The Right Constitution oja Commonwealth examined. [Continued from No. 33.] IT is agreed, that " if any be never so good a patriot," (whe ther his power be prolonged or not) 44 he will find it hard to keep felf from creeping in upon him, and prompting him.to lb me ex travagancies for his own private benefit." But it is asserted, that power will be prolonged in the hands of the fame patriot, the fame rich, able, powerful, and well-descended citizen, See. as much as if he had a feat for lile, or an hereditary feat in a senate, and, what is more deftru&ive, his power and influence is con stantly increasing, so that felf is more certainly and rapidly grow ing upon him; whereas, in the other cafe, it is defined, limited, and never materially varies. If, in the firft cafe, 44 he be Ihortly 44 to return to a condition common with the reft ofhis brethren," it is only for a moment, or a day, or a week, in order to be re elected with frefti eclat, redoubled popularity, increased reputa tion, influence, and power. Self-intereft, therefore, binds him to propagate a falfe report and opinion, that he 44 does nothing 44 but what is just and equal," while in fatt he is everyday doing "what is unjust and unequal ; while he is applying all the offices ot the state, great and small, the revenues of the public, and even the judicial power, to the augmentation of his own wealth and ho nors, and thofeof his friends, and to the punishment, depreflion and deftru&ion of his enemies, with the acclamations and hofan nas of the majority of the people. 44 This, without controversy, must needs be the most noble, 44 the most just, and the most excellent way of government in 44 free states," provided our author meant only a mixed state, in which the people have an efiential share, and the command of the public purse, with the judgment of causes and accusations as jurors, while the power is tempered and controlled by theari llocratical part of the community in another house, and the execu tive in a diftinft branch. But as it is plain his meaning was to jumble all these powers in one centre, a single assembly of rcpre fentatives, it must be pronounced the most ignoble, unjust, and detestable form of government; worse than even a well-digeftcd simple monarchy or anftocracy. The greatest excellency of it is, that it cannot last, but hastens rapidly to a revolution. For a further illustration of this fubjeft, let a supposition be made, that in the year 1656, when this book was printed, the system of it had been reduced to prattice : A fair, full, and just representation of the people of England appears in the house of commons in Westminster-hall ; my lord General Cromwell is re turned for Westminster or London ; IretQn, Lambert, Sec. for other principal cities or counties; Monk, Sir Henry Vane, See. for others ; and evtn Hugh Peters for some borough ; —all eyes profoundly bow to my lord general as the firft member of the lioufe ; the other principal characters are but his primary planets, and the multitude but secondary ; altogether making a great ma jority in the intercft of his highness : If the majority is dear,and able to excite a strong current of popular rumours, ardor, and en thusiasm, in their favour, their power will increase with every annual election, until Cromwell governs the nation more abfo- Jutely than any simple monarch in Europe. If there are in the house any members so daring as to differ in opinion, they will iofe their feats, and more fubmiflive chara&crs be returned in their places; but if the great men in trie house ftiould fall into pr.tty equal divisions, then would begin a warfare of envy, rancor, ha tred, and abuse of each other, until they divided the nation into two paities, and both must take the field.—Suppofe, for a further illustration, the monarchical and ariftocratical branches in Eng land suspended, and all authority lodged in the present house of commons ; —fuppofe that, in addition to all the great national question of legislation, were adced the promotion of all offices in the church, the law, the army, navy, excise, customs, and all questions of foreign alliance ; let all the foreign ambafladors, as well as candidates for offices, solicit there :—The contemplation must be amusing ! but there is not a member of the house could seriously wish it, after thinking a moment on the consequence. The obje&s are smaller, and the present temptations less, in our American houses ; but the impropriety would be equally obvious, though perhaps not so instantaneously deftruftive. Our author proceeds to prove his do&rine by examples out of the Roman history. 