FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES.
LETTER. No. I
*IR<
T HAVE Jeen in the papert accounts of large AJfoCiations, and appli
-1 cations to government for the abolition of Jlavery. Religion, human i
ty, and thegenerofity natural to a free people, are the noble principles
which dictate those meajures. Suck motives command refpeEl, and are
above am elogium words canbeflow.
Alt ho Ifully and join in the zvifk to fee slavery abolished,
/ mujl however confefs, that what Ihave collected, on the means jor ob
taining the end, out ofthofe channels has given me no JatisJaQion.
The JubjeEl is in wv opinion, oj higher moment than has been represent
ed : Slavery is not only contrary to the feelings of freemen, but to the
principles of a free government; it not only vitiates it, but it mujl alfobe
considered, that in America the evil is a deep-rooted and daily increasing
one ; that to cjfeEl a cure, palliatives are dangerous, and no more applica
ble to it, then they are in the mortification ojgangrenated bodies ; that to
heal this political and moral evil, and to doJlrid juflice on allfides, is a
difficult talk : For which reason, Iprefume, that this matter mujl only be
conjidered, and even decided, on the ground of philosophical and political
argument. On this very scale Ifkal l try toflate the nature oj the quejlion,
and the measures for a radical cure of the evil.
Agreeable to the order mentioned, I[hall take up the JubjeftfJirJl on
philosophical ground. Innumerable are the beings on the globe, yet the
eternal wisdom has clajfed them all, gradually dejeending Jrom animated
to inanimatednature ; diflinguijhable differences of form, Jize, Jlrength,
weaknefs,ferocity, mildness, sensibility, tnerty, inanimation, are exiflent.
rhofe difi Terences have been proved by philosophical enquiry, to proceed
byg entlc tints andfhadows, till observation on thofefubje&s is Jet at nought.
No less wonderful is a fome.hing simitar order in the vegetable and mi'
neral kingdoms : In those we Jind also, well divided clajfes, gradua
ted, connetled, yet all marked out in different charaflers ; Juch injlances
are numerous, but beyond my Jlrength to invejligate, and beyond the limits
of this paper ; however, in order to throw light on the ideas I have com
municated, I willfeleft, and consider at large, a few examples out of the
animal kingdom.
From the elephant to the fnullejl infect, vifble to the eye by a microscope
only, what a graduation of sizes, of animals, does there fland between
those two extremes ; flrengtli, sagacity, and temper, are objects no less
gradually diminfking, and form djlinci characters, between individuals
of the great sum of animated brings.
An other graduation is remarkable ; nature goes not Jrom one species
of animals abruptly to the next; there are beings who fepar ate one fort
from the othei, and par take in their form, and habit, Jomething of both ;
those I call intermediate beings.
Examples of this dejeription are plentiful; Jor injlance amphibious ;
of these, thefea-lion, thejea-cow, the sea-horse, the sea-dog, the beaver,
the otter, isc. partake at once of the nature of Jfh, and of some land
iifiimal they have resemblance to. Only one more of these I beg leave
to mention : on the Cape of Good Hope, a duck, at once fifh and fowl, is
often met with, the form is that of a common wild duck, but the wings are
conjlrufled like the Jins oja fijh ; thoje ducksJly horizontally over the wa
ter to hunt the Jfkfwfter in swimming than they are ; but their power
of flying is over a\ soon as their wings become dry, they lay their eggs in
chffs on shore, and there breed their young ones; this Iprefume is one of
the intermediate beings, between fowl and fifk.
In fcveral species of animals, altho likeness is apparently great, how
dfferent is their nature : This ive will exemplify by the lion, and a large
dog, of which there is in Asa afpecies of a kind andfhape, almojl next to
the lion, called the lion-dog: Ancient hijlory records that fuck an one
was given to Alexander, Ring of Macedonia ; this needs nojurther def
<r?p:ion, for even to this day the breed is not extinfl \ the Mogul, and
other Asiatic Princes, hunt the lionJtill with them ; a single one, armed
with ajleel collar, and breajl harness, f-ghts on equal chance, and two
of these vanquijh the lion eajily. The bull-dog, and the wo J with the
jfhprt muzzle, the fmallfpannel with the fox, the domejlic cat with the
tyger, have allJlriking refemblances t but how different are they in cha
racter, habit and temper.
