ihe Dtitchy of Brc- 
 min with the money he got fcom England, two hundred and fifty 
 thoufand pounds over and above his pay ai king; and having thus 
 purchafed at the expence of England, added it to bis Hanoverian do- 
 minions for his own private profit. In fafi every nation that docs 
 cat govern itfelf, ii governed a» ajobb. En^landhai been the prey 
 «f jobb» ever fiucc the leroluiion. 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 dent to thofe dates, is in the very waftful and proffligate times of 
 Charles the Second ; at which time England and France afted as 
 allies. If I have chofen a period oi great extravagance, it will 
 ferve to (how modern extravagance in a ftil! worfe light ; efpeci- 
 ally as the pay of the navy, the army, and the revenue officers has 
 not encreafed fince that time. 
 
 The peace eftdhllfliment was then as follows: — See Sir John 
 Sinclair's Hiftory of the Revenue. 
 
 Nav)', — — — — — 300,000 
 Arm.y, — — — — — 212,000 
 Ordnance, — — — — . 40,000 
 
 Civil Lift, — — — • — 462,115 
 
 /'i,oi4,ii5 
 The parliament, however, fettled the whole annual peace efta^ 
 blifhment at 1,200,000 1. If we go back to the time of Elizabeth, 
 the amount of all the taxes was but ha'f a million, yet the natior* 
 fees nothing duiing that period, that reproaches it with warn of 
 confequence. 
 
 All circumftances then taken together, arifing from the French 
 revolution, from the approaching harmony and reciprocal intereft 
 of the two nations, the abolition of court intrigue on both fides, 
 and the progrefs of knowledge in the fcience of government, the 
 annual expenditure might be put back to one million and an half, 
 viz. Navy, — — — 500,000 
 
 Aimy, — — — 500,000 
 
 Expences of government, -^ 500,000 
 
 /^ 1,500,000 
 Even this ftim is fix times greater than the expences of govern- 
 meru are in America, yet the civil internal government in Eng- 
 land, (I mean thai adminiflered by means of quarter fefTions, ju- 
 ries, and affize, and which, in fa6^, is nearly the whole, and per- 
 foimed by the nation) is lefs expence upon the revenue, than the 
 fame fpecies and portion of government is in America. 
 
 It is lime that nations fhould be rational, and not be governed 
 like ..nimals, for the pleafure of their riders. To read the hiftory 
 of kings, a man would be almoft inclined to luppofe that govern- 
 ment conlifted m ftag-hniiLing, and that every nation paid a million 
 a year to a huntlman. Man ought to have pride, or (hame enough 
 to biulh at being thus impofcd upon, and when he feels his pro- 
 per chaiafcter, he will. Upon all fubjt^tts of this nature, there is 
 
 often 
 
 f Charles, like his prcdecflfon and fuccelTort, finf^ing that war wa« 
 the harvef! of governments, engaged in a war with the Dntcb, the 
 expence of which iocreafed the annual expenditure to i,8oo.oool. 
 8» ftated under the date of 1666', but the peace eflablifhment was 
 but 1,200^0001. 
 
{ tig ) 
 
 often pafTinc; in the mind, a train of ideas he has not yet accuftom- 
 ed himielt lo encourage and communicate. Reilrained by forne- 
 thing that puts on the charafter ot prudence, he a6h the hypo- 
 crite upon himleH as well as to others. It is, however, curious 
 to obferve iunv foon this fpell can be diffolved. A fnii^le expief- 
 fion, boldly conceived and uttered, will fome imes put a whole 
 company into their proper feelings ; and whole nations are a6fed 
 upon in the fame manner. As to the offices of which any civil 
 government may be compofed, it matters but little by what names 
 ihey are defcnbed. In the rotine of bufincfs, as before obierved, 
 whether a man be flyled a prefident, a k ng, an emperor, a fenator, 
 or any thing elfe, it is impofiiblc that any fervice he can pertorin, 
 can merit h om a nation more than ten tliouiand pounds a year ; and 
 as no roan Ihould be paid beyond his fervices, lo every man of a 
 proper heart will not accept more. Public money ought to be 
 touched with the moft Icruuulous confcioidnels of honour. Ii is 
 not the produce ul riches o? ly, but (>f the hard earnings of labour 
 and poverty. It is drawn even from the bitterneis of want and 
 mifery. Not a beggar paifes, or perifhes in the ftrtets, whofe mite 
 is not in that rnafs. 
 
 Were it pcflible that the Congrefs of America, could be fo loH 
 to their duty, and to ttie intereil of their conftltuents, as to offer 
 General Waihington, as prefident of America, a million a year, 
 he would not, and he could not accepi it. His fenfe of honour 
 is of another kind. It has coft Eng'and almoft feventy millions 
 flerling, to maintam a family imported from abroad, of very in- 
 ferior capacity to thouC^nds in the nation ; and fcarcely a )ear has 
 paffed ihat has not produced fome new mercenary application. — 
 Even the phyficians bil's have been fent to thepublic to be paid. No 
 wonder that jails are crowded, and taxes and poor rates increafed. 
 Under fuch fyffems, nothing is to be looked for but what has al- 
 ready happened; and as to reformation, whenever it comes, itmuft 
 be trom the nation, and not from the government. 
 
 To fliow that the lum of five hundred thoufand pounds is more 
 than fufficient to defray all the expences of government, exclufive 
 of navies and armies, the toUowing eitimate is added for asy coun- 
 try, of the fame extent as England. 
 
 In the firft place, three hundred rcprefcntatives, fairly elecled, 
 are fufficient for all the purpofcs to which legiflation can apply, and 
 preferable to a larger number. They may be divided iotO two or 
 three houfes, or meet in one, as in France, or in any manner a 
 conftitution fhall direft. As reprefentation is always confidered, 
 in tree countries, as the moil honourable of all ftafions, the allow- 
 ance made to it is merely to defray the expence which the rcpre- 
 fcntatives incur by that fervice, and not to it as an ofHce. 
 If an allowance, at the rate of five hund ed pounds 
 per arm. be inade to every reprefentative, deduct- 
 
( 7° ) 
 
 ing tor non-attendance, the expence, if the whole 
 number attended for fix months, each year, would 
 be — — — — /"75.oo» 
 
 The official departments cannot reafonably exceed 
 tlie following number, with the falaries annexed : 
 
 Three offices. 
 
 at/- 
 
 10,000 each 
 
 — 
 
 /'3o>oo<? 
 
 Ten ditto. 
 
 at 
 
 ,5000 each 
 
 — 
 
 30,000 
 
 Twenty ditto, 
 
 at 
 
 2000 each 
 
 — 
 
 40,000 
 
 Forty ditto, 
 
 at 
 
 1000 each 
 
 _ 
 
 40,000 
 
 Two hundred ditto, 
 
 at 
 
 500 each 
 
 — 
 
 100,000 
 
 Three hundred ditto, 
 
 at 
 
 200 each 
 
 — 
 
 6o,coo 
 
 Five hundred ditto, 
 
 at 
 
 100 each 
 
 — 
 
 30,000 
 
 Seven hundred ditto. 
 
 at 
 
 75 each 
 
 
 52,300 
 
 
 ^497^500 
 
 If a nation choofe, it can dedu6l {out per cent, from all offices, 
 and mike one of twenty thoufand per annum. 
 
 All revenue officers are paid out of the monies they colleft, and 
 therefore are not in this eftimation. 
 
 The foregoing is not offered as an exaft detail of offices, but 
 to ihow the number and rate of falleries which five hundred thou- 
 fand pounds will fupport ; and it will on experience, be found 
 imprafticable to find bufmefs fufficient to jullify even this expence. 
 As to the manner in which office bufinefs is now performed, the 
 Chiefs, in feveral offices, fuch as the poll-office, and certain of- 
 fices in the exchequer, &c. do little more than fign their names 
 three or four times a year ; and the whole duty is performed by 
 under clerks. 
 
 Taking, therefore, one million and a half as a fufficient peace 
 cflabiiffiment for all the honeft purpofes of government, which is 
 three hundred thoufand pounds more than the peace eftablifhment 
 in the profligate and prodigal times ol Charles the Second, (not- 
 withftanding, as has been already obferved, the pay and fallaries 
 of the army, navy, and revenue officers, continue the fame as 
 at that period,) there will remain a fu plus of upwards of fix mil- 
 lions out of the prefent current expences. The queftion then will 
 be, how to difpofe ot this furplus. 
 
 Whoever has obferved ihe manner in which trade and taxes 
 twift themfelves together, muft be fenfible of the impoffibility of 
 feparating them fudden'y. 
 
 Firft. Becaufe the articles now on hand are already charged 
 with the duty, and tlie redutlion cannot take place on the prefent 
 flock. 
 
 Secondly. Becauf-^, on all thofe articles on which the duty is 
 charged in the grofs, fuch zs per barrel, hogfhead, hundred weight, 
 or ton, the abolition of the duty does not admit. of being divided 
 
 down 
 
( 7« ) 
 
 down fo as fully to relieve the confumer, who purchafes by the 
 pint or the poimd. The laft duty laid on ftrong beer and ale, was 
 three fhillings per barrel, which, if taken off, would leffen the 
 purchafeonly half a farthing /?fr pint, and, confequently, would 
 not reach to praftical relief. 
 
 This being the condition of a great part of the taxes, it will be 
 necellary to look for fuch others as are free from this embarrafT- 
 ment, and where the relief will be Aut£i and vifible, and capable 
 of immediate operation. 
 
 In the firft place, then, the poor-rates are a direft tax which 
 every houle-keeper feels, and who knows alfo, to a farthing, the 
 fura which he pays. The national amount of the whole of the 
 poor-rates is not politively known, bur can be procured. Sir 
 John Sinclair, in his Hiftory of the Revenue, has ftated it at 
 2 2,100,587. A confiderable part of which is expended in liti- 
 gations, in which the poor, inllead of being relieved, are torment- 
 ed. The expence, however, is the lame to the parifb, from what- 
 ever caufe it arifes. 
 
 In Birmingham, the amount of the poor-rates is fourteen thou- 
 fand pounds a year. This, though a large (urn, is moderate, com- 
 pared wirh the population. Birmingham is faid to contain leventy 
 thoufand (ouls, and on a proportion of feventy thourand to four- 
 teen thoufand pounds poor-rates, the national amount of poor- 
 rates, taking the population of England at leven millions, would 
 be but one million four hundred thoufand pounds. It is, there- 
 tore, moft probable, that the population of Birmingham is over- 
 rated. Fourteen thoufand pounds is the proportion upon fifty 
 thoufand fouls, taking two millions of poor-rates as the national 
 amount. Be it, however, what it may, it is no other than the 
 confequence oi the excefTive burthen of taxes; for, at the time 
 when the taxes were very iow, the poor were able to maintain 
 themfeives; and there were no poor rates.* In the prefent Itate 
 of things, a labouring man, with a wife and two or three children, 
 does not pay lefs than between feven and eight pounds a 3'ear in 
 taxes. He is not fenfible of this, becaufe it is difguifed to him in 
 the articles which he buys, and he thinks oniv of their dearnefs : 
 but as the taxes lake from him, at lead, a fourth part of his yearly 
 earnings, he is confequently difabled from providing for a family, 
 efpecially if himfelf, or any oi them, are affli6fed with iiclinefs. 
 
 The firft ftep, therefore^ of practical relief, v/ould be to abolifh 
 the poor-rates entirely, and in lieu therecl, to make a remififion of 
 taxes to the poor q[ double the amount of the prefent poor-rates, 
 viz. four millions annually out 01 the furplus taxes. By this 
 tneafure, the poor would be benefited iw^o millions, and the houfe- 
 
 keepers 
 
 * Poor-ratei began about fl:e tirae of Henrj the Eighth, when the 
 taxci began to increafe, aa:l the/ Jiavc iacreaf^d as t!i3 t ixci incrcifcil 
 cycr fiace. 
 
