[No. 108,—Vol. ll.j THE TABLET. THE Editor accidentally met with the fol lowing Eflay, and thinks the remarks are of such a nature as deserve publication. FOR THE TABLET. " Tl,erc arc cerUln '"uations where foppefcd evils are productive of mach good." A National debt attaches many citizens to the government, who, by their numbers,wealth and influence, contribute more perhaps to its prefei vation than a body of soldiers. This ob servation has been made by every one. A nati onal debt not only prolongs the existence of the form of government ; but it has a direift ten dency to produce a wife and just administration • This efFe»ft is not equally obvious. Every measure tending to public good adds something to the security of the debt. It is for the advanT tage of the creditors to have that public, which is their debtor, become rich. The fame reason ap plies to the revenue laws. The creditors will wish to bring into the treasury the moil money with the least possible burden, or even difgult to the people. This is equally true of the public expences. This body of men will fee the public money squandered with pain and apprehension. Their influence will be exerted in fupportofa system of frugality. It seems to be inanifeft that the creditors will defxre to fee the public good promoted, and of courfewill dread an opprefllve and prodigal administration. It only remains to calculate the influence that this body of men will have, firft, upon the public opinion, and next up on the government itfelf. In this country, they are powerful by their numbers ; by their pro perty ; by their patriotifin j for it was that which made great numbers of thein public creditors. They arejuftly denominated by the Secretary " enlightened men." Their dispersed situation en ables them to give a strong impulse to the public mind in different parts of the country at th« fame instant. Interest will wake when patrio tifin flceps. As thefc persons have a common in terest, and that corresponds with the general interest of the society, felf love is combined with the love of our country. They become watchmen, and continue such, when other citi zens, left interested, relax their attention to pub lic affairs for the fake of their private concerns. Much has been said in favour of republican jea lousy. The creditors can never have ail interest against liberty—for tyranny and public credit cannot exilt together. Heaven grant that the union and the public liberty may last forever. If any expedient within the reach of human wisdom can preserve those blessings, it is the unchanging interest, which a powerful body of the belt and wisest citizens will have in their fafe keeping— who cannot neglect, and who will not betray the trust—whom government cannot do without, and who cannnot do without government. Rome fell, an almost unresisting pray to a des pot—why ? Roman liberty, as it was misnamed, was 3 burden to every body, except to a few who called their right to npprefe all others, liberty— being made alternately the instrument and vi«fiim ot tyranny, the weary world found even despo tism, a pillow of repose. But if the best citizens in Rome and in the provinces had really enjoyed freedom, and their property had depended on the security of the government, they would have ab horred any change, and most of all a change from liberty to tyranny. Caesar would have been watched and obliged to seek fame in th# Senate, or in the field, under their orders. FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES. MR. IFN'NO, T> Y examples we are constantly ta«glit, that of •*-» all the subjects which engross any fliare of our attention, there are few 011 which we can reason with lo little certainty as on thecontingent events involved in every political system ; or in the whole train ol human affairs, any, in which we are found to deduce such wrong conclufious, or where we meet with greater disappointments in the expec tations we may have formed. In the common oc currences of life, our judgment assisted by experi ence is generally a competent guide in conduc ing us to the obje not cotnpiehend the 11 •_, ;heo-v, \\i. that a great burthen is more ea&lv carried by making it greater • he heartily wilhed a fafe voyage to the political veflel, but he 'had tome apprchenfions chat with the propoled cargo (he may fink at her anchors—He knew that the proposed ta* is small when we conlider the number of our fellow-citijens, and compare it with the numbers in fevera| kingdoms and the taxes paid bv them ; but the facility ofraifiijg taxes by iinpoAs and excises, is according to the number of inhabitants in any given (pace, In the aity of Pans, where a vail body of people are collected within a small space, the inhabitants are supposed by one species ol tax and another to pay 64 livres per head : in other Darts of that Kingdom it has been found difficult to colled tg livres per head from the fubjefls, though France is well peopled and contains many contidcrable cities. Ii three times as much could be coHcHed in the city of Paris by imposts duties andcxcifes as in the other parts of France, he con. ceived that very small sums might be expected to arise in Ameru ca from excises, and our impost mult decrease in proportion as theinduftryandneceflitiesof the people increafe—Headmitcd that direct taxes, as a land-tax or a poll-tax may be colkflcd with lome degree of certainty, but he withed never to fee direct taxc. lmpofed by the national government. They (re dangerous because they have been the means of cruel Oppreliion ; the Romans had never been completely