44 What more noble patriots were there 44 ever in the world than the Roman senators were, while they 44 were kept under by their kings, and felt the fame burthens of 44 their fury, as did the reft of the people?" If by the patriots are meant men who were brave and a&ive in war to defend the commonwealth against its enemies, the Roman senators and patricians were, under the kings, as good patriots as the plebeians were, and no bett< r. Whether they were ever kept under by their kings, or whether their kings were kept un der by them, I s ubmit to Livy and Dionyfius. The whole line of their kings, Romulus, Numa, Tullus, Ancus, Lucius Tar quinus, Servius Tullius, were meritorious princes ; yet the patri cians and senators maintained a continual series of cabals against them, constantly conspiring to set up one, and pull down another. Romulus was put to death by the patricians ; Tullus Hoftillus was murdered by the patricians ; Lucius Tarquinius was affaflina ted by the patricians ; and Servius Tullius too was murdered by the patricians, to make way for Tarquin. Some of these excel lent princes were dtftroyed for being too friendly to the people, and others for not being servile enough to the senate. I fit is patri otism to persecute to death every prince who has an equitable de sire of doing jufticc, and easing the burthens of the plebeians ; to intrigue in continual faClions to set up one king and butchcr ano ther ; toconfider friendftiip, and humanity, and equity, to the plebeians as treason against the state, and the highest crime that could be committed either by a king or patrician ; then the Ro man senators under the kings were noble patriots. But tta utmost , degrees of jealousy, envy, arrogance, ambition, rancor, rage, and cruelty, that ever constituted the ariftocratical or oligarchical character in Sparta, Ven cc, Poland, or where ever unbalanced ariftocratics have exiftcd and been most enormous, existed in the Roman patricians under their kings. What can our author mean by the senate and people's 44 feeling the burthens of the fury of their kings ?" Surely be had read the Roman hftory! Did he mean to repref nt it? The whole line of Roman kings, until we come to Tarquin the Proud, were mild, moderate princes, and their greatest fault, in the eyes ot the senators. was their endeavor now and then to protest the peo ple against the tyranny of the senate. Their greatest fault, in the judgment of truth, was too much complaisance to the senate, by making the conilitution more ariftocratical : Witntfs the assem blies by centuries instituted by Servius Tullius. But Nedham fliould have considered what would have been the fruits in Rome, from the time of Romulus, of annual elc&ions of fen'ntors to be vested with supreme power, with all the autho rity of the king, senate, and people. All those perl'ons whoft whose names we now read as kings, and all those who are men tioned as senators, would havecaballed with the people as well a cne another. Their paflions would have been extingnifhed ; the fame jealousy and envy, ambition and avarice, revenge and cruel ty, would have been displayed in aftemblies of the people : fome tirnes one junto would have been popular,fometimes another: one set of principles would havif prevailed one year, an 4 another the next ; now one law, then another ; at this time one rule of pro perty, at that another; riots, tumults, and battles, would have be<n faught continually ; the law would have been a perfect Pro teus. But asthis confufoon could not last long, cither a simple mo narchy, or an aristocracy, must have arisen ; these might not have lasted long, and all the revolutions def:ribed by Plato and Ariftr tle as growing out of one another, and that we lee in the Greek, Roman,and Italian republics,didgrow outof one another, must have taken place, until the people weary ofrhange, would have fettled under a single tyranny and ftandingarnly,unlcfsthey had been wife enough to eftabhfh a well-ordered government of thiee branches. It is easy to mifreprcfent and confound things in order to make them anfwcr a purpose, but it was not because the authority was permanent, or Jlanding, or hereditary, that the behaviour of the fe natewas woife alter the expuliion of the kings than it had been under them; for the dignity of patricians and the authority of senators, was equally Jlanding, permanent, and hereditary, under the kings, from the institution of Romulus to the expulsion of Tar quin, as it was afterwards, from the expuliion of Tarquiu to the institution of tribunes, and indeed to the subversion of the com monwealth. It wasnotit permanency, but its omnipotence its being unlimited, unbalanced, uncontrouled, that occasioned the abuse ; and this is precisely what we contended for, that power is always a bused when unlimited and unbalanced, whether it be perma nent or temporary, a diftiu&ion that makes little difference in cf feft. The temporary has often been the worftof the two,becaufe it has often been sooner abused, and morcgrofsly, in order to ob tain its revival at the Hated period. It is agreed that patricians nobles, ft nators, the ariftocratical part of the community, call it by what name you please, are noble patriots when they are kept under; they are really then the best men and the bi.il citizens : But there is no poflibility of keeping them under but by giving them