LETTER.
fThe RIGHT GOVERNMENT of a COMMON
WEALTH EXAMINED.
[Continued from our
IT*happens universally, whtn the people in a
body, or by a single representative afiembly, at
empt to exercise all the powers of government,
'hey always create three or four idols, who make
<* bargain with each other fir It, to do nothing
which lhall displease any one : Thele hold this
agreement, until one thinks himlelf able to dif
emban ass himfelf of the other two ; then they
quarrel, and the Itrongelt becomes single tyrant,
cut why is the name of Pompey omitted, who
was the third of this triumvirate? Because it
would have been too unpopular ; it would have
tooeafily confuted his argument, and have turn
ed against himfelf,to have said that this aflociation
was between Pompey, Cnefar, and Crafius, against
Cato, the senate, the constitution, and liberty,
which was thefaift. Can you find a people who
will never be divided in opinion ? who will be al
ways unanimous ! The people of Rome were di
• vided, as all other people ever have been and will
be, into a variety of parties and factions. Pom
pey, Crafius, and Caesar, at the head of differ
ent parties, were jealous of each other: Their
divisions ltrengthened the senate and its friends,
andfurnilheil meansand opportunities of defeating
many of their ambitious designs. Ca:far perceived
it, and paid his court both to Pompey and Crafius,
in order to hinder them from joining the senate
against him. He separately represented the ad
vantage which their enemies derived from their
mifunderHandings, and the ease with which, if
united, they might concert among themfelvesall
arfairs of the republic, gratify every friend, and
disappoint every enemy. ihe other example, of
Augustus, Lepidus,and .Antony, is equally unfor
tunate : Both are demonstrations that the people
did think of usurping others rights, and that tliey
did not mind any way to preserve their own.—
The Senate was now annihilated, many of them
murdered : Augustus, Lepidus, and Antony, were
popular demagogues,who agreed together to fleece
the flock between them,until the molt cunning of
the three destroyed the other two, fleeced the
ftieep alone, and transmitted the Ihears to a line
of tyrants. How can this writer fay then, that,
" while the government remained untouched in
" the people's hands, every particular man lived
" fafe ?" The ilirec't contrary is true. Every
man lived fafe, only while the Senate remained as
a check and balance to the people ; the moment
that contfoul was destroyed, no man was fafe.
While the government remained untouched in the
various orders, the Consuls, Senate, and people,
mutually balancing each other, it might be said,
with some truth, that no man coidd be undone,
unless a true and fatisfadtory reason was rendered
to the world for his deftruiftion ; but as soon as the
Senate was deftrcyed, and the government came
untouched into the people's hands, no man lived
fafe but the Triumvirs and their tools ; any man
might be, and multitudes of the belt men were,
■undone, without rendering any reason to the
world for their deftruiftion, but the will, the fear,
or the revenge of some tyrant. Thele popular
leaders, in our author's own langitage, " laved
" and destroyed, deprefled and advanced, whom
" they plealed, with a wet finger."
• The second argument to prove that the people,
in their fuccefiive single allcmblies, are the J)elt
keepers of their own liberties, is, " because it is
" ever the people's care to fee that authority be
" so constituted, that it fliall be rather a burthen
" than profit to those that undertake it; and be
" qualified with such slender advantages of profit
" or pleasure, that men fliall reap little by the
« enjoyment. The happy confcquence whereof
" is this, that none but honest, generous, and
" public spirits, will then defile to be in autho
" rity, and that only for the common good.
" Hence it was, that in the infancy of the Roman
" liberty there was no canvafling for voices; but
" single and plain-hearted men were called, in
" treated, and in a manner forced with impor
" tunity to the helm of government, in regard of
" that great trouble and pains that followed the
" employment. Thus Cincinnatus was fetched
" out of the field from his plough, and placed,
" much against his will, in the fublimc dignity of
"Dictator: So the noble Camillus, and Fabius,
" and Curius, were, with much ado, drawn from
" the recreation of gardening to the trouble of
" governirg; and the consul year being over,
" they returned with much gladness again to
" their private employment."
