of§
A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS 'BY jOHN FENNO, No. 34, NOPTH FIFTM-STREET, PHILADELPHIA
[No. 104 of Vol. IV.]
For the GAZETTE of the UNITED STAtES.
THOUGHTS ON THE
STATE OF AMERICAN INDIANS.
(Continued Jrom A'o. 99' °J
\ NOTHER. important step to lie taken in
XI bringing the aborigines of this country
to civilized manners, is the permanent eftab
lifliment of mariage between a Jingle pair —
Tbe practice of polygamy* —tlie informalities
of the marriage contraftf— rhe tVf S u "? nt
and causeless reparation:,? which take place
anions them, call tor a reform. Polygamy is
condemned by nature—the proportion which
•xifts between the two sexes—the aiftnal ex
perience of its inefficacy to promote popula
tion, and the jealou'y, diftrull and inhumanity,
it creates, prove it incompatible with the in
tereils of focietv or morals.
The formalities at the commencement of
the contrast, are so few and unimportant, as
leave no durable imp re ill on of the obligations
it confers—and the frequent divorces and
renewed marriages, leTen domeftx harmony,
weaken parental affection, and retard the
multiplication of* the £p.cie s. The initiation
of marriage, is one of the foundation princi
ples of civil society. It at once raises tliafe
male !'ex from that (late of degradation in
tvhich savage nations have confined then), to
the rank and influence to which by the equal
laws of nature they are entitled gives
them that ascendency over the public opinion
and manners, which they are peculiarly fitted
to maintain. The delicacy of their constitu
tions, the exquisite fanfibility of their pallions,
the foftnefc of thetr manners, and the attrac
tions of love, are calculated to temper the
fierce paflions, and humanize the coarser feel
ings of the msn. The ellimation of women
is in effect a diftinguilhing mark of growing
refinement.
Marria»e also lays t'.ie mod folidfoundation
or domestic happiness and the in create of po
pulation. A community of good":—a partici
pation of joy and sorrow—mutual in te reft in
each others reputation —the habit of recipro
cal attention! and kindrceiles, and the equal
and interelling care of the offspring, ft length
en the attachment 6f the parent?, sweeten
the ties which unite them, and add rtew de
lights toall the scenes of dpmeftic intercourse.
Marriage further jjnfures the care ofebirh the
parents to support and educate their children,'
and to train tliem to ferae employment by
-which they may be able to obtain their own
subsistence, and contribute to t'.ie wealth and
strength of the community.
It is in the narrow circle of domestic socie
ty that good members of the community are
formed. There the principles of order, Iv
bordinatioll and induftty, are firjl acquired,
and vouth t' ained for the duties of manhood.
In the means employed by ancient legisla
tors to introduce the institution of marriage,
to rentier it honorable, and lo prevent the vi
olation ps it, we traca the high elteem in
which they held it.s
The more effectually to destroy the promis
cuous and temporary connexion which gene
rally provails between the sexes in ,rude and
lavage nations, and to introduce the custom
of a permanent union between a single pair—
they incorporated the form of marriage with
the ceremonies of religion, and fanftioned it
by t : ie authority of the laws.
Thev also availed themselves of thofc cus
toms to which accident or neceffityhad given
birth, and by blending them with their infti
tutlpns, facilitated their reception, and aug
mented the public veneration for rr.odefty a ,d
cbcorum. In later times, the fame princi
ples have been adopted for the fame purpose.
Thus the man always solicits. The ceremony
is performed by a person invested with autho
rity, in the presence of the relations and
friends of the partie-., attended with some ast
of religion. So highly was the conjugal union
efleemed among the ancient Greeks, that
above two centuries elapsed before widows
dnrft marrv again, and the lurprife of anti
quity has tranfm'tted us the name of the wo
man whofirit entered on a ieoond marriage—
celibacy was oifgvaceful, and barremicts was
deemed a great misfortune.||
Children born in lawful wedlock were an
honor and an ornament to their parents, and
gave them rank smd diftinftion among their
fellow citizens.
In Home marriage was encouraged by an
nexing particular privileges to ir. Those
who bad the mod children, ceteris paribus, were
always preferred. Thus the confn'i who had
the mo ft numerous offspring, received the en
signs of'office firft, and bed the choice of tlie
provinces. The senator, in like cirenmftan
ces, had hit name written firft in the cata
logue, and the privilege of dtfivei ing his opi
nion firft in the fcnate. Such were sooner ca*
pubic of office, and were exempted from such
as were tropb'efome.l
* Carter, (fiap. 12.
