Thi 11IGHT CONSTITUTION of a COMMON
WEALTH EXAMINED,
(in continuation.)
FLORENCE too, and Cofinus, are quoted,
and the alternatives of" treachery, revenge, and
cruelty ; all arising, as they did in Greece, from
the want of a proper division of authority and an
equal balance. Let any one read the liiltory of
the lirft Colinio, his wisdom, virtues, and un
bounded «opularity, and then conlider what
would have been the consequence if Florence, at
that period, had been governed by our author's
plan of successive single aflemblies, chosen by the
people annually. It is plain that the people
would have chosen such, and such only, for re
presentatives as Cofimo and his friends would
have recommended : at lealt a vast majority of
them would have been his followers, and he
would have been absolute. It was the aristocra
cy and forms of the old constitution that alone
served as a check upon him. The speech of Uz
zano must convince you, that the people were
more ready to make him absolute than ever the
Romans were to make Casfar a perpetual dicta
tor. He confefles that Cofimo was followed by
the whole body of the plebeians, and by one half
the nobles: Thar if Cofimo was not made malter
of the Commonwealth, Rinaldo would be, whom
he dreaded much more. In truth, the govern
mental this time was in reality become monarch
ical, and that ill-digested aristocracy, which
they called a popular State, exiftedonly in form ;
and the persecution of Cofimo only served to ex
plain the secret. Will it be denied that a na
tion has a right to choose a government for them
selves ? The question really was no more than
this, whether Rinaldo or Cofimo ihould be mas
ter. The nation declared for Cofimo, reversed
that banishment into which he had been very un
juftiyfent by Rinaldo, demanded his return, and
voted him the father of his country. This alone
is full proof, that if the people had been the
keepers of their own liberties, in their fuceel
five aflemblies, they would have given them all
to Cofimo ; whereas, had there been an equal
mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democra
cy, in that constitution, the nobles and commons
would have united against Cofimo the moment he
attempted to overleap the boundaries of his legal
authority. Uzzano confeffes, that unless charity,
liberality and beneficence, were crimes, Cofimo
was guilty of no offence, and that there was as
much to apprehend from his own party as from
the other, in the point of liberty. All the sub
sequent attempts of Rinaldo to put Cofimo to
death and to banifli him were unqualified tyran
ny. He saved hislife, itistrue, by a bribe, but
what kind of patrons of liberty were those who
would betray it for a bribe ? His recall and re
turn from banifliment feerns to have been the ge
neral voice of the nation, exprcfled, according
to the forms and spirit oftheprefent
without any appearance of such treachery as our
author suggests. Whether Nedham knew the
real history of Florence is very problematical;
all his examples from it are so unfortunate as to
be conclulive against his proje<ftof a government.
The real eflence of the government in Florence
had been, for the greatest part of fifty years, a
monarchy, in the hands of Uzzinoand Nafo, ac
cording to Machiavel's own account; its form
an aristocracy, and its name a popular state : No
thing of the eflence was changed by the reftora
tionof Cofiino ; the form and name only under
went an alteration.—Holftein too is introduced,
merely to make a story for the amusement of a
drunken mob. " Here is a health to the re
" membranceof our liberty." faidthe " boorish,
" poor, filly generation," seventy years after
they were made a duchy. Many hoglheads of
ale and porter, I doubt not, were drank in En
gland in consequence of this Holftein story; and
that was all the effect it had it could have towards
supporting our authpr's argument.
