The RIGHT GOVERNMENT of a COMMON WEALTH EXAMINED. [Continuedfrota our But we mult not rely upon these general obier vations alone : let us descend to a particular con - federation of our author's exanlples, in every one of which he is very unfortunate. The retirement ofCincinnatus to the country was not his choice, but his ncceflity : Csff'o, his son, had offended the . people by an outrageous opposition to tlfeir holieit Struggles for liberty, and had been fined for a crime ; the father, rather than let his bondfincn luster, paid the forfeiture of his recognizance, re duced himfelf to poverty, and the neceflity of re tiring to hisfpadeor plough. Didthe people in treat and force hiin back to Roipe ? No; it was the senate in opposition to the people, who dreaded his high ariflocratical principles, his powerful connections, and personal refentnients. Nor did he difcovcr the least reluctance to the service or dained luni by the fenatc, but accepted it without > hesitation. All this appears in Livy, clearly con tradictory to every sentiment of our author.* At another time, when disputes ran so high between the tribunes and the senate, that seditions were apprehended, the senators exerted themselves in the centuries for the election of Cincinnatus, to the great alarm and terror of the people, f Cincin nati, in short, although his moral character and private life were irreproachable among the ple beians, appears to have owed his appointments to office, not to them, but the Senate ; and not for popular qualities, but for ariftocratical ones, and thedetermined opposition of himfelf and his whole family to the people. He appears to have been forced into service by no party ; but to have.been as willing, as he was an able, instrument of the senate. In order to fee the inaptitude of this ex ample in another point of view, let the question be alked, What would have been the fortune of Cincinnatus, if Nedham's " right constitution" had then been the government of Rome ? The answer muftbe, that he would have loft his elec tion, most probably even in the representative as sembly : most certainly he would never have been consul, dictator, or commander of armies, because he was unpopular. This example, then, is no argument in favor of our author, but a strong one against him. ff we recollect the character and actions of Curius, we lhall find them equally conclusive in favor of balanced government, and against our author's plan. M. Curius Dentatus, in the year of Rome 462, obtained as consul a double triumph, for forcing the Samnites to sue for peace. This nation, having their country laid waste, fenttheir prinripal men as anibaflaclors, to offer presents to Curius for his credit with the senate, in order to their obtaining favorable terms of peace. They found him fitting on a ltool before the fire, in his little house in the country, and eating his dinner out of a wooden dish. They opened their deputa tion, and offered him the gold and silver. He answered them politely,but refufedthe prefents.f He then added somewhat which at this day doca not appear so very poliilied : " I think it glorious to command the owners of gold, not to poflefs it myfelf." And which paflion do you think is the worfl, the love of gold, or this pride and ambition ? His whole estate was seven acres of land, and he laid once in alleinbly, " that a man who was not " contented with seven acres of land, was a per " nicious citizen." As we pass, it may be proper to remark the difference of times and circumstan ces. I low few in America could escape the cen sure of pernicious citizens, if Curius's rule were eftabliihed. Is there one of our yeoman content ed with seven acres ? How many are discontent ed with seventy times feveh ! Examples, then, drawn from times of extreme poverty, and a state of a vcrry narrow territory, should be applied to our circumstances with greatdifcretion. As long as the aristocracy lasted, a few of those rigid cha racters appeared from time to time in the Roman senate. Cato was one to the last, and went ex pretsly to visit the lioufe of Curius, in the coun try of the Sabines ; was never weary of viewing it, contemplating the virtues of its ancient owner and defil ing warmly to imitate them. But, though declamatory writers might call the conduct "of Curius " exciUliJJima Rojtiaiiee frugalittitis tiorvia it was not the general character, even of the sen ators, at tliat time : avarice raged like a fiery fur nace in the minds of creditors, most of whom were patricians ; and equal avarice and injustice in the minds of plebeians, who, infteadof aiming at mo derating the laws against debtors, would be con tent with nothing short of a total abolition of debts. Only two years after tins, viz. in 465, so tenacious were the patricians and senators of all NOTES. * Plefria concur fus in gens suit: fed ea, nequaquatn, tam lotta Quinlium vidit; ci imperii nimirtim, et virum, in ipfo imperto vehementiorem rata. Liv. lib. iii e. 26. H- Summo patrum studio, L. Quintius Cincinnatus, pater Cefo nis, consul creator, qui ftiagiftratunt ftatim accipcret, perculfa erat < pr®bs cdnfulcm habitura, iratum, potentem favore patrum, virtute iua, tribus liberis, Sec. J Val. Max. iv. 1. Cic. deScncc. $5. Senec. Epift. v. Cic. pro Flacco, 28. Plin. Nat. xviii. e. ' lIi«. rigor of their power over debtors, chat V eu rius, the foil