+ Ibidem Hijhry t*j S'trth Arteries, p. 63.
J Caivt T iChap* 12. 10/ den 9 Hi/lory ej the Five
nilitns.
i 10/ 1 p. 52.
1 wL 11. p. 123,
Wednesday, May 29, 1 793•
The severe law? of almost all nations a
gainlVconjugal infidelity difcovcr to us the
refpe<st they entertained for modeQy, an( l the
care thry employed to preserve the public ve
neration for it—among the Egyptians, Gre
cians, Romans, Hindoos, Germans, and Pe
ruvians—the crime of adultery was punished
with extreme rigor.
Thus by establishing a permanent union be
twee 11 a jingle pair—by obtaining the public
fentimeut in favor of it—by ena&ing laws to
prevent the violation of the contract and by
strengthening the natural guards to morteftv,
ancient legislators brought their people from
promiscuous love to a lawful and honorable
connection, and rendered it a powerful inftru
merrt in improving their manners and in
bringing them to a relish for ciyii society.
Let these precautions which have succeed
ed in'other nations be taken to establish mai
riages among our American let the
ceremony be public and solemn—let it be ho
norable and de fir able—ma k e it the inteieft
of the parents to iTave a numerous offspring,
let those who excel in this refpeft be entitled
to superior dilfc'indlion and let modesty be
guarded by the public Yeutiment and the au
thority of Jaw.
For the Q AZEI f £ of. the UAITED STATES.
MR. FEN NO,
IN j unification of the French revolution
which proinifes to be productive of foiiiucb
good to mankind, though unhappily attended
with fomc very disagreeable appenda< es in
bringing it about, permit me to recapitulate,
some observations I have met with in the
course of my reading on the civil war of
Great Britain in the last centu-y.
u Tlie English have, by more historians
than one, been much reproached for entering
so readily into a civil war agtinft thtir so
vereign, and the fame reflexions have been
made against other nations, tbat have been
actuated by the fatoe spirit : It may not
the efore be amfs t<S enquire into the pro
priety of this opinion and draw a flight pa
rallel between the value of Liberty, and the
unhappy effetts which must neceifarily atrend
the ailertion of it, by violent means—lf the
latter are found to outweigh the formev, tbofe
who have made such remarks are doubtlcls in
the right, and have proved fuHicicntly that h
nation when she finrfs her liberties attacked,
had better resign them all ?,t once, and by
that means escape the horrors of a civil war.
But if coolness is pardonable in answering
such a proportion, let us ask a plain quellion
without the least hear—What on earth is so
valuable as freedom ? Cart any Sacrifices too
great be made for the preservation of that,
without which nothings any longer of value ;
without which all poflcUlon, even of the com
mon rights of nature, enjoyment of health,
family, fortune and every thing most dear to
the human mind is totally precarious ! Can
any,one hesitate a moment in answering this
query I A florid description of the honors of
a civil war, may be the answer. But why
are these cffe&s called horrors ? Surely be
canfe they are deftru&ive of those very con
nections and poifeflions, the fecuiity of which
fly on the approach of arbitrary power. Can
a civil war be the ruin of any thing, which
despotism will spare ? Are not domestic con
vulsionl; temporary, and the loss of liberty per
petual ? May not the security of every thing
valuable to mankind, be rendered permanent
by a resolute defence of liberty ? Is any thing
gained by its loss ? where then, in the name
of common sense, can be found an argument
futficient to level the comp«vifon.
But I ain not much surprised at historians
disliking the age wherein public liberty is
alFerted; the reign of Charles the firft can
not figure like that of an Anne, wherein the
a&ions of a Marlborough are recited—nor
like that of a Lorn XIV. <vherein the mo
narch is the grand Hero. But where a peo
ple are struggling for their liberty-—'where
the legislative power is conftantJy involved ♦
in disputes with an M designing executive,
the historic page is by no means brilliant.
The nation's jealousy and ftubbornefs may
hare some bad consequences in the opinion of
cou-tiers—-the reign may not be fliining, but
perplexed and crabbed, filled with the circle
of endless disputes, and aIJ the jarring diflo
nance of patriotism and power, party and
corruption, accusation and defence, with a
long string offufpicions and fears,which make
a wretched figure in hiftpry—-in such a litua
tion even the public foreign affairs will fuffer.
