[No. LXXXVII.j THE TABLET No. LXXXVII " Responsibility is the main faring of public prosperity MOST inen have too great a conltitutional indolence ever to make distinguished ex ertions. The vis inertia of our nature is one of the most llubborn obstacles to be overcomein acquir ing eminence. There is such anaverfion in the general run of mankind against making vigorous efforts, that we find few men who attempt to per forin any thing bold or difficult. The greatell incentives mult be suggested to induce men toen fage in arduous undertakings. And unless in ultry is kept awake by motives of afliinulating nature, the higher employments of life would be neglected, and the important affairs of the •world would Hand still. It is therefore a wife expedient to put the weighty concerns of govern ment under the controul of responsible men. When a public officer feels hiinfelf responsible for the effect of his measures, it creates foflrong an inducement to exertion and fidelity, that we may generally exped: to fee the public prosperity promoted in proportion to the weight of the responsibility which is imposed. The languor and inattention, which mark the movements of so great a proportion of the men employed in public business, result from the imbecility of the motives which prompt them to perform their du ty. There are always certain causes in opera tion pto draw us aside from the public good, and can only be removed or counteracted by in- Itituting responsible offices, where the force of the motive shall be in favor of the object to be obtained. If an office affords honor and profit ; if it is held only on good behaviour ; and if the public eye is at all times open upon the officer, we may calculate upon his being faithful and ac tive. Those difficulties that would deter other people, he surmounts with alacrity. Hisrefpon libility absorbs those inferior confidcrations which tempt other men to oppose or negledl the public welfare. It is well for the community to guard againlt intriguing men ; but there is much more reason to ftiinnlate the lazy and negligent. Wicked motives are not so common as weak motives, and there is more danger that men will negledt to do what they ought, than that they will do what they ought not. If the momentous affairs of government are not accompliflied by responsible characters, they will never be done well or in season. The emoluments of office fiiould be so alluring as to engage arefpeitable competition. This will bring into view the ableU candidates ; and those who are unfuccefsful will stand as cen tinels over those who get the appointments. By this means, the duties ofoffice will be vigorously performed, and abules either prevented or pun iflied with a good degree of certainty. THE OBSERVER.—No. XVI. The re-eflablijhment of national credit, a measure both of juflice and found policy. WE must expecfithe people win be alive to all those national measures which have a di rect influence on their property ; this I conlider not as an evil, but a great fupportof government, for give them time to be informed, and the whole weight of their influence will come in to aid the measures of a just and politic administration. The pain of acquiring property, and the bene fits which result from poflefling it, will make a prudent man careful how it is taken from him.— Avarice degrades human nature, but a love of property is a political virtue ; remove this motive awl civilized society, will be destroyed. An ade quate provision for the debt of the nation, and for a fixed public credit, is a fubjeifl which vastly engages attention. Some diversity of sentiment is not half so strange, as that so many are united, and can think and converse amicably ; neither is this diversity any evidence of diihoneft inten tions on either part. The particular situation of American credit, and the unhappy consequences of its pad decline, have been fumcient to perplex the opinions ofmany worthy citizens. They are willing to be just even at the expenceofall fuper fluiries ; but having only little property and that hardly earned, and thinking greater taxa tion needed to retrieve national credit, than will eventually be found neceflary ; there is a strong temptation to fay, let the scene end as it hath begun Accustomed to fee American paper of low value, they have forgot that a vail number of citizens, relying on the honesty of their country, deposi ted the whole savings of their industry, ana de pendance of their families ; and that tliei'e very people or their children are now in deprefled &mtti ofdMxlxt^ WEDNESDAY, February 10, 1790, cii cumltances, and kept from despair, by a hope of returning justice in their country. Many hundreds of planters who had fold their lands, that they might locate property more advantage ously for a numerous family, were caught in that unluckly moment when business stagnated, and a frontier situation was dangerous ; all these be came public creditors. The molt honest merchants, whose feelings forbid them to violate the laws of their country, limiting the high price of foreign articles,thought it more patriotic to consecrate their property to its defence. The estate of many thousand or phans, hath beer deposited in the public treasu ry, by those who had their pa;rimony in trull. A prodigious number of private funds sacred to religion and science, have been loaned to the public. The price of the loldiers fatigue, limbs and life is yet unpaid to hini. When the nation need ed every exertion of its fubjedts, and could make no pay, the most industrious and patriotic far mers fold their provisions for the public faith : but I will not go on with this recapitulation of fufferers, for I know that principle, and the pos sibility of what can be done ; and not passionate feelings, must form the public mind 011 this fub jed., and be the ultimate ratio of justice. An objection against restoring credit, in the minds of some, is that the debt hath palled from the original creditors, at a low price, and that a fulfilment of the public promises would not bene fit the fufferers. That conliderable sums have been fold at a low price, and parted into circulation is a faift ; but these are only a small prvrt of the aggregate debt. As little iuins of money compared with the whole cash of the country, make a great (how at the raf fling table, in palling several times perhaps, thro' every hand of the gambling circle : So it is a small proportion of the national paper, which hath made the (how in circulation. The specula tion in paper hath been a kind of gambling, ar tificially kept up between dillant parts ; a few fa gacions ones have been fortunate, and many have been losers. Thus circumstanced, by many times palling and repafling, a small proportion of the public paper hath made a great appearance ; and those securities which have circulated molt, have much found and little substance, being many of tViein liable to a tenfold deduction by scaling. The great weight of debt is still in the hands of the original holders, men who loaned or did fer vicc for