( 7^ ) 
 
 keepers two miliions. This alone would be equal to a reduftlon 
 ot one hundred and twenty millions of the national debf, and con- 
 fcqucntlv equal to the whole expence of the American war. It 
 will {hen remain to be confidered, which is the moil effcftual 
 mode ui dilhibuting tills remifTion of four millions, li. is eahly 
 feen, ihdi <he poor are g':;ner^lly compofcd of large families of 
 childien, and old people paii their labour. If thefe two clafles 
 are j)rovidcd foi, the remedy will fo far reach to the lull exienr of 
 the cafe, that what remains will be incidental, and, in a great mea- 
 furc, fall within ihe compafs oi benefit clubs, which, though of 
 humble inveiiiion, merit to be ranked among the bed of modern 
 inflituiions. 
 
 Admitung England to contain ievcn millions ot fouls; if one 
 fifih thereot are of that clafs of poor which need fupporr, the: 
 number will be one mitiion four hundred thoufand. Of this num- 
 ber, one hundred and forty thoufand will be aged poor, as will 
 be hereafter (hown, and for which a diftintt provihon will be 
 propofed. There will then remain one miihon two hundred and 
 fixt) thoufand, which, at five louis to each family, amount to two 
 hundred and htty two thoufand families, rciideied- poor from the 
 exprnce of children and the weight of idxes. 
 
 The number of chitdren under fourteen years of age, in each 
 of thofe farailes, will be found to be about live to every two fami- 
 lies; fome having two, and others three ; fome one, and others 
 ioui ; fome none, and others five; but it rarely happens that more 
 than five are under fourteen years of age, and after this age ihcy 
 are capable of fervice or of being apprenticed. 
 
 Allowing five children (under fourteen years) to every two 
 families. 
 
 The number of the children will be 630,000 
 
 The number of parents, were they all living 
 would be 504,000 
 
 It is ccriain that if the children are provided for, the paients 
 are releived of coufequencc, becaufe it is from the expence of 
 bringing up children that their poverty arifes. 
 
 Having thus afceitained the greateft number that can be fup- 
 pofed to need fupport on account of young lamilie.s, 1 proceed 
 10 ihe mode oi relief or diffiibulion, which is, to pay as a remifTion 
 ot taxes to every poor family, out of the furplus taxes, and in 
 room of poor-rates, four pounds a ) ear for every child under 
 fourteen years of age ; enjoining tfie parents of fuch children to 
 fend them to fchool, to learn reading, writing, and common 
 arithmetic; the miniffers of every parifh, of every denomination, 
 to ccrcify jointly 10 an (jfTice, for that purpoie, that this duty is 
 performed. The amount of this expence will be, 
 
 for fix hundred and thirty thouiand 
 
 childien, at four pounds />^r fl?^'?. each, £. 2,^20,000 
 
 By 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 By adopting this method, not only the poverty of the parents 
 will be relieved, but ignorance will be baniftied from the riling 
 generation, and the number of poor will hereafter become lels, 
 becaufe their abilities, by the aid of education, will be greater. 
 Many a youth, with good natural genius, who is apprenticed to 
 a mechanical trade, fucii as a carpenter, joiner, millwright, (hip- 
 wright, black-fmuh, &c. is prevented from getting forward the 
 whole of his life, for want of a little common education when a boy. 
 
 I now proceed to the cafe ot the aged. 
 
 I divide age into two clafTes. Firll, the approach of age begin- 
 ning at filty. Secondly, old age commencing at fixty. 
 
 At fifty, though the mental faculties of man are in lull vigour, 
 and his judgment better than at any preceding date, the bodily 
 powers for laborious life are on the decline. He cannot bear the 
 fame quantity of fatigue as at an earlier period. He begins to earn 
 lefs, and is lels capable of enduring wind and weather ; and in 
 thole more retired employments where much fight is required, he 
 fails apace, and fees himfelf, like an old horfe, beginning to be 
 turned adrift. 
 
 At fixty his labour ought to be over, at leaft from direft necef- 
 fity. It is painful to fee old age working itfelf to death, in what 
 are called civilized countries, for daily bread. 
 
 To iorm fome judgment of the number of thofe above fifty 
 years of age, I have feveral times counted the perfons I met in the 
 ftreets of London, men, women and children, and have general- 
 ly found that the average is about one in fixteen or feventeen. If 
 it be faid that aged perfons do not come much in the flreets, fo 
 neither do infants ; and a great proportion Oi grown children are 
 in fchools, and in work-ihops as apprentices. Taking then fixteen 
 for a devifor, the whole number of perfons, in England, of fifty 
 years and upwards of both fexes, rich and poor, will be four hun- 
 dred and twenty thoufand. 
 
 The perfons to be provided for out of this grofs number will be 
 hufbandmen, common labourers, journeymen of every trade and 
 their wives, failors, and difbanded foldiers, worn out fervants of 
 both fexes, and poor widows. There will be alfo a confiderable 
 number of middling tradefmen, who having lived decently in the 
 former part of life, begin, as age approaches, to lofe their bufmefs, 
 and at lafl fall to decay. 
 
 Befides thefe, there will be conftantly thrown off irom the re- 
 volutions of that wheel, which no man can flop, nor regulate, a 
 number from every clafs of life Gonne£led with commerce and 
 adventure. 
 
 To provide for all thefe accidents, and whatever elfe may befal, 
 I take the number of perfons, who at one time or other of their 
 lives, after fifty years of age, may feel it neceiliry or comfortable 
 to bs better fupporied, thaa they caa fuppgrt themfelves, and 
 
{ 74 ) 
 
 that not as a matter of grace and favour, but of right, at one third 
 of the whole number, which is one hundred and forty thoufand, 
 aS" Hated in page 72, and for whom a diftintl piovifion waspropof- 
 ed to be made. It there be more, fociety, notwiihdanding the 
 fhovv and pompofity of government, is in a deplorable condition 
 in England. 
 
 Ofilils one hundred and forty tlioufand, I take one half, (even- 
 ly thoufand, to beef the age of fifty and under fixty, and the o- 
 ther halt to be fixty years and upwards. — Having thus afcertained 
 the probable proportion of the number of aged perfons. I proceed 
 to the mode of rendering their condition comfortable, which is, 
 
 To pay to every fuch perfon of the age of fifty years, and until 
 he {hail arrive at the age of fixty, the fum cf fix pounds per ann. 
 out of the furplus taxes; and ten pounds )f?<fr ann, during life alter 
 the age of fixty. The expence of which will be, 
 
 Seventy thoufand perfons at £ 6 per ann. /' 420,000 
 
 Seventy thoufund ditto at 10 per ann, 700,000 
 
 / 1,120,000 
 This {upport, as ah'eauy remarked, is not ot the nature of a 
 charity, but of a right. Every perfon in England, male and fe- 
 male, pays on an average in taxes, two pounds eight fliiilings and 
 fixpence per ann. from the day of his for herj birth ; and, if the 
 expence of colleftion be added, he pays two pounds eleven (hil- 
 linc^s and fixpence ; coniequently, at the end of fifty years he has 
 paid one hundred and twenty eight pounds fifteen (hillings ; and at 
 fixty, one hundred and fifty-four pounds ten Ihiliings. Convert- 
 ing, therefore, his (or her) individual tax into a tontine, the mo- 
 ney he fliall receive after fifty yea-s, is but little more than the le- 
 gal intcreft of the nett money he has paid ; the reft is made up 
 from thofe v/hofe circumftances do not require them to draw fuch 
 fupport, and the capital in both cafes defrays the expences of go- 
 vernment. It is on this ground that I have extended the probable 
 claims to one-third of the number of aged perfons in the nation. — 
 Is it then better that the lives of one hundred and forty thoufand 
 aged perfons be rendered comfortable, or that a million a year of 
 public money be expended on any one individual, and him often 
 of the molt worthlefs or infignificant charaSler ? Let reafon and 
 juftice, let honour and humanity, let even hypocrify, fycophancy 
 and Mr. Burke, let George, let Louis, Leopold, Frederick, Ca- 
 tharine, Cornv^allis, or Tippoo Saib, anfwer the qucflion.* 
 
 The 
 
 * Reckoning ibe taxes by families five to a f-raily, C5ch family pays 
 on au average, 12I. 17a. 6d. per aon. to tbi« fuiii are to be aclded the 
 poor-ratei. Though all pay taxes in [he article* they confurae, al! 
 do noi pay' poor rates. About two million* aie exempted, fome as 
 
 floc bCJDg houfC'kccp^rii othw« as not h^i^z '^^^^i *^^ '^*^ P^""^ them- 
 
 £e!vcs. 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 The Turn thus remitted to the poor will be, 
 To two hundred and fifty-two thoufand poor 
 
 famihes, containing fix hundred and thirty 
 
 thouland children, — — 2,520,000 
 
 To one hundred and forty thoufand aged 
 
 perfons. — — — 1,120,000 
 
 Z' 3,640,000 
 There will remain then three hundred and fixty th(Mjfand pounds 
 out ot" the four millions, pan of which may be applied as follows : 
 After all the above cafes are provided for, there will {fill be a 
 number of families who, thougii not properly of the clals ot 
 poor, yet find it difficult to give education to their children ; and 
 fuch children, under luch a cafe, would be in a worfe condition 
 than if their parents were a6lually poor. A nation under a well 
 regulated government, (hould permit none to remain uninllru6ted. 
 It is monarchical and ariilocratical government only that requires 
 ignorance for its fupport. Suppofe then four hundred thoufand 
 children to be In this condition, which is a greater number than 
 ought to be fiippofed, after the provifions already made, the me- 
 thod will be, — to allow for each of thofe children ten fniilings a 
 year for the expence of fchooling, for fix years each, which will 
 give them fix months fchooling each year, and half a crov/n a year 
 lor paper and fpelling-books. The expence of this will be an- 
 nually* /' 250,000; there will then remain one hundred and ten 
 thoufand pounds. Notwithflanding 
 
 felves, who receive the relief. The average therefore, of poor- 
 raics ou the remaining number, is forty ihi lings for every family of 
 five perfons, which makes the whole average amount of taxes aa.l 
 ratea, 14I. 17*. 6<L For Cx perfoa*, 17I. 17s. For fevea perfons, 
 20I. i6>., 6U 
 
 The average of taxes io America, uno'er the new or reprefentstu'e 
 fyftera of government, including the inercft of the debt coatratted 
 in the war, and taking the popclation at four millions of fouU, which 
 in now amounts to, and it is daily iacCufrng, is five (hillings per 
 head, men, women, and children. The difference, therefore, be- 
 tween the two governrasnu, is as under, 
 
 England. America. 
 
 1. 8. d. 1. S. d. 
 
 For a family of five perfons 14 17 (5 i 50 
 
 For a family of fix perfons 17 17 o I 10 o 
 
 For a family of feveu perfons 20 16 6 i 15 o 
 
 * Public fchools do not anfwer tk£ general purpofe of the poor. 
 
 They are chiefly in corporation towns, from which ihe couatCT towns 
 
 and villages are excluded ; or if admitred, tl.c diftance nccaSons a 
 
 great lofs of time. Edocation, to be ufeful to the pocr, Ihould be oa 
 
 the fpot ; and the beft meihod, I believe, to accomplifii this, is to 
 
 eaable the parents to pay the expence themleivea. There arc slwayt' 
 
 fcifoaa 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 Notwithftanding the great modes of relief which the beft infti- 
 tuted and beft principled government may devife, there will Itill 
 be a number of fmaller cafes, which it is good policy as well as 
 beneficence in a nation to confider. 
 