Paltry considerations ! Let them : The peo
ple however are feturitg their Liberty; ai d
they had better preserve that, with such fan
cied disgrace, than lose it triumphing in the
midst of glory.
I ain persuaded that a free nation, had bet-
ter be continually involved in disgusting dis
putes between courtiers and patriots, in all
the minut»»of discontent, and jealous of the
power of government, be aiming ever at fix
ing new bounds to ambition, and raiting frelh
obstacles to despotic designs better far let
their annah be defpiled in future age;, as a
collection of difguftin£ quarrels and vaih vio
413
lenres, than hare therti fliitie with the glori
ous but diabolic details, which enliven and
adorn the page of an hiftonpn.—'The con
quests of an Alexander—the fla lightered mil-
lions of a Caesar—- the daring rashness of a !
Charles ; and the victorious career of a Fre
deric ; —Thefe are the tales of wonder which
glow in fp endid colours beneath the pencil of
an admirin-g recorder ; these are the wretch
cs who fill the world with carnage—trample
on the liberties of mankind"-—break thus all
the ties of nature, and leave their uames fore
moil on tl}e lift of Fame.-—l 4 this fame ?Is
fame the rfcward of these military heroes, who
to use an excellent expre&on of RofTeau,—
arc good #>r nothing h - to knock one ano
ther, on the head—what a pother is made a
bout this fjime ! This {hilling phantom which
glitters oil the ruins of humanity ! The ines
timable worth of liberty is not to be put in
competition with these alone, but with civil
wars themselves and every domestic convul
sion that can'difturb a free people :■ No hor
rors are too g>eat to hazard for the enjoyment
of this of all earthly blefTnigs. Take
the long run fcf several ages, and it will be
found that public freedom. luis feidom bee-n
ft-cured u by means of domestic war; En
gland has n&ttre than once bee,n a pregnant
inflance of this. To the courage of worthy
patriot, exerted in the field agair.ft the sway
of tyranny, is that freedom owing, which we
now enjoy and is the envy of nine tenths of
Europe. It is to the convulsions which shook
England in the middle of the laiV century,
that fucceedmg owe their liberty. Tho'e
wars, it is true, were vety terrible (though
not half fomtoch so, as <# e modern campaign)
but had they been fifty times more so, would
a brave nation hesitate to hazard all, to over.,
turn the effc&s of arbitrary power ? No,
paint the terrors of domeilic war in the mod
ftrikiMg cftlours ; the terrors of despotism
will be more terrible itii! ; infinitely are all
imaginable Jiorrors of that kind Co be prefer
red to the deadly, tranquility which biood*
over a nation of (laves—before that stats of
stupid fereiiity, Corruption and negligence
which ftfeinate's a nation's courage, and with
all the lilence of certainty forges the chains
of defpotifiMtfelf."
And reft of the German Republican Society of
Philadelphia, to M GENET, Minister
Plenipotentiary from theßepiiblic of France
to the United States.
Citizen Genet, Mini/ler Plenipotentiary jrom the
Republic oj Frante to the United States oj Ame
rica.
SIR,
THE German Republican Society of Phi
ladelphia, congratulate you as the Re
presentative ofthe people of Fiance, on your
fafe .arrival in this city: We welcome yon,
with heart-felt jov, to this Land of Liberty,
which your generous and gallant nation con
tributed to make happy. We feel the liveli
est fympafhy for tjie diltrelfes of our repub
Heart brethren, whoNare combating the fell
hosts of tyrants, in defence of their own na
tural.rights, and the rights of mankind ; and
deplo;e, that a nation, from whom we are
descended, fliould be among the firft in the
conspiracy against Liberty. We <ee, with
pain and horror, the Confederation of all Eu
ropean despots against Freedom—their united
efforts to fupercede thc general will ,of France :
but though foes encompass her b'ave Amis, we
trtift, the arm, nerved by Li berry, will be
invincible, artd that the millenium ofjtolitlcal
happiness, is opening its profpefts upon them.
The combinations of the sovereignty of the
people, are the only security tor geneial liber
ty and happiness; and we flatter our r e'ves,
these will be at length so well underflood, as
to fix.the Rights of Man upon an immovea
ble basis, and that the French nation will
give an example to the European world, of
rulers and ruled having bur one object
one will—the good of theia country.