miserable till one of their emperors had the addrelj to introduce a capitation tax ; he observed that his fellow-citizens in North-Carolina were not in general rich, few of them were ioprovident as to lay up money ; for this reason while he was entrusted with their concerns he (houldoppofeeverymeafurethat looked towardsdireft taxation, he withed never to fee the day, when tofatisfy a land tax, or a ca pitation tax, a poor man's cow or horse might be takenfrom him on which he depended for the support of helpless children. Let the State debts be once assumed and you mull proceed; ifyutir calculations are bad, and they are nothing more than pure con jecture, if they are bad, and the impost and excise does not come up to your expectations, the national honor tnuft be preserved the debt is yours and must be paid, let the means be ever so hard! It will doubtless be observed that the interest of the State debtjj must be paid either by the several State? or by the union, and it is indifferent to the people under what name they make the pay mcnti. til is argument lie.alledgid Was extremely fallacious, for alter the national legislature has imposed such taxes as might be come general, the State legislatures may with great ease, and in lomecafcs with great advantage to the citizens, impose other tax es The produce of the flute, is different; the inhabitants hav.- different modes of living, and there is a difference even in their vices ; wherefore different taxesmight.be proper i such taxes mi fi ht be ufeful to corrcft vices or restrain habits that ftiould not be in dulged ; it will certainly be granted that the legislature ofthe ftatr. in many cases can best accommodate the burthen to the strength and feelings of the citizens. It had hitherto been confidercd that the Kates owed certain duties, and that they had a certain quofi oi services to perform, from the particular pohcy of fomc ofthe Kates, their debts had depreciated greatly, certificates had been Jd at Bs - 6d. in the pound, pqoplc would not readily be recon ciled to the new creed, "that all the debts lately paid, arc state debts, but all the debts not paid, arc national debts," especially at this discovery is made after most of the certificates have changed their original holders, and have passed for a trifle into the hands of moneyed men. C liar's wife fhouldnotonly be chaste.but with out suspicion—He conceived that a national legislature should be extremely cautious how they adopted new measures, efpeciallv if there was a fmgle hook to which the suspicion of personal mteretl might be attached The situation of North-Carolina he alledged was somewhat dif ferent frotn that of her After states; commiflioners had ort fundrv occafioni ilTued continental securities to the citizens of the several states, independent of thearmy certificatesjtothe'imountof 4, Rgii.ooo dollars; of this sum about f),ooo dollars had been ilTued to the citizens of North-Carolina—the citizens of that state have hardly any continental securities, because the state by one accident or ano ther has been obliged to a flume the payment of the continental dehis ce has alTumed debts to the amount of 6 or 7 000,000 dol lars. In what manner arejhe citizens to be rewarded for allthur labors and supplies. He prayed the committee would attend to the operation of this new fyflem; other states since the peice have laid taxes to raise money for paying interest, and that interest hss been returned into the hands of their own citizens. North-Caroli na has imposed heavy taxes for finking certificates, being part of the principal of the public debt; the citizen has drawn no relief fiom those taxes, and to crown his misfortunes he is not to get a credit for the certificates funk. The state has also iflued paper money to the amount of 200,0001. that is to fay, half a million of dollars; some of this money has been applied towards paying the late continental line of the army* and some of it has been employ ed in buying up public securities ; the fccurities are in the treasury, but the paper money is in circulation ; our citizens are to he taxed for finking this money, and we are not allowed a diitount for the certificates which are purchased by the money : will not this be a double tax ? we are required to pay our proportion towards the interest of other people's certificates—we must at the fame time pay taxes towards finking our paper money, which is another fpr cies of certificates ; but we are not to be relieved in the mean time by discounting the interest cf the certificates we have taken up. Patience itfell would complain of such injustice. perhaps we lhall be told that the double tax may be inconvenient but we shall be repaid oti some future occasion ; we shall get a credit when the accounts of all the states are fettled and the quotas of the several states are fixed ; in other words ue may expctl jujlice at the day of judgment. He prayed it might be observed that the accounts were not in a train to be fettled ; that they could not poffiibly be fettled under any existing law, and Congress had not >aken a single step from which he could believe that they intended to make any set tlement ; the original rule for fixing the quotas of the several states, " according to the value of lands and their improvements," had long since been given up as impra£licablc ; Congress had substitut ed no other rule in its place, if they.were seriously disposed to fet tle the accounts of the several ftaterj and to render some measure of justice to the most deserving, the neceflary steps were obvious. Jn