ojftß PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AMD SATURDAYS BY 70HM rnrun »• ... > OHN FE/ *NO, No. 4 <, BROAD-STREET, NEAR THE EXCHANGE, NEW-YORK [No. 52, if Vol. ll.] From the ENGLISH REVIEW t-JR AWEMBER, i 787. thc Conflict,„ ns of Government of the United of ,hl A A m "' ca f - .B y J" HN Adam,, LL.D. and a Member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences at Bolton.] American revolution has produced ma . «y theones and fpecnlations on govern- Jnent and politics. Leg.flators have flawed up in eyeij pare of Europe and America who wished to give law. to the new world, and to change the chaos of American anarchy into a regular and order,yfy Item It is much robe doubted, i- her s Peculative politicians are fit oFmII r C J , . rsofmcil ' orthe lucubrations of the closet to form the model of public life. The most chimerical systems of legislation have been adopted and recommended by men of un common genius and extensive learning. The dreams and visions of Plato and Sir Thomas More, and even of Milton and Locke, are, in I *l?n^il artS ' as w " t ' alu ' eccen tric as the ravinp-s ot Bedlam. A philosopher mav make luccefsful experiments on air and electricity, may excel in algebraical calculations, may wander in the ma zes of metaphysics, without being bewildered • nay, he may defend the principles of liberty and the rights of mankind with great abilities and much success ; and, after all, when called upon to produce a plan of legislation, he may aitonilh the world with the aberrations of iiuel left and the vagaries of fancy. Mr. Locke, in 1663 was employed to compote a code ofleffifla tion for Carolina ; with one stroke of his pen he committed the whole authority, legifluive and executive, to the eight proprietors of the pro vince. By this new oligarchical sovereignty he created at once three orders of nobility ; barons with twelve thousand acres of land ; caciques with twenty.four thouland ; and landgraves with eighty thousand. Subjects were wanting to this ill-modelled government, the colony de cayed, and the fyltein of the philolopber perilh ed in its abfui diiy. Three wiir-rs i,, Europe, of abilities and re putation, M. Turgot, the Abb:-de Mably, and Dr. Price, have turned their attention to the po litical constitutions of thc Uniied States of Ame rica, and have published rothe world their (pe culations and their criticisms. Notwithflandinir the pure intentions of the authors, the experi ence in" public affairs acquired by one of them*, and the ample information concerning the na ture of man and the l'cience of government pof fefled by many sentiments occur in their works which it will be difiicfllt to reconcile to icafon, experience, the couititution of human nature, and the firll principles of policy adopted by all enlightened nations, whether ancient or modern. M. T urgot in his letter to Dr. Price, acknowledges " that he is not fatisfied with the '< constitutions that have hitherto been formed " for the different Suites of America." He ob f£i ves that, by most of them, the customs of " England have been imitated, without any " particular motive. Inrtead of collecting all " authority into one centre, that of the nation, " they have established different bodies ; a body " ot representatives, a council, and a governor j " because there is in England a house of com " mons, a house of lords, and a king. They " endeavor to balance these different powers, " as it this equilibrium, which in England may " be a neceflary check to the enormous influence " of royalty, could be of any nfe in republics " founded upon the equality of all thecitizens ; " and as if eltabli/liiug ditferent orders of men " was not a fourceof divisions and disputes-" From the commencement of rhe revolution in America there has been a party in every State which entertained fentiniems similar to those of M. Turgor. Two or three of them have ertab- liihecl governments upon his principle ; and pro posals have been made in several states of Ame licato depole the governor and fenace as ulclefs and expensive branches of the Constitution. As the opinion of M. Turgot contributed to excite tliel'e discontents amcng the people, Mr. Adams held it a political and moral duty to examine his theory at great length ; to call the experience of part: ages to enlighten the preferit; and, from a wide and extended