L E T T E 11. The RIGHT GOVERNMENT of a COMMON WEALTH EXAMINED. Dt a r Si R, THE Engliih nation, for their improvements in the theory of government, lias, at least, more merit with the human race than any other among the moderns. The late molt beautiful and liber al (peculations of many writers, in various parts of (Europe, are manifeilly derived from Eligliih sources. Americans too ought for ever to ac knowledge their obligations to English ws itei s, or rather hive as good a right to indulge a pride in the recollection of them as the inhabitants of the three kingdoms. The original plantation of our country tvas occasioned, her continual growth has been promoted, and her present liberties have been eltablifhed by these generous theories.— There have been three periods in the liiftory of England, in which the principles of government have been anxiously studied, and very valuable productions published, which at this day, if they are not wholly forgotten in their native country, are perhaps more frequently read abroad than at home.— Jhe firft of these periods was that of the Reformation, as early as thp writings of Ma chiavcl himfelf, who is called the great restorer of the true politics. ■ " The Sliorte Treatise of " Politicke Power, and of the true Obedience " which Subjetfts owe to Kyngs and otlie- civil " Governors, with an Exhortation to all true " natural Englifhemen, compyled by John Pon " net, D. D." was printed in Ijj6, and contains all th«e eflential piinci les of liberty, which were afterwards dilated on by Sidney and Locke. This writer is clearly for a mixed government, in three equiponderant branches, as appears by these words, p. 7. "In some countreyes tliey " were content to be governed, and have the " laws executed, by one king or judge ; in some " places by many of the best forte ; 111 some places " by people of the lowest forte; and in some " places also by the king, nobilitie, andthe,peo " pie altogether. And these diverse kyndesof " states, or policies, had their diltin<fte names ; " as where one ruled, a monarchic ; where many " of the best, ariftocratie ; and where the mul " titude, democratic ; and where all together, " that is a king, the nobilitie, and commons, a \ ( mixte state; and which men by long contijiu " ancC have judged to be the best fort of all: " for where that inixte state was exercised, there " did the commonwealthe longest continue."— The second period was the Interregnum, a:id in deed the whole interval between 1640 and 1660. In the course of those twenty years, not only iPonnet and others were reprinted, but Harring ton, Milton, the Vindicix contra Tyrannas, and a multitude of others, came upon the stage.— The third period was the Revolution in 16S8, which produced Sidney, Locke, Hoadley, Tren chard Gordon, Plato Redivivus, who is also clear for three equipollent branches in the mixture, and others without number. The discourses ol Sidney were indeed written before, but the fame causes produced his writings and the Revolution. Americans should make collections of all these speculations, to be preserved as the most pre cious relics of antiquity, both for curiosity and use. There is one indifpeniible rule to be oblervcd in the perusal of all of them ; and that is, to con sider the peiiod in which they were written, the circumstances 'of the times, and the personal character as well as the political situation of the writer. Such a precaution as this deserves par ticular attention in examining a work, printed firft in the Mercurius Politicus, a periodical pa per published in defence of the commonwealth, and re printed in 1656, by Marchaniont Ned ham, under the title of " The Excellency of a " free State, or the right Constitution of a " Commonwealth." The nation had not only a numerous nobility and clergy at that time dis gusted, and a valt body of the other gentlemen, as well as of the common people, desirous of the redowtion of the exileu royal family; but many writers explicitly espoused the cause of simple monarchy and absolute power: among whom was Ilobbes, a man, however unhappy in his temper, or detestable for his principles, equal in genius and learning to any of his contempo raries. Cthei s were employed in ridiculing the doctrine, that laws, and not men, iliould govern. It was contended, that to fay " that laws do or " can govern, is to