Among animals avowed to be of the fame kind, the differences are no
left pcrfefth ascertained. This field is as extenjive as the former : It
rvould tire the attention to walk thro all the images it is able to furnifh ;
hence IJhall keep withinJhort bounds oj the mofl common objefls. From
the beforementioned AJiatic lion-dog, to the little long-haired delicate Span
ifhdog, which lies Jnarling in the lap of a lady, or cowardly barks out of
a bajlct, lined with cotton, what a difference oj chara6ler, Jlrength &c.
and how many Jizes, and fpecies,flandbetween these two dogs. The no
ble Arabian horse, thefwift tartarian, the barb, the Englijh hunter, the
heavy and large oflfries and the dwarf Norwegian horse, are all hor
fes,\et how differently are they marked out.
In the human fpecies,differences are no lefs flriking and absolute. The
Patagonian giants, the dwarfs of Laponia, the elegantly proportionedJi
gurc,and beautijul color of our ladies, and oj some European nations ;
the Chineje ; the copper-colored men ; the blacks with long hair ; the
white negro with redjpots and white hair, called kakerlak by the Dutch ;
the AJrican, andfouthern Papoe negro, with Jhort woolly hair, are all oj
the specie called mankind, but how greatly do they differ, not alone in co
lor andfigure, but also in original charader.
Plinius gives a dejeription oj men, living in the interior parts oj Afri
ca ; they have cars {landing upwards, like horjes' ears, their mouth is
a longfhaped wolfs muzzle, and they have nails like a bear,Jlanding
Jiff at the end of their fingers. This kind oj men carried on bloody wars
againjl the Ethiopians, and were jinally rendered tributary by the fatter :
they have been seen, in the armies of the Ethiopians, in their wars with
the Egyptians, and Romans. When I travelled in the Asiatic southern
Hemisphere.a Prince, foverign of one of {those i (lands, gave me a defer ip
tion of the fame kind oj men, living in some ijlands next to him : This
Prince was aflranger to Plinius's account, and the unprovoked narra
tive, andperfett resemblance of his description was thefrfl conjirmation I
obtained that Plinius had told no tale ; but I have since, in Europe, Jeen a
female of that monjlrous specie, brought from Africa to Marseilles. This
creature was thought to }>cofthc monkey kind, but her knees confrmed me
in the belief, that (he was of the intermediate beings, by which nature goes
from one specie to another, and probably those creatures fland between
mankind andthe monkey specie : The knees of this female floodforwards,
like those of men, but in general all quadrupedes have the knees of their
hind legsflan ding backwards : She answered also the description given
by Plinius, and by the Asiatic Prince.
From this perufallittle doubt can remain that all those quoted diflinc
tions are explanatory proofs of the immutable order of the universe, infti
tu'ed by the infinite wisdom of the Almighty : Can human law change the
fyflem, or by intermixing species, overthrow the fixed order of nature,
and improve the original ? Is it in the power aj men, to make out oj a
cur a bull dog ; out of a Norwegian dwarf-horje, a noble Arabian \ out
vf the voracious wolf, a companionable Neafoundland dog ; out of the
wild musk-bull, a domejlic or, to till his ground. ; out of the Laponian
dwarf,a Patagonian giant? If this can be done, then he can also make
out of the sheep-hairy African negroe, a spirited, noble, and generous
American Freeman !
Afv next Utter IJhall makejhortcr; the length of this I could not well
avoid. R U S T 1 C V S.
PARISIAN INTELLIGENCE.
Paris, Nov. 26. Frojly Nights.
MDppont, a Member of the National As
. fembly, is a great advocate for the Caifle
d'Efcompte. He pretends that it never flopped
payment ; on the contrary, he affirms, with con
fidence, that it daily pays now between three and
four hundred thousand livres, and refnfes no bills
or notes. lie farther remarks, that the Bank of
England, so renowned for its exactness, when the
Pretender was in Scotland did not cease payment,
it is true ; but discharged its notes in (hilling
and sixpenny pieces ; which operation went 011
so slowly in the payments, that not a thousand
pounds llerling were paicl in a day. And yet,
fays M. Dupont, it was never aflerted, that the
Bank of England had become bankrupt. Ihe
said member insists, that the nation ought in jul
tice and gratitude, either pay what she owes to
the Caifle, or aggregate it to the National Bank,
according to M. Necker's plan.