 Were twenty fhillings to be given to every woman immediately 
 on the birth of a chi'd, who (hould make the demand, and none 
 will make it whofe circumftances do not require it, it might re- • 
 lieve a great deal of inftant diftrefs. 
 
 There are about two hundred thoufand births yearly in En* 
 gland ; and if claimed by one fourth, 
 
 The amount would be £ 50,000 
 
 And twenty {hillings to every new-married couple who fhould 
 claim in like manner. This would not txceed the fum o\ £10,000 
 
 Alfo twenty thoufand pounds to be appropriated, to detray the 
 funeral exptnces o\ perfons, who, travelling for work, may die 
 at a diftance from their triends. By relieving parifties fiom this 
 charge, the fick fti anger will be better treated. 
 
 I fhall finilh this part of the fubje^l with a plan adapted to the 
 particular condition of a metropolis, fuch as London. 
 
 Cdfes are continually occurring in a metropolis different from 
 ihofe which occur in the country, and for which a different, or 
 rather an additional mode of reliet is neceffary. In the country, 
 even in large towns, people have a knowledge of each other, 
 and diftrefs never arifes to that extreme height it fometimes does 
 in a metropolis. There is no fuch thing in the country as perfons, 
 in the literal fence oi the word, ftarved to death, or dying with 
 cold from the want of a lodging. Yet fuch cafes, and others e- 
 qually miferable, happen in London. 
 
 Many a youth comes up to London full of expeftations, and 
 -with little or no money, and unlefs he gets immediate employment 
 he is already half undone; and boys bred up in London without 
 any means ot a livelihood, and as it often happens of diffolute pa- 
 rents, are in a ftill worfe condition ; and fervants long out of place 
 are not much better off. In fhort, a world ot little cafes are con- 
 tinually arifing, which bufy or affluent life knows not of, to open 
 the fir ft door of diftrefs. Hunger is not among the pofponeable 
 wants, and a day, even a few hours, in fuch a condition, is often 
 the crifis of a life of ruin. 
 
 Thefe circumftances, which are the general caufe ot the little 
 
 thefts 
 
 pcrfoni of both fexe« to be found ia cverjr Tillage, efperiallf when 
 g;owiuj? into ycira, capable of fuch an undertaking. Twenty chil- 
 dren, at ten ,'hil nvs each, (and that not more than fix month* each 
 year) woild be as much a« fume livMign amount to in the remote parts 
 of England : and there arc often diftrcffed clergymen'* widow* to whom 
 luch an income would be acceptable. Whatever i* given on th'» ac- 
 count to children aafwers two purpofe*, to ihera it it tducatioo, t« 
 thafe who educate them it \% a livelihood. 
 
( n ) 
 
 thefts and pilferings that lead to greater, may be prevented. There 
 yet remain twenty thoufand pounds out of the four millions of 
 furplus taxes, which, with another fund hereafter to be mention- 
 ed, amounting to about twenty thoufand pounds more, connot 
 be better applied than to this purpofe. The plan then will be, 
 
 Firft, to ereft two or more buildings, or take fome arleady e- 
 refted, capable of containing at leafl fix thoufand perfons, and 
 to have in each of thefe places as many kinds of employment 
 as can be contrived, fo that every perfon who (hall come, may find 
 iomething which he or fhe can do. 
 
 Secondly, To receive all who fhall come, without enquiring 
 who or what they are. The only condition to be, that for fo 
 much, or fo many hours work, each perfon (hall receive fo many 
 meals of whofefome food, and a warm lodging, pitleaft as good as 
 a barrack. That a certain portion ot what each perlon's work 
 (hall be worth fhall be referved, and given to him or her, on their 
 going away ; and that each perfon fhall flay c.s long, or as fhort 
 time, or come as often as he choofe, on thefe conditions. 
 
 If each perfon flaid three months, it would afTift by rotation 
 twenty-four thoufand perfons annually, though the real number, 
 at all times would be but fix thoufand. Bv elf:iblifhing an afylum 
 ot this kind, fiich perfons to whom temporary diflrelfes occur, 
 would have an opportunity to recruit themfelves, and be enabled 
 to look out for better employment. 
 
 Allowing that their labour paid put one half the expence of fup- 
 porting them, after refervmg a portion of their earnings for them- 
 felves, the fum ot forty thoufand pounds additional would defray 
 all other charges for even a greater number than fix thoufand. 
 
 The fund very properly convertible to this purpofe, in addition 
 to the twenty thoufand pounds, remaining of the former fund, will 
 be the produce of the tax upon coals, and fo iniquitoufly and wan- 
 tonly applied to the fupport of the Duke ot Richmond. It is hor- 
 rid that any man, more efpecially at the price coals now are, fhould 
 Jive on the diftreffes of a community : and any government per- 
 mitting fuch an abufe, deferves tobe difmifled. This fund is faid 
 to be about twenty thoufand pounds per annu??i» 
 
 I fhall now conclude this plan with enumerating the feveral par- 
 ticulars, and then proceed to other matters. 
 The enumeration is as follows: 
 Firft, Abolition of two millions poor-rates. 
 Secondly, Provifion for two hundred and fifty two thoufand 
 poor families. 
 
 Thirdly, Education for one million and thirty thoufand chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Fourthly, Comfortable provifion for one hundred and forty 
 thoufand aged perfons. 
 
 Fifthly, Donation of twenty fhillings each, for fifty thoufand 
 births. Sixth 1)-, 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 Sixthly, Donation of twenty (hillings each, for twenty thou- 
 fa nd marriages. 
 
 Seventhly, Allowance of twenty thoufand pounds for the fu- 
 neral expences ot perfons travelling for work, and dying at a dif- 
 tance trom their Iriends. 
 
 Eighthly, Employment, at all times, tor the cafual poor in the 
 cities of London and Weftmiafter. 
 
 By the operation of this plan, the poor-laws, thofe inftruinents 
 of civil torture, will be fuperceded, and the waftrul expence of li- 
 tigition prevented. The hearts of the humane will not be (hock- 
 ed by ragged and hungry children, and perfons of feventy and 
 
 eighty years of age begging for bread. The d)ing poor 
 
 will not be dragged from place to place to breath their laft, as a 
 reprifal of parilli upon parilh. Widows will have a maintenance 
 for their childien, and not be carted away on the death of their 
 hulbjnds, like culprits and criminals; and children will no long- 
 er be confidered as increafing the diftreffes of their parents. — 
 The haunts of the wretched will be known, becaufe it will 
 be to thtir advantage, and the number of petty crimes, the 
 offspring of diifrefs and poverty, v/ill be lefTened. The poor as 
 well as the rich, will then be interefted in the fupport of govern- 
 ment, and the caufe and apprchenfion of tumult.) will ceafe. — ■ 
 Ye who fit ineafe, and folace yourfelves in plenty, and fuch there 
 are in Turky and Rufna, as well as in England, and who fay to 
 yourielves, *' Are we not well off," have ye thought of thefe 
 things? When ye do, ye will ceafe to fpeak and feel for your- 
 felves alone. The plan is eaiy in praftice. It does not embar- 
 rafs trade by a fudden interruption in the order of taxes, but ef- 
 fe£fs the relief by changing the application of them; and the mo- 
 ney necelTary for the purpofe can be drawn trom the excife col- 
 le6lions, which are made eight times a year in every market- 
 town in England. 
 
 Hiving now arranged and concluded this fubjeft, I proceed to 
 the next. 
 
 Taking the prefent current expences at feven millions and an 
 lialf, which is the le^it, amount they are now at, there will remain 
 (after the fum of one million and* an half be taken tor the new cur- 
 rent expences, and tour millions for the before-mentioned fervice) 
 the fuin of two millions; part of which to be applied as iollous : 
 
 Though fleets and armies, by an alliance with France, will, in a 
 great meafure, become ufelefs, yet the perfons who have devoted 
 themfelves to thofe it rvicer, and have thereby unfitted themfclves 
 for other lines of life, are not to be fuffercrs by the means that 
 make others happy. They are a difierent defcription of men from 
 thofe who torni or hang about a court. 
 
 A part ot the army v.'iil remain at lead for fome years, and alfo 
 of the navy, for which a provifion is already made in the former 
 
 part 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 part of this plan of one million, which is &lmoIl half a mi'lion 
 more ihan ihe peace eftablifhment of the army and navy in the pro- 
 digal limes of Charles the fecond. Suppofe then fiheen thoufand 
 foldiers to be difbanded, and to allow to each of thofe men three 
 (hillings a week during life, clear of all deduftions, to be paid in 
 the fame manner as the Chelfea College penfioners are paid, and 
 for them to return to their trades and their friends; and alfo to add 
 fifteen thoufand fixpences per v/eek to the pay of the foldiers who 
 fhall remain ; the annual expence will be 
 To the pay of fifteen thoufand 
 difbanded loldiers, at three 
 (hillings per week, — £i\-j,ooo 
 
 Additional pay to the remain- 
 ing foldiers, — 19.50"^ 
 Suppofe that the pay to the of- 
 ficers of the difbanded corps 
 be of the fame amount as the 
 fum allowed to the men, — 117,000 
 
 2,33,500 
 To prevent bulky eflimations, 
 admit the lame fum to the 
 difbanded navy as to the army, 
 and the fame increafe of pay, 253,^06 
 
 Total /'^ojjCoo 
 Every year fome part of this fum of half a million (I omit the 
 odd (even thoufand pounds for the purpofe of keeping the ac- 
 count unembarrailed) will lall in, and the whole of it in time, as 
 it is on the ground of life annuities, except the increafed pay of 
 twemynme thoufand pounds. As it falls in, a part of the taxes 
 may be taken off"; (or inftance, when thirty thoufand pounds fall 
 in, the duLV on hops may be wholly taken off ; and as other parts 
 fa!l in, the duties on cand'es and foap may be lelTened, till at lad 
 they will totally ceafe. There now remains at leaff one miilioii 
 and an half o( furplus taxes. The tax on houfes and windows is 
 one of thofe taxes, which, like the poor-rates, is not confounded 
 with trade ; and, when taken off, the relief will be indantly telt. 
 This tax falls heavy on the middling clafs of people. 
 The amount of this tax by the returns of 1788, was, 
 Houfes and windows by the aft of 1766, i 385,458 11 7 
 Ditto ditto by the a6f of 1779, 130,739 14 ^{ 
 
 Total /^5 16^199 ^ °i 
 If this tax be (Irack-off, there will then remain about one mil- 
 lion of furplus taxes, and as it is always proper to keep a fnin 
 in referve, for incidental matter?, it may be bell n^t to extend re- 
 
 «lu£lioiis 
 
( 8o ) 
 
 duftions further, in the firft inftance, but to confider what may be 
 accompli ihed by other modes ot reform. 
 
 Among ihe taxes mofl heavily feh is '^.he commutation tax. I 
 {hrtll, therefore, offer a plan for its abolition, by fubftituting ano- 
 ther m its place, which will effect three objefts at once : 
 
 Firli, That of removing the burthen to where it can bed be 
 borne. 
 
 Secondly, Reftoringjuftice among families by a diftribution of 
 property. 
 
 Thirdly, Extirpating the overgrown influence arifing from the 
 unnatural law of primogeniture, and which is one of the principal 
 fources of corruption at eleftions. 
 The amount of the commutation tax 
 
 by the returns ot 1788, was - - £77^^57 ^ ® 
 When taxes are propofed, the country is amufed by the plaufible 
 language of taxing luxuries. One thing is called a luxury at one 
 time, and fomethmg elfe at another; but the real luxury does not 
 confifl in the article, but in the means of procuring it, and this is 
 always kept out ot fight. 
 