the country from noble motives, who were conscious that the nation received from tliein an equivalent for its promile—men who had rather brave fomediftrefs in their private circumstances, than fell their just for a trifle ; who were determined either to realize a moderate compen sation, or die with the refle&ion that they had become poor in a good ceufe, and with a right to have this inscription over them, " here lies the man who facrificed-liis all to support American liberty and sovereignty " * ° ' • /• _ _ What can the fupreine legislature fay to such iiien, or to their children when supplicating their remembrance ? Shall they be told the sum is great and there will be foine difficulty in deviling means ? This allowed, but a reply is ready >is there not more difficulty and diltrefs, in having the whole' borne by a few, than by the nation at large ? Among tliofe who have alienated their public bonds, there is a variety of cases ; but a few have been obliged by neceflity, from the tardiness of the national faith ; the lot of such, is hard and un fortunate —if wishing and trying to devise could give them relief, every benevolent spirit would join in the exertion ; but I do not know it to be possible, and may the rewarderof virtuous fuffer ing do them right. But this is not the cafe with all who have alien ated their national paper. Many have done it on the principles and for the purposes of specu lation ; and have no reason to murmur at the con sequences. Many by improving the price of their sale in some lucrative business, have realized a greater sum, than the parent holders will ever receive from the public by the inoft favorable reinftate tnent of credit, which can be supposed ; such per sons may speak much of their loss, but have no to wrangle with the event. It is well known that the war called up a set of charaifters, in various departments, and in seve ral kinds of speculation, who were calculated to thrive by public confufion, but not by persever ing industry ; tliefe men held considerable sums of national paper, which they have since aliena ted. If the public had at that time paid them in coin, it would long since have gone from their hands, and been in pofleflion of the very pefons, $kks. [ ~ Publijhed on IVednefday and. Saturday.] who now hold their public bonds. Men calcula ted to gain by luch overturns of society as hnp pened in the American war ; and deliitute of econ* omy and hard industry, must fall into decline on the restoration of order, and pcace. The poor are fubjecfts of our humane commiseration, tlio imprudence be the cause of their poverty ; but such as would have scattered their property, if the nation had early paid them in dollars of Mexico, have no jull right to clamour againll a re-establishment of public credit. The meafurcs of a nation cannot be accommodated to the situa tion of one or a hundred imprudent subjects ; and to attempt it would be unjust to a tenfold greater number, who have a sacred claim on pub lic truth. A power to alienate property, is one of the rights of man,which government ought not to in vade either diredlly or indirefty by measures. Suppose [ hold a government bond of 100 dollars, fairly obtained ; isnotfuch bond my own property ? Have I not the fame right to alie nate this, as any other kind of property ? Am I not my own judge of the time, place, and price of exchange in sale ? Every man knows bell his own opportunities, and may advance his interest by felling at a large discount, and this has been done by many who have fold. For government to interpose arbitrarily in these matters is destroy ing its own credit, and an indire<ft way of fraud ing those who patiently depended on the public truth. A power of alienating and transfering is one cooluleration which gives value to any kind of property, had there been more traflick in na tional paper, it would always have brought a greater price. So long as much the greater part of the public obligations remains with the origi ginal loaners ; as the transferals which have ta ken place were without fraud ; considering also that in many instances, it was more advantageous for the feller to alienate than to retain his pro perty ; I cannot determine that it is either just or politic for government to intermeddle in the mat ter. It is not poflible for a nation, or any branch of its executive to overlook all the private bargains of jockies, speculators and dunces—No rule of right can be ascertained—the expenceof attempting it would bring a new debt on the country, ten fold greater than all the savings which can be made : these people must do their own business ; if they pra&ice knavery the law is open, and the judges of the land will punish them. The faith of a na tion is sacred, and its measures ought to be ftabie, and not diverted from their course by a little traffick in public paper. It is from seven to fifteen years since the national paper was ift'ued ; in a period of this length, na ture and theneceflary changes of society, in any country, will produce a ronfiderable revolution of property ; and I believe it to be a fad:, that a less proportion of this paper, than of any other kind of property which can be named, hath changed its owners. Even in improved lands, which are the molt liable kind of property ; fix upon a number of contiguous acres in any inha bited part of America, of value equal to the nati onal paper when it issued, and we fliall find a greater proportion of these lands than of the na tional and States debts, hath been alienated and palled over to other owners ; this appears to me an irrefragable evidence, that there hath been in. the body of the people, not withstanding all which hath taken place,a serious dependence on the pub lic faith, and that it is llill their expectation it will be re-ftablifhed. Inthefaleof these lands, there have been many unprofitable bargains to the fellers ; and many who alienated have spent the whole amount in folly ; but these are the matters in which government cannot fafely interfere— business, commerce and the exchange of property mull have their course. One quarter of the bar gains made are detrimental to one, and foine of them to both parties ; they were made in folly, but for national policy particularly to infpedi them would be greater folly, and a molt unman ageable andendlefs business. The confiderationsfuggefted in this paper, with many others which I may hint in future, lead me to suppose, notwithstanding all the objections I have ever heard, the re-establishment of public credit, is a measure of justice due to the creditors, and that it hath always been expected by the most honest part of the community, and by those per sons best acquainted with the nature, operation, and events of political society. In my next number, I will endeavour to shew, that the relloration of credit which justice claims, is also a meafureof foundnational policy, and the only poflible means of preventing very extreme evils. \_Frcm the American Mercury.]
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers