PU3U&HED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO t Xo. 4 ,, BROAD-STREET, NEAR VIIE EXCHANGE, NEW-YORK
C.No. 53, f/Voi.tfl.]
From thi ENGLISH REVIEW,
FOR NOVEMBER, j 7 8 7 .
[A Dclcnce of the Conftitptions r»f Government of the Jjn'fjd
States of America. By >i'N Adam, LI..D. and a Mimb'n
o: the Academy oi Arts an'd Seitncti at Uollon.J
(ContirJieJJtom cur !.:Jt.)
OUR the opinjpp
rvKCOT, '' a(li;ml)lv oFreprelen
/jßhfV&sVhoulftUe chosen by t!v< jjatton, and vert
ed with all the powers of government; and tliat
this aflembly, being the centre in which all au
thority is collected, (hall be virtually deemed the
r.ation." To llate the conferences, and expose
the absurdity of this opinion, Mr. Adams takes a
scries, but comprehensive view of all those conn
tries in Europe 111 which the government may be
called republican ; and from uiis survey, denion
ftrates the necessity of different orders in a ilate,
and of an equilibrium between thein. His reflec
tions in the tweury-third letter are enlightened,
spirited, and manly :
44 As we hftvc taken a cur Cory view of those countries in Europe'
where the government may be called, m any reafonabJe «onltruc
tion of the word, republican, Jet us now paufc a few moments,
and rtflett upon what we have seen.
" Among every people, and in every species of republics, we
Juvc constantly found a firft magiftrStc, a head ; a chief, under
various denominations, indeed, and with different degrees of au
thority, with the title of ftadtholdcr, burgomaster, avover, doge,
confalloniero, president, fyndick, mayor, alcade, capitaneo, go
vcrnor, or king ; in every nation wc have met with a diftinguilh
ea officer : it there is no example in any free government any
more ihan in those which are not free, of a society without a prin
cipal personage, we may fairly conclude that the body politic can
not subsist without one any more than the animal body without a
head. If M. Turgoi had made any discovery which had escaped
the penetration of all the legislators and philosophers who had
lived before him, he ought at least to have communicated it to
the world for their improvement; but as he has never hinted a:
any such invention, we may fafely conclude that he had none ;
and therefore, that the Americans are not jifftly liable to cenfure
for instituting governors.
" In every form of government we have fecn a senate, or little
council; a ion generally of those offucrs of state who
have the most experience and power, and a few other members
felc&ed from the highest ranks and most illustrious reputations.
On these letter councils, with the full magiitrate at their head,
generally rcfts the p.i»*ctj*d iwrrfcn o*', adn .liftrutiun, a ftrare hi
tlw le?iflaii\e as welf as executive and i<.r .ual authority qt go
vernment* The admiUion of such senates to a participation ol
thef? three kinds of power has been generally observed to produce:
in the minds of their members an ardent ariftocratical ambition,
grasping equally at the prerogatives of the firft magiftiate, and
she privileges of the people, and ending in the nobility of a few
families, and a tyrannical oligarchy : but in those States where
the senates have been dcKarrcd from all executive power, and
confined to the legislative, thfy haw- been oblervcd to be firm bar
riers against the encroachments of the crown, and often greai fup
portersof the liberties of the people. The Americans then, who
have carefully confined their senates to the legislative power, have
done wifely in adopting them.
44 \Vc have fecn, in every instance, another and a larger aflcm
bly, coißpo'ed of the body of the p »ple, in some liule States ;
of representatives r holen by people in others; of members ap
pointed by the senates, and funpofed to reptefent the people, in
ti thud fo*t; and of persons appointed by themfelvca or the sen
ate, in certain arillocracies, to prevent them from becoming oli
garchies. The Americans tbpn, whole. afTcmbliis are the most
adequate, proportional, and equitable representations of the peo
ple that are known in the world, will not be thought erroneous
in appointing houses of reprcfcntativcs.
44 In every republic, in the fma I left and most popular, in the
larger and more afttiftocratical, as well as in the largest and most
monarchical, we have observed a multitude of curious and ingen
ious inventions to balance, in their turn, all those powers, to
check the passions peculiarto them, and to control them from ruffl
ing into those exorbitances to which they are most addi£led ; the
Americans will rhen be no longer cenluicd for endeavoring to in
troduce au equilibrium, which is much more profoundly medita
ted, and much more cffc&ual for the protection of the laws, thaii
any wc have fecn, except in England ; we may tven question,
whether that is an exception.