 I know not why any plant or herb of the field {hould be a greater 
 luxury in one country than another, but an overgrown eitate in 
 either is a luxury at all times, and as luch is ihe proper objeft of 
 taxation. It is, therefore, right to take fhofe kind tax-making 
 genilemen up on their own word, and argue on the principle 
 themfelves have laid down, that of taxing luxuries. If they, or 
 their ci.ampion Mr. Burke, who, I fear, is growing out of date 
 like the man in armour, can prove that an eflate ot twenty, thirty, 
 01 forty thoufctnd pounds a year is not a luxury, I will give up the 
 argument. 
 
 Aamitting that any annual fum, fay for inffance, one thoufand 
 pounds, is neceffary or lufficient for the iupport of a family, 
 confequently the fecond thoufand is of the nature of a luxury, the 
 third ItiU more fo, and by proceeding on, we (hall at laft arrive 
 at a fum that may not improperly be called a prohibitable luxury. 
 It would be impolitic to fet bounds to property acquired by in- 
 duffry, and therefore it is right to place the prohibition beyond 
 the probable acquifition to which induftry can extend ; but there 
 ought to be a limit to property, or the accumulation of it, by 
 bequeft. It fliould pafs in fome other line. The richeft in every 
 nation have poor relations, and thofe often very near in confan- 
 guinity. 
 
 The following table of progrefTive taxation is conftrucled on 
 the above principles, and as a fubftitute for the commutation tax. 
 It will reacn the point of prohibition by a regular operation, and 
 thereby funercede the arillocratical law of primogeniture. 
 
 i _. TABLE I, 
 
{ 8i ) 
 
 T A B L E I. 
 
 * A tax on all cftatcs of the clear yearly value of fifty pounds, 
 after dedu6ling the land tax, and up s. d. 
 
 To/" 500 — — 03 per pound 
 
 From 500 to 1000 — — 06 per pound 
 
 On the fecond thoufand — ^9 P^r pound 
 
 Oa the third ditto — — 1 o per pound 
 
 Oil the fourth ditto — — t 6 per pound 
 
 On the fifth ditto — -— .• 2 o per pound 
 
 On the fixth ditto — — .30 per pound 
 
 On the feventh ditto — — 40 per pound 
 
 On the eighth ditto — — 5 o per pound 
 
 On the ninth ditto — — 60 per pound 
 
 On the ten.h ditto — — 70 per pound 
 
 On the eleventh ditto — — 80 per pound 
 
 On the twelfth ditto — — 90 per pound 
 
 On the thirteenth ditto r— lo o per pound 
 
 On the fourteenth ditto — 110 per pound 
 
 On the fifteenth ditto — -— 12 o per pound 
 
 ^n the fixteenth ditto — 13 o per pound 
 
 On the feventeenth ditto — 14 o per pound 
 
 On the eighteenth ditto — — * 15 o per pound 
 On the nineteenth ditto — — . 16 o per pound 
 On the twentieth ditto r-. — 170 per pound 
 
 On the twenty-firft ditto -^ 18 o per pound 
 
 On the twenty-fecond ditto — . 19 o per pound 
 
 On the twenty-third ditto — -^ 20 o per pound 
 The foregoing table (hows the progreflion per pound on every 
 
 progreffive thoufand. The following table (hows the amount of 
 
 the tax on every thoufand feparately, and in the laft column, thl^ 
 
 total amount of all the feparate furas collefted, 
 
 TABLE IL 
 
 An eftate of £ 50 pir ann, at 3d per pound, payi^ £0 12 6 
 
 100 3 J 5 o 
 
 200 3 a 10 o 
 
 300 3 3 15 o 
 
 400 3 ^00 
 
 300 3 750 
 
 After 500I. — the tax of fixpence per pound take$ place on the 
 
 fecond 500I. — Confequently, an ellate of loool, /?fr fl«?ia?», pays 
 
 51I. 15s. and fo on, 
 
 Total amount^ 
 1. 9. 1. I. 
 
 For the ift 500 at o 3 pec pound 
 
 
 1. 
 
 t. 
 
 d. 
 
 Ift 
 
 500 at 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 2d 
 
 500 at 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 ad 
 
 looo- at 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 34 
 
 lOQO at 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 7 Si 
 
 4 10 1 
 
 14 10 J -* 
 
 4th 
 

 
 ( 8" } 
 
 
 
 
 
 /. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 /. 
 
 J. 
 
 /. 
 
 li 
 
 4th looo at 
 
 I 
 
 6 per pound 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 
 5tb looo at 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 284 
 
 
 6th lOOo at 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 434 
 
 
 7th looo at 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 634 
 
 
 8th 1000 at 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 250 
 
 
 
 8«o 
 
 
 9th 1000 at 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 
 
 1 1 80 
 
 
 loth iooo at 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 350 
 
 
 
 1530 
 
 
 nth 1000 at 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 
 
 1930 
 
 
 I2th looo at 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 450 
 
 
 
 2380 
 
 
 13th IOOO al 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 »88o 
 
 
 14th IOOO at 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 550 
 
 
 
 3430 
 
 
 15th IOOO at 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 600 
 
 
 
 4030 
 
 
 1 6th IOOO at 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 650 
 
 
 
 4680 
 
 
 ijth looo- at 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 700 
 
 
 
 5380 
 
 
 1 8th IOOO at 
 
 J5 
 
 
 
 750 
 
 • 
 
 6130 
 
 
 19th IOOO at 
 
 1(5 
 
 
 
 800 
 
 
 
 6930 
 
 
 soth IOOO at 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 850 
 
 
 
 7780 
 
 
 2ift 1000 at 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 9C0 
 
 
 
 8680 
 
 
 ltd IOOO at 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 950 
 
 
 
 9<^30 
 
 
 23d io®o at 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 IOOO 
 
 
 
 10630 
 
 
 At the twenty-third thoufand the tax becomes twenty {hillings 
 in the pound, and confequently every thoufand beyond that fura 
 can produce no profit but by dividing the eftate. Yet, formida- 
 ble as this tax appears, it will not, I believe, produce fo much as 
 the commutation tax; (houla it produce more it ought to be low- 
 ered to that amount upon eftales under two or three thoufand a 
 year. 
 
 On (mall and middling eftates it is lighter (as it is intended to be) 
 than the commutation tax. It is not till after feven or eight thou- 
 fand a year that it begins to be heavy. The objeft is not lo 
 much the produce of the tax as the juftice of the meafure. The 
 ariftocracy has fcreened itfelf too much, and this ferves to reftore 
 a part of the loft equilibrium. 
 
 As an inftance of its fcreenlng itfelf, it is only necefTary to 
 look back to the firft eftablifhment of the exclfe laws, at what is call- 
 ed the Reftoration, or the coming of Charles the Second. The 
 arlftocratical intcreft then in power, commuted the feudal lervi- 
 ces, itfelf was under, by laying a tax on beer brewed ior Jaie; that 
 is, they compounded with Charles for an exemption from thofe fer- 
 vices for themfelves and their heirs, by a tax to be paid by other 
 people. The ariftocracy do not purchafe beer brewed for fale, 
 but brew their own beer free of the duty, and if any commutation 
 at that time were neceflary, it ought to have been at the expence 
 of thofe for whom the exemptions from thofe fervlces were in- 
 tended ; inftead of which it was thrown on an entire different 
 clafs of men. 
 
 But the chief obje£l of this progreflive tax (befides the juftice 
 of rendering taxes more equal than they are) is, as already ftated, 
 to extirpate the overgrown influence arifing from the unnatural 
 
 lavf 
 
( 83 ) 
 
 taw of primogeniture^ and which is one of the principal fourcei of 
 corruption at eieftions. 
 
 It would be attended with no good confequences to inquire how 
 fuch vaft eftates as thirty, forty, or fifty thoufand a year could 
 commence, atid that at a time when commerce and manufaftures 
 were not in a ftate to admit of fuch acquifitions. Let it be fuffici- 
 ent to remedy the evil by putting them in a condition of delcend- 
 iflg again to (he community, by the quiet means of apportioning 
 them among all the heirs and heireffes of thofe families. This 
 will be the more neceilary, becaufe hitherto the ariffocracy have 
 quartered their younger children and connexions upon the pub- 
 lic in ulelefs ports, places, and offices, which when abolifhed, 
 will leave them deftitute, unlefs the law of primogeniture be alfo 
 abolifhefl or fupei ceded. 
 
 A progreflive tax will, in a great meafure, cfFeft this objefl, and 
 that as a matter of intereft to the parties moft immediately con- 
 cerned, as will be feen by the following table', which fhows 
 the nett produce upon every eftate, after fubtrafting the tax. By 
 this it will appear, that after an eftate exceeds thirteen or four- 
 teen thoufand a year, the remainder produces put little profit to 
 the holder, and confequently will pafs either to the younger chil- 
 dren, or to other kindred. 
 
 TABLE IIL 
 
 Showing the nett produce of every eflate from one thoufand to 
 twenty -three thoufand pounds a year. 
 
 Ko. of thoufaadi 
 
 Total tax 
 
 Nett produce. 
 
 per ana. 
 
 fubtraaed. 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 1000 
 
 21 
 
 979 
 
 2000 
 
 59 
 
 1941 
 
 3000 
 
 109 
 
 2891 
 
 4000 
 
 184 
 
 3816 
 
 5000 
 
 284 
 
 4716 
 
 6000 
 
 434 
 
 5566 
 
 7000 
 
 ^34 
 
 ^366 
 
 8000 
 
 880 
 
 7120 
 
 9000 
 
 1180 
 
 7820 
 
 10,000 
 
 ^530 
 
 8470 
 
 11,000 
 
 1930 
 
 9070 
 
 12,000 
 
 2380 
 
 9620 
 
 13,000 
 
 £880 
 
 1Q,120 
 
 14,000 
 
 3430 
 
 io,57<^ 
 
 15,000 
 
 4030 
 
 10,970 
 
 16,000 
 
 4680 
 
 11,320 
 
 17,000 
 
 5380 
 
 11,620 
 
 18,000 
 
 6130 
 
 11,870 
 
 19,000 
 
 6930 
 
 12,170 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 16,600 ^']%0 tft,22« 
 
 21,000 8680 12,320 
 
 2sd,oco 9^3^ 12,370 
 
 23,000 10,630 12,37c 
 
 ^. -S. The odd {hillings are dropped in this table. 
 