of a consul, who had been reduced by poverty to borrow money at an exorbitant inter eh, was delivered up to his creditor; and that infamous uiiirer, C. Plotius, exacted from him all the servi ces of a Have, and the senate would grant 110 re lief : and when he attempted tofubjeCfc his slave to a brutal passion, which the laws did not toler ate, and scourged him with rods becauie he would not submit, all the punifliment which the consuls and senate would impose onPlotius vrasimprilbn inent. Tliis anecdote proves, that the indiffer ence to wealth was far from being general, either among patricians or plebeians ; and that ic was confined to a few patrician families, whole tena cioulhefs of the maxims and manners oftlieir an ceftorsproudly transmitted it from age to age. In 477 Curius was consul a l'ecoud time, when the plague, and a war with Pyrrlius, had lalted lb long as to threaten the final ruin of the nation, and obliged the centuries to clioofe a severe character, not bccaufe he was beloved, but becauie his vir tues and abilities alone could save the ltate. The austere character of the consul was accompanied by corresponding austerities, in this time of ca lamity, in the cenlors, who degraded several knights and senators, and among tlie relt Ruhnus, who had been twice consul and once dictator, for extravagance and luxury. Pyrrlius was defeated, and Curius again triumphed: and because a con tinuance of the war with Pyrrhus was expected, again ele&ed consul, in 478. In 480 he was cen sor. After all, he was lb little beloved, that an accusation was brought againlt him for having converted the public spoils to his own ui'e ; and he was not acquitted till he had sworn that 110 part of them had enteredhis house but a wooden bowl, which he used in facrifice. All thel'e sublime vir tues, and magnanimous aiflions of Curius, make nothing in tavor of Nedham. He was a patrician, a senator, and a consul; he had been taugnt by ariftocratical ancestors, formed in an ariftocrati cal school, and was full of ariftocratical pride. He does not appear to have been a popular man, either among the senators in general, or the ple beians. Ilufinus, Ids rival, with his plate and luxury, appears to have been more beloved, by his being appointed dictator. Notwithstanding that, the cenlors, 011 the prevalence of Curius's party, in atiineofdiftrefs, were able to disgrace him. It was in 479thatthe senate received an embaf fy from Ptolemy Pliiladelplius, king of Lgypt, and sent four of the principal men in Rome, »•. Fabius Gurges, C. Fabius Piftor, Numer. Fabius Piftor, and Q. Ogulnius, ambaliadors to J£gypt, to return the compliment. Fabius, who was at the head ol the embafly, was prince of the senate, and 011 his return reported their commiflion to the senate : laid that the king had received tlieiu in the 111 oil obliging and honorable manner: that he had sent them magnificent presents 011 their arrival, which they had defil ed him to excufethem from accepting : that at a fealt, before they took leave, the king had ordered crowns of gold to be given theixi, which they placed upon liisftatues the next day : that on the day of their king had given them presents far more magnifi cent than the former, reproaching them, in a molt obliging manner, for not having accepted them : thele they had accepted, withmoft profound ref pee r t, not to offend the king, but that, 011 their ar rival in Rome, they had depolited them in the public treasury: that Ptolemy had received the alliance of the Roman people with joy. The se nate were much pleased, and gave thanks to the ambalfadors for having rendered the manners of thePiomans venerable to foreigners by their sin cere disinterestedness : but decreed, that the rich presents depojited in the treasury Jhould be rejlored ttj and the people exprelied their fatisfadtioji in this decree, fhefe presents were undoubted ly imnienfely rich ; but where was the people's care to make the service a burthen ? Thanks of tilt senate are 110 burthens ; immense presents in gold and silver, voted out of the treasury into the hands of the ambaliadors, were no " slender advantages " °fprofit or pleasure," at a time when the na tion was extremely poor, and no individual in it very rich. But, moreover, three of these am bafladors were Fabii, of one of those few simple, frugal, ariftocratical families, who neither made advantage ot the law in favor of creditors, to make great profits out of the people by exorbitant usury on one hand, nor gave largefles to the people to bribe their alfeCtion on the other: so that, although they were respeCted and esteemed by all, they were not hated nor much beloved by any ; and fuili ij the fate of men of such simple manners at this day in all countries. Our author's great mis take lies in his quoting examples from a balanced government, as proofs in favor of a government without a balance. The senate and people were at this time checks on each others avarice : the people were the electors into office, but none, till vei y 1 .ttly, could be chosen but patricians ; none oi die senators, who enriched themfelvesby plun dering the public of lands or goods, or by extra vagant usury from the people, could expect their v otes to be consuls or other magistrates ; and there was no commerce or other means of enriching themfelyes : all, therefore, who were ambitious of serving in magistracies, were obliged to be poor. To this constant check andbalar.eelc'.