PU3U&HED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO t Xo. 4 ,, BROAD-STREET, NEAR VIIE EXCHANGE, NEW-YORK C.No. 53, f/Voi.tfl.] From thi ENGLISH REVIEW, FOR NOVEMBER, j 7 8 7 . [A Dclcnce of the Conftitptions r»f Government of the Jjn'fjd States of America. By >i'N Adam, LI..D. and a Mimb'n o: the Academy oi Arts an'd Seitncti at Uollon.J (ContirJieJJtom cur !.:Jt.) OUR the opinjpp rvKCOT, '' a(li;ml)lv oFreprelen /jßhfV&sVhoulftUe chosen by t!v< jjatton, and vert ed with all the powers of government; and tliat this aflembly, being the centre in which all au thority is collected, (hall be virtually deemed the r.ation." To llate the conferences, and expose the absurdity of this opinion, Mr. Adams takes a scries, but comprehensive view of all those conn tries in Europe 111 which the government may be called republican ; and from uiis survey, denion ftrates the necessity of different orders in a ilate, and of an equilibrium between thein. His reflec tions in the tweury-third letter are enlightened, spirited, and manly : 44 As we hftvc taken a cur Cory view of those countries in Europe' where the government may be called, m any reafonabJe «onltruc tion of the word, republican, Jet us now paufc a few moments, and rtflett upon what we have seen. " Among every people, and in every species of republics, we Juvc constantly found a firft magiftrStc, a head ; a chief, under various denominations, indeed, and with different degrees of au thority, with the title of ftadtholdcr, burgomaster, avover, doge, confalloniero, president, fyndick, mayor, alcade, capitaneo, go vcrnor, or king ; in every nation wc have met with a diftinguilh ea officer : it there is no example in any free government any more ihan in those which are not free, of a society without a prin cipal personage, we may fairly conclude that the body politic can not subsist without one any more than the animal body without a head. If M. Turgoi had made any discovery which had escaped the penetration of all the legislators and philosophers who had lived before him, he ought at least to have communicated it to the world for their improvement; but as he has never hinted a: any such invention, we may fafely conclude that he had none ; and therefore, that the Americans are not jifftly liable to cenfure for instituting governors. " In every form of government we have fecn a senate, or little council; a ion generally of those offucrs of state who have the most experience and power, and a few other members felc&ed from the highest ranks and most illustrious reputations. On these letter councils, with the full magiitrate at their head, generally rcfts the p.i»*ctj*d iwrrfcn o*', adn .liftrutiun, a ftrare hi tlw le?iflaii\e as welf as executive and i<.r .ual authority qt go vernment* The admiUion of such senates to a participation ol thef? three kinds of power has been generally observed to produce: in the minds of their members an ardent ariftocratical ambition, grasping equally at the prerogatives of the firft magiftiate, and she privileges of the people, and ending in the nobility of a few families, and a tyrannical oligarchy : but in those States where the senates have been dcKarrcd from all executive power, and confined to the legislative, thfy haw- been oblervcd to be firm bar riers against the encroachments of the crown, and often greai fup portersof the liberties of the people. The Americans then, who have carefully confined their senates to the legislative power, have done wifely in adopting them. 44 \Vc have fecn, in every instance, another and a larger aflcm bly, coißpo'ed of the body of the p »ple, in some liule States ; of representatives r holen by people in others; of members ap pointed by the senates, and funpofed to reptefent the people, in ti thud fo*t; and of persons appointed by themfelvca or the sen ate, in certain arillocracies, to prevent them from becoming oli garchies. The Americans tbpn, whole. afTcmbliis are the most adequate, proportional, and equitable representations of the peo ple that are known in the world, will not be thought erroneous in appointing houses of reprcfcntativcs. 44 In every republic, in the fma I left and most popular, in the larger and more afttiftocratical, as well as in the largest and most monarchical, we have observed a multitude of curious and ingen ious inventions to balance, in their turn, all those powers, to check the passions peculiarto them, and to control them from ruffl ing into those exorbitances to which they are most addi£led ; the Americans will rhen be no longer cenluicd for endeavoring to in troduce au equilibrium, which is much more profoundly medita ted, and much more cffc&ual for the protection of the laws, thaii any wc have fecn, except in England ; we may tven question, whether that is an exception. 