view of human affairs, to mark and ascertain tliofe principles of legislation and government which give order, success, liability, and duration to politico, eftablilhinents and to civil society. The subject is certainly one of the wort: interesting that can engage the speculation SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9 , , 79 0. or pro 111 pc the decilioa of men. What combina tion of powers in society, or what form of govern - ment is m°ft likely to secure the eltabliifiment, and the impartial execution, of good and equal laws, so that the citizens may enjoy the benefit or them, and confide in their perpetuity, is an inquiry that equally concerns the philosopher and the citizen ; for, whether the end of man, in this itage of existence, be enjoyment or improvement, or both, it can never be attained so well iu a bad government as a good one, 1 he great and leading idea which runs through the ingenious and learned work of Mr. Adams is, that a mixture ot the three powers, the regal, the ai iftrocratical, and the detiiocratical, properly [ balanced, composes the mod perfetft form of go vernment, and secures the greatelt degree of hap piness to the greatest number of individuals — This policy, indeed, appears to be the initiation ot nature. Vitruvius discovered the rudiments of architecture in the conltruc r tion of a rutticcab 'iii ; and the historian or philosopher may trace the origin of the three powers in political society, m the rude governments of savage tribes. Every nation North-America has a king, a senate, and an allembly of the people. The royal office is elective, but it is for lit" ; the facheins form the ordinary council, in which all the national affairs are deliberated ant.' discussed ; but, on | great occasions, such as declaring war, the kino ano sachems convoke a nai ionai afTembly, af'er a foleinn facrifice, communicate their refo- lution to the people, fhofe who approve of the war, yartake the facrifice, throw the hatchet into a tree, after the example of the king, and join in the luafeqiient war-fangs av.i dances, as a mark of their concurrence with tle expedition. A fi milarforin of policy prevailed apiong the ancient Greek?. " It is ealy t o observe from Homer," fays Aristotle, " that the ancient governments of Gieece were limited ; t(ie king proposed to the a lembly of the people ,iiat beforehand had been concerted an<l in rlic counrjl of the chiefs. J lie political institutions of our German ancestors were formed 011 the fame prin ciple. "Dt minorib us rebus," lays Tacitus, principts consultant, de Tn,ijoribui ovines ; ita ta utenut ea qtinque, quorum penes ptebem ar bit rum ell, apui prtncip.s pr*traftentur.**' j Among the ancients, the fame Tacitus extols the form of government in which there is a chief or leader, a senate, and a popular aflembly, tho he doubts ot its prac'iicabilicy and duration. Cundas nat tones, et urbcs, populus aut prions, aut f'pguli, reguut. Detetta ex his et conjiituta reipub )or"u> t*udari facilius quam i/iveniri ; vet [i ,a! "} di "t«ma eft potejtf." Cicero is deci ded in giving the fame preference : Stutuo ef op. time conjtitiitam rempubticam, qt/.e ex tribus generi n\ ''!' s ' r! £"t'y °ptimo et poputari, mo dice conf'u/ai." rolylnus and Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus gi ve their teltimony to the fame doctrine, and affirm that the molt perfect form of government is that which conlilts of an equal mixture of monarchy, altrif toe racy, and democracy. 1 lie observation of.M. Turgot, that " tliecuf toms of England are imitated in moll ofthenew constitution! in America, without any particular motive, ' is shewn by Mr. Adams to be without foundation. _ Supposing that the Englilh cuftoins were merely indifferent, the people by their birth, education, and habits, were familiarly attached to them ; and thisfurely was a particular motive for their preservation, rather than endanger the public tranquility or unanimity by renouueing; them. A divifiou of power was adopted bv the itates, confifling of a body of representatives, a council, and a governor, not because the leeifla ture in England confiltcd of three branches, a house of commons, a lionfe of lords, and a king but because their own aflemblies had been so con! ltituted from time immemorial ; and besides their attachment from habit, the conclusions of reason