-vieen the lenate and people, the production r.ixi the continuance of tiiele frugal av.d fiwple i:. iciarl characters and families appear to be owiV<,. (To be continued.) An ESSAY on FREE TRADE and FINANCES • particularly fbcwiug what fupplisr of public Rev:. nue may be drawn J rom Mercliandile, "attic::: in juring our Trade or burdening our people. [By a Citizen of Philadelphia is 1785.] Having lately publilhed a dilTertation on ths* political union nnd conftituticn, which is nectf lary for the preservation and happlnti's in'the Thirteen United States of North-America, i go ontocoiilideriome of the great departments ot' business, which mult fall under the niancremc;.:- of the great council of the union, and ihcii clKce; s. The firlt thing which naturally offers it;, n' . l 0 confideration,is the expence of government ; Uiii; is a Jme qua uon of the whole, and ail its pz::z. No kind of admininiftratiou can be carried on without expence, and thefcale or degree oi'pLu and execution mult ever be limited by it. iwo grand considerations offer themselves here. (~) The ejiit/tate oj tin exp4nc.es which government and (2.) Such ways and means of - tuoney to defray will Ire „iofl e.ify, hurtful anil opprtjftvs to the ftbjefl. The fir ft is not my prefenr principal object : I lhall therefore only observe upon it, that tiie wants of government, like the wants of nature, are few, and ealily supplied; 'tis luxury wkicli incurs the most expence, and drinks up the fountains of l'upply, and what is most to be lament ed, the fame luxury which drinks up the greatest lupplies, does at the fame time corrupt thabocy, enervate its strength, and waste thole pqweis which are designed for use, ornament or delight. The ways and means of l'upply are the object of my principal attention at prefenr. 1 will pi eniiie a few proportions which appear to me to defcTve great conlideration here. I. When a sum of money i> wanted, one way rf rafng it may be much eajier than another. This :r. equally true in states as in individuals. A Man mult always depend for l'upply 011 those articles which he can belt spare, or which he can dimuiiih with least inconvenience : He fhov'd ii.lt fell such articles as he has purpofeJy j rovided for market; if thefeare not enough, then such articles of his estate as he can belt spare, ahvavs fact in - cing luxuriesfirft, and necella; les lalt of all. 11. Any intereji or thing whatever, on which !'.; burden of tax is laid, is divis.iijbed either in yucu:i::y or neat value, e.g. if money is taxed, part of tic- Cam goes to pay the rax ; if lands, part of thepo duce or price goes to pay it; if'goodsj part of the price which the goods will fell for, goes to pay it, &c. 0 111. Theconfumption oj any thing, on wricb ''' burthen oj tax is laid, will always be thereby teamed, because l'uch tax will raise the price of the articles taxed, and lewer people will be able or willing to pay such advance of price, then would purchase, if the price was not railed.: And confirquently • The burden of tax ought to lie heavicji on such articles, the hfe and consumption of which drs Iteji necefary to the community, and iighteft on those ar ticles, the use and coufumption cf which are tuofl >te cejfary to the community. I think this so plain, that it cannot need any thing said on it either by way of illustration? or proof. V. The jlaples of any country are both ths forrrcr nnd measure of its wealth, and therefore ought to be encouraged and increased as far as poliible. No country can enjoy or confunie more than they can raise, make or purchase. No country cart purchase more than they can pay for; and no country can make payment beyond the amount of the surplus .which remains of their ftaplcs, af ter their cons umption is fubftradted. If they go be yond this, they mult run in debt, i. e. eat the calf in the cow's belly, or consume this year the proceeds of the next, whichisadire<ftfteptoruni, and mult if (continued,) end in dell ruction. VI. The great fiap/es of the United States, are our HUSBANDRY, FISHERIES, AND MANUFAC TURES. Trade comes in as the hand-maid of them all-—the servant that tends upon them—the liurfe that takes away their redundancies aud supplies all their wants. Tliefe we may coiilldei' as the great fburces of our wealth; and our trade, as the great conduit through which it flows. All thefewe ought i 1 found policy to guard, encou rage and increase as far as poliible, aruvto load them with burdens and embarraflments as little as poliible. THE PRESIDENT'; HOUSEHOLD. W HERE AS. all Servants and o.hcrs. employed to pro provifaons, or supplies, for the Houfebold, of The Presides" ot lite Un t t feft St at esj w, 11 be fornilhed with monies for those puipoies. Notice is therefore given, That no accounts. f'''.. tne p iymcntoi which the Public might be confidei ed ivUXH .V'-i ire to be opened with any of thein. Samuel Fraunces, Steward of the Houfciiold. May 4th, 1789. rr!iirTu C n' n & U J' e " s f rom the '"g'"'-'"g. of the GAZFJ tt. 01 THt rir 7 r * m *V at an\ time be obtainedh those tdho chujt U jubjvribc Jor that publication, at the Editor s Office, Ne. O. Published by JOHIO'Ef) NO~No7 97" Maj'- • ■ Lane, near the Oswsco-Markit, Ne v-Yosk.
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