'' How deep soever the imprellion may be, that
" is made by the love of liberty upon the minds
" of the people, it will not follow that they alone
" are the belt keepers of their own liberties, be
" ingmore tender and more concerned in their
" security that any powerful pretenders whatfo
" ever." Are not the lenafors, whether they
be hereditary or elective, under the influence of
powerful motives to be tender and concerned for
the security of liberty ? Every senator, who con
fultsliis reason, knows that his own liberty, and
that of his posterity, must depend Upon the con
stitution which preserves it to others. What
greater refuge can a nation have, than in a coun
cil, in which the national maxims, and the spirit
and genius of the state, are preferred by a living
tradition?' What stronger motive to virtue, and
to the preservation of liberty, can the human mind
perceive, next to those of rewards and punifli
ments in a future life, thnn the recollection of a
long line of ancestors who have fat within the
walls of the senate, and guided the councils, led
the armies, commanded the fleers, and fought the
battles of the people, by which the nation has
been sustained in its infant years, defended from
dangers, and carried through calamities, to
■wealth,grandeur, prosperity, and glory? Whp;
institution more ufeful can possibly exist, than
a living repertory of all the history, know
ledge, interests, «nd wisdom of the common
wealth, and a living leprefentative of all the
great characters whose prudence, wisdom, and
valour, are registered 111 the history and record
ed in the archives of the country ? If the peo
ple have the periodical choice of these, we may
hope they will select those, among the moll con
spicuous for fortune, family and wealth, who
are most signalized for virtue and wisdom, which
is more advantageous than to be confined to the
ekleft son, however defective, to the exclusion
of younger sons, however excellent, and to one
family, though decayed and depraved, to ano
ther more deserving as in hereditary senates ;
But thatafenate, guarded from ambition, (hould
be objected to, by a friend of liberty and repub
lican government, is very extraordinary. Let
the people have a full lhare, and a decisive nega
tive ; and, with this impregnable barrier againlt
the ambition of the senate on one fide, and the
executive power with an equal negative 011 the
other, such a council will be found the patron
and guardian of liberty 011 many occasions, when
the giddy thoughtless multitude, and even their
representatives, would negledt, forget, or even
despise and insult it; inflances of all which are
not difficult to find.
CONGRESS or the UNITED STATES.
Begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wrdnefday the Fourth
of March, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-Nine.
RESOLVED, That the survey directed by
Congress in their aift of June the fixtli, one thou
sand seven hundred and eighty-eight, be made
and returned to the Secretary of the Trea
lury without delay; and that the President of the
United States be requested to appoint a fit person
to complete the fame, who shall be allowed five
dollars per day whilst atfiually employed in the
said service, with the expences lieceflarily at
tending the execution thereof.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
JOHN ADAMS, Vue-Prefident of the United States,
and President of the Senate.
APTROVID, AUCUST the 26th, 1789.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prefdent of the United States.
An ACT to provide for the fafe-keeping of the
ACT. S, RECORDS, and SEAL of the United
States and for other purposes.
BE it etiaftedby the Senate and House of Represen
tatives of the United States of America in Congress
ajfe?/ibled, That the executive department, deno
minated the Department of Foreign Affairs, shall
hereafter be denominated the department of
State, and the principal officer therein shall here
after be called the Secretary of State.
And be it further tnatted, That whenever a bill,
order, resolution, or vote of the Senate and House
of Representatives, having been approved and
signed by the President of the United States, or
not having been returned by him with hisobjec
tions, fliall become a law, or take effecft, it shall
forthwith thereafter be received by the said Se
cretary from the President: And whenever a
bill, order, resolution, or vote, shall be return
ed by the President with his obje&ions, and fliall
011 being reconsidered, be agreed to be pafl'ed,
and be approved by two thirds of both Houses of
Congress, and thereby become a law or take ef
fetft, it fliall, infuch cafe, be received by the
said Secretary from the President of the Senate,
or the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
in whichsoever House it shall lafl have been so ap
proved ; and the said Secretary shall, as soon
as_ conveniently may be, after he shall re
ceive the fame, cause every fucli law, order, re
solution, and vote, to be published in at least
three of the public newspapers printed within the
United States, and fliall also cause one printed
copy to be delivered to each Senator and Repre
prefentative of the United States, and two print
ed copies duly authenticated to be sent to the ex
ecutive authority of each State ; and he fliall care
fully preserve the originals, and fliall cause the
fame to be recorded in books to be provided for
that purpose.
And be it further etiaHed, That the seal hereto
fore used by the United States in Congress aflem
bled, fliall be,_ and hereby is declared to be the
seal of the United States.
And be it-further er.atled, That the said Secre
tary shall keep the said seal, and shall make out
and record, and shall affix the said seal to all civil
commissions, to officers of the United States, to be
appointed by the President by and with the advice
andconfent of the Senate,or by the President alone.
/ ; ovidedy That the said seal jJiall not be affixed to
any commifuon, before the fame shall have been
signed by the President of the United States, nor
to any other inftruinent or acft, without the spe
cial warrant of the President therefor.
And be it further catted, That the said Secreta
ry (hall caule a Seal of office to be made for- the
said department of such device as the President
of the United States fliall approve, and all copies
of recoros and papers in the said office, autl'cn
ticated under the said seal, lhall be evidence e
qually as the original record or paper.