44 Id every cpuntry wc have found a variety of orders, with *ery great diftinclions. In America there arc different orders of oifices, but none of men ; out of offi :call men arc of the fame /pecies, and of one blood ; there is neither a greater nor a lelfjr nobility. . Why then are they accused of establishing different or ders ot men ? To our inexpreflible mortification we mufl. havt remarked that the people have preserved a Ihare of power, or an cxiftencir in the government, in no country out of Kngland, ex cept upon the tops of a few inacctflible mountain.*, among rock.', and precipices, in territories so narrow that you may span them wish an band's hrcadth ; where, living un nvied, in extreme po verty, chiefly upon pailur»ge, destitute of manufa£lures and com merce, the> ft ii exhibit the moll charming pi&iire of life, and th »noft dignified chara&er of human nature. . 44 "Wherever we .have fcca a territory somewhat larger, aits and sciences more cultivated, commerce flouriftiing, or even agriculture improved to any great degree, an aristocracy has risen up in a rnurfe of time, confiding of a lew rich and honorable families, .who have united with each.other against both the people and th inag»ftratc; wrested from the former, by art and bv force, a 1! ibtir participation in the government, and even infpircd them with \q me.in an rftcem of t.hcmfelves, and so deep a veneration and strong attachment to their rulers, as to believe and contefi ihein a superior oider ot beings. 44 We have fecn these noble families, although neceifitated to have a head, extremely jeaUpus of his influence, anxious to reduci jiis power, and constrain him to as neai a level with themfeivefi ps pofliblc, alwajs endeatforiug to eflablifla a rotation, by which tlicy may allequaily in turn be entitled to the pre-eminence-, and equally anxious to prefei ve to thcmlelvcs as large a lhaic of pow rr as pofiibJcin ibe executive .<nd jwdiaitij, as well *s the department* of f-be stair. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1790. 1 hefe patrician fatnilieshave alio appeared, iri every inflance, to be equally jealous ot each OLher, and to have contrived, by blending lot and choice, by mixing various bodks in tlie elections to flic* lame offices, and even by tht; horrors of an inquisition, to guard againfl the fin that so eafilv besets them, of being wholly influenced and governed by a junto or oligarchy of a few among themselves. " V* e have fern no one government in which is a diftin£l repar ation of the lcgiHitivc from the executive power, and of the judi cal from both, or in yjurh any 2ttc.,ipt been made to balance intfe powers w'nh one another, or > form an equilibrium be tween the one, the lew, and the majj' lor the purpose of ena£l ; ng and executing equal laws, by common consent, lor the general mtereft, excepting in .England. 11 Shall we conclude, from these melancholy observations, that human nature is incapable of liberty ; that no hon<-(l equality can be preserved in society ; and that such forcible causes arc always ai work as mufl reduce all men to a fubmillion to despotism, monar chy, oligarchy, or artftocracy f 44 By no m ans, —We have seen one of the firft nations in Eu rope, poffeued of ample and fertile territories home, and exten live dominions abroad, of a commerce with the whole world, immense wealth, and the greatest naval power which ever belon ged to any nation, who have still preserved the power of the peo ple, by the equilibrium ware contending for, by the triai by jury, and by couilantly refufing a (landing army. The people of England alone, by prefcrving their fnarc iri the legislature, at th ■ex pence of the blood of heroes and patriots, have enabl d iheii kings to curb the nobility, without giving him a (landing army. 44 After all, let us compare every Constitution we have 1c en wit!i those of the United States of America, . id we fliall have no rea son to blufti lor our country ; on the coutrary, we (ball feel tii llrongcft motives to fall upon our knees in gratitude to heaven, for having beep graciouflv plea fed to give us birth and edulat.ou in that country, and tor having defined us to live under her laws ! We (hall have rrafon to < xult, il we make our comparison with England and the JKnglilb conUitution. Our people arc undoubt edly lovere:gn ; all the landed and otherjpropcrty is in the haud.