amuse ourselves with a form " of speech, as when we fay time, or age, 01 " death, does such a thing. That the govern " ment is not in the law, but in the person whose " will gives a being to that law. That the per " fed-ion of monarchy confilts in governing by a "nobility, weighty enough to keep the people " under, yet not tall enough, in any particulai " person, to measure with the Prince, and by a " moderate army, kept up under the notion of " guards and garrisons, which may bs fufHcient " to ftrangleail feditionsiu the cradlc ; by coun " cils, not such as are co ordinate with the " Prince, but purely of advice and difpatcli, with " power only to persuade, not limit the prince's " will In such a situation, writers on the lide of liberty thought themfelvcs. obliged to cor.hder what was then practicable, not stbfhact edly what was the btiL: they felt the necessity of leasing the monarchical and arilto.czatical orders out of their fcliemes of government, because all the friends of those orders were their tnemies', and of addrelling themselves' wholly to the de mon atical party, because they alone were their friends; at lealt there appears no other hypo thecs on which to account for the crude concep tions of Milton and N eel ham. The latter, in his preface, discovers his apprehensions and feelings too clearly to be iniftaken, in these woids : " I " believe none will be offended with this follow " ing discourse, but those that are enemies to " public welfare : let such be offended flill ; it " is not for their fakes that I pnblifh this enfu " inn treatise; but for your fakes that have been " noble patriots, fellow foldici s and Jufferers for " the liberties and si eedoms of your country." As Mr. Tuj-got's idea of a commonwealth, in which all authority is to be collected into one centre, and that centre the nation, is supposed to be precisely the projpifl of Marchamont Ned ham, and probably derived from liis book, and as " The Excellency of a free State" is a valu able morsel of antiquity, well known in America, where it has many paitifans, it may be worth while to examiie it, especially as it contains every semblance of argument which can po' bly be u'-ged in favour of the system, as it is not on ly the popular idea of a republic both in France and England, but is generally intended by the words republic, common-wealth and popular slate, when used bv Etiglifh writers, even those of the liioft sense, tafle, and learning. (To be contiuued.) * See the political pamphlets of that day, written on the fide of monarchy. NATIONAL MONITOR No. V7~ " Temporary expedients do but prolong the pub lick distress." THE imperfection of human nature is such, that its inherent resources are inefficient to retrieve the misfortunes of hfift :—The public dijtreffes brought upon America by the late war, have been conpdered as evils necessarily resulting from the derangement oj our Governments, our habits and pnrfuits—and that time and experience -will, in the natural course oj events re ft ore us again to tranquility and happiness.— It may be prejumed, that this sentiment has had too much influence upon the public mind; for we have been supinely waiting fir natural or forne other caufs, extraneous from our own exertions, to do that for us, which we Jhould have done for tur felves.—The woes cf private life are obliterated by the Lnient hand of 'Time ; but the evils of a Commu nity, like a flood which deluges a country, tnuft have the fpeetfy united exertions of a People, to form fame medium by which tiey may be carried off. Time, which affords a sovereign Cure for private adds to the weight of public Calamities ; for while the difsaji exijts, like a contagion, it spreads from one part of the community to the other, with encreaf ing and aggravated force, till it becomes fa un'tver fal, and acquires such strength, that a new creation is as practicable, as bringing back a debauched, licen tious, unprincipled people to the paths of virtue, or der and government. It has often been observed, that the hand of Hea ven was as confpicuotis, in difpoftng the People oj America to adopt the New System of Government, as it was in supporting and carrying us through the late war.