The firft question which would arise in the inind
of an intelligent and attentive reader would be,
whether this were bin lefque, and a epublic traves
ty ? But as the principle of this second reason is
very pleasing to a large body of narrow fpii its in
every fociciy, and as it ljasbeen a lopted by some
refpciTtable au;lioriries,without lii£icientconfiie; -
ation, it may be proper to £jjve it a lerious inves
tigation*
Tiie people have, in some countries and seasons,
made their fc;*iecs irk.fir.nc ; and i: i-
willi some ro make authority a burthen, But
what has been the confequencc to the people I
Their service has been delerted, and they have
been betrayed. Those very persons >vho have
flattered the meanness of the stingy, by offering
to fervethem gratis, ana bypurchaling their fuf
frages, have carried the liberties and properties
of their conftirueiits to market, and fold them for
very handsome private profit to the monarchical
and ariftocratical portions offociety : And so long
as the rule of making their lervice a burthen is
pei filled in, so long will the people be served
with the fame kind of address and fidelity, by
hypocritical pretences to disinterested benevo
lence and patriotifin, until their confidence is
gained, their affections secured, and their entliu
iiafm excited, and by knavish bargains and sales
of their cause and intercft afterwards. But al
though there is always among the people a party
who are jultly chargeable with meanness and ava
rice, envy and ingratitude, and this party has
sometimes been a majority, who have literally
made tlie?r service burthemfome, yet this is noi
the general character of the people; a more
universal fault is, too much affection, Confidence,
and gratitude, not to fucli as really serve them,
whether with or against their inclinations, but to
those who flatter their inclinations, and gain theit
hearts. Honest and generous spirits will disdain
to deceive the people; and if the public service
is wilfully rendered burthenfome, they will really
be averse to be in it : but hypocrites enough will
be found, who will pretend to be also loath tc
serve, and feign a reluctant consent for the public
good, while they mean to plunder in every way
they can conceal. There are conjunctures whenji
is the duty of a good citizen to hazard and facrifice
all for his country : but, in ordinary times, it is
equally the duty and interest of the community
not to fufferit. Every wife and free people, like
the Romans, will eflablifh the maxim, to fuffer nc
generous action for the public to go unrewarded,
Can our author be supposed to be lincere, in re
coinmendingit as a principle of policy to any na>
tion to render her service in the army, navy, 01
in council, a burthen, an unpleasant employ
ment to all her citizens I Would he depend upor
finding human spirits enough to fill public offices
who would be fufficiently elevated in patriotifrc
and general benevolence to facrifice their ease
health, time, parents, wives, children, and every
comfort, convenience, and elegance of life, for
the public good Is there any religion or mora
lity that requires this? Which permits the many
to live in affluence and ease, while it obliges i
few to live in misery for their fakes ? The peo
ple are fond of calling public men their ser
vants, and some are not able to conceive them tc
be servants, without making them Have*, and
treating them as planters treat their negroes :—
But, good makers, have a care how you use your
power; you may be tyrants as well as public
officers. It seems, according to our author him
(elf, that honefly and generosity of spirit, and the
pallion for the public good, were not motives
ftronw enough to induce his heroes to defireto be
in public life ; they inuft be called, intreated, and
forced. By single and plain-hearted men, he
means the fame, no doubt, with those described
by the other exprelfions, honest, generous, and
public spirits. Cincinnatus, Camillus, Kabius, and
Cm ius, were men as simple and as generous as
any; and tliefe all, by his own account, had a
strong aversion to public service. Either
these great characters inuft be supposed to have
practii'ed the Ado Epifcopari, to have held up a
fictitious aversion for what they really desired, or
we must allow their reluctance to have been lin
cere. If counterfeit, these examples do not de
serve our imitation ; if sincere, they will never be
followed by men enough to carry 011 the bulineis
of the world. The glory of these Roman cha
racters cannot be obfeured, nor ought the admi
ration of their sublime virtues to be diminished ;
but fucli examples are as rare among ttatefinen,
as Homers andMiltons among poets. A free peo
ple of common sense will not cfepend upon finding
a fufficient number of such characters at any one
time, but less a succession of them for any lor <r
duration, for the support of their liberties. To
make a law, that armies should be led, Senates
counselled, negociations conducted, by none but
fucli characters, would be to decree that the busi
ness of the world should come to a full stand :
And it must have flood as still in those periods of
the Roman liiftory as at this hour ; for such cha
racters were nearly as scarce then as they are now.
The parallels of Lyfander, Pericles, Themiftocles,
and Ccefar, are much easier to find in history,
than those of Camillus, Eabius, and Curius. If
the latter were with much difficulty drawn from
their gardens to government, and returned with
pleasure at iliq end of the conlular year to their
rural amusements; the former are as ardent to
continue in the public service, and if the public
will not legally reward them, they plunder the
public to reward themselves. The father of
1 hemiftocles had more aversion to public life
than Cincinnatus; and, to moderate the propen
lity of his foil, wljo ardently aspired to the highest
offices of the llatc, pointed to the old galliesVol
ling in the docks—" There," fays he, " fee the
' old ftutefmen, worn ent hi the fervke of their
" counwy, thus always neglected whm no loiter
"of ufc !" Yet the ion's ardour not abated
though he was not one of those honest spirits that
aimed only at the public good. Pericles too
though his fortune was small, and the honest
emoluments of his office very moderate, disco
vered no such averlion to the service; on the
contrary, he entered into an emulation in pro
digality with Ciinon, who wus rich, in orde;
equally to dazzle the eyes of the multitude. To
make himfelf the foul of the republic, and wai
ter of the aifec r tions of the populace, to enable
them to attend the public allemblVi and then.,
trical representations for his purposes, he laviflj.