> ol the citizens; not only their reprefemuives, but their senators and governor*, are annually chosen ; theicf arc no hereditary tide , honours,offices, or diltmtlions ; the leg:flative, executive, and ju dicial powers are carefully separated from each other ; the pow ers of the on-, the few, and the many, are nicely balanced in their legislatures ; trials by jury are preterved jn all their glory, and there is no Handing army ; the harbeas corpus is in full force ; the press is the mo ft free in the world ; and, where all these circum stances take place, it is unnectfTary to add, that tire laws alone can govern. In the subsequent letters Mr. Adams contem- with a critical and philosophic eye, the jnoft celebrated states and common wealths of an tiquity, Carthage, Athens, Crete .Corinth, Ai ga&, riic'i»c!>, Crotona, Sybaris, Locris, and Komc ; and at the fame time delivers the opin ions of the celebrated ancient and modem writers concerning the principles of government in ge neral, ami i liefe governments in particular. The result of his researches is favorable to that divi ii°n of power which the English and the Ameri cans have adopted, and which appears to reft up on the authority, the experience, and the wildoin of ages. In the poftfeript, Mr. Adams favors the public with the copy ot a letter which he lent to the Abbe de Mably when he declared his intention of writingoti the American revolution. The adven turous lpi. itof the French literati is well known ; who, trusting to the vcrfatility of their talents, which is often great, and to the correct elegance of their language, which is universally read, pre- I'ume to write on all l'ubjecfts, foreign and domes tic, human and divine, on a very (lender acquain tance. Our author's requelt to the Abbe to write upon American alfairs was a piecc of nicer civil ity, and, as he informs us, " rather a defirethat he would not expofc hivifelf, by attempting a his tory that he was altogether unprovided foi*, than any formal reqoeft that he Ihould write at all. \V'e are obliged," continues Mr. Adams, " to any gentleman in Europe who favors us with his thoughts ; but, in general, the theory of govern ment is as well understood in America as it is in Europe; and by great numbers of individuals is every thing, relating to a free conltiturion, infi nitely better comprehended than by the Abbe de Mably, or M. Turgor, amiable, learned, and in genious as tliev were." O _ J The preface to this work contains many excel, lent anil manly sentiments, worthy of an ancient Greek or Roman. The following obfenratidns, which iorin a panegyric on the Englilh as well ais American constitution, will serve as a specimen £ 4i It is become a kind ot falhion among writers to admit, as a maxim, that, if you could be always sure of a wife, a&ive, and vir tuous Prince, monarchy would be the bed of governments. But tnis is so far from being admiflible, that it will forever remain true that a free government has a great advantage over a fimplc monarchy. The bed and wisest Prince, by means of a freer com munication with the people, and the greater opportunities to col -1 £1 tbe be ft advice from the b eft of his fubje&s, would have an immense advantage in a free state more than in a monarchy. A lenate CQnfifting of all that if most nobK, wealthy, and able in th< nation, with aright to counsel the crown at all times, is a check to ministers, and a security againlk abates, that a body of nobles who never meet, and have no such light, can never aceomplifh. Ano .ner aflembly, compofcd r;f reprcfentaiive*, chosen by the people 11 all paru, gives the whole nation freeaccefs, and communicate* 'I the wants, knowledge, projects, and wilhet of the nation, to government; rxcitc? an emulation among all claflfes, remove* com- 625 p aints, rcdr>'flVs grievances, aflords opp of exertion to genius, though in ohfeuritv, ?nd gives full scope to all ine fa. ultu s of iv.zn ; opens a palfagefor every fpecuhtiooto tlie Jcg:Qature, to. admiinllration, and to the public ; ll gives an univetfai energy io the human chara£ler, in every part ol the flaie, which'never can be obtained in a monarchy. • <k There is a third particular which deserves attention both from governments a»d people. The minillers of fUte, i-i a fun pie m>- n.irchv, can never know their friends from their enemies ; cab is in kcrc't undermine their influence, and