 According to this table, an cd^te cannnot produce more than 
 £ 12,370 dear of the land tax and the progreftive tax, and there- 
 fore the dividing fuch eOates will follow as a matter ot family in- 
 tereft. An cftaie of Z' 23,000 a year, divided into five cftate* of 
 four ihoufand each and one of three, will be charged only/" 11^9. 
 -which IS but five ^ifr cent, but if held by oae pofTeifor, will be 
 charged £ 10,630. Although an inquiry into the origin of thofg 
 cftaies bt unncceflary, the continuation of them in their prclent 
 flate is another fubjeft. It is a matter of national concern. As 
 hereditary eftates, the law has created the evil, and it ought alfo 
 to provide the remedy, Primooeniture ought to be abolifhed, not 
 only becaufe it is unnatural and unjufl, but becaufe the country 
 fufFers by its operation. By cutting off (as before obfervcd) the 
 younger children irom their proper portion of inheritance, the 
 public is loaded with the expence of maintaining them, and the 
 freedom of eleftions violated by the overbearing influence which 
 this unjuft monopoly of family property produces. Nor is this 
 all. It occafions a wafte of national property. A confiderable 
 part of the land of the country is rendered unproduftive, by the 
 great extent of parks and chafes which this law ferves to keep up, 
 and this at a time when the annual produ£lion of grain is not equal 
 to the national conluraption.* — In fhort, the evils ot the ariHo- 
 cratical fyftem are fo great and numerous, fo inconfiflent with 
 every thing that is juft, wife, natural, and beneficent, that when 
 ' they are confidered, there ought not to be a doubt that many, who 
 are now clafled under that defcription, will wifii to lee fuch a fy- 
 flem aboli(hed. What pleafure can they derive from contem- 
 plating the expo fed condition, and almoft certain beggary of their 
 younger ofFsprmg? Every ariftocratical family has an appendage 
 ot family beggars hanging round it, which in a few ages, or a few 
 generations, are fhook off, and confole themfelves with telling 
 their tale in alm-houfes, work-houfes, and prifons. This is the 
 natural confequence of arifi.ocracy. The peer and the beggar are 
 often of the fame family. One extreme produces the other ; to 
 make one rich many mud be made poor; neither can the fyftem 
 be fupported by other means. There are two claffes of people to 
 whom the laws of England are particularly hoftile, and thofe the 
 moft he'plcfs ; younger children and the poor. Of the former I 
 have juft fpoken; of the latter I fhall mention one inftance out of 
 the many that might be produced, and with v.hii^h 1 (hall clofe 
 
 this 
 * 5ce the reporti on the corn trade. 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 tills fubje£l.-- Several l»ws arc in exiflence lor regulating and 
 
 limiting workmen's wages. Why not leave ihem free to make their 
 * wn bargain?, as tlie ldw-mal:ers are to let tlieir farms and hoiircs ? 
 Perfonal labour is all the properly they liave. Whv is that little, 
 and the little freedom they enjoy, to be infringed ? But the injuf- 
 VCQ will appear Wronger, if we confider the operation iind fffeti 
 f.f fach laws. When wages are fi>:ed by what is called a law, the 
 legal wages renidin ftationary, while every thing elfe is in pro- 
 gieiTion ; ard as thofo v/ho laake that law, 1H!1 continue to lay on 
 new taxes by other Izm'^, they increafc the cxpcncc ot living by 
 one lr:w, and take away the ireans by another. But it thofe gen- 
 t'eiTtrn law-makers and tax-makers thought it right to limit the 
 poor pittance which perfonal labour can produce, aiul on which 
 9 whole family i,; to be fupporled, they certainly rcuft feel thera- 
 felves happily indulged in a limitation on their own part, of not 
 jiffs than twelve thouland a year, and that of property they never 
 acquired, (nor probably any of their anceRors) and of which they 
 liavc made fo ill a ufe. 
 
 Having now finiflieJ this fubjecl, I iliVd bring the feveral par- 
 t'rr.lars into one view, and then prooeed to ether matters. 
 The firft Eight Articles are brought forward from pages yy 
 
 and 78. 
 
 1. Abolition of two millions poor-rates. 
 
 2. Piovifion for two hundred and fifty-two thoufand poor fa- 
 milies, at the rale of four pounds per head for each child under 
 fourteen years of age; which, with the addition of two hundred 
 and fifty thoufand pounds, provides alfo education for one million 
 and thiriy thoufand children. 
 
 3. Annuity of fix pounds (per ann.) each, for all poor perfons, 
 decaj'ed tradefraen, or others, (fuppofe feventy thoufand) of th.e 
 age of fifty years, and until fixty. 
 
 4. Annuity of ten pounds each for life for all poor perfons, 
 decayed tradefmen, and others, (fuppofe feventy thoufand) of the 
 age of fixty years. 
 
 5. Donation of twenty fhillings each for fifty thoufand births. 
 
 6. Donation of twenty fhillings each for twenty thoufand mar- 
 tiages. 
 
 7. Allowance of twenty thoufand pounds for the funeral cx- 
 pences of perfons travelling for work, and dying at a difiance 
 from their friends. 
 
 8. Employment at ail limes for the cafual poor in the cities of 
 London and Weflminfier. 
 
 Second Enumeration. 
 
 9. Abolition of the tax on houfes and windows. 
 
 10. Allowance of three {hillings per week for life to fi.ftecn 
 thoufand difbanded foldiers, and a proportionable allowance to the 
 officers of the difi^anded corps. i 1- Increafe 
 
1 ( 86 ) 
 
 11. Incrcafe of pay to the remaining (oldiers of 19,500/. m- 
 tiually. 
 
 12. The fame allowance to the difbanded navy, and the fame 
 encreafe of pay, as to the army. 
 
 13. Abolition of the commutation tax. 
 
 14. Plan of a progrefTive tax, operating to extirpate the unjuft 
 and unnaiural law of primogeniture, and the vicious influence of 
 the ariflrocratical fyftem.* 
 
 There yet remains as already dated, one million of furplus taxes. 
 Some part of this will be required for circumftances that do not 
 immediately prefent themfelves, and fuch part as fhall not be want- 
 ed, will admit a turther reduftion of taxes equal to that amount. 
 
 Among the claims that juftice requires to be made, the condi- 
 tion oi the interior revenue-officers will merit attention. It is « 
 reproach to any government to wafte fuch an immenfity of reve- 
 nue in finecures and nominal and unneceffary places and offices, and 
 not allow even a decent livelihood to thofe on whom the labour 
 falls. The falary of the inferior officers of the revenue, has flood 
 at the pcuy pittance of lefs than fifty pounds a year, for upwards 
 of one hundred years. It ought to be fevcnry. About one hun- 
 dred and twenty thoufand pounds applied to this purpofe, will put 
 all thofe falaries in a decent condition. 
 
 This was propofed to be done almoft twenty years ago ; but the 
 Treafury-Board then in being, ftartled at it, as it might lead to 
 fimilar expeftations from the army and navy ; and the event was, 
 
 that 
 
 * When ioquiriei are made into the condition of the poor, variouf 
 degree! of diftrefi will moft probably be found, to render a different 
 arrangement preferable to that which is already propofed* W'dows 
 with families will be in greater want than where there are hufbands 
 living. There it alfo a difference in the cxpence of living in different 
 counties ; and more fo in fuel. 
 
 Suppofe then fifty thoufand extraordinary cafes, at the rate of lol. 
 per family per annum, — — 500,000!. 
 
 100,000 Faiiiiliei,'at 81. per family per annum • 800,000 
 
 100.000 Families, at 7I. per family per annum *— 700,000 
 
 104,000 Families, at 5I. per family per annum - 520,000 
 
 And mftead of ten (hillings per head for the edocation 
 
 of other children, to allow fifty (hillings per family 
 
 for that purpofe to fifty thoufand families. 250,000 
 
 2,770,000 
 140,000 Aged petfons as before, - - 1,120,000 
 
 3,890,000!. 
 This arrangement amounts to the fame fum as flatcd in page 75, in- 
 cluding the 250,000!. for education ; but it provides (including the 
 aged people) for tour hundred and four thoufand fajuHics, which if 
 almoft eac third of 9U the families in England. 
 
{ 8; ) 
 
 tbat the King, or fomebody for him, applied to Parliament to 
 have his own falary raifed an hundred thoufand a year, which be- 
 ing done, every thing elfe was iaid afide. 
 
 With refpcft to another clafs of men, the inferior clergy, I for- 
 bear to enlarge on their condition; but all partialities and preju- 
 dices for, or againft, different modes and forms of religion afit e, 
 common jufticc will determine, whether there ought to be an in- 
 come ot twenty or thirty pounds a year to one man, and of ten 
 thoufand to another. I fpeak on this (ubjeft with more treedom, 
 becaufe I am known not to be a Prefbyterian ; and therefore the 
 cant cfy of court fycophants, about church and meeting, kept up 
 to amuie and bewilder the nation, cannot be raifed agamft me. 
 
 Ye fimple men, on both fides the queftion, do ye not fee 
 through this courtly craft ? If ye can be kept difputing and 
 wrangling about church and meeting, ye juft anfwer thepurpofe 
 of every courtier, who lives the while on the fpoil of the taxes, 
 and laughs at your credulity. Every religion is good that teaches 
 man to be good ; and I know of none that inftru6ts him to be bad. 
 
 All the before-mentioned calculations, fuppofe only fixteen 
 millions and an half of taxes paid into the exchequer, alter the 
 expence of colle6tion and drawbacks at the cultom-houfe and ex- 
 cife-officc are dedufted ; whereas the fum paid into the exche- 
 quer is very nearly, if not quite, feventeen millions. The taxes 
 raifed in Scotland and Ireland, are expended in thoie countries, 
 and therefore their favings wiil come out of their own taxes; but if 
 any part be paid into the Englifh exchequer, it might be remitted. 
 This will not make one hundred thoufand pounds a year dif- 
 ference. 
 
 There now remains only the national debt to be confidered. 
 In the year 1789, the intercfl, cxclufive of the tontine, was 
 9,150,138/. How much the capital has been reduced fince that 
 time the minifter heft knows. But after paying the intereft, abo- 
 lilhing the tax on houfesand windows, the commutation tax, and 
 the poor-rates; and making all the provifion for the poor, for the 
 education of children, the fupport of the aged, the difbanded 
 part of the army and navy, and increafing the pay of the remain- 
 der, there will be a furplus of one million. 
 
 The prefent fcheme of paying off the national debt appears to 
 me, fpeaking as an indifferent perfon, to be an ill concerted, if 
 not a fallacious job. The burthen of the national debt confifti 
 not in its being fo many millions, or fo many hundred millions, 
 but in the quantity of taxes coUefted every- year to pay the intereft. 
 If this quantity continue the fame, the burthen of the national 
 debt is the fame to all intents and pnrpofes, be the capital more or 
 lefs. The only knowledge which the public can have of the re- 
 duftion of the debt, muft be through the reduftion of taxe* for 
 paying the intereft. The debt, therefore,, is not reduced one fai- 
 
 lUin^ 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 thing to the public by all the millions that have been paid ; »nd i^ 
 would require more money now lo purchaft rip the capital, thiK? 
 ^vhen the Icheiiie began. 
 
 DigiefTino- (or a moment at this point, to which I flialJ return 
 again, 1 look back to the appointment of Mr. Pitt, as minifier. 
 
 I was then in America. The v/ar was over ; snd though re- 
 fentmenthad ceafed, memory was flill alive. 
 
 V/hen the news of the coaliiion arrived, though it was amaUef 
 of no concern to me as a citizen oi America, I fs:lt it as a 
 man. Il had fomething in it v^'hich fhockcd, by publicly f^-^ort- 
 ing with decency, if not with principle. It was injpudence in 
 Lord North, it was want of firmnefs in Mr. Fox. 
 
 Mr. Put was, at that time, what may be called a maiden cna- 
 ra^er in politics. So Far from being hackneyed, lie appaarrd 
 not to be initated into the firft mylleriex of court intrigue. Every 
 thing was in his favour. Pv^efeniment againft the coalition ferved 
 as friendfhip to him, and his ignorance of vice v.'as credited lor 
 virtue. With tlic return of peace, commeice and profperity wouild. 
 rife of itfelf; yet even this increafe was thrown to his account. 
 
 When he came to the helm the Itorm was over, and he hadiio- 
 thing to interrupt his courfe. It required even ingenuity to be 
 wiong, and he fucceedcd. A little time fliowed him the fame 
 fort of a man as his predecelfors had been. Inftead of profiting 
 by iho(e errors v/hich had accumulated a burthen of taxes unparreJ- 
 Jed in the woild, he fought, I might almoft fay, he advcrtifed for 
 enemies, and provoked means to encreale taxation. Aiming at 
 fomething, he knew not what, he ranfacked Europe and India 
 for adventures and abandoning the fair preleniions he began with, 
 became the knioht-errant of modern times. 
 
 o 
 
 It is unpleafant to fee chara6ier throw itfelf away. It is more fo 
 to fee one's-felf deceived. Mr. Pitt had merited nothing, bathe 
 promifed much. He gave fymptoms of a mind fuperior to the 
 meannefs and corruption of courts.jHis apparent candour encou- 
 raged expeftations; and the public confidence, Sunned, wearied, 
 and confounded by a chaos of parties, revived and attached itfelf 
 to him. But miftaking, as he has done, the difguil of the nation 
 againft the coalition, for merit in himfelf, he has rufhed into mea- 
 fures, which a man lefs fupported would not have prdfurued to a£f. 
 