a m after in a monarchy,and twomafters in a free government One of the masters I mean is the executive power in the firft ma <*iftrate, and the other of the people in the houfc of representatives. Under these two masters they are,in general,the best men, citizens, magistrates, generals, or other officers ; they are the guardian s ornaments, and glory of the community. (To be continued.) MR. FENNO, I viijh the minds of the Americans to be unfetter ed, andmuj] therefore requeji you and the printers in this country to publish the following extracts from thi " Diversions of Purley," -which is almojl the onL treatise on our language that unfolds its trueprinciples. " DR. LOWTH, when he undertook to write his Introduction, with the bell intention in the world, moll afliiredly finned againll his bettei judgment: for he begins modjudicioufly thus— " Universal Grammar explains the principles " which are common to all languages. The " Grammar of any particular language, applies " those common principles to that particular lan " guage." And yet with this clear truth before his eyes, he boldly proceeds to give a particular grammar, without being himfelf poflefled of one lingle principle of universal Grammar. Again he fays, " the connective parrs of sentences are the " moll important of all" ; after which he proceeds to his examples of the proper and improper use of these connectives—without having the moll dis tant notion of the meaning of the words whole employment he undertakes to fettle. The con sequence was unavoidable, that having no reason able rule to go by, and no opponent fignification to direct him, he was compelled to trull his own fanciful taste, and the uncertain authority of others, and has consequently approved and con demned without truth or reason." page 284 note. " Johnson's merit ought not to be denied to him ; but his Dictionary is the mofl imperfect and faulty, and the leall valuable of any of his pro ductions; and that fliare of merit which it poflefled, makes it by so much the more hurtful. It mull be confefled that his Grammar and Hilloiy and Dictionary of what he calls the Englilh language, are, in all refpecfts, except the bulk of the latter, moll truly contemptible performances ; and a rc proach ro the learning and indullry of a nation, which could receive them with the slightest ap probation. Nearly one third of this Dictionary is as much the language of the Hottentots as of the Englilh; and it would be no difficult mutter, so to translate any one of the plainell and moll popular numbers Df the Spectator into the language of that Die ;ionary, that no mere Englishman, tho well read in his own language, would be able to compre hend one sentence ofit. page 267. " Harris defines a word to be a "found fignifi sant 5" then he defines conjunctions to be " words, (that is, founds pgnificant) devoid oj Signification." Afterwards ke allows that tliey have " a kind 0f fignification." Mr. Harris goes farther, and fays, they are a " kind of middle beings" (he mull mean between fignification and no fignification) " shar ing the attributes of both" (that is, of fignification and no fignification) " and conducing to link both together," (that is, fignification and no fignifica tion.) " His definition of proportion is jull as ri diculous. Yet this is a specimen of what Lowth calls the moll perfect example of Analyfis,tliat has been given since the days of Arillotle." page 165. I hefe charges, however severe, are doubtless just. Harris has publifhedavolumecalled Hermes, in which he does little more than endeavor to prove that our Gothic forefathers 2000 years ago, were as great philosophers 3S Plato and Arillotle. The time will come when the philological trea dles of these authors will be numbered with the monkifli volumes of fcholallic theology, and thrown among therubbifh of literature. But what then ? If common sense Ihould get the better of tliefe absurd fyllems, new coxcombs and new pe dants will Hart some others equally absurd and make prol'elytes to them. While we have pre tended philosophers who can fetioufly attempt to to prove that the earth was once covered with a crull, which was burll at the flood and tumbled into mountains—while they can calmly try to per luade us that the whole fyllem of worlds which we fee is lurroundecl with a shell of brass or cop- P er — anf l while very learned men dare to believe that mankind once had tails, and went on all fours^ —I fay while our preflesteem with such Huff as this, we are not to be surprised that grave doc tors and right reverends should think favagescapa ble of inventing words without meaning, and ar ranging them as eight dillinct parts of speech. SIXTH AiT or THE LZCISLATVRI Q; tllL l/Xtoti An ACT to eftablijh an EXECU I IVE MENT, to be denominated the DEPARI'Mvvt* OF WAR. Nl BE it cnarted by the Senate and Hottfe of R c pre fentatives oj the United States of America in ConLtft ajfembled, That there lhall be an executive depart ment,to bfc denominated the Department