blast their reputations. This oceafions a jealousy ever anxious and irritated, which never ihinks-the government fafe without an encouragement of inforrt crs and spies, throughout everv part of the Hate, who interrr H the tranquility ot private life, destroy the confidence of families in their own domestics and one another, and poison freedom ir» iis fwecteil retirements. In a free government, on the contrary, the mir.ifter s can have no enemies ofconfcquence but among the mem bers ol the great or little council, where every man-is obliged to t.:kc his fide, and declare his opinion upon everv question. This circumstance alone, to every manly mind, would be fufficienr to decide the preference in favor of a free government. Even secre cy, where the executive is en l ire in one hand, i is cafily and fureJy prtferv.d in a free government as in a ftmple monarchy; and as to difpatcb, ail the limple monarchies of the whole un:verft rr.ny be defied to produce greater or more examples of it than arc t$ be found in Englilh hiflory." The celebrated Mr. Hmne nfed to call Dr. Franklin " the firfl fruits of America." The American revolution has given elalticitv and en ergy torhe minds of the inhabitants, lias called torih talents and abilities of every produced a more copious harvelt tlian the I'olitrv ry " firft fruits" oljferved by Mr. Hunuvfeeme4 to indicate. A Copley and a Weft have obtain ed the honois of the pencil : f>wi«ht, Barlow, and Trumbull, have diftiuguifhed theinfelves in poetry ; Uelknapand Kaml iy in hillory ; Jeil'er lon has excelled in philosophical refearchej ; Paine in political speculations ; and to thefc names, known and appietiaied by the learned world, that of Mr. Adams will be added, who, in the work before us, discovers an extetit of learn ing, an acutenefs of re.'leilion, and a masculine spirit, which few amballadors in any court of turope poflefs, but which all of them \votild be proud lo display. Whatever opinion we may 'entertain of Americati ambition or policy, the niufcs are never ai ivar however the feale of empire >■»(« or falls, every lover of lirerature will rejoice that the arts are abaut to make the tour of the world ; and that the fame fun offci ence and taste which gilded the east with its ori« ent rays, is now illuminating the weft, and dif fufing warmth and splendour on regions tii.it were formerly unknown to history, and reijiote from civilization. > FAMILY COMPACT Report of the Covnnittet of Foreign Ajf.i 'nt to the nr.,r / * .t/r i i National jfffembiy. " Your committee having taken into their mod .fctious consideration the requisition front the Court of Spain, demanding a categorical an(\ver, touching our engagements, in consequence of the Family Compa&, have the honor to fubmitto the wisdom of the National AfTembly, whether- a flriift compliance with the said requisition would nor be rilking too much under the present circum- Hances of the kingdom, more especially the Ma ture of the question being materially altered since the preliminary declarations between England and Spain, subsequent to the date of our deliber ation on this point, affording us theple&fingprof pert ofa speedy and amicable accommodation between the two powers ; nevertheless, fhauld your best endeavours towards a happy termina tion fail, we hold ourselves bound in honour to fapport our ancient ally,in every such right and claim as you lhall deem reasonable and jnft." Theladmeflengerto Madrid had orders to (lay for the answer from the Spanish Court ten days, and no longer. On the expiration of the ninth d«y, Mr. Fitzherbert lent notice to Count Flori da Blanca that the meflenger would certainly quit Madrid on the ensuing day. This occafioued an immediate interview, and produced the declara tions. It is evident from this, that the Spaniard only consulted the convenience of the moment— only did it to prolong time—that he did it with great relutftarice—and will wipe away the dis charge with a war, if France can be brought to alfift him. ' AVAR DEPARTMENT, Sept. 9, 1790* INFORMATION is hereby giveu toall the military Invalids of the United States, that the fuws to which thev are annually cu titlcd, «rld which will become due on ihe fourth day of March ensuing, will be paid on the faici day, by the Commiflioneis oi: the Loans within the states refpe&ively, under such regulations a,s the President of the United States may direst. [W ho ;.e No. if"] H. KN'O'", Secretary for th: Dtfartmenl e/War.
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