Ed his donations : Yet he was so far from beino
honclt and generous, and aiming solely at the
public good, that he availed himfelf of the riches
of the Hate to supply his extravagance ot ex
pence, and made it an invariable maxim to fa
crifice every thing to his own ambition. When
the public finances were exhaulted, to avoid ac
counting for the public money, he involved his
country in a war with Sparta.
(To be continued.)
Boston, May 20,1789. Agreeably to an order
of the Hon. Secreiary at War, Mr. Joseph Callen
der has just finifhed the Inscription ordered by
Congress to be engraved on the TWO CANNON,
which constituted one moiety of the American Ar
tillery, at the commencement of the late war.
The inscription is finely executed in relievo—as
follows.
The HANCOCK, one—The ADAMS, the other.
Sacred to Liberty.
This one of Four Cannon,
Which coniUtuted the whole train
of Field Artillery
poflefled by the Britijk Colonies of
North ■ America,
at the commencement of the
War,
on the 19th of April, M,DCC,LXXV.
This CANNON
and its fellow,
belonging to a number of citizens of Boston,
were used in many engagements
dui ing the war.
The other two, the property of the
Government of Maflachufetts,
were taken by the enemy.
By order of the United States,
In Congress allembled.
May 19, 1 788.
NATIONAL MONITOR No. VI.
" Government is so far the rcfult of a free choice, as the people
are led to its adoption from sentiment."
IT is a trite, though true obfertation, that 4t good education isthc
M foundation oi all human nappmefs;" Tt,sis so umverfiHy a»-
knowledged in private lje % that the condud of trie enlightened part of
waukwd may be considered as a comment upon the convtciion of its im
portance ; —hence the common observation, that g,;od education is the
beflfortune—hence the extreme fohcitude of parents to Jham ever)
verve, that they may extend the plan oj their children's improvements in
Jcience— that they may enjoy advantages which their fres feel the want
of—hence aJfo the rapid progress that has been made in improving upen
ancient modes of infimtliofr —opening neiv avenue* to knowledge, cud
expanding our views in those walks that had been familiar to us. It
appears Jrom these specimens, that under the auspices oj peace,
Mid good there is every reason to that the great im
portance of education will continually appreciate in the minds of our c;ti*
zens aiidthat in this refped, 44 the w llftemcfs will ere long be made
4to bloflom like the rose Already do we behold Sclcncccourtwg
the funs ef America to the retirements of rural life; Seminaries oj Learn
ing arjing in those retreats, late the haunts of savage men, uld and
untutored as their fellow-tenants of the woods.
Ihis deeply impressed fen fe of tUe importance of education, may, ar.i
doultlefs will, operate mofi powerfully and effeliually, in producing the
necejjary provifonfor common education—as it will come in to aid those
necejjary arrangements, which mufl be made by the fathers, the vuxgf
trates, the ruling powers of villages, towns, and cities, to effect this im
portant objefl.
But this it cannot be supposed, will extend its benign in
fluence so far, as tofupertede the necefhty of Congreflional interference
in a fubjett of so great magnitude, as NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
for a NATIONAL EDUCATION.
This is doubtless a desideratum, that the wife and philanthropic part
of mankind will exult to fee realized—public JcmiMaries, in which na
tional, governmental, and patriotic inflruflion /hall form, the great
outlines of thefflem.
Irom Juch a centre, those rays of knowledge, may diverge in every
pifftble direttion, which will be produHive of the mojl salutary confe
quentes\ for it requires nutuing kiore than a feeling sense of the impor
°f and civil government, founded on a competent un-
Jerfl, ah ding of tKeir principles and iutrinfic excellencies, to engage the
a ffc£tions of the human mind in their fupport\ but the foundation of
m uunerfal attochjzeut to right principles, whether of a public or a
private nature, mufl be lard in youth. C.
Till PRESIDENT'S HOUSEHOLD.
W HEREAS, all Servants and others, employed to procure
prov.Aons, orfupplies, for the Household, of The Pkfsident
o( the Un i tic States, will be furniihed with monies for thole
puipofes. Notice is thorofore given, That no accounts, for the
payment of which the Public might be coniidered as
are to be opei.ed with any of their.
Samuel Frauncss, Steward of the Houfshpld.
Mat 4th, 1789.
BSUBSCRIPTIONS for the 14 COURIER DE BOSTON a
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ceived at A O, 9, Maiden Lane. [The utility-os a paper m this aliTiolt
univei lul language need not be hinted to those, who with to ac-i
quire the French tongue, j *
„S^Srfi'"J itts f rom "« ginning, oj the GAZETTE Of THE
, ' mjy any tlmc be oitjined by those who chuft tc
futjcrioejor that publication, atthe Editor's Office, St. 9, Maidm-Unr
Publi/hed by JOHN t'ENNO, No. 9, Maiden-
I an f, ne»i the Oswego-Ma rksi , KfiW-Yosn.