 All this feems to fhow that change of minifters amounts to no- 
 thing. One gi:jes cut, another comes in, and flill the fame mea- 
 fures, vices, and extravagance are purfued. It fignifies net who is 
 minifter. The defe£l lies m the fyilem. The foundation and the 
 luperftruftuTc of the government is bad. Prop it as you pleafe, it 
 continually finks into court government, and ever will. 
 
 I return, as I promiled, to the fubjeft of the national debt, that 
 offspring of rhe Dutch-Anglo revolution, and its h«ndmaiJ the 
 Hanover fucceflion. 
 
 But 
 
( 89 ) 
 
 But now it is k)o late to enquire how it began. Thofe to whofft 
 It is due have advanced the money ; and whether it was well or ill 
 fpent, or pocketed, is not their crime. Ii is, however, eafy to fee, 
 that as the nation proceeds in contemplating the nature and prin- 
 ciples ot government, and to underftand taxes, and make compari- 
 fons between thofe of America, France, and England, it will be 
 next to impoflible to keep it in the fame torpid ftate it has hither- 
 to been. vSome reform muft, from the necefTitv of the cafe, foon 
 begin. It is not whether thefe principles prefs with little or much 
 force in the piefent moment. They are out< they are abroad in 
 the world, and no force can ftop them. Like a fecret told, they 
 are beyond recall; and he muft be blind indeed that does not fee 
 that a change is already beginning. Nine millions of dead taxes 
 is a ferious thing ; and this not only for bad, but in a great ir.ea- 
 fure for foreign government. By putting the power ol making 
 war into the hands of foreigners who came for what they r<uild 
 get, little elle was to be expefted than what has happened. Rea- 
 fons are already advanced in this work (bowing tiiat whatever the 
 reforms in the taxes may be, they ought to be ntade in thecunent 
 expences of government, and not in the part applied to the inter- 
 eft of the national debt. By remitting the faxes of the poor, they 
 will be totally relieved, and all difconient on thrir part wil; be 
 taken away ; and by ftriking off fuch of the taxesr as are already 
 mentioned, the nation will more than recover the whole expencc 
 of the mad American war. There wiil then remain only the 
 national debt as a fubjeft of difcontent ; and in order to remove, or 
 raiher to pievent this, it would be good po'icy iri tlie ftock hold- 
 ers themfelves to confider it as property, fubjeft like all other pro- 
 perly, to bear fotne portion of the taxes. It would give to it both 
 popularity andfecurity, and as a great part of its prefent incon- 
 venience is balanced by the capital which it keeps alive, a mea- 
 fure of this kind would fo far add to that balance as to filence ob- 
 jeftions. This may be done by fuch gradual means as to accom- 
 plifti all that is neceffary with the greateft eafe and convenience. 
 
 Inlfead of taxing the capital, the beft nlethod would be to tax 
 the intereft by lome progreflTive ratio; and to leflen the publrc taxes 
 in the fame proportion as the intereft diminifhed, Suppofe the in- 
 tereft: v/as taxed one half-penny in the pound the firft year, a pen- 
 ny more the fecond, and to proceed by a certain ratio to be deter- 
 mined upon, always lefs than any other tax upor: property. Such 
 a tax \Aou!d be fubtrafted from the intereft at the time of payment;, 
 without any expence of colle6lion, One half-penny in the pound 
 would ielTsn the intereft and confequentiy the taxes, twenty thou.- 
 fand pounds. The tax on wagons amounts to this fum, and this 
 tax might be taken off the firft year. The fecond year the tax oa 
 female fervants, or fome other of the like aiiiount might alfo be 
 taken ofF^ andby piaceeding in. this .maimer, always app'yi'^g^^* 
 
 M W)C 
 
( s° ) 
 
 tax raiftd from the property of the debt towards itsextinftion, and 
 not carry it to the current lervices, it would liberate itfelf. 
 
 The ftock-holders, notwithftanding this tax, would pay lefs 
 taxes than ihey do now. What they would fave by the extinftion 
 of the poor-rates, and the tax on houfes and windows, and the 
 commutation tax, would be confiderably greater than what this tax, 
 flow, but certain iiMts operation, amounts to. It appears to me 
 to be prudence to look, out lor meafures that may apply under a- 
 ny circumftance that mav approach. There is, at this moment, 
 a crifis in the affairs of Europe that requires it. Preparation now 
 is wifdom. If taxation be once let loofe, ir will be difficult to re- 
 inllaie it ; neither would the relief be fo effectual, as to proceed 
 by {orae certain and gradual reduftion. 
 
 The fraud, hypocrify, and impofition of governments, are now 
 beginning to be too well underftood to promife them any long car- 
 reer. The farce of monarchy and arillocracy, in all countries, 
 is following that of chivalry, and Mr. Burke is dreflrng for the 
 funeral. Let it then pafs quietly to the tomb of all other follies, 
 and the mourners be comforted. The time is not very diftant 
 when England will laugh at itfelf for fending to Holland, Hano- 
 ver, Zill, or Brunfwick fo" men, at the expence of a million a 
 year, who uaderflood neither her laws, her language, nor her in- 
 tereii, and whofe capacities would fcarcely have fitted them for 
 the oflice of a parilh conflable. If government could be trufted 
 to luch hands, it mud be fome eafy and fimple thing indeed, and 
 materials fit for all the purpofes may be found in every town and 
 village in England. When it fhall be faid in any country in the 
 world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor diffrefs is to be 
 found among them ; my jails are empty of prifoners, my flreets 
 of beggars; the a,ged are not in want, the taxes are not opprefTive ; 
 the rational world is my friend, becaufe I am the friend of its hap- 
 pinefs; when ihefe things can be faid, then may that country boafi 
 its conflitution and its government. Within the fpace of a few 
 years we have feen two revolutions, thofe of America and France, 
 in the former, the conteff was long, and the conflict fevere; in the 
 latter, the nation a£fed with fuch a confolidaied impulfe, that hav- 
 ing no foreign enemy to contend with, the revolution was com- 
 plete in power the moment it appeared. From both thofe inflances 
 it is evident, that the greateft forces that can be brought into the 
 field of revolutions, are reafon and common intereff. Where thefe 
 can have the opportunity of a6)ing, oppofuion dies with fear, or 
 crumbles away by conviftian. It is a great Handing which they 
 have now univerfally obtained; and we may hereafter hope to fee 
 revolutions, or changes in governments, produced with the lame 
 quiet operation by which any meafure, determinable by reafon and 
 difculTion, is accompliflied. When a nation changes its opinion 
 and habits of thinking, it is no longer to be governed as before, 
 
 but 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 but it would not only be wrong but bad policy, to attempt by forec 
 what ought to be accomplifhed by reafon. Rebellion condfts in 
 forcibly oppofing the general will of a nation, whether by a par- 
 ty or by a government. There ought, therefore, to be in every 
 nation ^ method of occafionally afceriaining the ftate of public opi- 
 nion with refpeft to government. On this point the old govern- 
 ment of France was fuperior to the prefent government ot En- 
 gland, becaufe, on extraordinary occaiions, lecourfe could be had 
 to what was then called the States Generul. But in England ihere 
 are no fuch occafional bodies; and as to thofe who are now called 
 Repreientatives, a great part of them are mere machines ot the 
 court, place-men and dependants. 
 
 I prefume, that though all the people of England pay taxes, not 
 an hundredth part of them are elettors, and the members ot on^ of 
 the houfes ot parliament reprefent nobody but themfelves. There 
 is, therefore, no power but the voluntary will of the people that 
 has a right to aft in any matter refpe6ling a general reform ; and 
 by the fame right that two perfons can confer on fuch a fubje6f, a 
 thoufand may. The objeft, in all fuch preliminary proceedings, is 
 to find out what the general fenfe of a nation is, and to be governed 
 by it. If it prefer a bad or defe£live governmen: to a reform, or 
 choofe to pay ten times more taxes than there is occafion for, it has 
 a right fo to do; and fo long as the majority do not impofe con- 
 ditions on the minority, different from what they impofe on them- 
 felves, though there may be much error, there is no injuftice. — 
 Neither will the error continue long, Reafon and difculTion will 
 loon bring things right, however wrong they may begin. By fuch 
 a procefs no tumult is to be apprehended. The poor, in all coun- 
 tries, are naturally both peaceable and grateful in all reforms in 
 which their intereft and happinefs is included. It is only by ncg- 
 lefting and rejecting them that they become tumultuous. The ob- 
 jefts that now prefs on the public attention are, the French revo- 
 lution, and the profpefl of a general revolution in governments. 
 Of all nations in Europe, there is none fo much intcrefted in the 
 French revolution as England. Enemies for ages, and that at a 
 vafl expence, and without any national objeft, the opportunity 
 now prefents itfelf of amicably clofing the fcene, and joining their 
 efforts to retorm the reft of Europe. By doing this, they will not 
 only prevent the further effufion ot blood, and incrc.^fe of taxes, 
 but be in a condition of getting rid of a confiderable part of their 
 prefent burdens, as has been already ftated. Long experience 
 however has fhown, that reforms of this kind are not thofe which 
 old governments wifli to promote; and theretore it is to nations, 
 and not to luch governments, that thefe matters prefent themfelvcs. 
 
 In the preceding part ot this work, I have fpoken of an alliance 
 between England, France, and America, for purpofes that were 
 to, be afterwards mentioned. Though I have do direct: authorit;^ 
 
( 9* ) 
 
 on .he part of America, I have good reafon to conclude, that fliC 
 is diipofed to enter into a cofideration of fuch a meafiire, provided, 
 that the governments with which fhe might ally, a61ed as national 
 goverimenis, and not as courts enveloped in inttigue and myftery. 
 That France as a nation, and a national government, would prefer 
 an lilia ice with England, is a matter of certainty. Nations, "ike 
 individuals, who have long been enemies, without knowing each 
 other,, or knowing why, become the better friends when ihey dif- 
 iBover the errors and impofitions under which they had afted. 
 
 ■ A'lmitting, therefoie, the pr<)bability of iuch a connexion, I 
 will llate, fome matters by which fuch an alliance, together with 
 that of Holland, might render fervice, not only to the parties iiii- 
 mt-didteiy concerned, but to all Europe. 
 
 Ir is, i think, certain, that it the fleets of England, France, and 
 Holland were contederared, they could propofe, with effect, a H- 
 mitaiion to And a general difmantHng of all the navies m Europe, 
 to a certain proportion to be agreed upon. - : 
 
 . Firll, That no new (hip of war fliall be built by any power in 
 Europe, themfelves included. - ■ ... 
 
 Secondly, That all the navies now in exiftence flial' be put back, 
 fuppofe to one-tenth of their prefent fo ce. " This wiil fave to 
 France and England at leaft two millions Ifei ling annually to each, 
 and their relative torce be in the fame pioportion as it is now. If 
 men will permit ihernfelves to think, as rational beings ought to 
 think, nothing can' appear more ridiculous and abfurd, exclufive of 
 all morat'rtfle6fions, than to be at the expence bt building navies, 
 filling them with men, and then hauing them into the ocean, to 
 try Which Can fink each other faftell. Peace, which cofts nothing, 
 is attended with infinitely more advantage, than any viftory with 
 all its expence.' But this, ihotigh it beft anfwers the purpole of 
 nations, does not that of court govet-nments, vyhofe habiied policy 
 is pretence for taxation, places, and offices. It is, I think, alfo 
 certain, that the above confederated powers, together with that of 
 the; United States of America, can propofe with effecl, to Spain, 
 the in lependenceof South-Ameiica, and the opening ihofe coun- 
 tries of immenfe extend and wealth to the general commerce of 
 
 the world, as North-A nerica now is. ' ' - ' " 
 
 With how much more glory and advantage to itfelf, does a nation 
 aft, when it exerts its powers to refcue the world from bondage, 
 and to create itfelt hie ids, than when it employs thofe powers to 
 increaieruin, deiolaion, and mifety. The horrid fcene that is 
 now aBing bv the Lngliih government in the Eaft-Indies, is fit 
 only to be told ol Goths and Vandals, who, deftitute of princi- 
 ple, robbed and tortured the world they were incapable of en- 
 joying. 
 