—This illumination of mind plainly indi ates, that those principles which had beer, early imbibed by our ancejiors—which had been transmitted from fire to fun, and which led us to Empire and Independence, though injured and weakened, had not entirely lofi their force —they have broken out in a blaze of lujlre highly honorary to our character, leading the States in Union to adopt the only solid expedient commensu rate to their exigencies, the New Conftitution —the righteous administration of this free Government will pruve a cathclicon for the dlfeafes of the nation. C. ABORIGINES OTAMERTCA. THE charatfle: iftical features of the Indians of America, are, a very final! forehead covered with • hair from the extremities to the middle of the eyebrows. They have little black eyes, a thin nose, small and bending towards the uppei lip. The countenance broad ; the features coarse ; the ears large and far from the face ; their hair very black, lank and coarse. Their limbs small, but well turned ; the body tali, strait, of a copper co lor, and well proportioned ; strong and acftive, but not fitted for much labor. Their faces smooth and free from beard, owing to a custom among t hem of pulling it out by the roots. Their coun tenances, at firit view, appear mild and innocent, but upon a critical infpetftion, they discover some thing wild, diftruftful and sullen. They are iferrous with tlieir bows and arrows ; fond of adorning themselves with firings of beads and : shells about their necks, and plates in their ears i and nolfcs. In summer they go aluioft naked ; j but in winter they cover themselves with the ;fkins of beasts taken in hunting, which is their principal employment. They many times torture their pril'oners in the most fhockitig and cruel manner ; generally scalp them, and fometiines 'broil and eat them' Marfe's Geography. MISCELLANEOUS. EAST-INDIA INTELLIGENCE. " New-York, MAY, 23, j-fc* ThefliipChefapeake, from Bengal] John O'Donnel, Esq. owr,- cr and commander, arrived in Amboy, has brought*a valuable car«o fcftnfifting of almost every piodu£tion and manufatture of Aha He has had a very quick paflage, being only tour months, includ ing five or fix days ft ay at the islands of St. Helena and Afcctu;o>, from Bengal. By Mr. O'Donnel's arrival, we are favored w><h the following intelligence : Th£ Chesapeake was the firft American vefTel allowed to hoiffc tlie colors of the United States in the celebrated river Gangt> and to trade there. When Lord Cornwallis the Govcrnoi-Gtrier.! then at a great distance up the country, was applied to bv iateV from Calcutta, to know in what manner the Americans were to be received, hisanfwer was—On the fame footvng with the othtr nations. This answer being probably conformable to his infrac tions from Great-Britain, Qvincc the friendly disposition of that nation in that quarter, for the American ships pay no more atar.y of the English fettiements of Bengal, Madras and Bombay, which Mr. O'Donnel visited, than other fore'gneis. It is to be noticed #lfo, that the fuprcme council of Bengal, have taken off a huvy duty, called governmental customs, which included cxpor.g well as imports : This duty all other nations, except the Enoiift were liable to. This on Madeira Wine was so high as 18 rupas the calk—and one rupee, or 2[6. fterl. on ali Wines in bottles. All forts of European Goods—Wines, Spirits, &c. were fellinr at the different European fettiements in Inuia, considerably under prime cost, in consequence of the markets being overflo&ed. The best Madeira wine M ould not net twenty pounds fterl. the pipe. Capt. Kerby, in the Betsey from Philadelphia, arrived fafe at Bengal, but in a very leaky condition ; her e-.rgo of Wine, &c, was unloading. The vessel was to be fold, and not to retur;.. Capt. Randall, in the Jay, was fafe arrived at Batavia, from Madras. It was supposed flie would winter there, and procttd early next season to China. Capt. Metcalfe, in the brig Eleanor, belonging to New-Yo-k, lying in the river Tigris, was boarded weuuderftand by a number of Chinese banditti; but by the fpinted conduct of the crew, who brought a gun, loaded with grape, to bear on them, they werere pulfed with the loss of some 01 then gang. The Capt. was up at Canton. All was profound peace between the country and European powers in India, when Mr. O'Donnel failed. TheJiitherto reiilefs and ambitious Tippo, son of the famous Hyder,Ally, andtheKng lifti, appear heartily sick of wa , and are now fully employed m