And be it further enaded, Tliat there lhall 1
paid to the Secretary, for the life of the Unit, I
States, the following fees of office, by the Jr
lons requiring the services to be performed ,v"
cept when they are performed for any officer of
the United States, in a matter relating to the du
ties of his office, to wit: For making out and
authenticating copies of records, ten cents'for
each ffieet, containing one hundred words
for authenticating a copy of a record or
under the seal of office, twenty-five cents.
And be it further etiaCled, That the said Secre
tary lhall forthwith after his appointment
entitled to have the custody and charge of the
said seal of the United States, and alio of all
books, records, and papers, remaining in the
offiee of the late Secretary of the United States
in Congress ailembled ; and such of the said books
records, and papers, as may appertain to the
Treasury department, or War department, (hall
be delivered over to the principal officers in the
said departments respectively, as the President
of the United States lhall diredt.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG
Speaker of the House of Rep, efentatiw.'
JOHN ADAMS, Vict-Prijidcnt of the United Statu,
and President of the Senate.
AOPROV ED, SEPTEMBER the 15th, 1789.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prefdcnt of the United State,.
NEW-JERSEY PAPER MONEY.
NUMBER I.
To the CITIZENS of the State of NEW-JERSEY.
THE tender on the continental currencyaud
on the State money of the ninth of June, 1780
was very injurious to the citizens ofNew- jersey!
The injustice ofimpofing a tender or a depreciat
ing paper was very apparent from .We two in.
fiances. Yet the State of New-Jersey, after dear
bought experience, and in time of peace, in 1786
emitted a paper-money, commonly called Loan-
Office-Money, to circulate for the term oftwelve
years, and armed it with a tender. The State in
1786, impoled a tender also on another species
of their paper money, commonly called Revenue-
Money, which then had twenty-two years to run.
The paper money of this State, has, from the
year 1786 to theprefent day,depreciated nearly,
if not fully, one-third in its nominal value; and
the depreciation of it, has in many cases 011 com
pulsory payments, occasioned to the creditor the
loss of one-third of his debt. A Paper daily depre
ciating, wearing a tender, injuring at almost
every rtepinits progress, and likely fotoconti-,
nue in one part, until the year 1 798, and in ano
ther part until the year 1808, was a mifchief fe
jious in its nature and fraught with many preju
dicial consequences too obvious to need an enu
meration. This was an enormous evil, which
called loudly for redress. To remedy this and
other evils, was framed the Constitution of the
United States of America, which the State of
New-Jersey unanimously ratified. This Consti
tution on the fourth of March, 1789, on which
day it began to proceed and to diffufe extensively
its beneficial effects, did, by the tenth fedion of
the firft article, and by the second clause of the
sixth article, fupercede and do away between ci
tizen and citizen in the payment of debts, the
tender on the loan-officemoney and revenue mo
ney of New-Jersey. This is aiiiong many others,
one great benefit, which this State has already
derived from the new Constitution. Happy /Era,
when was baniihed fronuhe Union, the folly and
iniquity of a tender on worthless Paper ! The
only money, which since the fourth of March
last, lias carried in New-Jersey a legal tender in
the payment of debts between citizen and citizen,
is' Spanifii milled silver dollars and Portugaljohan
nefes, which were legitimated by ast ofthe legilla
ture of that State on the eleventh of February,
1777- The loan-office money and revenue mo
ney, are lawfully receivable in the payment of
taxes to the State, in the fame manner they
were before the fourth of last March. Theloan
office money is,and by law ought to be receivable
by the State until the expiration of its term, in
fatisfadlion and discharge of the mortgages, on
which the bills were loaned, in the fame manner
it was before the fourth of last March. The
New-Jersey paper money has not had, since the
fourth of March last, any legal tender on it be
tween citizen and citizen in compulsory payment#
of debts. The citizens of New-Jersey are well
entitled to avail themselves in their contracts and
other money matters of the benefit of the new
Constitution, the fupremelaw of the State.
Silver Money, A Citizen of Nevi-Jn'fi)'
Dated the 25th of September, 1789.
ANECDOTE.
IT is remarkable that Hugh Aubriot, an
tive of Dijon, and Prevot des Marchands of 3 '
lis, who placed the firft stone of the Baftilf j '
like the inventor of Phadaris' Bull, the nrl «
tim of his own work, being confined there un
pretence of heresy.
■published by JOHN FENNO, No. 9,
Lane, near the Ofwego-Markct) New-York. [3 ''