led them to the conviction that it was founded in nature, and conducive to public good. * Some cci:ion» red « ptrtraScntur," which lufci the idea of Tacitus altogether. + Anna), lib. iv. + Cicer. Fragm de Rcpublica. (To be continued.) LONDON. ACCOUNT oj the late Mr. JOHN LEDYARD, a CELEBRATED TRAVELLER. MR. LED YARD was an American by birth and seemed from his youth to have felt an invincible defireto make hirol'elf acquainted with ~ yer/i 621 . k*/so- unknown or imperfectly discovered regions ot the globe. For several years lie had lived with the Indians of America, had studied their man ners and had pratitifed in their fohool the means of obtaining their protection, and of recommen ding himfelf to the favour of lavages. In the Humble situation of corporal of marines, to which he submitted rather than relinquish his pursuit, lie had made with Captain Cook the voyage round the world, and feeling on his return an anxious desire of penetrating from the North.weitem coast, which Cook had. partly explored, to the eastern coast with which he himfelf was perfectly familiar, he determined to travel fe the vast con tinent from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. His firft plan for the purpose was that of embark ing in a veflel which was prepared to fail 011 a voyage of commercial adventure to Nootka Sound ; on the western coast of America ; and in this view lie expended in sea stores the greatest part of the money which his chief benefactor fir Joseph banks, (whose generous condutfl the wri te! of this narrative has often heard him acknow ledge) had liberally supplied. But the fchemc being fruftrated by the rapacity of a cnflom house officer, who had seized and detained the tor reasons which on legal enquiry, proved to be frivolous, he determined to travel overland to Kanifchatka, from whence the paflage to the western coast of America is extremely /lion. With not more than ten guineas in his purse, which was all that he had left, he eroded the 'tiwi Channel to Oltend, and by that of Den mark and the Sound proceed to the capital of Sweden ; from whence as it was winter, he at tempted to traverse the Gulph of Bothnia on the ice, in order to reach Kanifchatka by the flioi test way ; but finding when he came to the middle ot the sea that the water was not froze;:, lie re turned to Stockholm, and taking Ins course northward, walked into the Axftic circle, and parting round the head of the Gulph, descended on i'j eastern fide to Peterfbnrfth. 1 here he was soon noticedas an extraordinary man. Without stockings or shoes, and too much poverty to provide himfelf with either,he received and accepted an invitation to dine with the Por tuguese Ambaflador, 1" 0 this invitation ic was probably owing that he was able to obtain the urn of twenty guineas for a bill on Sir lofeph banks, which he confeffed he had no authority to draw, but which, in consideration of the busi ness that lie had undertaken, andof the prog, efa that he made, Sir Joseph, he believed, would not be unwilling to pay. To the Ambaflador's in terest it might also be owing that he obtained permiflion to accompany a detachment of stores which the t-mprefs had ordered to be Cent to Yakutz, for the use of Mr. Billings an En<rli(h man at that time in her service. & rhrnnT c-°'. n °'"° date d he travelled eaftwavd through Siberia 6°°° „ n les to Yakutz, where he was kindly received by Mr. Billings, whom he remembered on board Capt. Cook's (hip i„ t he fhe a F° n ° f f Af ? i ro , no " ,er ' s lervant, but to whom "" r "" cd the fth ™« »f F rom Yakutz he proceeded to Oczaclcow the coast of the Kamchatka sea ; from whence he meant to have palled over to that peninsula of the r V fr em r^ d on the eastern fide >n one of the Ruffian veflels, that trade to the western Ihores of America ; but finding that the nav£? tion was completely obftrudted by the ice he re turned again to Yakutz, in order to the conclusion of the winter. S "^ h . hjs situation, when, in consequence of (ufpieions not hitherto explained, or?efei.t ments for which no reason is affigued he was di." whi ft ! jS,™,'." *" SU " d ' » ptate ve!"ed h th , h d Ve f u P r° V i rty ' Covered w »h rag S , i„. dit, unkown, and full of miferv L ] JI ' ho °°"° f 1s course to his old benefaftoTr^n^KcluV / <y® [Who le No. i 56.]
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