reftoringloft credit, and their almost ruined finances, by fvflems of reform and economy. * The French at Pondicherrv were preparing a strong armament to accompany the dethroned Prince of Cochin China, who late ly v.sited France, and to aflift him in the recovery of his legal and hereditary kingdom. We understand, it is very unfafe for American vefTels to goon thecoaftof Malabar, for fear of the Mahrattas fleets, who with out diftin&ion capture the ships of all nations with whom they have no treaty. ONE SPIRIT ANIMATES THE WHOLE. A late Boston paper contains the following paragraph. The conduct of the Prelident of the United States, lays a correfponri ent, places in so interfiling a point of view his truly illuttnous chara&er as must endear him more than ever to hi« grawfuland admiring countrymen —his disinterested refufal of all pecuniary emoluments—his mild, conciliating language—his ftrongjy implied opinion in favour of such alterations as shall improve* and not injure the con ft i tut ion—his truly republican address to the Senate and House of Repreftntatives—all'prove hira, beyond controversy, the lame amiable, honcft, and GREAT MAN, the fame real and unaffected friend to the PEOPLE, he always his oeen. In being elevated to the firft place in the Union, he d®cs not forget that he is still a citizen : And the manly style, and tru ly democratic simplicity with which his firft official communica tion is introduced, make us think that we heard the great Fabiis addrefling the people of Rome, after having saved his country. " Phi ladelphi a, May, 15. The Speech of The President, upon his acceffidn to the go vernment of the United States, deserves to be engraved in letter* of gold. Antiquity h-s handed down to us nothingequal to it J.he combination of juit and fublune principles, which appeal iu every part of it, difcoverstne Christian, the patriot, and the Legi* llator, in the highest degrees. Let vice and infidelity now hide their heads. They can never, hereafter, beconfidered as faftnon ab'e paris of a political character in the United States. Our il luftrious y President, has taught us, from his present elevated station, that to reverence the DEITY, and topraitife the duties ol Morality, are the highest policy, as well as wisdom of a nation. To render the present arduous station of our Prelident tafy to him, it is the duty of eveiy citizen, to promote peace and order m our count] y. To be the enemy of the Federal Government notv, is to be the enemy of the great and good General Washi ngto>. Arrived at Baltimore, for the purpofe'of the print ing of cotton and linen cloats ar*d hangings, Mcilrs Col ay, Chard on and Okinaro. It is uncertain in what place th;i gentlemen will fix thcmfelves, but, wherever it ihall be, their fuc ceis is moil eat neftly to be wifhcd, and amounts to a certainty. I hey have been regularly bred and employed in that business in the city of Nantz, 111 France, where the air of calico and papj- r hanging printing is improved beyond any part of Europe. The importation of printed i nens and cottons into the United States'" estimated at fixty-five thousand pounds annually, besides which are very large quantities of hangings made. PRICE OF STOCKS. BOSTON. Loan-OfHce Certificates, 4/7. Pierce's Final Settlements, 4J). Indents, 3J 2 - li.'post Orders, 15/u Specie Orders, 10f. (Rr SUBSCRIPTIONS for the « COURIER DE BOSTON," - nezv weekly paper, publijhcd at Bojion in the 'French Language, are re ceived at No. 9, Maiden Lane. [ The utility of 1 paper miais aim" l universal language need n6t be hinted to thole, who wish to ac quire the French tongue. J _ 03* Completefetts from the beginning, oj the GAZETTE OF THE UN II ED STA'I ES, may at any time be obtained by thoji who chvj( 0 fubjynte for that publication, at the Editors Office, No. 9, Maiden-L ant- THE \PRESIDENT'S HOUSEHOLD. WHEREAS, all Servants and others, employed to piocuff provisions, or lupplies, for the Household of The of the United S.tates, will be furniihed with monies lor thoK purposes. Notice is therefore given, That no accounts, for payment of which the Public might be cor.fidered as relpO"' fible, are to be opened with any of them. Samuel Fraunces, Steward of the Hovfcho' Publifticd by JOIttTFENNO, No. 9, Maide^" Lane, near the Os wkco-Mar ket, New-York.
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