of War • and that there lhall be a principal officer therein to be called the SecretaryJ'or tlie department of war, who {hall perform and execute fucli duties as lhall from time to time be enjoined on, or en. milted to him by the President of the United States, agreeable to the Constitution, relative to military coinmilfions,or to the land,or naval forces lhips, or warlike stores of the United States or to such other matters refpecfting military or naval affairs, as the Prelident of the United States lhall alfign to the said department, or relative to the granting of lands to persons entitled thereto, for military services rendered to the United States or .elative to Indian affairs : and furthermore That the said principal officer lhall conduct the oufinefs of the said department in such man ner, as the President of the United States lhall from time to time order or inftrudt. And be it further enatied, That there lhall bein he said department, an inferior officer, to be at>- pointed by the said principal officer, to be em ployed therein as he lhall deem properand to be called the Chief Clerk in the department of war, and who, whenever the said principal officer lhall be removed from office by the Prelident of the United States, or in any other cafe of vacancy, lhall during such vacancy, Imve the charge, and culbody of all records, hooks, and papers, ap pertaining to the said department. And be it further enacted, That the said princi pal officer,and every other perfonto be appointed or employed in the laid department, lhall, before he enters on the execution of this office or em ployment, take an oath or affirmation well and faithfully to execute the trull committed to him. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary for the department of war, to be appointed in consequence of this a<sl, lhall forthwith after his appointment, be entitled to have the custody and chai ge of all records, books, and papers ill the office of Secretary for the department of war, heretofore eftablilhed by the United States in Congress afiembled. F. A. Muhlenberg, Speak-r of the House of Rrprtfcntolhis. John Adams, Vicc-Prejidcnt cj the United States, and Prefidevt oj the Senate. APPROVED, AUCUST 7, 1789. GLORGfc WASHINGTON, President of the UnitedStatts. SEVENTH ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THEVXIOX. An ACT for the efiablifhmetit and support HOUSES, BEACONS, BUOYS, and PUBLIC PIERS. BE it enattcdby the Striate and Hcufe of Rsprifcn latives oj the United States of America in Congress if fembled, That all expences which lhall accrue from and after the fifteenth day of August one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, in tht neceflary support, maintenance, and repairs of all light-houses, beacons, buoys, and public piers ere<fled, placed, or funk before the palling of this aift, at the entrance of, or within any bay, inlet, harbour, or port of the United States, tor ren dering the navigation thereof easy and fafe, (hall be defrayed out of the Treasury of the United States : Provided nevertheless, Thatnone of the said expences lhall continue to be so defray ed by the United States, after the expiration of one year from the day aforefaid, unless such ligl't houfes, beacons, buoys, and public piers, tall in the mean time be ceded to, and veiled in the United States, by the State or States refpeiftivelf in which the fame may be, together with the lands and tenements thereunto belonging, and together with the jurifditftion of the fame. And be it further enatled, That a light-lion c (hall be eretfled near the entrance of the Chela peake-Bay, at such place, when ceded to the United States in manner aforefaid, as the President of the United States lhall direcft. And be it further enaCled, That it lhall be tie duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to P r ° VI e by contracts which lhall be approved by the Pre dent of the United States, for building a I'g , lioufe near the entrance ofCJielapeake-Baj, an for rebuilding when neceflary, and keeping 1 good repair, the light-houses, beacons, bu°y > and publick piers in the several States, a,l£ 0 furnilhing the fame with all neceflary fupp > e » and also to agree for the falarics, wages, 01 ' of the person or persons appointed by the ,e dent,for the fuperintendance and care of the am And be it further enatted, That all pilots in _ bays, inlets, rivers, harbours, and ports o United States, lhall continue to be regulate■ conformity wi h the exilting laws ot th- refpeiflively wherein such pilots may be, o. such laws as the States may respective' y ]<j ter enadt for thepurpofe, until further leg l provision lliall be made by Congress. rG FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENB Speaker of the Ihufc of WfX uu JOHN ADAMS, Vict-Frtfiirnt ojthe Untie and President oj J - ArpROVED, Aucust 7, ijßg. „ suits- GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prefiient oj the V»u
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