A new plan of a National bank has been pro
posed by a M. Cabains ; it is very concise, and
in all probability will be adopted. It excludes
the Caille d'Elcompte, which will be reimbursed.
A very generous present was sent to the Na
tional Alfembly by the Nuns of Maubeuge. They
are sorry, they fay, in the letter that accompanies
the gift, that it is not in their power to fend any
plate (they gave it all to Louis XV) to encreal'e
the specie ; but, to make amends, they offer to
the nation an annual income of 147,000 livres
(61251.) The national Aflembly received it with
demonitrations of gratitude and joy.
There is a scheme of melting the bells of all
the churches. They may be of some service.
Since the Members of the National Ailembly
gave their buckles, 110 silver ones are to be seen
in the llreets. It is true, that theapprehenfion of
being flopped by some daring fellows, who, un
der pretence of serving their country, strip you
of whatever visible silver or gold they can find on
you, does not a little contribute to render aln?olt
every individual generous. I have sent mine,
and my lifter her gold ear-rings, and thimble to
the Mint.
Yesterday, as it was reported, was the day ap
pointed by the Aristocratic party to produce a
counter-revolution. All the diftridts were under
arms from midnight till ten o'clock, in the morn
ing. Thank Goo, it was a falfe ; and I
do not imagine we lhall experience another ibock
within this year. The national Aflembly begins
to acquire a consistency, and the provinces :n
general fatisfied, and adopt all the articles
palled at the National Aflembly with Teeming fa
tisfadlion. His Majesty remains in ftatu quo, and
there is no probability of his hunting this autumn.
The Duke of Bourbon and his ion have left
Turin.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Thitrfta? t Nov. 19.
We have already mentioned the Articles of the
Constitution decreed this day.
A Report was read from the Committee of War,
the beginning of which deserves to be noticed.
" Although it be neither the interest of France, nor
the ivifh of Frenchmen to make conquers, we mnil
nevertheless have an army always on foot, and
ready for action, to refill the attacks of power
ful and armed neighbours, &c."
To keep up such an army, two methods are
proposed. First.Personal ferv ice by every French
man, without diftinc r tion, for four years, at least
once in his life ; allowing such only as are inca
pable of personal service to find substitutes. Se
cond, Volunteers willing to serve for pay, to
open a field for tliofe whose inclination may lead
thein to the profeffion of arms. No man, after
serving once, to be ordered out a second time,
but by his own consent ; and in cafe of war, ba
chelors, to take the field before married men.
This report was ordered to be printed.
[The business of Friday is related in the for.
mer part of this letter.]
The Canons of St. Genevieve having offered to
present their magnificent library to the city of
Paris, it was this day proposed to ratify the gift;
but the Assembly declined giving any opinion on
the fubje<ft.
The Baron de Comere, who has long been em
ployed on calculations of finance, presented a
plan, which he requested leave to read at the bar.
This could not be granted ; but the plan was re
ferred to the Committee of Finance, with an 111-
flru<ftion to take it into immediate consideration.
IVednefday, Nov. 25.
The following articles of ConlHtution were de
creed :
" The present municipalities of all cities,
towns, pariibes, or communities, under whatever
title or qualification, are fupprefled and abolish
ed ; and, in the mean time, Magistrates now in
office shall continue their functions, till others be
appointed in their room.
On a petition from the City of Metz, setting
forth that the Parliament, by a new arret, had
acknowledged that liberty and union surrounded
the King and National Aflembly, and profefling
their lincere repentance for the error into whicli
report had led them, the Aflembly decreed, that
the attendance of the Members of that Parlia
ment at the bar ihould be dispensed with ; and
the petition from the City in their behalf print
ted in the minutes.
A discussion took place on the necessity of defi
ning, in clear and precise terms, the crime of
treason against the State ; but as this will make
part of the labours of the Committee of Consti
tution, the matter was referred to that Commit
tee.
The fiift part of the pension lift, containino;
wentv four quarto pages, is publiihed. The
360
Saturday, Nov. 21
plan of the work, is to divide the whole into
leven parts ; the lirlt to contain, in alphabetical
order, the names of all those who enjoy pensions
of 20,000 livres and upwards, with the age of
the pensioner, the date of the penlion, and the
reasons for which it was given ; the l'econd, from
8,000 livres to 20,000 ; the third, fiom 1,400 to
8000 ; and soon.