44 Id every cpuntry wc have found a variety of orders, with
*ery great diftinclions. In America there arc different orders of
oifices, but none of men ; out of offi :call men arc of the fame
/pecies, and of one blood ; there is neither a greater nor a lelfjr
nobility. . Why then are they accused of establishing different or
ders ot men ? To our inexpreflible mortification we mufl. havt
remarked that the people have preserved a Ihare of power, or an
cxiftencir in the government, in no country out of Kngland, ex
cept upon the tops of a few inacctflible mountain.*, among rock.',
and precipices, in territories so narrow that you may span them
wish an band's hrcadth ; where, living un nvied, in extreme po
verty, chiefly upon pailur»ge, destitute of manufa£lures and com
merce, the> ft ii exhibit the moll charming pi&iire of life, and th
»noft dignified chara&er of human nature. .
44 "Wherever we .have fcca a territory somewhat larger, aits and
sciences more cultivated, commerce flouriftiing, or even agriculture
improved to any great degree, an aristocracy has risen up in a
rnurfe of time, confiding of a lew rich and honorable families,
.who have united with each.other against both the people and th
inag»ftratc; wrested from the former, by art and bv force, a 1!
ibtir participation in the government, and even infpircd them
with \q me.in an rftcem of t.hcmfelves, and so deep a veneration
and strong attachment to their rulers, as to believe and contefi
ihein a superior oider ot beings.
44 We have fecn these noble families, although neceifitated to
have a head, extremely jeaUpus of his influence, anxious to reduci
jiis power, and constrain him to as neai a level with themfeivefi
ps pofliblc, alwajs endeatforiug to eflablifla a rotation, by which
tlicy may allequaily in turn be entitled to the pre-eminence-, and
equally anxious to prefei ve to thcmlelvcs as large a lhaic of pow
rr as pofiibJcin ibe executive .<nd jwdiaitij, as well *s the
department* of f-be stair.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1790.
1 hefe patrician fatnilieshave alio appeared, iri every inflance,
to be equally jealous ot each OLher, and to have contrived, by
blending lot and choice, by mixing various bodks in tlie elections
to flic* lame offices, and even by tht; horrors of an inquisition, to
guard againfl the fin that so eafilv besets them, of being wholly
influenced and governed by a junto or oligarchy of a few among
themselves.
" V* e have fern no one government in which is a diftin£l repar
ation of the lcgiHitivc from the executive power, and of the judi
cal from both, or in yjurh any 2ttc.,ipt been made to balance
intfe powers w'nh one another, or > form an equilibrium be
tween the one, the lew, and the majj' lor the purpose of ena£l ; ng
and executing equal laws, by common consent, lor the general
mtereft, excepting in .England.
11 Shall we conclude, from these melancholy observations, that
human nature is incapable of liberty ; that no hon<-(l equality can
be preserved in society ; and that such forcible causes arc always ai
work as mufl reduce all men to a fubmillion to despotism, monar
chy, oligarchy, or artftocracy f
44 By no m ans, —We have seen one of the firft nations in Eu
rope, poffeued of ample and fertile territories home, and exten
live dominions abroad, of a commerce with the whole world,
immense wealth, and the greatest naval power which ever belon
ged to any nation, who have still preserved the power of the peo
ple, by the equilibrium ware contending for, by the triai by
jury, and by couilantly refufing a (landing army. The people of
England alone, by prefcrving their fnarc iri the legislature, at th
■ex pence of the blood of heroes and patriots, have enabl d iheii
kings to curb the nobility, without giving him a (landing army.
44 After all, let us compare every Constitution we have 1c en wit!i
those of the United States of America, . id we fliall have no rea
son to blufti lor our country ; on the coutrary, we (ball feel tii
llrongcft motives to fall upon our knees in gratitude to heaven,
for having beep graciouflv plea fed to give us birth and edulat.ou
in that country, and tor having defined us to live under her laws !