 Th-e opening of South-America would produce an immenfe 
 field of commerce, and a ready money market for manufafciurcs, 
 
 •which 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 which the eaftern world does not. The Eafl is already a country 
 f uJl of manutaftures, the importation of which is not only an in- 
 jury to the manufaciures of England, but a drain upon its fpecie.. 
 The balance againft England by this trade, is reguidrly upwards of 
 half a million annually, lent out in the Eaft- India (hips in filver; 
 and this is the reafon, together with the Geiman intrigue, and 
 German fubfidies, there is fo little filver in England. 
 
 Bui any war is harved to fuch governments, however ruinous it 
 may be to a nation. It fervcs to keep up deceitful expedation, 
 which prevents a people trom looking into the dttei-.ts and abufes 
 of government. It is the lo herd and the lo there! that amufc 
 and cheats the multitude. 
 
 Never did fo great an opportunity offer itfelf to England, and 
 to all Europe, as is produced by the two revolutions ot America 
 and France. By the former, freedom has a na ional champion 
 in the Weftern wo Id; and by the latter, in Europe. When an* 
 other nation fhall join France, defpotifm and bad government will 
 fcarcely dare to appear. To ufe a trite expiefli n, ihe iron is be- 
 coming hot all over Europe. The infuhed German and the 
 enflaved Spaniard, the Rufs and ihe Pole, are beginning to think. 
 Theprefent age will heieatter merit to be cailed the Ageof lea- 
 fon, and the prefent generation will appear to the future as the 
 Adam of a new world. 
 
 When all the governments of Europe fhall be eftablifhed on the 
 reprefentative fyllem, nations will become acquainted and the ani- 
 mofities and prejudices fomented by the intrigue and artifice of 
 courts, will ccdfe. The opprelTed foldier will become a freeman ; 
 and the tortured failor, no longer dragged along the ftreets lik^ a 
 felon, will purfue his mercantile voyage in fatety. It would be 
 better that nations (hould continue the pay of their loldiers during 
 their lives, and give them their difcharge, and reffore them to 
 freedotn and their friends, and ceafe recruiting, than retain fuch 
 multitudes, at the fame expence, in a condition ufeiefs to focietv 
 and ihemfelves. As foldiers have hitherto been treated in moft 
 countries,^ they might be faid to be without a friend. Shuned by 
 the citizen on an apprehenfion of being enemies to liberty, and 
 too often infulted by thole who commanded them, their condition 
 was a double opprefFion. But wheie genuine principles of liberty 
 pervade a people, every thing is reftored to order; and the foldier 
 civilly treated returns the civility. 
 
 In contemplating revolutions, it is eafy topercelve, that they 
 may arife from two diftinclcaufes ; the one, to avoid or get rid of 
 fome great calamity; the other, to obtain fome great and pofitive 
 good ; and the two may be diftinguifhed by the names ot afciive and 
 palTive revolutions. In thofe which proceed from the former caufe, 
 the temper becomes incenfedand loured; and the redrefs obtained 
 by danger, is too often fullied by revenge. But in thofe which 
 
 proceed 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 proceed from the latter, the heart rather animated than agitated^ 
 enters ferenely upon the fubjeft. Reafon and difcuffion, perfua- 
 tion andconviftion, become the weapons in the conteft, and it is 
 only when thofe are attempted to be fuppreffed, that recourfe is 
 had to violence. When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, 
 could it be obtained, fuch as relief from a burthen oi taxes and the 
 extinftion of corruption, the obje£l is more than half accomplifhed. 
 What they approve as the end, they will promote in the means. 
 
 Will any man fay, in the prefent excels of taxation, falling fo 
 heavily on the poor, that a remiffion of five pounds annually of 
 taxes, to one hundred and four ihoufand poor farnilies is not digood 
 thing? Will he fay, that a remiflion oi feven pounds annually to 
 one hundred ihoufand other poor families — ot eight pounds an- 
 nually to anofher hundred thoufand poor families, and of ten 
 pounds annually to fifty »hou(and poor and widowed families, are 
 not good things? And to proceed ?■ (tep further in this climax, will 
 he fay, that to provide againft the misforLunes to which all human 
 life is fubjpfl, by fecuring fix pounds annually for all poor, dillrefs- 
 ed, and reduced perfons of the age of fifty and until fixty, and of 
 ten pounds annua'Iy after fixty, is not a good thing? Will he fay, 
 that an abolition of two millions of poor rates to the houle-keep- 
 crs, and of the whole of the houfe and window-light tax, and of 
 the commutation-tax, is not di good thing? Or will he fay, that to 
 abolifh corruption is a bad thing ? 
 
 If, therefore, the good to be obtained be worthy of a pafTive, 
 rational, and coftlefs revolution, it would be bad policy to prefer 
 waiting for a calamity that fliould force a violent one. — I have not 
 idea, confidering the reforms which are now paffing and fpreading 
 throughout Europe, that England will permit herfelf to be the 
 laft; and where the occafion and the opportunity quietly offer, it 
 ■ is better than to wait for a turbulent neceffity. It may be con- 
 fidered as an honour to the animal faculties ot man to obtain redrefs 
 bv courage and danger, but it is far greater honour to the rational 
 faculties to accomplifh the fame objetl by reafon, accommodation, 
 and general confent.* As 
 
 * I know it ii the opi#Ion of many of the inoft enlighteoed cba- 
 ra^cra in France, ('here always will be thofe who fee farther into 
 event* ihan others) not only among the general raafi of citizen*, but 
 ot many of the principal member* of the former National AtTerably, 
 that the monarchical plan will not continue many ycari in that coun- 
 try. Thejr have found our, that as wifdom cAnnot be made hcredit- 
 try, power ought not; and that, for a man to merit a million fterling 
 a year from a nation, be ought to have a mind capable cf compre- 
 hending from an a'.om to a uuiverfc; which if he had, he would be 
 above receiving the pay. But they wiflied not to appear lo lead the 
 nation fafter than its own reafon and intercft dilated. In all the con- 
 verfation* where I have been prefent upon thi» fubjeft, the idea al- 
 •way» waf, that when fuch a time, from the general opJsion of the 
 
 cstion, 
 
{ 95 ) 
 
 As reforms, or revolutions, call them which you pieafe, extend 
 ihemfelves among nations, thofe nations will form connexions and 
 conventions, and when a few are thus conlederatcd, theprogiefi 
 will be rapid, till defpotifm and corrupt government be tota'ly ex- 
 pelled, at leaft out of two quarters ot the world, Europe and 
 America. The Algerine piracy may then be commanded to ceafe, 
 for it is only by the malicious policy oi old governments, againlt 
 each other, that it exifts. 
 
 Throughout this work, various and numerous as the fubjeCls 
 are, which I have taken up and inveftigated, there is only a fmgle 
 paragraph upon religion, viz. " that every rclinon is good, that 
 " teaches ?nan to be good.'' 
 
 I have carefully avoided to enlarge upon the fubje61:, becaufe I am 
 inclined to believe, that what is called the prefent minidry with to 
 fee contentions about religion kept up, to prevent the nation turn- 
 ing its attention to fubjefts of government. It is, as it they wero 
 to fay, " Look that way, or any way, but this.'' 
 
 But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and 
 the reality of it is thereby deftroyed, I will conclude this work with 
 ftating in what light religion appears to me. 
 
 If we fuppofe a large family oi children, who, on any particu- 
 lar day, or particular circumftance, made it a cuftom to prefent to 
 their parent lome token of their afFe6lion and gratitude, each of 
 them would make a different offering, and moft probably in a dif- 
 ferent manner. Some would pAy their congratulations in themes 
 of verfe or profe, by (ome little devices, as their genius diQated, 
 or according to what they thought would pieafe ; and, perhaps, 
 the leaft of all, notable to do any of thofe things, would ramble 
 into the garden, or the field, and gather what it thought the prel- 
 tieft flower it could find, though, perhaps, it might be but a fiiiiple 
 weed. The parent would be more gratified by fuch variety, than 
 if the whole of them had aftcd on a concerted plan, and each had 
 made exaftly the fame offering. This would have the cold appear- 
 ance of .contrivance, or the harfh one of controul. But of all 
 unwelcome things, nothing could more afflifl the parent than to 
 know, that the whole of them had afterwai'ds gotten together by 
 the ears, boys and girls, fighting, fcratching, reviling, and abufiiig 
 each other about which was the beft or worft prefent. 
 
 Why may we not fuppofe, that the Great Father of all is pleafed 
 with variety of devotion ; and that the greateft offence we can aQ, is 
 that by which we feek to torment and render each other miferable. 
 
 For 
 
 nation, fliall arrive, that the hooourable and liberal method would be, 
 to make a handforae prefent in fee Cmpie to the perfon whaever ha 
 mar be, that (hall then be iti the monarchical otr^ce, aud for him to 
 retire to the ccjoymcnt of private life, poflelTing his (hare of geacra,! 
 rights and privilege*, and to be no more sccounv.ahlc to the putdic ioc 
 h\% time and his condufl than an;- other cit^zcii. 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 For my own part^ I am fully fatisfied that what I am now doitig, 
 with an endeavour to conciliate mankind, to render their condition 
 happy, to unite nations that have hitherto been enemies, and to 
 ex iipate tlie horrid praftice of war, and break thechains ol flavery 
 and oppi efTion, is acceptable in his fighr, and being the bell fervice 
 1 can perfonn, I a61 it cheerfully. 1 do not believe that any two 
 men o[i what are called doarinal points, think a'ike who think at 
 all. It IS only ihofe who have not thotight, that appear to agree. 
 It is in this cafe as with what is called the Britifh conftitution. It 
 has been taken for granted to be good, and encomiums have lup- 
 plied the place of proof. But when ihe nation come to examine 
 into its principles and the abufes it admits, it will be found to have 
 more deletts than I have pointed out in this work or the former. 
 
 As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much 
 propriety, talk of national Gods. It is either political cr^ft or the 
 remains ot the Pjgan fyllem, when every nation had its fej arate 
 and particular deity. Among all the writers of the Eni^lilh church 
 clergy, who have treated on the general fubjeft of religion, the 
 preleot Bilhop of LandafF has not been excelled, and it is with 
 much pleaiuie that I take the opportunity of exprefling this token 
 of refpetl. 
 
 I have now gone through the whole of the fubjeft, at leaft, as 
 fAF as it appear to me at prefenf. It has been my intention tor the 
 five years I have been in Europe, to offer an addrefs to the people 
 ot England on ihe fubje^f of government, if the opportunity pic- 
 fented itfelt before I re urned to America. Mr. Burke has thrown 
 it in my way, and 1 thank him. On a certain occafion, three years 
 ago, 1 preffed him topropofe a national convention to be lairly 
 eletfed ior 'he purpofe of taking the Hate of the nation in;o con- 
 fideration ; but 1 found, that however ilrongly the parliameniary 
 current was then fetting againft the party he then aded wi'b, their 
 policy was to keep every thing within that field of corruption, and 
 truft to accidents. Long experience had fhown, that parliaments 
 would follow any changc^ of minifters, and on this they refted 
 their hopes and their expe6tations. Formerly, when divifions arofe 
 refpefting governments, recourfe was had to the fword, and a ci- 
 vil v/ar enlued. That favage cuftom is exploded by the n«^w fyf- 
 tem, and reference is had to national conventions. Diicuflion; 
 and the general will arbitrates the quellion, and to this, private 
 opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preferved uninter- 
 rupted. Some gentlemen have affeBed to call the principles upon 
 which this work and the former part of Rights of Man are 
 founded, *' a new-fangled doBrine." The quellion is not whether 
 thofe principles are new or old, but whether they are right or 
 wrong. Suppofe the former, I will fhow their effeB by a figure 
 eafily underllood. It is now towards the middle of February.—- 
 Were I to take a turn into the country, the trqes would prefcni a leaf- 
 
 Ms, 
 
( 97 } 
 
 lefs, winterly appearance. As people are apt to pluck twigs as the)? 
 walk along, I, perhaps might do the fame, and by chance might 
 oblerve, thata/«^/d bud on that twig had began to fwell. 1 
 ihould reafon very unnaturally, or rather not reafon at all, to 
 fuppofe this was the only bud in England which had this appear- 
 ance. Inftead of deciding thus, 1 fhould inftantly conclude, that 
 the lame appearance was beginning, or about to begin every where : 
 And though the Vegetable Sleep will continue longer on fome trees 
 and plants than on others, and though fome of them may not bloj- 
 fom for two or three years, all will be in leaf in the fummer, ex- 
 cept thofe which are rotttn. What pace the political fummer may 
 keep with the natural, no human forefight call determine. It is, 
 however, not difficult to perceive, that the fpring is begun. — Thu» 
 wifliing, as I fmcerely do, freedom and happincfs to ail naiions, 
 I clofe the Second Part, 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 AS the publication of this work has been delayed beyond th<^ 
 time intended, 1 thmk it not improper, all circumilances 
 confidered, to ffate the caufes that have occafioned the delay. 
 
 The reader will probably obferve, that fome pans of the plan 
 contained in this work for reducing the taxes, and certain pans in 
 Mr. Pitt's fpeech at the opening of the prefent feffion, Tuefday, 
 January 31, are fo much alike, as to induce a belief, that either 
 the Author had taken the hint from Mr. Pitt, or Mr. Pitt from the 
 Author. — I will firft point out the parts that arc fimilar, and then 
 ftate fuch circumfiances as I am acquainted wilb, leaving the read- 
 er to make his own conclufion. 
 
 Confidering it almoft an unprecedented cafe, that taxes (houla 
 be propofcd to be taken off, it is equally as extraordinary that 
 fuch a meaftfre fhould occur to two perfons at the fame time ; and 
 ftill more fo, (confidering the vaft variety and multipiicy of taxes) 
 that they fhould hit en the fame fpecific taxes. Mr. Pitt has menti- 
 oned in his fpeech, the tax on Carts and Wagons — that on Female 
 Servants — the lowering the tax on Candles — and the taking off the 
 tax of three fhilHngs on Houfes having under feven windows. 
 
 Every one of thole fpecific taxes are a part of the plan contain- 
 ed in this work, and propofed alfo to be taken off. Mr. Pitt's plan 
 it is true, goes no further than to a reduftion of three hundred 
 and twenty thoufand pounds; and the redu£lion propofed in this 
 work to nearly fix millions. I have made my calcula'.ions on on- 
 ly fixteen millions and an half of revenue, IHll afTerting, that ic 
 ■was " very nearly, if not quite, feventeen millions." Mr. Pitt 
 ftates it at 16,690,000. I know enough of the matter to fay, that 
 he has not over flared it. Having thus given the particular.% 
 
 N which 
 
( 98 ) 
 
 wbicb correfpond in this work and his fpeccb, I will ftate a chain 
 of circumftances that may lead to Tome explanation. 
 
 The firft hint for IclFening the taxes, and that as a confequence 
 flowinjT from the French revolution, is to be found in the Ad- 
 DREss and Declaration of the Gentlemen who met at the 
 Thatched- Houfe-Tavern, Auguft 20 1791. Among many other 
 particulars ftated in that Addrefs, is the following, put as an inter- 
 rogation to the government. oppofers of the French revolution* 
 " Are they for ry that the pretence for mw opprejjive taxes, and the 
 ** occajion for continuing many old taxes, will be at an end ?" 
 
 It is well known, that the perfons who chiefly frequent the 
 Thiitched Houfe-Tavern, are men of court connexions, and io 
 much did they take this Addrefs and Declaration refpefting the 
 French revolution and the reduction of taxes in dilguft, that the 
 Landlord was under the neceflity of informing the Gentlemen, 
 who compofed the meeting of the 20th of Auguft, and who pro- 
 pofed holding another meeting, that he could not receive them.* 
 
 What was only hinted at in the Addrefs and Declaration, re- 
 fpefting taxes and principles of government, will be found re- 
 duced to a regular iyftem in this work. But as Mr. Pitt's fpeech 
 contains lome of the fame things refpefting taxes, I now come to 
 give the circumftances before alluded to. 
 
 The cafe is : This work was intended to be publiflied juft before 
 the meeting of Parliament, and for that purpofe a confiderable 
 part of the copy v/as put into the Printer's hands in September, and 
 all the remaining copy, as far as page 110, which contains the 
 parts to which Mr. Pitt's fpeech is fimilar, was given to him full 
 fix weeks before the meeting of Parliament, and he was informed- 
 of the time at which it was to appear. He had compofed nearly 
 .the whole about a fortnight before the time of Parliament meeting, 
 
 and 
 
 * The Gentleman who figned the Addreft and Declaration, a« 
 Ghairman of the meeting, Mr. Home Took, being generally fuppo(- 
 ed to be the perfon who drew it up, and having fpoken much in com- 
 mendation of it, has been jocularlj- accufed of prail;ng bis own work. 
 To free him from thia embarraffment, and to favc him the rcpcajcd 
 trouble of mentioning the author, at heh.^«not failed to do, I make 
 no hefitation in fajing, that as the opportunity of benefiting hj the 
 French revolution eafily occurred to me, I drew up the publication 
 in queftion, and (ho wed it to him and forae other gentlemen ; who, ful- 
 ly approving it, held a meeting for the purpofe of making it public, and 
 fubfcribed to the amount of fifty guineas, to defray the expencc of 
 adveriifing. I believe there are at this time, in England, 3 greater 
 number of men ading on difinterefted principiei, and determined to 
 look into the nature and praflicei of government themfelvea, and. not 
 blindly truft, as haa hitherto been the cafe, cither to government ge- 
 nerally, or to patliamenti, or to parliamentary oppofiion, than at 
 any former period. Had thii been done a century ago, coriupfio« 
 aad laxitioQ haciact arrived to the height they arc aovr at. 
 
{ 99 ) 
 
 and bad printed as far as page 79, and had given me a proof ot 
 the next flieet, up to page 90. It was then in fufficieni forward- 
 nefs to be out at the time propofed, as two other ftieets were ready 
 for ftriking off. 1 had before told him, that if he thought he 
 ftiould be llraightened for time, I would get part of the work 
 done at another prcfs, which he defired me not to do. In this 
 manner the work ifood on the Tuefday fortnight preceding the 
 meeting of Parliament, when all at once, without any previous 
 intimation, though I had been with him the evening befoie, hti 
 fent me, by one of his workmen, all the remaining copy, trom 
 page 79, declining to go on with the work on any confideration. 
 
 To account for this extraordinary condu61 I was totally at a 
 lofs, as he flopped at the part where the arguments on fyftems and 
 principles of government clofed, and where the plan /or the re- 
 duftion of taxes, the education of children, and the fupport of 
 the poor and the aged begins ; and ilill more efpecially, as he had, 
 at the time of his beginning to print, ^nd before he had feen the 
 whole copy, offered a thoufand pounds tor the copy-right, toge- 
 ther with the copy-right of the former part of the Rights of Man. 
 I told the perfon who brought me this offer, that I fhould not ac- 
 cept it, and wiflied it not to be renewed, giving him as my reafon, 
 that, though I believed the Printer to bean honeft man, I would 
 never put in the power of any Printer or Publifher to fupprefs or 
 alter a work of mine, by making him mailer of the copy, or give 
 to him the right of felling it to any minilter, or to any other per- 
 fon, or to treat as a mere matter of traffic, that which I intended 
 fhould operate as a principle. 
 
 His retufal to complete the work, (which he could notpurchafe) 
 obliged me to leek for another Printer, and this of confequence 
 would throw the publication back till after the meeting of Parli- 
 ament, otherwife it would have appeared that Mr. Pitt had only 
 taken up a part of the plan which i had more fully flated. 
 
 Whether that gentleman, or any other, had ken the work, or 
 any part of it, is more than I have authority to fay. But the man- 
 ner m which the work was returned, and the particular time at 
 which this was done, and that after the offers he had made, are 
 fufpicious circumflances. I know what the opinion of Bookfel- 
 lers and Publilhers is upon fuch a cafe, but as to my own opinion, 
 I choofe to make no declaration. There are many ways by which 
 proof fheets may be procured by other perfons before a work 
 publicly appear ; to which I ihall add a certain circumllance, 
 which is, 
 
 A minilleiial Bookfeller in Piccadilly, who has been employed, 
 as common report fays, by a Clerk of one of the Boards dole 
 conne6led with the Miniflry, (the Board of Trade and l^lantation, 
 of which Hawklbury is Prcfident) to publifh what he calls my 
 Lifr, (I wifh his own life, and that thofe of the Caqiuet were as 
 
 goodj 
 
( 1^0 ) 
 
 good) ufed to have his books printed at the fame Printing-Office 
 that I employed ; but when the former part ot Rights of Man 
 came our, he took his work away in dudgeon ; and about a week 
 or ten da^ s before the Printer returned my copy, he came to make 
 him an ofxer of his work again, which was accepted. This would 
 confequently give him admilTion into the Printing-Office where 
 the fhceis ot this work were then lying ; and as Bookfellers and 
 Printers are free with each other, he would have the opportunity 
 of feeing what was going on.— Be the cafe however as it may, 
 Mr. Pitt's plan, littie and diminutive as it is, would have had a 
 very awkward appearance, had this work appeared at the time the 
 Printer had engaged to finifh it. 
 
 1 have now ftated the particulars which occafioned the delay,- 
 Irom thj»propofal to purchafe, to the refufal to print. If all the 
 gentlemen are innocent, it is very unfortunate tor them that fuch 
 a variety of fufpicious circumflances (hould, without any defign, 
 arrange themfelves together. 
 
 Having now finifned this part, I will conclude with ftating 
 another circuinftance. 
 
 About a fortnight or three weeks before the meeting of Par- 
 liament, a fmall addition, amounting to about twelve fhillingji 
 and fix pence a year, was made to the pay of the foldiers, or ra- 
 ther, their pay was docked fo much lefs. Some gentlemen who 
 knew, in part, that this work would contain a plan of reforms re- 
 fpefting the oppreffed condition of foldiers, wifhed me to add a 
 note to the work, fignifying, that the part upon that fubjed had 
 been in the Printer's hands fome weeks before that addition of pay 
 was propofed. 1 declined doing this, left it fhould be interpreted 
 into an air of vanity, or an endeavour to excite fufpicion, (for 
 -which, perhaps, there might be no grounds) that iorae of the 
 government gentlemen, had, by fome means or other, made cut 
 what this wo:k would contain : and had not the printing been in- 
 terrupted fo as to occafion a delay beyond the time fixed for pub- 
 lication, nothing contained in this Appendix would have appeared. 
 
 T H O M A S P A I N K, 
 
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