7 lie result of the firft part, which is said to lie
very incorrect, is that eighty-fix persons fuare
among them annually 2,895,623 livres. Of thel'e
ten are Ladies ; fifteen fuperanuated, or dis
charged Ministers ; twenty six-persons, whofefer
vices were never heard of ; five whom the nation
would recompence more liberally, and thirty,
for whose zeal and talents ten thousand livres
would be a liberal reward. The reasons most
commonly afligned for granting these pensions
are, to make good a pension no longer paid by
some foreign Prince, or tq reward political fer.
vices
Marshal Broglio enjoys four several penfigns,
making together 70,000 livres.
The fitting in the morning of this day was re
markable for the extraordinary progrefsmade in
the organization of the primary and intermedi
ate Afleinblies
A Deputy from Guadaloupe proposed, in the
name of the Welt India Deputies, to appoint a
Committee of planters and merchants to receive
and examine all plans of Conltitution for the Co
lonies ; to which, heobferved, the principles of
Constitution for the Continent where not proper
ly applicable. The consideration of this propo
lition was postponed.
A decree was paded, forbidding all persons
holding or exercising public offices to receive any
present or gratification of any kind or nature, on
pain of being punished as guilty of extortion ;
and it was ordered to be presented immediately
for the Royal fan<ftion.
The consideration of M. Necker's plan for a
National Bank was returned.
The prevailing opinion seemed to be, that the
general state of the finances is not yet fufficiemly
investigated to enable men to judge of tlie advan
tages or disadvantages of such a plan.
The Aflembly ordered the Committee of Fi*
nance, in concert with the firft Miniver, to draw
up a detailed account of the demands that require
ninety millions over and above the actual reve
nue for the year 1790, with an ellimate of ways
and means for railing that sum ; and adjourned
the further difcuflion till Saturday.
The Bishop of Treguier has publifiied a second
mandate, in which he retraces all that he said in
his former again ft the revolution and the proceed
ings of the National Aflembly. In conlequence
of this recantation, the fame indulgence has been
foliciced for him that was grantea to the parlia
ment of Rouen and Metz, but hitherto without
effect.
M. Guillotin called the.attention of theAflem
bly to some amendments which he conceived
highly neceflary to be added to the provisional re
form of criminal These were the
fame penalties for criminals of all ranks and con
ditions ; the fame punilhment for all capital of
fences ; a decapitation by a machine conftrufted
for the purpose, instead of an executioner : and
the proscription of the absurd prejudice w*J/:h
extends the infamy of a criminal to his family.
It was agreed to confkler them on Tuefay next.
A report was read from the Committee of Fi
nance, containing the state of the public treafijry
on the firft of November, and an eltimate of the
probable receipt from that time to the end of the
present year, which including the plate carried
to the Mint, and the fubfcriptiQns to the loan of
eighty millions, did not exceed forty millions of
livres.
LONDON, Dec. 3.
The affairs of Europe never wore so Angular
and even whimsical an afpecft as at present :
The Head of the House of Austria oppressing
the Catholic Church ; and the Catholic Church
offering the riches of the Sacred Temples at the
shrine of Liberty ! The Patriots of Holland Re
fugees in Brabant, and the Patriots of Brabant
Refugees in Holland ! Prussia the restraint of
Dutch, and the hope of Flemish freedom ! The
great Protestant Alliance of England, Prussia, and
Holland, considered as the shield of the most zeal
ous Catholics in the world.
The campaign is now intirely finiflied in the
North. The Swedish fleet is returned to Charlf
croon, and the Ruffian to Revel. The troops too,
of both the powers, in Finland, are put into win
ter quartes.
A very extraordinary circumftanee occurred
on Wednesday night, at the entrance of Covent-
Garden Theatre. A gentleman, who made an
unfuccelsful attempt to gain admiffion,was return
ing home,and on putting his hand into his pock
et for his handkerchief, difcoveredapurfe with
eight guineas and some silver. This must have
happened through the mistake of one of the light
fingered gentry, who, in the preflure ofthe croud,
mistook the gentleman's pocket for his own.
Thttrfday., Nov. 26.
Saturday, Nov. 2?.