We (hall have rrafon to < xult, il we make our comparison with
England and the JKnglilb conUitution. Our people arc undoubt
edly lovere:gn ; all the landed and otherjpropcrty is in the haud.>
ol the citizens; not only their reprefemuives, but their senators
and governor*, are annually chosen ; theicf arc no hereditary tide ,
honours,offices, or diltmtlions ; the leg:flative, executive, and ju
dicial powers are carefully separated from each other ; the pow
ers of the on-, the few, and the many, are nicely balanced in their
legislatures ; trials by jury are preterved jn all their glory, and
there is no Handing army ; the harbeas corpus is in full force ; the
press is the mo ft free in the world ; and, where all these circum
stances take place, it is unnectfTary to add, that tire laws alone can
govern.
In the subsequent letters Mr. Adams contem-
with a critical and philosophic eye, the
jnoft celebrated states and common wealths of an
tiquity, Carthage, Athens, Crete .Corinth,
Ai ga&, riic'i»c!>, Crotona, Sybaris, Locris, and
Komc ; and at the fame time delivers the opin
ions of the celebrated ancient and modem writers
concerning the principles of government in ge
neral, ami i liefe governments in particular. The
result of his researches is favorable to that divi
ii°n of power which the English and the Ameri
cans have adopted, and which appears to reft up
on the authority, the experience, and the wildoin
of ages.
In the poftfeript, Mr. Adams favors the public
with the copy ot a letter which he lent to the
Abbe de Mably when he declared his intention of
writingoti the American revolution. The adven
turous lpi. itof the French literati is well known ;
who, trusting to the vcrfatility of their talents,
which is often great, and to the correct elegance
of their language, which is universally read, pre-
I'ume to write on all l'ubjecfts, foreign and domes
tic, human and divine, on a very (lender acquain
tance. Our author's requelt to the Abbe to write
upon American alfairs was a piecc of nicer civil
ity, and, as he informs us, " rather a defirethat
he would not expofc hivifelf, by attempting a his
tory that he was altogether unprovided foi*, than
any formal reqoeft that he Ihould write at all.
\V'e are obliged," continues Mr. Adams, " to any
gentleman in Europe who favors us with his
thoughts ; but, in general, the theory of govern
ment is as well understood in America as it is in
Europe; and by great numbers of individuals is
every thing, relating to a free conltiturion, infi
nitely better comprehended than by the Abbe de
Mably, or M. Turgor, amiable, learned, and in
genious as tliev were."
O _ J
The preface to this work contains many excel,
lent anil manly sentiments, worthy of an ancient
Greek or Roman. The following obfenratidns,
which iorin a panegyric on the Englilh as well ais
American constitution, will serve as a specimen £
4i It is become a kind ot falhion among writers to admit, as a
maxim, that, if you could be always sure of a wife, a&ive, and vir
tuous Prince, monarchy would be the bed of governments. But
tnis is so far from being admiflible, that it will forever remain
true that a free government has a great advantage over a fimplc
monarchy. The bed and wisest Prince, by means of a freer com
munication with the people, and the greater opportunities to col
-1 £1 tbe be ft advice from the b eft of his fubje&s, would have an
immense advantage in a free state more than in a monarchy. A
lenate CQnfifting of all that if most nobK, wealthy, and able in th<
nation, with aright to counsel the crown at all times, is a check to
ministers, and a security againlk abates, that a body of nobles who
never meet, and have no such light, can never aceomplifh. Ano
.ner aflembly, compofcd r;f reprcfentaiive*, chosen by the people
11 all paru, gives the whole nation freeaccefs, and communicate*
'I the wants, knowledge, projects, and wilhet of the nation, to
government; rxcitc? an emulation among all claflfes, remove* com-
625
p aints, rcdr>'flVs grievances, aflords opp of exertion to
genius, though in ohfeuritv, ?nd gives full scope to all ine fa. ultu s
of iv.zn ; opens a palfagefor every fpecuhtiooto tlie Jcg:Qature, to.
admiinllration, and to the public ; ll gives an univetfai energy io
the human chara£ler, in every part ol the flaie, which'never can be
obtained in a monarchy. •
<k There is a third particular which deserves attention both from
governments a»d people. The minillers of fUte, i-i a fun pie m>-
n.irchv, can never know their friends from their enemies ; cab is
in kcrc't undermine their influence, and blast their reputations.
This oceafions a jealousy ever anxious and irritated, which never
ihinks-the government fafe without an encouragement of inforrt
crs and spies, throughout everv part of the Hate, who interrr H the
tranquility ot private life, destroy the confidence of families in
their own domestics and one another, and poison freedom ir» iis
fwecteil retirements. In a free government, on the contrary, the
mir.ifter s can have no enemies ofconfcquence but among the mem
bers ol the great or little council, where every man-is obliged to
t.:kc his fide, and declare his opinion upon everv question. This
circumstance alone, to every manly mind, would be fufficienr to
decide the preference in favor of a free government. Even secre
cy, where the executive is en l ire in one hand, i is cafily and fureJy
prtferv.d in a free government as in a ftmple monarchy; and as
to difpatcb, ail the limple monarchies of the whole un:verft rr.ny
be defied to produce greater or more examples of it than arc t$ be
found in Englilh hiflory."
The celebrated Mr. Hmne nfed to call Dr.
Franklin " the firfl fruits of America." The
American revolution has given elalticitv and en
ergy torhe minds of the inhabitants, lias called
torih talents and abilities of every
produced a more copious harvelt tlian the I'olitrv
ry " firft fruits" oljferved by Mr. Hunuvfeeme4
to indicate. A Copley and a Weft have obtain
ed the honois of the pencil : f>wi«ht, Barlow,
and Trumbull, have diftiuguifhed theinfelves in
poetry ; Uelknapand Kaml iy in hillory ; Jeil'er
lon has excelled in philosophical refearchej ;
Paine in political speculations ; and to thefc
names, known and appietiaied by the learned
world, that of Mr. Adams will be added, who, in
the work before us, discovers an extetit of learn
ing, an acutenefs of re.'leilion, and a masculine
spirit, which few amballadors in any court of
turope poflefs, but which all of them \votild be
proud lo display. Whatever opinion we may
'entertain of Americati ambition or policy, the
niufcs are never ai ivar however the feale of
empire >■»(« or falls, every lover of lirerature
will rejoice that the arts are abaut to make the
tour of the world ; and that the fame fun offci
ence and taste which gilded the east with its ori«
ent rays, is now illuminating the weft, and dif
fufing warmth and splendour on regions tii.it
were formerly unknown to history, and reijiote
from civilization. >
FAMILY COMPACT
Report of the Covnnittet of Foreign Ajf.i 'nt to the
nr.,r / * .t/r i i
National jfffembiy.
" Your committee having taken into their mod
.fctious consideration the requisition front the
Court of Spain, demanding a categorical an(\ver,
touching our engagements, in consequence of the
Family Compa&, have the honor to fubmitto the
wisdom of the National AfTembly, whether- a
flriift compliance with the said requisition would
nor be rilking too much under the present circum-
Hances of the kingdom, more especially the Ma
ture of the question being materially altered since
the preliminary declarations between England
and Spain, subsequent to the date of our deliber
ation on this point, affording us theple&fingprof
pert ofa speedy and amicable accommodation
between the two powers ; nevertheless, fhauld
your best endeavours towards a happy termina
tion fail, we hold ourselves bound in honour to
fapport our ancient ally,in every such right and
claim as you lhall deem reasonable and jnft."
Theladmeflengerto Madrid had orders to (lay
for the answer from the Spanish Court ten days,
and no longer. On the expiration of the ninth
d«y, Mr. Fitzherbert lent notice to Count Flori
da Blanca that the meflenger would certainly quit
Madrid on the ensuing day. This occafioued an
immediate interview, and produced the declara
tions. It is evident from this, that the Spaniard
only consulted the convenience of the moment—
only did it to prolong time—that he did it with
great relutftarice—and will wipe away the dis
charge with a war, if France can be brought to
alfift him. '
AVAR DEPARTMENT, Sept. 9, 1790*
INFORMATION is hereby giveu toall the military Invalids of
the United States, that the fuws to which thev are annually cu
titlcd, «rld which will become due on ihe fourth day of March
ensuing, will be paid on the faici day, by the Commiflioneis oi:
the Loans within the states refpe&ively, under such regulations
a,s the President of the United States may direst.
[W ho ;.e No. if"]
H. KN'O'",
Secretary for th: Dtfartmenl e/War.