With our belt wiflies for the perpetual union
and f-eed.»mof our refpeftive republics, and
for your full enjoyment of every blefling which
can serve the glorious cause in which you are
embarked,
We are,
"With sentiments of republican affection,
Jl\ or/U t ej the Sccitts,
HENRY KAM MERER. P>rJ.
MICHAEL LKIB, ?. s . -
ANPREWGEYER, 5 rC "
Phitad(lphio % May 17, 1793*
TO WHICH HE RETURNFD THB FOtIOWIKC
The Geritian Republican Society of Phila.
delpkia.
Cittzems,
I HAVE had the futirfaflinn of spending
several years of "iv life amot;the people of
Geimanv, and dnritii niy (lay with them,
knew how to esteem and refpeft those indi
viduals, whom the absurd P"ejwlices of birth,
and'tlie difgraceful habit> nf ibvery, had nt
entirely tftranged fii>m huiii-n'ity. Jt
ever u>y opiuiun, that this great nation "would
CJVtS.
Yonf friends,
AN$ W E R
[Whole No. 4*26.
enthufiaftfcally rouse itfelf to vindicate and
maintain with invincible firmnef«, the i'acred
flame of liberty, as soon as it c«>6ld free itfelf
from the incumbrances of its niouftrous con
stitution :—That defirabJe event has not yet,
however, taken The hu#s of del l
pots that have poiiHf. d thfcmfeHtfs of the
fovtfreijn>ty of the German people, (till con
tin lie to rivet their chains upon them : I aw
convinced, however, my opinion is vvelj
founded notwithitandin^*'and that Germany
will be free.
The republican sentiments that animate
Jth2 hearts of al l those 1 have toad the oppor
tunity of feeing beyond the limits of their
own unfortunate country, are a convincing
proof to me, tint this will be the cafe ; and
under fucha view of" things, so important to
the fiiTcere friends of humanity, 1 cannotex
prefs how much your address has excited my
fe'nfibility.
I (hall make your fpntiments known to
illv fe'low-citizens, and i'O lioubt they
will receive, with, the nviir live y marks of
fatfsfietion, the good v/iilics .yon have ex
prefled For the of their arms anfl the
extension of their principles.
EXTRACTS,
Written rn 1790. —Truvjhtedjrvm the French-
IN the human body it is the com
bination of the organs which
form the Cotiftirtition—the head
dictates laws and the other niembeis
execute. It is eliential that the head
which represents the legiftativfe and
judicial powe> s, Ihould be calm and
deliberate in its decrees, and that
the arm, repreffcnting the execu
tive power, Ihould have proi.ipti
tutle and force.
Montesq_uieu, having'fir ft esta
blished the diltiritftioii of the three
powers, proved that they existed in
every form of government, whether
Democracy or Monarchy, Despotism
or Aristocracy, in like manner ».s
the primitive colours exilt and are
found in every ray of the bun.
Such is the leading idea of this
great man. But he has not said
with a fufficient clearness, in treat
ing on the difFerefit kinds of govern
ment, that a pure democracy as well
as art absolute defpotifisi did nor and
cannot exist on eatrth—that they
are two ci eat ure9 of our i magi nai ion,
two conceptions of the mind, two
models of which all the governments
in the world hear (lime resemblance
— for there is in fadt no state where
the people at once govern always
by themselves without representa
tion ; nor is there any empire on
the globe where the will of an in
dividual governs without cnntronl.
Whence it follows, that a~. all polfi
hle governments float between pure
democracy and abfcl-ute despotism,
as between two extremes to which
they more or less approach, there
is not and never will be in the
world but Arijiu;raciei, that is to
fay, mixed governments. This name
is properly given to the govern
ment of those States where 11 perm;-
nent senate governs all without ever
consulting the people. Such is Ve
nice whicti is also called a Repub
lic ; it is a pure ariflocracy in this
fettle, that the three powers are in
the hands of the noble*. Thatllaie
in which the will of an individual
is molt frequently a law, and de
cides on the life or death of the
fnbjeft, is called a despotic Hate.
Such is (he Turkifli empire. But it
is not true that the Sultan is abso
lute master ; his power finds limits
at every step he advances, and he is
obliged to refpedt them. This em
pire then is between arirtocracy and
despotism, but inclines towards 'he
latter. In fine, the (late where the
people choose their inagifhates for
a fixed period, and often aflemble to
exercise the sovereignty, is a demo
cracy, a«d is called a republic ;
such were Athens and Rome, and
such are the United States of Ame
rica. The government of tlie-fe
states is between an aristocracy and
GSNET